Sunday, December 22, 2019

The Death Penalty Is Not Ethical - 1855 Words

It is clear in our society that violent crimes, such as murder, should carry some sort of stiffer punishment than that of other, lesser crimes. What is not clear is what that punishment should be. One punishment that is a constant source of debate is the death penalty. In this paper, I will examine whether the death penalty is or is not ethical. Both sides of the issue will be explained, through examination of various aspects of it, which include religious and financial considerations, whether the death penalty is a deterrent or not, and whether or not it can be regarded as justice. I submit that the death penalty is an ethical and equitable punishment for murderers, and should be used throughout our country. The seemingly greatest amount of debate comes from a religious standpoint. Depending on whose interpretation one hears, the Bible is for or against capital punishment. Verses from The Bible are used by both sides of the argument to support their own beliefs. The United S tates is made up of numerous different religious cultures. A sample of a few official policies from some denominations’ web sites shows an almost fifty-fifty split for and against. For example, the Assemblies of God (USA) do not take a stance for or against the death penalty. The same is true for the Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints, who say that it should be left to â€Å"†¦the prescribed processes of civil law.†(November 28, 2011). The Catholic catechism posted on their web siteShow MoreRelatedIs The Death Penalty Ethical? Essay934 Words   |  4 Pages A Test of Faith: Is the Death Penalty Ethical? Growing up in the United States has been the biggest blessing because it is recognized as the most fortunate country in the world. The U.S. represents freedom and would do anything to serve justice for those that have been victimized. Even those that have been accused of being guilty for committing horrendous crimes, our country still promises them their constitutional rights. Because of having parents in law enforcement since before I was even bornRead MoreDeath Penalty : An Ethical Dilemma1184 Words   |  5 Pages Death Penalty: An Ethical Dilemma Philosophy branch which streamlines, protects and guides the concepts of being correct or incorrect is referred as Ethics. People learn this concept from their parents who got it from their parents and it is a chain. However philosophers claim that it is people’s belief which decide ethics along with human intuition. An individual at singular level conscientiously decides what is right and wrong and define a limit of pushing ethical behaviour and moralityRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is Justified And Ethical1190 Words   |  5 Pagesdrugs had been administered. This occurrence expanded the widespread dispute over the death penalty. People began to acknowledge the risks involved with executions. In fact, a poll last year showed that 62% of Americans believed the death penalty was acceptable, but in the past year, the poll dropped to 50%. The government should take notice of these polls and reconsider if the death penalty is justified and ethical. In one year, the percentage of people in support of executions dropped 10%, and thatRead More Is the Death Penalty Ethical? Essay1235 Words   |  5 Pagescontroversial topics. One of those topics is the death penalty. When a question is raised on such a topic, there are many ideas that are sparked. One controversial question that people ponder on is; is the death penalty an ethical way of reducing crime? It is interesting not only to see different opinions but to see data that supports and complements those opinions. Searching for information I came across three different arguments concerning the topic of the death penalty and its ability to reduce crime ethicallyRead MoreEthical Issues On Death Penalty1864 Words   |  8 PagesResearch Paper: Ethical Issues On Death Penalty It is surprising to me how many people are actually pro capital punishment. For those who aren t too sure what capital punishment really is, it is the execution of a criminal who is legally convicted of a capital crime (i.e. murder). Even though the death penalty is the best way to punish criminals of their heinous crimes, I believe it is unethical because it is inhumane and hypocritical, it s way too costly, also, most criminals put on death row have psychologicalRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is An Ethical Practice1111 Words   |  5 PagesJordan Alford Mrs. Blake PreAP English II - 6th 4 April 2016 The Death Penalty According to the Death Penalty Information Center, there has been a total of 1,434 executions since 1978 (Part I). The death penalty is the penalization of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime (Part I). According to DPIC, there are 5 ways to do execution. Lethal injection (1977), electric chair (1888), gas chamber (1924), hanging (1890), and the firing squad (2010) all have a historyRead MoreThe Ethical Dilemma Of The Death Penalty1814 Words   |  8 Pages17 The Ethical Dilemma of the Death Penalty as Viewed From a Utilitarianist and a Deontologist Viewpoint There are many ethical issues that beset our society in this day and age. This paper will discuss the ethological dilemma of the death penalty from the perspective of the philosophical outlooks of Utilitarianism and Deontology, present arguments in light of both, and proceed to show why Deontology offers the best insights into the justification for the death penalty. The death penalty, also knownRead MoreIs Death Penalty Ethical? Or Should It Be Abolished?1717 Words   |  7 Pages Is Death Penalty Ethical? Or Should it be Abolished? Capital punishment, or death penalty is an ongoing controversial issue that has been discussed among people today. Different people view capital punishment differently. Some may oppose such punishment while others may agree with it. Some people have viewed capital punishment as a deterrence of crime, and others have seen it as murder and thus unethical. Despite the fact that over 135 countries across the world have prohibited the use ofRead MoreThe Ethical Ambiguity Concerning the Death Penalty Essay1289 Words   |  6 Pages The question of ethical behavior is an age-old conundrum. The prevailing issue with ethics is that it is extremely difficult to measure. A person’s moral fabric is largely based on their particular personality traits, as well as, their psychological state and environmental influences. Many believe that ethics are tied to a person’s conscience, and that good morals are often facilitated by a strong religious background. Furthermore, a personâ€℠¢s moral development can be linked to their economic situationRead MoreIs the Death Penalty Ethical? Essay examples974 Words   |  4 Pagespeople were executed and this doesnt even include the unreported deaths. Decades ago, death penalty cases were not even to be reported in many times. For many years, people have been rationalize themselves for death penalty as an eye for an eye(2010).This eye for an eye statement is no longer giving any excuses for killing humans. The controversial idea of whether humans are rational enough to decide someones life or death has been questioned. Humans absolutely dont have any right to judge

