Causes for the french revolution Essay Example for Free

Causes for the french revolution Essay There were many causes for the French Revolution, which started in 1789. However there were three main causes that affected the decision to have a revolution the most which were the weak economy, a bad harvest, and King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette. These were the main reasons that lead to the French Revolution because these events were the ones that affected France the most during 1789. The weak economy was one of the causes of the French Revolution because at that time France was in debt. France was in debt due to helping the colonist become independent from Britain in the American Revolution. For example, in The French Revolution Begins reading it states â€Å"And he borrowed heavily in order to help the American revolutionaries in their war against Great Britain, France’s chief rival. † This is one of the reasons that started the French Revolution because due to being in debt King Louis XVI’s solution was to raise the taxes on the nobles. This was surprised the 2nd estate which consist of the nobles because they paid the least taxes of the 3 estates. Due to this action the 2nd estate called a meeting called the Estates General. In these types of meetings each estate would usually only get one vote but due to the fact that it would be unfair to the 3rd estate. So for this reason every person who was at the Estates General would be granted a vote. The Estates General was to basically approve the new tax. This meeting then caused the National Assembly, which was what the third estate was now called. The third estate pledged a tennis court oath that stated that they wouldn’t leave until a new constitution was made. They drafted a new constitution, which now made France a constitutional monarchy. In conclusion, this is how being in depth was one of the reasons that started the French Revolution. Another cause for the French revolution was the bad harvest in the 1780’s. This was one of the causes for the French revolution because people could grow their food or grain, which is the ingredient to make bread. â€Å"The price of bread doubled in 1789, and many people faced starvation† (French Revolution Begins). In my opinion, I believe that this is one of the reasons to start the revolution because the people back then were poor. They were poor due to the reason that most of their money went to taxes so, if their money went to taxes and they barley had enough to pay for how much the bread used to be hoe are they expected to pay for bread when the price is doubled. I also believe that this is inequitable due to the fact that it isn’t their fault that there was bad weather I believe that the king was just trying to get money. Doubling the bread price made people not have enough money and many people died because of starvation. In conclusion, this is how a bad harvest was another one of the major causes to the French Revolution. The last main cause to the French Revolution had to do with King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette. This I believe was the main reason for the French Revolution because the king and his wife were spending money on unnecessary things. For example â€Å"†¦she spent so much money on gowns, jewels, gambling, and gifts†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (The French Revolution Begins). Based on this evidence we could see how the money was being misused and how the queen didn’t even care about the situation happening with the people. Another example showing how Antoinette was a bad queen was â€Å"One year she lost the equivalent of $1. 5 million gambling in card games† (The French Revolution Begins). This example shows us how the queen spent money and when it came to help people put they were in depth. An example of how King Louis XVI was being a bad king was â€Å"However he lacked the ability to make decisions† (The French Revolution). In my opinion I believe that this is how King Louis XVI was a cause to the French Revolution because this quote shows how he did not know what was right for the people and did not know how to deal with all of the things that were going on in France like people wanting a revolution. This was a good thing for France because they saw that the King could not make any good decisions so they saw that it was a good idea to overthrow the monarchy and become a limited monarchy. In conclusion there were many things that lead to the French Revolution but only 3 things were the main causes. The 3 main causes were the fact that the French were in depth due to the American Revolution. The fact that there was a bad harvest in the 1780’s. Lastly the fact that King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette were spending money in a useless way and that they were making bad decisions.

