tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76116921054598744612024-03-08T02:50:31.165-08:00How to write college essayStructure Of An Argue Essay If I Dessagre With The TopicDamon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-42179715621592224502020-08-24T22:14:00.001-07:002020-08-24T22:14:03.480-07:00Analysis and Application of Clinical Practice Guidelines & Scoring EssayExamination and Application of Clinical Practice Guidelines and Scoring Rubric - Essay Example lines are an arrangement of suggestions on clinical consideration helped by the best present sign in a clinical writing (Castellani, Girlanda, and Barbu, 2014). For quite a while, Clinical Practice Guidelines on a few events have been utilized and manhandled. In spite of the fact that position explanations on the best consideration were intended to be fair-minded, the archives were dangerous. The procedure of improvement didn't meet straightforwardness prerequisites, and the specialists engaged with the advancement made the material valuable to themselves. Patients and rehearsing doctors typically felt cheated in situations where choices on medicinal services were centered around rules worried about financial and not quality objectives. Through use of proof based medication procedures being developed of rules, supposition and inclinations are strikingly limited and the rise of rich logical writing is seen and evaluated in a methodical manner to offer straightforwardness and decrease awkwardness in proof based Clinical Practice Guidelines. Proof based Clinical Practice Guidelines are more prominent than non-proof based Clinical Practice Guidelines and are correct devices of better quality patient consideration. The organized, straightforward procedure utilized in creating Clinical Practice Procedures makes them hard to manhandle and simple to utilize. Proof based Clinical Practice Procedures are being utilized to make quality measures just as used to help referrals when insurance agencies question them. Notwithstanding that Clinical Practice Procedures go about as patientââ¬â¢s training devices. Proof put together Clinical Practice Procedures with respect to a national level are an immediate methods for development of value and assume a major job really taking shape of proportions of execution for pay-for-execution reimbursement programs. Rehearsing orthopedists are given a voice by the proof based clinical practice rules. Society put together Clinical Practice Guidelines with respect to a nearby level are utilized to impact and advise emergency clinic rules so as to improve best practices. Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-55690222192236614562020-08-22T02:18:00.001-07:002020-08-22T02:18:23.902-07:00Impact of Announcing Dividends on Shares Prices of Corporations Listed DissertationEffect of Announcing Dividends on Shares Prices of Corporations Listed in the Dubai Financial Market - Dissertation Example 1.2 Name and job of the specialist 1.3 Summary With the advancement of exchange and business, the essence of the money related markets has changed totally. Administrative specialists of various nations have understood the expanding significance of business for monetary turns of events. In this procedure, they endeavor to support the business condition through different methods. So as to support industrialization inside a nation, a gigantic measure of speculations is required. In any case, it isn't constantly feasible for the administration to give the whole cash-flow to creating development arranged financial structure. In this procedure, various money related markets assume an exceptionally significant job in forming an economy. The essential goal of monetary markets is to profit important capital for mechanical improvement from various sources. In this way, money related markets act a middle person that changes the perfect and potential capital for beneficial purposes. Besley and B righam have clarified that the budgetary market serves to ââ¬Å"facilitate stream of fundâ⬠from various sources, and in the event of created nations, ââ¬Å"financial markets help productively allot abundance assets of savers to people and association needing assets for venture or consumptionâ⬠(Besley and Brigham, 2007, p.89). ... Among these, the monetary market is the most conspicuous as far as creating assets for open recorded organizations. The capital market assists with raising long haul assets from various retail or institutional financial specialists and the whole instrument is actually prepared however the stock trades. The capital markets bargain in two sub markets for example securities exchange and security advertise (CBL Economic Review, 2009). The ventures exchange process between the financial specialists and organizations are finished by the stock trade and the stock costs are commonly decided consequently dependent on the overarching request and flexibly. In any case, the stock costs stay for short run as request and gracefully of stock is questionable and will in general change from time to time (Gray, Cusatis and Woolridge, 2003, p.31). Be that as it may, there are additionally different components that impact the interest and flexibly of a stock. Fundamentally, numerous inward factors like organization execution, profit, rivalry and so on and outer variables like swelling, advertise structure, monetary cycle and so on are liable for affecting interest and flexibly (Khan and Zuberi, 1999, p.47). This exploration paper will endeavor to break down the job of profit declaration affecting a stock cost while concentrating on the organizations recorded in the Dubai Financial market. Profit is one of the inside elements that impact stock costs. Indeed, when the administrations of open recorded organizations declare the issue of profits, the stock costs are affected and there are different changes which can likewise be followed corresponding to the stock. Profit is ââ¬Å"any appropriation made by an organization to its investors whether in cash or other propertyâ⬠(CCH Editors, 2009, p.119). Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-1936861741778824832020-07-24T23:59:00.001-07:002020-07-24T23:59:03.186-07:00Fryday on SundayFryday on Sunday Tonight, I emerged from a coma of essay-writing and unglued my gaze from OpenOffice long enough to wander up two flights of stairs and straight into a delirious, dripping dream. Having recovered enough by now to return my shocked fingers to their home-sweet-home row keys, I write this in pendulous obligation to the slippery edge of a Sunday night that is separated from Monday (a student holiday!) by precious few oscillations of a cesium atom. Editors note: The following is not for the faint of heart, nor the high of blood pressure, nor the diabetic of pancreas. Its the end of the week, and apparently someone up above (by which I mean the 4th floor of Random) has decided that the MIT student body has yet to change its weekly quota of potentially bad ideas into kinetically bad ideas. So, the logical conclusion is to deep fry various organic structures into a state of unrecognizable (yet crunchy) homogeneity. This made more sense than some of my answers to the last biology problem set, which took a long time to cook and turned out sort of bland, so I decided that it was safe to take a look. Before I venture any further, Id like to introduce you to a site called mitadmissions.org that has all sorts of fantastic information about admissions, academics, student life, apples, and even dining options at MIT. Some students prefer to cook their own meals, daily or on special occasions. Every dorm suite sports a full-size kitchen and barbecue pits line the courtyards of every residence hall. Never mind that this would imply that Random is not actually a residence hall by virtue of its lack of barbecue pits (not to mention a courtyard in which the barbecue pits line themselves up like well-behaved, frankfurter-cooking kindergarteners, pardon the mixed simile); lets talk about the kitchen and its role in certain not-unheard-of âspecial occasionsâ. Random Hall has roughly 0.0714 kitchens per resident (thats one kitchen per fourteen residents), so its more than plausible to make every day a special occasion. Its also within a 5 minute walk of two well-stocked grocery stores, one of which has a hefty supply of vegetarian/vegan/special diet options and the other of which has a hefty supply of MIT students stocking up on peanut butter, bread, and Nutella (in case France declares war, I guess). Thats in addition to a small Korean market across the street and a gas station convenience store within arms reach for anyone who has six-feet long arms. Rebecca 12, for instance, is renowned in Random Hall for her elaborate recipes, which are supposedly so complex that they exist only in the imaginary plane. I was fortunate enough to accompany her on one of her grocery runs last week and personally witnessed her purchase of $80 worth of vegetables and cooking staples (vinegar, rice, etc.), which will no doubt go into many weeks of tasty and nutritious dinners. This blog, however, is not about Rebecca and definitely not about nutrition. Its about various permutations of grease and meat and pastries. Please adjust your expectations accordingly at this time. So, up I walked the stairs like Alice into a greasy Wonderland where the atmosphere was an unearthly solution of nitrogen, oxygen, and oil droplets, heavy with visions of unborn culinary chimeras. The atmosphere was palpitant as Dr. Frankenstein readied the fryer, the unspeakable materials having been collected and dumped tableward. Some of you are probably clutching your intestines in fright and wondering if Draino can be used to unclog arteries, but let it be said that this amputated Italian sausage was the lightweight of Randoms cholesterol olympics. Onions curled limply like deformed (yet crunchy) tentacles, remarkably similar to the ones that emerge from the plutonious depths of the Charles River during a full moon. Note to all the aspiring Jean Georges out there: Add flour to your onion rings before you coat them in batter, or else the hot oil will be like the Earths atmosphere and the batter will be like the rock on the outside of a meteor entering at 70 km/s. Conventionally, theres four states of matter. And then theres potato, which according to the latest research exists in at least 29 states of matter, including raw (the form occurring in nature), French fry (degenerate state with structural deficiencies), tater tot (only forms under high heat and pressure), mashed (theorized to be a transition state between baked potato and potato pie filling), and hashed brown (which, according to some physicists, has no inherent differences from the tater tot). Random Halls state-of-the-art deep fryer produced an impressive total of two such states in the span of 20 minutes. An in-depth, empirical analysis of our results will be published in next Januarys issue of Science. At some point, our lipid-covered soirée took a sharp left into total perversity. The philosophers of ancient Athens have long warned that the path to self-destruction begins with fried Oreos. . . . and soon progresses to the soft, golden centers of human vulnerability, sucking away the white cream like marrow from our hapless souls. Fried Twinkies were too morally challenging for some of our more conscientious participants, so they opted for a cleaner, lighter alternative. Deep-fried broccoli, crystallized in crusty nubs of pancake batter! Have you had your daily serving of irony today? Eventually, I got tired of living the hallucinations of a McDonalds worker on NyQuil, so I departed to my floor in escape from the reminders of tonights merciless ambush on innumerable broccoli stalks (for what is broccoli but the nuns of the vegetable world?). Peace was not to be found; it just so happened that someone else also considered tonight a special occasion. Natania had decided to bake a batch of cookies for her professors, which to me seems like baking a batch of tenure for your professors. What more could one ask for? The Food Pyramid just called and threatened to take legal action, so it looks like I now owe you a blog about health and wellness. Post Tagged #Random Hall Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-38112004005617373372020-05-22T07:28:00.001-07:002020-05-22T07:28:08.159-07:00Unequal Democracy By Larry Bartle - 1503 Words In ââ¬Å"Unequal Democracyâ⬠written by Larry Bartle focuses on how politics have influenced the growing gap between the rich and poor in America. Bartle argues that the gap has resulted from policy choices dominated by partisan ideologies and interest of the wealthy, specifically under the Republican Party, while Democrats have managed to slightly decrease the gap. Bartle sheds light on how poor voters have a disadvantage in which wealthier voters are more affluent to political leaders. In addition, Bartle examines whether voting patterns of voters have contributed to the growing economic inequality, and he concludes voters do not weigh more into social and cultural issues; rather Republic presidents are good at timing income growth to garner voters. The political environment has essentially influenced economy, in result has led to a growing economic gap between the rich and poor, which is a national and state issue that must be addressed. Education is essential to attain so cial mobility, however students face difficult obstacles. Even though we have laws like No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), however many students that come from low social class families do not have equal opportunities as students that come from higher income households. NCLB is encouraging on its face, but it does not address the unequal distribution of funds for districts. NCLB set standards in which students must achieve scores on standardized test rather than having access to equal opportunities, in Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-31027030444807062812020-05-07T21:51:00.001-07:002020-05-07T21:51:03.644-07:00The Letter From Birmingham Jail Was Written By Dr. Martin The letter from Birmingham Jail was written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a famous and influential activist during the period of Civil Rights struggle in 1960 s America, from a confinement cell in Birmingham as a response to the open letter written and published by eight white clergymen from Birmingham. In their letter, the clergymen criticized Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) for their activism, while commending the Birmingham police. Though Dr. King structures the Letter as a direct response to the clergymen, they are ultimately a means through which he addresses white moderates in general and society at large. The Letter reflects many of his central philosophies, including those of nonviolence, civilâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦When they decided they could, they then prepared to protest. However, the SCLC chose to hold out because Birmingham had impending mayoral elections. Though the notorious racist Eugene ââ¬Å"Bullâ⬠Connor was defeated in the election, his successor, Albert Boutwell, was also a pronounced segregationist. Therefore, the protests began. Dr. King understands that the clergymen value negotiation over protest, but he insists that negotiations cannot happen without protest, which creates a ââ¬Å"crisisâ⬠and ââ¬Å"tensionâ⬠that forces unwilling parties (in this case, the white business owners) to negotiate in good faith. He admits that words like ââ¬Å"tensionâ⬠frighten white moderates, but embraces the concepts as ââ¬Å"constructive and nonviolent.â⬠He provides examples that suggest tension is necessary for humans to grow, and repeats that the tension created by direct action is necessary in this case if segregation is to end. He next turns to the clergymen criticism that the SCLC action is ââ¬Å"untimely.â⬠After insisting that Albert Boutwell was not different enough to warrant patience, he launches into an extended claim that ââ¬Å"privileged groupsâ⬠will always oppose action that threatens the status quo. They will always consider attacks on their privilege as ââ¬Å"untimely,â⬠especially because groups have a tendency towards allowing immorality that individuals might oppose. Dr. King insists that the black man has waited ââ¬Å"more than 340 yearsâ⬠for justice, and he then launches into a litany of abuses thatShow MoreRelatedPersuasive Speech : Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.1334 Words à |à 6 Pagesthe most important part of the speech is not what is said during the speech, but what the audience feels and remembers after the speech was over. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a powerful advocate of African American rights, was an expert at convincing his audience to feel and react to his speeches however he wanted them to. One of the main ways he achieved this was through the use of the artistic proofs. The ââ¬Ëartistic proofsââ¬â¢ is a term coined by the ancient greek philosopher known as Aristotle (User)Read MoreLetter From Birmingham Jail Analysis1617 Words à |à 7 Pagesamusement park,; that was the painful impediment that African Americans of the 1960ââ¬â¢s faced solely due to the melanin in their skin (King 2). Among these African Am ericans was the reverend, doctor, humanist, husband, and Civil Rights activist, Mr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was a middle class, black man with a life-long devotion of implementing ethnic equality to African Americans nationwide. Following one of Rev. Kingââ¬â¢s peaceful protests in Birmingham, Alabama, he was jailed on accounts ofRead MoreLetter from Birmingham Jail, by Martin Luther King Jr. Essay938 Words à |à 4 Pages Is it not ironic that Martin Luther King Jr. s, ââ¬Å"Letter from Birmingham Jailâ⬠, which testifies to his struggle for Civil Rights; not only contradicts the time Martin Luther King wrote it in, but also echoes the same sentiments of todayââ¬â¢s moral causes and laws? . Dr. King (*) then known as Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the Letter to Birmingham in response to his fellow clergymenââ¬â¢s criticisms of him being locked up for his actions in Birminghamââ¬â¢s Civil Rights protest. The letterââ¬â¢sRead MoreLetter From Birmingham Jail By Dr. Martin Luther King1510 Words à |à 7 PagesLetter from Birmingham Jail was a letter written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from a solitary confinement cell in Birmingham, Alabama. Some portions of the letter were written and gradually smuggled out by King s lawyer on scraps of paper including, by some reports, rough jailhouse toilet paper. Violent racist terror against African Americans was so horrible in Bir mingham in the summer of 1963 that the city was being referred to by some locals as ââ¬Å"Bombinghamâ⬠. King had been arrested while participatingRead MoreDeclaration of Independence and Letter from Birmingham Jail Essay1102 Words à |à 5 PagesThomas Jefferson and Martin Luther King Jr. are two American men who were key leaders during very controversial periods in U.S. history, and they were instrumental in movements that forever changed American society. Although their generations, cultures, backgrounds, and motives were quite different, their cause was relatively the same. It was a cause that stood against injustice, oppression, and sought the freedom of all men. Their beliefs and struggles were evident in their writings. Two of theRead MoreAn Analysis of Letter from a Birmingham Jail Essay1090 Words à |à 5 Pages Letter from a Birmingham Jail was written by Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. in April of 1963, as he sat, as the title states, in a Birmingham, Alabama jail. King had been jailed for his participation in a peaceful protest of segregation in public places such as lunch counters and public restrooms (Berkley, 2003). While jailed, King read a criticism of the protest by a group of white ministers, who felt such demonstrations ââ¬Å"directed and in part led by outsidersâ⬠were ââ¬Å"unwise and untimelyâ⬠Read MoreWhy Kings Letter from a Birmingham Jail Resounds throughout American History?926 Words à |à 4 PagesTime: Why Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail Resounds Throughout American History Dr. Martin Luther Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail is a direct response to A Call for Unity, a letter penned by eight Alabama clergymen including one rabbi. In A Call for Unity, the eight clergymen decry the peaceful protests organized by Dr. King and his fellow civil rights activists. The clergymen claim that the protests are unwise and untimely. In his response written from jail, Dr. King outlines allRead MoreCivil Disobedience By Henry David Thoreaus Letter From A Birmingham Jail1605 Words à |à 7 PagesThoreau and The Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and taking a closer look at their rhetorical devices and strategyââ¬â¢s. In Civil disobedience by Henry David Thoreau shows us the need to prioritize some oneââ¬â¢s wellbeing over what the law says. American laws are criticized mostly over slavery and the Mexican-American war. In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.ââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"Letter from a Birmingham Jailâ⬠was written in response to a letter writt en by clergymen criticizing the actions of Dr. King and theRead MoreOutline And Objective Of A Persuasive Text1284 Words à |à 6 Pageshave an empty picture. Evidence and reasoning are the two basic pieces of your persuasive letter. Without these, youââ¬â¢ll simply have a frameââ¬âyour claimââ¬âwithout information to complete the argument. Explaining how things connect for your reader is one of the most important ways to strengthen your argument. Today s lesson objective is: Students will be able to develop an analysis using relevant evidence from texts to support claims, opinions, ideas, and inferences. When reading a persuasive textRead MoreRhetorical Analysis of Letter from Birmingham Jail Essay examples651 Words à |à 3 Pagesthe ââ¬Å"Letter from Birmingham Jailâ⬠(Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail) written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the three artistic appeals of Aristotle are plainly apparent, especially logos. Dr. King repeatedly appeals to logos (Ruszkiewicz) throughout the entire piece; particularly when he says he was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist then gradually gained a matter of satisfaction from the label. He is very impassioned in his language and tone in this part of the letter, yet Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-30774306976778211432020-05-06T09:30:00.001-07:002020-05-06T09:30:40.773-07:00Lamb The Gospel According to Biff, Christââ¬â¢s Childhood Pal Chapter 23 Free Essays string(46) " for the things he had learned from the Magi\." Part V Lamb I am light, now I fly, now I see myself beneath myself, now a god dances through me. FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE Chapter 23 We rode Vana north toward the Silk Road, skirting the great Indian desert that had almost killed Alexander the Greatââ¬â¢s forces as they returned to Persia after conquering half of the known world, three centuries before. Although it would have saved a month to cut through the desert, Joshua was not confident about his ability to conjure enough water for Vana. We will write a custom essay sample on Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christââ¬â¢s Childhood Pal Chapter 23 or any similar topic only for you Order Now A man should learn the lessons of history, and although I insisted that Alexanderââ¬â¢s men had probably been tired from all that conquering, while Josh and I had basically been sitting around at the beach for two years, he insisted we take the less hostile route through Delhi, and north into what is now Pakistan until we joined the Silk Road once again. A little ways down the Silk Road I thought we received another message from Mary. We had stopped to have a short rest. When we resumed the journey, Vana happened to walk over where she had just done her business and the pile was pressed into the perfect likeness of a womanââ¬â¢s face, dark poo against the light gray dust. ââ¬Å"Look, Josh, thereââ¬â¢s another message from your mother.â⬠Josh glanced and looked away. ââ¬Å"Thatââ¬â¢s not my mother.â⬠ââ¬Å"But look, in the elephant poop, itââ¬â¢s a womanââ¬â¢s face.â⬠ââ¬Å"I know, but itââ¬â¢s not my mother. Itââ¬â¢s distorted because of the medium. It doesnââ¬â¢t even look like her. Look at the eyes.â⬠I had to climb to the back of the elephant to get another angle on it. He was right, it wasnââ¬â¢t his mother. ââ¬Å"I guess youââ¬â¢re right. The medium obscured the message.â⬠ââ¬Å"Thatââ¬â¢s what Iââ¬â¢m saying.â⬠ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢ll bet it looks like someoneââ¬â¢s mom, though.