Epicurus believed that death should be nothing to us. Describe and Essay

Epicurus believed that death should be nothing to us. Describe and critically assess his principle argument for this conclusion - Essay Example Unfortunately, we can become acquainted only with small parts of his works and some letters,  which reached our times. All the fine points of  Epicureanism can be learned from the works of his followers and critics. Nevertheless, the philosophy of the thinker is valuable and worth-discussing as it presents very interesting ideas about life and death, pleasure and pain, and teaches us how to avoid the fear of death that prevents people from enjoying life. Epicurus had very interesting view on philosophy. He stated that the aim of this science was to reach the pleasant, calm life, absolute harmony without fear and hurt, full-fledged life among true friends. According to the philosopher, delight and hurt define what is good and bad, while death represents the end of everything, both the body and the spirit and that is why humans should not be afraid of it (Bakalis, 2005). The philosopher did not believe that any supreme forces can control human’s life and punish humans. According to his materialistic point of view, our world is founded on the atoms’ behavior and represents eternal system (Panicha, 1967). Epicurus considered the science of philosophy to be very helpful for people in their attempts to make their life more pleasant. The philosophy can help get rid of troubles that make our life poorer. One of the troubles that prevent us from enjoying our life is the fear of death. According to Epicurus, this fear spoils our life and in order to get rid of it, it is necessary we should understand what death really is. In order not to suffer people must feel safe. Here Epicurus is talking about the value of justice. According to the philosopher, only justice can eliminate harm and suffering completely. The philosopher talks about the justice system as about an agreement we sign with each other people make with each other to guarantee our safety. Get used to believing that death is nothing to us. For all good and bad consists in sense experience,

GE and Employee Training Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

GE and Employee Training - Essay Example As the discussion stresses a company can lay out significant amounts of money on training and teaching individuals in order to make them capable enough to be mangers. Yet the same individuals can leave the company soon after their training is complete to take up positions elsewhere. Effectively, what the company has done is to provide trained professionals to the competition which may not be in the best interest of the company. Additionally, any time which the human resources spend in training is time which is taken away from their other functions. These other functions have a direct impact on the bottom line but training is something which will only present results after a certain amount of delay.This paper highlights that to show the importance of internalising the training function and some of the ways to include it as a part of management, the example of GE is used since GE is one of the most admired companies in the world in terms of its management systems. These management syst ems include the concept of employee training and the development of human resources as a central part of the equation because GE uses training for a lot more than simply improving the HR.  The selection of GE as a focused company for this paper is important because GE has been used as an example of how a company should operate by many different analysts. By making training the primary function of HR, both Wilson and Welch show how the agreement between theory and practice helps a company become stronger than the competition.

