Fresh Water Essay Example for Free

Fresh Water Essay The greatest similarity between fresh and salt water is that both are basically the same chemical water, although the contents of other materials dissolved in it differ. Both contain some amount dissolved chemical in it though the quantities vary. Both form different links in the water cycle of the nature. Both are homes to aquatic life. Difference: Salt water contains much higher quantities of dissolved chemicals as compared to fresh water. This higher concentration of chemical also raises the density of salt water above that of fresh water. Plant and animals living in two types of water bodies are different. Salt water is found only as large standing bodies of water. Most of these are in form of seas and oceans, although though some lakes including very large ones considered to be sea also contain salt water. Fresh water is found in standing bodies of water called lakes, as well as running water as in rivers and streams. Fresh water is available in many other forms such as in rain, and ice caps in the poles and in very cold places. However no fresh water is found in seas and oceans. Fresh water is used for drinking as well as many industrial processes. However salt water is generally not suitable for most of the industrial use except for cooling. On the other hand salt water is used as a source of some chemicals, particularly common salt. Freshwater does not yield any such chemicals. Comparing Fresh water and ocean water, each has their differences. Most notable is animals living in each. The animals that live in the Salt ocean water would not survive in fresh water for an extended length of time. Same holds true for fresh water animals. However there are a few species that have adapted and can live in both. Some Salt water animals have also evolved to live in Fresh water. Humans cannot drink ocean water without dying. The salt in it dehydrates you to the point you die of thirst. In order to drink ocean water you have to desalinate it in one of many ways. Boiling it being one way. Ocean water also contains every natural element on the planet. If we could find a way to mine the water that is cost effective, we would have a lot more resources. Ocean water freezes at 26 degrees F and fresh at 32. While only 6 degrees difference in water terms that is huge. It prevents a vast amount of the oceans from freezing over in the winter, of course global warming has helped with that. As for your comment of only 3% of the worlds oceans is fresh water, it is very true. While there is a lot of surface area of fresh water the oceans are miles deep. The deepest point on Earth is approx 35,000ft below sea level or about 6. 75 miles down. Many of the deepest lakes only hit about 2000 to 3000 ft deep. Also when you compare the surface area of the fresh water bodies comparies to the oceans there isnt much. The great lakes between Canada and the USA contain 20% of all fresh water on the planet. That is enough water to cover the entire USA with 9. 5 feet of water. When compared to the oceans that isnt much. So dont be surprised. Fresh water is lighter than salt water. Therefore, fresh water floats on top of salt water. This principle becomes extremely important when considering the drilling of a well in order to tap into the ground water of any island. The weight of the rain water that percolates into the ground depresses the salt water beneath it forming a profile that has the appearance of a lens. This is called the Ghyben-Herzberg lens. The principle of this relationship was discovered independently by a Dutch scientist named Baden-Ghyben and a German scientist named Herzberg. The underground boundary that separates the fresh water layer from the salt water is not a sharp boundary line. In reality, this boundary is a transition zone of brackish water (fresh/salt mixture). This is caused by seasonal fluctuations in rainfall, tidal action, and the amount of water being withdrawn either by humans or by natural discharge. Fresh water has a density of 1. 0 while salt water has a density of 1. 025. From this, you can see that salt water is slightly heavier than fresh water. The ratio between the two is 41:40. The formation of the Ghyben-Herzberg lens has a profound effect upon the availability of fresh water on an island. This principle essentially states that for every foot of ground water above sea level there are forty feet of fresh water below sea level! The mathematical formula for the fresh to salt water relationship is: hs = hf / es ef where hs is the depth of fresh water below sea level, hf is the depth of fresh water above sea level, es is the density of salt water, and ef is the density of fresh water. Using the common density figures for fresh and salt water the formula can thus be simplified into hs = hf / . 025 Understand that this applies only to fresh ground water that is sitting directly on an intruded body of salt water. It has no meaning on a large island where an inland body of ground water may be confined by layers and dikes of lava rock. On islands that are largely composed of dense lava rock, little if any salt water intrudes very far into the underlying rock structure. It is generally only in shoreline regions that salt water intrudes into the cracks, crevices, and loose rock spaces. On low, small islands that are largely composed of coral or other porous materials, salt water intrusion into the underlying interior is quite common. The drilling or digging of wells on these islands and especially on along the shoreline must be done with care. Going too deeply will penetrate the transition zone and result in salt water infiltration and the contamination of the fresh water in the well. I have seen such a well dug in solid lava rock along the shoreline in the Ka u District on the island of Hawai‘i. This well was located a few feet above the high tide line approximately a hundred feet from the ocean. The opening was rectangular, about 3 1/2 feet wide, and 6+ feet long. On one end a set of stairs had been cut into the rock allowing one to walk down five or six feet to the level of the well water. This well was unused as there are no dwellings or settlements in the immediate area. In fact, the area was considered to be range land where a few head of cattle managed to find enough to eat in this dry, desert-like environment. The size and construction of the well indicated that at one time it may have served a considerable number of people and possibly even an old Hawaiian village. Unfortunately the well had been abandoned and neglected. It contained a fair amount of decaying leaves and grass. There was also a considerable amount of broken glass from beer bottles that had been thrown against the interior sides of the well. This was probably done by shore fishermen who frequented the area from time to time and used the well as a convenient trash dump during evening camping parties. Nonetheless, the well serves as an excellent example of the Ghyben-Herzberg lenss importance to the availability of fresh water in a place where one might think that none can be found. I already had listed some differences of salt water versus fresh water so here are some similarities;

Signs in Linguistics

Signs in Linguistics A problem that typically troubles the humanities is the ambiguity of primitive terms. An inquiry into their meaning is usually undertaken only after a period of time when they are used un-critically, possibly under the presumption of their complete self-evidence. A closer scrutiny reveals that this belief is hardly warranted. The boundaries of their meanings are so fuzzy that critical analysis turns into a partial reconstruction from ground-zero. That is what this essay will attempt with the notion of the sign and its extra-linguistic connotations. This essay locates this re-construction at the moment when Ferdinand de Saussure sought to carve out the discipline of linguistics, reformulating the existing notion of the sign. The simultaneous heralding of the related, larger discipline of Semiology that for Saussure would subsume linguistics meant that the notion of the sign also got branched. Saussures contemporary, C.S. Peirces ideas of signifying construction as an unlimited sign-ex changing process- the idea of the unlimited semiosis- announced an alternative approach to conceptualizing the sign. The present essay will trace the evolution in meaning of the sign in both Semiology: the study of signs based on linguistics; and Semiotics: the study of signs based on logic. Psychoanalyst Jacques Lacans understanding of subjectivity as constructed in and through language, discounting the possibility of connecting words and things will then be evaluated. Lastly, Ronald Barthes idea of the photographic image, borrowed from Peirce but reworked through the advertisement will be considered. A modern advertisement is then used to substantiate Barthes premise that though the photographic message seems like a message without a code, it ends up being highly coded. The crux of the essay is that the extra-linguistic reality that is ascribed to the sign is just that- extra-linguistic. The linguistic sign which encompasses all semiological systems is nothing but the unity of the Sr and the Sd. The precise moment at which Saussure signals his disinheritance, as it were, from erstwhile linguistic traditions is where he criticizes existing