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It has been said that Muhammad is the "Seal of the Prophets," meaning that he was the last. However, our world has recently been graced by another prophet in Aldous Huxley. Huxley's prophetic vision is unmistakable in his science-fiction novel, Brave New World, in which he delivers a valuable message: control advancements in technology before they control us. Huxley supports this message with a strong example of a society that is so overrun by technology that the human race has lost their individuality, freedom, and ultimately their identity as human beings. In this "Brave New World," artificially-born humans are genetically engineered, divided into castes, molded into machines through hypnopaedia, and controlled by the drug Soma. The new world appears to be a perfect utopia on the surface--there is no disease, no warfare, and no sadness. However, humans have sacrificed thought, feelings, free will, and everything which makes one human to achieve this state. Through Brave New World, Huxley teaches us that these sacrifices are far too great and will eventually occur if humans continue to misuse technology in the future.

Huxley's warning in Brave New World carries so much weight because of the truthful predictions he includes in the novel. Despite being written in 1932, Huxley predicts genetic engineering, test-tube babies, cloning, a loss of meaning in sexual relationships, and drug abuse. All of these predictions were far beyond his time, and all have either come true or are on the brink of occurrence. The most significant of these is his presentiment that production, not childbirth, will be the process in which humans are brought into this world. Just as Huxley predicted, scientists can now produce humans outside of the womb, and soon the cloning of human beings will be feasible. The concept of producing humans without parents is the foundation of the "Brave New World" that Huxley urges us to avoid. In Brave New World, Huxley's forewarning of the "manufacturing" of humans reveals the devastating results that our misuse of advancing technology can bring upon mankind.

In Brave New World, Huxley prophetically predicts the mass-production of humans. Huxley's prediction begins with the first chapter, where the Director of the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Center gives a tour to prospective employees. The Director explains to them the Bokanovsky Process. In the Bokanovsky's Process, "a bokanovskified egg will bud, will proliferate, will divide. From eight to ninety-six buds, and every bud will grow into a perfectly formed embryo, and every embryo into a full-sized adult."Before, one egg resulted in one human, but now ninety-six twins are being produced from one egg. The Director also explains that with Podsnap's Technique, a facilitated ripening process, "you get an average of nearly eleven thousand brothers and sisters in a hundred and fifty batches of identical twins, all within two years of the same age."This process allows fertilized eggs to be produced in mesmerizing numbers. After these eggs are fertilized, they develop in the bottling room, where all the embryos grow in tubes. Like Model Ts on the assembly line, the bottles are transported on conveyor belts that stretch almost half a mile, where at every meter the embryo is specifically conditioned for its future role. After two-hundred and sixty-seven days, the babies are decanted, which is the equivalent of birth. The result? Thousands and thousands of virtually identical babies, all conditioned and predestined for a specific lifestyle.

This controlled mass-production of babies in Brave New World possesses several results which appear beneficiary. As the Director states, "Bokanovsky's Process is one of the major instruments of social stability!"In Brave New World, Bokanovsky's Process allows the controllers to create a multitude of identical humans, perfectly suited for each social class. When all the humans are alike and conditioned to be content with their social class, it leaves no room for conflict, and therefore stability results. The motto of Brave New World, "Community, Identity, Stability," is maintained by this process. Also, the humans are free from disease as well as from unintentional retardation and disabilities, and there is always a sufficient source of reliable workers.

On the other hand, there are many implications which result from mass producing humans. One is the loss of the meaning of life. In Brave New World, the miracle of child birth is now considered an obscene joke. Having children has gone from a sacred, precious cycle of life to a mere race between factories. In addition to this, families are unheard of, and the idea of having parents is simply incomprehensible for the people of the new world. To them, every human is the product of a tube. Also, with such a huge amount of identical humans, the identity is abolished. Everyone is the same, and no one is unique. These "Ninety-six identical twins working ninety-six identical machines" have as much heart and soul as the piece of metal they operate. Huxley's purpose in Brave New World is to warn us of these grave consequences.

The most frightening aspect of Huxley's prediction of cloning is that it is coming true in our lives today. The cloning era began in 1952, when the first animal was cloned by Robert Briggs and Thomas King. These scientists duplicated simple tadpoles from tadpole cells. This event sparked a series of discoveries and a movement of cloning research, and soon more and more complex species were being reproduced. Just recently a sheep was cloned by Scottish scientist Ian Wilmut and his colleagues at the Roslin Institute on July 5, 1996. This event awakened the world at the possibilities of cloning, and that cloning humans was just a step away.

As of now, a human has not been cloned. However, scientists state that cloning a human is entirely possible. There are two ways to clone a human. The first method consists of splitting and embryo into several halves. This in turn will create several sets of identical twins, or clones. The second method is more complicated, utilizing somatic cell nuclear transfer technology. Basically, it consists of taking cells from an already existing human being and cloning them by taking the nucleus of a cell, with the DNA, and injecting it into an egg or ovum whose nucleus has been removed. Therefore the resulting embryo will posses every characteristic of the person whose cell was used as the substitute, creating an exact duplicate.

One of the greatest concerns of cloning is determining its legality. The only two countries which have completely banned cloning are England and Norway. Cloning is not illegal in the United States. Only three states, California, Michigan, and Rhode Island, have taken measures to ban cloning. Despite the legality of cloning in the US, shortly after the announcement of the cloning of the sheep, President Bill Clinton issued a moratorium banning all federal support of cloning research. This does not, however, ban support given by private sources, nor does it entirely prevent cloning research and experimentation from taking place. As of now, the legality of cloning in the US. is determined by the federal government. Currently there are no laws preventing cloning, but in the near future cloning bans are expected to be passed by Congress. However, much controversy surrounds this topic. Some say the banning of cloning violates the First Amendment of the Constitution, preventing researchers their right to academic freedom. As scientists get closer and closer to cloning a human, the legality will definitely become a primary issue and be a deciding factor in its effect on mankind.

Despite the multitude of ethical, religious, and moral concerns cloning receives, there can be some benefits through its use. One positive use for cloning would be as a treatment for infertility. When parents are infertile, in-vitro fertilization may not always be available, so cloning would allow them to have a child. Also, parents with genetic diseases, such as sickle cell anemia or Down syndrome, will be ensured that their offspring will not possess these sicknesses. Another possible use would be to clone humans and store their organs as extras, so when someone needs a new kidney he or she will have a backup.

Despite these useful possibilities, cloning can easily be detrimental to mankind. This is shown through the image in "Brave New World." As stated before, whether or not the government puts firm regulations on cloning will determine what path humans go down. If humans allow cloning to freely occur, we will further travel down the path Huxley warns us of taking. Having a baby will soon lose its meaning, and in turn life itself will lose its meaning. A select few individuals will gain control over cloning, and will produce an obedient race at will. These individuals will assume the role of God, and soon the human race will be drones. Humans will be machines with no feeling, free will, or uniqueness; instead; they will be created solely for serving a purpose purely beneficial to the creator. The world will be free of war, disease, and chaos, but it will also be free of meaning, love, and humanness.

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Cloning is the most immediate problem regarding technology that we as humans face today. It will also prove to be the most consequential dilemma, as exposed in Brave New World. Huxley's predictions are coming true, and if we refuse to change, it will only be a matter of time before our world reaches the "Brave New World," the final destination of our path of self-destruction from which there is no turning back. Huxley was truly a prophet, and like all great prophets he carried a specific message that we must adhere to: as humans, we must learn to use technology responsibly.

