Writing and Architecture :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Writing and Architecture A story is not a story until it is told. The way that this is done gives it depth, meaning, and tone. A house is not a house until it is built. The way that this is done gives it character, purpose, and life. Writing and architecture are very similar in that the idea of the piece is expressed through the choices that are made. It is up to the author or designer to determine how the idea will be interpreted and what method will be used to communicate the idea. Choosing the means that will express the idea is a critical decision that will affect the outcome in dramatic ways. When designing a house, an architect will establish an architectural idea that will be an underlying factor in the design. After choosing an idea, a means of articulating the idea is determined that will suit the client and relate to the context of its surroundings, whether it be sympathetic or contrastive. The basic form or shape of the house begins to give it meaning and locates the frame of reference. An important factor in building a house is whether the house is built to replicate past periods, such as Victorian, or has a modern design. The actual design of the house, where the walls, doors, and windows will be placed, brings out the architectural idea. In a book dealing with the architecture of houses the author has this to say: "Windows do more than let in light and air. The way they are placed in a wall affects our understanding of the whole house" (Moore, Allen, Lyndon qtd. in Allen 203). The materials bring another level of understanding to the design. The difference between cedar shingles and modular steel panels is significant when determining the tone of the house. I shall always remember how as a child I played on the wooden floor. The wide boards were warm and friendly, and in their texture I discovered a rich and enchanting world of veins and knots. I also remember the comfort and security experienced when falling asleep next to the round logs of an old timber wall; a wall which was not just a plain surface but had a plastic presence like everything alive. Thus sight, touch, and even smell were satisfied, which is as it should be when a child meets the world. (Norberg-Shultz qtd.

Health vs Happiness Essay

Picture this: you are hungry, busy, and don’t really feel like cooking or cleaning. So you dash to the nearest fast food joint and order a fat, juicy burger with some fries and a soda to wash it down. Once in a while this may be okay, but if you find yourself taking this easy way out more than once a week, there may be consequences. The American Heart Association states that diets high in salt, cholesterol, sugar and fat can take away from other essential nutrient levels. This may lead to heart problems or obesity. Practicing little or no physical activity can lead to further health complications. Is it a waste of time to watch what you eat or how you exercise? Maybe not. Skipping those fast food meals and substituting with a sandwich made at home or packing leftovers for lunch takes no more time than pulling into the drive through. Getting up and walking around your office a few minutes each day is better than sitting at your desk all day. If you do choose tha fast food route, park your car and go inside to order. If you think life is too short to care about what you eat, think again. You may, in fact, be shortening your life by taking shortcuts. If you are a smoker, that makes it much shorter. Some people may feel that they are happier if they can eat what they want when they want it. But is being overweight, fatigued and lazy being happy? For me, it is not. I am not the perfect picture of health, but I do feel that being healthy is being happy. I did not watch what I was eating or how I was taking care of myself until I became pregnant. I started eating healthier, drinking more water, and feeling better. Feeling better physically made me happier. I am no longer pregnant and still plan on keeping the healthy habits I kept while pregnant. Keeping healthy habits also gives one more energy, which in turn may help with exercising. Eating healthy and exercising could reduce stress. Less stress equals more happiness. So does being healthy mean being happy? I say to each his own. If you are happy being obese and having health problems, then so be it. I, for one, am happy being healthy.

