Agora film review Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Agora film review - Research Paper Example The film Agora follows the philosopher Hypatia, a historical person portrayed in the film, through the process of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire near the end of the fourth century AD. It also follows a central cast of character who surround Hypatia, and her school in Alexandria, through this tumultuous time period.The film consciously inverts the understanding of religion that we have in Western society today, where the Christians are dominant and other religions are more in the minority. In this film, Christians are the minority religion, though growing quickly and set to replace Pagans as the most powerful religion in the Roman Empire, but much of the state is still in the control of the Pagans. Hypatia and those around her get into frequent conflict with the Christians, including at one point being mobbed by a group of them during conflict over the teaching and interpretation of science. The Christians then go on to vandalize a library, one of the first assaults on scien ce in the film. Hypatia frequently refuses to bow to demands that she stops studying sciences, which end up in her getting persecuted, and eventually stoned (though she is mercifully killed before the stoning by a good friend of hers, who strangles her). Hypatia was a scientist who taught at a platonic school that taught the most powerful people in the Empire. She had a love of science that rivaled almost anything else. She began the film as a highly respected person of a relatively high cast of society – her father was an important person and a slave owner, and she had a small cadre of very loyal follows and students in her school. Hypatia has several admirable qualities that are important to her. Firstly, she is a vastly intelligent person, as demonstrated by her qualification as one of the most important teachers in one of the most important schools in the most scientific city in the Ancient world. Beyond this alone, Hypatia is also a brave, and to be quite frank, an incre dibly stubborn person. When put on by a mob of Christians who begin burning down the most important library in the world, Hypatia risks her life to save many of the scrolls of science that might be completely irreplaceable if they end up destroyed. Furthermore, she continues studying subjects that are forbidden by the newly powerful Christian religion, such as the theory of heliocentrism, which says that the sun is at the center of the universe instead of the earth, despite the fact that her life is threatened again and again because of her refusal of studying. Even when her former students, such as Orestes, give up and on several occasions review to answer questions regarding what they believe and do not believe because of their fear of consequences (or possibly because they have genuinely changed their minds because of conversions to Christianity), Hypatia stands firm with her beliefs in science over religion, despite the threats to her life. Finally, she is a good person, which i s shown by the incredible loyalties that she develops, with her friends willing to stand firm with her through thick and thin, and even kill her mercifully when there is no other option. This film displays the decline and fall of the Roman Empire as centering around one issue and almost entirely one issue: the rise of Christianity and its replacing traditional Paganism. This represented a fundamental shift in the Roman Empire for several reasons. Firstly, the traditional Pagan religion allowed for the worship of a wide variety of gods and a great deal of different cultures and backgrounds. It would allow for other traditional religions to also exist in addition to the Roman one, it allowed for a great deal of cultural plurality. Christianity, on the other

The Importance of Distinguishing Between Acquisition and Learning in Essay

The Importance of Distinguishing Between Acquisition and Learning in Second Language Performance - Essay Example Yet we are now seeing greater importance placed on these issues and in turn a better understanding of the multiple and varying difficulties that a student of second language acquisition can face. Differentiating between learning and acquisition signifies that these factors have a special place alongside that of the traditional problems of language learning. It is important to highlight on the word 'alongside' because differentiating between the two should not mean that either takes predominance or that there should be some kind of theoretical showdown, but rather that each term find its proper place and do its proper job. By taking into consideration both acquisition and learning and making a differentiation between the two we are better able to understand all sides of second language learning. To better understand the nature of the discussion around the manners with which we learn to speak a second language it is important to first define the terms we are using. First and foremost it should be noted that 'acquisition' and 'learning' aggregate significant meaning to the word language. Acquisition is defined as the act of acquiring or gaining something through one's own efforts and/or experience.1 Learning, on the other hand is defined as the act, process, or experience of gaining knowledge or skill, usually through schooling or studying.2 The term second language learning has traditionally been used to describe the process of learning a second language through formal instruction. For example, adults taking English classes are described as learning a language, not acquiring it. In Krashen's (1981) theory of second language performance he works with the distinction between acquisition and learning.3 Second language performance would be the term that encompasses the two independent systems, the acquired system and the learned system. The former is described as being the product of the human subconscious and entails meaningful interaction, while the later is the product of formal instruction and results in conscious knowledge of the language. In Krashen's input hypothesis he puts forth his theory on how one obtains the knowledge of a second language through language acquisition.4 He explains that an individual perks up along the natural order of learning a language. For example, if a learner is at a stage 'i', then acquisition takes place when he/she is exposed to 'Comprehensible Input' that belongs to level 'i + 1'. Different learners have different capacity and competence for seeking knowledge or absorbing new material. Since not all of the learners can be at the same level of linguistic competence at the same time, Krashen argues that natural communicative input is the key to designing a syllabus, ensuring in this way that each learner will receive some 'i + 1' input that is appropriate for his/her current stage of linguistic competence.5 Krashen's ground breaking work called to the forefront the long ignored area of psycholinguistics which focuses on the pivotal role feelings and sentiments play during the accumulation of a second language. At the core of his work is the belief that language acquisition does not require extensive use of conscious grammatical rules but rather meaningful interaction with the target language, what he calls a 'natural