The Portrayal Of Female Characters In Films

The Portrayal Of Female Characters In Films Films have long been used as a tool to portray human imaginations and ideas that are sometimes deemed impossible in reality. The characters in films have had a huge impact, with regard to gender stereotype, on audiences of all ages (Neuendorf et. al., 2010). Though there have been debates of how female characters are being portrayed in films, from being submissive to hyper-sexualised and lately, adopting more dominant roles in films, has there really been a change in male characters in films instead (Gilpatric, 2010)? Have male characters in films adopt female traits like how the female characters have adopted manly traits? This paper looks into how the portrayals of male characters in films have changed or are changing and how they affect gender construction. The feminist movement has constantly fought for womens right and equality so as to place women on equal standing to men in the society. This revolution has since been translated onto the silver screens as films depict women playing prominent and dominant roles in films (Gilpatric, 2010; Neundorf et. al., 2010) which is a stark contrast to the past when women played a submissive and subservient roles to the male character. Furthermore, films mirror the changing nature of our society, expecting men to behave in accordance to societal expectations deconstructing the male stereotype. Thus, the increasing trend in films shifting away from portraying men as having the traditional masculine trait, reconstructing it to more what termed today as the New Age Men (NAM) has been a result of the increasing prominence and dominance of females in films and the evolving nature of the society. The NAM is thus seen as a fusion of having both the traditional traits of males and females, embracing both masculine and feminine traits. Here, masculinity is defined as having the size, physical strength, rejection to authority and the use of physical force (Eschholz and Bufkin, 2001). Along with those masculine traits, the NAM are also expected to have traits like caring and being able to handle housework. The birth of the NAM has been heavily attributed to the rise of females in films and the changing nature of the society. Men today feel there is a need to differentiate themselves from females in films to assert their dominance in the industry and to reintegrate into the society, deconstructing the male stereotype. Female Characters in Films Today. Male characters in films are moving away from having masculine traits due to the rise of female prominence and dominance in the roles they play by adopting those masculine traits. Female characters like Lara Croft and Kill Bill highlights the point that traits like submissive and subservient are no longer being associated with female character. The casting of the Bond girl character is as equally important, receiving just as much attention as the casting of James Bond himself, and though a Bond film may lack the innovative gadget, never has there been a Bond film without a Bond girl (Neuendorf et. al., 2010). This accentuates that the womens roles are equally important to the Bond character. Men, who relate closely to Bond who usually portray masculine traits, view this as a challenge to their masculinity as the Bond character is dependent on the female character. The lack of innovative gadgets also portrays a crisis in masculinity since men regard these technologies as macho (Neuend orf et. al., 2010). This is further amplified with female characters playing main characters in films being created with complex and enthralling personalities relative to male characters who are rather one-dimensional and are of minor interest (Russell-Watts, 2010). Women are also selected to play roles previously played and deemed suitable for men. Though Lara Croft and Kill Bill props to mind, the Hamlet by William Shakespeare is another example. Despite Hamlet being a male character, women have been manifesting their interest to play the role and there has been an increasing trend of women getting selected to personify Hamlet (Howard, 2007). Moreover, the Hamlet is known to be involved in violence as portrayed by the character Alexandra Tranda, who parallels the happenings of Hamlet to the events occuring in her life and ends up killing her father (Howard, 2007). Violence is defined as any intentional infliction of physical pain or harm (Eschholz and Bufkin, 2001) and has a positive correlation to masculinity (Eschholz and Bufkin, 2001; Neuendorf et. al., 2010; Gilpatric, 2010) thus proving an increase in violence equates to in an increase in masculinity. Men feel the idea of a women hamlet as unhealthy and feel ashamed for a woman to take th e Hamlet role (Howard, 2007). This is an indication to men that women are challenging their masculinity and dominance in the film industry especially in roles crafted for men. The rise of females in films adopting a more masculine nature and playing characters deemed more suited for men resulted men to feel challenged in their masculinity and has since led to a crisis in it. Men feel there is a need to differentiate themselves from the female characters and assert their masculinity and dominance within the society, re-constructing the gender stereotype to create the NAM. The Dynamic Nature of the Society. Films impact audiences (Gilpatric, 2010) and may portray a reflection of the society. The dynamic nature of the society portrayed through films has been a contributing factor to the deconstruction of the male gender stereotype to form the NAM. Relative to the past, women today are generally more educated, enabling them to take up jobs also held by men (Buchbinder, 2008). Accelerated by the feminist movement, women today are equally as likely as men to be casted to play professional roles and jobs like doctors and lawyers (Gilpatric, 2010). There is an increase of female characters holding major roles