Year of the Flood

The Nightmare Scenario The charges of Atwood in the novel â€Å"Year of the Flood† are based off her concept that never in the history of creation has a species had the means to its own mass extinction that it literally had it within its very fingertips.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Year of the Flood specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This is idea is of course inspired from the potentially destructive forces of nuclear holocausts, unmitigated genetic engineering and an increasingly divisive society where the potential for class warfare is a growing concern as seen by the recent uprisings in the Middle East. For Atwood, her destruction of choice is death by plague wherein humanity is wiped out by a plague that was initially disguised as a prophylactic. While the Geneva Convention on Human Rights has banned the use and development of biological agents as a means of warfare, thus sparing humanity the possibi lity of dying due to a virulent disease, the fact remains that studies still do continue in the realm of genetic engineering wherein the secrets of the genetic code are continuously being explored by scientists. For Atwood the structure of our culture involving sciences, religion and people are inherently flawed and in need for change. The current norm in society is in the fostering of the concept of social inequality which can and will create problems in the future in relation to cooperation between all sectors of humanity (Brooks, 11). It is due to this that Atwood portrays the future in such a dystopic faction since it is actually a good enough impression of what the world will look like should nothing be done. In relation to the science of genetic engineering, it has been able to create bioengineered corn that is more resistant to disease, created effective means of treatment through hormones and gene therapy, all while the science of genetic engineering is still within its infa ncy. On the other hand various negative outcomes have also come about such as bioengineered crops that humans are actually allergic to and untold side-effects on the human body by the current myriad of drugs and inoculations developed by pharmaceutical companies. While unlikely, the possibility is still there for catastrophe to occur; one statement by Atwood in the book summarizes this possibility â€Å"this was not an ordinary pandemic it wouldn’t be contained after a few hundred thousand deaths, the obliterated with bio-tools and bleach, this was the Waterless Flood the Gardeners so often had warned about, it had all the signs: it travelled through the air as if on wings, it burned through the cities like fire, spreading germ-ridden mobs, terror, and butchery† (Atwood, 20). This particular quote from the book shows how a biological contagion can sweep through society; unhindered, unstoppable and un-killable.Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The point that Atwood is trying to make in this particular instance is that with every step we take towards scientific progress is a possible step towards human extinction. In the case of the actions of Craker she seemingly posits the idea that if progress isn’t tempered with sufficient mental fortitude and care the result could be disastrous. In order for humanity to arrive at level shown in â€Å"Year of the Flood† current trends and practices don’t need to be exaggerated rather letting them follow on through with their current course of action will inevitably lead to the current dystopic future shown in the novel (Snyder, 19). Already unmitigated pollutants being released into the atmosphere have unleashed all manner of contagions for humanity, the continued expansion of the gap between rich and poor will inevitably reach a boiling point and undisciplined genetic experiments done in the name of science can and will unleash some form of genetic aberration onto the world that will make life more difficult for humanity (Brooks, 15). The inevitable nightmare scenario does not need any further catalyst nor exaggeration in order for it to come to pass, rather, inaction by government leaders, communities and scientists will bring it about one way or another. Pessimistic Thinking After a moment of self-introspection I would have to say that I would classify myself as being a generally pessimistic thinker. While I don’t go around looking at the possible negative implications of the various actions humanity has committed I am not so naive as to expect that true and positive change will not come without some form of impetus triggering it. For example right now regions such as the U.A.E, Australia and China have been implementing increasingly stringent methods of internet censorship in order to prevent the general public from â€Å"being harmed† by va rious antigovernment propaganda currently proliferating the web at this very moment. What must be understood though is that the internet is one of the best tools today for social and political change as seen in the recent uprisings in the Middle East. One scene from the novel actually shows the inevitability of such an action † then the CorpSeCorps had outlawed firearms in the interests of public security, reserving the newly invented spray guns for themselves, and suddenly people were officially weaponless† (Atwood, 24).