and erstwhile analyses of language as a naming process. This disinheritance of his marks the crucial juncture which sounds the birth pangs of the discipline we now conceive as linguistics and signals the heart of the present investigation. Hence, it is this moment which needs elaboration and scrutiny. What this essay will attempt to analyze is how Saussures conceptualization of the linguistic sign has influenced thinkers, psychoanalysts, philosophers, co-(and later) linguists. The influence has resulted in several different understandings of the linguistic sign that Saussure envisaged, the rationale(s) behind which will form the core of this discussion. For Saussure, an understanding of the linguistic sign as a naming process assumes that ready-made ideas exist before words, it does not tell us whether a name is vocal or psychological in nature, and assumes that the linking of a name and a thing is a very simple operation. (Saussure, Pg 65) Nevertheless, he does credit the erstwhile conceptualization of the linguistic sign as bringing him near his eventual formulation of the linguistic unit as a double entity. For him, this unit unites a concept and a sound-image. Saussure seems at pains to emphasize the non -physicality of the sound-image, calling it the psychological imprint of the sound, the impression it makes on our senses. (Saussure, Pg 66) The only sense in which the sound-image is sensory, or as Saussure calls it, material, is when opposing it to the other term of the association- the concept. Not only does Saussure re-conceptualize the existing constituents of the linguistic unit, he refashions the very idea of the sign as it was understood in his time. Contemporaries used sign to designate just a sound-image. But the profound implications of this for Saussure are evident from his comments as relayed by the diligence of his earnest, and might I add, generous students, in the Course in General Linguistics. Saussure uses his favourite example to demonstrate this. For him, one forgets that arbor (Latin for tree) is called a sign only because it carries the concept treeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the idea of the sensory part implies (the) idea of the whole. (Saussure, Pg 67) It is to resolve this that Saussure says that the definition of the linguistic sign poses an important question of terminology. For him, the prevailing ambiguity could be resolved if three terms were to be chosen to designate the linguistic unit and its two components. He chose sign to designate the whole. Signifier (Sr) and signified (Sd) replaced the sound-image and the concept. This was done because Sr and Sd had the advantage of indicating the opposition that separates them from each other and the whole of which they are parts (emphasis mine) (Saussure, Pg 67) Immediately after this radical reformulation, Saussure said something that pre-empted the genesis of the present discussion. He stated that the sign is arbitrary because the choice of the signifierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is unmotivated, i.e., arbitrary in that it has no natural connection with the signified (Saussure, Pg 69) Many thinkers (like Hjemslev) since have maintained like Saussure that language cannot be reduced to extra-linguistic factors, whether in the nature of things or of thought, in other words, that it is arbitrary. Others, like Benveniste, argue that it is partially or totally motivated by these same factors. For Benveniste, Saussures arbitrary argument is falsified by an unconscious recourse to a third term which was not included in the initial definition- the thing itself, the reality. (Benveniste, Pg 44) Benveniste attacks Saussures logic and finds the contradiction inherent in Saussures formulation. He believes that if one states like Saussure does that language is a fo rm, not a substance, it becomes imperative to leave the substance outside the realm of the sign. However, it is only when one thinks of the animal ox in its substantial particularity that one is justified in considering arbitrary the relationship between bof (French for ox) on the one hand and ox on the other to the same reality. (Benveniste, Pg 44) The tension that Benveniste alerts to in Saussure stems from the way Saussure defined the linguistic sign and the fundamental nature he attributed to it. This is elaborated upon by Benveniste through a systematic refutation of Saussures justifications for refuting objections to his (Saussures ) calling the relationship between Sr and Sd arbitrary. The first of these is the use of onomatopoeias and interjections. Saussures refutations to these objections to the arbitrariness of the sign are predicated on the notion of conventionality and these words similar relations (as other ordinary, non-onomatopoeic words) to the syntax of a particular grammar, and the difference in interjections across languages. Moreover, mutability and immutability of the sign are possible solely due to the arbitrary relationship between the Sr and Sd, according to Saussure. For Benveniste the arbitrary relationship is between the sign and the object, not the Sr and the Sd. He accepts Saussures propositions for the process of signification, not the sign. Benveniste is equally critical of Saussures notion of the linguistic value. For Saussure the identity of a given signifier or a given signified is established through the ways in which it differs from all other signifiers or signifieds within the same system. (Saussure, Pg 115) This relative value stems from the arbitrariness of the sign. For Benveniste, however, the choice that invokes a certain idea for a certain slice of sound is not at all arbitrary. In reality, Benveniste believes, Saussure was thinking of the representation of the real object and of the unnecessary and unmotivated character of the bond which united the sign to the thing signified (emphasis mine) (Benvensite, Pg 47) The crux of Benvenistes argument is that the sign, the primordial element of the linguistic system, includes a Sr and Sd whose bond has to be recognized as necessary, these two components being consubstantially the same.. linguistic values maintain themselves in a relationship of opposition which is, therefore, necessary. The description of a sign in Saussure, as the discussion on Benveniste and the following discussion on Peirce indicate, involves only the relation between its two components, Sr and Sd, and not that between the unit resulting from their union and what it stands for or refers to in the extra-linguistic world. This tension in taking or not taking the thing from the extra-linguistic world itself into consideration when defining the sign, or else, not talking of language as pure form, has manifest itself in several subsequent philosophical and linguistic debates. C.S. Peirces classification of signs is one such. Peirce defines the sign in the following way: A sign is something which stands to somebody for something in some respect or capacity. It addresses somebody, that is, creates in the mind of that person an equivalent sign, or perhaps a more developed sign. That sign which it creates I call the interpretant of the first sign. The sign stands for something, its object. It stands for that object, not in all respects, but in reference to a sort of idea, which I have sometimes called the ground. (Peirce, Pg 99) What is pivotal here is the quality of thirdness that Peirce bestows on the sign relation. Thirdness is that quality which allows translatability. For Peirce, the only way in which the relationship between Representamen (closest to Saussures Sr) and the idea of the Object (Closest to Saussures Sd) can be understood is if they are in a context. This is what the quality of thirdness enables (closest to Saussures sign). It allows the possibility of interpreting the relationship between the Representamen and the idea of the Object. The Interpretant, imbued with this quality, therefore, awakens the potential of sign generation and intelligibility. Peirces conceptualization seems to indicate that signs are not what one sees/hears but what one infers from what one sees/hears. This is the realm where the Interpretant assumes primacy and the debate on whether the sign actually refers to a name-thing relation is brought to a head. Thirdness for Peirce is that which is general. And it is, for Peirce, real too. However, it does not exist. Making a distinction between existence and reality, this essay argues, is a first step towards understanding Peirce and his contribution to the debate Saussure unfurled. Peirce seems to believe that signs exist exclusively due to their replicas, i.e. due to concrete sounds, inscriptions etc. So conceived, signs are individual objects. Nevertheless, that way of being of a sign is derivative only from its genuine being as a general object. (Peirce, Pg 76) That second way of being is essential for a sign. A sign is a kind of ideal object, general, timeless, and independent of subjective thinking. (Peirce, Pg 77) Peirce ascribes to generality the real mode of being. It constitutes the special level of being which he calls thirdness. And, nothing that belongs in thirdness can exist because only individual things are capable of existence (Peirce, Pg 77). Thus, each replica as a tempo rary individual object has to be a derivative of the genuine general sign through the context and the possibility