Friday, January 31, 2020

Safe Haven Essay Example for Free

Safe Haven Essay A young woman flees her house after being shown in possession of a bloody knife. She is shown moments later buying a bus ticket, her hair now cropped and bleached, and stops at a small North Carolina town called Southport. At the general store, she introduces herself as Katie. After acquiring a job as a waitress and buying a small house on the edge of town, Katie becomes friends with her neighbor, Jo and meets handsome Alex Wheatley,the manager of a local convenience store, and his two children, Lexie and Josh. Alexs wife tragically died of cancer a few years prior. Alex immediately takes a liking to Katie, doing small helpful things, such as leaving an old bike at her house. They go on a family trip to the beach, and Alex asks her to go canoeing with him, after which, they fall in love. Lexie immediately accepts Katie, while Josh is initially resistant, believing Katie to be his late mothers replacement, but eventually accepts her as well. Meanwhile, Kevin, a husky Boston police officer, searches for Katie and, using his authority as a police officer, sends out reports saying that she is a wanted murderer. Upon seeing her picture in the police station, Alex confronts Katie and becomes angry that she didnt trust him enough to even tell him her real name, Erin. The picture flashes to Kevins boss confronting him at work, pointing out he always carries a water bottle that turns out to be filled with vodka, and reveals that Erin was Kevins wife. Directly afterward, Katie is shown packing while talking angrily with Jo. Alex drives over to Katies house to talk to her, only to discover that she left. He drives to the nearest ferry and admits hes fallen in love with her and promises to protect her no matter what. Initially, Katie wants to flee but then she decides to stay in Southport and she and Alex help prepare the town for the upcoming Fourth of July celebration. Later, Katie tells Alex that Kevin is her husband, whom she stabbed with a kitchen knife in order to protect herself from his drunken assault. Meanwhile, Kevin breaks into Katies grandmothers home and finds the phone number to the Southport restaurant that employs Katie. He finds the location and makes his way there, very noticeably drunk. Arriving just on time for the Fourth of July parade, Kevin begins his search for Katie through the crowd, belligerent. He finally finds Katie dancing with Josh and watches as Alex leans over to kiss her, which makes him angry. Later, Katie has a dream that she is standing on the docks watching the fireworks when Jo comes up and tells Katie that he is here. Katie wakes up in the convenience store next to a fast asleep Lexie. While she is walking around in the store, Kevin makes his appearance and confronts her, drunk and sobbing and asking her to talk. He asks her to go back home with him, but she refuses and tells him to leave. He pulls out a revolver while Katie asks Lexie to stay up in the second floor of the store, scared that she might see Kevin and become frightened. Meanwhile, Kevin is pouring gasoline all over the store, with the intent to burn it down. He sits down on the steps with a lighter, deep in thought, and Katie fakes sympathy for him and agrees to return home with him, only to push him into the water by surprise. However, a firework spark lands on the gasoline, igniting a fire that spreads all over the store. Alex, busy shooting off fireworks, sees the burning store and quickly makes his way across the lake by boat. He manages to make his way up to the second floor and rescue Lexie from the burning building. Meanwhile, Katie is wrestling with a soaked Kevin who is attempting to shoot her. After a long struggle, she grabs a hold of the gun and kills him. Soon after, Alex finds Katie and they embrace. In the aftermath, Alex riffles through a desk belonging to his late wife, where he finds multiple letters she prepared ahead of time for memorable events such as Joshs eighteenth birthday and Lexies wedding day. Alex gives Katie a letter with the words For Her on the envelope. The letter talks about how if someone is receiving this letter, then Alex loves her without a shadow of a doubt. She says she is thankful for whomever is now reading the letter and thanks the reader for making Alex feel young and in love again. The movie ends by revealing that Jo was actually Alexs dead wife who left town moments before.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Are arithmetical truths empirically falsifiable? :: essays research papers

