As readers we feel confused by the events of the first chapter

From the outset, Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ creates an air of mystery in both the characters and setting that contributes to the confusion felt by the reader. Many of the ideas and symbols used in the first chapter of the book epitomise the technique utilised by Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ throughout the novel. â€Å"Wuthering Heights† has been described as a ‘Chaotic novel'1and many believe that it is intended to confuse and bewilder the reader. After reading the first chapter, the reader is confused about the situation and questions are left unanswered. We are unsure about many of the facts. We know the date is 1801 and that Lockwood is a tenant of Heathcliff's at Thrushcross Grange, but we are unaware of any of the characters' significance in the novel. We are introduced to the servant, Joseph, and briefly encounter Zillah, although we are not told her name. The reader is not informed of the relationships between any of the characters. Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ purposefully keeps the facts ambiguous, which emphasises the feelings of confusion. Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½'s tone and style is mysterious and foreboding from the beginning. In particular, the use of descriptions such as ‘gaunt', ‘defended', ‘jutting', ‘crumbling' and ‘grotesque' add to the grim feel of the novel from the start and the seemingly impenetrable facade of the characters. As readers, we are intended to feel an affinity with Lockwood, who is portrayed as completely alien to the situation. Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ uses many symbols which continue throughout the novel to suggest this. When Lockwood first arrives at the Heights, the atmosphere is unwelcoming, ‘a perfect misanthropists Heaven.' His entrance to Wuthering Heights is made difficult and uncomfortable, ‘he did pull out his hand to unchain it, and then sullenly proceeded me up the causeway' and the greeting is morose from Joseph, ‘looking meantime in my face so sourly that I charitably conjectured he must have need of divine aid to digest his dinner'. Heathcliff's abrupt attitude towards Lockwood, ‘appeared to demand (his) speedy entrance or complete departure'. The doorway into â€Å"the house† is then guarded by ‘grotesque carvings' that reiterates that Lockwood is unwelcome. The famous essay, ‘The Window Image in Wuthering Heights' by Dorothy Van Ghent puts across the point that doors and windows are used symbolically in â€Å"Wuthering Heights†. Characters are unable, or find it difficult, to enter or leave Wuthering Heights. In the first chapter, we see a glimpse of this reality in Lockwoods uncomfortable entrance into Wuthering Heights. Phrases such as, ‘gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way, as if craving alms of the sun' give the impression of people being trapped, an idea expressed by Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ in the novel as a whole. Wuthering heights at first appears to be a place trapped in time, almost, ‘completely removed from the stir of society.' The building, dated â€Å"1500† is 300 years old, which suggests a history to the building. Later in the novel, the perception that Wuthering Heights and its characters are trapped is extended. The idea is epitomised by the ghost of Catherine that appears to Lockwood. The repeated use of doubles throughout the book also adds to this effect. â€Å"Hareton Earnshaw† is inscribed on the entrance to Wuthering Heights and is also a character currently living at the Heights when Lockwood visits. The two Cathy's in the novel notably add to the confusion and mystery created in the book. This heightens the effect of Wuthering Heights as a place which seems to defy time. There are many more examples of this in the novel. Frank Kermode has pointed out that the names on the windowsill when read left to rights show the elder Catherine's life, but left to right, the younger's. This gives an example of how the characters lives are confusingly entwined during the course of the novel and adds to bewilderment in the reader. In the first chapter, we are introduced by Lockwood to the vast importance of weather in â€Å"Wuthering Heights†: ‘†Wuthering† being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather' Here, Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ prefaces one of the most major symbols used in â€Å"Wuthering Heights†. Depiction of the novel, from modern films to old paintings inevitably includes the imagery of the moors and ‘tumultuous sky and wild landscape.'2Even in the opening paragraphs, the connotations suggested by words such as ‘wilderness' and ‘jutting' suggest a feeling of defencelessness to the reader. The landscape and weather is portrayed as all-present, frequently reoccurring in metaphors and in the characters themselves, such as the ‘stormy'3Catherine. The reader feels overpowered and confused by the depth of thought in the novel as a whole and the vagueness of the first chapter. ‘Tumult', ‘gaunt', ‘crumbling' and ‘craving' when used to describe the surroundings at Wuthering Heights, also, simultaneously describes the feeling of confusion and helplessness that the reader experiences at the