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 8

Assignment - Essay Example In healthcare provision, organizational culture determines an organizations performance in regard to the services offered to clients, employee contentment, improvement of services through innovativeness, as well as consistency in service provision facilitated by sound management of the organization’s finances. The safety of patients and the quality of nursing care largely depends on organizational culture. This essay is a critical evaluation of the influence of organizational culture on patient care. It outlines organizational leadership and management, and also analyzes the influence of organizational culture on patients. In order to understand how culture can influence nurses and patient care, it is important to comprehend the role of nurses and their relationship with patients. Nursing involves provision of healthcare to individuals, households, as well as communities in order to improve their health regardless of whether they are unwell or healthy. A nurse plays a significant role in advocating for environmental safety, research in regard to health care as well as participation in the formulation of policies on healthcare and healthcare facilities. Educating the public in regard to safe living and prevention of diseases are also major roles of nurses. They play a significant role in helping people to regain their physical and mental strength. With this understanding, it is clear that drawbacks arising from organizational culture such as lack of enthusiasm amongst nurses due to in-effective leadership, insufficiency of equipment and funds due to poor management of finances, poor relations between n urses and patients amongst others may adversely affect service delivery and the health of patients (Pearson and Entrekin 2001 p 81). However, organizational culture may also have a positive impact on patient care. A culture that generates positive rapport among the organization’s management,

Militarism and Perpetual Peace Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 5

Militarism and Perpetual Peace - Research Paper Example Militarism implies the allergic missions or many revolutions. It has the important and early manifestations of the life of most social orders. Class considerations would be necessary. Armament plays an important role in social struggles. Poor socio-economic status does not prevent a nation from securing arms. Economic evolution runs parallel with the development of arms (Liebeknecht, 2007). The expenditure on the making of the arms is growing higher due to the sophistication of weapons used. When the production of arms is universal, the manufacture of the guns has been accordingly changed. History has shown the significance in the power of the Greeks, Romans where the hierarchy was completely military. The influence of the external political situation on militarism was especially evident in the German Wars of Liberation (Liebeknecht, 2007). Militarism has been recognized as a significant factor in policy making since the nineteenth century (Meszaros, 2007). The evolution of modern imperialism was becoming evident on a global scale. The British and the French were having vast empires at that period of time and the United States were beginning invasions in Latin America. The Philippines was also involved in a liberations process assisted by the Americans. The First and the Second World Wars were caused by the ambitious Bismarck and Hitler who were running after more than what they could handle. The calamities were caused by the selfish intentions of two individuals and the techniques of using militarism for political solutions. What could have been solved by the deep-seated thinking without resorting to militarism was mishandled by the militaristic Viewpoints (Meszaros, 2007). The scale of issues became wide and the discussion was based on the militaristic power rather than the actual issues. There were horrific wars in the 12th century and the pattern continued into the form of the World Wars.  Ã‚  

