Wolf Controversy an Example by

Wolf Controversy Introduction & Thesis There has been a lot of controversy over the reintroduction of the wolf into certain native parts of the United States including areas in the North West such as Yellowstone National Park. The reason for this controversy will be explored and two sides of the equation will be introduced in this paper. The support of this paper will be that wolves should be reintroduced to their native environment as part of the balance of the ecosystem in a predator prey ratio. Need essay sample on "Wolf Controversy" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Body The wolf has been a long member of the Yellowstone National Park until recent events in the past several decades had warded off the parks authorities from allowing it to be in the park. The scare of the wolf is that it is a predatory animal and does not discriminate its prey from bear, fox, or human child. The wolfs man enemy is man. With the controversy of whether or not to reintroduce wolves into the park, the main components which opposed this project were ranchers whose farms surrounded the park, and whose livestock were prey to this beast (Bales paragraph One). What further aggravated the situation was the fact that the Grey wolf (the main predatory wolf in the Park and in the Rockies) was protected under the Endangered Species Act thus making it illegal for the ranchers to protect their livestock from the wolf, a person could be punished with up to a $100,000 fine and up to 1 year in jail for killing a wolf (Bales Paragraph Two). With this food source so readily available and r anchers being unable to legally kill a wolf, the controversy over the wolfs return to the park is a major issue. Even in Yellowstone National Park however there were laws at its inception which favored the more docile creatures and left the main predators a source of fear, as Bales states, In the year 1916 the National Parks Service started to eliminate all predators in Yellowstone National Park, which meant killing 136 wolves, 13,000 coyotes, and every single mountain lion. By 1939 this program was shut down, but all the wolves were long gone before that (Bales Paragraph Four). This meant that during this time period the population of the wolf drastically dropped. It is because of this reason that the reintroduction of the wolf into the wild is such an important issue. Without the natural balance of predator and prey the harmony of the environment will suffer which will cause and influx of other unnatural disasters. These disasters can include overpopulation of the prey source without a natural predator to curb the race, large numbers of deer and other prey animals will overrun the park and th e surrounding areas causing other types of devastation. With the above stated facts about overpopulation the idea of reintroduction of the wolf into the wild began a project through the Fish and Wildlife Services. The three areas where the wolf would be reintroduce were Montana, Yellowstone and the central part of Idaho (Bales Paragraph Five). For this project the Fish and Wildlife Services decided that, The recovery goal for the Grey Wolf was ten breeding pairs per area, which meant ten packs of ten wolves, or 100 total. With the release of the 1987 plan, a lot of opposition was raised (Bales Paragraph Five). With the introduction of wolves being actively sought for these areas a lot of planning had to be involved to properly acclimate the wolves into these one native lands, For the first time in 70 years, the howl of the Grey Wolf is being heard throughout Yellowstone Park (Sanders, 2000). In January of 1995, 14 wolves from separate packs in Canada were trapped and transported to Yellowstone. Once in the park the wolves were placed in one acre acclimation pens. In total there were three pens scattered across the northern portion of Yellowstone: one a Crystal Creek, another at Rose Creek, and the last at Soda Butte. During the wolves time spent in these pens they were fed winter kill, or road kill. The packs that were formed in these pens were released in the winters of 1995-1996 and also again in 1996-1997 for a second release period (Sanders, 2000). In 1995 fourteen wolves were released and in 1996 seventeen were released. In 1997 there were 64 pups born and since 1995, 33 wolves have died in the Yellowstone area (Bales Paragraph Six). As has been mentioned prior the main opposition of the wolf into the wild again has come mainly, and strongly from the ranchers whose livestock surround the area where the wolf has been released. In order to better understand the viewpoint of the ranchers opposition a little bit about the eating habits of the wolf is necessary to know. The wolf is a predatory animal. Thus, it will hunt prey that is the easiest to capture, kill and eat. Most of the ranchers who are surrounding the areas