from 12% in 1960 to 32% in 1990 (Neuendorf et. al., 2010) and female characters in films can be a true representation of their position in the society as 51% US workers who hold high-paying management and professional jobs are women (Gilpatric, 2010). Similarly, most young man today expects to go through at least three major career changes in his life (Buchbinder, 2008). Also, improvemen ts in the economy have enabled both women and men to spend on luxury items. Narcissistic concern with ones look and body, traditionally marked as feminine are being linked to men, making it harder to comply with the traditional masculinity trait of a man (Buchbinder, 2008). There has also been a shift in the portrayal of men in films today. In the past, men have always adopted the central figure but roles recently played by men and women in films have been blurred as the gap between masculinity and feminity. According to Breillat, There is no masculine psychology in my cinema. They contain only what women feel and desire. Therefore, men must not try to recognise themselves in my male characters (Russell-Watts, 2010, p. 72). This shows that men play secondary roles to women in todays films restricting them to relate to the traditional male masculinity. Moreover, men are also increasingly portrayed in films as the figure of the schlemiel. Schlemiel is a Yiddish word which means a foolish personà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a social misfit (Buchbinder, 2008, p. 228) and is unable to meet the performance and attitudinal requirements of traditional masculinity (Buchbinder, 2008, p. 230). For instance, Bond girls have been known to play independent and intelligent roles eve n outwitting Bond himself in the latest Bond movie. Despite Bond films representing Bond as having a chauvinistic persona (Neuendorf et. al., 2010), this places Bond in the Schlemiel category of a foolish character causing men to view this as a crisis to their masculinity. These factors when combined has resulted men to lose its masculine traits and restricted them to conform to the traditional masculine traits deconstructing the traditional male stereotype and reconstruct the NAM to help them assimilate back into society and be of an equal standing or higher to the women. Stereotypes Still Prevails. Some might argue that despite the rising prominence and dominance of women, the subservient and submissive nature of womens portrayal still prevail while mens masculinity are still confined to the traditional stereotype. Women in films are still regarded as subservient and submissive as the dominance exerted is based on a maternal motif, creating a stereotype of mothers or wives to save her child or loved ones (Gilpatric, 2010). Moreover, the societal movement of feminism is lacking, as women in films today still report to a more dominant male character (Neuendorf et. al., 2010), acting as a sidekick to a male character and getting involved in a romantic relationship with them (Gilpatric, 2010). Male characters though may have less masculine traits as portrayed by Robert in the movie Romance, his masculinity is emphasised through his occupation, being the boss of the main female character (Russell-Watts, 2010). This proves that despite being portrayed as dominant character in films t oday, women still conform to the gender stereotype of the traditional feminine traits of reporting to a more dominant male character. Some may argue also that films may not be a true reflection of society hence the portrayal of men as less masculine are not true. Films portray women as successful only when they are thin and attractive (Neuendorf et. al., 2010) when in fact, success is judged based on merit and not only looks. Building on, by showcasing one man as less masculine in the form of the schlemiel figure, subtly it provides a foil for other male characters to stand out, bringing out the masculine traits in the other male characters, (Buchbinder, 2008) indicating that male characters in movies still conform to the male gender stereotype of masculinity. New Age Man is the New Man. Despite the portrayal of women as subservient and submissive, women are still just as likely as men to commit violent acts in films. Presently, women are more likely to show acts of aggression (Neundorf et. al., 2010) and masculinity levels in male and females have increased (Eschholz and Bufkin, 2001). Though many may argue that the feminist movement may not have reached its promised desire, it cannot be regarded as a failure. Womens role in movies has since increased transcending the traditional feminine traits (Gilpatric, 2010). No longer women are being portrayed as one-dimensional who plays stereotypical female characters. Moreover, men today are unlikely to conform to the traditional form of masculinity although they may still hold superiority over the female characters as masculinity portrayed by men in films today is excessive in nature and something that men cannot relate to. The rugged masculinity shown through characters played by Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger is being described as a fantasy (Eschholz and Bufkin, 2001). Men feels there is a need to form a new identity something that they can relate to and has slowly since give rise to the birth of the NAM. Though portraying men as less masculine or as the schlemiel figure helps to bring out the masculinity in other male characters (Buchbinder, 2008), this very need has proved that there is a decreasing trend in films, which showcase men as masculine. Conclusion. Films have evolved tremendously down the years and will continue to do so at such rapid rate. As womens roles in films continue to rise and take centre stage, male characters in films have since taken steps in the opposite direction, adopting lesser of the traditional masculine traits but instead adopt more feminine traits. This has not being helped by the changing nature of the society where women continue to rise in status at workplaces challenging men for jobs. The birth of the NAM has been heavily attributed to the rising dominance and prominence of female characters in films and also the changing nature of the society. As the world become more globalized, womens status in society is also expected to improve and NAM may well form a new stereotype for men in times to come. (1996 Words)