Government Role Essay

The main role of the executive is to preform leadership like duties such as carrying out leadership roles, ceremonial roles, and preforming symbolic. The leadership role demand formulating, articulating, and implementing goals of the political system. The effective chief executive becomes the spokesperson for the people, attempts to invigorate the people’s support for these goals, and then develops strategies that ease their accomplishment. For the most part the chief executive takes the initiative in a policy form. The executive policy leadership is very crucial during times of crisis, because the executive structure has the potential for a level of coherence and consent of action, which is almost always lacking in legislature. In most political systems the chief executive officer has the power to veto the legislation that the legislature initiates, which may be directly or indirectly. The actors in the executive role usually function as the unifying symbol of the entire soci ety, becoming the lead figurehead for the people. The executive presence becomes a central to many of society’s ceremonies and rituals. In the majority of all political systems the executive has the primary responsibility for implementing the laws and policies of political order. Most systems have an executive cabinet in where each member is directly and personally responsible for some of the major areas of administration. However they are supposed to set a broad set of guidelines for policy and implementation and responsibility for any major mishaps that occur. In parliament for examples, the minster of a department will usually resign if there is a serious shortcoming in his or her area of responsibility. The chief executive must set policy and supervise the organization and utilization of the state’s military capabilities, which is a task that can have the most serious consequences for the security, and well being of the society. Along with this comes the supervision of foreign affairs that involves a complicated pattern of meeting officials from other states and deal with national dealings with other nations usually showing some form of cooperation. The British government and the United States government are different in many aspects but yet share many similarities. A prime minister who handles the majority of the executive responsibilities mainly holds Britain’s executive, and of curse the king or queen handles ceremonial responsibilities like a figurehead would. However the United States has a fused executive system in where the president handles both the  head of state and the head of government roles. 2. Democracy has a wide range of meanings, but true direct democracy is a government of and by the people. An alternative concept in which it is pretty clear is representative democracy. This is a system in which the citizens elect people to represent them in the political aspect of things and to express the values on their behalf of society. Another general term to describe this democracy is a republic even though not all republics are democratic and not all democrats are republicans. Electoral democracy is defined as a political system in where all citizens periodically vote in order to elect political leaders in their society. It also seems important to establish that the people have the power to retain or reject those serving as their political leaders. This additional condition, called the limited mandate, means that the electorate grants the authority to rule for only a short fixed period of time, and then the electorate has the opportunity to elect their representatives again. Meaning that if the political leaders do not gain sufficient votes the political leaders will voluntarily resign office. We can also classify a political system called liberal democracy when citizens enjoy not only electoral democracy but also substantial political rights and civil liberties regarding participation, personal freedoms, and oppositions. The United States is considered to have some like similarities in this regard for the notion that its citizens enjoy the freedoms and rights that come along with voting and individual values. A non-democracy is a concept by with all major decisions especially with those that deal with the state is handled by the person or political group in charge of the state in that time. One conventional concept used to define non democracies is a dictatorship. A definition of a dictator might be a ruler with absolute power and authority. Dictatorship may be further defined as the absence of a limited mandate- a critical factor in the definition of democracy. That is, the citizens of that state have no power to remove the person in office or political leadership period. This government type is often time seen as harsh to its citizens and harsh. Totalitarianism, which is a political system that the allocation of values and its control penetrate into almost every aspect of its citizen’s every day lives. The totalitarian political system demands complete obedience to its extensive  rules in culture, economics, religion, and most of all morality. All organizations are subordinated to the totalitarian state. Every activity is under scrutiny by the state in the name of the public interest. The state might define what is ok to watch or be produce in a movie, what acceptable to say in the media, and It even has acceptable behaviors and thoughts for its people. Another concept that falls under the category of non-democratic is Authoritarian regimes. Many authoritarian regimes such as dictatorships lack empowerment. What really distinguish authoritarianism are the political actions and decisions of the ruler, while the political rights and freedoms of the people are significantly limited. In other words under authoritarianism the population has very minimal political rights. An authoritarian regime places many severe restrictions on the activities of individuals and groups who advocate the people on the actions of the political system. The great majority of the populations are not allowed to participate in any political activities except in ways that expressly encouraged by the regime such as mass rallies and speeches. Citizens of such places are not allowed to question th e political intuitions, procedures, or public policies of an authoritarian regime. 3. There are a few different types of states, first there is the unitary state and then there is central government, which holds all legislative power. While the central government has indivisible sovereignty, it can delegate power or functional responsibilities to territorial units, which have names such as department or regions. These peripheral governments serve only at the convenience of the central government, which can revoke their power or functions at any given time. The majority of all citizens tend to identify with the country as a whole, rather than with regional authorities as they should. A federation is divided constitutionally and functions between a central government and the set of regional governments. On the other hand to a unitary state, there is an explicit sharing of power among the levels of government in a federation, and no level has legal power to dominate any other level in all policy domains. There are five major rationales that make up a federation: large size, prior existence of strong states, desire to create unity or accommodate diversity, the desire to concentrate power and resources, and the desire to disperse political power. A federation can be established to prevent the over centration of power in the central government. A confederation is an association in which states delegate some power to a supranational central government but retain primary power. Confederations emphasize on economic cooperation and or military cooperation’s. It is a loose grouping of states in which each state’s involvement membership, and compliance with the central government are conditional depending on the state’s perception of its own national interest.