beginning of the novel. The confusion and feeling of being trapped in the novel is likely to be directly linked to Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½'s own confusion and withdrawal from the world. Many of the Gondal poems Emily wrote as an escape included situations in which characters were trapped, often in prisons from which they could only escape through the imagination. Scholars such as Mary Visack have noted a progression in Emily's work from the poems to the novel in this way. This poem by Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ shows uses of nature and weather, as well as very powerful language, ‘descending', ‘drear', ‘darkening', to describe the same feeling of loneliness and isolation depicted in Wuthering Heights. ‘The night is darkening round me, The wild winds coldly blow; But a tyrant spell has bound me And I cannot, cannot go. The giant trees are bending Their bare boughs weighed with snow, And the storm is fast descending And yet I cannot go. Clouds beyond clouds above me, Wastes beyond wastes below; But nothing drear can move me; I will not, cannot go.' The reader feels not only an affinity with Lockwood and his own confusion and isolation, but also with Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½'s own feelings at that time. Also, these feelings are symbolic of Cathy's loss of power and helplessness later in the book. The reader feels isolated at first from the events of the text and unaware of what it means. Lockwood does not inspire confidence as a narrator during the first chapter. He frequently misjudges things, leading the reader to mistrust his initial opinions and views, adding to the confoundment felt at the start of the novel. The ‘homely, northern farmer' that Lockwood would expect is deeply contrasted by the ‘rather morose' reality of Heathcliff. The contrasts themselves within Heathcliff are another cause for confusion. Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ frequently utilises Lockwood's judgements in this way to further cloud the readers mind. ‘He is a dark-skinned gypsy in aspect, in dress and manners a gentleman.' Heathcliff's description constantly contradicts itself. Lockwood then goes on to judge Heathcliff very quickly, ‘by instinct'. However, the overconfident manner in which he announces his opinions then dismisses them, ‘No, I'm running on to fast', puts the reader on guard. In his description of Wuthering Heights, Lockwoods view of what should be is opposed by the reality: ‘I observed no signs of roasting boiling or baking, about the huge fire-place.' Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ uses dark imagery in phrases such as ‘heavy black ones lurking in the shade', ‘swarm of squealing puppies' and ‘other dogs haunted other recesses' to re-emphasise the foreboding and unwelcoming feel to Wuthering Heights once again. The signs in Wuthering Heights appear to be unreadable. What Lockwood thought were ‘cats' were in fact dead rabbits. The dogs are ‘four-footed fiends'. The contrasting descriptions of Heathcliff are also perplexing and later Lockwood, and the reader, are unable to decipher relationships between the characters. We are unsure if Hareton is a servant or a master and we cannot understand Catherine's relationships with other characters. This is mirrored, later, when the reader is confused about the names on the windowsill. We are unsure whether the Catherines are the same person or not. Later still, the reader is confused again when the civilised Lockwood horrifically rubs the young girl's wrist against the broken glass 'till the blood ran down and soaked the bedclothes'. The eclectic mix of styles and qualities of the book in general add somewhat to it's confusion. There is a frequent use of ghosts and spirits, yet as Patsy Stoneman denotes, it has qualities of a ‘very down-to-earth book'4. In the first chapter we see a reflection of this mix in the grim descriptions, which contrast with both Lockwood and the ‘lusty dame'. The violence hinted at with the dogs contrasts again with these styles and is a direct precursor to events later in the book. â€Å"Wuthering Heights† is an extremely well-structured novel, in which Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is able to control the readers thoughts and emotions to add to the powerful effect of the novel as a whole. In the first chapter, she is able to create an air of mystery, confusion and intrigue which is enhanced and expanded as the story unfolds. Still many critics find â€Å"Wuthering Heights† ‘a preposterous text'5 that is ‘back to front'and refuses to make sense by ‘normal' standards. There are certainly many levels the book can be read and enjoyed on. However, I think the most profound message in the book's confusion is the affinity it creates between Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and the reader. This message is also mirrored later in the similarities between Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½'s own character and Heathcliff's and the parallels drawn between Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½'s own religious crisis and the character of Joseph. Essentially, â€Å"Wuthering Heights† is the only insight into the mysterious and reserved Emily Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½.