Product Life Cycle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Product Life Cycle - Essay Example 5)." With this definition, it becomes apparent that marketing is not just about selling goods and services to customers. At the heart of marketing is delivering customer value to satisfy and even delight buyers. This calls for the efficient establishment of a marketing mix which takes into account all the essential factors in marketing commodities. In marketing a product, the extended marketing mix is used and is comprised of seven decision areas (7Ps) namely, product, people, price, promotion, place, process, and physical evidence. The Product Life Cycle (PLC) model is an indispensable model which can be utilized in coming up with a well crafted marketing strategy. It is stated that "the product's current PLC position suggests the best marketing strategies (Kotler and Armstrong 355)" and that "the resulting marketing strategies affect product performance in later life-cycles stages (Kotler and Armstrong 355)." This report will look at the use of PLC model as a tool in crafting an efficient and profitable marketing mix for Starbucks Corporation. The first section will give a more in-depth background of the PLC model. Next, it will be used to come up with a marketing mix for Starbucks in China and US. Another section will also be devoted in explaining how certain strategies extend the life cycle of a product in a certain market. The paper will conclude with its recommendations on using the PLC as a potent aid in making product policy decisions. The Product Life Cycle Model: An Overview The PLC model recognized that the life of a product in the market takes commonly follows five distinct stages. The first course is the product development stage which begins when the company finds and develops a new product idea. Introduction phase is the period where the product is finally launched into the target market. This stage is characterized by huge expenses which significantly drive down profit levels. Next is the growth period where the product goes through rapid market acceptance and increasing profits. The maturity stage is commonly the longest stage in the product life cycle which is characterized by slowdown in sales growth due to its general acceptance. In effect, profits typically level off or decline as the company makes efforts to defend the product against competition. The last stage is decline when the product's sales fall off and profits drop (Kotler and Armstrong 354). Product Life Cycle in the Starbucks Context According to Hoovers, Starbucks is the number one specialty coffee retailer having 10,000 coffee shops around the globe. Contrary to the common knowledge that the main product of Starbucks is coffee, an executive of the company declares that Strabucks doesn't sell coffee. Instead, Starbucks goes beyond selling premium quality coffee but it sells "an experience." According to Howard Behar, "We're not in the business of filling bellies, we're in the business of filling souls (qtd in Kotler and Armstrong 58)." With this in mind, Starbucks has conquered the globe with its coffee shop to share the "Starbucks experience." In this section, we will utilize the PLC in crafting marketing

Come up with an assertin- a claim,a point, an opinion- that you can Essay

Come up with an assertin- a claim,a point, an opinion- that you can support with some of the facts from the articles - Essay Example This premise is demonstrated beautifully when Charlie attempts to win Lalu from Hong King by playing poker. Clearly, Charlie is willing to gamble on Lalu because he loves here whereas Hong King is willing to gamble on her to maintain her slavery. Tragically, Lalu does not see this because she has always been viewed as a chattel and therefore presumes that Charlie views her much the same way. The problem that Charlie has is that he will never win the love or affections of Lalu because ultimately, she is the product of a bet. I suspect however, that had Charlie allowed Lalu to kill Hong King or had assisted her in the murder, he would have ultimately won her over. No matter how hard any man may try, a woman’s dignity will not be stolen from her without her consent. Women, all women want protection, but not at any price. Finally, once a woman has decided that a man sees her only as chattel, he can never shake that impression from

Sensory Perception Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sensory Perception - Essay Example With regards to my grandfather’s farm, I had only recently traveled back to this place within the past few months. As a child I had spent many a happy summer as well as interspersed individual weekends playing around the familiar sights that the farm had to offer. As such, the setting itself was one which provided me with a great many happy memories that were, and continue to be, seared on my memory. When I recently viewed the farm again, a virtual flood of memories came back to me. Many of these memories seemed as if they were happening at the exact moment or merely a few minutes prior to me seeing the old sights again. It was as if I was transported, via the sense of sight, to a different dimension in which time and the long absence from the farm that had intervened, meant little if anything as it all seemed so close and personal rather than removed and distant. The familiarity and the positive connotations of the sights doubtless had a lot to do with such an interpretation. Similarly, my old neighborhood has had a similar visual perceptional effect on me. Due to the different perspective that I had when I was younger, the sights themselves seemed as something a bit foreign. Everything was much smaller than it had been; some things seemed unnaturally out of place or entirely different. In this way, the sense of sight and my perception thereof were seemingly arguing with the memories that I had etched into my mind. This disjuncture between memory and reality was a unique aspect of my visual memory that I had never before experienced and was a unique and different feeling. Finally, with respect to my primary school and the effects that visual perception have had on me once I have been back to visit such a place, the perception of sight was one in this case that sought to bring forward a host of other emotional feelings and worries that were unique to that particular time of my life. For instance, as I walked the halls, I no longer felt the sense of insec urity or judgment that I had so strongly felt before. While my eyes acquainted themselves with the classrooms with the loved and hated teachers I had had, the level to which sight was providing an entirely alternate reality to me was something unique that I cannot quite describe yet I know precisely how it felt to experience. Each of these experiences has helped to inform the author with regards to the various memories, feelings, and emotions that exist within the context of the sights that have herein been represented. Due to the fact that each of the five senses is directly linked to strong memories within the brain, the exemplification of but a simple sight, sound, smell, or touch is enough to bring back a flood of memories to the individual within the given experience. As has been detailed, the thought process that takes place a a result of this perception is not one that is always voluntary; rather, something as simple as seeing an object or a group of objects that have long si nce been absent from the life of the viewer can begin something akin to a mental chain reaction that culminates in distinctive memory patterns and understandings of what things may have changed in life since the last time that such an object or group of objects was objectively