Topic Analysis

Many science fiction stories feature aliens, especially the interaction between humans and the extraterrestrials. These interactions from range from one-on-one encounters to merely experiencing the aliens’ culture from afar. No matter the nature of said encounter, the human nearly always leaves changed in some way. Usually this change occurs in how the human perceives the world and alters their personal paradigms.

The short stories “Out of All Them Bright Stars”, “Arena” and “The Star” all feature a narrator who encounters an alien or an alien race and walk away changed forever. This change due to such an otherworldly experience dramatizes how encountering something new and different can drastically alter how someone views the world and their personal morals and beliefs.

Nancy Kress’ “Out of All Them Bright Stars” offers an extremely direct encounter between the narrator, Sally, and a visiting alien named John. When John comes to the diner Sally works at, his presence disturbs the environment and other workers. Yet, Sally immediately goes over to “it” and treats him like any other customer (Kress).

While she is doing so, her boss, Charlie, comes over and harasses John, telling Sally, “You get him out of here…The government says I have to serve spics and niggers but it don't say I gotta serve him!” (Kress). Immediately after several government officials enter the diner and take John away, who, as he leaves, says, “I am sorry, Sally Gourley…I seldom have the chance to show our friendliness to an ordinary earth person. I make so little difference!" (Kress). The entire encounter rattles Sally, who spends the remainder of her night reflecting on the events and questioning her perception of the world and other people.

Before the encounter with John, Sally’s view of the world is simplistic, where she labeled someone as one thing, such as “bully” for Charlie, and that was their only characteristic. Yet, her contact with John and the events that transpire broadens her perception, and she recognizes the complexity of people. Before John calls her an “ordinary earth person” Sally “never thought of [her]self as an ordinary earth person” before, meaning her world view was focused predominantly on herself, where she viewed herself as an individual rather than part of a collective, or, ordinary (Kress).

Once she begins to recognize how similar she is to others, she starts to view everyone as people with lives and personalities as dynamic as her own. Sally notices that Charlie unconsciously refers to John as “he” rather than “it”—something that takes Sally a while to do (Kress). Through this small gesture, Sally realizes that in some ways Charlie is better than she is—even in his prejudice he still recognized and referred to the alien as a person rather than a sexless animal or object. No longer can Sally see Charlie merely as a bully and person to dislike, for she recognizes that who he is not defined entirely by his bully label, “He's a bully, but I want to look at him and see nothing else but a bully. Nothing else but that. That's all I want to see in Charlie” (Kress).

This unveiling of the complexities and shades of gray of life angers Sally, “I'm furious…furious mad, as mad as I've ever been in my life”, as she cannot return to her simpler, easier to understand, paradigm (Kress). She directs this anger at John, for their encounter is what sparks this sudden change in her life.

Arthur C. Clarke’s short story ‘The Star” features a similar paradigm shift, except with religion. While the narrator does not directly interact with another race, he does stumble upon a vault filled with the archives of a race destroyed long ago by their star going supernova—encountering their culture and history. As the narrator explores more about the alien race who’s culture he excavated, he starts to question his religion and ultimately comes across knowledge that rattles his entire belief system. Despite being initially steadfast in his faith, after discovering a vault filled with the history detailing “the warmth and beauty of a civilization that in many ways must have been superior to our own” the narrator begins to question what kind of god would allow the genocide of a race “in the full flower of its achievement” who “were not an evil people” (Clarke).

Even with this questioning, it is not enough to make his faith falter, yet, when the narrator, an astrophysicist, calculates the exact date and range of the supernova, he has physical proof that shatters his reality: the famous star of Bethlehem was not an ethereal miracle, but rather the light of a star exploding and wiping out an entire civilization. Had the narrator not discovered and encountered the historical archives of the past alien people, he would likely have continued his life as a firm believer of his Jesuit faith, but by feeding his curiosity about the destruction of a race so similar to his own, “the ancient mystery was solved at last” and with it, his belief system completely changed forever.

Similarly, Frederic Brown’s “Arena” describes a more belligerent encounter between humanity and an alien race, resulting in the protagonist, Carson, being emotionally and physically scarred. While in a stalemate facing a battalion of enemy alien ships, Carson is whisked away into a closed off arena where a superior being dictates that they fight to the death, and the loser’s race will be completely annihilated. Initially, Carson opts for diplomacy and peace, hoping to barter a treaty with the “Outside”, “Can we not have peace between us…Why cannot we agree to an eternal peace -- your race to its galaxy, we to ours” (Brown).

Once rejected, the gravity of the situation begins to weigh on Carson—he doesn’t want to be responsible for “death to the entire race of one or the other” but has no other choice (Brown). Out of desperation to ensure the survival of the human race and himself, Carson tosses aside his morals and ideas for peace, and brutally kills his opposition. He returns to his previous position, welcomed by his captain exclaiming, “Come on in. The fight’s over. We’ve won!” (Brown).

Only Carson knows what role he played and the sacrifices he had to make during his encounter with the alien race—his only souvenir being “tiny, almost unnoticeable, perfectly healed scars” (Brown). Following his encounter with the now destroyed alien race, Carson is left with physical scars and emotional trauma accompanying the knowledge that he assisted in the genocide of an entire race.

All of these stories feature unique impacts resulting from encounters with alien races, all of which cause a paradigm shift in the protagonist. “Arena” and “Out of All Them Stars” feature direct interactions and resulting personal changes, while “The Star” gives a more indirect example of how knowledge can lead to more than expected, resulting in a significant change in belief and perspective. The alien races in these stories represent new ideas and possibilities that threaten what is currently known and accepted as truth. Once encountered, the knowledge gained can entirely alter perspective and can never be unlearned, resulting in a permanent change.

Works Cited

1. Brown, Frederic. “"Arena".” Http://Www.ucs.louisiana.edu/.
2. Clarke, Arthur Charles. “The Star.” The Nine Billion Names of God: The Best Short Stories of Arthur C. Clarke. Harcourt, Brace & World, 1967.
3. Kress, Nancy. “Out of All Them Bright Stars.” The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Doubleday, March 1985.

Throughout Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, the character of Queequeg, the New Zealander harpooner, is presented by Melville as possibly the most heroic and honestly good natured of the crew of the novels main setting, the whaling ship Pequod. He forms a healthy relationship based upon respect and affection with the novels narrator, Ishmael, and the concepts and ideas that surround him are a direct and intentional contrast to those surrounding the novels focus and ideological antagonist, the Pequod’s Captain Ahab. Queequeg’s natural heroism and Melville’s idealism of him is exhibited in Queequeg’s stoic relationship with death through Chapter 110, ‘Queequeg in his Coffin’[1], where Queequeg also comes to serve as a vehicle for Melville’s theories on race relations within American society.

