Nineteenth Century Sensational Fiction: Dime Novels Essay example -- L

  Nineteenth Century Sensational Fiction: Dime Novels In the late nineteenth century, a new form of sensational fiction emerged.   Called dime novels because of the five to twenty-five cent sale price, these pocket-sized books told short stories of American frontier adventure.   Often formulaic, these stories centered on macho heroes and damsels in distress, never venturing far beyond plotlines of capture and rescue, pursuit and escape.   Violence and lewdness became the impetus for the popularity of this form which, because of its cheapness, was often passed along to friends and neighbors upon completion.   The serial nature of these stories, which featured a set number of identifiable characters such as Deadwood Dick and Calamity Jane, kept readers coming back for more.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Not surprisingly, many young readers, boys especially, were drawn to the sense of adventure and rebellion in dime novels.   Gratuitous gore and debauchery were also points of attraction.   These unsavory qualities became a major concern of parents who felt that their sons were being negatively influenced, perhaps into a life of crime and banditry.   Still, the mass production of dime novels made it easy for boys to obtain them even without parental permission.   Almost every newsstand or corner bookstore had copies of the latest bloody Western and they were more than willing to sell regardless of the buyer’s age.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The quality of dime novels began to decline as it became custom for publishers such as Beadle to allow several authors to write on the same serial or character interchangeably.   Eventually the plots became so predictable that the only selling points were increasingly fantastical settings, unbelievable situations and more vulgarity.   What... ...his proliferation of â€Å"questionable† content has proven that the average American reader makes choices based on personal tastes rather than on the opinions of highbrow academia or moral crusaders.   It is a victory of free speech as well as the capitalistic principle of demand but also perhaps a blow to artistic integrity.   Concerned parents and religious groups continue to fight against indecency but consumerism has become the most powerful modern censor.   Today, sales are so important that many authors find themselves tethered to a narrowing range of themes and situations that appeal to an increasingly homogenized audience.   As far as the corruption of youth is concerned, most parents today echo Bishop’s sentiments that any book is better than no book, pleased to see their children reading formulaic adventure stories or comics rather than glued to a television set.