The Relational Properties Approach to a Theory of Interpretation :: Gadamer Philosophy Philosophical Essays

The Relational Properties Approach to a Theory of Interpretation ABSTRACT: This paper reexamines the central thesis of Gadamer’s theory of interpretation that objectivity is not a suitable ideal for understanding a text, historical event or cultural phenomenon because there exists no one correct interpretation of such phenomena. Because Gadamer fails to make clear the grounds for this claim, I consider three possible arguments. The first, predominant in the secondary literature, is built on the premise that we cannot surpass our historically situated prejudgments. I reject this argument as insufficient. I also reject a second argument concerning the heuristics of understanding. I then articulate a third argument that the object of understanding changes according to the conditions under which it is grasped. I appeal to the notion of relational properties to make sense of this claim and to defend it against two objections: (i) that it conflates meaning and significance; and (ii) that it is saddled with an indefensible relativism. Gadamer's theory of philosophical hermeneutics amounts to a sustained argument for a view that one might call "anti-objectivism" or "interpretive pluralism." (1) This view holds that in understanding a text, historical event, cultural phenomenon or perhaps anything at all, objectivity is not a suitable ideal because there does not exist any one correct interpretation of the phenomenon under investigation. In Gadamer's words, "understanding is not merely a reproductive but always a productive activity as well" (G 280; E 296); it is a "fusion of horizons" of the past and present, objective and subjective (G 289; E 306). At the same time, Gadamer wants to steer clear of an "anything-goes" relativism. In other words, in Gadamer's view, understanding is a process that invites and even demands a plurality of interpretations, but not at the expense of giving up criteria that distinguish right ones from wrong ones. What exactly are Gadamer's grounds for denying the existence of a uniquely correct interpretation of a text, object, or event? I begin by showing the inadequacy of two arguments for his position. I then turn to a third more promising argument that objectivity is not possible because the object of understanding is not determinate, but rather constituted anew by each act of understanding. My goal in this paper is to provide a fuller justification for the third argument and thereby defend Gadamer's position. I do so by reformulating this third argument in terms of relational properties so as to establish that the knower's situatedness plays, as Gadamer himself insists, a positive, constitutive role in the process of understanding. The Relational Properties Approach to a Theory of Interpretation :: Gadamer Philosophy Philosophical Essays The Relational Properties Approach to a Theory of Interpretation ABSTRACT: This paper reexamines the central thesis of Gadamer’s theory of interpretation that objectivity is not a suitable ideal for understanding a text, historical event or cultural phenomenon because there exists no one correct interpretation of such phenomena. Because Gadamer fails to make clear the grounds for this claim, I consider three possible arguments. The first, predominant in the secondary literature, is built on the premise that we cannot surpass our historically situated prejudgments. I reject this argument as insufficient. I also reject a second argument concerning the heuristics of understanding. I then articulate a third argument that the object of understanding changes according to the conditions under which it is grasped. I appeal to the notion of relational properties to make sense of this claim and to defend it against two objections: (i) that it conflates meaning and significance; and (ii) that it is saddled with an indefensible relativism. Gadamer's theory of philosophical hermeneutics amounts to a sustained argument for a view that one might call "anti-objectivism" or "interpretive pluralism." (1) This view holds that in understanding a text, historical event, cultural phenomenon or perhaps anything at all, objectivity is not a suitable ideal because there does not exist any one correct interpretation of the phenomenon under investigation. In Gadamer's words, "understanding is not merely a reproductive but always a productive activity as well" (G 280; E 296); it is a "fusion of horizons" of the past and present, objective and subjective (G 289; E 306). At the same time, Gadamer wants to steer clear of an "anything-goes" relativism. In other words, in Gadamer's view, understanding is a process that invites and even demands a plurality of interpretations, but not at the expense of giving up criteria that distinguish right ones from wrong ones. What exactly are Gadamer's grounds for denying the existence of a uniquely correct interpretation of a text, object, or event? I begin by showing the inadequacy of two arguments for his position. I then turn to a third more promising argument that objectivity is not possible because the object of understanding is not determinate, but rather constituted anew by each act of understanding. My goal in this paper is to provide a fuller justification for the third argument and thereby defend Gadamer's position. I do so by reformulating this third argument in terms of relational properties so as to establish that the knower's situatedness plays, as Gadamer himself insists, a positive, constitutive role in the process of understanding.