where the wolf is reintroduced to have the following animals: Cows, horses, sheep, or goats. All of these animals are a very easy prey for the wolf and thus, the wolf does not have to hunt as hard to find and kill these animals, and thus, the wolf has found a smorgasbord of food readily available and with minimal effort to hunt. These factors keep the wolf coming back continually to the ranchers farms and attacking the ranchers animals, From 1995 to 1998 there have been 9 head of cattle and 132 sheep killed by wolves. The wolves that have killed livestock were mainly traveling from Canada to Yellowstone, across Montana. From 1987 to 1997 Defenders of Wildlife have paid $42,000 for 62 cattle and 141 sheep that have been lost to wolves. Many environmentalists feel that ranchers will kill off all of the introduced wolves. Only two wolves have died legally, while seven have died of unknown causes (Bales Paragraph Seven). As part of the controversy over this reintroduction in 1997 there was a lot of court cases involving what to do with the wolves because of the ranchers complaint. The judge who was ruling over the case decided on three separate actions: to return the wolves to Canada, to kill them, to give them to zoos. None of these actions however were taken and nothing about the wolves was done (Bales Paragraph Eight). The final debate over the wolf controversy was to have the wolves put in state control by passing laws to Congress. The first state to do this was Wyoming who stated and was supported by the Fish, Wildlife and Parks that the wolf should be considered a predatory species and as such should be hunted freely outside of reserves, parks and private property. This law came across to the environmentalist as contradictory to the reason the wolf had to be reintroduced into the wild in the first place since the reason the population had suffered was from over killing. Thus, Wyomings law seems counterproductive (Bales Paragraph Ten). It would seem then that the Fish and Wildlife Services was successful in reintroducing the wolf into the wild, however, the controversy over this issue, whether or not the state should take control over the situation, and what to do with the wolves and the ranchers is still an issue that has had no closure. A clear look at the facts must be considered in this issue. For instance while the controversy of the wolves and the ranchers is a great concern another fact that has not been mentioned is that, Although wolves killed 500 sheep in Montana in 2003, coyotes killed 11,800, and disease, weather, eagles, bears, and foxes each proved to be greater threats to livestock (The Journal of Young Investigators Paragraph Seven). This fact is seemingly invisible when it comes to the opposing side of wolves being reintroduced into the wild. Another interesting fact is that in the debate over the cruelty of wolves and their monstrous appetites to fed on the ranchers livestock, In a Defenders of Wildlife press release about a July meeting in Albuquerque to discuss the reintroduction of the Mexican gray wolf, Fred Galley, owner of Rayny Mesa Ranch, described an attack in which wolves grabbed a cow and "proceeded to eat on her till she bled to death." At the same meeting, Jane Ravenwolf of Sandia Park asked why death by wolves is more reprehensible than death by slaughterhouse, a question many wolf activists share. (The Journal of Young Investigators Paragraph Eight-Ten). Conclusion It is in this final statement that the debate of reintroducing the wolf should be focused; the wolf is a predatory animal, and as such the death toll of the wolf as compared to the coyote is outstandingly small. With this information it must be stated that the wolf should not be in the hands of the state as the state would want to issue laws in which the wolf would be once again hunted to the brink of distinction. Thus, the reintroduction of the wolf to the wild is necessary as it will keep population of other prey animals to a manageable level. The issue over whether or not the reintroduction of the wolf into the wild should be under the law of the state is ludicrious. As mentioned prior, the state would allow the hunting of the wolf, mainly by ranchers no doubt, until its numbers dropped to a dangerous level, and this time around there may not be any species left to put on the endangered species list. Work Cited Bales, J. The Yellowstone Wolf Controversy. Online. Fitzgerald, J. FWP Compiles Varied Views of Wolf Future. Billings Gazette. 28 March 2003. The Journal of Young Investigators. Restoration or Destruction: The Controversy Over Wolf Reintroduction. Online. Retrieved 15 November 2007. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Wolf Management. April 2003. Online. Sinay, K. Wolf Reintroduction has had Positive Economic Impacts, Too. Yellowstone Safari Company, Bozeman Chronicle, 26 January 2003.