Saturday, December 14, 2019

The Stupidest Angel Chapter 1 Free Essays

string(110) " to shock as the evil developer thwacked the Latin Santa-ette in the breadbasket with a satchel of minicubes\." This book is dedicated to MIKE SPRADLIN who said: â€Å"You know, you oughtta write a Christmas book.† To which I replied: â€Å"What kind of Christmas book?† To which he replied: â€Å"I don’t know. Maybe Christmas in Pine Cove or something. We will write a custom essay sample on The Stupidest Angel Chapter 1 or any similar topic only for you Order Now † To which I replied: † ‘Kay.† Acknowledgments The author wishes to acknowledge those who helped: as always, Nicholas Ellison, my intrepid agent; Jennifer Brehl, my brilliant editor; Lisa Gallagher and Michael Morrison for continued confidence in my ability to tell stories; Jack Womack and Leslie Cohen for getting me in front of my readers and the press; the Huffmans, for preparing a landing pad and a warm welcome; Charlee Rodgers, for the careful reads, thoughtful comments, and just putting up with the process; and finally, Taco Bob, from whom I joyfully (and with permission, which almost ruins it) swiped the idea for chapter 16. Author’s Warning If you’re buying this book as a gift for your grandma or a kid, you should be aware that it contains cusswords as well as tasteful depictions of cannibalism and people in their forties having sex. Don’t blame me. I told you. Chapter 1 CHRISTMAS CREEPS Christmas crept into Pine Cove like a creeping Christmas thing: dragging garland, ribbon, and sleigh bells, oozing eggnog, reeking of pine, and threatening festive doom like a cold sore under the mistletoe. Pine Cove, her pseudo-Tudor architecture all tarted up in holiday quaintage – twinkle lights in all the trees along Cypress Street, fake snow blown into the corner of every shop’s windows, miniature Santas and giant candles hovering illuminated beneath every streetlight – opened to the droves of tourists from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the Central Valley searching for a truly meaningful moment of Christmas commerce. Pine Cove, sleepy California coastal village – a toy town, really, with more art galleries than gas stations, more wine-tasting rooms than hardware stores – lay there, as inviting as a drunken prom queen, as Christmas loomed, only five days away. Christmas was coming, and with Christmas this year, would come the Child. Both were vast and irresistible, and miraculous. Pine Cove was expecting only one of the two. Which is not to say that the locals didn’t get into the Christmas spirit. The two weeks before and after Christmas provided a welcome wave of cash into the town’s coffers, tourist-starved since summer. Every waitress dusted off her Santa hat and clip-on reindeer antlers and checked to make sure that there were four good pens in her apron. Hotel clerks steeled themselves for the rage of last-minute overbookings, while housekeepers switched from their normal putrid baby-powder air fresheners to a more festive putrid pine and cinnamon. Down at the Pine Cove Boutique they put a â€Å"Holiday Special† sign on the hideous reindeer sweater and marked it up for the tenth consecutive year. The Elks, Moose, Masons, and VFWs, who were basically the same bunch of drunk old guys, planned furiously for their annual Christmas parade down Cypress Street, the theme of which this year would be Patriotism in the Bed of a Pickup (mainly because that had been the theme of their Fourt h of July parade and everyone still had the decorations). Many Pine Covers even volunteered to man the Salvation Army kettles down in front of the post office and the Thrifty-Mart in two-hour shifts, sixteen hours a day. Dressed in their red suits and fake beards, they rang their bells like they were going for dog-spit gold at the Pavlov Olympics. â€Å"Give up the cash, you cheap son of a bitch,† said Lena Marquez, who was working the kettle that Monday, five days before Christmas. Lena was following Dale Pearson, Pine Cove’s evil developer, through the parking lot, ringing the bejeezus out of him as he headed for his truck. On his way into the Thrifty-Mart, he’d nodded to her and said, â€Å"Catch you on the way out,† but when he emerged eight minutes later, carrying a sack of groceries and a bag of ice, he blew by her kettle like she was using it to render tallow from building inspectors’ butts and he needed to escape the stench. â€Å"It’s not like you can’t afford a couple of bucks for the less fortunate.† She rang her bell especially hard right by his ear and he spun around, swinging the bag of ice at her about hip level. Lena jumped back. She was thirty-eight, lean, dark-skinned, with the delicate neck and finely set jawline of a flamenco dancer; her long black hair was coiled into two Princess Leia cinnabuns on either side of her Santa hat. â€Å"You can’t take a swing at Santa! That’s wrong in so many ways that I don’t have time to enumerate them.† â€Å"You mean to count them,† Dale said, the soft winter sunlight glinting off a new set of veneers he’d just had installed on his front teeth. He was fifty-two, almost completely bald, and had strong carpenter’s shoulders that were still wide and square, despite the beer gut hanging below. â€Å"I mean it’s wrong – you’re wrong – and you’re cheap,† and with that Lena put the bell next to his ear again and shook it like a red-suited terrier shaking the life out of a screaming brass rat. Dale cringed at the sound and swung the ten-pound bag of ice in a great underhanded arc that caught Lena in the solar plexus and sent her backpedaling across the parking lot, gasping for breath. That’s when the ladies at BULGES called the cops – well, cop. BULGES was a women’s fitness center located just above the parking lot of the Thrifty-Mart, and from their treadmills and stair-climbing machines, the BULGES members could watch the ins and outs of the local market without feeling as if they were actively spying. So what had started as a moment of sheer glee and a mild adrenaline surge for the six of them who were watching as Lena chased Dale through the parking lot, turned quickly to shock as the evil developer thwacked the Latin Santa-ette in the breadbasket with a satchel of minicubes. You read "The Stupidest Angel Chapter 1" in category "Essay examples" Five of the six merely missed a step or gasped, but Georgia Bauman – who had her treadmill cranked up to eight miles per hour at that very moment, because she was trying to lose fifteen pounds by Christmas and fit into a red-sequined sheath cocktail dress her husband had bought for her in a fit of sexual idealism – bowled backward off her treadmill and lan ded in a colorful spandex tangle of yoga students who had been practicing on the mats behind her. â€Å"Ow, my ass chakra!