Claude-Achille Debussy Essay -- Music

The task of giving an overview of the life of Claude-Achille Debussy is not easy. Without hesitation, this dynamic character made courageous strides that pushed the limitations of music to another level. His ultimate goal was not to be glorified through fame but to find his own unique voice, or the ‘musique a moi’. Even though his goal was to create his own unique sound, he had many influences, such as art, literature, and Wagner, that guided him in the creation of his style. Regardless of his teachers protestations and fellow peers’ critiques, he experimented with different sounds in music. When listening to Debussy’s music, one can clearly tell that it belongs to Debussy because of his use of different harmonies, rhythms, the pentatonic and whole tone scale, and his instrumentation. Claude Debussy was born in Saint Germain en Laye, France on August 22nd, 1862 the oldest of five children. His father, Manuel-Achille Debussy, had dreams for his son to be a sailor. Those dreams were dashed aside when Claude-Achille took his first piano lessons. With help from his aunt Clementine, Claude-Achille received piano lessons with an Italian violinist Jean Cerutti. When his father saw that he could play the piano, Manuel’s dreams quickly changed to hopes of Claude becoming a virtuosic pianist. From there he was entrusted to Verlaine’s mother-in-law, who enrolled Claude into the Paris Conservatoire at the young age of ten years old. Claude’s years at the Paris Conservatoire not only taught him the fundamentals of music, but it also provided an environment where Claude could experiment with different dissonant chords and techniques which can be heard in his compositions. â€Å"In Marmontel’s piano class he used to astound us with his bizarre... ..., who would invent characters belonging to no particular time or place; who would not despotically impose on me actions to be depicted and would leave me free, here and there, to surpass him in matters of art and to fill out his work.† Works Cited Berry, Wallace. Musical Structure and Performance. New Haven: Yale UP, 1989. Print. Briscoe, James R. Debussy in Performance. New Haven [Conn.: Yale UP, 1999. Print. "Claude Debussy." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 July 2012. Web. 08 Apr. 2012. . Lockspeiser, Edward. Debussy: His Life and Mind. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan, 1962. Print. Lockspeiser, Edward. Debussy: His Life and Mind. Vol. 2. London: Cassell, 1965. Print. Lockspeiser, Edward. Debussy. London: J.M. Dent & Sons, 1966. Print. Nichols, Roger. The Life of Debussy. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998. Print.

LOreal Case Study :: essays research papers

Recognizing the increasing rate of obesity in both children and adults Effortless Innovations, was founded with the goal of decreasing the obesity rate of both children and adults by providing quality exercise equipment for both children and their parents that promote physical activity both indoors and outdoors. Due to the recent increase in the popularity of video games, our company is forced to compete with them in order to make our products more appealing to our target market. It is a trampoline that is surrounded by a protective covering to prevent accidental injury. The jump-o- line also has a carb counter as well as a CD player featured on the side so that you can keep track of how much fat you are burning as well as have music to entertain yourself. The jump-o-line is available in different sizes the standard being 12 foot but 10 and 14 foot also available. We would be targeting parents as well as children. The jump-o-line would be to promote parents and children exercising outdoors together. We would try to make this product as affordable as possible in order to encourage its usage by people from every economic background. One demographic factor that we are taking in to consideration is age; the group that we are targeting is children ages 8-13. We would be targeting the southern and western states because of their warmer climate, which makes our product ideal for outside fun for the entire family. Children and Parents are increasingly overweight; this would promote physical activity as well as encourage parents and children to play, interact and exercise together. Consumers of all races as economic classes could benefit from this product. However, we would be targeting the individuals and families in the working class. The trampoline is a product that is already in existence but we believe that with a few minor changes (CD player and carbohydrate counter) the Jump-o-line will boost the popularity with children. The major competitors to the Jump-o-line are the other trampoline providers such as: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  38† Mini Trampoline available at Goods and Deeds for $29.99 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jumpking 15’ Trampoline and Trampoline enclosure available at Elite Deals for $549.95 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Land Trampoline 12’available at KB toys for $199.99 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Trampoline plus Enclosure Combo available at JCPenny for $299.99 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gaiam Trampoline- Yoga Yoga Gear available at Wal-Mart for $99.95 All of the current competitors sell the idea of fun and excitement. However, the Jump-o-line offers much more and in some cases a more reasonable price.