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Year of the Flood specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More With the development of the internet as a true tool of social change and reform it comes as no surprise that governments would then step in to control it just as the CorpSeCrops stepped in as mentioned in the novel for the purpose of â€Å"public security†. As such based on what can be seen in the present regarding increasingly stringent government control over the lives of their citizens one cannot help but remain pessimistic as the very tools citizens can use to fight back are slowly being taken away from them. Humanity and machines Generally speaking, the primary purpose of machines has always been to make human lives easier. In fact their benefits have been mentioned in the book in the following passage â€Å"The food came in through the safety-sealed hatchway, plus there was the minifridge with snacks, and the water was filtered, coming in and out both† (Atwood, 7). As such it can be seen that it is even in the opinion of Atwood that as machines get better in providing human needs so to does the possibility of the quality of life increase. On the other hand it can also be stated that as machines continue to grow so to will the jobs previously done by humans be phased out in favor of cold machine efficiency. In fact it can even be seen in various sections of th e book where the increased isolation of the educated half of the population in the environments provided by the companies is due to the fact that an increasing amount of human jobs being outsourced to robots which cause a large percentage of the population to live in poverty. As such, while it can be said that while machines get better the quality of human life will increase this degree of quality will be increasingly isolated towards the upper echelons of society. Changing Along With Machines One of the messages Atwood tries to impart in the novel is the concept of friendship however this concept can be further interpreted as having to care for your fellow man. What must be taken into consideration is the fact that along with improvements in machines humanity must also improve along with them. This does not mean the evolution of the physical self but rather the evolution of thought wherein humanity develops a sufficient enough capacity to understand that its continued actions will harm rather than help humanity as a whole. As such, this means developing new societal structures that foster equality rather than inequality, better cultural norms that focus on morals and ethics and finally the development of the self to encompass both a love for life and the desire to protect it. Works Cited Atwood, Margaret. The Year of the Flood. 1st. London: Bloomsbery, 2009. 3-48. Print.Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Brooks Bouson, J. â€Å"â€Å"We’re Using Up the Earth. It’s Almost Gone†: A Return to the Post-Apocalyptic Future in Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood.† Journal of  Commonwealth Literature 46.1 (2011): 9-26. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. Snyder, Katherine V. â€Å"It’s the End of the World As We Know It.† Women’s Review of  Books 27.2 (2010): 19-20. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. This essay on Year of the Flood was written and submitted by user Jazlyn A. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Clear and Present Danger essays

Clear and Present Danger essays Clear And Present Danger This novel begins with the murder of a man and his family aboard a yacht. The murdered man was a long time friend of the United States President. The President orders an investigation into the death of his friend and is disturbed to find that his friend is involved with organized crime in Columbia. In an effort to protect himself, the President takes the law into his hands and orders a private strike against the drug cartels in Medellin, Columbia. The president, upset with the success of his "war on drugs," decides that he wants some immediate success and recruits John Clark to conduct a covert mission to eliminate the Columbian cartel. But after John Clark's covert strike team is sent to Columbia for Operation Showboat, the drug lords strike back, killing several civilians both American and Columbian. The chief executive orders Ritter, the advisor to the President, to end their unlawful plan and leave no traces. Jack Ryan, who has just been named CIA deputy director of intelli gence, is enraged when he discovers that has been left out of the circle of Columbian operations. Several of America's most highly trained soldiers are stranded in an unfinished mission that, according to all records, never existed. This enrages Jack Ryan and he decides to get the men out. After a very exciting mission, Jack Ryan is successful in his mission both in ending the Columbian drug ring and freeing his men. Clear and Present Danger is about the balance of power and politics, with Jack Ryan and CIA agent John Clark as the heroes. Ryan persistently follows what he knows is right and legal, even if it means confronting the president of the United States. This is all about the use and abuse of power. How it can affect the people who wield it. Power in fact is an evil weapon when used in a cruel way. Clancy provides insight about how things work, both political and practical ...

