How Material Things Contribute Towards Differences on a Street Essay Example for Free

How Material Things Contribute Towards Differences on a Street Essay Taking into consideration that ‘difference is not the same as inequality’ (Blakeley et al., 2009, p. 24), this essay intends to look at KÃâ€" and outline how the material things contribute towards differences with reference to City Road; deriving from the premise that the material assets of a street can generate either an inclusive or exclusive interaction, favouring some and not others. Kà ¶nigsalle, known by its nickname, â€Å"Kà ¶, is the most beloved upscale commercial street in Germany (Welt online, 2010). On one side of the street we have stores from the most expensive brands in the world and on the other, a mix of baroque buildings which host a different number of businesses. Being seen walking along or visiting its stores is denotative of a unique social status. Everything along the Kà ¶ is designed to be in accordance to and promote an upscale social lifestyle. The material things on City Road, while performing a more literal function, also contribute to tangible objective differences when favouring, for example, pedestrians over drivers (e.g. the red tarmac offers pedestrians an extra safety measure when crossing, while taking away space from the drivers); parking is also a critical matter, generating therefore, economic consequences for the local shops (‘Material Lives’, 2009, scene 1). Another relevant point is the fact that, City Road social appearance, along with its material assets usage, changes considerably throughout the day, making it almost a different street by nightfall (e.g. from a busy commercial street during the day to a ‘party haven’ at night, when it is taken over by young adults) (‘Making social lives on City Road’, 2009, Scene 8). Such an absolute change does not occur on the Kà ¶. On the Kà ¶, the very same material things, should not only perform the most frugal of the functions, but also be in accordance to what the street stands for, thus, being an active part of the process of creating objective tangible differences -like in City Road, as well as, subjective ones. Kà ¶ supports its image by providing the necessary visible and invisible infrastructure to sustain a busy, high-octane upscale atmosphere: The street signage is visible; there are several crossing points; clearly marked sidewalks, tarmacs and lanes favour the mobility of handicapped individuals as well as bicycles and pedestrians without deterring traffic; it is well lit; the buildings and facades are well taken care of; litter bins are everywhere and one will, for example, find plenty of parking possibilities, which as a result, allows the individual to visit the stores and restaurants and feel safe. Altogether, the material things are in perfect apparent symbiosis with its users. Separately, each material asset on the Kà ¶ objectively indicates them as being part of a regular commercial street just like City Road. When looking at them altogether, the ensemble creates a striking subjective difference. To better illustrate how the material things on both streets subjectively enforces a certain type of behaviour and attitude, take the example of an individual walking down the street wearing shorts, tank-top and flip-flops. On City Road, this individual would most likely not even be noticed. The same individual walking down the Kà ¶, would be regarded as conspicuous. The same can be applied to the type of cars circulating on the Kà ¶ or City Road, a Ferrari on the Kà ¶ would be taken for granted while on City Road it would probably stand out. Another example to consider is parking. Though there are many parking slots and options, the prices around the Kà ¶ are up to 80% more expensive than other streets in Dà ¼sseldorf (RP Online, 2011), hence, favouring the visit of the more affluent layer of the community over the lesser one. There is no sign on the Kà ¶ telling who is welcomed or not; objectively speaking everyone is welcomed, but its material things are invested with such a subjective meaning, that they set the pace and shape of the local social life, creating therefore, an alluring environment which itself dictates a whole gamut of social patterns that are absorbed and followed by the local community, consequently contributing towards differences. While City Road reveals a more inclusive image, Kà ¶ conversely manifests a more exclusive one. As we can see, each street is similar in various aspects and are designed and structured to cater and favour a specific type of person, business or activity and its material things corroborate such a process by subjectively or objectively embedding certain social patterns which will then be adopted by their users.