Arithmetic and the study of arithmetic have been around for many centuries. Used by people to trade with each other, understand each others’ problems, build houses etc. Arithmetic is a huge part of everyday life for everyone on the planet. So why do we have arithmetical ideas and concepts? I think this is pretty simple. Arithmetic exists because we need it to live and interact with each other. A good way for us to understand each other is through arithmetic. Although it sounds like arithmetic was found by humans, there is no way that it could have been created by us. Arithmetic is more of something that was discovered, although it already existed in the world around us. It was discovered so we can use it to figure out everyday problems and to understand the people and world around us. Later through extensive mathematics arithmetic has also become commonly used in high level mathematics where things may not relate to real life right now or sometimes never. It is crucial to understand the difference between two kinds of mathematics to really understand the question of arithmetical truths being empirically falsifiable or not. These two contexts in which we can analyze mathematics are pure mathematics (imaginary world) and applied mathematics (the real world around us). The imaginary world is the world that is created by formulas and mathematicians to try to understand the world in a general matter with certain theories while applied mathematics deals with real world problems rather than going for a general explanation. We can make this distinction by saying that pure mathematics never really only deals with the real world when it is applied thus causing it to be used as applied mathematics. Thus pure mathematics to a point is the cause for applied mathematics but this does not mean that pure mathematics deals with real world problems but rather might be the answer to some of the problems in the real world. I would also like to make the question about â€Å"arithmetical truths might be empirically falsifiable† or not clear, because there can be misunderstandings. I think the key to understand is that if an arithmetical truth is falsifiable it in no way means that the arithmetical truth is false. It just implies that there is a possibility that it might have a wrong answer or may be proven wrong in one way. This means that it is falsifiable if it might have one wrong answer at some point in time rather than false all together.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Alcohol Abuse in the Work Place

There are individuals suffering from too much stress or worry that would resort to drinking alcoholic beverages to calm their nerves . There is a feeling of relaxation upon taking alcoholic drinks and this is true with moderate amount of intake.Excessive drinking by employees will cause hangovers, a real   pain in the workplace. Heavy drinkers employees is an expensive problem for many business   and industries worldwide brought by their absenteeism. The losses includes productivity, injuries and additional claims on health insurance.The moderate amount of alcoholic   drinks like a   single or two glasses   of wine, a shot of vodka, beer, whiskey or   whatever drinks with alcohol can relax an employee after work but the excess intake maybe a defense against   life problem. Alcoholic abuse become an issue and a serious one in the workplace.When an employee was   hooked into alcoholic drinks, he cannot face the day without alcoholic drink even early in the morning, cann ot attend   a social or professional meeting, conceal how many bottles he drank or in denial about his drinking. The cycle   of excessive   alcoholic drinking   will continue   that will   lead   to job   loss, financial worries, loneliness, divorce and may even jeopardized   a marriage relationship (Bartholomew 89).Many of the excessive alcohol drinkers doesn’t realize that   their vicious cycle of   drinking can create a feeling of depression And   they can only overcome the feeling by   drinking and drinking until there is a feeling   of numbness. Further depression leads to   increase intake of alcoholic drinks.Alcoholic   abuse at workplace   will be explored and analyzed to understand the reasons, symptoms   and possible plan of actions to correct and prevent excessive   drinking. This study   will be of significance to many individuals who are currently hooked with alcoholisms, students of social sciences, families and relatives of alcoholic drinkers and the entire society.DiscussionEvery individual have a choice if they   want to have   alcoholic addiction. Alcoholic abuse in the workplace   does not only harm   the excessive drinker but   threatens   the company   and co-employees safety , affects   their job   performance and result to great loss in productivity (Lehman 88).The immediate superior and co-workers   of alcoholic employee are into an awkward   position to decide whether to report their   alcoholism or to cover up their mistakes. There   are circumstances that   employees does not drink at   the   workplace but   prior to work reporting   were   already   equipped   with full tank of alcoholic drinks inside his body, this will   definitely affect   the   individual’s job performance, prone to accident and became less productive. The workload are not accomplished on time and other employees are affected by work backlogs.There are many sign s and symptoms that an employee is into alcoholism while at workplace such as unexplained, prolonged and frequent absences, prone to accidents while out or in at work, reduced productivity, overreactions to criticisms, suspicious of other workers, erratic work patterns, hard to conceal hangovers   in the   morning, indifference with   personal hygiene, exhausted easily, slurred speech and  Ã‚   unsteady walking. The signs of physical deterioration and loss in productivity are prominent. There are circumstances that   other co-workers who covered up the alcoholic drinkers, lend them money   and   patched their work load (Bartholomew 89).This instance will not be of help to alcoholic drinker at the workplace for they have all the chance to continue their bad habits of drinking. Other