Global Internet Censorship

What aspects of the internet make global censorship difficult? Why might a government be inclined to impose internet censorship on its citizens? Is global internet censorship moral? Internet Censorship has been a topic of much debate and growing concern in the past decade. According to the OpenNet Initiative, the number of countries seeking to control access of content on the internet has been rising rapidly (Documenting Internet Content Filtering Worldwide n. d). Reporters Without Borders published a list of thirteen countries as ‘internet enemies’ in 2006. The list consisted of Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam (List of the 13 Internet Enemies in 2006 Published 2006). The Chinese government has restricted internet access so heavily that it is called the ‘Great Firewall of China’ (Healy, 2007: 158). Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) also have heavy restrictions on gambling, pornography, homosexuality and anti-Islamic sites. According to the OpenNet Initiative, the four main reasons why a government imposes censorship are securing Intellectual Property (IP) rights, protecting national security, preserving cultural norms and religious value and shielding children from pornography and exploitation (Documenting Internet Content Filtering Worldwide n. d). Global censorship may not be as easy as it sounds. Many aspects of the internet make global censorship difficult. The absence of a centralized hub is one of the main reasons why global internet censorship may not be feasible. As of now only individual countries have imposed censorships through their Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The internet is extremely vast and there is no way people can be employed to check on every single content that is put up on the web. Automated checking tools are not as effective and can only filter content to some extent. The internet is a many-to-many media and people all around the world can post web pages. It is thus quite difficult for one agency or government to curb all activities on the internet that may be deemed offensive to them. Along with all its benefits the internet also brings with itself a lot of harms. Hacking, identity theft, pedophilia etc are just some of them. In September 2006, Time. com reported that Brazilian prosecutors claimed that a number of pedophiles, anti-Semites and racists lurk around the country’s most popular social networking site, Google’s orkut (Downie, A. 2006). There has been a recent uproar in Dubai, regarding orkut where some members of the public questioned why the site was not banned and that certain communities were posting immoral material. Dubai-based lawyer Abdul Hamid Al Kumity, of Al Kumity Advocates, said according to Article 15 of the UAE's cyber crime laws, people risked a jail term of between six months and three years, and a fine of up to Dh30,000, for making, constructing, exhibiting, showing, circulating, inducing or impelling people to watch a website with obscene, immoral, pornographic or erotic material. Article 15(4) puts those who publicise suc h websites for others to watch or attract people to such websites at risk of a fine or a jail term. According to Article 13, anybody who allows youngsters to access such websites or helps them in viewing them will be punished with a fine or a jail term of up to five years’ (Bardsley 2007). Thus after a huge public uproar, orkut has been blocked by the country’s most popular ISP – Etisalat. The main reasons why a government might be inclined to impose internet censorship on its citizens are to protect the regional moral values, to protect children and to protect the country. Preserving moral values of the country would include the censorship of any site deemed offensive in the context of religion, culture and relationships. Homosexuality is considered an offence in the UAE and all sites related to the topic are blocked in the region. Most dating service sites are also blocked. Anti-Islamic and Pro-Christian sites such as those preaching conversion to Christianity are also blocked by the ISPs. The second reason of protecting children would include keeping adult content from children and keeping the children safe from paedophiles. National security is the other main reason why a country would be forced to impose internet censorship. The political sentiments of a country are likely to be kept a secret by the government. On the other hand we do have countries like China whose suppression of important information has led to not only national but international problems. ‘The SARS crisis in 2004, and the contamination of the Songhua River in 2006, which affected millions of lives in China and Russia, serve as particularly deadly examples’ (New HRIC Report Details State Secrets System 2007). Terrorism is another reason. The governments of most countries are keeping a strict watch out for any material posted on the internet linking to terrorism. ‘The National Institute of Justice defines computer crime as any illegal act for which knowledge of computer technology is used to commit the offence’ (Stamatellos 2007:11). On the fifth of July 2007, three â€Å"cyber-jihadis† who used the internet to urge Muslims to wage holy war on non-believers were jailed for between six-and-a-half and ten years in the first case of its kind on Britain (Gulf News, 2007:20). The governments also censor content to protect the political sentiments of the country. In Belarus, for example, ‘in March 2006, several websites critical of President Alexandre Lukashenko mysteriously disappeared from the Internet for several days’ (List of the 13 Internet Enemies in 2006 Published 2006). Similar acts by the governments are seen