buy custom Business and Finance essay

buy custom Business and Finance essay Finance department plays a dominant role in the long run productivity of an organization. There is a marginal different lies between accounts and finance. Accounting refers to the recording and articulating the data while finance deals with the utilization of funds at a place from where the likelihood becomes easy. Capital Budgeting is one of the most important branches of Finance, which deals with the analysis of the future of a project which an organization is wishing to undertake. Organizations have to consider the working of capital budgeting in order to take only those projects which actually increases the worth of the company. There are certain tools used specifically for capital budgeting and project evaluation purpose. The main perspective of this assignment deals with a case study of capital budgeting and project evaluation. There are different characters present in the case study which are the upper management personnel of a company. We are supposing as the financial consultant who later on start his work to analyze the proposals. There are two proposals which are in consideration of this assignment which predominantly are Project X and Project Y. Some of the specification given in the case study is mentioned below, There are basically two steps involved in this computation. First of all, we have given the actual quantity which will produce by the company which will be 150,000 units which increases by 8% for the next 4 years. Each unit will be sold at a price of 40. Each year, the sale revenue also increased by 8% while the operating cost covering an initial cost of 16 a unit also increased with the same proportion. The next table includes the initial outlay of 2.2 million pounds and then the depreciation computed with the help of Straight Line Method (SLM). A value of 4, 40,000 pounds has been depreciated each year for the next 5 years of the machine of project Y. Working capital which has been computed as 12% of the total revenue excluded from the initial outlay. We have arrived on the net income figure after deducting depreciation, tax and operating cost from the sales revenue. Please note that we have still not reached on the cash flow from operation and from investment which will be used later on in project evaluation. There is another table which computed the same, Net Present Value (NPV)Finally, we have reached on the cash flow which will be used in further analysis. The final cash flows are 3048,000, 3192000, 3405120, 3635290 and 388873. Now we have 3 different tools which will be used here project evaluation. The three tools which will be used here are Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Profitability Index (PI). After computing these things, analysis will be done to analyze will the company has to accept the project or should not. Net Present Value (hereafter NPV) is the most widely used tool to assess the economic compatibility of a particular project. Basically the NPV which is also called Net Present worth (NPW) is a time series of cash flows which are both ingoing and outgoing is called NPV. Basically it is the sum of all the present values of the individual cash flows (Edwin Ruud, 2000). NPV is very useful in the world of finance and has been counted as the central tool to appraise the long term projects with the help of discounted cash flow techniques and time value of money factor. NPV is the most powerful tool to analyze a project. Project managers and financial analysts use this particular tool to analyze the actual worth of a project. With the help of this tool a manager becomes able to analyze that whether or not the project will actually increase or decrease the worth of the company. The hurdle rate or Weighted Average Cost of Capital of Project Y is 16%. Mentioned below table analyzes the NPV of project Y. We analyze that, project Y can be accepted easily because of its positive NPV. The main issue here is that there is another project which is Project X and the company has to make a mutually exclusive choice, like they have to select only a single project instead of one. Project X NPV analysis is mentioned below,From this analysis, it can be clearly seen that Project Y will actually increase the worth of the company as the NPV of the company lies in positive term. From the analysis, it is found that the NPV of the company is more than 8.8 million GBP which is very handy from the viewpoint of a company. The cash flow which we have computed through capital budgeting is increasing year on year (YOY) by a reasonable percentage of 8% which then be discounted at a rate of 16% of WACC. Internal Rate of ReturnNow, the comparison is extremely easy. Project Y can increase the worth of the company more than by 8 million GBP, while Project X can only increase the worth by 2.1 million GBP. Hence, the company has to look forward to invest in Project Y rather than in project X. Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is another widely used tool to analyze a company or project before taking it. IRR is the rate on which the NPV of the project becomes zero. If the computed IRR comes out greater than the discount or hurdle rate then the project should be taken. Apart from IRR, Modified Internal Rate of Return (MIRR) is another tool to analyze the company. MIRR is a rate which initially computes through IRR and then reinvests the same on some rate (Edwin Ruud, 2000). This particular tool is not widely used by the companies to analyze the projects and companies. This is another important tool which has been used by the companies to evaluate the effectiveness of a project. The actual hurdle rate or WACC of the project is 16% and the computed discounted IRR is 108% which is way higher than the actual WACC of the company, hence according to the law, the project must be selected; lets now compute the IRR of project X for the comparison. IRR which is again an important tool is manifesting that project Y is superior to project X because of high amount of NPV and IRR. The discounted IRR of the projects are 108% and 32% of project Y and Project X respectively and the company should go for the larger one. Profitability Index (PI) Profitability index (PI) which is also called the Profit Investment Ratio (PIR) is another widely used ratio in the world of finance. This particular tool is used to rank the projects and it is used with the NPV of the project. If the PI of the project comes more than 1, then one have to invest in this project otherwise one must abrogate the idea of investing in the project (Edwin Ruud, 2000). ConclusionAccording to the rule, will be more than 1 to select. Here the PI is 4 and it should be select accordingly. The entire world is moving with a lightning speed and continuously apprising that the current era is the era of globalization and technology (Edwin Ruud, 2000). Globalization is a situation in which a single effect leaves an ultimate effect over the other thing as well. Due to the globalization, the insurgence of new companies has increased tremendously which is inevitably contributing in the long run economic growth of the companies (Edwin Ruud, 2000). Business decisions are always difficult to take because of it sophisticated nature. There are numerous methods come under the ambit of taking business decisions for an organization. From the entire analysis, it can be said that the company should go with the investment in Project Y rather than Project X. Buy custom Business and Finance essay

Outline Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Outline - Research Paper Example This role has remained the same up to date, and therefore, more than ever international relations are crucial in maintaining global peace. It is from this understanding that as a political science major, I feel motivated to focus on international relation. Further, the rapid changing economies around the world, I believe that international relation is a study necessary to enable proper implementation of international trade policies, and define the requirements and limitations to cross border trade. Further, international relations are required to determine cross border policies for immigrations, given the high rates of immigration. People travel between different countries for business, tourism, employment or temporal visits. Processing of visas and other necessary policy documents will certainly require this profession. The increasing numbers and occurrence rates of global issues like environmental disasters and terrorism, which are greater than any country or continent, call for global collaborations. Pursuing global cooperation is becoming necessary in order to solve such issues. International relations come in handy to help bolster such global cooperation for a similar curse. Finally, international relations play a greater role in promoting culture, than the usual facilitations of goods and services exchange between countries. Such activities like students exchange programmes; cultural exhibitions and cultural tourism enhance understanding and appreciation of human expressions worldwide. All these will require international relations for effective

Refutation paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Refutation paper - Essay Example It was in 1868 when the text was first translated by John Chalmers, an Englishman, which eventually influenced Western culture. This short text is said to have two parts: The Tao Ching and the Te Ching (Lees, 2011). Because of the style of writing which is poetic in nature, there is a variety of interpretations which are even contradictory. According to Lees (2011), the sacred book is written in classical Chinese which is said to be difficult to understand thus making contradictory interpretations and translations. In Bebell and Fera’s research (2000), they cited that there are over 100 interpretations and adaptations of Lao Tzu’s text today. In the holistic analysis of the research conducted by Bebell and Fera in 2000, it revealed an overall similarity among different translation’s use of central concepts of Tao Te Ching though there are variance both minor and notable among them. The title can be translated literally to mean: Tao can be translated as â€Å"way †, or to mean â€Å"the Way†. ... Thus, it is very important to examine the topic extensively as it is very tricky and invites a lot of criticism. Support or Evidence: If the statements are contradictory, we have to re-evaluate and make sense of everything. To do this, we have to interpret the statements in a Taoist standpoint. There are statements implies that nothing at all can be said