My computer

Computers and networks are involved in virtually all social and academic services today. In this normal social world, it helps us save valuable time traveling to places just to see pictures and images of different places. The internet has virtually conquered the world and successfully conquered a very big part of our lives. One can never measure the space and time the internet has lived and evolved for years since its creation. Computers play a significant role in human lives either personal or business. You can see kids or grown ups do their work at their computers. My computer can really act as my buddy. I play games in it, chat in it, and communicate with other people through Yahoo instant messenger, MSN, or Skype. I just get to log in and see if my friends are online, if not I can always look for new friends and buddies in the net that has the same interest as I have. And it has given me a good view of other culture, their attitude, their language and how they look at life. I get a different outlook with life and its meaning which make me understand people and the world better. Communication is very important in building relationships. So my buddy computer has helped me a lot to send email messages and notes to my mom and dad. This I used to make a list of the things that I need to buy, update on some of my school activities, and of course asking favor from mom and dad on some things like additional allowances or weekend getaways with the family.   We do talk to each other personally of course but sometimes there are things that we need to put into writing so they can just print it out and bring it with them when they got to do the errand for my favors. Sometimes I get bored and I am kind of lazy going out so I just lie down in my bed, set my speakers, and then off I go to the coolest music in town. I can download whatever games, music, videos, and a lot of other things in the net that gets my attention. Sometimes I danced with the music to exercise, watch basketball, or just plainly watch HBO or Cinemax. I am sure it contains more than any other human being can give you in terms of information and features. Of course the caring, the sharing and sometimes the quarrels are three human attributes a cold computer buddy can’t give. My computer buddy helps me define my food selections for the day. Whenever mom and dad get lazy cooking meals, I am automatically assigned to chef. Being a chef means ordering and calling restaurants for food delivery. This is the most exciting part. This is the only time I get to order some things in the menu that I don’t understand and have it delivered to the house. There are plenty of websites where we can order food and their menus are already provided together with their prices. Anyway, I get to order what I like and they got to pay everything and it was fun. My cousins visit us sometimes and when they are here at the house, the only thing we get on with the group is my computer buddy. We play music and plainly chat and enjoy each others company. We browse the net for games, and play. Whenever I have an assignment, I always go to my computer for research and references. My computer has always been a buddy for me although it is just an object to say but it has given me a lot of help and a lot of things that I enjoy. To describe it, I can say my computer is a good buddy with a very intelligent mind powered by the internet filled with useful information.   

Finance 4.5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Finance 4.5 - Essay Example The bond prices are different from part (a) and (b) in the question because interest rate is lowered. Bond prices are inversely proportional to interest rates therefore; as interest rate lowers, bond prices hike. This would eventually lead to lower yield. Therefore; in the above given scenario, the interest rates were lowered which caused the bond prices to rise. No, the bonds should not be called. The bonds should only be called if interest rates drop below coupon rate. This will give you the opportunity to call in your previous debt at a lower rate and then reissue debt at a lower interest rate if needed. The second scale will increase profits at a greater pace than scale one after q=3125 units. As the fixed cost is limited, and variable cost per unit is less therefore; the overall cost would be less than scale one. This means that even if the break even sales are  in the original cost function, the company would not face negative cash flow if it surpasses 142856 levels of sale because majority of the cost is of depreciation which is a non cash expense. Even though the company shows negative profits but that would not mean negative cash flow unless the level of sale is above 142561