Internal and External Conflict in the Age of Innocence by Wharton Essay

Archer Newland faces a huge internal conflict with having to marry May and being in love with Ellen at the same time. This conflict is never resolved because all around Newland his friends including Ellen, have made everything so confusing to him that he ends up feeling lonely all over again. Newland doesn’t want to be scandalous because it wouldn’t be proper to show his true feelings towards Ellen. However Newland hints them in many ways. When Medora comes up to Newland and mentions Ellen’s name, as he is meditating, he is surprised to find that his heart jumps. So she is _but she’s got to come home first to pick up Ellen. Ah – you didn’t know Ellen had come to spend the day with me? Such fol-de-rol, her not coming for the summer; but I gave up arguing with young people about fifty years ago. †(page 138) Ellen’s aunt tells him that Ellen is staying at the Blenkers in Portsmouth. â€Å"Run down and fetch her, like a good grandson, this pretty lady will describe the party to me, she said; and Archer stood up as if in a dream. †(page 138) This shows the internal conflict that Newland faces to hide his feelings for Ellen. Archer stood up as if in a dream† he can’t believe that he is finally going to see Ellen again and that Medora is asking him to go get her. He is in shock! Reality hit Newland later on â€Å"in the pagoda a lady stood, leaning against the rail, her back to the shore. Archer stopped at the sight as if he had waked from sleep. That the vision of the past was a dream, and the reality was what awaited him in the house on the bank overhead† (page 139) This passage shows us imagery of Ellen â€Å"leaning against the rail, her back to the shore†. Shows how he is admiring her looking out at the water. Again he is in shock â€Å" the sight as if he had waked from sleep. That the vision of the past was a dream, and the reality was what awaited him in the house on the bank overhead† he felt like none of this was real at first until reality hit him and he was looking at her from a far. He just couldn’t believe it. Newland puts in his head that if it is meant to be Ellen will turn around see him and come up with him. â€Å"Archer waited till a wide space of water sparkled between the last reef of the island and the stern of the boat; but still the figure in the summer-house did not move. He turned and walked up the hill. † (page 140) Newland gave up and turned away. He gave up on waiting, gave up on Ellen. â€Å"All night he lay awake in the big chintz bedroom at May’s side, watching the moonlight slant along the carpet, and thinking of Ellen Olenska driving home across the gleaming beaches behind Beaufort’s trotters† (page 141) Newland couldn’t sleep he spent to much time thinking â€Å"all night he lay awake†. He was laying next to May while thinking hard about Ellen â€Å"in the big chintz bedroom at May’s side† â€Å"thinking of Ellen†. This shows the internal conflict he is dealing with himself being married to May but in love with Ellen. He stares into the moonlight which shows he is in deep thought about this situation. Newlands internal conflict causes him to lie to May and Mrs. Welland. He tells them he is going to spend his afternoon going to look for a new horse to buy â€Å"Archer said that he thought of hiring a run-about and driving up the island to a stud-farm to look at a second horse for her brougham. † (page 143) but instead he goes to the party. He was not sure that he wanted to see the Countess Olenska again; but ever since he had looked at her from the path above the bay he had wanted, irrationally and indescribably, to see the place she was living in, and to follow the movements of her imagined figure as he had watched the real one in the summer-house† (page 144) Newland was curious of where she lived, he wanted to know what it looked like â€Å"to see the place she was living in†. Through Newlands internal conflict he feels empty. We see this when he says â€Å"He simply felt that if he could carry away the vision of the spot of earth she walked on, and the way the sky and sea enclosed it. The rest of the world might seem less empty. † (Page 144) He uses imagery to show how the sky and sea are trapping the world â€Å"the sky and sea enclosed it†. When Newland visits the party he finds a pink parasol. He thinks the pink parasol he found in the Blenker’s garden is Ellen’s. â€Å"But instead, he crossed the lawn and turned toward the box-garden. As he entered it he caught sight of something bright-coloured in the summer-house, and presently made it out to be a pink parasol. The parasol drew him like a magnet: he was sure it was hers. He went into the summer-house, and sitting down on the rickety seat picked up the silken thing and looked at its carved handle, which made of some rare wood that gave out an aromatic scent. Archer lifted the handle to his lip. † (Page 145) Newland is admiring this parasol because he feels it was a symbol of something once close to Ellen. This causes him to want to be closer to it and feel closer to Ellen â€Å"Archer lifted the handle to his lip†. His description of the parasol shows how much thought he puts into something that has to deal with Ellen. Throughout these chapters Newland faces these internal conflicts and try’s to resolve them. The external conflicts around him help to make the internal ones more difficult. Newland hides his feelings everyday. We see that deep down inside he still wants Ellen.