Best Places For Internship To Make Awesome Career by BestEssay.Education

Best Places For Internship To Make Awesome Career Best Places For Internship To Make Awesome Career Making the Right Choice At Start As an intern, you are never seen to be a threat to the established order of things within a department or organization. It gives you a unique opportunity to observe, suggest, and even implement ideas that might take months of meetings, and many hours of presentation time to explain, in the normal course of events, simply because of the temporary nature of your tenure. Most successful careers require a degree of politics and guile, and this is probably the only chance you will ever get to explore different tactics and methods without upsetting too many people along the way. It also gives you the opportunity to see, live, the way other people address these issues in the workplace. As an intern, you usually have huge flexibility to flit between departments, and the different parts of an organization, and because of that, you can speak to people that you would not normally meet in the normal course of your duties. Students internships cover a multitude of situations and are a great opportunity to pick the brains of everyone from the warehouseman, through to the chief executive; students employment covers a multitude of situations. Great Options For Early Career There are a huge number of student internship opportunities available; and to give you an idea of the scope and scale of these opportunities we have listed some below, along with some notes on each. Before we forget; here is a list of internship programs 2016  which you may find useful after reading this article. As you can imagine, the competition for places on internships is fierce; your resume and cover letter have to be spot-on. For this reason if you are not confident that you can put together a compelling and convincing case, it may be worth considering cover letter writing help to get your point across and to secure that elusive interview. Resume editing is another approach you may need to consider, just to get the final polish into your application. One of the other things that you need to consider is that many of the applicants will come from similar backgrounds, similar colleges, and have similar approaches to gaining that place on the internship program, as you. In this situation, thinking outside the box, taking up advanced learning techniques  is an incredibly powerful way of looking at the whole idea of gaining an internship placement. Investigate some of these ideas if you want to give yourself an edge. Let's take a look at a few Internship programs, from varying industries, in more detail: KPCB Design and Engineering offer a Product Fellows Program, which enables students to spend a whole year at a Silicon Valley startup and see the action from the ground floor. On the program, they meet with other design students and engineering gurus, and there is a three-month summer program focused just on design and engineering. Incidentally, they also run a new year-long program which is focused solely on product management. The Boston Consulting Group The chances are that if you have ever read a financial newspaper, magazine or publication, you will have heard of The Boston Consulting Group, even though you may not have any idea what it is that they do. They are, in fact, one of the world's leading management consulting firms; with a staff of over 10,000, working in 45 countries. They offer a summer placement for over 100 students, for between 6 to 12 weeks. The idea behind the program is that it enables students to get to know the business and the staff, and work on projects whilst assuming the same responsibilities as those of the permanent staff in order to give them a proper insight into what business strategy and management consultancy involve. Kohl's Stores operate an 8-week program in which students can have a realistic experience of retail management by exposure to managing a team, and running a department. This practice is followed by a full debriefing via a store walk with district managers and concentrates on business analysis, motivation, and leadership skills. Areas of participation include human resources, purchasing, logistics, marketing, finance, e-commerce, IT programming and IT business analysis, technical design, textiles design, product development, and buying. In addition to this corporate program, there are distribution center courses, which are a 10-week program, and a contact center program, also of 10 weeks, which are designed to give insights into the â€Å"backroom† operations of Kohl’s structure. MossAdams  Is one of the largest accountancy firms in America, with 27 offices around the country, and with a presence in more than a hundred other countries. It offers internships via the Moss Adams Foundation â€Å"Campus† program. These internships are part of the tax and assurance groups and are an 8 to 10-week program, which simulates the assignments and tasks you are likely to encounter as a staff accountant in your first year. There is also a state and local tax services internship that covers subjects such as law and compliance requirements and involves keeping the clients up to date with changes in legislation, Nexus analysis and planning, as well as undertaking refund audits and tax credit calculations. 