ICRC and onternational law Essay

The ICRC started when Swiss businessman Henri Dunant traveled to Italy to meet with Emperor Napoleon III of France . Before he reached Napoleon he first passed through the town of Solferino where a battle was fought. On that day over 40,000 soliders on both sides fell; many were left to die on the battlefield without adequate care. Henry Dunant was shocked by the terrible aftermath of the battle. Instead of proceeding with his planned trip he spent the next few days tending to the wounded. Through his example, the local population began to administer aid without discrimination. When he returned home, he wrote a book called A Memory of Solferino. He sent copies of the book to political and military leaders throughout Europe . He advocated the formation of a national voluntary relief organization to help nurse the wounded and for the development of international treaties to safeguard the neutrality and protect those wounded on the battlefield. By February 9, 1863, Henry Dunant founded the Committee of the Five as an investigatory commission of the Geneva Society for Public Welfare. Their aim was to examine the feasibility of Dunant’s ideas and to organize an international conference about their possible implementation. In October 26, 1863, the international conference organized by the Committee was held in Geneva to develop possible measures to improve medical services on the battlefield. A conference attended by many European states resolved the following: The foundation of national relief societies for wounded soldiers. Neutrality and protection for those wounded. Utilizing volunteer forces for relief assistance on the battlefield. The organization of additional conferences to enact these concepts in legally binding international treaties. The introduction of a common distinctive protective symbol for medical personnel in the field, specifically a white armlet bearing the red cross. Within a year, specific grounds were developed for the recognition of a national relief society by the International Committee; namely: The national society must be recognized by its own national government as a relief society according to the convention, and the national government of the respective country must be a state party to the Geneva Convention. The Commission’s first great achievement occurred on 22 August 1864 when the conference adopted the first Geneva Convention â€Å"for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in the Armies in the field. † A total of four Geneva Conventions have been passed since then. With successive conventions aimed an improving or updating previous conventions to ensure that they are up to date with current technology and norms. Today there are 185 national Red Cross societies and over 1,330 employees directly under the ICRC assigned to field operations. All thanks to the initiative of one man. III. ICRC as a Driving Force in IHL The ICRC draws its authority to act principally from the Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols. The Geneva Conventions from the First to the Fourth are the primary international treaties that limit the cruelty of war. They are meant to protect people who do not take part in the fighting, such as civilians, medics and aid workers. They also protect hors de combat or those who no longer have the means to continue fighting such as the wounded, sick, shipwrecked or those who have surrendered. The Geneva Conventions have been acceded to by 194 States and enjoy universal acceptance as a form of custom. The Geneva Conventions then are the primary documents governing International Humanitarian Law and the main overseer of International Humanitarian Law is the ICRC. However, the provisions of the present Convention constitute no obstacle to the humanitarian activities which the International Committee of the Red Cross or any other impartial humanitarian organization may, subject to the consent of the Parties to the conflict concerned, undertake for the protection of civilian persons and for their relief[2]. Article 10 is of considerable value in the field of international law because faced with the barbaric reality of war, the law continues to be realistic and humane. It keeps in mind the object of the Convention, namely the protection of human life and peace between man and man, conscious that it is only a means. (a ridiculously weak means compared to the forces of war) of attaining this goal. When everything has been settled by legal means –ordinary and extraordinary—by assigning rights and duties, by obligations laid upon the belligerents and by the mission of the protecting powers, a corner was still found for something which no legal text can prescribe. However this niche was the most effective means of combating war. That niche is charity or the spirit of peace. This is where Article 10’s symbolic value can be seen. Through it, Henry Dunant’s action on the field of battle in Solferino. Article 10 is more than a tribute to Henry Dunant. It is an invitation to all men of good will to continue his work[3]. In order for the ICRC and subordinate National Commissions to effectively perform their role, members are granted considerable rights and privileges. For example, all Red Cross members have the right to wear the Red Cross, (or crescent in Muslim States). Wearing this mark affords immunity, for all practical purposes from violence by the combatants because, as outlined in Additional Protocol No. 1 of the Geneva Conventions[4] the Red Cross is the mark associating a vehicle, person or building with the ICRC and is sacrosanct and protected[5]. However, any use not expressly authorized by International Humanitarian Law constitutes misuse of the emblem and releases combatants from the obligation to respect the symbol. The types of misuse are Imitation, Usurpation and Perfidy. In fact, Improper use of distinctive emblems in a war crime committed when, in an international armed conflict, an intent to use them for combatant purposes prohibited under international law[6]. Owing to the ICRC’s unique position as the actual commission that proposes and puts forth the Geneva Conventions and other major IHL documents, it can be said that ICRC is the Organization that created IHL. The latter will of course continue to develop as time goes by. Other documents of international law respecting human rights and with respect to international crimes have evolved since then. But International Humanitarian Law began with Henry Dunant and his desire to help the wounded in Solferino.

All about the C# Programming Language

Year of Creation?: 2000. C# is the main programming language of the Microsoft .NET framework and has had millions of dollars spent developing and promoting it. In under 6 years it has become a rising star and may yet rise to rival Java. Why was C# Invented?: Because Sun wouldnt allow Microsoft to make changes to Java. Microsoft had had a product Visual J but the changes they had made upset Sun and so it came to a halt. What is C# used for?: All sorts of applications ranging from computer games, utilities, Operating Systems and compilers. There are also web based applications running on the asp.net platform. What versions of C# are there?: The current version is 2.0 and that came out with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. Version 3.0 is being developed. Does C# present any problems for novice Programmers?: C# is a comprehensive language with many advanced features, especially in version 2.0 such as generics. To get the best out of C#, knowledge of Object Oriented Programming is essential. Syntactically it has a lot in common with Java. How would you sum up C#?: C# is a modern programming language and is really only rivalled by Java. It does though require the .NET framework on Windows. There remains a substantial body of code written in C and it seems that C# will coexist with C rather than replace it. C# is an ECMA (European Computer Manufacturers Association) and ISO standard and this has allowed other implementations such as the Linux project Mono to happen.