about the Tao. A Taoist will definitely declare that Taoist sage will only possess a limited and qualified truth value. Textual evidence that reveals hierarchy of values can be found in Chapter 38 which states that kindness is considered higher value to follow (Allinson, 1994). Allinson’s study (1994) stated that if statements appear to attribute amoral or immoral behaviour to Taoist sage, then the statements must be made from outside the Taoist standpoint. If there is an existence of hierarchy of value, the statements which appear to attribute farther from the Tao must be carefully examined to determine existence of other int erpretation. However, it can be said that there are only few statements that attribute to amoral or immoral behaviour. In short, interpretations must be found to be coherent to the greatest number of statements in the text. Examples of the contradictory statements are the first two in the Tao Te Ching. The first statement states that â€Å"The Tao that can be spoken about is not the constant Tao.† According to Allinson (1994), this statement appears to suggest that the Tao cannot be described. It should be noted that the Tao one is referring and its description are different such that the described Tao is really not the real Tao. The second statement in the Tao Te Ching is â€Å"The

Ripple Effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ripple Effect - Essay Example modern popular cultural texts have a major impact on the society because a number of aspects are now being talked about which was not the case in the past. It is a fact that media affects society and that too by a large proportion. This has been made clear by an understanding that gets its basis from the belief that media avenues and platforms in essence affect a great part of the society whether or not which likes to keep in touch with what is taking place on the media and the kind of attention society is being given to (Martin, 2011). This is one of the reasons why media is playing a significant role and hence the responsibility aspect has become bigger and better with the changing times nonetheless. What affects most of the society is how well the media is portraying the societal domains and this has been made sure of by the proponents and advocates that are making the rounds of the media circles and regimes (Hannabuss,

Embracing The Obsession With Reality Television Media Essay

Embracing The Obsession With Reality Television Media Essay Many shows which have gained major popularity in this era are based on reality television. My family is following the television show Bigg Boss hysterically; and this makes me wonder about the obsession with reality television and its origins. When I think about it, I myself am unable to resist these shows, becoming a devout follower of shows like American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Top Chef and many others. This makes me want to know, what is it that has even caused me to become obsessed with reality television, like so many others. Obsession is the domination of ones thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc (Obsession) and unlike many consider it, is not necessarily bad. Thus, what I want to do is to completely understand the reasons behind this obsession with reality television, proving that it is good for people to watch these shows rather than ignoring them. To comprehend this obsession, we have to go over why some people relate to reality television, while others watch these shows for enjoyment, fascinating characters and skills, socializing and learning. Reality television is a genre of television programming in which the fortunes of real life people (as opposed to fictional characters played by actors) are followed (Reality television). The first reality television show was Candid Camera which came out in 1948 [and] has been called the granddaddy of the reality TV genre (Rowen). Candid camera was a hidden camera show in which pranks were pulled on random people to catch their reactions, but no one at that time would have called it a reality television show or imagine the impact it would have on the future. Since then, reality television has evolved into many sub genres, such as game shows, talk shows, dating shows and many other forms. Even when it came out, reality television gained international popularity, but it was not until MTVs The Real World that it became an obsession; and in this day and age, it can be said that reality television has something for everyone. A reason as to why people watch reality television is that they relate to the participants on it. In reality television shows, many people who are not professional actors get a shot at fame. Survivor is an example of this, where people get an opportunity to win prizes and become famous, even though they do not have a rich or glamorous background. The feeling that anyone can be a contestant is a major reason as to what causes people to watch. Individuals hope that they might get a chance to win the grand prize and apply for a spot on the show given the opportunity; an example of this can be taken by looking at the American Idol auditions and the sheer amount of people that take part in them. Peter van Beneden while writing about viewer identification with television characters says that according to a study by