3M has connections in over 70 countries, and works in fields as diverse as transportation, office products, safety, and health care. It is responsible for many household products such as Post-Its and Velcro. Internships are available in the domains of marketing, finance, sales, HR, engineering, research and development, IT. Internships are usually of 6 to 12 weeks duration full-time comprising 3M's corporate student programs. These programs are designed to help 3M to find the most promising students and to allow the students themselves to appraise 3M and see if it is a suitable employer for them. Two-thirds of the intern intake are based in the headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota. Comcast/NBCUniversal are a massive media, film, and telecommunications company. They offer a number of internships based on their financial functions. These can be located at a number of posts including Atlanta GA, Denver CO, Englewood NJ, Los Angeles CA, Miami FL, and New York NY. The Internship allows the students to see the way in which financial viability and risk assessment apply to everything from television programming through to the network cell coverage of a telecommunications system. So; there are half-a-dozen examples of internships which are currently available and many more can be found, together with reviews and rankings, more details and information on pay packages and housing allowances, travel arrangements, and so on. Just enter your criteria and the software will pull up whatever is available. We hope this has been a helpful insight into some of the aspects of internship and gaining a place on some of the more prestigious internship programs. Being on an internship is one of the most fantastic experiences of your career. It is something that you will never be able to repeat, and as well as giving you immense satisfaction, will be something that you will always look back upon fondly in the latter stages of your career. Getting the best out of your internship starts with getting the right course in the first place. Making sure that you have the best resume that you can possibly create, and an exemplary cover letter to accompany it, will be the best foundation possible for achieving this goal. Good luck!

Enviornmental Hazard Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Enviornmental Hazard - Term Paper Example Oloruntoba(2005) points out that tsunami often moves in all directions and when the huge waves surge into the land, it takes place in different countries and different populations at the same time. Evidently, each culture has different needs as they differ greatly in socio-economic and cultural conditions. So, it becomes necessary for the various relief and donor agencies to adapt themselves according to the environment. As a result, it takes a comparatively longer time for them to get a complete picture of the disaster and the needs. It is pointed out by Oloruntoba that as the destruction is usually large scale, there arise issues in logistics and coordination. To support the claim, the scholar points out that in the 26 December 2004 tsunami, a landing plane hit a cow on the runway causing a blocked runway for many hours in Banda Aceh. According to Oloruntoba (2005) where there is such large scale destruction, the coordination of the relief response in a large geographical area by v arious international and national agencies becomes a difficult task. Two immediate needs when such a disaster occurs are to evacuate the people to safer places and to repair the roads and infrastructure to reach the place of disaster. In addition, there should be measures to prevent spread of diseases and to ensure food and water. However, when the relief operations are not focused on these tasks, there arises a difference between the needed relief and the provided relief. Oloruntoba (2005) points out a factor that no other scholar in this review seemed to have pointed out. That is, often, the promised donations and funds are not delivered by the donors. As Oloruntoba (2005) pointed out, in Darfur, Western Sudan, only one third of the promised financial aids were received after Hurricane Mitch. Here, it seems that Oloruntoba does not look into the fact that NGOs too can lack in communication and coordination abilities. For example, Nisha Sahai Achuthan, on the third anniversary of D ecember 24 tsunami, looked into the way NGOs work in the State of Tamil Nadu in India where there was a lot of destruction. Achuthan (2009) points out that when the scholar contacted one NGO named n-Logue, it was found that despite their claims of having 1500 internet and voice service kiosks in the tsunami hit areas, they could not provide any information about the locations of these kiosks. Admittedly, the work by Nigel Martin (2007) provides a better insight into as to what goes wrong in nations like Indonesia and India in the case of disaster management. It is pointed out that the very first reason for failure is government information systems and management failure. Though the Indian Air Force was informed about the earthquake and tsunami in 2004 at about 7.30 am that day, the crisis management group of Indian government held its meeting at 1.00 pm, exactly five and a half hours after the initial alert. Similar was the situation of Indonesia too. In the view of Martin (2007), t hough Indonesia was alerted by the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the country seemed to have taken no steps at all. Admittedly, all the scholars point out the fact that the existing political situation in the affected area will have a serious impact on the quality of service provided. When there is discrimination in the existing social system, it becomes a difficult task for the international organizations to offer unbiased attention. The last two