† â€Å"That’s you’re root chakra.† â€Å"Feels like my ass.† â€Å"Did you see that? He nearly knocked her off her feet. Poor thing.† â€Å"Should we see if she’s all right?† â€Å"Someone should call Theo.† The exercisers opened their cell phones in unison, like the Jets flicking switchblades as they gaily danced into a West Side Story gang-fight to the death. â€Å"Why did she ever marry that guy, anyway?† â€Å"He’s such an asshole.† â€Å"She used to drink.† â€Å"Georgia, are you all right, honey?† â€Å"Can you get Theo by calling 911?† â€Å"That bastard is just going to drive off and leave her there » â€Å"We should go help.† â€Å"I’ve got twelve more minutes on this thing.† â€Å"The cell reception in this town is horrible.† â€Å"I have Theo’s number on speed dial, for the kids. Let me call.† â€Å"Look at Georgia and the girls. It looks like they were playing Twister and fell.† â€Å"Hello, Theo. This is Jane down at BULGES. Yes, well, I just glanced out the window here and I noticed that there might be a problem over at the Thrifty-Mart. Well, I don’t want to meddle, but let’s just say that a certain contractor just hit one of the Salvation Army Santas with a bag of ice. Well, I’ll look for your car, then.† She flipped the phone shut. â€Å"He’s on his way.† Theophilus Crowe’s mobile phone played eight bars of â€Å"Tangled Up in Blue† in an irritating electronic voice that sounded like a choir of suffering houseflies, or Jiminy Cricket huffing helium, or, well, you know, Bob Dylan – anyway, by the time he got the device open, five people in the produce section of the Thrifty-Mart were giving him the hairy eyeball hard enough to wilt the arugula right there in his cart. He grinned as if to say, Sorry, I hate these things, too, but what aw you gonna do? then he answered, â€Å"Constable Crowe,† just to remind everyone that he wasn’t dickmg around here, he was THE LAW. â€Å"In the parking lot of the Thrifty-Mart? Okay, I’ll be right there » Wow, this was convenient. One thing about being the resident lawman in a town of only five thousand people – you were never far from the trouble. Theo parked his cart on the end of the aisle and loped by the registers and out the automatic doors to the parking lot (He was a denim- and flannel-clad praying mantis of a man, six-six, one-eighty, and he only had three speeds, amble, lope, and still). Outside he found Lena Marquez doubled over and gasping for breath. Her ex-husband, Dale Pearson, was stepping into his four-wheel-drive pickup. â€Å"Right there, Dale. Wait,† Theo said Theo ascertained that Lena had only had the wind knocked out of her and was going to be okay, then addressed the stocky contractor, who had paused with one boot on the running board, as if he’d be on his way as soon as the hot air cleared out of the truck. â€Å"What happened here?† â€Å"The crazy bitch hit me with that bell of hers.† â€Å"Did not,† gasped Lena â€Å"I got a report you hit her with a bag of ice, Dale. That’s assault.† Dale Pearson looked around quickly and spotted the crowd of women gathered by the window over at the gym. They all looked away, heading for the various machines they had been on when the debacle unfolded. â€Å"Ask them. They’ll tell you she had that bell right upside my head. I just reacted out of self-defense.† â€Å"He said he’d donate when he came out of the store, then he didn’t,† Lena said, her breath coming back. â€Å"There’s an implied contract there. He violated it. And I didn’t hit him.† â€Å"She’s a fucking nutcase.† Dale said it like he was declaring water wet – like it was just understood. Theo looked from one of them to the other. He’d dealt with these two before, but thought it had all come to rest when they’d divorced five years ago. (He’d been constable of Pine Cove for fourteen years – he’d seen the wrong side of a lot of couples.) First rule in a domestic situation was separate the parties, but that appeared to have already been accomplished. You weren’t supposed to take sides, but since Theo had a soft spot for nutcases – he’d married one himself – he decided to make a judgment call and focus his attention on Dale. Besides, the guy was an asshole. Theo patted Lena’s back and loped over to Dale’s truck. â€Å"Don’t waste your time, hippie,† Dale said. â€Å"I’m done.† He climbed into his truck and closed the door. Hippie? Theo thought. Hippie? He’d cut his ponytail years ago. He’d stopped wearing Birkenstocks. He’d even stopped smoking pot. Where did this guy get off calling him a hippie? Hippie? he said to himself, then: â€Å"Hey!† Dale started his truck and put it into gear. Theo stepped up on the running board, leaned over the windshield, and started tapping on it with a quarter he’d fished from his jeans pocket. â€Å"Don’t leave, Dale.† Tap, tap, tap. â€Å"You leave now, I’ll put a warrant out for your arrest.† Tap, tap, tap. Theo was pissed now – he was sure of it. Yes, this was definitely anger now. Dale threw the truck into park and hit the electric window button. â€Å"What? What do you want?† â€Å"Lena wants to press charges for assault – maybe assault with a deadly weapon. I think you’d better rethink leaving right now.† â€Å"Deadly weapon? It was a bag of ice.† Theo shook his head, affected a whimsical storyteller’s tone: â€Å"A ten-pound bag of ice. Listen, Dale, as I drop a ten-pound block of ice on the courtroom floor in front of the jury. Can you hear it? Can’t you just see the jury cringe as I smash a honeydew melon on the defense attorney’s table with a ten-pound block of ice? Not a deadly weapon? ‘Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this man, this reprobate, this redneck, this – if I may – clump-filled-cat-box-of-a-man, struck a defenseless woman – a woman who out of the kindness of her heart was collecting for the poor, a woman who was only – ; â€Å"But it’s not a block of ice, it’s –  » Theo raised a finger in the air. â€Å"Not another word, Dale, not until I read you your rights.† Theo could tell he was getting to Dale – veins were starting to pulse in the contractor’s temples and his bald head was turning bright pink. Hippie, huh? â€Å"Lena is definitely pressing charges, aren’t you, Lena?