of translatability (or, inference) that the Interpretant enables. It has no self-subsistence of its own. Physical phenomena are potential replicas of signs. However, they become signs only by entering into the triadic relation. Aside from pre-empting Lacans argument, what this triad establishes for Peirce is a multiplicity of signs. As the essay has just argued, the Interpretant constitutes the third indispensable element of the triadic relation. Nevertheless, the Interpretant is a sign in itself and needs at least one more sign as its own Interpretant, and so ad infinitum. This multiplicity of signs is for Peirce logically prior to a single sign. The system creates the necessary condition for any particular sign. However, Peirce, fully aware of this self-creative power of the universe of signs, does bring in some limitations on it in his pragmatic manner. The trichotomy of icon, index and symbol allows the universe of signs to be dependent upon the empirical world of things. In Peirces universe of sign generation, the emphasis in the icon is on the Representamen; in the index, it is on the idea of the object and in the symbol, it is on the Interpretant. The icon is a sign determined by its object by virtue of its own internal nature (a quality) and is hence, immediately intelligible. Peirces idea of the qualisign comes closest to this idea of the icon. The index is a sign by virtue of a relation of co-presence it shares with the object, an existential relationship with the object, as it were. It signifies in virtue of a relationship of contiguity with its referent. The obvious counterpart for the index is the sinsign. But it can come to have an existential relationship only through its qualities. So, an index involves a qualisign or several qualisigns. The symbol is a sign by virtue of its conventional mediating abilities (as in Saussures sign, in fact). While conventionality indicates the legisign properties of the symbol, it must also be kept in mind that every legisign signifies through an instance of its application- through a replica of it. The replica is a sinsign. So, every legisign requires sinsigns only after the law/convention renders it so. (Peirce, Pgs 100-102) For Peirce, every algebraic equation is an icon, in so far as it exhibits, by means of the algebraic signs (which are not themselves icons), the relations of the quantities concerned. Any material image, as a painting, is largely conventional in its mode of representation. In itself, without a legend or label, Peirce calls it a hypoicon. This he divides into three categories- firstness, secondness and thirdness. Images are those which partake of first firstness or simple quality. Diagrams are dyadic as they represent parts of one thing by analogous relations in their own parts. Metaphors represent the representative character of a representamen by representing a parallelism in something else. (Peirce, Pg 105) What is amply evident from Peirces deliberations is that the representational character of signs as icons can be, and often is, mixed or heterogeneous. Peirce, thus, emphasizes the overlapping and flexibility of the sign categories in signifying practices. Barthes provides an analytical system to discuss the reading/interpretation of an image. Some of the questions he explores are- If the image re-presents, can it shape meaning? And how does meaning get into the image? Can an analogical representation produce true systems of signs or is it just a container of free floating information? It is here that a Lacanian understanding of the Sr and Sd relationship within the sign will not be out of order in understanding Barthes image. The crucial break that Lacan announces from Saussures formulation of the signification process is his focus on the bar separating the Sr and the Sd. Lacan introduced a new emphasis on the bar as a formula of separateness rather than of Saussurean reciprocity. This move of Lacan calls into question any theory of correspondence between words and things, thereby serving to strengthen Saussures arguments. Lacan uses the Restroom example to demonstrate his central hypothesis- we fail to pursue the question of meaning as long as we stick to the illusion that the Sr answers to the function of re-presenting the Sd. (Lacan, Pg 150)An exploration of the example will reveal that meaning that insists in the signifying chain is itself attributed to the Sd. This only happens after the meaning is inscribed in the Sd. The inscription (Sr of Ladies or Gentlemen) constitutes the Sd as such by enabling a disjunction- by making material reality differ from itself to the children. The restroom doors, it ought to be remembered, are identical on all accounts until a Sr, Gentlemen or Ladies, enters into its material constitution to make it what it is. This is how meaning enters into the image, for Lacan. The possibility of this meaning entering in to differentiate otherwise analogous material reality lies, for Lacan, in the movement of language along a chain of Srs. The other related possibility of signifying something quite other than what the signifying chain says is achieved through the act of speech. This is precisely where Lacan locates the agency of the letter. Instead of settling for the contemporary psychoanalytical view that speech masks ones thoughts (Lacan, Pg 155), Lacan thinks of the subject producing through his/her speech a truth that he/she does not know about. In order to reconcile this ( the subjects radical ex-centricity to itself) the other I can be recognized as the Other. This Other stands at a second degree of otherness which already places him as a mediator between the subject and the double which is brought to life through the language process. This Other is invoked with every lie (or, as Lacan would call it, repression of truth) as the guarantor of the truth in which it (the Other) subsists at the level of the subjects Unconscious. (Lacan, Pg 172) The similarity with Peirces notion of the mediating Interpretant, awakening the potential of inference and sign generation is obvious here. In Lacan, the Other is language itself. Language and the Unconscious are therefore parallel systems in Lacans framework, with the necessary corollary of the Unconscious residing in language. The reason for the emergence of this Other (language as the locus of signification) lies in Lacans chain of signification. This truth residing in the signifying chain gets repressed as the Sd slides under the Sr, and meaning gets continually veered off. The truth, he says, is always disturbing. We are used to the real. The truth we repress. (Lacan, Pg 169) Thus, with the sliding of Sd under the Sr, the stress as hinted at earlier in Lacan is on the bar separating the Sr and the Sd; and the Sr of outrunning the Sd in its meaning generating potential. As if to diagrammatically show the primacy of the Sr over the Sd, Lacan uses S for Sr and s for the Sd. His eve ntual formulation is thus: S/s. This discussion on Lacans conceptualization of the sign therefore brings to light two crucial points- firstly, that the meaning of material reality is shaped by the chain of signification consisting of Srs. Secondly, the agency of the letter manifests in discourse/ the act of speech, as the dimension of truth of the subject is manifest (unconsciously) only through the message that speech allows. The message that Lacan speaks of harks Saussures distinction between langue and parole. A linguistic code is a set of prefabricated conventional possibilities which the speaker uses to communicate with an addressee: i.e. to create messages. It is in the nature of language that there is a dialectic tension, as Saussure points out and as Barthes elaborates, between code (langue) and message (parole), where the code only exists because of its ability to create messages. This message is only understood because of its relation to a given code. A message is a singular, meaningful unit of discourse. A code is an abstraction created by the analysta logic reconstructed from the materials provided by the message. Living in a certain environment we internalize sets of codes that affect our semiotic behaviour, whether we are aware of it or not. Drawing / painting is always coded because it requires a set of rule-governed transpositions, that are historical (perspectives, rules, etc). Drawing requires apprenticeship, learning. Drawing, hence, is a culture of a culture, according to Barthes. He agrees with Peirce in as much as he considers it a re-presentation. However, Barthes claimed that there is only one seeming exception to the rule no message without a code: the photographic image, because it shows us something reproduced without human intervention (by means of a mechanical-chemical process) as if certain aspects of nature were being communicated through a photographic message without any loss. The photographic message, for Barthes, is then a sign which can be a very complex structure that mixes forms (code) and materials (message) of representation. While Peirce would say that a photograph as an icon would be immediately intelligible without codes, Barthes emphasis is on the illusion of reality that a photograph seemin gly perpetrates, the photographic paradox, as it were. An example to substantiate Barthes argument is in order. The essay will use an Indian Wills Navy Cut (year, 2001) advertisement to rethink the formal