The focus of the chapter is Queequeg, who in his first meeting with Ishmael is described as an “abominable savage” [Melville, pg. 20] and throughout the novel is depicted as having an intimidating physicality, and how, gripped by fever, he accepts death in a way that baffles the American crew of the Pequod. Queequeg’s illness is the focus of the reader’s sympathy in that it is brought on by Queequeg and the other harpooners being used for heavy labour due to their stamina and strength, Ishmael confessing that “among whalemen, the harpooners are the holders” [Melville, pg. 392]. The reader, biased by Ishmael’s sympathetic tone, therefore comes to view Queequeg as the victim of exploitation and thus his illness as a consequence of unfairness in an environment biased towards the American sailors, even the inexperienced Ishmael. This sympathy from the reader is emphasised by Ishmael, and thus by default Melville, idealising the dying Queequeg by stating “like circles on the water, which, as they grow fainter, expand; so his eyes seemed rounding, like the rings of Eternity.” [Melville, pg. 393] Melville thus depicts Queequeg as a character that intentionally, in the beginning of this chapter, appeals to the reader’s sympathies, the tone being one that exaggerates his “savage” and mysterious nature so as to emphasise Queequeg existing in a foreign and unfamiliar environment.

The tone of Melville, however, changes in chapter following Queequeg’s request for his coffin to be built. The tone explicitly changes from sympathy to confusion and intrigue, Melville aligning the reading with the crew of the Pequod through their mutual lack of understanding of Queequeg’s odd practices. Ishmael describes Queequeg’s request as a “strange circumstance” [Melville, pg. 394] and notes that the crew react with “indignant and half-humorous cries” [Melville, pg. 394], Melville therefore highlighting how the entire situation is a direct contrast to the culture of the American sailors. But the bewilderment of the crew is nothing in comparison to that of the reader when Ishmael recounts that “there lay Queequeg in his coffin with little but his composed countenance in view.” [Melville, pg. 395] Melville brings special attention to Queequeg’s unorthodox reaction to his supposedly imminent death. While the Americans aboard the Pequod are so displaced by Queequeg that their reactions range from the inquisitive description of it being a “strange circumstance” to mockery and anger, Queequeg waits for death with a “composed countenance”. Melville thus suggests that Queequeg understand something about death that the crew, a symbol of America juxtaposed to the savage, and the reader do not, a fact that drives them to bewilderment and rage.

Melville suggests that through his separation from the American, and thus also Christian, society, Queequeg has acquired a certain relationship with death that allows him to view it with stoicism and respect. This relationship is summarised in Ishmael stating that Queequeg “had changed his mind about dying” [Melville, pg. 396] and Queequeg’s belief that “nothing but a whale, or a gale, or some violent, ungovernable, destroyer” could kill him. Queequeg’s belief that only violent causes can kill a man, and that all others can simply be overcome if only “a man made up his mind to live”, [Melville, pg. 396] not simply adds to Melville’s idealisation of this character, but also presents him as an ideological opponent to the obsessed Captain Ahab.

The novel concludes with all characters, with the exception of Ishmael, drowning after a failed encounter with the novels titular whale. Queequeg’s reference to a whale being a force that can truly kill a man not only adds depth to the whale being a symbol throughout the novel for the unstoppable forces of nature, but also a piece of foreshadowing and irony. The sole reason that the Pequod chases Moby-Dick across the pacific is Ahab’s obsession. Several characters, namely the first mate Starbuck, advise Ahab to abort his foolish mission, therefore suggesting that the whale could be avoided if only Ahab were to view the situation lucidly and objectively, understanding that his vendetta is one based on flawed logic. Melville presents Ahab as the antagonist and not Moby-Dick, the latter instead being an element of nature that is simply following its instinct and should not be held accountable for its actions. It could be interpreted, therefore, that it is not Moby-Dick that leads the crew of the Pequod to their death, but rather the obsession of their unhinged Captain. As Ahab’s obsession is not a physical force of violence but rather the psychological will of a man, by Queequeg’s logic it is something that can be overcome to avoid death. Through hindsight, therefore, the reader, using Queequeg’s logic within this chapter, can further the villainous image of Ahab that Melville has placed upon him.

Besides to evoke the reader’s sympathies and serve as an opponent to Captain Ahab, Queequeg serves as Melville’s presentation of the noble savage and a symbol of his vision of how pagan and Christian cultures could integrate with one another. The noun that Melville uses most while referring to Queequeg is savage, closely followed by pagan. Though, throughout the novel, Ismael’s use of these terms change from the fear of “abominable savage” to the possessive intimacy of “my poor pagan”, [Melville, pg. 392] Melville capitalises upon the image of Queequeg being a foreigner in a bewildering environment. Furthermore, Queequeg’s character is emphasised through several other elements of the chapter, including his reaction to death that is presented as so overtly opposed to the American norm, as well as the inclusion of Queequeg’s idol Yojo in his coffin and his describing coffins as “certain little canoes of dark wood”. [Melville, pg. 393] All of these elements alienate Queequeg further from the American crew and emphasise his “otherness” and perfect him as a caricature of the noble savage. Queequeg is presented, especially in this chapter, as having a far better understanding of the forces of nature and their effect on the human individual than the American crew, specifically Ahab. His pagan beliefs and savage heritage allow him to better understand the natural world and thus place him upon a pedestal in comparison to the greedy and egotistical Americans. Queequeg thus comes to symbolise something of an Emersonian figure in the novel, even more so than the naïve and optimistic Ishmael; a character that is fully aware of the power of nature and fully in control of his mind, body and spirit. There is, therefore, another great irony in that this truly transcendental character succumbs to the brutal forces of nature, a symbol of Melville’s rejection of Emersonian philosophy. Queequeg’s savagery becomes of a joke in this respect, Melville exploiting it for a rebuttal to the popular intellectual thought of the time.

However, Queequeg’s “otherness” does come to serve an abolitionist cause. By idealising Queequeg, Melville idealises a major character that is not white and also free and celebrated amongst a white American community. Ishmael’s open fondness for Queequeg and the intimate relationship between the two comes to serve as an example of how well integration works within society if people of different races recognise each other as equals, as Ishmael does with Queequeg. Through the idealised savage Queequeg, Melville creates an idealised hypothetical community. However, Peter Coviello notes that this community is “a utopianism about which Melville feels precious little optimism”.[1] The community dies almost entirely due to the selfish and flawed nature of man, presenting little hope for integration in Eighteenth Century America beyond hypotheticals. Furthermore, Queequeg is the only savage aboard the Pequod who is idealised to such an extreme degree. For example Fedallah, a Parsee harpooner, is believed to be the reincarnation of the devil, summoned by Ahab, by much of the crew. Ishmael’s use of a possessive pronoun in “my poor pagan” could be interpreted as ownership rather than kinship and intimacy, something which, in the pre-Civil War context of the novels composition, implicates negatively upon the abolitionary notions of Melville. It is hinted, therefore, that despite Melville’s best intentions to present the Pequod as vessel of positive race relations and equality, it exists as it truly does to the reader, a piece of fiction detached from the real America.

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In this chapter Melville extensively uses Queequeg as a metaphor for many of the key ideas of Moby-Dick, ranging from Melville’s criticism of transcendentalist thought to his ideas concerning race. Queequeg is certainly one of the few characters in the novel that is consistently portrayed favourably by Melville, his honest and noble sensibilities become the focus Melville’s search for a truly heroic character aboard the Pequod. It could be argued, however, that this heroism that Melville celebrates so enthusiastically is also somewhat exploited. Melville intentionally uses Queequeg’s paganism as a pessimistic critique of American culture, highlighting and possibly satirising Queequeg’s beliefs that are directly opposed to Christian norms. Nonetheless, Queequeg comes to serve as a symbol of honour aboard the Pequod and a moral opponent to Captain Ahab, exuding a respect and understanding of the forces of nature that, if shared by the rest of the characters, could spare the novel of its tragic conclusion.