† Lena had made her way to the side of the truck. â€Å"No,† Lena said. â€Å"Bitch!† Theo said – it slipped out before he could stop himself. He’d been on such a roll. â€Å"See how she is,† said Dale. â€Å"Wish you had a bag of ice now, don’t you, hippie?† â€Å"I’m an officer of the law,† Theo said, wishing he had a gun or something. He pulled his badge wallet out of his back pocket but decided that was a little late for ID, since he’d known Dale for nearly twenty years. â€Å"Yeah, and I’m a Caribou,† Dale said, with more pride than he really should have had about that. â€Å"I’ll forget all about it if he puts a hundred bucks in the kettle,† Lena said. â€Å"You’re nuts, woman.† â€Å"It’s Christmas, Dale.† â€Å"Fuck Christmas and fuck you.† â€Å"Hey, there’s no need for that kind of talk, Dale,† Theo said, going for the peace in peace officer. â€Å"You can just step out of the truck.† â€Å"Fifty bucks in the kettle and he can go,† Lena said. â€Å"It’s for the needy.† Theo whipped around and looked at her. â€Å"You can’t plea-bargain in the parking lot of the Thrifty-Mart. I had him on the ropes.† â€Å"Shut up, hippie,† Dale said. Then to Lena, â€Å"You’ll take twenty and the needy can get bent. They can get a job like the rest of us.† Theo was sure he had handcuffs in the Volvo – or were they still on the bedpost at home? â€Å"That is not the way we –  » â€Å"Forty!† Lena shouted. â€Å"Done!† Dale said. He pulled two twenties from his wallet, wadded them up, and threw them out the window so they bounced off of Theo Crowe’s chest. He threw the truck in gear and backed out. â€Å"Stop right there!† Theo commanded. Dale righted the truck and took off. As the big red pickup passed Theo’s Volvo station wagon, parked twenty yards up the lot, a bag of ice came flying out the window and exploded against the Volvo’s tailgate, showering the parking lot with cubes but otherwise doing no damage whatsoever. â€Å"Merry Christmas, you psycho bitch!† Dale shouted out the window as he turned onto the street. â€Å"And to all a good night! Hippie!† Lena had tucked the wadded bills into her Santa suit and was squeezing Theo’s shoulder as the red truck roared out of sight. â€Å"Thanks for coming to my rescue, Theo.† â€Å"Not much of a rescue. You should press charges.† â€Å"I’m okay. He’d have gotten out of it anyway, he has great lawyers. Trust me, I know. Besides, forty bucks'† â€Å"That’s the Christmas spirit,† Theo said, not able to keep from smiling. â€Å"You sure you’re okay?† â€Å"I’m fine. It’s not the first time he’s lost it with me.† She patted the pocket of her Santa suit. â€Å"At least something came of this.† She started back to her kettle and Theo followed. â€Å"You have a week to file charges if you change your mind,† Theo said. â€Å"You know what, Theo? I really don’t want to spend another Christmas obsessing on what a complete waste of humanity Dale Pearson is. I’d rather let it go. Maybe if we’re lucky he’ll be one of those holiday fatalities we’re always hearing about† â€Å"That would be nice,† said Theo. â€Å"Now who’s in the Christmas spirit?† In another Christmas story, Dale Pearson, evil developer, self-absorbed woman hater, and seemingly unredeemable curmudgeon, might be visited in the night by a series of ghosts who, by showing him bleak visions of Christmas future, past, and present, would bring about in him a change to generosity, kindness, and a general warmth toward his fellow man But this is not that kind of Christmas story, so here, in not too many pages, someone is going to dispatch the miserable son of a bitch with a shovel. That’s the spirit of Christmas yet to come in these parts. Ho, ho, ho. How to cite The Stupidest Angel Chapter 1, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

The Architect That Inspired Me the Most free essay sample

In a way we could humbly express the concept of what we design of a particular structure which I believe is really what architecture is all about. It is part of our journey to look up some of the famous and brilliant architects like Frank Lloyd Wright, whose works were so impressive that it could inspire me more to become not only just an ordinary one, but a brilliant one as well. Frank Lloyd Wright was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin on June 8, 1867. His parents were William Cary Wright and Anna Lloyd-Jones. When he was helve years old, Wrights family settled in Madison, Wisconsin where he attended Madison High School.During summers spent on his Uncle James Lloyd Jones farm in Spring Green, Wisconsin, Wright first began to realize his dream of becoming an architect. In 1885 at the age of fourteen years old, he left Madison without finishing high school to work for Allan Conniver, the Dean of the University of Wisconsin Engineering department. We will write a custom essay sample on The Architect That Inspired Me the Most or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Since the university of Wisconsin had no course in architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright spent n. ;vow semesters studying civil engineering before moving to Chicago and ceded to go to work in some real architects office in 1888.In Chicago, he worked for architect Joseph Lyman Sessile in six years. Wright drafted the construction of his first building the Lloyd-Jones family chapel, also known as unity Chapel. One year later, he went to work for the firm of Adler and Sullivan, directly under Louis Sullivan. Wright adapted Sullivan maxim Form Follows Function to his own revised theory of Form and Function Are One. Then later believed and developed a theory that American Architecture should be based on American function, not European traditions.Throughout his life, Wright acknowledged very few influences but credits Sullivan as a primary influence on his career. His works and design were organically spatial which means characterized as radical and conscious with surrounding natural environment. Wright had a style of his own, mimicking that of a horizontal plane, with no basements or attics. Built with natural materials and never painted, Wright utilized low- pitched roofline with deep overhangs and uninterrupted walls of windows to merge the horizontal homes into their environments. He added large stone or Rick fireplaces in the homes heart, and made the rooms open to one another. His simplistic houses served as an inspiration to the Prairie School, a name given to a group of architects whose style was indigenous of Midwestern architecture. Wright gained an appreciation for nature, particularly Midwestern nature, from working on his uncles Wisconsin farm during his teenage summers. There he could observe the horizontal line of the land, the line that he considered domestic