â⬠With the detour around the desert, we were nearly two months getting to Kabul. Although Vana was an intrepid walker, as I have mentioned, she was a less than agile climber, so we often had to take long detours to get her through the mountains of Afghanistan. Josh and I both knew that we could not take her into the high, rocky desert once we passed Kabul, so we agreed to leave the elephant with Joy, if we could find the erstwhile courtesan. Once in Kabul we asked around the market for any news of a Chinese woman named Tiny Feet of the Divine Dance of Joyous Orgasm, but no one had heard of her, nor had they seen a woman simply named Joy. After a full day of searching, Joshua and I were about to abandon the search for our friend when I remembered something she had once said to me. I asked a local tea seller. ââ¬Å"Is there a woman who lives around here, a very rich woman perhaps, who calls herself the Dragon Lady or something like that?â⬠ââ¬Å"Oh, yes sir,â⬠the fellow said, and he shuddered as he spoke, as if a bug had run across his neck. ââ¬Å"She is called the Cruel and Accursed Dragon Princess.â⬠ââ¬Å"Nice name,â⬠I said to Joy as we rode through the massive stone gates into the courtyard of her palace. ââ¬Å"A woman alone, it helps to have your reputation precede you,â⬠said the Cruel and Accursed Dragon Princess. She looked almost exactly as she had almost nine years ago when we had left, except perhaps that she wore a little more jewelry. She was petite, and delicate, and beautiful. She wore a white silk robe embroidered with dragons and her blue-black hair hung down her back almost to her knees, held in place by a single silver band that just kept it from sweeping around her shoulders when she turned. ââ¬Å"Nice elephant,â⬠she added. ââ¬Å"Sheââ¬â¢s a present,â⬠Joshua said. ââ¬Å"Sheââ¬â¢s lovely.â⬠ââ¬Å"Do you have a couple of camels you can spare, Joy?â⬠I asked. ââ¬Å"Oh, Biff, I had really hoped that you two would sleep with me tonight.â⬠ââ¬Å"Well, Iââ¬â¢d love to, but Josh is still sworn off the muffin.â⬠ââ¬Å"Young men? I have a number of man-boys I keep around for, well, you know.â⬠ââ¬Å"Not those either,â⬠Joshua said. ââ¬Å"Oh Joshua, my poor little Messiah. Iââ¬â¢ll bet no one made you Chinese food for your birthday this year either?â⬠ââ¬Å"We had rice,â⬠Joshua said. ââ¬Å"Well, weââ¬â¢ll see what the Accursed Dragon Princess can do to make up for that,â⬠said Joy. We climbed down from the elephant and exchanged hugs with our old friend, then a stern guard in bronze chain mail led Vana away to the stables and four guards with spears flanked us as Joy led us into the main house. ââ¬Å"A woman alone?â⬠I said, looking at the guards that seemed to stand at every doorway. ââ¬Å"In my heart, darling,â⬠Joy said. ââ¬Å"These arenââ¬â¢t friends, family, or lovers, these are employees.â⬠ââ¬Å"Is that the Accursed part of your new title?â⬠Joshua said. ââ¬Å"I could drop it, just be the Cruel Dragon Princess, if you two want to stay on.â⬠ââ¬Å"We canââ¬â¢t. Weââ¬â¢ve been called home.â⬠Joy nodded dolefully and led us into the library (filled with Balthasarââ¬â¢s old books), where coffee was served by young men and women who Joy had obviously brought from China. I thought of all the girls, my friends and my lovers, who had been killed by the demon so long ago, and swallowed my coffee around a lump in my throat. Joshua was as excited as I had seen him in a long time. It might have been the coffee. ââ¬Å"You wonââ¬â¢t believe the wonderful things Iââ¬â¢ve learned since I left here, Joy. About being the agent of change (change is at the root of belief, you know), and about compassion for everyone because everyone is part of another, and most important, that there is a bit of God in each of us ââ¬â in India they call it the Divine Spark.â⬠He rambled on like that for an hour, and eventually my melancholy passed and I was infected by Joshuaââ¬â¢s enthusiasm for the things he had learned from the Magi. You read "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christââ¬â¢s Childhood Pal Chapter 23" in category "Essay examples" ââ¬Å"Yes,â⬠I added, ââ¬Å"and Josh can climb inside a standard-size wine amphora. You have to bust him out with a hammer, but itââ¬â¢s interesting to watch.â⬠ââ¬Å"And you, Biff?â⬠Joy asked, smiling into her cup. ââ¬Å"Well, after supper Iââ¬â¢ll show you a little something I like to call Water Buffalo Teasing the Seeds out of the Pomegranate.â⬠ââ¬Å"That sounds ââ¬â ââ¬Å" ââ¬Å"Donââ¬â¢t worry, itââ¬â¢s not that hard to learn. I have pictures.â⬠We were four days at Joyââ¬â¢s palace, enjoying comfort, food, and drink such as we hadnââ¬â¢t experienced since weââ¬â¢d last seen her. I could have stayed forever, but on the morning of the fifth day Joshua stood at the entrance to Joyââ¬â¢s bedchamber, his satchel slung over his shoulder. He didnââ¬â¢t say a word. He didnââ¬â¢t have to. We shared breakfast with Joy and she met us at the gate to say good-bye. ââ¬Å"Thanks for the elephant,â⬠she said. ââ¬Å"Thanks for the camels,â⬠Joshua said. ââ¬Å"Thanks for the sex book,â⬠Joy said. ââ¬Å"Thanks for the sex,â⬠I said. ââ¬Å"Oh, I forgot, you owe me a hundred rupees,â⬠Joy said. I had told her about Kashmir. The Cruel and Accursed Dragon Princess grinned at me. ââ¬Å"Just kidding. Be well, my friend. Keep that amulet I gave you and remember me, huh?â⬠ââ¬Å"Of course.â⬠I kissed her and climbed on my camelââ¬â¢s back, then coaxed him to his feet. Joy embraced Joshua and kissed him on the lips, hard and long. He didnââ¬â¢t seem to be trying to push her away. ââ¬Å"Hey, we had better go, Josh,â⬠I said. Joy held the Messiah at armââ¬â¢s length and said, ââ¬Å"You are always welcome here, you know that?â⬠Josh nodded, then climbed on his camel. ââ¬Å"Go with God, Joy,â⬠he said. As we rode through the gates of the palace the guards shot fire arrows that trailed long tails of sparks over us until they exploded above the road ahead: Joyââ¬â¢s last good-bye to us, a tribute to the friendship and arcane knowledge we had all shared. It scared the bejeezus out of the camels. After we had been on the road awhile, Joshua asked, ââ¬Å"Did you say goodbye to Vana?â⬠ââ¬Å"I intended to, but when I went to the stable she was practicing her yoga and I didnââ¬â¢t want to disturb her.â⬠ââ¬Å"No kidding?â⬠ââ¬Å"Really, she was sitting in one of the postures you taught her.â⬠Joshua smiled. It didnââ¬â¢t hurt anything for him to believe that. The journey on the Silk Road through the high deserts took us over a month, but it was fairly uneventful, except for one attack by a small group of bandits. When I caught the first two spears they flung at me and flung them right back, wounding the two who had thrown them, they turned and ran. The weather was mild, or as mild as one can expect in a deadly and brutal desert, but by now Joshua and I had traveled so much in this sort of harsh country that there was little that affected us. Just before we reached Antioch, however, a sandstorm whipped up out of the desert that left us hiding between our camels for two days, breathing through our shirts and washing the mud out of our mouths every time we took a drink. The storm settled enough to travel, and we were at a veritable gallop in the streets of Antioch when Joshua located an inn by impacting with its sign on his forehead. He was knocked back off his camel and sat up in the street with blood streaming down his face. ââ¬Å"Are you hurt badly?â⬠I asked, kneeling beside him. I could barely see in the driving dust. Joshua looked at the blood on his hands where he had touched his forehead. ââ¬Å"I donââ¬â¢t know. It doesnââ¬â¢t hurt that badly, but I canââ¬â¢t tell.â⬠ââ¬Å"Inside,â⬠I said, helping him to his feet and through the door of the inn. ââ¬Å"Shut the door,â⬠the innkeeper shouted as the wind whipped through the room. ââ¬Å"Were you born in a barn?â⬠ââ¬Å"Yeah,â⬠said Joshua. ââ¬Å"He was,â⬠I said. ââ¬Å"Angels on the roof, though.â⬠ââ¬Å"Shut the damn door,â⬠said the innkeeper. I left Joshua sitting there by the door while I went out and found shelter for the camels. When I returned Joshua was wiping his face with a linen cloth that someone had handed to him. A couple of men stood over him, eager to help. I handed the cloth to one of them and examined Joshââ¬â¢s wounds. ââ¬Å"Youââ¬â¢ll live. A big bump and two cuts, but youââ¬â¢ll live. You canââ¬â¢t do the healing thing on ââ¬â ââ¬Å" Joshua shook his head. ââ¬Å"Hey, look at this,â⬠one of the travelers who had helped Joshua said, holding up the piece of linen Joshua had used to wipe his face. The dust and blood from Joshââ¬â¢s face had left a perfect likeness on the linen, even handprints where heââ¬â¢d gotten blood from his head wound. ââ¬Å"Can I keep this?â⬠the fellow said. He was speaking Latin, but with a strange accent. ââ¬Å"Sure,â⬠I said. ââ¬Å"Where are you fellahs from?â⬠ââ¬Å"Weââ¬â¢re from the Ligurian tribe, from the territories north of Rome. A city on the Po river called Turin. Have you heard of it?â⬠ââ¬Å"No, I havenââ¬â¢t. You know, you fellahs can do what you want with that cloth, but out on my camel Iââ¬â¢ve got some erotic drawings from the East that are going to be worth something someday. I can let you have them for a very fair price.â⬠The Turinians went off holding their pathetic swath of muddy cloth like it was some kind of holy relic. Ignorant bastards wouldnââ¬â¢t know art if you nailed them to it. I bandaged Joshuaââ¬â¢s wounds and we checked into the inn for the night. In the morning we decided to keep our camels and take the land route home through Damascus. As we passed out of the gates of Damascus on the final leg home, Joshua started to worry. ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢m not ready to be the Messiah, Biff. If Iââ¬â¢m being called home to lead our people I donââ¬â¢t even know where to start. I understand the things I want to teach, but I donââ¬â¢t have the words yet. Melchior was right about that. Before anything you have to have the word.â⬠ââ¬Å"Well itââ¬â¢s not just going to come to you in a flash here on the Damascus road, Josh. That sort of thing doesnââ¬â¢t happen. Youââ¬â¢re obviously supposed to learn what you need to know in its own time. To everything a season, yada, yada, yadaâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ââ¬Å"My father could have made learning all this easier. He could have just told me what I was supposed to do.â⬠ââ¬Å"I wonder how Maggieââ¬â¢s doing. You think she got fat?â⬠ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢m trying to talk about God here, about the Divine Spark, about bringing the kingdom to our people.â⬠ââ¬Å"I know you are, so am I. Do you want to do all of that without help?â⬠ââ¬Å"I guess not.â⬠ââ¬Å"Well, thatââ¬â¢s why I was thinking about Maggie. She was smarter than us before we left, sheââ¬â¢s probably smarter than us now.â⬠ââ¬Å"She was smart, wasnââ¬â¢t she? She wanted to be a fisherman,â⬠said Josh, grinning. I could tell that the thought of seeing Maggie tickled him. ââ¬Å"You canââ¬â¢t tell her about all the whores, Josh.â⬠ââ¬Å"I wonââ¬â¢t.â⬠ââ¬Å"Or Joy and the girls. Or the old woman with no teeth.â⬠ââ¬Å"I wonââ¬â¢t tell her about any of them, not even the yak.â⬠ââ¬Å"There was nothing with the yak. The yak and I werenââ¬â¢t even on speaking terms.â⬠ââ¬Å"You know, she probably has a dozen children by now.â⬠ââ¬Å"I know.â⬠I sighed. ââ¬Å"They should be mine.â⬠ââ¬Å"And mine.â⬠Joshua sighed back. I looked at him as he rode beside me in a sea of gently loping camel waves. He was staring off at the horizon, looking forlorn. ââ¬Å"Yours and mine? You think they should be yours and mine?â⬠ââ¬Å"Sure, why not. You know I love all the little ââ¬â ââ¬Å" ââ¬Å"You are such a doofus sometimes.â⬠ââ¬Å"Do you think sheââ¬â¢ll remember us? I mean, how we all were back then?â⬠I thought about it and shuddered. ââ¬Å"I hope not.â⬠No sooner did we pass into Galilee than we began to hear about what John the Baptist was doing in Judea. ââ¬Å"Hundreds have followed him into the desert,â⬠we heard in Gischala. ââ¬Å"Some say he is the Messiah,â⬠one man told us in Baca. ââ¬Å"Herod is afraid of him,â⬠said a woman in Cana. ââ¬Å"Heââ¬â¢s another crazy holy man,â⬠said a Roman soldier in Sepphoris. ââ¬Å"The Jews breed them like rabbits. I hear he drowns anyone who doesnââ¬â¢t agree with him. First sensible idea Iââ¬â¢ve heard since I was sent to this accursed territory.â⬠ââ¬Å"May I have your name, soldier?â⬠I asked. ââ¬Å"Caius Junius, of the Sixth Legion.â⬠ââ¬Å"Thank you. Weââ¬â¢ll keep you in mind.â⬠To Josh I said, ââ¬Å"Caius Junius: front of the line when we start shoving Romans out of the kingdom into the fiery abyss.â⬠ââ¬Å"What did you say?â⬠said the Roman. ââ¬Å"No, no, donââ¬â¢t thank me, you earned it. Right at the front of the line you go, Caius.â⬠ââ¬Å"Biff!â⬠Josh barked, and once he had my attention he whispered, ââ¬Å"Try not to get us thrown into prison before we get home, please.â⬠I nodded and waved to the legionnaire as we rode away. ââ¬Å"Just crazy Jew talk. Pay no attention. Whimper Fidelis,â⬠I said. ââ¬Å"We have to find John after we see our families,â⬠Joshua said. ââ¬Å"Do you think that heââ¬â¢s really claiming to be the Messiah?â⬠ââ¬Å"No, but it sounds like he knows how to get the word out.â⬠We rode into Nazareth a half hour later. I suppose we expected more upon our arrival. Cheering maybe, little children running at our heels begging for tales of our great adventures, tears and laughter, kisses and hugs, strong shoulders to bear the conquering heroes through the streets. What weââ¬â¢d forgotten was that while we were traveling, having adventures, and experiencing wonders, the people of Nazareth had been living through the same old day-to-day crap ââ¬â a lot of days had passed, and a lot of crap. When we rode up to Joshuaââ¬â¢s old house, his brother James was working outside under the awning, shaving a piece of olive wood into a strut for a camel saddle. I knew it was James the moment I saw him. He had Joshuaââ¬â¢s narrow hooked nose and wide eyes, but his face was more weathered than Joshââ¬â¢s, and his body heavier with muscle. He looked ten years older than Joshua rather than the two years younger that he was. He put down his spoke shave and stepped out in the sunlight, holding up a hand to shield his eyes. ââ¬Å"Joshua?â⬠Joshua tapped his camel on the back of his knees with the long riding crop and the beast lowered him to the ground. ââ¬Å"James!â⬠Joshua climbed off the camel and went to his brother, his arms out as if to embrace him, but James stepped back. ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢ll go tell Mother that her favorite son has returned.â⬠James turned away and I saw the tears literally shoot out of Joshuaââ¬â¢s eyes into the dust. ââ¬Å"James,â⬠Joshua was pleading. ââ¬Å"I didnââ¬â¢t know. When?â⬠James turned and looked his half brother in the eye. There was no pity there, no grief, just anger. ââ¬Å"Two months ago, Joshua. Joseph died two months ago. He asked for you.â⬠ââ¬Å"I didnââ¬â¢t know,â⬠Joshua said, still holding his arms out for the embrace that wasnââ¬â¢t going to come. ââ¬Å"Go inside. Mother has been waiting for you. She starts every morning wondering if this is the day youââ¬â¢ll return. Go inside.â⬠He turned away as Joshua went past him into the house, then James looked up at me. ââ¬Å"The last thing he said was ââ¬ËTell the bastard I love him.'â⬠ââ¬Å"The bastard?â⬠I said as I coaxed my camel to let me down. ââ¬Å"Thatââ¬â¢s what he always called Joshua. ââ¬ËI wonder how the bastard is doing. I wonder where the bastard is today?ââ¬â¢ Always talking about the bastard. And Mother yammering on always about how Joshua did this, and Joshua did that, and what great things Joshua would do when he returned. And all the while Iââ¬â¢m the one looking out for my brothers and sisters, taking care of them when Father got sick, taking care of my own family. Still, was there any thanks? A kind word? No, I was doing nothing more than paving Joshuaââ¬â¢s road. You have no idea what itââ¬â¢s like to always be second to Joshua.â⬠ââ¬Å"Really,â⬠I said. ââ¬Å"Youââ¬â¢ll have to tell me about that sometime,â⬠I said. ââ¬Å"Tell Josh if he needs me Iââ¬â¢ll be at my fatherââ¬â¢s house. My father is still alive, isnââ¬â¢t he?â⬠ââ¬Å"Yes, and your mother too.â⬠ââ¬Å"Oh good, I didnââ¬â¢t want to put one of my brothers through breaking the painful news.â⬠I turned and led my camel away. ââ¬Å"Go with God, Levi,â⬠James said. I turned. ââ¬Å"James, it is written, ââ¬ËTo the work you are entitled, but not the fruits thereof.'â⬠ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢ve never heard that. Where is that written?â⬠ââ¬Å"In the Bhagavad Gita, James. Itââ¬â¢s a long poem about going into battle, and this warriorââ¬â¢s god tells him not to worry about killing his kinsmen in battle, because they are already dead, they just donââ¬â¢t know it yet. I donââ¬â¢t know what made me think of it.â⬠My father hugged me until I thought heââ¬â¢d broken my ribs, then he handed me off to my mother, who did the same until she seemed to come to her senses, then she began to cuff me about the head and shoulders with her sandal, which she had whipped off with surprising speed and dexterity for a woman her age. ââ¬Å"Seventeen years youââ¬â¢re gone and you couldnââ¬â¢t write?â⬠ââ¬Å"You donââ¬â¢t know how to read.â⬠ââ¬Å"So you couldnââ¬â¢t send word, smart mouth?â⬠I fended off the blows by directing their energy away from me, as I had been taught at the monastery, and soon two small boys who I didnââ¬â¢t recognize were catching the brunt of the beating. Fearing lawsuits from small strangers, I caught my motherââ¬â¢s arms and hugged them to her sides as I looked at my father, nodded to the two little ones, and raised my eyebrows as if to say, Who are the squirts? ââ¬Å"Those are your brothers, Moses and Japeth,â⬠my father said. ââ¬Å"Moses is six and Japeth is five.â⬠The little guys grinned. Both were missing front teeth, probably sacrificed to the squirming harpy I was currently holding at bay. My father beamed as if to say, I can still build the aqueduct ââ¬â lay a little pipe, if you know what I mean ââ¬â when I need to. I scowled as if to say, Look, I was barely able to hold on to my respect for you when I found out what you did to make the first three of us; these little fellows are only evidence that youââ¬â¢ve no memory for suffering. ââ¬Å"Mother, if I let you go will you calm down?â⬠I looked over her shoulder at Japeth and Moses. ââ¬Å"I used to tell people she was besought by a demon, do you guys do that?â⬠I winked at them. They giggled as if to say, Please, end our suffering, kill us, kill us now, or kill this bitch that plagues us like the torments of Job. Okay, maybe I was just imagining thatââ¬â¢s what they were saying. Maybe they were just giggling. I let my mother go and she backed off. ââ¬Å"Japeth, Moses,â⬠Mother said, ââ¬Å"come meet Biff. Youââ¬â¢ve heard your father and me talk about our oldest disappointment ââ¬â well, this is him. Now run and get your other brothers, Iââ¬â¢ll go fix something nice.â⬠My brothers Shem and Lucius brought their families and joined us for dinner and we all lay around the table as Mother served us something nice, Iââ¬â¢m not sure what it was. (I know Iââ¬â¢ve said that I was the oldest of three brothers, and obviously, with the squirts, it was five, but dammit, by the time I met Japeth and Moses I was too old to have the time to torment them, so they never really paid their dues as brothers. They were more like, oh, pets.) ââ¬Å"Mother, Iââ¬â¢ve brought you a gift from the East,â⬠I said, running out to the camel to retrieve a package. ââ¬Å"What is it?â⬠ââ¬Å"Itââ¬â¢s a breeding mongoose,â⬠I said, tapping on the cage. The little scamp tried to bite the pad off of my finger. ââ¬Å"But thereââ¬â¢s only one.â⬠ââ¬Å"Well, there were two, but one escaped, so now thereââ¬â¢s one. Theyââ¬â¢ll attack a snake ten times their size.â⬠ââ¬Å"It looks like a rat.â⬠I lowered my voice and whispered conspiratorially, ââ¬Å"In India, the women train them to sit on their heads like hats. Very fashionable. Of course the fad hasnââ¬â¢t reached Galilee yet, but in Antioch, no self-respecting woman will go out of the house without wearing a mongoose.â⬠ââ¬Å"Really,â⬠said Mother, looking at the mongoose in a new light. She took the cage and stowed it gently away in the corner, as if it contained a delicate egg, rather than a vicious miniature of herself. ââ¬Å"So,â⬠said Mother, waving to her two daughters-in-law and the half-dozen grandchildren that loitered near the table, ââ¬Å"your brothers married and gave me grandchildren.â⬠ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢m happy for them, Mother.â⬠Shem and Lucius hid their grins behind a crust of flatbread the same way they did when we were little and Mother was giving me hell. ââ¬Å"All the places you traveled, you never met a nice girl you could settle down with?â⬠ââ¬Å"No, Mother.â⬠ââ¬Å"You can marry a gentile, you know. It would break my heart, but why did the tribes almost wipe out the Benjamites if it wasnââ¬â¢t so a desperate boy could marry a gentile if he needs to? Not a Samaritan, but, you know, some other gentile. If you have to.â⬠ââ¬Å"Thanks, Mother, Iââ¬â¢ll keep that in mind.â⬠Mother pretended to find some lint or something on my collar, which she picked at while she said, ââ¬Å"So your friend Joshua never married either? You heard about his little sister Miriam, didnââ¬â¢t you?â⬠Here her voice went to a conspiratorial whisper. ââ¬Å"Started wearing menââ¬â¢s clothes and ran off to the island of Lesbos.â⬠Back to normal nudging tone. ââ¬Å"Thatââ¬â¢s Greek, you know? You boys didnââ¬â¢t go to Greece on your travels, did you?â⬠ââ¬Å"No, Mother, I really have to go.â⬠I tried to stand and she grabbed me. ââ¬Å"Itââ¬â¢s because your father has a Greek name, isnââ¬â¢t it? I told you, Alphaeus, change the name, but you said you were proud of it. Well, I hope youââ¬â¢re proud of it now. Whatââ¬â¢s next, Lucius here will start hanging Jews on crosses like the other Romans?â⬠ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢m not a Roman, Mother,â⬠Lucius said wearily. ââ¬Å"Lots of good Jews have Latin names.â⬠ââ¬Å"Not that it matters, Mother, but how do you think they get more Greeks?â⬠To my motherââ¬â¢s credit, she stopped for a second to think. I used the lull to escape. ââ¬Å"Nice to see you guys.â⬠I nodded to all of my relatives, old and new. ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢ll come by and visit before I go. I have to go check on Joshua.â⬠And I was out the door. I threw the door open at Joshuaââ¬â¢s old house without even knocking, nearly coldcocking Joshuaââ¬â¢s brother Judah in the process. ââ¬Å"Josh, youââ¬â¢ve got to bring the kingdom soon or Iââ¬â¢m going to have to kill my mother.â⬠ââ¬Å"She still plagued by demons?â⬠asked Judah, who looked exactly as he had when he was four, except for the beard and the receding hairline, but he was as wide-eyed and goofy of smile as he had ever been. ââ¬Å"No, I was just being hopeful when I used to say that.â⬠ââ¬Å"Will you join us for supper?â⬠said Mary. Thank God she had aged: gone a little thicker around the hips and waist, developed some lines at the corner of her eyes and mouth. Now she was just the second or third most beautiful creature on earth. ââ¬Å"Love to,â⬠I said. James must have been home with his wife and children, as I guessed were the other sisters and brothers, except for Miriam, and Iââ¬â¢d already been apprised of her whereabouts. At the table it was only Mary, Joshua, Judah, his pretty wife, Ruth, and two little redheaded girls that looked like their mother. I expressed my condolences for the familyââ¬â¢s loss, and Joshua filled me in on the timing of events. About the time that I spotted Maryââ¬â¢s portrait on the temple wall in Nicobar, Joseph had taken ill with some disease of the water. He started peeing blood, and in a week he was bedridden. He lingered only a week longer before he died. Heââ¬â¢d been buried for two months now. I looked at Joshua as Mary related this part of the story and he shook his head, meaning, too long in the grave, thereââ¬â¢s nothing I can do. Mary had known nothing about a message calling us home. ââ¬Å"Even if you two had only been in Damascus youââ¬â¢d have been lucky to get here in time. He went so fast.â⬠She was strong, had recovered somewhat from the loss, but Joshua appeared to still be in shock. ââ¬Å"You have to go find Joshuaââ¬â¢s cousin John,â⬠Mary said. ââ¬Å"Heââ¬â¢s been preaching about the coming of the kingdom, of preparing the way for the Messiah.â⬠ââ¬Å"Weââ¬â¢ve heard,â⬠I said. ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢ll stay here with you, Mother,â⬠Joshua said. ââ¬Å"James is right, I have responsibilities. Iââ¬â¢ve shirked them too long.â⬠Mary touched her sonââ¬â¢s face and looked in his eyes. ââ¬Å"You will leave in the morning and you will find John the Baptist in Judea and you will do what God has ordained you do since he placed you in my womb. Your responsibilities are not to a bitter brother or an old woman.â⬠Joshua looked at me. ââ¬Å"Can you leave in the morning? I know itââ¬â¢s soon after being gone so long.â⬠ââ¬Å"Actually, I thought Iââ¬â¢d stay, Josh. Your mother needs someone to look after her, and sheââ¬â¢s still a relatively attractive woman. I mean, a guy could do worse.