How Does A Web Server Works Information Technology Essay

How Does A Web Server Works Information Technology Essay Web Servers are programs or computers with a connection to the Internet that will deliver the web pages to the web users. By using client/server model and the HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) over the World Wide Web (www), Web Server will deliver the web pages to the web users as well as other files to the web-based application. (Wikipedia, 2010) How does a Web Server works? When a personal computer connected to the internet, Internet Service Provider (ISP) will assign a unique IP address to the computer so that, the other computer will know where to find it on the vast network. This IP address will identify the computers location on the network. The responsibility for a Web Server is to store and exchange the information with other. Because of this reason, at least two parties are required while the process is happening. The two parties are client which characteristic is requested the information and a server which characteristic is to stores the request. (Smith, n.d.) For client they need software like web browser such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox to exchange the information. For server, the software that able to run is depends on the Operating System (OS) that chosen for the server. For example: Apache Web Server or Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS). Normally the client will communicate with the Web Server by using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Case #1 of the client-server architecture Client requests for static HTML pages Figure 1.1 Based on Figure 1.1, it shows the basic operation of web-server. While the user opens a web browser and type in the URL, browser will separate the URL into three parts which are protocol, server name and the files name. For example: the URL that user key in is http://www.seminar.com/web-server.htm, http will be the protocol, www.seminar.com will be the server name and the web-server.htm will be the file name. After the browser determines which protocol should be used, then the browser will use the DNS system to translate the server name www.seminar.com into an IP Address, which is use to connect to the server machine. When the browser connects to the correct server, the HTTP protocol will send a GET request to the server and request for the file web-server.htm. While the server gets the web-server.htm file, the server will send back the HTML text for the Web page to the browser. Web browser will format the page onto the screen to the user. (Marshall, B., 2000) If the server cannot allocate the file, an error message will send back to the client and inform the client to retry. After the browser get the response from the server, the browser will translates the data to HTML and display for the client in graphic form. (Smith, ud.) Apache Web Server According to the research from Web-Hosting-Top.com, Apache Web Server is the most popular Web Server in the world. Apache Web Server also can be named as Apache HTTP Server is a most popular web server on the world and it provides access to most of the web sites on the internet. Part of the reason for the public widely use for the Apache HTTP Server is because it is freely available. Besides that, it is reliable and easy to set up and configure. The most important thing is, it can provide most of the requirement for a web site. (Young, 1999) Apache is developed by a group of about 20 volunteer programmers, called the Apache Group. The first version of Apache Server which developed by the Apache Group is based on the NCSA HTTPd (National Center for Supercomputing Application). Most of the people will think that, this web server will called Apache is because it was developed from the existing NCSA code and several of patchy, so it name is called a patchy server or Apache Server. (QuinStreet Inc, 2010) Apache is an open-source web server platform. Apache Server application is available for a widely popular modern web platforms/operating systems such as UNIX, Microsoft Windows, LINUX, Mac OS X and etc. Internet Information Server (IIS) Web-Hosting-Top.com also states that, IIS is the second most popular web server which is just behind of the industry leader Apache HTTP Server. IIS can be a web server in your computer which can help you to develop a dynamic website and you can publish the website on your own server. Different with the Apache, IIS is only used to run on Windows platform which is comes to bundled with Windows NT platforms and above version. Internet Information Services (IIS) has a low system administration cost to help an organization to increase Web site and application availability. (Kranthi KumarVerroju, 2006). Besides that, by using IIS, a set of programs for building and administering Web sites, a search engine, and support for writing Web-based applications that access database will be included by Microsoft. (Dodge, 1999) In the process of IIS, it is similar with other process of web server. IIS will receive the request from the client and executes the required file and send result back to the client. Besides that, IIS server also provides the services of SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol) and FrontPage server extension. The client can use to send the email and use the dynamic feather like form handler of FrontPage extension. (WikiAnswer, n.d.) Application of Apache HTTP Server and IIS Web Server Advantages and Disadvantages of Apache Web Server and IIS Web Server Advantages for Apache Web Server Open Source The reason why Apache Web Server will become the top one web server as per the research in Web-Hosting-Top.com in the world is because it is open source software and it is free to download for everyone in the world. Programmers can download the Apache Web Server from the relevant website, view or edit it. The programmer can create a custom solution based on the core Apache program, or add on some feather and function to suit to the business requirement. Besides that, programmers who are come from worldwide will constantly contribute to improve the Apache Web Server which is available to use by everyone. Every improvement for the Apache will be upgrade in the official website and the version of the Apache will be updated. User may not need to wait for the full version of the software to be released; it can be installed in its official website as soon as they are available. Support Different with others Web Server which having the user support at only one location, Apache Web Server had a large user support community who is spread throughout multiple locations, companies and forums. While you are facing the problem with the feathers of the Apache Web Server, you can post your problem in the relevant webpage or forums, the programmers who are from all around the world will leave you the comment or suggestion to help you to solve your problem. By using this kind of communication, user can obtain the answer from the technician as soon as possible, no matter where they are located. Portability Apache Web Server is portable software. It can be run on various operating system include Linux, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows and etc. (Arie, 2010) Disadvantages for Apache Web Server Compare and Contrast of Apache Web Server and IIS Web Server Features Performances Stability OS Support Conclusion