and democratic and freeing.It would signify comfort, a quality that Wright wanted to characterize his alluding, particularly his houses. To this end Wrights Prairie Style house typically features a large, centrally-placed fireplace, a hearth that grounds the house and becomes its focus. Frequently he designed benches on either side of it, in effect creating a room within a room. In at least one instance he elevated this space from the rest of the area and set it off by a series of arches. Also Frank Lloyd Wright employed design that to the natural environment and honesty of material use which merges for a unified character.Most the building materials that were used in Prairie Style homes ere simple. Some examples of this material were: plaster (stucco), wood and brick. Its aim was to develop sympathy and inclination towards the design, aesthetic or beauty and ideals of the art crafts movement. Also to produce an indigenous North American style architecture with minimal European influence. One of his highlights was also the Suasion concept the word Sunnis is an abbreviation for United States of North America. Designed to control costs, Wrights Suasion houses had no attics, no basements, and little ornamentation as being said earlier. Frank Lloyd Wright aspired to create a emigration, distinctly American style that was affordable for the common people or the middle class and designed to be run without servants. Suasion architecture grew out of Frank Lloyd Wrights earlier Prairie style homes. Both styles featured low and flat roofs, large cantilevered overhangs for passive solar heating, natural cooling and natural lighting with clerestory windows.Both styles made abundant use of brick, wood, and other natural material. However, Wrights Suasion homes were small; one-story Structures set on concrete slabs with piping for radiant heat beneath, had L-shaped plans to accommodate a garden terrace with indigenous materials. The kitchens called workspaces by Wright were incorporated into the adjoined the dining and living areas. Bedrooms were typically isolated and relatively small, encouraging the family to gather in the main living areas. Also open car ports took the place of garages.The conception of spaces instead of rooms was a development of the Prairie ideal as the built-in furnishings related to the Arts and Crafts principles from which Wrights early works grew. Spatially and in terms of their construction, the Suasion houses represented a new model for independent living, and allowed dozens of clients to live in a Wright-designed house at relatively low cost. The diversity of the Illusion ideal can be seen in houses such as the Gregory S. And Elizabeth B. Fleck House. His Suasion homes set a new style for suburban design that was a feature of countless developers.Many features of modern American homes date back to Wright, including open plans, slab-on-grade foundations, and simplified construction techniques that allowed more mechanization and efficiency in building. Over the next 20 years Wrights influence continued to grow in popularity in he United States and Europe. Eventually his innovative building style spread overseas. In 1915, Wright was commissioned to design the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. It was during this time that Wright began to develop and refine his architectural and sociological philosophies.Because Wright disliked the urban environment, his buildings also developed a style quite different from other architects of the time. He utilized natural materials, skylights and walls of windows to embrace the natural environment. He built skyscrapers that mimicked trees, with a central trunk and many branches projecting outward. He proclaimed that shapes found in the environment should be not only integrated, but should become the basis of American architecture. A great example is the Larkin Company Administration Building in Buffalo, New York and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City which resembles the structure of a shell or a snail.He also included external influences like the knowledge about Japanese art and architecture, Wright first traveled to Japan in 1905, where he bought hundreds of prints. The following year, he helped organize the worlds first retrospective exhibition of works by Hiroshige, held at the Art Institute of Chicago. For many years, he was a major presence in the Japanese art world, selling a great number of works to prominent collectors such as John Spaulding of Boston, and to prominent museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He penned a book on Japanese art in 1912. Frank Lloyd Wright spent more than 70 years creating designs that revolutionized the art and was considered as one Of the most influential and imaginative architects of the twentieth century. Many innovations in todays buildings are products of his imagination. In all he designed 1 141 works including houses, offices, churches, schools, libraries, bridges, museums and many other building types. Of that total, 532 resulted in completed works, 409 of which still stand. However, Wrights creative mind was not confined to architecture.He also designed furniture, fabrics, art glass, lamps, dinnerware, silver, linens and graphic arts. In addition, he was a prolific writer, an educator and a philosopher. He authored twenty books and countless articles, lectured throughout the United States and in Europe, and developed a remarkable plan for decentralization urban America that continues to be debated by scholars and writers even to this day decades after its conception. One example of a building may have been influenced by his principles is the Main Building at the university of Santos Atoms.This unique and impressive structure is a famous landmark in the City, designed by the Dominican priest and engineer; FRR. Rogue Uriah it was completed on July 2, 1927. It has the distinction of being the first earthquake-proof building in the country. The building is composed of 40 independent structures separated from one another by a gap of one inch which is filled with loose cement. One of these trustees rises beyond the level of the fourth floor to form the tower, at the top of which is a Cross. This tower and cross can be seen from many parts of the city.The Main Building of the Leistering of Santos Atoms functions as the universitys administrative center and home of the Faculty of Civil Law, Faculty of Pharmacy and the College of Science. The Main Building is also the home of the Museum of Arts and Sciences. The building designed by FRR. Rogue Raffia, is the first earthquake-proof building in the Philippines. Aurao was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wrights Imperial Hotel, Tokyo due