â⬠Judah aspirated an olive pit and began coughing furiously until Joshua pounded him on the back and the pit shot across the room, leaving Judah gasping and staring at me through watery red eyes. I put my hand on Joshua and Judahââ¬â¢s shoulders. ââ¬Å"I think I can learn to love you both as sons.â⬠I looked at the pretty but shy Ruth, who was tending the little girls. ââ¬Å"And you, Ruth, I hope that you can learn to love me as a slightly older, but incredibly attractive close uncle. And you, Mary ââ¬â ââ¬Å" ââ¬Å"Will you go with Joshua to Judea, Biff?â⬠Mary interrupted. ââ¬Å"Sure, first thing in the morning.â⬠Joshua and Judah were still staring at me as if theyââ¬â¢d both been smacked in the face with a large fish. ââ¬Å"What?â⬠I said. ââ¬Å"How long have you guys known me? Jeez. Grow a sense of humor.â⬠ââ¬Å"Our father died,â⬠said Joshua. ââ¬Å"Yeah, but not today,â⬠I said. ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢ll meet you here in the morning.â⬠The next morning, as we rode through the square, we passed Bartholomew, the village idiot, who looked no worse or less filthy for the years gone by, and who seemed to have come to some sort of understanding with his doggy friends. Instead of jumping all over him as they always had, now they sat quietly before him in a group, as if listening to a sermon. ââ¬Å"Where have you been?â⬠Bart called to us. ââ¬Å"In the East.â⬠ââ¬Å"Why did you go there?â⬠ââ¬Å"We were looking for the Divine Spark,â⬠Joshua said. ââ¬Å"But we didnââ¬â¢t know that when we left.â⬠ââ¬Å"Where are you going?â⬠ââ¬Å"To Judea, to find John the Baptist.â⬠ââ¬Å"He should be easier to find than the Spark. Can I come?â⬠ââ¬Å"Sure,â⬠I said. ââ¬Å"Bring your things.â⬠ââ¬Å"I donââ¬â¢t have any things.â⬠ââ¬Å"Then bring your stench.â⬠ââ¬Å"That will follow on its own,â⬠Bartholomew said. And thus we became three. How to cite Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christââ¬â¢s Childhood Pal Chapter 23, Essay examples Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-25175441160854394842020-04-27T17:16:00.001-07:002020-04-27T17:16:02.597-07:00Philosophy - Hume Essays - Miracles, Of Miracles, Noah In Islam Philosophy - Hume In explaining Hume's critique of the belief in miracles, we must first understand the definition of a miracle. The Webster Dictionary defines a miracle as: a supernatural event regarded as to define action, one of the acts worked by Christ which revealed his divinity an extremely remarkable achievement or event, an unexpected piece of luck. Therefore, a miracle is based on one's perception of past experiences, what everyone sees. It is based on a individuals own reality, and the faith in which he/she believes in, it is based on interior events such as what we are taught, and exterior events, such as what we hear or see first hand. When studying Hume's view of a miracle, he interprets or defines a miracle as such; a miracle is a violation of the laws of nature, an event which is not normal to most of mankind. Hume explains this point brilliantly when he states, ?Nothing is esteemed a miracle, if it has ever happened in the common course of nature. It is no miracle that a man seemingly in good health should die on a sudden.? (Hume p.888) Hume states that this death is quite unusual, however it seemed to happen naturally. He could only define it as a true miracle if this dead man were to come back to life. This would be a miraculous event because such an experience has not yet been commonly observed. In which case, his philosophical view of a miracle would be true. Hume critiques and discredits the belief in a miracle merely because it goes against the laws of nature. Hume defines the laws of nature to be what has been ?uniformly? observed by mankind, such as the laws of identity and gravity. He views society as being far to liberal in what they consider to be a miracle. He gives the reader four ideas to support his philosophy in defining a true miracle, or the belief in a miracle. These points leads us to believe that there has never been a miraculous event established. Hume's first reason in contradicting a miracle is, in all of history there has not been a miraculous event with a sufficient number of witnesses. He questions the integrity of the men and the reputation in which they hold in society. If their reputation holds great integrity, then and only then can we have full assurance in the testimony of men. Hume is constantly asking throughout the passage questions to support proof for a miracle. He asks questions such as this; Who is qualified? Who has the authority to say who qualifies? As he asks these questions we can see there are no real answers, in which case, it tends to break the validity of the witnesses to the miracle. Hume's second reason in contradicting the validity of a miracle is that he views all of our beliefs, or what we choose to accept, or not accept through past experience and what history dictates to us. Furthermore, he tends to discredit an individual by playing on a human beings consciousness or sense of reality. An example is; using words such as, the individuals need for ?excitement? and ?wonder? arising from miracles. Even the individual who can not enjoy the pleasure immediately will still believe in a miracle, regardless of the possible validity of the miracle. With this, it leads the individual to feel a sense of belonging and a sense of pride. These individuals tend to be the followers within society. These individuals will tend to believe faster than the leaders in the society. With no regard to the miracles validity, whether it is true or false, or second hand information. Miracles lead to such strong temptations, that we as individuals tend to lose sense of our own belief of fantasy and reality. As individuals we tend to believe to find attention, and to gossip of the unknown. Through emotions and behavior Hume tends to believe there has been many forged miracles, regardless if the information is somewhat valid or not. His third reason in discrediting the belief in a miracle is testimony versus reality. Hume states, ?It forms a strong presumption against all supernatural and miraculous events, that they are observed chiefly Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-48642026301389852052020-03-19T14:20:00.001-07:002020-03-19T14:20:04.340-07:00The Merchants Tale EssaysThe Merchants Tale Essays The Merchants Tale Essay The Merchants Tale Essay Chaucers establishment of the Clerk in the General Prologue as a committed scholar who prioritises his academic studies over material wealth contrasts sharply with the description of the Merchants bargaines and his chevissaunce. In placing The Clerks Tale immediately before that of the Merchant and exploring similar themes within both, Chaucer introduces to his readership a likelihood of the second tale being a response to the first.The differing attitudes and outcomes of the tales, whilst having significant links in their subject matter, provoke comparison of the narrators in their personal discussions and the protagonists become the embodiment of their views towards marriage in the tales. Walter is presented by the Clerk as a largely stereotypical marquis, whose qualities of humility and understanding in his proposal to Griselda are linked to the distinct lack of irony in the introduction to his character. The Clerk narrates in praise of the protagonist, Handsome and young and strong; in him were blentHigh honour and a gentle courtesy. It is then admitted that Walter did show certain faults (He was indeed to blame ) although the fact that he is named so shortly after the beginning of the tale resounds importantly in the Merchants prologue, where Chaucer admits to having forgotten the narrators name. This could be seen as a comment upon the perception of clerks as being far more honest than merchants in Chaucerian society despite Walters great deception of his wife when hiding their two children from her, he is still presented in a positive, honest light throughout the tale.This reinforces his credibility as a character, which has the effect of the Clerk being able t o present his views on marriage very clearly through the protagonist. It is vitally important that both tales are set in Lombardy, though the setting is very different in both tales. The Clerks Lombardy is scarcely mentioned, whereas the Merchants city of Pavia, famous for its bankers and its brothels, provides a substantial basis for the highly sexual nature of the tales imagery.However, just as the Clerk is disconnected from the real world through his pursuit of academia, Walter has failed to consider marriage as it might be expected, through adherence to knightly qualities and great commitment in this sense. His marriage to Griselda is not brought about by sexual desire, but rather by his friends imploring, Therefore, we beg you speedily to marry. By distancing Walter from his geographical surroundings and having him marry a committed woman from a humble background, it can be observed that the Clerk is breaking the mould and attempting to tell a tale of virtue and devotion.It is not simply the imagery in the tale that allows him to do this, but also the form of the language: by using seven line rhyming verses, a more constrained, logical text is presented, making the tale more accessible to the reader during Walters more intensive actions of the described cruelty. In combination with Griseldas unfailing loyalty throughout these tests of commitment, the overall form of the poetry serves to individualise the tale and make it distinctive among the group of pilgrims as a whole.This provides a large opportunity for contradiction of its content and, therefore, a response in the following tale. Januarys choice of May for his wife in The Merchants Tale, however, becomes a strong representation of his character. He cannot conceal the fact that she is only one of many potential brides, outlined where the Merchant narrates, As whoso tooke a mirour, polished bright, And sette it in a commune market-place. It soon becomes apparent that this deception is at the hands of Januarie, ââ¬Ëfor as good is blind deceyved be / As to be deceyved whan a man may seââ¬â¢. The fact that he is being deceived because of both his physical and mental blindness makes Januarie appear vulnerable, and the audience almost begins to pity him, showing that the power balance has shifted abruptly from Januarie to May. The language Chaucer chooses to use contributes to demonstrating this power balance effectively. Fortune is personified in this passage, as is common in Chaucerââ¬â¢s writing. Like a number of abstract qualities which have the female grammatical gender in Latin, the personification is feminised, and she is presented as a woman, often blindfolded, to demonstrate the arbitrariness of her operation, an holding a wheel on which her victims rise and fall. When comparing this image to May, it is clear that she now has full power and control over Januarie. It is not only clear how May has gained power over this passage, but also how Januarie has lost his. He becomes so possessed by jealousy that He nolde suffre hire for to ride or go/ But if that he hadde hond on her alwayââ¬â¢ , ââ¬Ënor anywhere/ Would he allow his wife to take the air/ Unless his hand were on her, day and nightââ¬â¢. Towards the beginning of the tale, it is unlikely that Januarie would have been so possessive over his new wife, as he had enough confidence within himself to prevent any jealousy. When he loses his sight, it is apparent that his self-consciousness becomes particularly strong, once again making him seem vulnerable and helpless, and Mayââ¬â¢s dishonesty only increases Januarieââ¬â¢s lack of power Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-75182923056093144082020-03-03T06:07:00.001-08:002020-03-03T06:07:02.861-08:00Inquire vs EnquireInquire vs Enquire Inquire vs Enquire Inquire vs Enquire By Ali Hale One of our readers, Susabelle wrote to ask: Can you take on explaining the difference between ââ¬Å"inquireâ⬠and ââ¬Å"enquire?â⬠These are two spellings of the same word, which means to seek information about something or to conduct a formal investigation (usually when followed by ââ¬Å"intoâ⬠). The corresponding noun is enquiry or inquiry. Either spelling can be used, but many people prefer enquire and enquiry for the general sense of ââ¬Å"askâ⬠, and inquire and inquiry for a formal investigation: I enquired his name The first enquiry in my inbox today was about lost property. We are going to inquire into the incident. The lawyers asked when the inquiry will be completed. In practice, enquire and enquiry are more common in British English, and inquire and inquiry are more common in US English, for both informal questions and formal investigations. However, the Guardian (a British newspaper) tells writers to ââ¬Å"use inquiryâ⬠and the Oxford English Dictionary seems to recognise inquire as the more dominant form, deeming enquiry: â⬠An alternative form of INQUIRE. The mod. Dicts. give inquire as the standard form, but enquire is still very frequently used, esp. in the sense ââ¬Ëto ask a questionââ¬â¢.â⬠So, itââ¬â¢s up to you which spelling you use, though if youââ¬â¢re writing for a particular publication, itââ¬â¢s worth asking about their house style. Sticking with inquire is probably best if youââ¬â¢re at all unsure, and whichever you pick, be consistent! Quotation with Inquire and Enquire or if we are called to your home; Ziman said. Even in misdemeanor arrest situations, we are not going to inquire about immigration status. The department does pursue that avenue in conjunction with the federal (www.chicagotribune.com) Mr. Sessionsââ¬â¢s overlooked role as a key witness in the investigation into whether Mr. Trump tried to obstruct the inquiry itself. It also suggests that the obstruction investigation is broader than it is widely understood to be (www.nytimes.com) to publicly pressure Mr. Mueller to stick to that timeline and trying to assuage the president by predicting the inquiry will end soon, a strategy that some of his other lawyers tried, with mixed results. (www.nytimes.com) Philisophical enquiry allows children the opportunity to discuss a topic or issue as a class, regardless of their background or ability to speak English. (www.theguardian.com) Video Recap Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Incorrect Pronunciations That You Should AvoidConfusing "Passed" with "Past"Using "May" in a Question Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-8535630966546948312020-02-15T21:32:00.001-08:002020-02-15T21:32:02.106-08:00Increasing numbers of criminal defendants who are involved with EssayIncreasing numbers of criminal defendants who are involved with illegal narcotics or have mental-health issues or both - Essay Example 178-190). Forced trading of illegal drugs among kids from poor backgrounds in the long-run psychologically affects them. The negative pressure exerted on the young boys in the poor communities force them to grow up stressed. In the long-run, they get into a state of depression or even end up psychologically disturbed. The topic of drugs is delicate but also unmentioned. As a result, there are more young people getting lured into the drugs trade. When more individuals get into the trade, its distribution gets broader (Petrila 5-11). Drug abuse with time has become a menace that needs close attention. The main users being innocent teenagers who got lured by peers suffer the consequences of engaging with the wrong peers. The law enforcement agencies in the past have punished these young criminals carelessly. Hence, the resulting outcome becomes recurrent crime and drug abuse. The young boys, mainly have had to engage in further criminal activities because their reputation has become questionable, and no one is willing to employ them. The drug cartels operating in poor neighborhoods have taken the advantage of the confused youths to lure them further into illegal forms of trade. In the past decades, the biggest percentage of the criminals engaging in illegal trade of drugs were male, but in recent years the percentage of girls or females have kept increasing (Stojkovic 163-179). Drug abuse among teenage girls has increased considerably. It has become the case because more girls have started consuming drugs. Most of the girls who consume narcotics come from poor backgrounds, and they also engage in prostitution. The consumption of narcotics also has caused an increase in crime. When an individual gets to consume narcotics, he or she becomes uncontrollable and may end up committing a crime unaware. Most of the time, the drugs mess up the mental status of an individual causing them to act abnormally in their Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-79081455418839163182020-02-02T13:07:00.001-08:002020-02-02T13:07:02.358-08:00Life, work and influence of Lord Norman Forster EssayLife, work and influence of Lord Norman Forster - Essay Example azakhstan, Hearst Tower in New York, National Police Memorial in London, Tanaka Business School in London, London City Hall, Dumas Headquarters, Swiss Re London, and won Sterling Prize twice. Over the years, his style has been evolved into a personification of perfection and he untiringly tries to innovate and improve his designs. ââ¬Å"Fosters earlier designs reflected a sophisticated, machine-influenced high-tech vision. His style has since evolved into a more sublime, sharp-edged modernityâ⬠http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Foster%2C_Baron_Foster_of_Thames_Bank He was knighted in 1990 and was awarded Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1999. This prize is considered to be the Nobel of subject. He remains a kind of superstar architect, also called the ââ¬Å"Lord Wobblyâ⬠of the British tabloids. He is regarded to be one of the best architects in the world today, with immense contribution to the field. His designs are occupying exalted places and Lord Foster is considered to be one of the national assets. This enterprising and visionary architect had been in news all along. He has received life tribute from House of Lords. Also has received hundreds of other awards including the RIBA gold medal. Foster and Partners was established in 1967, and his college mate, Richard Rogers joined him. This pair has created perhaps some of the greatest architectures in the world. Norman, along with architectural designs and execution, also designs building accessories like handles and furniture. Even though born into an ordinary working class family without any prop-ups, Lord Norman created a legendary success story for himself and his company, with his determination and talent. His Pritzker citation says: "His design objectives are guided not only toward the overall beauty and function of a project, but for the well-being of those people who will be the end-users. This social dimension to his work translates as making every effort to transform and improve the quality of life. In Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-71795636005778836662020-01-25T09:31:00.001-08:002020-01-25T09:31:04.751-08:00Female Empowerment In KeralaFemale Empowerment In Kerala ABSTRACT : There has been a spate of discussions at various levels especially at the the top hierarchy of the successive governments with reference to apprehension of women empowerment in our country India. Besides it has also been a meeting point of contradicting themes that has resulted in a status quo. The women who stand to gain from governmental measures are already empowered and the vast majority of them, who mostly hail out from rural regions , are still regarded inferior to men in most spheres. In view of this the present paper makes an attempt to highlight how it contradicts as in the state of Kerala which has created a congenial atmosphere for the emergence of women empowerment and development of women entrepreneurship through Kudumbashree. ââ¬ËKudumbashreeââ¬â¢, which mean prosperity (shree)ââ¬Ë of the family ( Kudumbam) is the name of the women oriented, community based, State Poverty Eradication Mission of Government of Kerala. Kerala is a tiny state lying in th e south-west part of Indian federation, where many development experiments are being tested, refined and implemented. The mission aims at the empowerment of women, through forming self-help groups and encouraging their entrepreneurial or other wide range of activities. The purpose of the mission is to ensure that the women should no longer remain as passive recipients of public assistance, but active leaders in women involved development initiatives. Keywords : women empowerment, contradicts , active leaders, Kerala OBJECTIVES : The present paper makes an attempt to highlight the success stories associated to women empowerment, initiatives taken, incentives provided by a unit named Kudumbashree operating widely in the state of Kerala. INTRODUCTION: Women in business is a recent phenomenon in India. They have confined themselves to petty business and tiny cottage industries. They are found in vegetable selling, making pickles, papads etc The spread of education and increased awareness are aiding women to spread their wings into the areas which were the monopoly of men. On the whole, proper education of women in Kerala resulted in high motivation among them to enter into business. The financial, marketing and training assistance provided by the State Government also helped motivate women to assume entrepreneurial career. Womenââ¬â¢s desire to work at the place of residence, difficulty of getting jobs in the public and private sectors and the desire for social recognition also motivated women in Kerala for self ââ¬âdevelopment. Kudumbashree was launched by the Government of Kerala in 1998 for wiping out absolute poverty from the State through concentrated community action under the leadership of Local Self Gov ernments, Kudumbashree is today one of the largest women-empowering projects in the country. The programme has 37 lakh members and covers more than 50% of the households in Kerala. Built around three critical components, microcredit,entrepreneurship and empowerment, the Kudumbashree initiative has today succeeded in addressing the basic needs of the less privileged women, thus providing them a more dignified life and a better future. Real empowerment occurs only when rights can be legitimately claimed and are universally acknowledged. It is the endeavor of Kudumbashree to bring the discussion on womenââ¬â¢s rights and issues into the heart of the development debate. The organisational structure and capacity building programmes of kudumbashree attempt to develop the leadership capabilities and opportunities for intervention in development activities. The Gender Self Learning Programme is a unique experiment to consolidate womens voices and discuss gender disparities. OVERVIEW: The network of Kudumbashree projects across Kerala is beginning to bear fruits not only in the form of fiscal independence for women but also with a new found self confidence. Kerala is witnessing a silent revolution, spawning womanpower, possibly restoring to the State its lost matriarchal legacy, where the women enjoyed pre-eminence, safety, security and respect, including self-respect. This female empowerment is taking place through the Kudumbashree movement, which has engulfed the State. In Ernakulam district alone there are 19,2424 women in rural and urban areas contributing Rs. 22 crores through deposits to the State economy. Each member contributes Rs 10 a week, which is achieved through a phenomenal feat by trusting women, awakening their inherent saving instinct and abilities to achieve. From the thrift amount loans are granted to them which they return in just three weeks. Loans upto Rs. 26 crores are given to them. Earlier, they had no money of their own to spend or invest . Now they have achieved monetary empowerment, self-reliance and freedom, said Kabir B. Haroon, District Mission Co-ordinator of Kudumbashree in Ernakulam. When one re-scripts their earlier life scenario it is easy to recapture the anguish and trauma they would have experienced in situations, as when school opened. They had to buy bags, books, umbrellas etc. for their children and often they never had the money for it and had to borrow from blade companies, paying exorbitant interest. Now they say, quite proudly, that they are borrowing from their own investments. Similarly, they take loans from their own deposits to celebrate Onam, Christmas or Bakri id. Many of them say that they have lost their enslavement because they are not dependent on anyone anymore. Kudumbashree alone has collected Rs.230 crores as deposits and lent Rs 320 crores as loans. Across Kerala, Kudumbashree covers 991 panchayats and 58 municipalities. Through this network women have the freedom to demand, and to receive money without red tape. In fact, banks volunteer to lend money to Ayalkoottams. Like the Dhanalakshmi Bank, which plans to lend Rs.300 crores to Kudumbashree Ayalkoottams alone, testifying the credibility and investor confidence the women have