Sonia Livingstone it was found that it was not sociological or demographic factors that influenced the interpretation, but psychological factors. The most important factor was i dentification. Furthermore, people tend to compare their own stories to those about the contestants on the show, like how the participants used to live before the show and how the loss of a loved one occurred and affected them. Also, people also on the basis of their occupations, some have jobs that are the same as the theme of the show, for example chefs watching Master Chef and aspiring models in America watching Americas Next Top Model. Now, a question that might arises from people connecting to characters on reality television shows is whether relating to the characters is good or delusional. Several people believe that it gives individuals unrealistic expectations, thinking their lives will just work out like that on television. It has been said about reality television that [i]ts a classic psychological flight into fantasy (flight as opposed to fight reaction), which, is easier than dealing with anything as real as our own problems (Aazami). However, think of it in this way, if someone is delusional does it really involve reality television; the concept of people relating to someone existed far before the invention of reality television. Dr. John Grohol said something quite interesting about this, if we start diagnosing people based upon how much they identify with a particular movie, wow, well have tens of thousands of new diagnoses tomorrow! In fact, I see so many teenage and young adult men who think theyre Ba tman and really identify with that character. Moreover, is identifying with a person on television really that awful? If someone with a similar background is doing something remarkable on television, is that not something to be inspired from rather than something to disregard. Watching reality television for amusement creates one of the major controversies going on due to the viewing of reality television. There are many fights on these shows and these attract a lot of spectators. The Jerry Springer show got famous due to all the fights that occurred and the sheer stupidity of the people who were on it. The reason for this show getting popular can be considered that the audience just wanted to be entertained. Fights occur on a lot of reality television shows, where people are confined to a house; I think that even a lot of the viewers of Americas Next Top Model watch it for the arguments. Furthermore, in numerous shows people do uncharacteristic things for attention and sometimes this leads to humiliation. Stunts like these tend to make people talk and raise the popularity of the show. Eating weird items to earn money is a concept that has escalated in shows and this is because the creators of the shows realize that most people want to be entertained, not caring about how it happens and what the consequences are. Again, take the American Idol auditions as an example, there are some interviewees that you admire, while others you can not help but laugh at. Using this as an outlet for amusement is not necessarily terrible, because people might use other sources to quell their thirst for satisfaction, which might be much more destructive. Another thing to consider is whether laughing at others is moral and ethical. A large amount of people find the degradation of others demeaning. Reality television can be considered the guilty pleasure for many individuals and extremely addictive as well, because [w]ith a combination of deception, sexual encounters, drunken ramblings and sudden outbursts its no wonder that reality TV keeps viewers glued to their televisions week after week (Rentmeester). However, if the people are willing to show their characters with all the quirks they possess with the risk of being laughed at, then why is laughing at them absurd, if they are doing something which is the embodiment of stupidity. Moreover, this kind of content attracts media attention and is probably not something that will end. Moreover, these situations are often even left to the perception of an individual and are usually not as harmful as they appear. If someone does something amazing, but embarrassing, would it not be better to commend them for their courage for actually attempting the feat rather than laughing at them. Furthermore, tabloids also make fun of people who have a sense of style which is different compared to the consensus. In comparison to reality television, tabloids are almost never accused to be undignified. In addition, how are the activities shown on reality television shows any different from those shown in magazines? According to the Steven Reiss, the Reiss profile is a comprehensive, standardized, objectively validated instrument that assesses 16 basic psychological needs. Everybody embraces all 16 basic needs, but to different extents. One of those 16 basic needs is curiosity, which is the longing for knowledge. This yearning can be highlighted in people watching reality television for incredible people and skills. In the show Stan Lees Superhumans, the host Daniel Browning Smith, whos been dubbed the most flexible man in the world (History.com) travels around the world looking for people that have some extraordinary talents, such as the man who is immune to