to its horizontal orientation which signifies comfort. Conclude that Frank Lloyd Wright practices inspire me by the simplicity in which he designed.There is a real sense of freshness to the way in which projects are carried out. His works and theories truly inspired due to even presentation and honesty of materials used in his style. He has similar approaches in regards to allow architecture to be seen as fun. I believe that Frank Lloyd Wright simply means or is equals to organically spacious architecture and freedom, and freedom cannot exist without conscience. And the condition of freedom is a developed conscience so you cant be free until you have it because you are afraid. Then no designer is free who is afraid. And he is afraid until he has developed the certainty that comes from a creative life and a creative role in life by way of art, religion, and science. Id also realize that Wright often promote a real sense that architecture is for the people. As what he learns from Sullivan that Form follows Function at the end of the day I could see that the user is has a lot of the time to use the spaces and was indeed being showed through the design and planning of his arks. However what I like the most about F-rank Lloyd Wright was the use of honest materials in at his time.As being observed on his projects he uses the indigenous material as an architectural and artist to create an interactive facade that is both enjoyable to view and live amongst. I have also enjoyed looking at the alternative; Wright use furniture and try to find other uses. Agents of Change are another inspirational practice for me. He looked into the detail of the purpose of the the site to the structure and then design specifically with respect for that user, using that level of detail.

Friday, November 29, 2019

Wyndham international fostering high-touch with high-tech free essay sample

The Harvard Business Review case study on Wyndham International discusses the inception of the hotel company, its initial exponential growth followed by a rapid decline in 1999 due to various external and internal factors. The organization restructuring and changes in management introduced several guest loyalty programs, ByRequest in particular, to allow Wyndham International to reestablish its brand. This paper discusses the strategies followed by Wyndham International and identifies role of Information Resources (IR) in implementing the ByRequest program. In the final analysis, the paper identifies issues with customer signup and integration the various IR systems for the ByRequest program, limiting Wyndham in achieving its business goal in a more robust nature. Wyndham’s Business Wyndham International, a company in lodging industry, enjoyed significant tax benefits in the initial years under the REIT status and expanded continuously. Wyndham managed and owned most of its hotel properties, while in lodging industry hotel management and ownership were normally separated. We will write a custom essay sample on Wyndham international: fostering high-touch with high-tech or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page But policy changes in 1999 resulted in a drop of 80% of Wyndham’s stock price, forcing the company to sell most of its low-end properties and focus on business and leisure travellers in the upscale segment of the market. Opportunities and Threats With changes in government policies, Wyndham faced serious threats of financial debt. Low customer recognition was also hurting its market share. Fierce competition and commoditized service made it difficult to bring in profit. Nevertheless, there was an opportunity as well, that if the company could successfully differentiate itself from competitors, it would harness more profit. Business Strategies and Objectives In order to navigate through the competition, Wyndham changed its management team and came up with new customer loyalty program, ByRequest, and started to focus on upscale market. The objective was to establish Wyndham brand. ByRequest program has also differentiated Wyndham from its competitors as opposed to point based loyalty program. Since, it provided a unique service to every customer as per the request, this in turn increased the customer satisfaction and loyalty towards Wyndham’s service. Organizational Capabilities: Strengths and Weaknesses As mentioned previously, Wyndham both owns and runs its hotel properties. These business operations give Wyndham the ability to deploy new assets faster than competitors, where its business strategy can be easily integrated with its investment model. Wyndham had also started moving towards centralized IT infrastructure and integrated IT systems. If this succeeded, the move would have given Wyndham more power to adopt its business strategies. Wyndham also had some weaknesses. During 1999, Wyndham’s management team was going through major organizational changes.. So, around that time there was an unstable internal environment for Wyndham to execute its operations. From 2000 to 2002, still outsourced IT infrastructure and segmented IT system also pose difficulties for Wyndham to adopt an integrated business solution. Organizational Strategies and Objectives Wyndham changed its management team after the 1999 shake up. New management was appointed to develop and implement new strategies for the company, which in deed came out with a set of plans including the ByRequest program. Down the management chain, Wyndham had direct control over its hotel management teams. So, Human Resource operations could be easily executed at the property level. At the operation level, positions of hotel general manager and ByRequest manager were separated. ByRequest manager had some power over spending money on customers. General manager was responsible for the profit regarding the property. Employees’ incentive plan was also based on the profitability from the property. Wyndham’s organizational strategy was to try and align with its business strategy. By giving ByRequest manager the power of budget so that the Manager has the opportunity to serve the customer better, improved the overall customer satisfaction. This way, the organization was able to reach their objectives [Rajasekaran, 2011] Role of IR and Existing IR Set-up The role of Wyndham’s internal resources (IR) is in the strategic quadrant. Because Wyndham relies on its IR not only for running its business on a daily basis, but also for differentiating itself from its competitors. If IR had failed, ByRequest managers would not be able to match reservations with the customers’ profile, thus Wyndham would have failed to deliver their services. Without ByRequest program, Wyndham would have been providing just the same service as its