inspired under the Kudumbashree network. Each Community Development Society (CDS) under the Kundumbasree project is an independent entity, registered under the Charitable Society Act, sans governmental interference. Everyone gets to share responsibility as office bearers, but not more than twice. There are health and education volunteers, infrastructure volunteers, income-generation volunteers, a secretary, and a president, who heads but does not rule. Since the role of Mayor or Panchayat president is limited, the women face no interference or influence from men, unlike in the Panchayat where political influences and husbands often rule by proxy. The women are free to present crucial issues like water, power or housing before the Grama Sabha under the Ayalkootam network. The flagship of the Ernakulam Kudumbashree is the Kuttampuzha tribal belt where the women are so empowered that they have been able to control the price line in the Kothamangalam belt and even ban arrack, both its brewing and consumption. The women engage jeeps to buy provisions and vegetables in bulk and sell them to members at the cheapest possible price, thus controlling the prices in the area. This is the impact of women in Kuttampuzha, Earlier, rice had to be distributed to adivasis to prevent starvation deaths. Now it is the Kudumbasree, which ensures that adivasis get their quota of rice. In this adivasi belt the thrift deposit amount is Rs. 44 lakhs and the loans amount to Rs. 80 lakhs. These poor women become conscious not only of fiscal saving but also about saying that they have effectively managed plastic ban by introducing cloth bags and have started using areca-nut frond (Paala) as plates at functions not only to boost plastic ban but also to protect the areca trees. Women have also taken over the sale of tender coconuts and have started manufacturing `Kerashree coconut oil.The snowball ice cream is another new and popular venture of these women. Made out of tender coconut, which is not slit open to extract the tender flesh, but is stirred inside and drunk, using a straw has gained popularity among foreign tourists. This project is under the aegis of Centre for Spices and Research, Government of India. IT SECTOR Women under the Kudumbasree have also entered the IT field through data entry and in assembling units. Kudumbashree computer centre has developed hardware for printing ration card, etc. Kudumbashree units also impart IT education in 158 schools in Kerala, with a Rs.10 crores grant from the Union Govt. Six girls in each unit acquire the skill to teach students of classes eight and nine, under this scheme. Kudumbashree women are acquiring computer literacy and also supply computer hardware to such schools. TOURISIM AND ALLIED SECTORS The Kudumbashree is having an impact across Kerala. In Fort Kochi, the beach is cleaned and maintained by the women, who collect Rs.1200 for it from the Tourism Department.They also maintain the heritage zone . Women have also stepped in to produce ethnic fast food with help from the Syndicate Bank. They manufacture bakery items and reach them directly to houses, as well as provisions, like rice, soaps tea etc; often earning up to Rs.16,000 a month. There are at least 450 women in this field, who have sold around Rs. 18 lakhs worth provisions during the 10 days of Onam collecting Rs.3,000 each in the bargain. DIRECT MARKETING Direct marketing has become the hallmark of Kudumbashree thus eliminating middlemen and ensuring that actual profits reach the producer. There are 45 direct marketing units in Ernakulam District. In all, Kudumbashree has effected a healthy change in the Kerala scenario. The women have become self-confident under it and they have regained their individuality and also gives an avenue to step out, to interact, to expand their horizons which is no more limited to the four walls of our homes. EMPOWERMENT STORIES UNDER THE ROOF OF KUDUMBASHREE NOW WOMEN CAN CLIMB COCONUT TREES (December 15,2009) Climbing coconut trees is considered to be the monopoly of men, and increasingly it is felt that there are fewer people to climb. These views may be a thing of the past as Kudumbashree and Raidco initiated a tree climbing training programme. A package has been developed, where the equipment costing Rs 2350 and which can climb even the most twisted coconut trees, is given together with a Scooty, mobile phone at a total cost of Rs 40000 for which a bank loan can be availed. Kudumbashree provides a subsidy of Rs 7500. The Panchayat also provides support for equipment purchase. Women from 90 Gram Panchayats took part in the training cum demonstration organized at the Mallapuram Municipal Compound. It takes two weeks of training and practice to master climbing trees with these equipment. The equipment is currently in use in Nedirippur- Harijan Colony, Chungattam and Edakari, where each person makes an average income of Rs 650 per day. Traditional climbers also find this equipment useful a nd found out that they donââ¬â¢t suffer from chest pain while using it. The equipment also has a mechanism whereby it can be locked and the top of the tree cleaned effectively. Technically professional climbers can work upto 110 trees in five hours. A WOMEN TURNS INTO A STORY MAKER Itââ¬â¢s not often that an inborn talent becomes a business and a way of life. Ordinarily Jesse Thomasââ¬â¢ talent would not have been noticed, but many people know her today because of her unique ââ¬Ëproductââ¬â¢- books, which she writes and publishes. Not only does she write but also publishes, popularizes and builds a reader base for her books. Jesse Thomas is based in Thrissur. Her husband Thomas drives an autorickshaw, and she has two children-Justin and Tesse. Jesse started writing at the age of eleven. Her friends were her first readers and critics. She wrote about everyday life and things that she saw around her. With the encouragement of her teachers, her story was published in a magazine from Enrakulam, Pushparani ; when she was 13 years old. Thereafter six other stories were published, but her first book was published only in December 2008. For Jesse, who had to discontinue educated after the 9th standard to care for her siblings, this is remarkable perseveranc e. The lack of formal education was not detterent to her urge to tell stories, and she kept writing. Her mother supported the family by selling vegetables after father left his wife and five children in a state of penury. Jesse married Thomas when she was twenty yers. Thomas has been a source of strength and encouragement and has supported her efforts to write and publish. Jesse received support from the Thrissur Corporation under SJSRY with a loan of Rs 75000. With this she wrote and published the book ââ¬Å" Jeevanude Vilakku Enniki Kittumâ⬠( I will get the lamp of life ). Though her popularity increased and the sales were reasonable she still has unsold books and a loan to repay. She however did not give up and continues to write and publish. Jesse is the President of the Namma Neighbourhood Group in the 25th ward of Thrissur Corporation. Itââ¬â¢s a common sight to see her books being displayed alongside pickles and dried products at the Kudumbashree monthly market. Jes se has learnt the challenges in publicity and sales through experience, but has the self ââ¬âconfidence to move forward. Her activity is unusual and is driven purely by her talent and enthusiasm, but with the right support, she could become a well known writer. . AN OFFERING OF TURMERIC IN HARIPADA Cultivation of turmeric is not widespread in Kerala. Seasonal rainfall and open land without shade is needed for turmeric cultivation. Middlemen take most of the profits and procedures with meager returns. Sixty women from several neighbourhood groups in Haripada Gram Panchayat in Allapuzha district, decided to take up turmeric cultivation. Turmeric is an offering at the Mannarashala temple of serpent gods which has several women devotees. The turmeric production is a joint initiative of Kudumbashree and the Panchayat under the Samagra initiative. Of the 60 women from five Gram Panchayats involved in this activity, 30 are engaged in cultivation and 30 in production of seeds. Each day 50kg of turmeric is harvested and supplied to the temple through an agency. The market is assured and they are not exploited by middlemen. It is hoped that as they gain confidence, the women will directly take up marketing activities as well. NEW WAYS TO ADDRESS MILK SCARCITY Nature Fresh is a new initiative of Kudumbashree for production of marketing of milk. It has been initiated in Edavetti Grama Panchayat in Idukki District and Kannadi Grama Panchayat in Palakkad District. 55 Kudumbashree enterprises across 14 wards of Kannadi village are involved in this enterprise. 50 women with dairy units of two cows each are engaged in milk production and 5 women are involved in sale of milk. These nterprises have been established at a cost of Rs 35.5 lakhs wherein Rs 16 lakhs has been provided by Palakkad Disatrict Panchayat and Rs 19 lakhs as bank loan. The integrated intervention addresses all stages of dairy management. Each dairy unit with two cows and calves has a shed of 430sq.ft. The floor is designed such that no dung or water stagnates, and is drained out effectively. The shed is well ventilated and easy to clean. There is also water storage facility in the shed. Each unit has an equipment box. All families are trained in scientific care of the animals. The milk is tested and must meet basic standards of 3.5% fat and lactometer reading of 28 for the milk to be accepted for marketing. The milk is bottled and sold to houses within an hour of milking. In Kerala which faces a scarcity of milk, the Nature Fresh experiment in Idukki district sets an example. Kudumbashree proposes to initiate the Nature Fresh initiative in two Gram Panchayats in all districts. GENDER SELF LEARNING PROGRAMME Kudumbashree have been working on a programme that aims at getting women to discuss the gender dimension of their issues. For this they had to break the mould of thrift and credit based discussions which alone were taking place, apart from the odd health or other dissemination .Locally contextualised modules on issues such as women and work, women and health, women and mobility, women and entertainment are developed and deliberated in Neighbourhood Group meetings. The different voices of women and their perceptions about the topics of discussion are captured on a web-based portal accessible at the level of the Local Self Government. The portal is being developed with the support of the Minister of Information Technology, Government of India Awareness building programmes seem not to leave any sustained impact. It was felt therefore that a learning process in which the women felt themselves to have a stake, and would be delivered not through trainings, but through discussions focusing on some aspect of their lives and livelihoods they could relate to, either through a story line, or through some other format- press cuttings, poems, skit etc. had to be the mode of delivery. State level consultations help identify the themes of the ââ¬Ëlearning modulesââ¬â¢, The content for the learning modules are prepared by local women resource persons, who source the stories out of their own experiences for further contextualisation and development. Once the modules are developed, they are consolidated and disseminated by resource persons in the neighbourhood groups. Women are encouraged to ask questions about themes ranging from work and environment to health, power and power structure. Kudumbashree is actively involved in the myriad aspects of implementation of the programme, from job card registration through labour budgeting and work site facilitation to social audit. Moreover, it is the single rights based programme spearheaded by the state, which recognizes womenâ â¬â¢s work participation concerns as a matter of rights and equity. CONCLUSION : Today there is a great awakening among women. Given an opportunity, they will deliever the results. Empowerment of women is absolutely necessary in straightening her personality. The need of an hour is to provide an opportunity in a conducive atmosphere free from gender difference. The need for awareness motivationto be an active member of the society and courage the faults of male counterparts are great challenges today. The above paradigm is about inclusive growth through self-employment opportunities that every strata in our society can access influencing a transformational change in delievering self-sustaining profitability. REFERENCES : 1) Vasant Desai (2011)(Ed) , ââ¬Å"The Dynamics of Entrepreneurial Development and Managementâ⬠- Planning for Future Sustainable Growth, Himalaya Publishing House 2) S.S Khanka (2001)(Ed), ââ¬ËEntrepreneurial Developmentââ¬â¢- S. Chand Publications 3) The Hindu ââ¬â Online edition of India National Newspaper http://www.kudumshree.org/ on Monday , Nov 03 ,2003 Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-3597126490013456482020-01-17T05:55:00.001-08:002020-01-17T05:55:03.330-08:00Article mintzbergThe product, called Smarter, dramatically reduced weed growth in potted lands and simultaneously provided important nutrients ââ¬â all with no chemicals. Smarter raw materials and manufacturing expertise were available in China and India. As the company grew, the managers and board members talked frequently about organization structure. Two schools of thought emerged. One group wanted to import raw materials into the U. S. For manufacturing by WAR and thereby have direct control over manufacturing, marketing, and sales. These functions would be departments within WAR.The second group wanted to import already manufactured ND packaged products from overseas, outsource marketing to an agency, and hire a horticulture distribution company to handle sales. The second group pushed the concept that no one within the company would ever touch the product. Nor would there be functional departments for manufacturing, marketing, and sales. That discussion of structure within WAR would not hav e occurred 30 years ago when Robert Duncan published his seminal article, ââ¬ËWhat is the Right Organization Structure? ââ¬Ë in Organization Dynamics in 1979.At that time, organizations were thought to be solidification, and structure defined the porting relationships among internal functional departments. Dunce's article provided important insights about the conditions under which different internal arrangements would achieve a company's mission. His insights are still referenced in management textbooks today. The purpose of this article is to present key developments in organization structure and design that have occurred since Dunce's article and describe when each can be used for greatest effect.We will briefly review the important structural designs from 30 years ago and then describe key developments since that time. The concepts are organized into three eras, which reflect substantive changes in management thinking from vertical organization to horizontal organizing to open boundaries via outsourcing and partnering.The first era of organizational design probably took hold in the mid-asses, and was dominant until the late asses. In Era 1, the ideal organization was self-contained.It had clear boundaries between it and suppliers, customers or competitors. Inputs arrived at the organization's gate, and after a transformation process, left as a completed product or service. Almost everything that was required during the transformation process was supplied internally. Design philosophies from this era emphasized the need to adapt to different environmental and internal contingencies and the ability to control the different parts of the organization 329 through reporting relationships in a vertical chain of command.The structure of self-contained organizations can be thought of as: (1) the grouping of people into functions or departments; (2) the reporting relationships among people and departments; and (3) the systems to ensure coordination and integra tion of activities tooth horizontally and vertically. The structures of this era, including functional, division, and matrix designs, rely largely on the vertical hierarchy and chain of command to define departmental groupings and reporting relationships.Functional In a functional structure, activities are grouped together by common function from the bottom to the top of the organization. Each functional activity ââ¬â accounting, engineering, human resources, manufacturing, etc. ââ¬â is grouped into a specific department. Most small companies use this structure, as do many large government organizations ND divisions of large companies. Divisional The divisional structure occurs when departments are grouped together based on organizational outputs. The divisional structure is sometimes called a product structure or profit center.Most large companies have separate divisions that use different technologies or serve different customers. People within each division have more prod uct focus, accountability, and flexibility than would be the case if they were part of a huge functional structure. For example, United Technologies Corporation (UTC), which is among the 50 largest U. S. Industrial rims, has product divisions for air-conditioning and heating (Carrier), elevators and escalators (Otis), aircraft engines (Pratt & Whitney), helicopters (Scissors), and aerospace (Hamilton Suntanned), among others.Each division acts like a stand-alone company, doing its own product development, marketing, and finance. 330 Horizontal Overlays and Matrix Few organizations can be successful today with a pure functional structure, because the resulting functional or divisional silos inhibit the amount of coordination needed in a changing competitive environment. Organizations break down silos by using a variety of horizontal linkage mechanisms to improve communication among departments and divisions. These coordination relationships are often drawn on organization charts as d otted lines.Many organizations use full-time product managers, project managers, or brand managers, to coordinate the work of several departments. The brand manager for Planters Peanuts, for example, serves as an integrator by coordinating the sales, advertising, and distribution for that product. General Motors Corp.. Has brand managers who are integrators responsible for marketing and ales strategies for each of Gem's new models. Organizations that need even stronger horizontal coordination may evolve to a matrix structure. The matrix combines a vertical structure with an equally strong horizontal overlay.While the vertical structure provides traditional control within functional departments, the horizontal overlay provides coordination across departments to achieve profit goals. This structure has lines of formal authority along two dimensions, such as functional and product or product and region. Some employees report to two bosses simultaneously. For example, after a regional r acketing promotion went $10 million over budget, Nikkei Inc. Managers engineered a matrix structure that assigned dual responsibility by product and region to manage the introduction of new products each year. Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-31764673257609108572020-01-09T02:18:00.001-08:002020-01-09T02:18:03.807-08:00Race, Urban Poverty, and Public Policy - 2419 Words The problems of race and urban poverty remain pressing challenges which the United States has yet to address. Changes in the global economy, technology, and race relations during the last 30 years have necessitated new and innovative analyses and policy responses. A common thread which weaves throughout many of the studies reviewed here is the dynamics of migration. In When Work Disappears, immigrants provide comparative data with which to highlight the problems of ghetto poverty affecting blacks. In No Shame in My Game, Puerto Rican and Dominican immigrants are part of the changing demographics in Harlem. In Canarsie, the possible migration of blacks into a working/middle-class neighborhood prompts conservative backlash from aâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦educational system would be further buttressed by quality child-care provisions which would also included pre-first grade/kindergarten nursery schools modeled after the French à ©cole maternelle. Wilsons other policy recomm endations include suburb-city economic partnerships, many of which coincide with Jargowskys recommendations in Poverty and Place, as well as policies revolving around the earned income tax credit (EITC) and public jobs of last resort, which are part of policy recommendations shared by David Ellwood and Herbert Gans (see below). In No Shame in My Game, anthropologist Katherine Newman attempts to draw greater attention to the plight of the working poor rather than the jobless poor. She and her research team explore the lives of Harlems working poor, primarily focusing on the fast food industry or burger flippers as the subject for her largely ethnographic study. One of the important insights articulated in her study is the extended familial structures/networks that rely on wage and welfare income as a means of survival, in addition to providing resources such as child care: networks she identifies in African-American, Dominican, and Puerto Rican working poor families in Harlem. Thus, welfare reform restructuring will not only impact those families who rely solely on welfare for survival, but also on those working poor familiesShow MoreRelatedInsular Poverty Essay1448 Words à |à 6 PagesEnglish 102 Insular Poverty 11/3/2012 Nobody wants to be considered to be below the poverty line. Unfortunately, for fourteen percent of the people in this country, that is their reality. Fourteen percent of the people currently living in the United Statesââ¬â¢ basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter are not being met. Poverty is experienced at different levels in different parts of the country. The causes and effects of insular poverty are experienced differently in rural and urban areas in the UnitedRead MoreLiberal Individualism And The American Welfare System1324 Words à |à 6 Pagesliberalism during President Johnsonââ¬â¢s war on poverty. Davies gives careful consideration to the political and authoritative battles of the 1960ââ¬â¢s, particularly in the course of seeing the American welfare system differently. There were several important historical events and circumstances that contributed to the transition from opportunity liberalism to entitlement liberalism. These included the White House Planning Conference, Civil Rights Movement, Race and Poverty, National Welfare Movement, and the VietnamRead MoreCommunity School Model And Community Development Essay1404 Words à |à 6 Pagesvary. Educational policies have not necessarily been effective in addressing the complex issues which impact students. Anderson-Butcher, Stetler, and Midle, (2006) characterize ââ¬Å"risk factorsâ⬠, as behaviors such as aggression, antisocial attitudes, poor peer relations, family conflict and instability, and negative community norms and disorganization. According to the author, these factors have been historically attributed to students residing in economically challenged urban communities (Anderson-ButcherRead MoreHabitat for Humanity1727 Words à |à 7 PagesHabitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit, world-wide Christian housing ministry. Habitat for Humanity International seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. ââ¬Å"Habitat for Humanity works in partnership with God and people everywhere, from all walks of life, to develop communities with people in need by building and renovating houses so that there are decent houses in decent communitiesRead MoreCity Schools And The American Dream : Reclaiming The Promise Of Public Education898 Words à |à 4 PagesPedro Noguera, a phenomenal urban sociologist and a professor at New York University confronts the problems which exist in our nationââ¬â¢s education system in his book, City Schools and the American Dream: Reclaiming the Promise of Public Education. Noguera describes what he views to be the main problems facing urban education and suggests strategies for improvement. From years of exper ience as a teacher and school board member, he reflects on what he believes to be the real problems. Noguera blamesRead MoreThe American Education System1303 Words à |à 6 Pagesdepends on whether they attend an elite school or urban schools. Elite schools are located in upper class neighborhoods. Students who attend elite schools receive high quality education. Demographically, the majority of students who attend elite schools are Caucasian. This does not necessarily have much to do with the skill level of the students who apply to the school. More often than not, the application process for these schools is discriminatory. Urban schools on the other hand, are inner city schoolsRead MoreA Ethnographic Work By Jonathan Rieder1223 Words à |à 5 Pagesanother which transformed into urban ghettoes with the vast majority of blacks. However, Rieder provides a powerful look at historical Democratic constituency could break from the political party affiliation and support the Republic an candidates as a social rebel to liberal policies geared towards racial integration which invokes perceived threats to their middle-class lifestyle. Elijah Anderson in ââ¬Å"Streetwiseâ⬠depicts an interesting portrait of the politics of urban change, documenting the lifeRead More21st Century Segregation: Are We Still Divided by Race?1642 Words à |à 7 Pages21st Century Segregation: Are We Still Divided by Race? Racial segregation was a concept that began in early history and is still prevalent in some societies today. It is often seen as a destructive forceful tactic of separating individuals based on their racial background. However, many new immigrants voluntarily choose to live in a segregated society. Segregation can be easily seen in certain communities where there is a concentration containing a particular racial group. The area where oneRead MoreThe City / Suburban Divide1405 Words à |à 6 Pageschallenging issue. In our text Chapter 6 titled ââ¬Å"The City/Suburban Divideâ⬠(Judd Swanstrom, 2015, p. 136) identifies a subject that very well may contribute to the tension. A reference to the ââ¬Å"urban crisisâ⬠describes a landscape that is littered with ââ¬Å"high levels of segregation, inequality and poverty, along with racial and ethnic tensions.