Macro5B Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Macro5B - Essay Example As statistics show, the GDP rose, unemployment fell and incomes rose bringing the economy back to life. GDP grew from -0.3% in 1980 to 4.1% in 19881 which in return decreased the unemployment rate from 7.1% to 1.6%3 which created a net job increase of approximately 16 million. One of the most ironic statistics is that of inflation; this model has a very optimistic approach towards the economy as economic growth is associated with large scale inflation, however, statistics show that inflation, from 13.5% in 1980 declined to only 4.1% till 1988. It’s a startling fact that outlines the success of this economic model. Focusing on the statistics, one may draw out the conclusion of the success of Reagonomics, there are critics who argue in every field but past trends supported by authentic statistics answer the question of the efficiency of any model, which in this case turned out to be optimistic. A report published in 1996 also draws out the conclusion by stating that the economy of the U.S performed better during the Reagon years4. Answer 2: The whole economy revolves around a few commodities that are essential for day to day operations of a Country; one of the most vital of these commodities is Oil. OPEC is one of the biggest oil companies and each economy is affected by prices set by OPEC (It’s like an oligopoly). Increase or decreases in fuel prices by such monopolies tend to hamper or support economic growth; such monopolies are directly related to a Country’s economic system. In general, oil is known to be a compliment or a raw material for many other goods in an economy therefore a price change of oil may lead to cost push inflation or deflation. In case where OPEC decides to increase the price of oil, this would lead to cost push inflation in the economy; the aggregate (total) supply of the economy would shift upwards bringing about price hikes as shown in the diagram: In the short run, what’s happening is the increase in price o f oil is pushing the supply down and creating price hikes as the short run aggregate supply curve moves from AS1 to AS2. This effect will impact people but not as much in the short run; people are more flexible and have fixed schedules and will not alter their fuel consumption just because of an increase in fuel prices in a day; even if the increase is steep, in the short run it is expected that people would absorb the impact The demand for oil in the short run would be relatively inelastic and the economy would not suffer to a large extent. However, in the long run, situation may be different as people’s demand for oil may become elastic as they want to adapt to changes in an optimistic light. In the long run, the demand for OPEC oil would be relatively elastic and fuel price increases may cause the economy to suffer at large. The direct impact on the economy depends on where the economy is operating at the point and what is the shape of their long run aggregate supply curve as there is a difference in opinion for the monetarist and Keynesian model for long run aggregate supply curve. If we follow the Keynesians model; the impact to the economy of an increase in oil prices depends largely on where the

How Art Relates to Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay

How Art Relates to Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel about a young, handsome, and vain man who has his portrait painted, and impulsively wishes that he could forever remain just as handsome as he is in the painting -- that the painting would age instead of him. He gets his wish in a most eerie way; as, with passing years, he becomes increasingly dissolute and evil, while the changes that one would expect to appear on his face are reflected in the portrait instead. What this book is about, clearly, is feelings and appearances becoming real. This motif is echoed and re-echoed throughout the book. Early in the novel, Sir Henry Wotten -- a cynical hedonist -- gives Dorian a book about people who tried to experience everything, both good and evil, and Dorian decides to try it; in other words, he models his life after a work of art. The fact that Dorian's one female love is an actress -- a person who wears masks and pretends to be someone she is not -- reinforces this motif. When she reveals herself to be real, his repugnance for her is so overwhelming that it reaches out like an evil spirit and kills her; Dorian therefore murdered Sybil as surely as he would murder Basil later on. We tell small children that their feelings are not actions and therefore have no repercussions of their own, but deep in our psyches we know this is not so. The reason tribal...