competitors. The time when the ByRequest program was introduced formally (2000), Wyndham just started to centralize its IR infrastructure. The . ASP model was adopted to provide faster deployment of IT infrastructure. Until 2002, Wyndham was still in the process of centralizing its PMS and callaccounting system. Centralization of revenue management and POS had to be put into the agenda, but had not ben actually started. Prior to 2000, a subsidiary of Wyndham was serving its IT infrastructure. Wyndham’s IR Strategy (ByRequest Program) ByRequest program was an IT backed system to provide customizable services for its customers. Customers had to sign up, either by themselves or with the help of the hotel staff. A profile of customer was saved in the ByRequest System. Once entered, all profiles awere available throughout all properties of Wyndham, to be used by hotel managers. Thus, the managers could provide customized services to their guests based on the guests’ profiles. Wyndham planned to use this IR strategy to save customer preferences in a central location and sync the data with every hotel branch. This innovative idea brought two advantages to Wyndham. First customers were able to request special services when booking rooms with Wyndham. Second, the customers’ preferences were available for the future stays at Wyndham. Thus, customizations could be made by hotel managers to ensure complete customer satisfaction. Other IR strategies were adopted by Wyndham to ensure the implementation of ByRequest program. First, Wyndham was bringing its IT operation in-house, so Wyndham could exercise more control. Second, Wyndham was starting to centralizing its IT system, e. g. PMS and CRS. Centralization plays an important role in standardizing business process and ensuring availability of customer data. Third, Wyndham adopted the . ASP model while implementing new systems, which ensured fast deployment time and standardized implementation process. These IT strategies played critical roles in delivering ByRequest program. Analysis Wyndham’s current IR set-up helped the IR strategy as mentioned in the previous section. Because an integrated, standardized and centralized IT infrastructure was very important for the execution of ByRequest program. But effort had to be made continuously, as Wyndham was still in the middle of improving its IT infrastructure. However, ByRequest program was not enough to help Wyndham to achieve its business strategy for three main reasons: First, customer signup process was essentially long and complicated. In lodging industry, service is very important because of the fierce competition and low customer switching cost. An extended signup process doesn’t fit the business environment and the primary goal to serve customers better. But, without the signup process, Wyndham’s ByRequest service could not be delivered at all. Second, Wyndham’s organization strategy did not completely fit into its ByRequest program. The General Manager was majorly responsible for the overall profitability of hotel, but the ByRequest Manager could spend more money on customer in order to keep them satisfied. We know, customer satisfaction is a vague measure, and conflicts with general manager’s responsibility. Also employees’ incentive is based on profitability, which further conflicts with the long term vision of customer satisfaction. Third, ByRequest system wasn’t integrated with the PMS system. Customer had to give her/his member id upon arrival for ByRequest manager to know what she or he needed. Thus the manager could not prepare in advance. And in the case of customer forgetting her or his id (which would happen almost all the time), service could not be delivered, which resulted in bad customer experiences. In order for ByRequest to succeed, a streamlined customer signup process was very essential to be established. Wyndham also had to improve its organization strategy so that employee incentive was aligned with its business goal, and nothing got between ByRequest manager and customer. Last, deep integration of various information systems of Wyndham was supposed to be deeply integrated, for ByRequest Manager to respond to customer’s needs before they arrive.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Timeline of Events From 1840 to 1850

Timeline of Events From 1840 to 1850 The years from 1840 to 1850 were marked by war, political changes, a gold rush in California, and many other important events in America and around the world. 1840 January 10: Penny postage was introduced in Britain.January 13: In a shocking maritime disaster, the steamship Lexington burned and sank in Long Island Sound. Only four men survived and more than 150 passengers and crew perished.February 10: Queen Victoria of England married Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg-Gotha.May 1: The first postage stamps, Britain’s â€Å"Penny Black,† were issued.Summer/Fall: The 1840 presidential campaign was the first to prominently feature songs and slogans. William Henry Harrison won the presidency thanks to his Log Cabin and Hard Cider campaign, and the slogan Tippecanoe and Tyler Too! 1841 March 4: William Henry Harrison was inaugurated as president of the United States. He delivered a two-hour inaugural address in very cold weather. As a result, he caught pneumonia, from which he never recovered.Spring: A free black New Yorker, Solomon Northup, was lured to Washington, D.C., drugged, and kidnapped into slavery. He would tell his story in the powerful memoir Twelve Years a Slave.April 4: President William Henry Harrison died after only one month in office. He was the first American president to die in office and was succeeded by Vice President John Tyler.Autumn: Land was purchased in Massachusetts for Brook Farm, an experimental farming community frequented by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and other writers and thinkers of the era.November 9: Edward VII of England, son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, was born. 1842 January: The British retreated from Kabul, Afghanistan and were massacred by Afghan troops.August 29: The First Opium War ended with the Treaty of Nanking.November: Showman Phineas T. Barnum tracked down a child in Connecticut said to be peculiarly small. The boy, Charles Stratton, would become a show business phenomenon known as General Tom Thumb. 1843 Summer: Oregon Fever gripped America, beginning mass migration westward on the Oregon Trail. 1844 February 28: An accident with a cannon on US Navy warship killed two members of John Tyler’s cabinet.May 24: The first telegram was sent from the U.S. Capitol to Baltimore. Samuel F.B. Morse wrote, â€Å"what hath God wrought.