In some novels, even the most minuscule ordinary objects are subjects of great importance and symbolism; after all, symbolism which adds meaning to the text that cannot be overlooked. In the work The Stranger by Albert Camus, outerwear holds a great importance throughout the text and expresses social predicaments, particularly the main character Meursault’s rejection of social constructs. Clothing is usually a constant within society and represents normalcy, as it is uniform. While clothing can be found in many shapes, colors, and sizes, the social expectations that come with wearing this clothing do not falter. However, Meursault is unable to conform to understanding the significance of particular clothing in specific situations due to his rejection of social constructs, and this mindset would not let him follow an authentic, spiritually fulfilled life.

One character Meursault spends a significant amount of time with throughout the first half of The Stranger is Marie, his love interest. However, it becomes clear that this relationship with Marie is nothing but a shallow, lust filled affair from the perspective of Meursault. This shallow, lust-filled attraction Meursault develops for Marie is particularly shown through Meursault’s continuous descriptions of Marie’s outerwear. When Marie and Meursault meet to go to the beach, the first description given is: “I really wanted to sleep with her because she was wearing a pretty dress with red and white stripes and leather sandals” (p.31). The focus here is not on Marie herself as a person, but on her outer appearance. She is objectified and examined carefully -- the only sense of emotion the reader receives being the lust that Meursault feels when observing her. Marie is a sensuous pleasure here, her clothing serving as the main aspect that has caught the main character’s attention. Additionally, the tone of this statement is one of indifference: Meursault does not refer to Marie as being pretty, but to the dress she is wearing. Meursault emotionally detaches himself from his love interest here, rejecting social constructs. It is also important to place a focus on the color of Marie’s dress; it is red and white, made up of colors that deeply contrast each other. Red is the color of sensuality, of sexual desire, whereas white represents innocence and purity. It can be interpreted that the dress represents the social norm of relationships and love: a balanced blend of sexual desire and pure emotions, something that Meursault finds very fascinating. Yet there is also the implication that Meursault desires to undress Marie as he wants “to sleep with her” (p.31), indirectly showing that he wishes to break away from the social constructs implemented on Marie and take her in her rawest form, devoid of any constructs. Marie plays society here: she conforms to the norm of relationships by genuinely caring for Meursault and wanting a real, loving relationship. However, it is clear that Meursault has opposite intentions in mind and openly rejects having a deep emotional connection with someone of the opposite gender. This focus is a rejection of the inauthentic life that social constructs bring, something Meursault does not want to experience.

Formal clothing is additionally mentioned often throughout The Stranger, and Meursault often feels out of place in formal circumstances, further strengthening his sense of alienation from society and their normal customs. Meursault attends his mother’s funeral at the preamble of The Stranger, startling others with his emotionless response to her death. Yet it is not only this which shows his rejection of social constructs, but also his feelings of discomfort while wearing black for the funeral: “I felt a little stranger because I had to go up to Emmanuel’s place to borrow a black tie and armband” (p.3). Meursault again pays great attention to the clothing that the other persons at the funeral are wearing (which correlates to his great interest in Marie’s clothing), noticing that “there were four men in the room dressed in black” (p.12). It is here once again that the individuals themselves are of no importance, only the social constructs they wear. The specific colors and shades that are worn by individuals is stressed continuously by the main character, as Meursault even states, “I felt a bit lost standing between the blue and white of the sky and the relentless darkness of these other colors: the sticky black of the blistering tar, the dull black of the mourning clothes, the shiny black of the hearse” (p.15). The color black brings a sense of uniformity and persistence, qualities which seem inauthentic and leave an individual devoid of any individuality. This is what Meursault seeks to avoid, as he does not want to conform to the social constructs of this French society. The consonance used in this statement draws more attention to the color, along with the harsh “ck” in the term black, adding significance to the image being produced. The contrast between the light sky and the dark clothes must also be noted as it intensifies the feeling of misplacement that Meursault feels at the funeral. Additionally, Meursault feels “hot in (his) black clothes” (p. 13), further expressing the discomfort this character feels and challenging French social customs, which do not coordinate with the climate of a colonized country. Meursault continues to reject the formal outerwear that every individual is required to wear due to his inability to conform to the social constructs set out by society. Although he attempts to follow society's rules, his attempts are finally futile.

One time when Meursault feels more at ease, though, is when he swims with Marie. The descriptions given here are lighter and the imagery softer, “the late afternoon sun” being not “very hot”, and the water being “warm, with lazy, long, low waves” (p.31). A contrast to other scenes is immediately generated here due to the fact that the sun is not extremely hot and uncomfortable, but rather relaxing and warming. Additionally, Marie and Meursault are not constricted in their clothing within such scenes -- something that has an immediate effect on Meursault. He seems to be happiest in this scene, as the tone of this passage is lighter and more playful. Additionally, a lot of movement is included within the scene, specifically of the water as the two characters play with it, the foam spraying up into the sky and then falling back onto their faces “like warm rain” (p.31). The simile establishes a pleasant image, as the rain is neither too hot nor too cold, and is light in its movement. It can be seen here that Meursault is most comfortable when not enveloped or surrounded by masses of clothing. The imagery and use of color recall features of an essay written by Albert Camus, Summer in Algiers, as a great stress is placed on color and movement in both works. Summer in Algiers describes the simple and authentic life of individuals in Algiers, something that Meursault attempts to achieve. That is why such great parallels in description, content, and style can be found between the two, as Meursault endeavors to live authentically without the burden of social constructs.

Clothing is, ultimately, used throughout The Stranger in order to depict Meursault’s rejection of human social constructs in an attempt to live authentically. He feels discomfort when placed in a situation that requires him to either wear formal clothing or be subjected to individuals wearing such clothing. Additionally, he places great stress on the clothing itself when it is worn, completely disregarding the individuals who wear this outerwear, strengthening this sense of negative sensitivity to the social constructs that are embodied in clothes. It is only when Meursault is placed in a situation without the stress of these clothes, these social constructs, that he shows true happiness and is at peace.

Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. Objectives
Findings From the ResearchTrusted Third PartyCriticisms
3. Conclusions

Introduction

Cloud computing simply means ?Internet computing, generally the internet is seen as collection of clouds; thus the word cloud computing can be defined as utilizing the internet to provide technology enabled services to the people and organizations. Cloud computing enables consumers to access resources online through the internet from anywhere at any time without worrying about technical/physical management. Cloud computing is more economical than other computing models; zero maintenance cost is involved since the service provider is dependable for the availability of services and clients are liberated from maintenance and management problems of the resource machines. Due to this trait, cloud computing is also well-known as utility computing, or ‘IT on demand‘.

In cloud environment all the data are outsourced to external provider and they take concern of that data is now a responsibility of the cloud provider and we can access this data on virtual machines or any other device. Since the data center of cloud provider is spread to all over, we can access our data from any corner of the world. Cloud computing is the result of advancement in the presented technologies. At the current world of networking system, Cloud computing is one of the most important and developing idea for both the developers and the users. In the cloud environment, resources are shared among the servers, users and individuals.

Objectives

• The paper attempts to evaluate the main security risks and issues that are currently present within the cloud computing industry
• A solution is presented which attempts to eliminate unique threat.