Pleading and Michael Dell

Dell Computer Case Questions Please provide a detailed answer to each of the following six questions for the Dell Computer case. 1. What has made Dell Succeed to date? 2. What is Dell’s position in the industry to date? 3. An August 12, 2002 Business Week article, indicated that by 2007 Dell intended to double revenues to $60 billion. How should Dell go about building the nearly $6 billion annual sales growth needed to achieve that target? 4. What are the implications of your recommendation?How will it affect Dell as a company? 5. If you disagree with Michael Dell’s growth target from Question #3 above, what would your alternative recommendation be? Why? 6. Dell has the following Code of Conduct ? â€Å"How We Win,† Dell's Code of Conduct, provides general guidance to all team members on how to behave legally and ethically, and in compliance with the letter and spirit of applicable legal requirements, Dell policies and our ethical principles. It serves as a guide book for living our value of winning with integrity. Our Code of Conduct,  a fundamental component of our culture of integrity here at Dell, has been extensively revised and updated to bring it into alignment with our purpose and values, as well as with our business, brand and people strategies. ? Our reputation as an ethical company and trustworthy business partner is one of our most valuable assets and critical to our success. To safeguard our reputation and our brand, we hold ourselves to standards of ethical behavior that go well beyond legal minimums. Our ethical principles are: ? We are honest.What we say is true and forthcoming — not just technically correct. We are open and transparent in our communications with each other and about our business performance. ? We are trustworthy. Our word is good. We keep our commitments to each other and to our stakeholders. We do the right thing without compromise. We avoid even the appearance of impropriety. ? We treat others wit h respect. We value their contributions and listen to their point of view. We maintain fairness in all relationships. ? We are courageous. We speak up for what is right. We report wrongdoing when we see it. We use good judgment. We think before we act. We use our purpose, values and ethical principles as decision filters to guide our behavior. ? We are responsible. We accept the consequences of our actions. We admit our mistakes and quickly correct them. We don’t retaliate against those who try to do the right thing by asking questions or raising concerns. However, the reality of Dell's business conduct does not match up with its rhetoric. As happens all too often, Dell, a large corporation allegedly provided unfair or misleading contractual agreements.Despite this code of conduct the company has faced the following during the time of the case: A California law firm has slapped Dell with a class action lawsuit charging the computer giant with â€Å"systematically deceivingâ €  its customers. The New York Attorney General also filed a suit for the same issues. ? The case centers on the allegation that Dell advertises low prices for its computers, but people who try to purchase a machine at the advertised price find it's no longer available for that price. Often those customers wind up with another computer, the suit said.One plaintiff is a San Francisco nurse who said she bought a Dell notebook computer listed at $599 along with an $89 printer, but was billed $1,352 for her order. ? Another plaintiff said Dell shipped him products of lower quality than the ones he had ordered from the company's Web site. The Round Rock, Texas-based PC maker then resisted his efforts to resolve the problem, he said. ? The suit also said that Dell and its lending partner CIT Bank change without notice financing packages promoted as â€Å"easy† and â€Å"preferred,† to include much higher interest rates and hidden charges.The class action challenged the fi nancing practices of Dell, Inc. , Dell Financial Services, L. P. , and CIT Bank for imposing excess finance charges and late fees on consumers. ? The suit alleges that Dell has violated numerous California laws and codes of conduct, including the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, the California Business and Professions Code and the Unruh Act. ? The New York complaint alleges Dell repeatedly failed to provide timely on-site repair as promised in service contracts and discouraged customers from seeking technical support.The lawsuit claims Dell's New York customers calling the company's toll free support number were subjected to long wait times, frequent transfers and disconnections. Question 6. Dell has settled both cases with the two states. If you were Michael Dell, how would you resolve the differences between the Code of Conduct and the actions of Dell? Should Dell stop advertising low priced computers and then try to step up customers to pricier models or additional feature s dramatically increasing price to the consumer?