co-workers will attempt to handle the situation of alcoholic employee and will not seek assistance or advice from qualified personnel of the company.This act of co-worker is not enough to co rrect the alcoholics from their vices and it is advisable to report their co-worker (Shinderman 65).. The threat   of losing his job is present but it may be the other way around, he may intend to seek help from qualified personnel and correct the wrongdoings.The employers of alcoholic drinkers have much larger problems than their afflicted employee and it is detrimental to the company’s productivity. Absenteeism for employees under the influence of alcohols have higher percentage than other employees, prone to claim more sickness benefits and account that intoxicated people are   more prone to   accidents at workplace.The incident of alcoholism was not limited to lower level workers but even those employees in rank positions are prone to alcoholism (Lehman 86). Taking steps   in assisting the alcoholic drinkers at workplace is significant in preventing their addiction to   alcohol and possible remedial action that would not only beneficial to the employee but as   well as   to their co-workers and families. The workplace is one of the community’s vital component in changing the attitudes of alcoholic abuse victims towards an intoxicated consumption of alcoholic drinks (Bartholomew 91).Paying   close attention to   alcohol abusive employees   of   the company is an approach to warn the alcoholics that a company can enforce action against   alcohol abuse. Interventions by   employers such as   talking   directly to   alcohol   intoxicated   employee and informing them of possible   actions for their   misdeeds can improve the rate of recovering from alcoholism. Alcoholism can be   regarded as a health issue   but at   the same time is an integrity issue in the corporate world. By helping an alcoholic employee at workplace is a plan to restore the confidence of the company and the employee himself.Creating positive changes in workplace will only happen with alcohol-free policies, programs and possible c onsequences at workplace. Improving the worker’s environment will provide benefit to every one at in the workplace (Lehman 89).A clear message that employee’s alcoholism is not only his problem but the entire company’s problem and working together to solve alcoholic abuse will be one of the best course of actions.Various conditions and situations accompanied alcohol abuse, an example is an alcoholic employee with mood swings and depression   and its can be observed when he is having difficulty to focus on his work and meet   their schedules. Outburst of temper, restlessness, poor attention to details, impatience, tolerance to boredom, disorganized thoughts and working table, impaired concentration, procrastination, inability for relaxation and no follow through are symptoms that an employee is into alcoholism.Alcohol abuse is a kind of psychological disorder with an individual’s difficulty to control the excessive intake of alcohol with recurrent nega tive outcomes. The amount and frequency of alcohol intake may differ from one individual to another but the pre-occupation with alcohol with negative effects matters.The urbanization of a society explain the theory that alcohol has been discovered and utilized as replacement for unclean water reservoir   and it is not surprising that there are individuals with high alcohol tolerance (Bartholomew 94).The range of alcohol abuse damage   the different aspects of an individual life and possibly others. The overabundance of alcohol will have an impact on the physical aspect of an employee such as cirrhosis of the liver, alcohol dementia, heart disease, sexual dysfunction and even death. In social aspect, the impact of alcohol abuse includes jeopardy in marriage, divorce and anti-social behavior because of alienated consideration by the society.In terms of economic, there is a possibility of losing one’s employment, poor judgment, incapacity to pay the living quarters and finan cial difficulties. Alcohol abuse may also have legal consequences when an individual was charges for public disorders or driving under the influence of liquor (Lehman 85).The emotional consequences of alcohol abuse will damage the relationship to their children when father or head of the family is the alcoholic, chance for verbal abuse to his coworkers and family members and lose of one’s self respect.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

New Yorks Most Notorious Neighborhood

It is impossible to overstate how notorious the lower Manhattan neighborhood called the Five Points was throughout the 1800s. It was said to be the roost of gang members and criminals of all types, and was widely known, and feared, as the home turf of flamboyant gangs of Irish immigrants. The reputation of the Five Points was so widespread that when the famous author Charles Dickens visited New York on his first trip to America in 1842, the chronicler of Londons underside wanted to see it for himself. Nearly 20 years later, Abraham Lincoln visited the Five Points during a visit to New York while he was considering running for president. Lincoln spent time at a Sunday school run by reformers trying to change the neighborhood and stories of his visit appeared in newspaper months later, during his 1860 campaign. The