â⬠(Judd, et al., p. 165) Many scholars argue that the crisis was a result of the demographic changes the nation experienced following World War II as advancementsRead MorePoverty Of The United States1529 Words à |à 7 PagesPoverty is an important issue in the United States. In fact, child poverty in the US is at its highest point in 20 years. [Flores Lesley, 2014] The poor are at a disadvantage, because they have an unfulfilled right to a good education. A majority of children attending public schools come from low-income famil ies. It is hypothesized that a low household income correlates with poor achievement in school. A solution to poverty is for everyone to have a good education so everyone can be equally Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-40955190892883567812019-12-31T22:42:00.001-08:002019-12-31T22:42:03.209-08:00Descartes Dualism Proposal Is An Interesting Concept Descartes dualism proposal is an interesting concept due to its simplicity. Yet, being so simply makes one more and more want to dismiss. His argument begins with what is known as Real Distinction. This is the term used to describe a substance or non-physical object that exists on due to the help of a higher being or powerââ¬âbe it God or science, though Descartes would likely argue for God. The mind, in Descartes view, can only exist because of this higher power. One knows the mind exists simply due to being able to ask the question of its existence. However, to prove that the body exists one must think about the physical nature, shape, and sensations of said body. In Descartes sixth meditation he discusses the idea that a person can conceive their mind without their body, but cannot conceive of the reverse. This argument seems to be the most sounds. One example that can be used to describe this idea is simply a body switch. If a body is separate from the mindââ¬âgiven that the mind is where we produce thoughtsââ¬âthen it may be entirely possible to switch bodies. There are many examples of this throughout fiction and even religious text. Movies like Freaky Friday where a mother and a daughter have their bodies swapped to reincarnation, where one literally dies and their mind is ââ¬Å"rebornâ⬠within a new body all together. The very fact that this concept is so ingrained in our society hints that Descartes may have been on to something. Humans can, in most cases easily see the Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-50330430115922560122019-12-23T18:29:00.001-08:002019-12-23T18:29:03.191-08:00Teenage Teens Getting The Dangerous Drugs - 1154 Words As human beings, we stay up to date with the most recent news articles and watch when statistics begin to rise. Itââ¬â¢s great to see how many more young teens are graduating high school and college, and moving on with their lives. One of the most recent skyrocketing numbers however, is the heroin epidemic that we have going on. Is it becoming easier for kids to get their hands on the harder drugs? Are we going to being to see that after the legalization of other drugs kids want to experiment more and are now moving onto harder and more dangerous drugs? How are these young adolescent teens getting the drugs, and how are they finding out where to find them in their community? With this paper, I want people to think about what they can do to tryâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦When I saw the numbers of how many users there were in the United States, I can honestly say that I wasnââ¬â¢t shocked. Just where I live, Bellefonte, PA, there has been multiple heroin arrest in the past yea r. ââ¬Å"Agents arrested nine in Center County drug bustâ⬠shut down a half- million-dollar heroin and cocaine drug operation. They arrested at least nine people that were in connection with the crime. In the article, one of the senior deputy attorneys, General Patrick Leonard, said, ââ¬Å"They are here from New York City and Philadelphia.â⬠(Morelli). Which brings up the question, how far will this drug travel and why is it so easy to get your hands on such a hard drug? There are many obvious signs to recognize if someone has a problem with heroin. Some of the less noticeable ones would be shortness of breath, dry mouth, and small pupils. Some more noticeable physical signs of heroin abuse would be the disorientation, cycles of hyper alertness followed by suddenly nodding off, and often appear droopy. There are also things that lay around the household that can be noticeable signs of heroin dependency. These can be things like burned silver spoons, small plastic bags with a white powdery residue in them, and/or aluminum foil or gum wrappers with burn marks on them. Soon enough loved ones will begin to notice other signs that someone has built Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-49677282154359608332019-12-15T14:59:00.001-08:002019-12-15T14:59:02.943-08:00Indo Anglian Literature Free Essays string(34) " a fast in order to make it rain\." Indo Anglian Literature Indo Anglian Literature refers to the body of work by writers in India who write in the English language and whose native or co-native language could be one of the numerous languages of India. It is also associated with the works of members of the Indian diaspora, such as V. S. We will write a custom essay sample on Indo Anglian Literature or any similar topic only for you Order Now Naipaul, Kiran Desai, Jhumpa Lahiri who are of Indian descent. It is frequently referred to as Indo-Anglian literature. (Indo-Anglian is a specific term in the sole context of writing that should not be confused with the term Anglo-Indian). As a category, this production comes under the broader realm of postcolonial literature- the production from previously colonised countries such as India. History IEL has a relatively recent history, it is only one and a half centuries old. The first book written by an Indian in English was by Sake Dean Mahomet, titled Travels of Dean Mahomet; Mahometââ¬â¢s travel narrative was published in 1793 in England. In its early stages it was influenced by the Western art form of the novel. Early Indian writers used English unadulterated by Indian words to convey an experience which was essentially Indian. Raja Raoââ¬â¢s Kanthapura is Indian in terms of its storytelling qualities. Rabindranath Tagore wrote in Bengali and English and was responsible for the translations of his own work into English. Dhan Gopal Mukerji was the first Indian author to win a literary award in the United States. Nirad C. Chaudhuri, a writer of non-fiction, is best known for his The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian where he relates his life experiences and influences. P. Lal, a poet, translator, publisher and essayist, founded a press in the 1950s for Indian English writing, Writers Workshop. R. K. Narayan is a writer who contributed over many decades and who continued to write till his death recently. He was discovered by Graham Greene in the sense that the latter helped him find a publisher in England. Graham Greene and Narayan remained close friends till the end. Similar to Thomas Hardyââ¬â¢s Wessex, Narayan created the fictitious town of Malgudi where he set his novels. Some criticise Narayan for the parochial, detached and closed world that he created in the face of the changing conditions in India at the times in which the stories are set. Others, such as Graham Greene, however, feel that through Malgudi they could vividly understand the Indian experience. Narayanââ¬â¢s evocation of small town life and its experiences through the eyes of the endearing child protagonist Swaminathan in Swami and Friends is a good sample of his writing style. Simultaneous with Narayanââ¬â¢s pastoral idylls, a very different writer, Mulk Raj Anand, was similarly gaining recognition for his writing set in rural India; but his stories were harsher, and engaged, sometimes brutally, with divisions of caste, class and religion. Later history Among the later writers,Vikram Seth, author of A Suitable Boy (1994) is a writer who uses a purer English and more realistic themes. Being a self-confessed fan of Jane Austen, his attention is on the story, its details and its twists and turns. Vikram Seth is notable both as an accomplished novelist and poet. Vikram Sethââ¬â¢s outstanding achievement as a versatile and prolific poet remains largely and unfairly neglected. Shashi Tharoor, in his The Great Indian Novel (1989), follows a story-telling (though in a satirical) mode as in the Mahabharata drawing his ideas by going back and forth in time. His work as UN official living outside India has given him a vantage point that helps construct an objective Indianness. As for the history of the gradual development of Indian drama in English, one may consult Pinaki Royââ¬â¢s essay ââ¬Å"Dramatic Chronicle: A Very Brief Review of the Growth of Indian English Playsâ⬠, included in Indian Drama in English: Some Perspectives (ISBN 978-81-269-1772-3) (pp. 272-87), edited by Abha Shukla Kaushik, and published by the New Delhi-based Atlantic Publishers and Distributors Pvt. Ltd. in 2013. Sarojini Naidu and her art of poetry; Such a gem of a work by the author, Dr. Deobrata Prasad . he has carefully assimilated all the aspects and life span of Sarojini Naidu before divulging anything. such a systematic work is rare to single out in todayââ¬â¢s era. Dr. Prasad has really taken care of every minute details prior to bringing forth such a marvel in the field of Indian English literature. This has been acclaimed as rare literary work in the literary fraternity in switzerland. Dr. prasad was even nominated as literary man of the year several times. The Guide The Guide is a 1958 novel written in English by the Indian author R. K. Narayan. Like most of his works the novel is based in Malgudi, the fictional town in South India. The novel describes the transformation of the protagonist, Raju, from a tour guide to a spiritual guide and then one of the greatest holy men of India. The novel brought its author the 1960 Sahitya Akademi Award for English, by the Sahitya Akademi, Indiaââ¬â¢s National Academy of Letters. Railway Raju (nicknamed) is a disarmingly corrupt guide who falls in love with a beautiful dancer, Rosie, the neglected wife of archaeologist Marco . Marco doesnââ¬â¢t approve of Rosieââ¬â¢s passion for dancing. Rosie, encouraged by Raju, decides to follow her dreams and start a dancing career. They start living together and Rajuââ¬â¢s mother, as she does not approve of their relationship, leaves them. Raju becomes Rosieââ¬â¢s stage manager and soon with the help of Rajuââ¬â¢s marketing tactics, Rosie becomes a successful dancer. Raju, however, develops an inflated sense of self-importance and tries to control her. Raju gets involved in a case of forgery and gets a two-year sentence. After completing the sentence, Raju passes through a village where he is mistaken for a sadhu (a spiritual guide). Reluctantly, as he does not want to return in disgrace to Malgudi, he stays in an abandoned temple. There is a famine in the village and Raju is expected to keep a fast in order to make it rain. You read "Indo Anglian Literature" in category "Papers" With media publicizing his fast, a huge crowd gathers (much to Rajuââ¬â¢s resentment) to watch him fast. After fasting for several days, he goes to the riverside one morning as part of his daily ritual, where his legs sag down as he feels that the rain is falling in the hills. The ending of the novel leaves unanswered the question of whether he did, or whether the drought has really ended. The last line of the novel is ââ¬ËRaju said ââ¬Å"Velan, its raining up the hills, I can feel it under my feet. â⬠And with this he saged downââ¬â¢. The last line implies that by now Raju after undergoing so many ups and downs in his life has become a sage and as the drought ends Rajuââ¬â¢s life also ends. Narayan has beautifully written the last line which means Raju did not die but saged down, meaning Raju within himself had become a sage. The Shadow Lines The Shadow Lines (1988) is a Sahitya Akademi Award-winning novel[1] by Indian-Bengali writer Amitav Ghosh. It is a book that captures perspective of time and events, of lines that bring people together and hold them apart, lines that are clearly visible from one perspective and nonexistent from another. Lines that exist in the memory of one, and therefore in anotherââ¬â¢s imagination. A narrative built out of an intricate, constantly crisscrossing web of memories of many people, it never pretends to tell a story. Rather it invites the reader to invent one, out of the memories of those involved, memories that hold mirrors of differing shades to the same experience. The novel is set against the backdrop of historical events like Swadeshi movement, Second World War, Partition of India and Communal riots of 1963-64 in Dhaka and Calcutta. The novel brought its author the 1989 Sahitya Akademi Award for English, by the Sahitya Akademi, Indiaââ¬â¢s National Academy of Letters. [2] Plot summary The novel follows the life of a young boy growing up in Calcutta and later on in Delhi and London. His family ââ¬â the Datta Chaudharis ââ¬â and the Prices in London are linked by the friendship between their respective patriarchs ââ¬â Justice Dattachaudhari and Lionel Tresawsen. The narrator adores Tridib because of his tremendous knowledge and his perspective of the incidents and places. Thaââ¬â¢mma thinks that Tridib is type of person who seems ââ¬Ëdetermined to waste his life in idle self-indulgenceââ¬â¢, one who refuses to use his family connections to establish a career. Unlike his grandmother, the narrator loves listening to Tridib. For the narrator, Tridibââ¬â¢s lore is very different from the collection of facts and figures. The narrator is sexually attracted to Ila but his feelings are passive. He never expresses his feelings to her afraid to lose the relationship that exists between them. However one day he involuntarily shows his feelings when she was changing clothes in front of him being unaware of his feelings. She feels sorry for him. Thaââ¬â¢mma does not like Ila. ââ¬ËWhy do you always speak for that whoreââ¬â¢ ââ¬â She doesnââ¬â¢t like her grandson to support her. Thaââ¬â¢mma has a dreadful past and wants to reunite her family and goes to Dhaka to bring back her uncle. Tridib is in love with May and sacrificed his life to rescue her from mobs in the communal riots of 1963-64 in Dhaka. Clear Light of Day Clear Light of Day is a novel published in 1980 by Indian novelist and three time Booker Prize finalist, Anita Desai. Set in Old Delhi, this book describes the tensions in a post-partition Indian family during and after childhood, starting with the characters as adults and moving back into their lives through the course of the book. While the primary theme is the importance of family, other predominant themes include the importance of forgiveness, the power of childhood, and forgiving those you are close to. Plot summary The book is split into four sections covering the Das family from the childrenââ¬â¢s perspective in this order: adulthood, adolescence, childhood, and the time perspective returns to adulthood. The book centers on the Das family, who have grown apart with adulthood. It starts with Tara, the wife of Bakul, Indiaââ¬â¢s ambassador to America, greeting her sister Bimla (Bim), who is a history teacher living in Old Delhi as well as their autistic brother Babaââ¬â¢s caretaker. Their conversation eventually comes to Raja, their brother who lives in Hyderabad. Bim doesnââ¬â¢t want to go to the wedding of Rajaââ¬â¢s daughter, showing Tara an old letter from when Raja became her landlord, unintentionally insulting her after the death of his father in law. In part two the setting switches to partition era India, when the characters are adolescents in what is now Bimââ¬â¢s house. Raja is severely ill with tuberculosis and is left to Bimââ¬â¢s ministrations. Aunt Mira (Mira masi), their supposed caretaker after the death of the childrenââ¬â¢s often absent parents, becomes alcoholic and dies of alcoholism. Earlier Rajaââ¬â¢s fascination with Urdu attracts the attention of the familyââ¬â¢s Muslim landlord, Hyder Ali, whom Raja Idolizes. When he heals, Raja follows Hyder Ali to Hyderabad. Tara escapes from the situation through marriage to Bakul. Bim is then left to provide for Baba alone, in the midst of the partition and the death of Gandhi. In part three Bim, Raja and Tara are depicted in pre-partition India awaiting the birth of their brother Baba. Aunt Mira, widowed by her husband and mistreated by her in-laws, is brought in to help with Baba, who is autistic, and to raise the children. Raja is fascinated with poetry. He shares a close bond with Bim, the head girl at school, although they often exclude Tara. Tara wants to be a mother although this fact brings ridicule from Raja and Bim, who want to be a hero and a heroine, respectively. The final section returns to modern India and showcases Tara confronting Bim over the Rajaââ¬â¢s daughterââ¬â¢s wedding and Bimââ¬â¢s broken relationship with Raja. This climaxes when Bim explodes at Baba. After her anger fades she comes to the conclusion that the love of family is irreplaceable and can cover all wrongs. After Tara leaves she decides to go to her neighbors the Misras for a concert and she then decides that she will go to the wedding. The God of Small Things The God of Small Things (1997) is the debut novel of Indian writer Arundhati Roy. It is a story about the childhood experiences of fraternal twins whose lives are destroyed by the ââ¬Å"Love Lawsâ⬠that lay down ââ¬Å"who should be loved, and how. And how much. â⬠The book is a description of how the small things in life affect peopleââ¬â¢s behaviour and their lives. The book won the Booker Prize in 1997. The God of Small Things is Royââ¬â¢s first book and, as of 2013, is her only novel. Completed in 1996, the book took four years to write. The potential of the story was first recognized by Pankaj Mishra, an editor with HarperCollins, who sent it to three British publishers. Roy received half-a-million pounds in advances, and rights to the book were sold in 21 countries. While generally praised, the book did receive some criticism for its verbosity and controversial subject matter. [1] The story, told here in chronological order, although the novel shifts around in time, primarily takes place in a town named Ayemenem or Aymanam now part of Kottayam in Kerala state of India. The temporal setting shifts back and forth from 1969, when fraternal twins Rahel and Estha are seven years old, to 1993, when the twins are reunited at age 31. Much of the story is written in a viewpoint relevant to the seven-year-old children. Malayalam words are liberally used in conjunction with English. Some facets of Kerala life which the novel captures are communism, the caste system, and the Keralite Syrian Christian way of life. Without sufficient dowry for a marriage proposal, Ammu Ipe becomes desperate to escape her ill-tempered father, Pappachi, and her bitter, long-suffering mother, Mammachi. She finally convinces her parents to let her spend a summer with a distant aunt in Calcutta. To avoid returning to Ayemenem, she marries a man who assists managing a tea estate whom she later discovers to be a heavy alcoholic who physically abuses her and attempts to prostitute her to his boss so that he can keep his job. She gives birth to two children, fraternal twins, Estha and Rahel, yet ultimately leaves her husband and returns to live with her mother and brother, Chacko, in Ayemenem. Also living at their home in Ayemenem is Pappachiââ¬â¢s sister, Baby Kochamma, whose actual name is Navomi Ipe, but is called Baby due to her young age at becoming a grand-aunt, and Kochamma being an honorific title for females. As a young girl, Baby Kochamma had fallen in love with Father Mulligan, a young Irish priest who had come to Ayemenem to study Hindu scriptures. In order to get closer to him, Baby Kochamma had become a Roman Catholic and joined a convent, against her fatherââ¬â¢s wishes. After a few lonely months in the convent, Baby Kochamma had realized that her vows brought her no closer to the man she loved, with her father eventually rescuing her from the convent, sending her to America for an education, where she obtained a diploma in ornamental gardening. Due to her unrequited love with Father Mulligan, Baby Kochamma remained unmarried for the rest of her life, gradually becoming more and more bitter over the years. Throughout the book, Baby Kochamma delights in the misfortune of others and manipulates events to bring down calamity upon Ammu and the twins. While studying at Oxford, Chacko fell in love and married an English woman named Margaret, Shortly after the birth of their daughter Sophie, Margaret reveals that she had been having an affair with another man, Joe. They divorce and Chacko, unable to find a job, returns to India. After the death of Pappachi, Chacko returns to Ayemenem and takes over his motherââ¬â¢s business, called Paradise Pickles and Preserves. When Margaretââ¬â¢s second husband is killed in a car accident, Chacko invites her and Sophie to spend Christmas in Ayemenem. The day before Margarget and Sophie arrive, the family visits a theater to see The Sound of Music, where Estha is molested by the ââ¬Å"Orangedrink Lemondrink Manâ⬠, a vendor working the snack counter of the theater. His fear stemming from this encounter factors into the circumstances that lead to the tragic events at the heart of the narrative. On the way to the airport to pick them up, the family (Chacko, Ammu, Estha, Rahel, and Baby Kochamma) encounters a group of communist protesters. The protesters surround the car and force Baby Kochamma to wave a red flag and chant a communist slogan, humiliating her. Rahel thinks she sees Velutha, an untouchable servant that works in the pickle factory, in the crowd. Veluthaââ¬â¢s alleged presence with the communist mob makes Baby Kochamma associate him with her humiliation at their hands, and she begins to harbor a deep hatred towards him. Velutha is an untouchable (the lowest caste in India), a dalit, and his family has served the Ipes for generations. Velutha is an extremely gifted carpenter and mechanic. His skills with repairing the machinery make him indispensable at the pickle factory, but result in resentment and hostility from the other, touchable factory workers. Rahel and Estha form an unlikely bond with Velutha and come to love him, despite his untouchable status. It is her childrenââ¬â¢s love for Velutha that causes Ammu to realize her attraction to him and eventually, she comes to ââ¬Å"love by night the man her children love by dayâ⬠. They begin a short-lived affair that culminates in tragedy for the family. When her relationship with Velutha is discovered, Ammu is locked in her room and Velutha is banished. In her rage, Ammu blames the twins for her misfortune and calls them the ââ¬Å"millstones around her neckâ⬠. Distraught, Rahel and Estha decide to run away. Their cousin Sophie Mol convinces them to take her with them. During the night, while trying to reach the abandoned house across the river, their boat capsizes and Sophie drowns. Once Margaret Kochamma and Chacko return from Cochin, where they have been picking up airline tickets, Margaret sees Sophieââ¬â¢s body lay out on the sofa. She vomits and hysterically berates the twins as they had survived, and hits Estha. Baby Kochamma goes to the police and accuses Velutha of being responsible for Sophieââ¬â¢s death. She claims that Velutha attempted to rape Ammu, threatened the family, and kidnapped the children. A group of policemen hunt Velutha down and savagely beat him for crossing caste lines, the twins witnessing the horrific scene and are deeply disturbed. When the twins reveal the truth of Sophieââ¬â¢s death to the Chief of Police, he is alarmed. He knows that Velutha is a communist, and is afraid that the wrongful arrest and beating of Velutha will cause unrest amongst the local communists. He threatens to hold Baby Kochamma responsible for falsely accusing Velutha. To save herself, Baby Kochamma tricks Rahel and Estha into accusing Velutha of Sophieââ¬â¢s death. Velutha dies of his injuries. Hearing of his arrest, Ammu goes to the police to tell the truth about their relationship. The police threaten her to make her leave the matter alone. Afraid of being exposed, Baby Kochamma convinces Chacko that Ammu and the twins are responsible for his daughterââ¬â¢s death. Chacko kicks Ammu out of the house. Unable to find a job, Ammu is forced to send Estha to live with his father. Estha never sees Ammu again, and she dies alone and impoverished a few years later at the age of thirty-one. After a turbulent childhood and adolescence in India, Rahel goes to America to study. While there, she gets married, divorced and finally returns to Ayemenem after several years of working dead-end jobs. Rahel and Estha, both 31-years-old, are reunited for the first time since they were children. In the intervening years, Estha and Rahel have been haunted by their guilt and grief-ridden pasts. Estha is perpetually silent and Rahel has a haunted look in her eyes. It becomes apparent that neither twin ever found another person who understood them in the way they understand each other. The twinsââ¬â¢ renewed intimacy ultimately culminates in them sleeping together. In the last chapter of the book, ââ¬ËThe Cost of Livingââ¬â¢, the narrative is once again set in the 1969 time frame and describes Ammu and Veluthaââ¬â¢s first sexual encounter. It describes that ââ¬Å"Instinctively they stuck to the Small Things. The Big Things ever lurked inside. They knew there was nowhere for them to go. They had no future. So they stuck to the Small Thingsâ⬠. After each encounter, Ammu and Velutha make one promise to one another: ââ¬Å"Tomorrow? Tomorrow. â⬠The novel ends on the optimistic note, ââ¬Å"She kissed his closed eyes and stood up. Velutha with his back against the mangosteen tree watched her walk away. She had a dry rose in her hair. She turned to say it once again: ââ¬ËNaaley. ââ¬Ë Tomorrow. â⬠References â⬠¢ Haq, Kaiser (ed. ). Contemporary Indian Poetry. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1990. â⬠¢ Haq, Rubana (ed. ). The Golden Treasury of Writers Workshop Poetry. Kolkata: Writers Workshop, 2008. â⬠¢ Hoskote, Ranjit (ed. ). Reasons for Belonging: Fourteen Contemporary Indian Poets. Viking/Penguin Books India, New Delhi, 2002. â⬠¢ King, Bruce Alvin. Modern Indian Poetry in English: Revised Edition. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1987, rev. 2001. (ââ¬Å"the standard work on the subject and unlikely to be surpassedâ⬠ââ¬â Mehrotra, 2003). â⬠¢ Desai, Anita. Clear Light of Day. 1st Mariner books ed ed. New York: Mariner Books, 2000. Print. How to cite Indo Anglian Literature, Papers Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-35180842342665891712019-12-07T11:42:00.001-08:002019-12-07T11:42:04.203-08:00Public Relations Best Practices Question: Discuss about the Public Relations Best Practices. Answer: Introduction: Public relations refers to a mechanism in which in any company or firm can inform or relate to media and public regarding the issues that arise within them. The Public Relations is the core organizations informer about how its image can be shaped or will be affected. Any public relations officer speaks to the specific audience and makes all the attempts to build a good image and healthy relationship between the organization and its publics. Among the most used platforms for the public relations communication include brochures, newsletters, press releases, the Internet and social media. 80 percent of organizations have designed Corporate Communication affairs departments that ensure communication and social responsibilities are undertaken efficiently to enhance good understanding between the public and the companies (Center and Allen 2014, 18) Roxy Jacenko is a business person in Australia with two kids. She is married to a former banker; Oliver Curtis was convicted of conspiracy of Insider trading. She is the owner of a Public Relations agency. The company she owns is called Sweaty Betty Agency. Sweaty Betty Agency. The company attempts to know who its publics are, what they need and who they are trying to reach. She is a Public Relations practitioner who contributed to the well-being of many companies. Among those that have been boosted include Oliver Peoples, Peugeot, Harris Scarf, and Coles Supermarkets. Taking the case of Roxy expertise as a publicizer and an outstanding Australian renown in her personal decent, there are many public relations best practices that the guru can be judged against. Some of the practices will be discussed below (Jacenko and Roxy 2014, 26) Enhancing the Profession As far as professionalism and career development are concerned, Roxy Jacenko has struggled to ensure ethical standards in the Public relations expertise are boosted. First Roxy has a public relation agency which handles the issues regarding public relations practices. The company can give many students a good experience. The body offers training to various students who apply for internship or attachment to ensure they all meet the requirements required in the public relations industry. Every year, the Public Relations Bureau receives several students who come for training. In that way, Roxy is helping those who belong the Public Relations expertise to gain more experience and ethical standards that are necessary for the experts operations. The Sweaty Betty Agency offers job opportunities to graduates who have pursued public relation accredited from various institutions in Australia and hence contributing to the national economy. In doing so, they will gain an experience which can enh ance them to outstanding in the country and internationally (Stepinska and Agnieszka 2014, 19). Serving as an Ethical Practitioner Roxy as a Public Relations guru is serving as a measure to moral conscience. She raises the hand or gets concerned whenever the Public Relations ethical standards are violated in the industry. For instance, when the husband is jailed over conspiracy to insider trading. She visits him twice a week and I firmly believe she gives the husband a good piece of advice on how he should maintain his reputation and that of the company (Stacks and Don 2013, 28). So that, he is a role model to the community. She, however, in the process play a role of counseling which is a real virtue to community and organization building. More practitioners will reflect from her most of the practices she undertakes that are acceptable to the industry. Being Accountable As an ideal Public Relations specialist, one needs to be professionally and personally accountable for all the actions and decisions made by them. Roxy is one of them, and that is why she is a guru and a celebrity on the same. During her business journey, she did not use her airplane because of rain and had to opt for company aircraft which was more secure. When she hears the husband has been arrested, she does not panic; rather, she takes her snapshot and updates the public on Instagram about the arrest. However, she does not return before completing her economic purposes she had planned for before; Roxy comfortably accomplishes her deals then returns to visit the husband two weeks after the arrest (Watson and Tom 2014, 12). Viewing the Publics as Similar Players Ideal Public Relations professionals consider seeing the publics as equal players in relationships that are led by mutual concern and not for personal interests. In doing so, all the issues should be addressed as known problems and for self-purposes. Therefore, the publics should be informed about the affairs that affect them. For instance, when Roxys husband got arrested, she informed the publics through Instagram and expressed her feeling about it as revealed by her snapshot. It makes the other publics feel recognized as participants in the corporate and public affairs (Parsons and Patricia 2013, 33). Giving Accurate Honest Information The central role of public relations is to inform and build a good relationship between the publics and associated organizations. A Public Relations Officer is the mirror to the publics and therefore, he or she should be correct in everything they speak out or decide to do needs to be genuine. For instance, Roxy did it right as she tells the truth why she used a different airplane than hers. Roxy is also faithful to inform the public that she is away while the husband gets arrested and shows her very own mood at that moment. Considering how she speaks to the public and during events; she is accurate and gives precise information. A virtue every Public Relations expert requires (Muller-Ackerman and Barbara 2013, 32). Creating a Positive Image Taking note of the publics centered approach will allow a Public Relations practitioner to measure the impacts of the decisions and actions to be undertaken, as long as they affect particular publics (Seib and Kathy 2014, 9). All the publics should be considered before any decision or action is arrived at. Taking Roxys case, she informs the publics especially on Instagram what has happened because it affects them as a community (Ames and Spetner 2013, 28). First, the community where the husband (Oliver Curtis) comes from and Roxy has to worry about the situation since, they are part of them. It is a good choice she made. However, she is proud to have a family, and this gives her good reputation as the public eye. Visiting the husband demonstrates the social responsibility she bears to her family. However, every Public Relations Specialist or agency faces numerous challenges, issues and problems. All the three aspects differ from organization to organization depending on its location, nature and operational systems. Roxy Jacenko as a Public Relations veteran and a celebrity encounters various issues, challenges or problems in her career. Among them include transparency in the Sweaty Betty PR, her reputation and that of the company as the husband is found guilty and sentenced, competition from other agencies, financial ability and the potential to serve the whole (Zerfass, Ruler and Krishnamurthy 2014, 40). Bibliography Center, Allen. 2014. Public Relations Practices: Managerial Case Studies And Problems. Boston: Pearson. Jacenko, Roxy. 2014. The Spotlight: A Jazzy Lou Novel. Stepinska, Agnieszka. 2014. Media and Communication in Europe. Berlin: Logos Berlin. Stacks, Don. 2013. Primer of Public Relations Research. New York: Guilford Press. Watson, Tom. 2014. Evaluating Public Relations: A Best Practice Guide to Public Relations Planning, Research Evaluation. London: Kogan Page. Parsons, Patricia. 2013. Ethics in Public Relations: A Guide to Best Practice. London: Kogan Page. Accessed from: https://www.123library.org/book_details/?id=98828. Muller-Ackerman, Barbara. 2013. Public Relations Toolbox: A Collection of Best Practices For School Counselors. Chapin, SC: YouthLight. Seib, Kathy. 2014.Public relations ethics. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Stacks, Michaelson. 2014. A Practitioner's Guide to Public Relations Research, Measurement and Evaluation. New York, N.Y.: Business Expert Press. Ames, Spetner. 2013. The Public Relations Writer's Handbook The Digital Age. San Francisco, Calif: Jossey-Bass. Accessed from: https://rbdigital.oneclickdigital.com. Zerfass, Ruler, Krishnamurthy. 2014. Public Relation Research: European and International Perspectives and Innovations. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag fuÃÅ'Ãâ r Sozialwissenschaften / GWV Fachverlage, Wiesbaden. Accessed from:https://site.ebrary.com/id/11034797. Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-191971135941513472019-11-29T23:24:00.001-08:002019-11-29T23:24:04.563-08:00Transpose by Bad Suns free essay sample Bad Suns are rising. In its debut EP, ââ¬Å"Transpose,â⬠the band breaks through the clouds and illuminates its path to relevance. Widely viewed as up-and-coming in the indie scene, Bad Suns shines with exceptional vocals, instrumental diversity, and production. Formed in 2012, the California-based band is relatively young, with members in their late teens and early twenties. The group began its career touring with the likes of The 1975 and The Vaccines, and only recently found itself rising to prominence. Bad Suns released its first album this June and many expect it to surge in popularity, just as Bastille did two years ago. The band incorporates an impressive number of unique sounds on its debut EP. Lead singer Christo Bowman admits to being heavily influenced by rock bands of the 70s and 80s, and it shows. On the title track, the band supplies a healthy dose of traditional guitar and mixes it into the modern popular indie style. We will write a custom essay sample on Transpose by Bad Suns or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This type of melting-pot innovation is comparable to that of The Cars in the late 70s. The Clash and The Cure are also noted as major inspirations. Bowmans smooth vocals are an ideal fit for the groups wavy, dreamlike melodies. This complementary combo is especially successful in the track ââ¬Å"Salt.â⬠The lyrics on the album are impressive for Bowmans experience level. While most novice songwriters lean on cliches or simple rhyme schemes, his work is in a world of its own. This creative leap brings substance to Bad Suns music, which is rare to find today. ââ¬Å"Cardiac Arrestâ⬠dominates the EP. Led by midnight guitars, a forceful beat, and a chorus bursting with sound, the song seems destined to make a strong presence on alternative radio. The other three songs could also be quality singles, showing the bands consistency. ââ¬Å"Transposeâ⬠is one of the most spectacular releases of the year. While the band does not severely challenge the status quo of todays indie scene, it manages to find creativity within the boundaries and excels in all musical categories. If the band continues creating such quality work, do not expect the Bad Suns to be setting anytime soon. Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-54042643823724784782019-11-25T21:55:00.001-08:002019-11-25T21:55:06.844-08:00The Social Web Divided by RaceThe Social Web Divided by Race The advent of the internet as a communication tool brought with it promises of equality and fairness as far as racial, religious and ethnic boundaries are concerned. Many considered it as a platform that will guarantee equality by enabling strangers and people of diverse cultural, religious and racial backgrounds to interact together in a rather harmonious manner. However, the recent developments, as portrayed by some social sites, have indicated otherwise.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Social Web Divided by Race specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is increasingly being observed that individuals belonging to the same race are clustering on certain social media websites. A case in point is the racial distribution of the micro blogging website Twitter. Although this social website seems to encompass users from all races, a closer look shows that the Hispanic and the African American audiences form the ma jority of the users. These groups are also equally on the rise with regards to their commitment to the site. Another social site, the Pinterest.com, boasts of more than ninety per cent of white users from the United States. On the other hand, the Tumbir.com has witnessed a steady rise of the Asian Americans in the recent times. Even though the social media has become a crucial communication tool, it is highly divided on racial grounds. All these said and done, there is an interesting twist to this. The claim that the social media is divided by race could be farfetched and also lacks the truth in it. This is owed to the fact that very few individuals commit themselves to creating these divisions. Up to now, there is yet to be a social media site that is created by the sole intention of representing a particular division within the society. The truth of the matter is that the divisions that exist within humans are as a result of their own creations but they rarely pin down to the colo r of the skin. Some of these social media sites that have been victims to condemnations of racial divisions are actually serving other purposes. For instance, the Pinterest.com is composed of mostly females and mothers who benefit from the online site as a platform of putting up images of the things that they consider most favorite. It is worthwhile to note that it is normal to find busy mothers attracted to Pinterest.com because of its easier pin as compared to Tumblog or blog. This worked in favor of the Pinterest.com, which grew through invitations. Mothers therefore found out new members on whose mindset they shared. The dominance of the membership of the Pinterest.com by the white race could only be attributed to the consequence of the place of birth and growth of the social media site. A more credible argument concerning the Pinterest.com should be the sexuality of the dominant gender of the users and not the race.Advertising Looking for research paper on communication strategies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Apparently, more than seventy per cent of the users are females. The contents of this blogging site are feminist in nature and the audiences being centered on are females. Based on these scenarios, it is therefore apt to argue that the social media site, Pinterest.com, is more divided along the gender lines with sexist themes than the alleged racial boundaries. The growth of Twitter among the African Americans and the US Hispanics is also not a deliberate thing. It can be attributed to several factors and it should first be noted that most smart phones and cell phones that are possessed by residents of these areas contain Twitter as one of the applications. This makes their handsets reliable for tweeting at any given time. It is also important to note that Twitter does not disclose the race of the user. This makes the claim that the blacks and the Hispanics to be the dominant race on twitter invalid. Nobody chooses to join a social media site because other members of his or her race belong to it. Therefore, social media sites are not platforms of racial divisiveness. Similarly, the social media site, Tumblor, which is synonymous with the Asians is only so because they use it to discuss pertinent issues, which affects them like culture. This therefore makes it a cultural issue, not a racial one. The social media has contributed in positioning some races in certain strategic prejudicial locations in the global society. During the 1950s and 1960s, black people were astoundingly positioned as the social problems, because of the development of some documentaries during those times. The problem was orchestrated by the need to offer the black immigrants to Britain housing, jobs and the social ills that came with their arrival such as crime, prostitution and congestions. On the contrary, the social media sites have helped suppress some social barriers. Thanks to the se sites, there have been more frequent interactions across various races. Unlike in the past, where only a clichà © of the elite were allowed to own and use the digital media devices, today the devices are relatively cheaper and accessible. Moreover, frequent mobilizations and empowerment have ensured that even the minority and marginalized groups of people access the devices. The impact of this is that information has been able to travel into all corners of the world within split of seconds thereby increasing the interactions. The media has also come with a new mode of representation that is exhibited by people of different ethnicities. The adoption of communication technology by different ethnic groups in the world has a number of variations. These variations cause differences that emanate from a number of factors. To begin with, it is important to understand ethnicity to include such diversifications as cultural practices, racial orientations, the national originality and the s ocioeconomic variables.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Social Web Divided by Race specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is also worthwhile to note that the adoption of technology has very little to do with formal education because of the dynamics that therein. Conversely, the possession of income plays an important role in the adoption of technology. This is attributed to the empowerment to purchase such technological equipments as computers, satellite dishes, VCRs and the cable televisions (Dupagne and Salwen 25). The representation of news and ideas in the social media has helped portray the social lives of groups of people across the globe. Their mindsets and opinions are formed and shaped by what they receive from the social media. This catapults the importance of the ethnical or racial representation of the news and ideas from the social media since it has the potential of affecting the manner in wh ich certain ethical groupings distinguish things or are perceived. Different ethnic groups represent themselves in different ways in the media. On the other hand, different media firms have unique and predetermined ways of representing various ethnic groups especially those ethnicities from the minority cultures. Normally, these representations are characterized by cultural dominance undermining. In addition, the kinds of the representations exhibited by the media lack equality and knowledge of their identities (Mainsah 183). When left on their own, different ethnicities would use the social media to not only represent themselves but also to articulate their ideologies with regard to the perceptions within their context. These ideologies, in most cases, are the natural motivations within which a given ethnic group finds a common sense of purpose that pertains to the political and social leanings. Their representations within these contexts enable them to be classified into appropria te categories of race and culture. By the very fact that the media has the ability of controlling and shaping the beliefs and attitudes of a population, some ethnic groups are notorious in intimidating other ethnic groups through the use of the media. A case in point is the use of televisions to represent some ethnic minorities such as the non whites in America. For instance, the conservative cultures that inhabit the Amazon forests have always been represented by the media as being backward and primitive. In essence the attitudes and beliefs of the whites towards these minority group of people have been mostly so. They too believe that indeed these are primitive ethnic groups as opposed to them, who are civilized. By this, the media has contributed to the formation of the attitude of looking down upon an ethnic civilization by a selected mass through ideological motivation (Arora 87). Some ethnic groups have also adopted some rare but chilling forms of representation in the media. For instance, the black people, who are Afro-Caribbean, often portray themselves as gangsters and criminals. These acts of violence and crimes are hugely demonstrated in the videos and songs that are composed and sang by this culture. This has impacted on the stereotyping against them by the whites who consider them as reckless, irresponsible and violent.Advertising Looking for research paper on communication strategies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Apparently, the media has the power to determine and dictate the kind of representation a particular ethnic group wants to disseminate to the public. While it can be true that some black neighborhoods are full of criminal and violent activities, it is also true that most black people are in pursuit of moral uprightness and are committed to the transformation of the society into a more prosperous destination. It is needless to say that the president of the United States of America is black. However, the media will rarely report any progressive news about this minority ethnic group because of the stereotype that has always described the group. It is important to note that more of these stereotyping is orchestrated by the ethnic group themselves. For reason best known to them, this ethnic group has found it wise to identify themselves with negative attributes. Actually, all these attributes are depicted in the media for all to see and judge. Stereotyping has contributed to the subordin ation of certain ethnic groups in accordance with