organisation of texts and images in terms of the active comprehension of texts and images in context. This is the context that the idea of an advertisement enables. Barthes clarifies the denotation of the photograph thus- Certainly the image is not the reality but at least it is its perfect analogon and it is exactly this analogical perfection which, to common sense, defines the photograph (Barthes, Pg 14). The photograph is a mechanical analogon whose message is the scene itself, literal reality. In the image above, the very point of advertising cigarettes is to sell them. The main obstacle to selling cigarettes is consumers beliefs that cigarettes ruin their health. The most relevant thing a cigarette advertiser can do, given the point of advertising, is to attempt to modify, eliminate, or repress that belief. The linguistic caption with overtones of a sustaining reciprocity (between the cigarettes and the buyer at one level) made for each other- signals this repression. According to Barthes, there are two kinds of relationships between text and image: anchorage and relay. The caption made for each other anchors the meaning of the image by ca lling forth the intended denoted meanings of mutual sustenance. On the level of connotation, the linguistic message guides interpretation. The principal function of connotation is ideological: the text directs the reader through the signifieds of the image (towards a meaning chosen in advance- persuading the buyer to believe in the reciprocity hinted at, while conveniently sidelining the dangers of smoking). According to Barthes, ideology or myth consists of the deployment of signifiers for the purpose of expressing and justifying the dominant values of a given society, class or historical period (the signs express not just themselves, but also all kind of value systems that surround them). (Barthes, Pg 46) This is precisely what anchorage allows for. It ensures that the connoted message is not missed. In relay the text and the image are in a complementary relationship. Here, the text provides meaning not found in the image. This works at the level of a psychological arm-twist, forgive the metaphor, with the company more or less dictating the kind of residual impression an audience will take away from the advertisement. Both the words and images are fragments of a more general syntagm and the unity of the message is realized on a higher level. (Barthes, Pg 41) The message is loud and clear- committing the reader or viewer to acceptance of the relation of reciprocity communicated. Of particular significance here is the denotation- a statutory warning relegated and literally sidelined- Cigarette smoking is injurious to health. Denotation is the literal or obvious meaning or the first-order signifying system. It connotes the pressure on cigarette companies to seem socially responsible. Connotation refers to second-order signifying systems, additional cultural meanings we can also find from the image or text. The meaning garnered from this warning is firstly, a veneer of social responsibility that the company seeks to don and secondly, the pragmatic aim to not highlight something that is evidently counter-productive to the purpose of selling cigarettes. Peirce would call this a legisign in as much as it is a convention hinted at- that of self-interest in sidelining the warning combined with the legislative bindings on the company to include a statutory warning on its package. The coded message is thus the functioning of the advertisement within a larger moral uni verse dictated by conventionality. The anonymous and non-reciprocal nature of advertising makes it generally impossible for the consumer to challenge the advertisers relation to the linguistic claims made and connotations produced, though this is a handicap to advertisers as well as an asset. The impersonality results in connotations being hazardously attributed just because they are pragmatic implications. The image, for Barthes, is a series of discontinuous signs. It is possible to read the image (as Barthes does), to understand that it collects in a certain space (the cigarette pack) certain identifiable objects (a couple joyous at the prospect of a sumptuous and, importantly, healthy, meal). The coded iconic message that one takes away is joy, health, domesticity and vitality. The background colour- green- rich with its organic overtones continues with the act of repression. The photographic paradox, according to Barthes, lies in the spectators fascination with the here-now, for the photograph is never experienced as an illusion its reality [is] that of the having been there, for in every photograph there is always the stupefying evidence of this is how it was, giving us, by a precious miracle, a reality from which we are sheltered (Barthes, Pg 41). The repression is meant to achieve this for the company. The reality sheltered thus is the imminent danger of cigarette smoking. It should be stressed that however obvious it may be that something is an advertisement, there is always an inference to be made from the cue provided to the decision that something does indeed fill an advertising slot (i.e. count as an advertisement). What I want to stress is the (minimal) knowledge about advertising which the non-coded iconic message conveys. This message is that no matter what the symbolic connotations hinted at are, the products that are being marketed are cigarettes. It is a literal message as opposed to the previous symbolic ones. But it functions as the support of the symbolic messages. (Barthes, Pg 39) The crux of Barthes assertions seem to be that a photographic message ends up being extremely coded though initially one might conceptualize it as a message without a code. This recapitulates Lacans restroom example where meaning comes to reside in the enamel doors only when the Srs (inscriptions) intrude the doors material reality (apparently without any distinguishing codes prior to this linguistic intrusion). What the essay has sought to demonstrate in all theorists considered is that the linguistic system as a whole is not a representation of some extra-linguistic reality. What has also been shown is that there is one aspect of language that is representational. This has to be located within the larger debate that Saussure sparked when he said that Language is a system of signs that express ideas, and is therefore comparable to a system of writing, the alphabet of deaf-mutes, symbolic rites, polite formulas, military signals, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I shall call it semiology (from the Greek semeion, sign). Semiology would show what constitutes signs, what laws govern themà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Linguistics is only a part of the general science of semiology; the laws discovered by semiology will be applicable to linguistics. (Introduction to Saussures Course in General Linguistics, Pg XIV) Moreover, according to Saussure, the use of language has two dimensions which are activated simultaneously. When forming a sentence we make choices from existing paradigms (lists of alternatives, such as words or grammatical forms) and arranging them in syntagmatic relationships (word after word, etc.). There are rules that govern both. A signs value is determined by its paradigmatic and syntagmatic associations. (Saussure, Pg 123) According to Barthes, this principle can be extended to all kinds of sign systems, such as fashion (dressing up, we choose the clothes from different alternatives and create a syntagm, the combination of the clothes we wear). Hence, for him, every semiological system has its linguistic admixture. He inverts Saussures dictum saying instead that semiology is a part of linguistics. (Barthes, Introduction to Elements of Semiology, Pg 11) The problem then lies not in seeing objects as necessarily semiotic and extralinguistic facts, but, as the essay has shown, rather in assuming that these objects also have a linguistic facet in the sense that the Sr in the linguistic system either stands for them or the Sr points to them. The real problem lies, as Benveniste preempted, in discerning the inner structure of the phenomenon of which only the outward appearance is perceived (Benveniste, Pg 45) The reason why we believe that in ordinary discourse language represents reality is because the linguistic world is so powerful a force for us and the linguistic world seems so natural to us, that we assume that it must mirror some sort of non-cultural or non-linguistic reality. Because of the links between language and reality that Peirce, Lacan and Barthes alert us to, and because language seems for certain nouns to be simply nomenclature (a set of names for phenomena existing in other semiotic systems), the assumption that becomes rife is that all linguistic phenomena correlate with some sort of reality. But as Lacan tells us, in such cases the object is created by the word: the object exists and is differentiated from other objects because the word exists and not the other way around. Referents in this argument exist because they are creations of the linguistic system, a way of linguisticizing our semiotic experience- as both Saussure and Barthes envisaged in their divergent ways . The linguistic sign, then, is an intrinsically linguistic combination of a linguistically created Sr and a linguistically created Sd.