Location Provided the Name The Five Points took its name because it marked the intersection of four streets—Anthony, Cross, Orange, and Little Water—which came together to form an irregular intersection with five corners. In the past century, the Five Points has essentially disappeared, as streets have been redirected and renamed. Modern office buildings and courthouses have been constructed on what had been a slum known around the world. Population of the Neighborhood The Five Points, in the mid-1800s, was known primarily as an Irish neighborhood. The public perception at the time was that the Irish, many of whom were fleeing the Great Famine, were criminal by nature. And the appalling slum conditions and pervasive crime of the Five Points only contributed to that attitude. While the neighborhood was predominantly Irish in the 1850s, there were also African-Americans, Italians, and various other immigrant groups. The ethnic groups living in close proximity created some interesting cultural cross-pollination, and legend holds that tap dancing developed in the Five Points. African American dancers adapted moves from Irish dancers, and the result was American tap dancing. Shocking Conditions Prevailed Reform movements of the mid-1800s spawned pamphlets and books detailing horrendous urban conditions. And it seems that mentions of the Five Points always figure prominently in such accounts. Its hard to know how accurate the lurid descriptions of the neighborhood are, as the writers generally had an agenda and an obvious reason to exaggerate. But accounts of people essentially packed into small spaces and even underground burrows seem so common that they are probably true. The Old Brewery A large building which had been a brewery in colonial times was a notorious landmark in the Five Points. It was claimed that up to 1,000 poor people lived in the Old Brewery, and it was said to be a den of unimaginable vice, including gambling and prostitution and illegal saloons. The Old Brewery was torn down in the 1850s, and the site was given over to a mission whose purpose was to try to help neighborhood residents. Famous Five Points Gangs There are many legends about street gangs which formed in the Five Points. The gangs had names like the Dead Rabbits, and they were known to occasionally fight pitched battles with other gangs in the streets of lower Manhattan. The notoriety of the Five Points gangs was immortalized in the classic book Gangs of New York by Herbert Asbury, which was published in 1928. Asburys book was the basis of the Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York, which portrayed the Five Points (though the film was criticized for many historical inaccuracies). While much of what has been written about the Five Points Gangs was sensationalized, if not entirely fabricated, the gangs did exist. In early July 1857, for example, the Dead Rabbits Riot was reported by the New York City newspapers. In days of confrontations, members of the Dead Rabbits emerged from the Five Points to terrorize members of other gangs. Charles Dickens Visited the Five Points The famed author Charles Dickens had heard about the Five Points and made a point of visiting when he came to New York City. He was accompanied by two policemen, who took him inside buildings where he saw residents drinking, dancing, and even sleeping in cramped quarters. His lengthy and colorful description of the scene appeared in his book American Notes. Below are excerpts: Poverty, wretchedness, and vice, are rife enough where we are going now. This is the place: these narrow ways, diverging to the right and left, and reeking everywhere with dirt and filth...Debauchery has made the very houses prematurely old. See how the rotten beams are tumbling down, and how the patched and broken windows seem to scowl dimly, like eyes that have been hurt in drunken frays...So far, nearly every house is a low tavern; and on the bar-room walls, are coloured prints of Washington, and Queen Victoria of England, and the American eagle. Among the pigeon-holes that hold the bottles, are pieces of plate-glass and coloured paper, for there is, in some sort, a taste for decoration, even here...What place is this, to which the squalid street conducts us? A kind of square of leprous houses, some of which are attainable only by crazy wooden stairs without. What lies beyond this tottering flight of steps, that creak beneath our tread? AÂ  miserable room, lighted by one dim cand le, and destitute of all comfort, save that which may be hidden in a wretched bed. Beside it, sits a man, his elbows on his knees, his forehead hidden in his hands...(Charles Dickens, American Notes) Dickens went on at considerable length describing the horrors of the Five Points, concluding, all that is loathsome, drooping, and decayed is here. By the time Lincoln visited, nearly two decades later, much had changed in the Five Points. Various reform movements had swept through the neighborhood, and Lincolns visit was to a Sunday school, not a saloon. By the late 1800s, the neighborhood went through profound changes as laws were enforced and the dangerous reputation of the neighborhood faded away. Eventually, the neighborhood simply ceased to exist as the city grew. The location of the Five Points today would be roughly located under a complex of court buildings constructed in the early 20th century.