electricity and the blind man who uses radar to ride his bicycle. My point of view is that humans are fascinated by anything that we ourselves are unable to do. Viewers watch these shows to find out what makes these people different, as most people try to appreciate things which they are not familiar with. In addition, many reality televisi on shows contain disabled people doing amazing things, like the hip-hop dancer who does not have legs [has] found fame after performing on the Indian version of Britains Got Talent (Arnold). These shows are watched; due to the fact that they show acts which we do not see in our daily lives and this curiosity makes us want more of that show. It enlightens people, as to how anything is possible with absolute dedication. People might argue that reality television gives people impracticable expectations and over dramatizes things, but in a way is that not a good thing. Does it not compel people to believe that they can do activities, which they would not even have attempted? Think of reality television as a double edged sword. It gives people a chance to show their special skills and it gives them the opportunity to shine. To someone skilled, it is a weapon that can be used for fame, while to those who are not it might lead to mortification. Think again of American Idol and how the gifted even from small towns have become famous, while those who are less skilled are laughed at and then usually forgotten. Reality television can also be considered as a social catalyst. From Reisss profile, it was noted that Significant but small differences were reported on the motives of social contact, honor, order, and romance (Reiss and Wiltz). Most of the 16 motives in the Reiss profile indicate that the people who watch reality television usually long for some kind of human contact, like the motive of family which is the need to raise children (Reiss). Equally important, vengeance which is one of the motives involves other people, although it is a negative characteristic. Furthermore, it gives some people who find it hard to start a conversation, a new and interesting topic to discuss with colleagues and friends. Steven Reiss and James Wiltz write relating to this point of view that when they conducted a survey of 239 people it was found that Two of the most commonly repeated truths about reality TV viewers are that they watch in order to talk with friends and coworkers about the show, and that they are not as smart as other viewers. But our survey results show that both of these ideas are incorrect. Although some people may watch because it helps them participate in the next days office chat, fans and nonfans score almost equally when tested on their sociability. This indicates that fans of reality television have the same sociability compared to those who do not like reality television, so it can be inferred that reality television does not destroy social contact, but actually helps it; as it provides people a matter to discuss. Some people argue that sitting at home and watching reality television is a waste of time and equivalent to end of ones social life, because the person leaves home less and loses socializing abilities. However, reality television lets communities gather together in support of a fellow member of the society in a show, such as when the hometowns of contestants on American Idol come together and have parties to commemorate the participants success. Likewise, people take their families and friends to sit in the audience of talk shows and game shows, to have fun and watch the show. Hence, if there is so much social contact as a result of these shows, it can be said that reality television is not the killer of social activity that many consider it to be, but rather a tool that can be used for socializing. Furthermore, there are some people that watch reality television to learn. Reality television is not just fun and games mixed with heaps of drama; it does tend to teach a few lessons and skills, every now and then. Such as, there are instructional shows which teach anyone who is willing to watch, about how to cook food, renovate houses and many other activities. Shows like Project Runway help anyone who watches to acquire knowledge about the current fashion trends and informs individuals about clothes and accessories which a person should never wear. Similarly, shows like Who wants to be a Millionaire educates people and raises their general knowledge about the world. On these shows, people make a lot of mistakes and rather than just making fun of these mistakes, people can actually gain knowledge from these mistakes. The reason why some people make sure history is not forgotten is to make sure we do not make the same mistakes as our ancestors; I think reality television can be used the same way in this generation. The problem countless individuals have with these shows is that the information given on these shows is always the same and nothing original ever comes on these shows. Also, one might argue that there are far better methods of learning. However, if people are watching television anyway, should they not do something constructive with their time and watch reality television as a source of information. Also, the knowledge being shown might be something new for some people and it might even educate people