Civil Constitution of the Clergy

Civil Constitution of the Clergy The Impact on the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, 1790 The French government completed its subordination of the Roman Catholic Church in France on July 12, 1790. The National Assembly passed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. This was a culmination of events of the Catholic Church meeting opposition from the French government. The Catholic Church already faced the abolishment of tithes as well as nationalization of all property they used for revenue in 1789. Leading up to the actual Civil Constitution, monastic vows were forbidden. Only ecclesiastical orders that dealt with children and nursing the sick were kept intact, all others were dissolved. Motivations for these changes to the French Catholic Church are questionable. They could have been sparked by the French governments impending bankruptcy, or the tithes systems abuse. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was a dramatic reorganization of the clergy. The number of bishops was drastically decreased from one hundred and thirty five to eighty three. Each of the new bishops and priests were required to be elected locally by their constituents, removing the popes authority over the clergys appointment. Under the Civil Constitution, the bishops and priests had to swear an oath of loyalty to the new order and the Constitution. Title II, Article XXII of the Civil Constitution states, â€Å"The bishop elect shall take a solemn oath in the presence of the municipal officers, of the people, and of the clergy to guard with care the faithful of his diocese who are confided to him, to be loyal to the nation, the law, and the king, and to support with all his power the constitution decreed by the National Assembly and accepted by the King†[1]. This swearing of the oath caused great debate. Pope Pius VI refused to accept any provisions of the Civil Constitution. Louis XVI sent numerous letters to the pope complaining that he had to publicly accept the Civil Constitution. He suggested that the Pope Pius VI appease the National Assembly and accept a few articles. On December 26, 1790, Louis XVI granted his public assent despite the Popes acceptance because of pressure from the National Assembly. The next month, administrations of the oath began, drastically diminishing the numbers of the clergy. Half of the clergy and only seven of the preexisting bishops swore an oath of loyalty. A schism was created within the Catholic Church as Pope Pius VI denounced the Civil Constitution. One side of the split took the oath and was known as the constitutional clergy. Those that agreed with the Popes denouncement became non jurors or refractory priests; they faced dismissal, deportation, and death for their actions. To understand more upon the impact of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy on the French Catholic Church one examined a few books on the subject. The first was published in 1986 by the Princeton University Press. Timothy Tackett wrote Religion, Revolution, and Regional Culture in Eighteenth-Century France: The Ecclesiastical Oath of 1791, a four hundred and twenty five page book. Tackett is an American historian specializing in the French Revolution; he has published a few books on different aspects of religion in the French Revolution. This particular book focuses on explaining the geography of oath taking in France, which regions were most likely to take the oath and why. In Timothy Tacketts Religion, and Regional Culture in Eighteenth-Century France: The Ecclesiastical Oath of 1791, he makes convincing arguments that many have come to respect and others that have yet to be confirmed. Tackett is able to accomplish this through his use of vast archival and printed sources. In arguing his thesis, geography of oath taking, he argues that the clergys ideology, their beliefs, denominational influences, and constituency influences, is the most important deciding factor. Tackett finds that reactions to the oath usually varied depending on the region. In an area where protestant enclaves were present, it was more than likely that the local clergy would be opposed to the oath. On the other hand, in areas where there was a presence of local Jansenism or the Cures opposed Episcopal power, he found that the local clergy tended to take the oath. Tackett understands that no argument is a strong argument without acknowledgement of the opposition. With that said, it was only right for him to mention other possible influences on the reactions to the oath. Other minor influences on the regional reactions to the oath could have also been attitudes towards the Revolution, age and social origin of the bishops. According to Tackett social origin is defined as cultural and political distance from the center of France. When discussing the importance of the Oath, Tackett says, â€Å"[it is] one of those very particular kinds of historically happenings, with the potential for sharply jolting the whole historical landscape†[2]. He did not believe that the Oath of 1791 was the only shaping factor of Frances rich history. In addition to the oath, he also credits the Churchs role in society as well as the relationship between Church and State to be the reason for the laicite seen in modern day France. Tackett comes to this conclusion by the uncanny coincidence between the regions reactions to the oath and religious practices divided by areas. Timothy Tacketts book was a helpful source in the area of clear analysis of the factors that played a role in the reactions to the Oath of 1791. Through this analytical work, the reader is able to understand the impact of the oath and ultimately how it shaped France. While helpful in some areas, Tacketts book is lacking in synthesizing his analysis with a clear conclusion. This leaves issues of the development of Frances religious history unanswered. Some of the conclusions drawn were not fully developed and some times unclear, which gives the reader the idea that he may not have fully understood the entire concept or maybe his sources were lacking in these very areas. Tackett builds up his arguments to support his thesis on the geography of oath taking, but loses momentum. The next book studied was published in 1996 by Yale University Press. The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin to the Civil Constitution, 1560-1791 is a three hundred and ninety page book written by Dale Van Kley. Van Kley is an American historian who is best known for this prize-wining book. His work has focused on the contributions that Augustinian theology made to the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. He is a professor of History at Ohio State University. In the Religious Origins, Van Kley explores the diverse religious strands of Jansenism that influence political events up to the revolution, claiming that the efforts to dechristianize the French state and citizens had long-term religious origins. Van Kley shows that French royal absolutism was a product and then a casualty of religious conflict using a wealth of primary sources. He studies a great number of individual bishops and clergy, their views, and sympathies. The relevant religious conflict that he discusses is the Jansenism- related conflicts in the eighteenth century that helped to â€Å"desacralize† the monarchy along with the French Catholic clergy. This conflict was a direct contribution to the revolution because it led to parties that were of a political and religious nature. The Patriot party was a successor to the Jansenist party. The rhetoric of such parties affected the content of the revolutionary political culture. The Civil Constitution â€Å"eliminat[ed] the clergy itself as a visibly independent corps, this ideological combination hastened the interiorization of religion and the states monopolization of public functions, a tendency long evident in judicial Jansenism itself†[3]. Before the c lergy had a role in public functions, but Jansenism supported this separation of religion into the private sphere and government control of the public sphere that was made by the Civil Constitution. Van Kley, indebts the revolutionary political culture to the varieties of French Catholicism. It was strongly influenced by the struggle between rival notions of the good society. The ultra-montanist Catholicism of the Jesuits supported the sacral monarchy. However, the Jansenists favored a contractual political order. â€Å"Jansenists could have congratulated themselves that the Civil Constitution enforced Episcopal residence, instituted clerical elections, nearly nullified papal influence†¦ banished arbitrary government†[4]. The Jansenists defense of a contractual political order over a sacral monarchy seems to have led to these provisions