René Descartes Does Not Reject Sense Perception Essay -- Philosophy Re

Renà © Descartes Does Not Reject Sense Perception Some have suggested that Renà © Descartes argues that sense perception relies on the mind rather than on the body. Descartes asserts that we can know our mind more readily than we can know our body. In support of this idea he gives the example of a piece of wax which is observed in its solid form and its liquid form. After pointing out the difficulties of relying on the senses of the physical body to understand the nature of the wax he makes this claim: [P]erception ... is neither a seeing, nor a touching, nor an imagining. ... [R]ather it is an inspection on the part of the mind alone (Section 31). 1 This quote is perhaps the most direct statement of the author's thesis on this subject. I contend that, based upon the arguments presented in the Second Meditation, Descartes shows that we can use our senses to help us understand the true nature of things, but the senses alone are inadequate to determine truth (since they are often deceived), and that all that may be known with certainty (truth) are those things we know by our judgment, thinking, and understanding of them in our minds. Descartes' argument does not necessarily reject any role of the senses in the process of understanding. Steps of the Argument: Descartes began his argument in the First Meditation by questioning or calling into doubt everything that he knew. After examining all the things he thought he knew about himself and the world he concluded (the details of that argument are beyond the scope of this essay) that the only thing he knew with absolute certainty is that I am, I exist (Section 25). Having established the fact that he has a real existence of some kind he then said But I do not yet understand... ...y some shape, of being enclosed in a place, and of filling up a space in such a way as to exclude any other body from it; ..." [followed by other features not related to extension]. (Section 26) [5] Perceptio : a related word perceptione in I:11 is translated as knowledge, or perception. In II:5 vel odoratu percipi is translated as [the sense of] smell. In II:7 percipiat is translated perceive or know. In II:11 perceptiones is translated perceptions, notions, or ideas. In II:12 solà ¢ mente percipere is rendered "it is the mind alone which perceives it" (Veitch), "it is my mind alone which perceives it" (Haldane), "I perceive it through the mind alone" (Cress). In II:14 perfectius evidentiusque percipiebam is translated "evident and perfect conception" (Haldane), "clearer and more perfect perception" (Veitch), and "perceived more perfectly and evidently" (Cress).

Food Essay Essay

Food. When people see or hear that word, many of them think of food as something that just keeps us healthy and alive. In my perspective that is true. But there is so much more to it than many people see. It is cultural, a tradition, and can have many different meanings. It can also be seen as edible art and a way to express yourself. To me, it is a way to get away from everything. As a child, I didn’t enjoy eating what my parents wanted me to. I was obsessed with sugary treat and that is almost the only thing I’d enjoy eating. Going to the dentist was always a pain because I was always scared of the dentist which till this day I don’t like going to the dentists. My mother would always think I would have a lot of cavities but to her surprise I never had any cavities as a child. But the bad side was, I would always get stomach aches because of the amounts of sugar I would eat. Even that wouldn’t stop my sweet tooth. As I got older I slowly realized that there are so many other foods that taste amazing! I would begin eating more and more foods that were different. And nowadays I love food! I eat everything that my mother will cook; I am not the same picky child as I was before. I not only love to eat food, but I love to cook as well. I’m definitely not an amazing cook but I still love it and it means a lot to me. Just give me a recipe and the ingredients and I will be fine. Just like anyone my age, I started off cooking small and easy foods. I would begin with cooking eggs, omelets, brownies and pancakes. And