on how something common is done properly. Television is appealing. And if you can use that to help teach your child about something, thats pretty powerful, Rivadeneyra says. With reality TV, we can teach our kids to think critically about what theyre watching. Whats real about the shows and whats not. Its important for them to have media literacy (Weinstein). In America, Survivor led the ratings in 2001-02, and Idol has topped the ratings three consecutive years (2004-05, 2005-06, and 2006-07) (Aazami). This evidence suggests that reality television has dominated the world of the television and it is further stated that The shows Survivor, the Idol series, The Amazing Race, the Americas Next Top Model series, the Dancing With The Stars series, The Apprentice, Fear Factor and Big Brother have all had a global effect, having each been successfully syndicated in dozens of countries (Aazami). These statistics are quite compelling, it was noted that Over 15 million people watched the first Survivor that figure rose to 18 million the second week (oregonstate.edu). These numbers keep on escalating, such that 23 million tuned in [to watch] Multi-Millionaire and 51 million watched the finale of Survivor' (Reality TVs Real Survivor 77). Also, in a study it was noted that between the ages of 18-29 around 68% of the people either liked or loved reali ty television (oregonstate.edu). As mentioned before, there are many reasons to watch these shows and thus it attracts such a large audience. In my perspective, people who are against this obsession with reality television do have some good points, such as people spending way too much time watching television and the networks preying on the viewers by showing them non-stop advertisements. Nevertheless, there are ways to cut down the number of hours that are spent watching reality television such as, downloading the episodes and only going over the interesting parts, without any advertisements. Also, by not viewing the shows alone and by not watching the elimination episodes one can save huge amounts of time (Pagliarini). Audiences are often made to vote and many consider it a waste of money. However, I think that the huge amount of people who vote, vote because it gives them a feeling of empowerment. Reality TV has given the audience more and more power over the years. Whether you get to vote for the winner, or vote for something the contestants have to do, or just play a game to win a prize, the audience has more to do other than just watch the show. What other shows are there where you can possibly affect the outcome besides Reality TV? (Suzanne) . As stated, by going over people how people relate, laugh, admire, socialize and learn using reality television it can be said that reality television does have its negatives, but there are far more advantages of watching reality television. Also, reality television has something that appeals to everyone and if viewed properly, can be of great help in different aspects of life for the viewer. Hence, the obsession which comes with reality television is not something that should be ignored, but rather embraced.

The Wife of Bath by Geoffery Chaucer :: essays research papers

The Wife of Bath, Dame Alice is quite a spiteful woman even though she desires only a few simple things in life; power and control. Through her prologue and tale, she makes mirror images of herself , which reflects the person who she really is. Dame Alice desires the obvious in life, but what she most desires above all is being more powerful than her man, her spouse, and her lover. In a relationship, she wishes to be dominant, the one who has the last to say, the one who has control over all things in the relationship. This can be first seen in her prologue, "I'll have a husband yet who shall be both my debtor and my slave and bear his tribulation to the grave upon his flesh, as long as I'm his wife. For mine shall be the power all his life over his proper body, and not he†¦"(55-59). It is then shown again in her tale when knight returns the castle and fulfills the task assigned by the queen, "a woman wants the self-same sovereignty over her husband as over her lover, and master him; he must not be above her" (174-176). Yet another example of Dame Alice's wish to be dominant is presented later in the tale told by her. The old hag, after marrying the knight, gives him a choice. It was either to have her old and ugly but faithful or young and pretty but wonder off. "You have two choices; which one will you try? To have me old and ugly till I die, but still loyal, true, and humble wife that will never displease you all her life, or would you rather I were young and pretty and chance your arm what happens in the city where friends will visit you because of me, yes, and on other places too, maybe."(309-316) By comparing the Wife of Bath's prologue to her tale, it is quite obvious that Dame Alice wants to be the old hag. In some aspects, Dame Alice can be said to be jealous of the old hag. After all, the hag was given power and dominance over her husband. In Dame Alice's true life it was not completely true. The husbands that Dame Alice had, "three of them were good and two were bad." (92) The three that she had were called 'good' because they "were rich and old†¦"(93) Dame Alice had complete control over them.