Findings From the Research

Cloud computing security gives emphasis to the following things:

1. 1. Trust

Trust in a cloud environment depends majorly on the selected deployment model, as governance of data and application is subcontracted and delegated out of the owner’s strict authority. Once positioning on a public cloud control is moved to the infrastructure owner to enforce a sufficient security policy that assures that appropriate security activities are performed to ensure that the risk is condensed. The cloud infrastructure puts forward unique security concerns which need to be well thought-out in detail.

1. 1. Confidentiality and privacy

Confidentiality is concerned with the authorized party having the ability to access the protected data. The increased number of devices and parties involved leads to an increase in the number of points of access delegation of data control to the cloud which inversely leads to an increase in the risk of data compromise as the data becomes accessible to a large number of parties.

Data confidentiality can be breached unintentionally due to data remanence which is the residual representation of data that have been erased. Virtual segregation of the drives and hardware between multiple users lead to the unwilling disclosure of private data.

1. 1. Integrity

Software integrity focuses on protecting the software from unauthorized deletion, theft, fabrication and modification. Cloud computing providers implement a set of APIs or software interfaces that customers use to interact and manage with cloud services. Hardware and network integrity is also an issue that needs to be addressed by the cloud provider.

1. 1. Availability

This is concerned with the system being reachable and usable upon demand by an authorized individual. This includes systems ability to carry on operations even when some authorities misbehave. The system has the ability to continue operations even in the possibility of a security breach. Availability is concerned with software, data but also hardware being available to authorized users upon demand.

Trusted Third Party

This is concerned with establishing necessary trust level and provides ideal solutions to preserve the confidentiality. In cryptography a TTP is associate entity that permits secure interactions between 2 parties who each trust a third party. It provides an end-to-end security services which are based on standards and useful across domains, specialization sectors and geographical areas.

TTPs are connected through certificated paths or chains of trust which provide a web of trust forming the notion of a Public Key Infrastructure. Public Key Infrastructure gives technically sound and legally acceptable means to implement:

• Strong Authentication: The process of identification of parts and the control of authenticity, involves an exchange of information or electronic transactions through an electronic means.
• Authorization: The database and informative systems, authenticated access to resources, according to the user’s permission roles and the rights.
• Data Confidentiality: The protection of information either locally stored or in transmission from unauthorized access.
• Data Integrity: The protection of information either locally stored or in transmission from unauthorized modification.

Public Key Infrastructure or PKI deployed in concert with Single-Sign-On(SSO) theme area unit appropriate for distributed settings like cloud environment wherever users navigate between abundance of cross-organization boundaries.

The TTP’s can be relayed upon for:

• • Low and High level confidentiality

Securing the data moving over the network is highly complicated issue whereas the threat of information modification and interruption is incessantly rising. PKI helps in implementing IPSec or SSL for secure communications. Due to the cloud environments unique characteristics, communications are required to be protecting users and hosts. The paper proposes implementing IPSec for encrypting communications for host-to-host communications and SSL for Client-to-Cloud communications.

• • Server and Client Authentication

A cloud environment requires a certification authority in order to certify the entities that interact with each this includes certifying virtual servers, physical infrastructure servers, networks devices and the environments users. Cloud has become a common operating platform as a result it requires an authentication and authorization process. As the gap between organizations own services and outsourced services become fuzzy adoption of Single-Sign-on solution has become critical.

• • Creation of Security Domains

Introduction of federations and associations leads to efficient trust relationships between entities. In a federation of clouds each single cloud remains independent but can interoperate within the federation through standardized interfaces. It provides a structure and framework which in turn enables authentication and authorization across different organizations.

• • Cryptographic Separation of Data

The protection of private information and susceptible data within the framework is an important factor for the deployment of SaS and Aas models. A combination of asymmetric and symmetric cryptographic can offer the efficiency of symmetric cryptography while maintaining the security of asymmetric cryptography.

Criticisms

• The study does not have any statistical proof to back up its claims.
• The study does not expand upon the ways to counter cyber criminals.
• The explanation of cloud computing is a very generic one. Business problems relating to it need to be looked at in more detail.

Conclusions

Given the risks, it strikes us as inevitable that security will become a significant cloud computing business differentiator. Cloud computing currently offers affordable, large-scale computation for businesses. If the economic case prevails, then we may find that nothing—not even security concerns—will prevent cloud computing from becoming a consumer commodity. Cloud computing have the potential to bring about the Computation Revolution, in which large-scale computations become universally accessible, affordable, and useful. Let’s hope we can add to this outcome “and be reasonably safe”.

Table of contents

1. Gangster
2. Science Fiction
3. Horror

This paper discusses critically the codes and conventions of three different genres of film and how they effectively communicate to an audience. You might wonder, “What is a film genre?” Well, simply put, a genre is a category/group of films characterized by a particular style, form or content (Merriam-Webster, 2018). The three groups/categories of films being discussed will be gangster, horror and science fiction.

Gangster

Gangster films portray persons as rich, powerful and highly respected among Americans and the rest of the world. They often involve powerful families and the mafia engaging in organized criminal acts and involvement with cocaine, killing and money to provide for their family. (Prezi, 2013). These films are more targeted towards mature persons of ages 15-24 (Aimad, 2014). The characters are usually well dressed in this genre of film. They often have scars and blood as markings from the use of make-up in these films. The women usually have pretty dresses and red lipstick on (Akers, 2013). The male characters are usually the ones who engage in criminal acts while the women takes care of the family at home as these were stereotypes of these types of films. They often portray the women as the weaker gender and dominated by the males (Brammer, 2014).

The Usual Suspects (1995), is the gangster film being discussed. The film is about a survivor narrating his story about events that took place before a horrific gunfight on a boat which began when a group of five criminals met at a police line-up. The movie takes place in Los Angeles California, USA. The movement of the camera angles zooms in on each individual’s face particularly in the beginning scene where the police is asking the five main characters (Michael, Dean, Fred, Todd & Roger) questions about a robbery. The director Bryan Singer, achieves showing the body language of each character as the camera zooms in and out on each character’s face. This gives the audience a clear understanding of each character’s personality in the movie. The is a clear example of the scene where the police asked number three (Fred) to step forward and repeat his phrase, he just laughs and makes fun out of the situation giving the audience the idea that he doesn’t care about what is going on. The iconography of gangster films are usually guns, cigarettes, drugs and money (Akers, 2013). The lighting usually used is high-key and low-key lighting to as these types of lighting is used for contrast and low-key is used for mysteriousness/suspense (Gabriel, n.d.).

Science Fiction

Sci-fi films are based upon fiction and fantasy such as things like aliens, ghosts, time travelling to the future/past and fictional creature/monsters (filmsite, n.d.). It is targeted towards persons of any ages preferably ages 13 and up, sci-fi critiques and persons who grew up watching terminator and other sci-fi films. Sci-fi films usually include some kind of hero or villain as well that the movie focuses on mostly which is the protagonist/antagonist of some sort (Buffam, 2011).