of the Civil Constitution. This source was less helpful in exploring the topic, because it was narrowly focused. Van Kleys attitude was obviously prejudiced against the Jesuits, as he portrayed them as the leaders of sacral monarchy and the Jansenist oppression. He describes Jansenist opposition and criticism of Catholicism. His interpretation of religions influence on the French revolution was extremely limited; however, he should be praised for shedding light on the importance of religion in the French revolution. He adds a major strand to the debate on the origins of the French Revolution. Despite, its innovative addition, Van Kley limits his focus to the Jansenists role as the chief force behind opposition the French monarchy. He states, â€Å"Some if not all of the content of the Civil Constitution was the culmination of a century of Jansenist efforts at ecclesiastical reform†[5]. Jansenist position seems to be of exaggerated importance. He also seems to leave out the Catholic features of Jansenism , and more likens them to Calvinists. He demonstrates how Jansenism inspired a radical Calvinist break with Catholic discourse and worship. This book was a tough reading, with much material through primary sources. However, its focus on Jansenism serves more as giving another side to the traditional story rather than convincing many of religions influence in the French Revolution. Nigel Aston wrote four hundred and thirty five pages on the Religion and Revolution in France, 1780 1804. Aston is Reader in History at the University of Leicester. This book is a comprehensive survey of the religious history of France from the eve of the Revolution through the early years of the nineteenth century. Using a vast array of secondary materials and printed sources, Aston creates a comprehensive survey of the religious history of France. He begins his text with discussing the special privileges of the Catholic clergy as well as the principles of Gallicanism, Jansenism, and Richerism, the strains of Catholicism that would fuel the revolt of the lower clergy against the bishops of the Estates General. There were deep social and economic divisions within the clergy. Aston also notes the religious diversity in France. He writes, Geography is crucial[6] when discussing the variations in clerical density, religious fervor, and ecclesiastical revenues from province to province. Aston also includes information on the treatment alongside male clergy of women in religious orders. His second chapter analyzes the diverse beliefs and practices of the clergy and laity. He felt the French laity remained overwhelmingly attached to the Catholic faith and practice†[7]. He is rejecting the idea t hat the French populace showed signs of secularization and questions the thesis of a â€Å"desacralization† of the monarchy. Aston also includes a chapter on other denominations in the late Old Regime. The second part of his book focuses on the relationship between religion and Revolution, exclusively on Catholicism and builds on his earlier work. He blames the leaders of the Constituent Assembly for the terrible religious divisions which marked the Revolutionary period. Events would have taken a more moderate course and scores of thousands of lives would have been saved[8]if the oath was not required. Also, if the leaders would have permitted the convocation of a National Council of the French clergy to ratify the revolutionary reorganization a less radical course would have been taken. Instead the Civil Constitution of the Clergy led to a break in the church by forcing clergy to choose between the church and the state. Faced with what was crudely reduced to a stark choice between religion and revolution, half the adult population rejected revolution[9]. The last relevant section of the book focuses on the aftermath of the Civil Constitution and the official policy of dechristianization. Most native French had no choice but to put up with the changes imposed by urban-based politicians; the non compliant risked death by their determination not to abandon their Christian faith[10]. Other chapters in this section focused on how anticlericalism triggered European opposition to the Revolution more than the decision to kill Louis XVI. He also explored the Constitutional Church and Catholic opponents of the Revolution. Aston was a helpful source as it seemed to cover all aspects of religion and the French Revolution. Its broad coverage treated Protestants and Jews alongside the Catholics. This is unique as the term religion when regarding the revolution is conflated with Catholicism in most studies. This book was very readable striking a balance between synthesis and detail. However, some of Astons conclusions lack strength because opposing stances were omitted. For instance, his sole blame on the leaders of the Assembly for the schism created by the Civil Constitution underestimates the impact of Pope Pius VI. The pope was uncompromising and rejected the Civil Constitution as well as the ideals of the revolution. When researching this topic, I would have to first seek Astons source to inform me. The comprehensive study was so helpful in getting a whole understanding of the subject. Although, he did underestimate Pope Pius VIs influence in the break between the French Catholic Church, he did bring up elements not previously discussed. However he did have the benefit, of having publications such as Tacketts to elaborate upon, as well as John McManners short synthesis of 1968. From a non expert point of view this book was very readable, and had much detail and evidence to back conclusions. It explained the atmosphere before, during, and after the Civil Constitution which is useful in figuring out the implications of the Civil Constitution. However, I wouldnt use Van Kleys book again. It was least helpful in giving a whole explanation on the impact of the Civil Constitution on the French revolution. It was very one-sided, and the information was hard to understand. Only experts, with a firm knowledge on the religious influences of the Revolution would benefit from reading this source, as they would be able to understand his point of view. However, Van Kley must receive credit for being a pioneer in his subject. His work influenced many works that came after that had information on Jansenism. I just did not receive the full picture of the Civil Constitutions impact and how other denominations were concerned. More synthesis needs to be done on this topic to really get the full gist of the importance of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Van Kleys view should be incorporated with the main historical narrative of the impact of the Civil Constitution and not disregarded as Jansenism focused and therefore irrelevant. Also Pope Pius VIs influence needs to be studied. Instead of trying to argue the importance of one side of the debate, each aspect that had an impact needs to be dissected and expanded upon. More analysis of primary sources and empirical data will only be helpful to the subject. Reading these three books by Tackett, Van Kley, and Aston is a great start in understanding the impact of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Bibliography Aston, Nigel. Religion and Revolution in France, 1780-1804. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2000. Perry, Jonathan. â€Å"The Civil Constitution of the Clergy.† Hanover Historical Texts Project. 2001. Nov 16 2009. . Tackett, Timothy. Religion, Revolution, and Regional Culture in Eighteenth-Century France: The Ecclesiastical Oath of 1791. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986. Van Kley, Dale. The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin to the Civil Constitution, 1560-1791. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996. [1] Perry, Jonathan. â€Å"The Civil Constitution of the Clergy.† Hanover Historical Texts Project. 2001. Nov 16 2009. . [2] Tackett, Timothy. Religion, Revolution, and Regional Culture in Eighteenth-Century France: The Ecclesiastical Oath of 1791. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986. pg. vx. [3] Van Kley, Dale. The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin to the Civil Constitution, 1560-1791. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996. pg. 362 [4] IBID. pg. 353 [5] Van Kley, Dale. The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin to the Civil Constitution, 1560-1791. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996. pg. 336. [6] Aston, Nigel. Religion and Revolution in France, 1780-1804. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2000. pg. 48. [7] IBID. pg. 56. [8] IBID. pg. 161. [9] Aston, Nigel. Religion and Revolution in France, 1780-1804. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2000. pg. 162. [10] IBID. pg. 194.