in most other countries listed by the Reporters Without Borders. Governments also impose censorship so that none of its secrets are disclosed. The governments do so to control and maintain their power. People around the world, adults and teenagers alike have created virtual characters or avatars for online gaming purposes. Sites like ‘Xfire’ and games like ‘World of WarCraft’ have people from around the world addicted. These games have led to crimes in the real and virtual worlds. There was an incident of a murder in Shanghai over a virtual sword used in the online game ‘Legend of Mir 3’. When the dispute had started between the two individuals, the authorities were informed but they could not acknowledge virtual properties. In South Korea these kinds of violence and murders are so common that the police call it ‘offline PK’ which stands for offline player killing. The game ‘Lineage: The Blood Pledge’ is so popular in South Korea that the number of acts of violence aggravated by this game came to a point where the authorities had to create a special cyber-crime unit to patrol both online and offline. These interventions of the government are totally justifiable since the safety of the public is at stake. ‘Kantian ethics is the moral theory of Immanuel Kant or any theory that ncorporates some of Kant’s central claims or claims similar to Kant’s. Kant’s most basic claim is that nothing can be conceived to be good unconditionally and without qualification except a good will’ (Werhane et al. , 1998: 356). From the Kantian perspective, internet censorship is legal in the sense that the government is only protecting its citizens from possible harms an d other data that maybe be deemed sensitive or offensive as far as the religion or the governing body of that country is concerned. In the above mentioned example of setting up online communities on orkut in Dubai, most people in Dubai do not know the laws against it and they think that they are anonymous on the Internet whereas that is not the case. The government can get the IP addresses from Google server and track down the person easily. Since the main intention of the government is to protect the people, from the Kantianism point of view, internet censorship is moral. Contractarianism has been identified to have its origins from Plato’s ‘Republic’ (Sayre-McCord, 2000: 247). Social Contract Theory which is a part of contractarianism is based on rights. People have a right to information which is blocked by the government. Along with offensive sites, the governments also block sites which may be educational or useful otherwise. The government of UAE, for example, has blocked Yahoo’s web album site Flickr due to some indecent content, but most people use the site to share photographs with friends and family around the world. In addition to right to privacy internet censorship denies people their freedom of expression. According to a report by Reporters Without Borders, 52 people in China were in prison for expressing themselves too freely online at the time of publishing the report (List of the 13 Internet Enemies in 2006 Published 2006). Thus self-censorship would also be in full-force, in addition to all the other governmental censorship. From the citizen’s perspective, evaluating with the social contract theory, global internet censorship is immoral. Frey defines Act-Utilitarianism as a view that ‘an act is right if its consequences are at least as good as those of any alternative’ (2000: 165). The main advantages of global internet censorship may be protecting children from inappropriate content, protecting moral values of the general public, protecting individual countries and their political sentiments and securing IP rights. The main harms may include the fact that important information that the public deserves to know may be with held. Secondly blocking sites such as Flickr due to some explicit content may not be justified keeping in consideration the public at large because most people use it to share photos with their kith and kin around the world. Thirdly sometimes biological information may be with held because it is deemed explicit. Sometimes sites related to topics that are acceptable in some countries may be blocked because they are considered offensive in other countries. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) sites such as skype was banned by the UAE’s ISP Etisalat so that the people are forced to use their telephone for long distance calls and they would not lose out on their profits. This is also a harm in the sense that the government is denying the public of new technology for monetary benefit. Since the harms of internet censorship outweigh their benefits, internet censorship is immoral. ‘Rule-consequentialism holds that any code of rules is to be evaluated in terms of how much good could reasonably be expected to result from the code’ and good stands for whatever has non-instrumental value (Hooker, 2000:183). According to him Utilitarians are the most prominent type of consequentialists and they believe that utility is the only thing with non-instrumental value. ‘The term â€Å"rule-utilitarianism† is usually used to refer to theories that evaluate acts in terms of rules selected for their utility – i. . for their effects on social well-being’ (Hooker, 2000: 185). From the rule-utilitarian point of view, the main benefits remain the same, securing IPs, protecting political sentiments, protecting children and protecting religious and moral values. The harms, on the other hand, are violation of the public’s right to information , their right to freedom of expression, their right to decide for themselves as to what is right and what is wrong and their right to new