Family Portrayal in the Film The Castle Essay -- essays research paper

The Castle is a movie primarily about a family sticking together and their fight for the right to live in their own home. The Castle’s portrayal of family is both positive and negative. The Castle depicts many positive images of the family throughout the movie. From the very start of the film, it is easy to see that the Kerrigans are a very close knit family. They always eat their dinner together, with the TV turned ‘down’, and talk about their day. Around the dinner table the family shows support for each other, and recognizes anything a family member may have achieved, like when Darryl beams with pride telling the family about how Dale dug a hole. The family also sets aside time after dinner for the family to watch TV together. Although only small things, these simple actions portray a positive image of the family. Another aspect of the film that depicts a positive image of family is the family’s support for Wayne. Although Wayne is serving an eight year prison sentence for armed robbery, Darryl, Sal, Tracey, Steve and Dale are still proud and supportive of him. Dale regularl...

Comparing and Contrasting Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart

Melisa Chan English Language and Literature Instructor Van Andel ————————————————- February 1, 2013 Viewing Africa From Two Sides Of A Coin. There aren’t many novels about the true face of Africa on bookshelves, especially not novels written by an author who knows Africa best during the time of its pre-colonial period. Things Fall Apart is a novel worth reading because it’s eye opener for those with not-very-positive stereotypes of the continent. In fact, it has been said that Things Fall Apart was written as a response to another novel, The Heart of Darkness.This is because in the latter novel, Africa was viewed in a darker light compared to the former novel. Thus, it’s natural that there will be differences and similarities between the two novels. However, assuming that Things Fall Apart being written as a response to The Heart of Darkness is a fact; there will be more differences than similarities among the two novels, especially in terms of its author, point of view, and the perception of the novel towards Africa and how the Africans treated in the novels. One of the aspects in which the two novels have more differences than similarities is the author.In terms of the author, The Heart of Darkness was written by Joseph Conrad, a non-African. He wrote the novel in Europe in 1902. This was during the Victorian Era under the rule of Queen Victoria. Apparently, in Europe, the African continent was viewed as a dark continent. This is perhaps due to the fact that it was compared to Europe itself where everything is civilized and familiar to them whereas Africa was a place of mystery and the unknown. On the other hand, Things Fall Apart was written by Chinua Achebe, an African who wrote this novel much later than Joseph Conrad, which was back in 1958.This novel was written in Africa but published in England, unlike The Heart of Darkne ss which was written and published in the same continent. In addition, it was written during the pre-colonial period before they gained independence. Unlike Joseph Conrad who was a foreigner to Africa, Chinua Achebe knew his country as well as he knew himself, thus, he gave Africa and its people more life and made their personalities and culture equally as significant and vibrant as those around the world. Furthermore, there weren’t any use of comparison of the continent to other continents.The comparisons used in Things Fall Apart were normal comparisons between individuals and local villages. Another aspect in which we can compare and contrast the two novels is the point of view in which they were written. The Heart of Darkness was written in the first-person point of view, through Marlow’s eyes. A rather unique style of writing that Conrad used for The Heart of Darkness was that the novel was written as a double story with a first-person narration within a first-per son narration.The frame-narrator is used to describe Marlow’s narration of his own story while the other first-person narrator is Marlow himself, depicting his adventure in the Congo. Unlike a typical first-person style, Marlow’s first-person narration is directed not towards the reader but to the men on the boat on the Thames. The frame-narrator on the other hand is narrating for the reader, the outer audience. It