I would slowly make more and more types of food. For example I love cooking pasta and making sushi with my mother. It doesn’t seem like very high end kind of foods to make but it does the job well and tastes great and is healthy at the same time. Now that I am an adult, more is more expected from me from both my parents and my boyfriend. All three of them are making me learn to cook more and more because it’s something everyone my age should know how to do. Food is not only great tasting, but also is a stress reliever; a mood changer. Whenever I am feeling down, sad or maybe even bored I can always count on my kitchen because it isn’t going anywhere and is always there when I need it. Especially when I have an anxiety attack and I just want to be alone, I plug in my earphones, turn up my music and eat of course. It really helps me at home and helps me cope with being away from my boyfriend who is stationed on the other side of America and who just got home from Afghanistan. Just something about food that helps me feel better all the time. As a child I remember always watching my mother cooking and all. And just like every other child I always wanted to help because it would make me feel more grown up. So as awesome as my mother is, she would let me help her. Of course she gave me the easiest things to help her with. For example, if she was baking a cake she would let me crack the eggs, put in the butter, use the measuring cup to put in the right amount of flour. And she would even let me mix the batter too sometimes. When my mother would let me do all those things it made me feel so empowered and I felt like a responsible adult. As I got older, cooking had a special place in my heart. She would slowly let me make on my own, with her by my side of course. Making sure I’m doing it right. Till this day I remember always sneaking into the kitchen and steal some batter from the cake she was making and run off giggling. I would also sneak the chocolate she was using. Every time my mother bakes, I always have these memories. The house would always smell so good when she would cook. Food isn’t just plain and simple. It is unique and is almost fragile. While cooking even the smallest change in the recipe can change the taste of the dish dramatically. With spices especially it can change the food because if you put too little it won’t taste good, same if you out too much. You have to put in the perfect amount for it to taste good. Not only is the taste of the food good, but also the smell of the food while cooking is amazing. While cooking the smell of the food cooking just makes you want to eat it a lot more. When it comes to cooking, my mother is my biggest inspiration because no matter what is going on at home, when my mom fixes us some food; it of course doesn’t fix any of the problems but it does lighten the mood and helps us feel a little better. I’ve noticed that many arguments are when people are hungry or have an empty stomach. She absolutely loves cooking and it makes her happy and it’s the same for me as well. As I was younger, I would love to watch cooking shows where they compete over who can cook the best, also I would love watching the shows where they show a lot of cooking gadgets. Those shows always caught my attentions. Watching those shows just amazes me because of the things people can create with food, it’s just breath taking and makes me so happy! As for being Ukrainian and Polish, we h ave many different types of food that we make. In my culture we eat a lot of potatoes. Many people think it’s funny and weird that we eat a lot of potatoes but to me it tastes good and it is very healthy. We also make many different salads. Being Ukrainian and Polish and coming from a fairly large family, we eat a lot so it opens my eyes to many different types of food and makes me interested in trying everything. If I had to describe food in my perspective in the least amount of words I’d have to say that food to me is not just food, it’s a way I live my day to day life and what I create with food is not just to keep me stress free but is also a hobby and a way I keep people I know happy. Food isn’t just something we can just describe as a culture or what goes in our stomachs.