Sony :: essays research papers

Competitive Analysis Sony Financial Status and History Revenue growth same as industry average Likelihood of Entry or Retaliation The first digital cameras for consumer use were the Apple QuickTake 100 (February 17th, 1994) and the Kodak DC40 (March 28th, 1995). Sony entered the imaging market with their first digital camera, the CyberShot Digital Still Camera in 1996. In April of 2001, Kodak announced its first digital photo printer. In August of 2001, Sony announced its first digital photo printer (was smaller and more lightweight than Kodak’s). Sony is in a different industry than Kodak. Sony belongs to the Audio/Video Equipment Industry where Eastman Kodak is in the Photography Industry. Sony, however does manufacture photographical tools. Based on the two companies’ history, Kodak will likely continue to have a larger selection of electronic photography products, but Sony will continue to develop similar products, often â€Å"improved† versions of Kodak’s original products. http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bldigitalcamera.htm by Mary Bellis http://www.dpreview.com/news/0108/01082107sonydppmp1.asp http://www.dpreview.com/news/0104/01042301kodakcamerasys.asp Management Profile Nobuyuki Idei - Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Strong background in international marketing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Degree in Politics and Economics   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Leading Sony into the digital age and developing Sony’s brand image Kunitake Ando – Presient   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Engineered Sony’s re-entry into the personal computer market (VAIO)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  University of Tokyo School of Economics   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Worked for Sony’s A/V Products and Established Sony Prudential Live Insurance Howard Stringer – Chariman and CEO of Sony Corporation of America Oversees Sony Pictures Entertainment (parent of Columbia Picutres), Sony Pictures TV, Sony Pictures Digital and Sony Electronics, Inc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Worked for 30 years as a journalist, producer and executive at CBS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  President of CBS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Works in entertainment http://www.sony.com/SCA/senior_mgmnt.shtml Strategic Capabilities Assesment Scenario Analysis Components of Competitive Intelligence Future Objectives and Current Strategy â€Å"Transformation 60 Program†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Undergoing Structural Reform   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cutting fixed costs by reducing 9000 jobs   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reducing production/distribution/service points by 10%   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reducing the number of suppliers and building strategic partnerships   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reducing the number of parts   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rationalizing non-production costs   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Continue to strengthen Electronics Convergence Strategy Converge technology and resources in home and mobile electronics---customers can use them interchangeably Invest in semiconductors and key devices to differentiation and added value CMOS Image Sensor and CCDs to achieve higher resolution/image quality **really focus on converging technology and resources and focus on adding value and differentiation Strengthen Demand and Supply Chain management http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/info/presen/mr_keiho/20040519/qfhh7c000000c5t2-att/sony2004strategy.pdf Sony is investing $60B in 2005 and 2006 to build new production wings that will focus on semiconductors that enhance imaging. Sony and Samsung have entered a cross-licensing agreement that will allow mutual usage of the companies’ patent portfolios. http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/200412/04-1214E/ Sony plans to consolidate various business segments to accelerate and market the development of next generation devices and entertainment. Assumptions Based on Sony’s current and future strategies, Sony assumes customers will perceive added value when A.

The two Duffy poems I have chosen to compare the way she presents Essay

The two Duffy poems I have chosen to compare the way she presents the speaker’s relationship with the person she is speaking to are Havisham and Elvis Twin Sister. Havisham is in a form of a monologue. Choose two Duffy Poems. Compare the way she presents the speaker’s relationship with the person she is speaking to (or about) Most of Carol Ann Duffy’s poems are about love, but that does not always mean that they contain positive connotations. Some contain positive where as quite a few of them have negative. The two Duffy poems I have chosen to compare the way she presents the speaker’s relationship with the person she is speaking to are ‘Havisham’ and ‘Elvis’ Twin Sister’. ‘Havisham’ is in a form of a monologue. She begins by telling the reader the cause of her troubles. She states ‘beloved sweetheart bastard’ which is an oxymoron meaning an apparent contradiction for example loving hate. She uses words to describe her bitter and angry tone such as ‘bastard’, ‘strangle’, ‘Nooooo’ and also ‘bang’. Duffy has used these words to make the readers aware of the ange...

Essay --

Jane continues her new life at Thornfield now with the interest of Mr. Rochester and she thinks about the concept of marriage. Charlotte Bronte shows the way each character thinks of each other and how they treat each other. Jane is treated like an invisible un-acknowledgeable maid. Mr. Rochester treats her oppositely unlike his guests. While Jane sits and observes the guest she has an interesting analysis on their looks, behavior and status. Jane’s response to Mrs. Ingram’s engagement made her look like she is better than Mrs. Ingram. When Mr. Rochester’s guest first arrived Jane did not interact with them rather than Adele who wanted to see them. Jane felt that there was no use for her to be friendly with them. Jane doesn’t know them and took the advice of Mrs. Fairfax by sitting at distance and let the guest get comfortable. Jane also felt that as governess she will only assist Adele and Mr. Rochester’s which is the reason for her long stay with the guests. â€Å"But understand that so long my visitors stay I expect you †¦ †(Mr. Rochester, 183). Jane could have socially approached them ...

THE MUTUAL SHAPING OF ONLINE AND OFFLINE SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS

IntroductionTechnically talking cyberspace is a planetary web of interrelated webs. All most all of these webs holds files such as web pages, that can be accessed by all other networked computing machines. Every computing machine or any device like cell phone etc which is connected to internet hold the ability to direct and have files in the signifier of electronic mails or another file extensions over the cyberspace. And therefore the people all over the universe are connected ever. If we place internet in the historical context and so critically examines the consequence of cyberspace usage on the societal relationships so we could see that the effects of cyberspace usage are mostly depended on peculiar ends such as self-expression or competition. In 1998, Kraut and his co-workers cited a correlativity between the cyberspace usage and diminutions in societal relationships. After old ages the same group of people did a survey on the original sample group and founded out that the nega tive effects of utilizing cyberspace had dissipated and besides it suggested that the cyberspace had a really positive consequence on societal and psychological well-being of the modern people. Here my purpose or aim is to critically analyze the work done by Bo Xie on the subject The common defining of online and offline societal relationships. The writer of this subject is Dr. Bo Xie, ( PhD, Rensselaer Polytechnic ) Assistant Professor in college of information surveies under the University of Maryland. She has published a figure of books on information direction. Her Research Interests are in Health information sciences ; older grownups ‘ acquisition and usage of computing machines and the Internet ; computing machine literacy ; womb-to-tomb acquisition ; civic battle ; volunteering ; societal relationships ; societal support ; on-line communities ; wellness and wellbeing ( hypertext transfer protocol: //terpconnect.umd. Edu/~ boxie/ ) .As a decision of my critical analysis I came to cognize that cyberspace has both positive and negative effects on the societal relationships in the modern world.Some of the positive effects are like on-line chatting, which will make new friendly relationships and relationships which besides helps in buttocks in touch with old friends.The same chatting could be the demerit when it creates uneconomical relationships between people while chew the fating in the net for long hours. The positive effects of the cyberspace on the societal relationships may be important but the demerits of utilizing cyberspace might be destructiveMETHOD OF EVALUATIONIn the method of rating of the research writer had interviewed 30 three participants from OldKids administration whom falls under old age group and different educational backgrounds. Here the writer tries to indicate out two civilization specific groups. First -informed by anthropologists on the observation that the ageing experience difference over civilizations and these participan ts were non selected by age but by self designation. It contained Chinese citizens. Second-retired Chinese participants. In the research the writer speaks about the societal relationships in the cyberspace age and the societal relationships in the ulterior life. She says that the usage of cyberspace in this