technology. Moreover in a few years time, it is possible that people will be relying completely on the internet for news and entertainment. So the laws pertaining to newspapers should be applicable to the internet as well. Thus since the harms outweigh the benefits, global internet censorship is immoral from the Rule-Utilitarian perspective. We have seen that all countries do not filter the same content. When China filters out all pro-democracy sites, the concept is unthinkable of by most other countries. When homosexuality and same-sex marriages are acceptable in countries like UK and some states of the US, it is looked down upon by most other parts of the world. Thus filtering these content on the internet may not be accepted by all. What may be normal in some countries may be completely offensive in some other. Therefore global internet censorship is not a panacea. References Bardsley,D. , 2007. Orkut users should report offensive material. Gulf News, 4 July. p. 2. Downie, A. , 2006. Google and the Pedophiles. Time [online] 6th September, Available: http://www. time. com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1531986,00. html, [cited 4th July 2007] Frey, R. G. , 2000 ‘Act-Utilitarianism’ in The Blackwell Guide to Ethical Theory [e-book] ed. Lafollette, H. Blackwell Publishers, Malden Massachusetts USA, pp. 165-182 Available: http://www. etlibrary. com [cited 29th June 2007] Healy, S. , 2007. ‘The great firewall of China. (Looking at the Law)’ Social Education [online] 71(3), p 158 Available from Expanded Academic ASAP via Thomson Gale http://www. galegroup. com [cited 28th June 2007] Hooker, B. , 2000 ‘Rule Consequentialism’ in The Blackwell Guide to Ethical Theory [e-book] ed. Lafolle tte, H. Blackwell Publishers, Malden Massachusetts USA, pp. 183-204 Available: http://www. netlibrary. com [cited 29th June 2007] N. A, 1998 The Blackwell Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Business Ethics [e-book] ed. Werhane, P H. & Freeman R. E. Blackwell Publishers, Malden Massachusetts USA p. 356 Available: http://www. netlibrary. com [cited 29th June 2007] N. A, 2006, ‘List of the 13 Internet Enemies in 2006 Published’, Reporters without Borders [online], 7th November, Available: http://www. rsf. org/article. php3? id_article=19603 [cited 6th July 2007] N. A. , 2007, ‘New HRIC Report Details State Secrets System’ Human Rights in China [online] 12 June Available:http://hrichina. org/public/contents/press? revision%5fid=41505%5fid=41500 [cited 4th July 2007] N. A. , 2007, ‘Three jailed for using Web to wage war’ Gulf News 6 July. . 20. N. A. , n d ‘Documenting Internet Content Filtering Worldwide’ OpenNet Initiative [online] Available:http://www. opennetinitiative. org/modules. php? op=modload=Sections=index=viewarticle=1 [cited 20th June 2007] Sayre-McCord, G. , 2000 ‘Contractarianism’ in The Blackwell Guide to Ethical Theory [e-book] ed. Lafollette, H. Black well Publishers, Malden Massachusetts USA, pp. 247-267 Available: http://www. netlibrary. com [cited 29th June 2007] Stamatellos, G. , 2007, Computer Ethics, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Massachusetts, USA. p. 11.

Cultural Sensivity Essay

The manner in which color is employed in an international context is a significant factor which is frequently maltreated or neglected by the developers of Web sites and instructional material. What is more, its application is even more complicated due to the notion that perception of color is conditioned not merely by one’s physical competence to see it. It is even more important for a designer to understand the meaning of a color in terms of cultural preferences. Following are some recommendations in regards to the world’s attitudes toward the basic colors. So, the developer of a site oriented on an international viewer should keep in mind that blue is the best-tolerated color worldwide. Blue is one of the colors that is unobjected in the majority of ethnical traditions. Therefore, a designer can employ it for all sorts of sites, no matter what its audience, purpose, or placement are. In regards to the pleasant perception of this color specialists state that on our planet you cannot find anything that would be isolated from the surroundings – that is, excluding the sky. This may be the cause for prevailing religious beliefs place their deity somewhere above, while evil usually resides under the ground. There is a group of colors that possess somewhat indistinct characteristics and meanings. Among those one should mention pink. When developing sites for citizens of East India, it is recommended to avoid pale version of this color for the reason that male audience consider it as having a feminine attribute. In some states, on the other hand, representatives of both genders favor pastels; the perfect example is Japan. But the most important category for the designer to remember is the group of unsafe colors. The most noteworthy example is purple, which is received negatively in all around the world. Catholic-dominated countries, for example, have this color as a representation of death and crucifixion. Moreover, it symbolizes mystical teachings and practices that oppose the tenets of Christianism, Judaism and Muslimism. It is crucial for instructional designers to realize that all material is unseparatable from culture. Thus, Web site developers must take some special aspects of culture like, for example, color preferances, and integrate them into the project in order to create culturally sensitive presentation. Reference List 1. Design at Work Leaning Network. (April 2003). A brief introduction to information design. Retrieved on February 23, 2007, from http://http://www. christiania. edu/iforum/iforum/ePaper_no_4_3003. pdf.