Rhetorical analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rhetorical analysis - Essay Example The writer has clearly set out to convince the audience that the death penalty is wrong and immoral and any justification it may have is overwhelmed precincts on which he demonstrates its thrives. These include racism and the possible incompetence of judge’s prosecutors and juries. Herbert also appeal to the readers logic and commonsense by citing examples of previous supporters of the penalty such as Adam Litpack, who have recently come to change their minds on the same. His description of the death penalty, which is undoubtedly subjective, is aimed evidently at getting the readers emotional support on board. This is especially with the strong and condemnatory terms †¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"The death penalty in the United States has never been anything but an abomination — a grotesque, uncivilized, overwhelmingly racist affront to the very idea of justice†. In addition, Judge Stephen who posits that deciding the life and death of individuals is not a task that should be lef t to a system that has been found to have flaws. The basis of the initial argument is that the police and prosecutor are liable to withhold and tamper with evidence of innocence in order to ensure they get the verdict. He strengthens his argument by asserting that there have cases where lawyers on whom the defendants lives depend have been drunk or on drugs and as result, innocents have died. Herein he develops his case for banning the practice by opening the reader to the possibility that despite the otherwise viability the penalty, it can result to innocent people dying as one cannot be 100% sure of one’s guilty by making it appear relative to the defenders competence with is also relative to their sobriety, and other circumstances. The writer also uses retrospective evidence to persuade the reader of the authenticity of his claims in a demonstrative of the effects of racism in the wheel of justice. Moreover, he cites cases in the past when prosecutors racism was openly pra cticed, he gives the example of a judge who says he was once told if he ever put â€Å"a nigger in the jury, he would be fired†. The writer then tries to prove that this has not changed much by saying that the prosecutors have however only improved their language as such implying the same sentiments exists even today. Herbert gives credence to his argument by referring to an interview with Patricia Lemay a white juror who once served in a hearing resulting I an execution, during the jury deliberations which are supposed to be archetypical of objectivity and fairness, the jurors displayed nauseating levels of xenophobia and discrimination. This was brought out by the idea among some groups that white lives were more valuable than black ones. Citing credible sources in the form of retired justices Thurgood and Blackmun who he contrast the original intention with the result effectively juxtaposing them to depict the inappropriateness of the penalty. Marshall said that it was app roved by the Supreme Court to be practiced in fairness and justice, however, the promise has turned into empty mockery Blackmun on the other hand rejected it saying he would not be part of a system fraught with arbitrariness, discrimination, caprice and mistake†

Public relation strategy of AUstralia Federal Election Essay

Public relation strategy of AUstralia Federal Election - Essay Example has made use of considerable public relations tools, including new media forums such as Twitter and Facebook, offering both candidates more exposure in a large variety of different voter markets. This paper describes the key messages from both candidates, from Gillard’s focus on improving progressivism and touting feminist values as well as Abbott’s more conservative policies on health care, environmentalism, and immigration. Both Gillard and Abbott have their own, unique perspectives on how best to move Australia forward should they be elected the new Prime Minister. Julia Gillard is often portrayed by Australian society and multiple media outlets as being far too dedicated to the interests of the Labor party, proposing upcoming policies centred around monetary needs over that of the tangible needs of the Australian people. This is interesting criticism considering the socialistic values traditionally found in those characterized as centre-left. Gillard’s top priorities as Prime Minister include first economic growth, the improvement of education, and building national pride and confidence in the 21st century (Kearney, 2010). In fact, said Gillard in a recent interview, â€Å"Keeping the economy strong so that people can get the benefits of work† was her main goal (Kearney, 2010, p.1). Gillard has also been criticized significantly for her lack of religious conviction, this being a self-proclaimed atheist, which has created concern with the country’s Church leaders and faithful citizens with strong religious principles. Despite this criticism for her values related to religion, Gillard attempts to reinforce her stern respect for these institutions when stating, â€Å"My history has been to be a big supporter. In terms of the work that the Catholic church does, that other churches†¦do in our society, I am a big respecter† (theage.com.au, 2010, p.2). This is a public relations effort to reinforce her values about the value of diversity and religious faith