age reduces societal relationship and increases the societal isolation. The surveies reveal that this construct was accepted before old ages but now the on-line relationships are more dependable, realistic, low cost and easy approachable than in older yearss. She describes that the digital universe or the internet age is wholly independent on on the offline or the physical universe. This is a true fact and the two universes are wholly different from each other with their ain advantages and disadvantages.The practical universe helps each individual to get the better of from the corporal restraints such as sex, age, race and nationality and gives a quite environment from the outrea ch of the physical universe. But there is besides a opportunity of acquiring attracted more towards sexy relationships as the online users could go through their message unashamedly as they are non seeing each other face to face. The usage of online dealingss besides creates phase frightness in kids. The practical universe creates the same state of affairss predominating in the physical universe. This hypothesis is right from my point of position as well.Now we could make any thing in the practical universe that is go oning in the physical universe expect from the point of physical contacts. More late the computing machine people had created even practical lottos were a user could do a profile with a a character and that character could interact with the other characters whom are created by other users. From the groundss and the mentions the writer argues that the societal relationships created or formed and maintained through electronic mail are perceived by persons are less valuab le than the relationship created by the one to one face to face and telephonic relationships. This hypothesis is non wholly acceptable as there are many grounds of people acquiring more and more engaged in relationships which is created through internet.But the hypothesis is acceptable from the point of position that people even ca n't retrieve even the names of their on-line friends. The encouraging nature of the friendly relationship is really less or seldom seeable in online relationship.Evidences shows that friendly relationship is more affiliated in the ulterior life of older grownups. The practical online friends tries to run into and mix in the physical universe of dealingss. Therefore on-line friends tends to run into their friends physically face to confrontTECHNIQUES USED FOR GATHERING DATA AND ANALYSISThe techniques used for the aggregation of informations to back up my observations were perfectly secondary that is by reading the books, journels and and besides surfing in the cyberspace as the nature of the assignment is to critically analyze. As we analyse the informations available we could state that the research done by Dr.Bo Xie had some few restrictions. The first 1 is that it has concidered merely the people from China as the samples. The usage of cyberspace for doing relationships in China may be different from other parts of the universe. As China is technologically frontward than many other states the online dealingss could be more in China than in other countries.Second one is that the research selected merely 30 three participants which is non sufficient for a good research to be conducted. But the technique used was random sampling which could supply with better consequences. The information aggregation would be better if it could make an online trying which includes the people from other parts of the universe were there usage of cyberspace is non so common. Third one is that the samples contained merely old people and it wholly avoided the new coevals which decidedly would make a interruption through in the research. The information analysis for this survey was controlled by grounded theory where the information aggregation and analysis occurs at the same time to guarantee the coevolution of the informations and the theory.After interview with each individual the writer writes a short description about the provender back including the clip and location of the interview.Its a long procedure of doing a research which takes much clip but helps to include each and every minute inside informations of the observation. Then the analysis showed that the demand to run into offline is in relation with the demand to cognize more about computing machines and besides to mix with the friends in the same age group in the physical universe. It besides resulted in formations of some nines as good. Internet helped the people to link with the equals who were physically far off who were non in range to the old people. This is beside s an acceptable fact but we should concider one point that cyberspace is non available in rural parts of most of the universe.LITERATURE REVIEWâ€Å" Greater usage of the Internet was besides associated with little, but statistically important diminutions in societal engagement as measured by communicating with the household and the size of people ‘s local societal webs, and with additions in solitariness, a psychological province associated with societal engagement † . ( Kraut et al,1998 ) † A 2nd survey was so done on new buyers of computing machine and telecastings, and it besides showed that the cyberspace had a positive consequence on societal and psychological wellbeing. Unsurprisingly, this was more marked for extraverts and more socially connected people † . ( Kraut et al ) † Results of a new three twelvemonth survey are the first to uncover the societal effects of life in a highly-wired, broadband vicinity. This research addresses recent invol vement in the effects of Internet usage on relationships with friends, relations and neighbours. The cardinal determination is that populating in a wired vicinity with entree to a high-velocity local web encourages greater community engagement, expands and strengthens local relationships with neighbours and household, and helps keep ties with friends and relations populating further off † . ( Prof. Keith Hampton and Prof. Barry Wellman )MAIN ARGUMENTSMain statement gives the strength and failing of the research.StrengthsThe research has good explained how the online dealingss helped older people in happening their old equals and doing new friends who are physically excessively far off from them. The theory used for the research that is the land theory has strongly supported the findings and observations of the writer. The interviews were conducted in deepness and it has taken down all the points without any girl at the clip of the interview.The analysis is so clear that every one could understand it without much difficulty.The research clearly mentions how the cyberspace helped the old people in doing a new on-line universe of their own.The resarch gives mentions to many great books and writers to do it more reliable.It discusses the subject with a narrative which the brand the readers more amused.FailingThe research discusses merely the positive facets of old people utilizing internet.The study done was non a random study which decreases the truth of the research. The figure of individuals selected for the research were really less like 30 three and besides the members were selected from China only.The research did non give any single inside informations of the interviewees and it merely give merely an lineation of a broader topic.The cyberspace is largely used by pupils adolescents etc who were non involved in this research.So there is a opportunity of acquiring inaccurate or even incorrect dimensions to the research.It besides non references about wha t happens in the other parts of the universe where there is merely a limited entree to internet.DISCUSSION AND EVALUATIONThis research subject is more relevent to the modern universe while measuring deeply and is a must discussed topic.Firstly the usage of cyberspace to do equals for the old people is a subject which accurate to the modern universe of emphasis and tenseness. Due to the addition in figure of cyberspace users the universe becomes familiar to each individual.The subject is of import because in close hereafter cipher might be there who does n't cognize how to work with cyberspace. The groundss put frontward by the research worker are all valid and the theory and the state of affairs used are really supportive.The decision or the result of the research is sufficient in giving the thought of the subject. The research is crystalline that the techniques used are quite appropriate and is been justified. Though the analysis was good the informations aggregation was non upto t he grade but besides resulted in better result. The methodological analysis is widely accepted type and sounds proper to the predominating situation.Critically analyzing is the best manner to construe a research and besides it helps in bring forthing better results and a modified hereafter to the stakeholdersDecisionThis critical reappraisal comes into the decision that the research has a positive attitude towards the online relationship at the same clip it accepts the physical relationship as good. The purpose of the research was to distinguish between online and offline relationship and it has done its occupation with flawlessness. The research is dependable, acceptable and adds value to the future universe. The findings are based and built on theories so they are accurate.the theory shows that the figure of people attracted towards online relationship is increased due to its positive facets. Though on-line relation creates a practical distance between the people it creates an con sciousness that we are one. The most polished quality of the subject falls in the relevant nature of the hosen subject. The consequences obtained can be used in most of the states though it can non be used in some of the rural parts of the universe. The restrictions of the research are overcome by the relevancy and importance of the subject. The research gives great part to the modern universe of computing machine. So the cogency of the subject is really high.