seemed like Conrad was reading aloud Marlow’s travel log. Things Fall Apart on the other hand was written in the third-person point of view.Instead of writing through the eyes of an African, the story of Things Fall Apart was written through the author’s eyes, as if he’s writing his observations of Okonkwo and the Igbo people. Things Fall Apart was written just like a typical story book which contained small interrelated stories, especially in the first part of the book. It was written in a way that depicted a progressive day-to-day basi s of the people of Okonkwo’s family and his village. Besides that, the perception and treatment of Africa and its inhabitants are very different between the two novels.In The Heart of Darkness, the Africans were depicted as â€Å"â€Å"savage† Africans† (â€Å"excerpt†: motifs and themes). They were treated like animals and slaves. In fact, the African slaves were described as soulless, as if they were empty shells used to work for the Europeans, â€Å"†¦ They passed me within six inches, without a glance, with that complete deathlike indifference of unhappy savages. † Even the Congo River was depicted as winding, dark and treacherous, compared to the Thames River which was depicted as a place of light, clear and unclouded.In Things Fall Apart, however, Africa and its people were depicted as full of vigor and life. The people of Umuofia were hardworking people who worked on their farms with passion and purpose. They also have a sense of pride and honor. For example, the people of Umuofia will only attack another village only if it was by the order of the Oracle or they will be punished. This can be proven by an extract from the novel: â€Å"†¦never went to war unless its case was clear and just and was accepted as such by its Oracle†¦the Oracle had forbidden Umuofia to wage a war.If the clan had disobeyed the Oracle, they would have been beaten†¦never fight†¦a fight of blame† (12). Even the environment seemed to be alive. There were changes in weather, farming and harvesting seasons and even the season where the locusts came. When comparing and contrasting these two novels, a few similarities can be identified. First of all, they are similar in the way that they were written about Africa in the author’s respective perspectives. They neither relied on external sources nor let them influence their writing style and context of their writing.Another similarity is that they both showed effect s of the colonization of the Europeans on the local community though they were introduced at different times in each novel. Colonization effects include loss of the African culture and principles and also a change in lifestyle of the local community. The hierarchy of the local community was also disturbed. In both novels, Africans who were supposed to be highly regarded were degraded to mere followers or slaves. The similarities identified are somewhat superficial similarities because despite having similar aspects, at a closer look, these similarities also express differences.In conclusion, there are more differences than similarities between these two novels. This is perhaps as expected because these two novels were written by two different people of different nationalities, backgrounds and perspectives. Furthermore, they were written in two different time periods. We cannot and should not judge which of these two novels is better. We should see these two novels as equals in terms of information sources because by reading, understanding and comparing these two novels, we get a better understanding of Africa from both sides of a coin.Thus, our perspective and knowledge of Africa is now broader and based on this, we can see Africa in a different light. Whether we see it in a better or worse light is entirely up to us to decide. However, at the very least, we have established the arguments about Africa to aid our judgment. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 2010. Excerpt from Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness. Date of access: 31 January 2013. Comparing and Contrasting the Novel, Heart of Darkness. † 123HelpMe. com. 23 Feb 2013 . â€Å"Ibo Religion in Things Fall Apart†. Religion-Culture-and-Stories. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3. 0 License. Date of access: 30 January 2013. â€Å"The Art of Narration in Heart of Darkness†. Introduction to Heart of Darkness. D ate of access: 23 February 2013. < http://home. roadrunner. com/~jhartzog/heartofdarknessintro. html>