Alternative Sources of Renewable Energy Essay - 1629 Words

With a growing population around the world, the need for energy is growing as well. We are accustomed to using fossil fuels as our central source of energy for everyday uses. Fossil fuels are a natural matter that is found in the ground of the Earth formed in a previous time period millions of years ago that are nonrenewable and are used for energy today. Fossil fuels have to be burned in order to produce energy. When nonrenewable resources have been used, they cannot restock themselves or ever be used again. Renewable energy is a supply of energy that can be used as many times necessary and does not use any compound made from the Earth. There are many different types of fossil fuels and renewable energy that we use for energy†¦show more content†¦Solar power has been sufficient on the Earth â€Å"literally forever†. In order for ships to have power, wind has been used since 3200 B.C. Soon the windmill is invented and then at the beginning of the 1900’s, hydroelectric power for electricity is introduced. Shortly after this time, renewable energy was basically forgotten because other sources of energy by using fossil fuels were booming. Renewable energy became a topic of interest in the 1970’s when there was a gas shortage crisis because of the tapering production of oil from the Middle East. Although people began to realize soon after this that fossil fuels wouldn’t last forever and that a new source of energy needed to be established. By all means, we are not out of fossil fuels today; we just use them rapidly which causes them to vanish faster (Hoyle). One of the greatest benefits from using renewable energy rather than fossil fuels is that it is much cleaner. There are no toxins and pollutants pushed into the air by burning like when using fossil fuels. This makes renewable energy much more competent to the environment and to people for preservation and health reasons. Renewable energy can never run out so there is always an infinite supply. When fossil fuels are burnt, it creates greenhouse gases that are harmful to our atmosphere. This makes our solar energy become caught in the atmosphere which in turn, causes global warming because of the absorbed heat. ManyShow MoreRelatedAlternative Energy Sources For Renewable Energy1710 Words   |  7 Pagesconcern for our environment, alternative energy has become a source of energy that is an alternative to the problem that these fossil fuels have caused our Earth. Alternative energy are renewable and is considered to be free energy sources (Alternative Energy). All alternative energy sources have lower carbon emissions when being compared to conventional energy sources. These sources include Biomass Energy, Wind, Solar, Geothermal, and Hydroelectric Energy (Alternative Energy). With the use of recyclingRead MoreAlternative Energy Sources For Renewable Energy1511 Words   |  7 PagesRenewable energy has become a widely popular topic in society. With the rapid depletion of fossil fuels, scientist are looking to natural and renewable resources to create a means to produce sustainable energy. There are many alternative energy sources that have proven useful in the past couple of years. Some of the alternative energy sources are not only more useful than others but have proven to be easier to attain and also prove to create a more substantial amount of energy. Today, the most widelyRead MoreAlternative Energy Sources For Renewable Energy1466 Words   |  6 Pagesseeking new forms of energy that will provide clean energy and also preserve Earth s lifespan. The use of renewable and non-renewable resources has been a major controversy throughout history; renewable energy such as wind power has been the main focus of this issue. Many would believe wind energy is the best renewable power source because it is the cleanest and most efficient, whereas, others view wind energy as a time bomb that will soon destroy the planet. Alternative energy sources should replaceRead MoreAlternative Sources Of Energy For Renewable Energy1766 Words   |  8 PagesAbstract Majority of electricity generated in New Zealand are mainly from renewable source of energy that are naturally occurring. These source of energy are not consumed when converted hence they will not be depleted, and they are constantly reusable and replenish naturally. Increase in research and investment toward renewable energy will benefit New Zealand society as it will generate less pollution, and more jobs opportunities will emerge. Furthermore it will benefit New Zealand by reinforcingRead MoreAlternative Energy For Renewable Energy Sources3426 Words   |  14 Pagesworld has depended on one form of energy for transportation, and that is fossil fuels. This means as our demand for these fossil fuels increases our supply will decrease dramatically. As supply dwindles and costs rise, nations will be forced to utilize alternative energy sources. Coal, both non-renewable and environmentally destructive, is the most likely near-term candidate for replacing oil as a primary energy sourc e. In order to achieve a secure and stable energy supply that does not cause environmentalRead MoreRenewable Energy : Alternative Energy Sources1906 Words   |  8 PagesNon- Renewable Energy These energy sources are very efficient in the way they work and provide for our needs. Unfortunately, there are two immense disadvantages for fossil fuels and non-renewable resources. They are named non renewable for a reason, the process that these resources go through literally takes millions of years for them to be useful for our needs. â€Å"We have to recognize there is a finite planetary quantity of each nonrenewable resource that can be recovered economically. In theory,Read MoreAlternative Energy Resources : Renewable Energy Source848 Words   |  4 PagesAlternate energy resources are being developed to compete against the fossil fuel power stations. Fossil fuel such as coal and oil are drilled and shoveled out of the ground and then processed to be turned into electricity. Problems with fossil fuels are that they produce hazardous air emissions and give off by-products that will harm the area. Some well-known alternate renewable energy resources are wind, solar, and hydr o power. These are all sources that are in abundance and will be around forRead MoreAssess the Potential of Three Sources of Renewable Energy as Alternatives to Using Fossil Fuels in the Developing World1850 Words   |  8 Pagesbecame the main source of energy. However, faced with the notable increase demand for energy, fossil fuel, as a non-renewable resource becomes scarcer and more expensive nowadays. To solve this problem, the world needs to replace fossil fuels with other sources of energy which are relatively low-cost and more secure. Renewable energy is such a potential energy. This essay will give an outline of three sources of renewable energy to be used in developing nations, which are solar energy, wind power andRead MoreRenewable Energy : The Beneficial Option For The Future !1227 Words   |  5 PagesRenewable energy; the beneficial option for the future! The threat of global warming is influencing people to become â€Å"greener,† turning to renewable energy options which are often referred to as alternative energy. Renewable energy refers to energy that does not come from burning of fossil fuels or pollutant infused methods to provide energy. It is the harnessing of natural resources that are constantly renewable such as sunlight for solar panels and wind for wind turbines, just to name two (LambRead MoreNew And Alternative Sources Of Energy1311 Words   |  6 Pages Today s society uses enormous amounts of energy. *The shadow of our presence on this planet is a result of generations upon generations of production and utilization of energy*. New and alternative sources of energy are being developed to replace the declining accessibility of coal and fossil fuels. Use of renewable energy is a key component in combatting the climate change that has become a major issue in the 21st century. Reducing our impact on the climate as a result of greenhouse gas emissions