the white ideological hegemony. In yet another focus, the black people have always identified themselves or rather their underdeveloped nature to be closeness with nature. In retro respect, the whites were associated with civilization through the media. This further promotes the kind of stereotypical representation, which characterizes boils down to racial discourses. The television media is also known to have adopted and perpetuated some seemingly cultural way of life of the blacks from the earlier films which portrayed them as contented slaves, entertainers and the noble savage. Through the actions of the television media, the white viewers have been fed to the preconceptions of the way of life expected of the blacks. This kind of subjugation is what makes the media an important tool in the perpetuation of stereotypical actions (Ryan 201). Another important minority group consists of the disabled people. Apparently, these individua ls have had to undergo untold forms of discrimination and sufferings due to their physical state. In order to reverse this trend, some of the people who belong to this minority group have made efforts to come together and use the media to articulate their issues and concerns in a bid to communicate to the public their issues. One such media destination is the internet. The internet has provided a platform for the disabled people to participate in online discussions with themselves and the non disabled internet users. In such media, they do realize that their physical constraints are made more flexible in addition to establishing their own identities. In addition, the internet also boosts their chances of accessing the most useful information concerning the appropriate care that is required of them. This is a shot in the arm to this minority group since they are mostly limited and restricted to move in search of such pieces of information from physical locations. The internet also al lows the disabled people to connect online and this necessitates the flourishing of their culture online because they are able to connect with one another no matter where the other comes from and the level of impairment and mobility that characterizes them. However, not all this is a bed or roses. The internet, on the other hand, has exposed some disabled people to more abuse and harassment from either fellow or non disabled internet users. Worse still, a good number of digital technology systems tend to legitimize the oppression of the disabled people by offering discriminatory services to the non disabled users only. Further the media being highly commercialized tend to apt for the mainstream voices who boasts of more cash compared to the disabled minorities. In the same breath, most of the websites meant for disabled are normally characterized by the pleas for charity. This in a way makes them less attractive as compared to the mainstream internet websites. One other shortcoming of the internet lies in its diversification into relaying messages and information in the form of graphics, animation, text, video and audio. This has the potential of leaving out the disabled people who have the hearing, visual and mobility impairments (Mcgonagle 287). The Asian people as an ethnic group have also used the media to perpetuate portions of their values and norms. Apparently, some of these values and norms defy the normal ways of family interactions. Subsequently they have subjected themselves to immense prejudices from the mainstream media. The media, in essence, have always conveyed the Asian families as being so insensitive and overbearing thereby forcing their daughters to participate in predetermined marriages deprived of love. They are also portrayed as wealthy billionaires whose occupancy of the western world is because of their wealth and nothing else, not brains. This is indeed a subjugation of an ethnic group by the media. Still, in Asia, some terrorist grou ps have used the media and the internet to offer threats or claim responsibilities from the terrorist activities that have been conducted in a given part of the world. The impact of this is that the rest of the World has always associated terrorist activities with the Muslim world. This, in turn, does a lot of reputational damages to the non terrorist Asian citizens. Other regions of the world where reports of biased representation of the minority groups have immensely been witnessed include France, Finland, Netherland and Germany. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, is said to be awash with enough policies to help curb this vice. Speculations are, however, rife that this is just in paper. In France, for instance, the citizens who hail from North America are required to submit their representation with the French audiovisual media that belongs to the French majority. This is a gesture aimed at alleviating the prevailing discrimination that arises from the media industry. Such eff orts include encouraging the minorities to seek efforts within the media industry in a bid to enhance fairness and representation equitably (Mcgonagle 290). Online discussion board participation and identity and multiculturalism have also been exhibited in the media in various forms. Online discussion, normally, consists of various rubrics upon which conversations are held as the fresh discussion topics or new threads are added. A user must first register to become a member after which he or she can post reactions to threads or even initiate new threads. The online discussion boards serve an important purpose of integrating different cultures amongst the participants in addition to preserving their identities. They provide an opportunity to the participants to share and discuss things that could otherwise be difficult to talk about on face to face value. Besides, they are avenues of showcasing the identity of the users which they explicitly portray with regards to the discussion of an important context (Stokes and Reading 219). The participation in the online discussion board brings forth the cross cultural exchanges amongst the participants in various aspects. When they take part in such discussions, they get to combine their religions with ethnicity in an expression of differentiation. By posting their photos in such forums the participants are able to tell their identities and that of their countries. For instance, a participating Muslim female student might want to post a photo of her wearing a headscarf. This is in itself an indication that the participant is from an Islamic background of which she is proud of. This could be helpful in informing fellow participants at a glance, some of whom might be interested in learning some Islamic teachings or sharing the same with her. The online discussion forums are also instrumental in the exploration of divergent personal trajectories by the participants. Users have the opportunity to infuse what they learn outsi de the internet and share it with the online friends. People of diverse backgrounds such as race, class and gender can participate in a flat discussion and interaction through sharing of ideas. Offline power relations are normally propelled online. This has also helped some users to locate and find life partners in marriages. It also helps participants to work together on projects and in essence maximizes learning process. In addition, it ensures that the participants assume responsibility and participate in active learning in conformity with the expectation of the regular learning in the online discussion. For students, it ensures that all of them participate by not only interacting with their lecturers but also engaging their peers in content exchange and negotiations (Reitz, Breton and Dion 23). The cultural identities were reproduced or contested in the process of self-presentation in various ways through civilizations. The reproduction of cultural identities can be attributed t o a variety of events ranging from the historical background of a community to the communityââ¬â¢s way of life. Some cultural identities were reproduced through the activities of the colonialists such the colonial expansion and the economic imperatives on their subjects of colony. Yet, some other cultural identities were imposed by use of force by other established cultures that considered themselves civilized. In essence, they suppressed the local cultures and values together with the norms of life. The cultural identity of any society can further be understood through the examination of the political economy and the institutions. The conceptualization of culture in anthropological ways provides the means through which the cultural practices offer meanings. Apparently culture is by description an act of giving meaning to life and its ways. These meanings are not theoretical but rather practically demonstrated by people. Hence, the cultural practices of a given group of people. T his meaning makes culture to be a thing, not of possession but something that is practiced. Another important cultural identity practice is nationalism; the national and cultural identity is a sure means of uniting the citizens of a given nation and culture within the boundaries of a given territory. However, this political status quo that is hence formed can in turn be challenged by cultural institutions. When dissident voices such as the civil society, marginalized women and other minority groups within a given cultural and national territory participate in challenging the national status quo, they are contributing to the development of the culture of the given nation. Apparently, these opposing groups will always oppose the culture adopted by the nation, which they feel does not serve the common good of the country (Stuart 108). The digital media can be used as a vehicle for identity formation in some unique ways. The use of the digital media has been on the increase over the pas t few decades. This could be attributed to reasons such as efficiency, reliability and in some cases easier portability. According to the Deloitte Touchà ©, thirty eight per cent of the population of the United States watches the television shows online while thirty six percent use the mobile handsets as devices for entertainment. Another forty five per cent are reported to be using their digital devices to create online contents such as videos, blogs and websites. All these uses involve the sharing of information across a diversified composition of the audiences. The audiences and the disseminators of the information must therefore strive to preserve their identities (Steinberg 305). The identity formation by the digital media can be achieved through participating in online discussions, writing web content in the internet, commenting on various topics on news blogs such as BBC and CNN, writing online magazines and posting various updates on both Twitter and Facebook. By so doing, the user is likely to set his or her authority by stating a firm view point which in most cases is influenced by his or her social setting or historical background. Digital media devices such as Smartphone, iPod Touch, e-readers and tablets have some unique applications that enable users to easily interact through chats and updates, photo upload and many others. A user can use this opportunity to convey particular information or upload a photo that portrays his or her cultural identity. By doing this he is developing and forming an identity. The kind of identity could be the type of attire the user prefers and the language of use (Spencer 129). Ethnic Minority and Visibility and Digital Media Many ethnic minorities have been victims of invisibility by media companies registered in their host countries. A case in point is the way the France media covers issues that pertains to its extra citizens. Not only are they given very rare airtime but very few of the television journalist are from the blacks, Arabs and Asian origins. A more sober take to this scenario is that persons from all races must be accorded equal representation so that they too can feel and enjoy a sense of belonging similar to their fellow citizens of color. Apparently, the television media holds an important position in life since it exhibits the cultural, social and domestic environment. It is therefore unnecessary for the television stations to purport that the models conveyed create identification problems to the minority citizens. The very fact that the minority ethnic groups do not see the models in their television sets that resemble them is tantamount to killing their self esteem (Burd, Drucker and Gumpert 283). Furthermore, the digital media should be tasked with playing a cohesive role in a society. Therefore, when they poorly or negatively represent a minority ethnic group in their television, they are only contributing to dividing that nation. This will lead to resentments towards t hat media station besides fueling incitements towards the minority ethnic groups by the mainstream citizens. The only way this situation can be reversed is through adopting equal and fair representation of all races regardless of the positions and the numbers they constitute within the population. Inclusion of the minority tribes in employment by the media industries is also a good way of addressing this. Considering the fact that most media stations are for commercial purposes, it is important to note that even people from the minority tribes are consumers of the advertised goods and services within the media stations. For instance, a television station that does not give fair representation to the Asians in Europe assumes that all the people from that continent should not purchase the products being advertised. This has a negative consequence to the business community and the social interactions of the nation. The visibility or lack of the minority ethnic groups within the digital media must be addressed by bringing everybody on board. Everybody here include both the perpetrators and the victims. It must never be assumed that all the minority groups lack visibility or experience invisibility due to deliberate oppressions from the mainstream groups. Some minority groups actually love to take part is some activities that portray in negative light. For instance, some of the African Americans living in Europe mostly like to Americanize themselves by associating in weird behaviors and activities. To the other minority ethnic groups like school children who might be experiencing problems with enough visibility of the digital media, empowerment and demonstrations may be the only way to go. School going students are the favorites because through the media, their behavior and creativity can be developed. The visual representation in this digital age should be done in such a way that it encompasses and takes care of the needs of the almost forgotten minority groups. F or the communities that are yet to receive the full access of some advanced and yet technical digital media devices, simple improvise can be made to bridge the gap. As a motivational factor and to fulfill the hunger for digital technology, schools that are located in remote areas can be involved in such projects as digital imaging. Participants will feel the impacts and assume the ownership of the project (Abbott and Shaikh 458). In order to successfully achieve this, there are a number of measures that should be put in place to ensure that the goals are met. The students should be encouraged to integrate creativity into learning within their curriculum through the use of digital technology. This provides utmost motivation and inspiration. The improvised technological devices made by students not only enhance creativity but also help in decision making and responsibility assumption by the students. Moreover the success of such projects further motivates the partisans. Needless to sa y, most technological devices have the rooms for corrections since one can always delete unwanted applications. This is also a stronger motivational drive to the students. In addition, it strengthens the student (De-Leeuw and Rydin 452). Conclusion As much as the social media has improved and revolutionized the communication industry, there are some concerns on the racial divisions within this area. For example, the number of African-Americans and Hispanics using Twitter is so high in spite of the fact that they were for a long time absent in the television scene and other conventional media platforms. Although there are many positive things about social media, racial segregation is a great problem that should be addressed given that it could spark huge problems in the future. However, the problems linked to the social media revolution cannot overshadow the gains that it has brought to the world as a whole. Abbott, Chris, and Alim Shaikh. Visual Representation in the Digital Age: I ssues Arising from a Case Study of Digital Media Use andRepresentation by Pupils in Multicultural School Settings. Language and Education 19.6 (2008): 455-466. Print. Arora, Ranjit K. Race and Ethnicity in Education. Edinburgh: Ashgate Publishing, 2005. Print. Burd, Gene, Susan J. Drucker, and Gary Gumpert. The Urban Communication Reader. Cresskill: Hampton Press, 2007. Print. De-Leeuw, Sonja, and Ingegerd Rydin. Migrant childrens digital stories : Identity formation and self-representation through media production. European Journal of Cultural Studies 10.4 (2007): 447-464. Print. Dupagne, Michel, and Michael B. Salwen. Communication Technology Adoption and Ethnicity. Howard Journal of Communications 16.1 (2006): 21-32. Print. Mainsah, Henry. ââ¬ËI could well have said I was Norwegian but nobody would believe meââ¬â¢: Ethnic minority youthsââ¬â¢ self-representation on social network sites. European Journal of Cultural Studies 14.2 (2011): 179-193. Print. Mcgonagle, Joseph M . Ethnicity and visibility in contemporary French television. French Cultural Studies 13.39 (2002): 281-292. Print. Reitz, Jeffrey G., Raymond Breton, and Karen Kisiel Dion. Multiculturalism and Socialà Cohesion: Potentials and Challenges of Diversity. London: Springer, 2009. Print. Ryan, James. Race and Ethnicity in Multi-Ethnic Schools: A Critical Case Study. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 2008. Print. Spencer, Steve. Race And Ethnicity: Culture, Identity And Representation. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print. Steinberg, Shirley R. Diversity and Multiculturalism: A Reader. New York: Peter Lang, 2009. Print. Stokes, Jane C., and Anna Reading. The Media in Britain: Current Debates and Developments. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2000. Print. Stuart, Hall. Questions of Cultural Identity. London: Sage, 1996. Print. Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-71102492611638814092019-11-20T20:38:00.001-08:002019-11-20T20:38:04.067-08:00Consider the functions of directors,company secretaries, auditors and Essay - 1Consider the functions of directors,company secretaries, auditors and shareholders. In what ways do they contribute to the operation of both private and public limited companies - Essay Example Therefore the given essay analyses the role of all these four groups of actors (directors, company secretaries, auditors and shareholders) in order to demonstrate the importance of each of them in operation of both private and public companies. Firstly, directors are the key actors for the companyââ¬â¢s performance on market. In general, they are important because they create the policy of the company (Osemeke, 2014). In the circumstances of either private or public limited company, this role changes only slightly. In fact, private company may have sole director, while public limited company needs two or more directors (Rosenfalck, 2013). In addition, Directors Board becomes the only significant representative, if there is no existing controlling stakeholder in the company (Davies, 2010). Frequently, this situation appears in private companies (Rosenfalck, 2013). Furthermore, the directors of the company are trained to act their instructions or directions. For example, when there is a serious loss in capital of public company, directors have to gather an extraordinary general meeting not later than 56 days from the day of half or less capital reduction (Rosenfalck, 2013). According to Osemeke, (2014), failures and bankr uptcies of the company are mostly to result an ineffective directors board. In this context, ineffective work of the board has been shown in a recent failures of big companies like Enron and HIH (Convill and Bagaric, 2004). Moreover, Davies (2010) said that directors should care and promote the companyââ¬â¢s success and do independent actions. In fact, directors of public companies must be sure that they hire competent company secretary (Rosenfalck, 2013). Among the main flaws of directors that have a direct effect on the companyââ¬â¢s performance, according to Osemeke (2014) ââ¬Å"lack of training and induction Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-82102822778101471422019-11-18T23:37:00.001-08:002019-11-18T23:37:04.123-08:00Health care reform Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 wordsHealth care reform - Essay Example hon $350 billion per year, or 20-25 per cent of American citizens hard earned dollars away from its doctors, its hospitals as well as its patient care into the pockets of their executives, administrative employees, shareholders and politicians.1 U S medical reforms should allow all Americans (including Veterans) as well as the 40 million or so uninsured American citizens into the Medicare Health Insurance Corporation. Since almost all American physicians, Hospitals, and clinics in the Country already accept the current operations of the Medicare Insurance Company, hardly any infrastructure investments on the health care delivery end will be necessary. 