Terminator 2 (1991), directed by James Cameron, is a perfect example of this sci-fi genre. This movie features a man named John Connor who sent a cyborg named Terminator 800 (T-800) back in time to protect his younger self from another cyborg named Terminator 1000 (T-1000) from killing him. The scene from the movie in which T-1000 had found young John Connor in an Arcade and was about to kill him when T-800 came and shot T-1000 then he heals back himself from the gunshot wounds. The audience get a feel of excitement, confusion, creepiness and mysteriousness at the same time with this scene as this is what sci-fi films aims to accomplish with their audiences (atam1663scifi, n.d.). In this films examples of iconography used were guns, robotic technology & vehicles. Lighting also plays an important role in this movie as it gives depth and dimensions (Jordan, 2014).Just as discussed in the gangster genre, this movie uses low-key lighting to show desperation and fear (Jordan, 2014).

Horror

Last but not least, Horror films. These films are usually made to instil in the audience fear and anxiety and overlaps sci-fi and film noir i.e. Gangster films (Encyclopedia-Britannica, n.d.). It is mostly targeted towards a more mature audience of ages 15 and over (Randall, n.d.). This type of film is made for persons who enjoy watching the unknown, demonism, bloody and gory content and delve into the realms of our fear of death just for the fun/thrill of it. (Crowder, 2017). The evil characters (antagonists) in this genre of film are usually some sort of supernatural dark & unknown entity/demon/ghost, or even some mythical creature that haunts, chases, torment and kill the protagonists of the movie. Although this is not always so, the antagonists can sometimes be humans as well such as murderers/killers (D., 2000).

The film, Final Destination 4, (2009), directed by David R. Ellis, gives an example to this unknown entity (death) chasing the main antagonists of the movie. This film shows a young man’s premonition of a deadly race-car crash helped saves the lives of his peers. Soon they realise Death sets out to collect those who evaded their end. In the opening scene of the film, a car crashes and causes a chain reaction of destruction in the stadium killing several persons in the stadium. The scene then ends with Nick realising that he saw the future and what was about to happen so he quickly escapes with his friends. He realises that this unknown entity (death) is chasing them and they cannot stop their deaths from happening. This clearly gives the mood of the show a feeling of anxiety and fear to the audience because of accidental horrific deaths which can relate to deaths in real life. This is what makes the movie horrific. The iconography in this movie are race cars, ceiling fans, metal, lawn mowers etc. The lighting that are used in horror movies are usually dark and gloomy to instil emotional tension which is called up lighting (Renee, 2016). We see throughout scenes in the movie.

Each genre discussed has a purpose/meaning to them. Horror movies represents the inner fears and anxieties in humans that need to be conquered. The Sci-fi films represents capabilities or fantasies of human beings that is beyond human thinking/comprehension. Finally, gangster films represents harsh realities of life and the type of people we live with in this world. Each genre has its own purpose and life lesson persons can learn from.

As indicated by a current report distributed by the American Foundation of Pediatrics, almost three-fourths (75%) of kids, teenagers, and youthful grown-ups devour caffeine — as pop, espresso, and caffeinated drinks.

Caffeine is a drug — a stimulant drug, to be exact. It’s even possible to be physically dependent on it — which means that a person who is used to drinking lots of caffeinated beverages can experience withdrawal symptoms if they quit. De-sensitizes your body to caffeine. We all know what happens when you drink coffee regularly: you have to drink more and more to get the same effects. Caffeine is as addictive as nicotine and recreational drugs, and it affects your body the same, meaning no matter how much you drink, you never get the same "high" you got the first time. The more coffee you drink, the more you need to drink to get that same effect. Not only is it hard to get the same "high", but you develop a dependence on caffeine in addition to the tolerance. If you stop drinking coffee, you get the "shakes", a headache, and other downsides.

It's a well-documented fact: caffeine raises your blood pressure. However, did you know that the increase in blood pressure is caused by vascular resistance, and not by an increase in your heart rate or blood flow? This means that caffeine makes your heart work harder to pump blood through your body. High blood pressure is one of the most common risk factors in coronary heart disease. Essentially, drinking caffeinated drinks will force your heart to work double-time just to pump oxygen and nutrients through your body. For those with high blood pressure, perhaps it's time to cut back on the Java. Increases acid production -- Specifically hydrochloric and gastric acids. Both of these acids are necessary to break down the food in your stomach. However, too much acid can cause problems in your stomach. The acid can eat into the stomach lining (causing ulcers), or it may increase your risk of acid reflux. This is even more of a problem if you drink coffee first thing in the morning, when there is no food in your stomach to mitigate the effects of the acid. Oddly enough, it's not the caffeine's fault! One study discovered that the roasting of the coffee is most likely responsible for the increased gastric acid release.

Not everyone who drinks coffee experiences digestive problems, but most people suffering from IBS, ulcerative colitis, gastritis, peptic ulcers, and Crohn's disease will find that the coffee irritates their digestive system and makes their stomach/digestive problems worse. When you drink coffee, you increase the production of acid in your stomach. This increase in acid weakens your stomach lining, making it easier for bacteria (like the H. pylori bacteria responsible for ulcers) to burrow into the stomach tissue. And the effects aren't limited to your stomach! Coffee can also irritate your small intestines, causing cramps, abdominal spasms, and alternating constipation and diarrhea a condition known as IBS.

Have you ever felt a burning, stabbing pain in your chest or stomach after drinking coffee? If so, coffee may be causing acid reflux or heartburn. Caffeine relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter, the muscle that stops food from coming back up your throat once it hits your stomach. When the sphincter relaxes, it allows food and acid to come back up the esophagus, and the acid burns the unprotected tissue of your esophagus.

Coffee isn't the only drink that can cause heartburn and acid reflux  caffeinated sodas and teas are also responsible. Still, if you've got that stabbing, burning pain, perhaps it's time to give your body a break and cut coffee/caffeine for a week or two. Affects brain and central nervous system. We all know that coffee makes us feel awake, but do you know why? Coffee doesn't actually cause your body to produce more energy; instead, it shuts off the part of your brain that registers tiredness.

Coffee antagonizes the receptors in your brain that recognize adenosine, the chemical that signals fatigue. By turning off these adenosine receptors, coffee tricks your brain into thinking that you are more alert, awake, and focused than you really are. This blocking of the adenosine receptors will make you feel awake and alert, but woe to you when the caffeine wears off. Because these receptors have been shut off, they become more sensitive when the caffeine stops blocking them. Hence, you feel the "coffee crash".

Caffeine also affects your central nervous system, and it can cause problems like:

• Anxiety
• Jitters
• Nervousness
• Irritability
• Drowsiness
• Affects nutrient absorption

One of the most notable examples is coffee's effect on calcium absorption. Coffee essentially interferes with your body's ability to absorb calcium, preventing it from reaching your bones. Excessive caffeine intake can lead to bone thinning and osteoporosis.

Drinking a cup of coffee, or eating a bar of chocolate, is usually not a big deal. But there are alternatives to caffeine if you’re looking for an energy burst but don’t want to get that jittery feeling caffeine sometimes causes.