†August: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels met in Paris.November: James Knox Polk defeated Henry Clay in the U.S. presidential election. 1845 January 23: The U.S. Congress established a uniform date for federal elections, naming the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November as Election Day.March 1: President John Tyler signed a bill annexing Texas.March 4: James Knox Polk was inaugurated as President of the United States.May: Frederick Douglass published his autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave.May 20: The Franklin Expedition sets sail from Britain. All 129 men on the expedition were lost during their attempt to explore the Arctic.Late Summer: The Irish potato famine, which would become known as the Great Famine, started with widespread failures of the potato crop. 1846 February 26: American frontier scout and showman William F. â€Å"Buffalo Bill† Cody was born in Iowa.April 25: Mexican troops ambushed and killed a patrol of U.S. soldiers. Reports of the incident inflamed tensions between the two nations.April-August: Francis Parkman traveled from St. Louis, Missouri to Ft. Laramie, Wyoming, and later wrote of the experience in the classic book The Oregon Trail.May 13: The U.S. Congress declared war against Mexico.June 14: In the Bear Flag Revolt, settlers in northern California declared independence from Mexico.December: The Donner Party, a party of American settlers in wagon trains, became stranded in the snow-covered Sierra Nevada Mountains in California and resorted to cannibalism to survive. 1847 February 22: U.S. troops commanded by General Zachary Taylor defeated a Mexican Army at the Battle of Buena Vista in the Mexican War.March 29: U.S. troops commanded by General Winfield Scott captured Veracruz in the Mexican War.June 1: Cornelius Vanderbilt, one of Americas richest and most competitive men, raced a steamboat against rival Daniel Drew in the Hudson River. Many thousands of New Yorkers lined the citys docks to watch the paddle wheelers race.Late summer: The potato famine continued in Ireland, and the year became known as Black 47.September 13-14: U.S. troops entered Mexico City and effectively ended the Mexican War.December 6: Abraham Lincoln took his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. After serving a single two-year term, he returned to Illinois. 1848 January 24: James Marshall, a mechanic at John Sutters sawmill in northern California, recognized some unusual nuggets. His discovery would set off the California Gold Rush.February 23: Former president John Quincy Adams, who served as a U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts after leaving the presidency, died after collapsing in the U.S. Capitol building.July 12-19: A conference at Seneca Falls, New York, organized by Lucretia Mott and Elizbeth Cady Stanton, took up the issue of Womens Rights and planted the seeds of the suffrage movement in the U.S.November 7: Zachary Taylor, Whig candidate and a hero of the Mexican War, was elected President of the United States.December 5: President James Knox Polk, in his annual address to Congress, confirmed the discovery of gold in California. 1849 March 5: Zachary Taylor was inaugurated as the 12th president of the U.S. He was the third, and last, candidate of the Whig Party to hold the office.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

God's Existence and Essence Philosophical Theory Essay

God's Existence and Essence Philosophical Theory - Essay Example It was during this time that Aristotle’s teachings were common. He used these teachings in his own theological work although Aristotle’s teachings were really at the neck of the Christians during his reign. The intent of this paper is to discuss issues that reveal through Thomas Aquinas’ way of thinking on the existence of God. Ideas According to Thomas Aquinas came up with five ways that prove the existence of God. Then, in his first away he observed that some of the things found on earth are in constant motion. It is from his point of view that anything that is moving is likely to get started by another item, which was also in motion (Aquinas, 2006). The other item in motion was also exposed to motion by another moving item then the process continues in the same manner. The series of moving objects cannot go back to infinity to indentifying the first mover. It is true that there was a first mover of the objects that are in motion though the mover is unknown. Th is gives an impression that there is a mover who does not move. In this context, the unmoved mover is God. In the second way, he states that everything has a cause and nothing can cause be a cause of itself. In this context, the causes go back to infinity since all causes depend on the past cause and the eventual cause depended on the previous cause leading to an infinitive cause. This means that the first cause is unidentified (Aquinas, 2006). The absentee of the first cause cannot end with our scrutiny. Therefore, there must be a first cause of all these events, in which all people refer to as God. The third way to identify that there are things in nature that we observe to be possible and others are impossible as they come to exist and pass away from existence. In this context, nothing that could not exist at one point can exist. It requires that, first something exists before it can find itself existing at another moment (Aquinas, 2006). Form this statement, if there was nothing that existed in the first place, then there could be nothing existing at this time in the world. Since an effect has its cause and the subsequent cause goes to infinitive without indentifying the cause it is possible that something existed first to cause the other to exist. The unidentified cause of events in this context is the Almighty God. It is true that God existed first then caused other things on earth to exist. The fourth states that the world has characteristics that vary in degree. Some of the characteristics are more or less true, good, noble and many more examples. The grading of these characteristics is done in relation to maximum. This indicates that there should be something truest, noblest and best. According to Aristotle, there are some things, which are supreme in truth. In his view, something causes supreme truth in these characteristics and any perfection that we get in every beings of the world. He refers to this supreme cause as God. Aquinas observes nonintell igent and inanimate objects in nature that act in the direction of achieving the best probable purpose although the objects themselves would lack awareness of doing so (Aquinas, 2006). It is possible that the objects achieve their purpose though an organized a plan. The objects that are nonitelignt