How does Edgar Allan Poe misguide the reader in his story ‘The Black Cat’? Essay

When I first read the title of the story by Poe, My immediate assumption was that it was a mysterious story about a black cat that may contain superstition and witchcraft, because in literature, black cats are associated with superstition, darkness and evil but as the essay title questions how it misguides the reader, I thought that the story may have nothing to do with the supernatural. This story, ‘The Black Cat’ is by Edgar Allan Poe. We do not know of what the story is about but we make assumptions from the title and we do not know whether the narrator is male or female because the story is fictional but Poe writes as if it is a personal account and it had really happened to him. His intent of the story is to unburden his soul and I think he wants to confess to everyone and anyone who will listen to him as he says he wants to ‘place before the world what has happened’ and claims he is going to die tomorrow. The opening is unusual because of his proposal when he says ‘tomorrow, I will die’. Also he gives the storyline but without detail, is this to misguide us? We never usually see this in a story. I think the story is about someone who has been involved in a series of unfortunate household events that ‘have terrified, have tortured and have destroyed’ him. The general tone is a frightened and worried one because he says how it has affected him and used powerful language, such as ‘tortured’. Also the writer seems desperate for someone to explain these happenings. In this story this writer has wrote the story in first person. This means that being a reader I can emphasise with the narrator. In most stories the narrator is the hero, he is known as being courageous and have the characteristics of a hero although in this story this is not the case. Poe was the first writer to use this style and make the narrator an ‘anti-hero’ he is also called this because it doesn’t seem right to label him a villain, but he also is not a hero. At the beginning of the story the narrator tries to make you feel sympathetic towards them by telling you that ‘tomorrow, I will die’ and tells of how recent events have ‘tortured’, ‘terrified’ and ‘destroyed’ him. He then continues to tell us how he was a animal lover by saying ‘never was I so happy as when feeding and caressing them’. He also says how he was married early and his wife has ‘a disposition not uncongenial with my own’, he and his wife were very alike and quite obviously happy. We are perceived into thinking he is a nice a nice and well natured gentleman. However we have been misguided as he is far from this stereotype is reality. We are fooled into thinking that he was an animal lover who would never hurt a soul. He tries to get our sympathy because he is consumed with guilt at the fact he sickly mistreated and killed a cat and ill-treated and went on to try and kill his second cat with an axe, but instead he savagely and ‘accidentally’ killed his wife, he says how he ‘buried the axe in her brain’. We have been betrayed completely by the narrator. Another way that the reader is misguided is by the unusual structure. In most stories these usually contains only one major climax but in ‘The Black Cat’ there is a number of major climax’s but the events that happen in the climax’s gets worse as the story goes on, making us forget the last climax that happened and we become ‘immune’. The first major climax is when the narrator ‘gouges the cats’ eye out’. We think this is the major climax but as the story progresses the events become worse and go from the cat being hanged and then finally resulting in his wife being murdered by him. He does this because he wants to tell us the evil things he has done one-by-one because he hopes we will forget about the previous atrocities and still feel sympathy for him. I also feel that, Pluto was used to misguide the reader in this story. First off, we find out that the cat is named Pluto, this could be associated with a mysteriousness and possibly magic and witchcraft. Poe then continues to say how at first the cat was an affectionate, loving pet, none the less he reveals his wife’s belief cats are witches in disguise. This automatically makes us think that supernatural happenings will later come into the story. The fact that he says about the cats white patch changing into a collar like a noose and that the second cat is a reincarnation of the first seems pretty surreal and unbelievable. The reason for this is so that we also believe that the cat is evil. The main role of the cat in this story is to divert the blame from the narrator to the cat for the terrible things he had done and the murder of his wife. The story would be incomplete without the cat, as it would just be about a man who has killed his wife; the cat is the main character. Another way Poe attempts to misguide the reader is by using doubles, a common factor used in gothic horror stories to show the story contains split personallities. In this story, it is two cats that are used as doubles to highlight the fact of the narrators split personality. Also another thing that suggests the narrator has a split personallity is the gouging of his cats eye. In english litrature, the gouging of an a eye is interpretted as the person who done it, wanting to be self-castrated. As this story was wrote in the pre 20th century when homosexuallity was illegal, one theory is that the narrator may have in denile of being homosexual,. This relates back to the self-castration, is it possible he wanted to become a woman? So that it was legal to have relationships with males. And by killing his wife with an axe demonstrates his inability to be with a woman. In conclusion I felt the purpose in the narrator writing his account of what had happaned was to divert the blame of all the horrible things he had done, off of himself. My personal reaction tp this story was rather excited and anxious as to what would happen next, after each climax, but I also felt quite disturbed as the story made me be in the mind of a murderer.