Here are a few alternatives you can try to feel energized without overdoing the caffeine:

• Sleep. This may sound obvious, but getting enough sleep is important. Teens need 9 hours of sleep a night.
• Eat regularly. When you don’t eat, your glucose (sugar) levels drop, making you feel drained. Some people find it helpful to eat four or five smaller meals throughout the day instead of fewer big meals.
• Drink enough water. Since our bodies are more than two-thirds H20, we need at least 64 ounces of water a day.
• Take a walk. If you’re feeling drained in the middle of the day, it helps to move around.
• Working out is a great substitute and has many benefits too! (Reed, 2016) (Reed, 2016)

Works Cited

1. Reed, K. (2016, 3 3). The 15 Terrible Coffee Side Effects You Need to Know About. Retrieved 1 9, 2018, from positivehealthwellness: https://www. positivehealthwellness. com/diet-nutrition/the-15-terrible-coffee-side-effects-you-need-to-know-about/

Coffee is something very personal and the right way to make it is how you prefer it best. That being said, mastering a few fundamentals will help you perfect your technique. From here, we encourage you to experiment with different roasts, origins, or preparation methods. Here are our tips to brew a classic cup of coffee.

The Beans Great coffee starts with great beans. The quality and flavor of your coffee is not only determined by your favorite brewing process, but also by the type of coffee you select. There can be a world of difference between roasts, so check out our roasting types guide.

Some of the flavor factors include:

• The country and region of origin
• The variety of bean – arabica, robusta – or a blend
• The roast type
• The texture of your grind

While there are a lot of choices, remember that there’s no right or wrong — for instance, you can choose a dark, flavorful espresso roast coffee and still have it ground to be brewed in a drip system. Have fun trying and enjoying different combinations.

Purchase coffee as soon as possible after it’s roasted. Fresh-roasted coffee is essential to a quality cup, so buy your coffee in small amounts (ideally every one to two weeks). Check out our helpful tips on how to store coffee to keep it as fresh and flavorful as possible. And please, never reuse your coffee grounds to make coffee. Once brewed, the desirable coffee flavors have been extracted and only the bitter ones are left. Instead, check out these six ways to recycle your old grounds.

If you buy whole bean coffee, always grind your beans as close to the brew time as possible for maximum freshness. A burr or mill grinder is best because the coffee is ground to a consistent size. A blade grinder is less preferable because some coffee will be ground more finely than the rest. If you normally grind your coffee at home with a blade grinder, try having it ground at the store with a burr grinder – you’ll be surprised at the difference! (Whichever option you use, always follow manufacturers’ recommendations when using your grinder, and be mindful of any necessary safety considerations.) The size of the grind is hugely important to the taste of your coffee. If your coffee tastes bitter, it may be over-extracted, or ground too fine. On the other hand, if your coffee tastes flat, it may be under-extracted, meaning your grind is too coarse. (Check out this simple infographic to help you determine the the best texture for your preferred brewing method.) If you’re having the coffee ground to order, tell the professionals where you purchase your coffee exactly how you will be brewing it. Will you be using a French Press? A flat or cone drip filter? A gold mesh filter? They will grind it specifically for your preparation method.

The water you use is very important to the quality of your coffee. Use filtered or bottled water if your tap water is not good or has a strong odor or taste, such as chlorine. If you’re using tap water, let it run a few seconds before filling your coffee pot, and be sure to use cold water. Avoid distilled or softened water.

A general guideline is called the “Golden Ratio” – one to two tablespoons of ground coffee for every six ounces of water. This can be adjusted to suit individual taste preferences. Check the cup lines or indicators on your specific brewer to see how they actually measure. And remember that some water is lost to evaporation in certain brewing methods.

Safety first! Of course, any time you are working with heat and hot beverages, take all necessary precautions for everyone from those preparing coffee, to those being served, and drinking coffee. Your brewer should maintain a water temperature between 195 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal extraction. Colder water will result in flat, under-extracted coffee, while water that is too hot will also cause a loss of quality in the taste of the coffee. (However, cold brew does not need any heat.) If you are brewing the coffee manually, let the water come to a full boil, but do not over boil. Turn off the heat source and allow the water to rest a minute before pouring it over the grounds.

The amount of time that the water is in contact with the coffee grounds is another important flavor factor. In a drip system, the contact time should be approximately 5 minutes. If you are making your coffee using a French Press, the contact time should be 2-4 minutes. Espresso has an especially brief brew time — the coffee is in contact with the water for only 20-30 seconds. Cold brew, on the other hand, should steep overnight (about 12 hours). If you’re not happy with the taste of the final product, you’re likely either:

• Over-extracting – the brew time is too long
• Under-extracting – the brew time is too short Experiment with the contact time until you get the right balance for your taste

Make sure that your tools — from bean grinders and filters to coffee makers— are thoroughly cleaned after each use. Rinse with clear, hot water (or wipe down thoroughly), and dry with an absorbent towel. It’s important to check that no grounds have been left to collect and that there’s no build-up of coffee oil (caffeol), which can make future cups of coffee taste bitter and rancid. If you’re using a single-serve coffee maker, check our guide for keeping your machine in top shape. Prepared coffee begins to lose its optimal taste moments after brewing, so only make as much coffee as you’ll drink. Otherwise, coffee can be poured into a warmed, insulated thermos to be consumed within an hour.

Works Cited

1. Coffee Review. (2021). Coffee Tasting Fundamentals. https://www.coffeereview.com/coffee-reference/coffee-tasting-fundamentals/
2. National Coffee Association. (n.d.). Home Coffee Brewing Guide. https://www.ncausa.org/About-Coffee/Home-Brewing-Guide
3. Rao, S. (2018). The Coffee Roaster's Companion: Scott Rao.
4. Specialty Coffee Association of America. (2015). The Coffee Brewing Handbook.
5. Spiller, G. A., & Riesenhuber, A. (2020). Coffee: Health Benefits, Brewing Techniques, and Roasting Strategies. CRC Press.
6. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. (2021). The Perfect Cup of Coffee: Tips, Techniques, and Gadgets. https://coffeebean.com/blogs/news/the-perfect-cup-of-coffee-tips-techniques-and-gadgets
7. Ukers, W. H. (2013). All About Coffee. Lulu Press, Inc.
8. Viani, R. (2017). Espresso Coffee: Professional Techniques. Espresso Coffee.
9. Wintgens, J. N. (Ed.). (2012). Coffee: Growing, Processing, Sustainable Production: A Guidebook for Growers, Processors, Traders, and Researchers. Wiley-Blackwell.
10. Zikmund, T. (2018). The Art and Craft of Coffee: An Enthusiast's Guide to Selecting, Roasting, and Brewing Exquisite Coffee. Quarry Books.

Coffee” is the name of a tree, its fruits, seeds (known botanically as the “genus Coffee’) and the raw product produced from them, and is also the name of the roasted product when the green Coffee beans are processed. “Coffee” is also the name of the beverage in the cup for consumption.

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world prepared from the roasted seeds of an evergreen plant of the genus Coffea. The two most important species of coffee are Coffea arabica (Arabica coffee) - which accounts for over 60 percent of world production - and Coffea canephora (Robusta coffee). Coffee plants are cultivated in more than 70 countries, mainly in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Brewed Coffee has stimulating effect on humans because of its caffeine content. It not only gives us pleasure but also has powerful antioxidant properties, neutralizing free radicals and thus protecting the body’s cells from damage caused by stress. Coffee is one of the highly traded commodities in the world. In Nepal, coffee was introduced in late thirties in Aapchaur of Gulmi. The self-pollinating Coffee Arabica is a highly acclaimed species of the coffee and entire coffee of Nepal belongs to this species. The agroclimate of mid-hills is highly suitable for the farming of this high-value plant thereby contributing for livelihood, income generation and economic growth. It creates employment not only in the farms but also in pulping centers, coffee industries and café houses

Although coffee was known to the Yemenis and Ethiopian Natives of the Eastern Africa almost1,000 years ago, it began its world wide spread only in the 16 century A.D. Today, there is hardly any place in the world where coffee is not consumed. During the course, it has spawned a comprehensive agro-industrial activity known as the coffee industry that includes cultivation of the coffee crop, curing and processing of coffee beans, manufacture, marketing and exports of coffee verities as well as research and development work in all its aspects.