2 A much required medical reform in the U S would be to allow Medicare, much like the current Veterans Administration System and every private health insurance company and government health care system around the world, to bid on medications from pharmaceutical corporations for its Medicare drug formulary. Every physician or doctor, not to mention pharmacists recognizes that the U S does not actually require a choice of a dozen needless medicines in each pharmaceutical category. For instance, American citizens require only 2-3 statins for countering the adverse affects of high cholesterol, a few types of antibiotics for common sorts of infections, two kinds of beta-blockers for hypertension / high blood pressure, and several generic types of painkillers.3 The present quality of contemporary medical records software lags at least two decades behind business software used for similar purposes. Thus, the U S government should attempt to fund as well as to challenge Americaââ¬â¢s best software corporations to finally develop standardized electronic medical records software. Up to date and fully functioning computer software for use in doctorsââ¬â¢ offices and hospitals is required in order to increase the efficiency as well as the over all productivity levels of physician charting, billing and prescribing.4 In the Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-27117663160628127202019-11-16T12:10:00.001-08:002019-11-16T12:10:08.491-08:00Employment and Family Essay Example for Free Employment and Family Essay This paper is about Family Related Issued: Family and Medical Act, in studying the case where it matters that a parent literally had nothing to do with a biological child in order for the child to take advantage of the Family and Medical Act (FMLA) to care for that parent. The motive in this paper is to determine the size of the business can have any effect on whether Toney is eligible for family leave under the FMLA. I will discuss whether Herman can or cannot imply that if Tony takes a leave of absence under the FMLA, he may not have a job when he comes back. In this paper I will give describe who is covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993? In this case I will explain the extent to which an employer can make his or her own determination as to the eligibility of an employer under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Explain if it matters that a parent literally had nothing to do with a biological child in order for the child to take advantage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for that parent. The Family and Medical Act is a law endorsed by the United States that needs big companies top management team to offer its employees, the coverage to (FMLA) for their job compensations due to a short term or long term serious health illness that effect the employee to be off from work because they need to assist a family member, spouse pregnancy, or care of children. In the case it did not matter if Tony was his biological son or not. In the Family and Medical Leave Act there is a limit on the amount of sick and vacation time that can be used and it is apparently stated in this law. Also, if there is enough time they are allowed to by law. With a lot of companies they now used PTO days that include vacation and medical days at work that employees can use after six months or one year depending on the business. In was not specified in the video how long Tony had been employed with the company, as the request was for three weeks off. Under normal circumstances the business would ask foe a written request for the leave of absence or medial leave on the FMLA form. And the company would also like to have at least a two week notice in most causes so the employee would have time to get a substitute while Tony is out on leave. Explain whether the size of the business can have any effect on whether Tony is eligible for the family leave under the FMLA. Herman thinking and his thoughts was a concerned for the company, but the business size does not matter. Herman is utilizing Tony as a business prerequisite from medically taking care of his father that is in need of his assistance. This companies has more that enough employee that could cover Tony while on leave, though Herman shows concern about the sales of automobiles being sold due Tony absence. Herman main issues of Tony taking time off is because of the affect it will have on their business. Even more this makes Tony eligible for the FMLA during this time. (Halbert, Ingulli 2010) Explain whether Herman can or cannot imply that if Tony takes a leave of absence under the FMLA, he may not have a job when he returns. Herman cannot imply if Tony takes a leave under the FMLA, but he must make Tony aware that there is not guarantee that he will have a job when he is able to come back to work. This kind of action or treatment is not fair at all and the FMLA Act protects the employees if they are eligible to take a leave to assist their family of serious illness, to take care of newborn, or accommodate other family responsibilities. Because Tony is a valuable employee, one of the companies top auto salesman by word of mouth as number one marketing strategy. Herman has a great concerned, that he may not have another strong salesman that could fulfill the service like Tony provided for the company and to the customers (2010). Describe who is covered by the Family and Medical Act (FMLA) of 1993. The Family and Medical Act of 1993 were put into place to promote the stability and economic security of families as well as the nationââ¬â¢s interest in preserving the integrity of families. The Family and Medical Act applies to any employer in the private sector who employers 50 or more employees each working at least 20 calendar seeks in the current or preceding calendar year. This law covers all state, local governments, and local education agencies. Title II of FMLA covers most federal employees, who are subject to regulations issued by the Office of Personnel Management. Also, the employer can not use the practice if forcing employees to behave in an involuntary manner such as threats or intimidation of their jobs should they chose to take a leave under the FMLA. (Halbert, Ingulli 2010). Explain the extent to which an employer can make his or her own determination as to the eligibility of an employee under the Family and Medical Leave Act. An employer determines the eligibility of the employees based on the annual worked hours by the employee. Human Resource also request that a written FMLA form is completed with end two weeks of the request leave. Should an employee have not been notified within a 30 day the employer can make a decision of eligibility, causing a deferral of the FMLA? In addition, an employer is providing medical certification which would prove the leave would clarify eligibility for leave. If there is reason to believe by the employee that the employer does not plan to return to work at the end of the leave the employee has the right to terminate the FMLA request. Employer also has the right to terminate the FMLA as well if there falsified information given by the employer. Halbert, Ingulli 2010). The Family and Medical Leave Act is a benefit for companies, employees and families in the place of work to allow ones job functions, and personal responsibilities to be taken into consideration. During the time of leave the employees receive an income and security doing the time off. Other benefits to employees is receiving aide from relatives in the time of need, and the organization have an advantage from yearly d ecrease in staff earnings, which will lower the preparation and employment costs, and improves the performances of the employees. There have been thousands of employees that have used the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and business programs of essential to developing effective impact reporting that is positive or concentrating on improving the performance of their employees, and allowing the employees to know that there are limitation in the law for exclusion of more than thirty percent of employees that do not meet the criteria for the leave, which would prevent the employees who meets the criteria from going on any leave due to there is no extra funding or budget to cover the cost. Halbert, Ingulli 2010). Conclusion In conclusion of the Family and Medical Leave Act the matter that a parent literally had nothing to do with a biological child in order for the child to take advantage of the law was enacted by the United States and requires large business to provide their employees with this coverage to protect the employment for family related issues such as a serious health illness or care of children. Secondly, this law is also effective with companies that employers that have at least 50 or more employees on staff. Thirdly, Herman cannot imply if Tony takes a leave under the FMLA, and in this law he must make Tony aware that there is not guarantee that he will have a job when he is able to come back to work. Fourth, in this case in the year 1993 the FMLA was presented to employers for employees that are eligible for the leave of absence and met the criteria required for the companies. And last we have explain the extent to which an employer can make his or her own determination as to the eligibility of an employee under the Family and Medical Leave Act when the hours worked in a year time, written notice submitted to human resource has been submitted in a timely manner and medical certification has been documented will allow the employee to have the time off on leave. Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-90071415023060812122019-11-14T00:41:00.001-08:002019-11-14T00:41:04.137-08:00A Tree Grows in Brooklyn :: essays research papers à à à à à I read A tree grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. The story takes place in the summer of 1912 in Brooklyn New York. Johnny and Katie Nolan met very young in 1900. Soon, after six months of meeting, and getting married they have their first child, Francie Nolan who is eleven when the book begins. Later they have their second and last child Neely Nolan. As Francie grows up she begins to lose her innocence through a tree-throwing ritual and an encounter with a sex offender who was shot by Katie. Her father drinks more and more and becomes worthless. Katie then becomes pregnant with a third child, Annie Laurie. Johnny dies on Christmas day, which was five moths before his daughter was born. Francie stops believing in God the Christian faith and begins to do poorly in school. Francie and her brother work after finishing middle school in order to help out Katie. She can only afford to send one of he kids to school so she decides to send Neely, and Francie continues to wor k which allows them to live a little easier. à à à à à World War I begins in America and this causes the world to change. Francie finds her first love, however he leaves to marry his Fiancà © before going to war. Francie is left with a broken heart but soon she meets a another boy. Then, Sergeant McShane asks Katie to marry him and she accepts. He has enough money to support them fully without hardship, and allowing Francie and Neely to go to college. They move out of their apartment the day before the wedding while Francie gets ready to leave for college. à à à à à à à à à à I feel that Betty Smith relates to many other early 1900 writers in America. She brings forward the realities and struggles of poverty that many other writers have written about. In almost every chapter and character, Smith addresses the hardship of poverty, which gives the reader a feeling of how life was in the early 1900s. I feel that Scott F. Fitzgeraldââ¬â¢s writing in his book The Great Gatsby is similar to Betty Smithââ¬â¢s writing because this book is all about the tragedies that are associated with excess money. This gives two sides of two different worlds in America around the same time. However, both writers write about the positive aspects of the two different money backgrounds and the negative aspects. Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7611692105459874461.post-16490623262746054712019-11-11T13:13:00.001-08:002019-11-11T13:13:06.429-08:00Hispanic CultureSince 1970, United States of America has seen a considerable amount of immigration because of economic chaos and civil wars in Latin American countries. The fight between the government of El Salvador and leftist guerrillas in 1980 brought about 500,000 immigrants to United States. They settled primarily in California, Florida, Massachusetts, and Washington, D. C. The civil war in Nicaragua in the year 1980 drove an estimated 800,000 Nicaraguan immigrants to the United States Mexican Americans are the most prevalent Hispanic group within the United States. Their history can be dated to four centuries within America, contrasting in different regions. In States like California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada have great amounts of Mexican Americans. (Mexican Americans, 2007). Most of Mexican Americans residing in the United states converse in their own native language. Spanish is usually the solitary language that they use . But english is the universally unrestricted language in the general community. As many generations have passed, a new verbal communication has emerged, called Spanglish, which is a blend of both Spanish and American. America has always been harsh on Mexican Americans. Mexican Americans had a hard time elevating their financial and social status in this country, as they were judged by the color of their skin. The Chicano Movement changed the lives of Mexican Americansââ¬â¢ in the United States. This movement secured these people in the economy with civil rights and economic opportunity. Significant number of Mexican Americans are Roman Catholic. Their religious beliefs influence their perceptions on various aspects of their life, including view on sex, education, and politics. Puerto Ricans are the second largest groups of Hispanics . they reside in large numbers in New Jersey and New York. Puerto Ricans are not considered foreign immigrants, since they are technically American citizens (Puerto Rican, 2008). Puerto Ricans do not have a ââ¬Å"proper languageâ⬠. They use Castilian Spanish. They differ from other Spanish-speaking groups in the way the pronounce. These people are generally racially and ethnically diverse, and recognize racial variance amongst themselves. They generally call themselves as ââ¬Å"Negroâ⬠. Most Puerto Ricans are eligible for benefits in America, since Puerto Rico is a United States commonwealth. But many feel that as they are eligible for benefits in welfare programs, it keeps them within a cycle of poverty. The general population that is not benefited tend to work in the industries around New York and New Jersey. Puerto Ricans are generally Roman Catholic. However, in recent years, it is reported that only 70% of the people consider themselves Catholic, while the majority of the remaining group consider themselves as Protestant. Traditionally, fathers and husbands are seen as the head of the households. Sons take the responsibility of taking care of the ââ¬Å"womenfolkâ⬠, specially their younger sisters. They generally have extended families. Cuban Americans are the third largest group of Hispanics within the United States. Most of the Cuban Americans were originally born in Cuba, but moved to United states as a result of Fidel Castroââ¬â¢s communist dictatorship (Cuban Americans, 2008). The older generations of the society continue to carry on their prominent language of Cuban, but it is the younger generations who have started to choose a different path. The new generation prefers to communicate in English than Cuban. Large communities of Cuban Americans can be found in New York City, northern New Jersey, Los Angeles and southern Florida. Most Cuban Americans are successful in these communities, because they back others who share their cultural backgrounds. The new generation are redefining themselves as the older generations are passing away; some seeking identify from their culture, while many others distance themselves from their ethnicity backgrounds. It has been found that out of every 14 Cuban Americans in Southern Florida having entrepreneurial business these people have the highest entrepreneurial rate among all other Hispanic groups. Many Cuban Americans live in little communities of Cuban descent. So they donââ¬â¢t feel the necessity to go out of their community. Thus, a higher rate of business ownership exists. Cuban Americans had a vigorous role in redefining the American Political scene. Most of the Cubans are against Fidel Castroââ¬â¢s Communist government. So any movements or policies that are against his government are supported highly amongst the Cuban American communities. Also any Cuban-related policies within the legislation of the United States are significantly influenced by Cuban Americans (Roots of, 2008). Most of the Cubans are generally Roman Catholics; however this trend has been greatly modified to ââ¬Å"syncretismâ⬠by a huge amount of support since Catholicismââ¬â¢s early introduction into Cubanââ¬â¢s history. Most of the Cuban Americans often have extended families, including parents and children, and older relatives (those who are widowed or dependent on others). The chances of intermarriage with individuals out of their ethnicity and culture are very low, as this is against their family value. Dominican Americans form a newer national community in America. They are still in the process of creating a unique atmosphere and place for themselves amongst both the American culture and Hispanic groups (Dominican American, 2008). The official language of Dominican Americans is Spanish. But English is also popularly spoken, and even a French dialect is sometimes heard amongst the Dominican American culture. Most of the Dominicans that come to America face language barriers, alongside with poverty as a major concern. Now a days many Dominican Americans have moved up from a previous immigrant status to a conventional status amongst a common American society. Within the last past few years, the economic status of Dominican Americans has begun to diversify itself, as racial acceptance has become more acceptable. This diversification is amongst different groups of Africans, Hispanics, and American Indians within the Dominican culture. There are no Dominican member in The U. S. House of Representatives although they do exist within the political scene as council members. Dominican Americans have been elected as officials in some other states as well (Buffington, 2008). Most of the Dominican American are Roman Catholics ( a leading statistical amount of 90%). Nonetheless, a small group of Protestants also exist within their communities and culture. But even smaller than this, a small percentag e of African religious beliefs too exist within the society. Cuban Americans in the New York area constitute as much as seven percent of the total population (Schaefer, 2006). Dominican Americans have been making serious steps to the development of their community, and at the same time are increasing their knowledge base so as to be recognized as an important cultural group. The new generations of Dominican Americans are as Dominicans as they are Americans, speaking both languages, English and Spanish. Dominicans have succeeded and have made rapid achievements in all fields of life. (Dr1. com. Dominican Americans). The terms Hispanic or Latino are used to describe people who come from a variety of different countries and cultural settings. These names are given to different ethnic groups when they come to the United States. The four major Hispanic groups ââ¬â Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Dominican Americans have their own separate identity. There are also many similarities that connects them in linguistic, cultural, political, economic, and familial categories. The Spanish language helps to combine them together, though there are some differences in dialect. Roman Catholicism is the major religion followed, but each group also practices Protestantism and other Christian denominations. Puerto Ricans are considered legal citizens of the United States of America. The Mexican Americans and others are still working on to get a legal status. Hispanics in the United States have contributed significantly to its societyââ¬â¢s customs and culture for many centuries. These contributions range from politics, public service, military, business, science, organized sports to even the entertainment industry. Their impact on the society can be understood only if we take a closer look. It is quite surprising as many historians have not acknowledged Hispanicsââ¬â¢ impact on history, as they are just as intricate within Americaââ¬â¢s history as any other race or nationality (Contributions of,2008) References Cuban Americans (2008). Wiki. Retrieved January 14, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_American Mexican Americans (2008). Wiki. Retrieved January 14, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican-Americans Puerto Ricans (2008). Wiki. Retrieved January 14, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rican Americans of Hispanic Heritage Web site: http://www.neta.com/~1stbooks/dod2.htm (2008) Cuban Americans. Retrieved June 23, 2008, from MSN Encarta Web site: Buffington, S. (2008) Dominican Americans. Retrieved June 23, 2008, from Every Culture Web site: http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Bu-Dr/Dominican-Americans.html Hispanic Culture Eemah Pizza Mrs. Katherine Miracle Introduction to Public Speaking 18 February 2013 Outline for Speech The Hispanic Culture influencing The American Culture Specific Purpose: I want my audience to have a better knowledge of The Hispanic Culture; how it differs from The American Culture and influences it as well. Thesis: While Hispanics may not seem important to society, Americans should learn about their culture. Introduction Attention Getting Device: * ââ¬Å"Strangers in a new culture see only what they know. â⬠-Unknown Credibility:I came here when I was seven years old and all I really knew about the United States was that everyone is a ââ¬Å"gringo/aâ⬠(white boy/girl). Americans are only white, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Those thoughts took a U-turn when I arrived at JFK Airport in New York City, New York. Then I thought to myself as well if they had a stereotype for Hispanics. Eventually, I did encounter stereotypes, consisting of: ââ¬Å"Youââ¬â¢re Mexican; you eat tacos; youââ¬â¢re illegal. â⬠* Thesis: Even though Hispanics may not seem important, Americans should learn about the Hispanic culture. Preview: The Hispanic culture influences the American culture in many ways. The largest minority in the United Stated is made up of Hispanics. And being able to speak Spanish fluently opens many doors and helps a person understand the culture better. Body I. Americans learning about the main concerns in the Hispanic Culture A. From a young age, Hispanic kids are taught good manners, respect, and that family is the foundation of everything. Family is the number one priority in the Hispanic culture. 1. According to Ohioline. osu. eduâ⬠Traditionally, the Hispanic family is a close-knit group and the most important social unit.The term familia usually goes beyond the nuclear family. The Hispanic ââ¬Å"family unitâ⬠includes not only parents and children but also extended family. In most Hispanic families, the father is the head of the family, and the mother is responsible for the home. Individuals within a family have a moral responsibility to aid other members of the family experiencing financial problems, unemployment, poor health conditions, and other life issues. ââ¬Å" 2. Hispanics are very dependent on Family and spending time together is a major factor. a.If a Hispanic person travels, or moves to another city/town and they have family members that live there as well, it is very common for that person to stay there with that family and/or live with them. b. Spending time together, which is very often, is a valuable part of a Hispanic family (birthday, holidays, graduations, weddings, etcâ⬠¦). [Transition: Hispanics want whatââ¬â¢s best for their family even if it means migrating to another country and becoming the largest minority for that country. Spanish, Hispanics native language, has become a worldwide known language. In my second main point, this will be explained in further detail. II. Hispanics are the largest minority in U. S. and being able to speak Spanish fluently opens many doors for people. A. According to the University of Illinois. ââ¬Å"Spanish is spoken by more than 500 million people worldwide; half of the population in the western hemisphere speaks Spanishâ⬠1. The United States has shown over the past 30 years a huge growth in the Hispanic population; U. S. population is made up of 11% of Hispanics and it has become the largest minority in the U. S. a. According to the U. S. Census, the number of Hispanics in the U. S. grew by 57. 9% between 1990 and 2000. b.California, Texas, New York, and Florida are the states that have a high percentage of Hispanics. c. 28 million people in The United States speak Spanish. d. 31 million individuals are identified as Hispanics. [Transition: As more Hispanics come to The United States, the impact they have in the culture is seen through all types of media. That is why itââ¬â¢s important to know how Th e Hispanic Culture influences The American Culture. III. The most important reason why Americans should learn about The Hispanic culture is because The Hispanic culture influences The American culture. 1. The Hispanic population has grown rapidly in the 21st century.This means that Hispanics have influenced The American Culture throughout their presence in The United States. How? From politics to business, art, music, film, and FOOD! a. In the 2012 Presidential Election, President Barack Obama had the votes of 71% of Hispanics, according to pewhispanics. org. b. You ask ââ¬Å"who is Lupe De Los Santos? â⬠Group Manger, The Clorox Company; Helped create the shows: ââ¬Å"The Biggest Loserâ⬠& ââ¬Å"Dale Con Ganasâ⬠c. Two other areas that Hispanics have succeeded are through films and music. Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull, Enrique Iglesias, and Selena have all added a unique flavor to the music industry.In the film industry there are more Hispanic actors/actresses for examp le America Ferrera, Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zoe Saldana and George Lopez. d. Food is vital to a Hispanic family. Itââ¬â¢s what brings everyone together after a long day of school, work, etcâ⬠¦ Home cooked warm delicious meals that are made out of love and touch the soul. Now in the American culture, people see more Mexican restaurants, more Hispanic spices, etcâ⬠¦ According to DonQuijote. org ââ¬Å"In the business world, the businesses whose owners are Latin Americans have been growing three times faster than others, generating 2 billion dollars a year.Some of these companies include: Latinvox, Ron Bacardi, Goya Foods, Tampico Beverages Inc. or Univision Radio. â⬠As you can see, there is a lot to learn about the Hispanic culture. There are a lot of influences that both cultures have on each other. But most importantly, Hispanics are the second largest minority group in the United States and speaking fluent Spanish will open many doors for a lot of people. Le arning the language makes it easier to understand the beautiful culture. * ââ¬Å"We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors.But, they all fit nicely into the same box. â⬠-Unknown Work Cited Hispanic Americans: The Second Generation. N. d. Web. . ââ¬Å"Latin American Influence in the USA. â⬠DonQuijote. N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. ââ¬Å"Ohio State University Fact Sheet. â⬠Understanding the Hispanic Culture, HYG-5237-00. N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. . Wadham, Tim. ââ¬Å"A TASTE OF Latino Culture. â⬠School Library Journal 3p 58. 9 (2012): 55-56. Print. Damon Hanleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16419650474591332599noreply@blogger.com0