Coffee is one of the most important traded commodities in the world. The sector’s trade structure and performance have large development and poverty implications, given the high concentration of production by smallholders in poor developing countries. Coffee’s global value chains are quickly transforming because of shifts in demands and an increasing emphasis on product differentiation in importing countries (Ponte 2002; Daviron and Ponte 2005). There is a growing willingness-to-pay for premium, high quality coffee by rich consumers and the demand for specialty and certified coffee is on the rise.1 Moreover, international coffee markets have experienced significant price variation over the last decade – prices were five times higher in 2011 than in 2002.

These changes have important implications for a number of the poorest developing countries, as most coffee production takes place in these countries, even though most coffee consumption is in developed countries (Pendergrast, 2010; Ponte, 2002). While there are a number of studies that have looked at price formation for different types of coffee at the retail consumption level in importing countries (e.g. Teuber and Herrmann, 2012), important questions remain on who benefits from this increasing willingness-to-pay for coffee and on how changes in global coffee markets are transmitted to producing countries. Moreover, few researchers have looked at how domestic policy change is affecting the performance of the coffee sector in these exporting countries

Coffee in Nepal

Coffee plantation is still a new adventure in Nepal. In 1938 AD, a hermit Mr Hira Giri had brought some seeds of Coffee from Sindu Province of Myanmar (the then Burma) and had planted in Aapchaur of Gulmi District for the first time in Nepal. The crop remained unnoticed as a curiosity crop until 1970s. Then it spread from one farmer to another as a curiosity plant for about 4 decades.

In late seventies, expansion of Coffee as commercial crop to some extent took place when Government of Nepal imported Coffee seed from India for distribution. The major shift to commercial Coffee production took place in mid-eighties. After the establishment of Nepal Coffee Company (NeCCo) in Manigram, Rupandehi district, in 1983/84, the Coffee producers were able to sell Coffee. NeCCo used to collect dry cherry from the Coffee producers and processed the Coffee for domestic market. Until early 2000, Coffee producers were not very sure of Coffee being a source of income or income generating crop due to the market problem. However, after the year 2002, substantial increase in the export and also increase in domestic market consumption to some extent motivated Coffee producers to consider Coffee as a major income generating crop.

Respecting the interest of people on Coffee and favorable climatic conditions for its cultivation. Ministry of Agriculture decided to launch Coffee Development Programme in the country. The Government provided technical and financial support to the farmers; its cultivation has gradually spread to about 40 districts of the middle hills of Nepal. Lalitpur, Gulmi, Palpa, Shyangja, Kaski, Sidhupalchowk, Kavre, are some districts known for Coffee production.

Agriculture is the backbone of the national economy. About 57 percent of the population is involved in farming which contributes around 38 percent to the GDP. Nepal’s agriculture has taken a step forward by going commercial recently. Among the cash corps cultivated in Nepal, coffee is a high value cash crop commercially grown in many parts of the country with environmental importance.

Cognitive behavioral therapy relies on the notion that as humans, our thoughts, emotions and behaviors are linked to one another. The aim of cognitive behavioral therapy is to identify the linkages between emotions, thoughts and actions, and work with clients to determine what is helpful or not helpful to their wellbeing according to that client’s values. This style of treatment is considered person-centered and focuses heavily on psychoeducation as well as a strong therapeutic alliance.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is actually the successor of an earlier talk therapy known as Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), developed by the well-known psychologist Albert Ellis in 1955. This therapy was unique for its time, due to the fact that it strayed away from the psychoanalytic focus of maldaptions and childhood, and focused on the client’s current thoughts and if they are conducive to the life they’d like to live. According to Dr. Ellis, if these thoughts and associated emotions are not in alignment with what the client seeks to achieve, it is imperative that clients take the initiative to change these cognitions and following behavior. This form of therapy gave much power to the client, and no longer painted them as a victim of circumstance or their parents poor caregiving stills. Instead, it made clients take accountability and play an active role in making the change they wish to see in their lives.

The key concepts of this therapy include providing clients with the tools necessary to: examine the validity of their cognitions, measure/record experiences as it’s happening to the client and to make necessary changes to behaviors and/or beliefs in order to interrupt previous thought patterns. Key terms one might hear most in this type of therapy are cognitive distortions and homework. Cognitive distortions refer to beliefs a person has that are not rooted in absolute truth or objectivity but rather, they are based on client’s less than accurate perception of reality. Cognitive distortions include catastrophizing (making any event a huge ordeal, Ex: I’ve never been late to work and today I will be 15 minutes late! I’m going to be fired!), personalizing (taking an event or another person’s actions personally. Example: My supervisor didn’t say hi to me this morning so I must have messed up during my last shift.) and polarized thinking (otherwise known as black and white thinking. Example: If I do not get into Harverd, then my high school career has been worthless.) These distortions tend to affect a client’s judgement, and often lead to them acting out in ways that they feel will rectify the situation. On the treatment side of CBT, one will often hear the term “homework” which relates to the take-home assignment or task that a client and therapist work together to formulate for the purpose of either contributing towards explicit goals or to bring more awareness to daily cognitions in the client’s life.

In application, cognitive behavioral therapy can include restructuring, modifying behavior, and/or developing alternative coping skills. Within a session this might look like a client describing a particularly distressing scenario with their therapist, and going through what event leads to the thought, which leads to the belief, which eventually leads to the behavior that follows. The analysis helps the therapist to better understand what is going through the mind of their client while the event is unfolding, and is beneficial for the client to gain additional perspective and pinpoint any distortions they might be experiencing.

The considerable strengths of this approach include that CBT is considered to be rather brief and time-sensitive method of treatment, that is solution-oriented. This form of treatment encourages the client to increase their awareness of their daily cognitions and how it impacts them with the hope that one day, they will no longer need their therapist to walk through each scenario with them step by step, rather they will be able to go through the situation and acknowledge any beliefs that might be leading to unhelpful behaviors. Some considerable weaknesses of CBT are that this method focuses heavily on the individual’s ability to alter themselves or their habits, without much consideration for the environment they were exposed to when they first learned these initial ways to cope, or other forms of systematic oppression they may have been forced to adhere to. It is also a common criticism that CBT does not address the “root cause” of a person’s issues, rather it addresses the current challenge that a client is facing a result of a potentially deeper maladaptive behavior. For example: a client works with their therapist to address the need to please their employer, but never addresses the fact that this comes from their childhood need to please their caregivers.

Some would argue that in the long-term, this is not helpful to the client and is only offering a temporary fix. It might also be important to consider that as this is a very involved and collaborative approach to talk therapy, it requires a client who is very engaged and willing to participate in treatment which might be difficult for clients with low motivation for treatment or for clients who have various learning impairments.

References

• Corey, G. (2017). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
• Beck, J. S. (1964) Cognitive Therapy: Basics and Beyond. New York: Guildford Press.