Harmonization of Commercial Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Harmonization of Commercial Law - Essay Example 1. Preamble Law is vital to dealing with any disputes that arise out of human interaction. Over the centuries, laws have been developed to facilitate human activities in myriad spheres including business and commercial transactions. In the earliest days such laws were generally confined to regional borders and other such boundaries where a single government had enough authority to enforce such laws. However, increasing human interaction necessitated the expansion of trade to beyond frontiers where any one government operated thus leading to a certain liquidity in international business and commerce. On the one hand such liquidity has helped businesses to grow and expand into newer markets and on the other hand these interactions have resulted in disputes that are not covered by the regular cover of law. The historical evolution of laws in various nations and cultures has meant that laws are differentiated around the world. Hence, national laws may not be able to provide legal cover i n transnational and international commercial interactions. In order to deal with this problem there has been talk and action to develop a harmonised set of laws that govern international commercial transactions. ... In order to boost enforceability there has been a teeming move to harmonise such laws so that each nation or other such territorial or other such distinction has uniform laws. This approach to commercial international law has resulted in yet more unique circumstances than ever before. Nations and other such entities have begun framing laws to govern international commercial transactions which are merely similar in nature. It has been argued that these laws are more of a problem in themselves rather than a solution to the predicament at hand. The laws dealing commercial international transactions are seen to be inherently flawed in the manner that they are drafted and enforced in leading to more problems than before. In order to deal with this dilemma it has been suggested that the more appropriate approach would be to devise methods that would encourage states to draft and enforce private dispute laws in the context of international commercial transactions. The current approach relie s heavily on delineating various rights, roles and responsibilities of parties involved in international commercial transactions rather than dealing with dispute resolution upfront. It has been suggested that international commercial law can be simplified if the enforcing government concentrates on dispute resolution than delineating rights because it would allow involved parties to make better contractual choices. This text will attempt to analyse this claim in relation to international commercial law by looking at how harmonisation is supposed to function in principle and how it is actually being used. The shortcomings in current law harmonisation techniques will be looked into fully including drafting and enforcing laws. This will be taken further into

Statistics assignment Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assignment - Statistics Project Example where X1 , X2 , X3 are the three test scores and X is the final score. Assume that your test scores are (integer) values between 1 and 10 with equal probability 1/10, independently from each other. What is the probability mass function of the final score? Q6. (10) The metro train arrives at the station, always on time, near your home every quarter hour starting at 6:00 AM. You walk into the station every morning between 7:10 and 7:30 AM, with the time in this interval being a uniform random variable. The mean is the most commonly-used measure of central tendency in a distribution. The mean is valid only for interval data. Since it uses the values of all of the data points in the populations or sample, the mean is influenced by outliers that may be at the extremes of the data set. On the other hand, the median can be determined for ordinal data as well as interval data. Unlike the mean, the median is not influenced by outliers at the extremes of the data set. Q8. (10) A system consists of 3 components arranged in series. The lifetime (in days) of each component follows approximately an exponential distribution with a mean lifetime of 100 days. The lifetimes of the components are independent. Where p1(x, ï  ¬), p2(x, ï  ¬), p3(x, ï  ¬) are three independent exponential distributions in parallel. After some algebra and if we take q as any of the three independent exponential distributions, q = p1 or q = p2, q = q3, q = ï  ¬

The case for christ (student edition) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The case for christ (student edition) - Essay Example His Divinity was evidenced by His resurrection from the dead and ascension to heaven. To ask the reliability of Jesus Christ is also to ask the historical accuracy and competence of the Holy Bible because it is the source of our information about Jesus Christ. For academic discussion, it may be necessary to cross reference the existence of Jesus Christ from other sources other than the Bible itself. Jesus Christ was recognized to have existed by early historians such as Tacitus, the first century Roman historian who is touted to be the most credible historian of the ancient world. In his historical recordings, â€Å"Christians† (derived from Christus, the Latin equivalent for Christ) was already mentioned in an unflattering way considering that he is a Roman. He mentioned that a certain superstitious â€Å"Christian† or â€Å"Christus† existed during the reign of Tiberius and suffered under Pontius Pilate. In the same breadth, the legendary Jewish historian also made an account of Jesus Christ. In his â€Å"Antiquities†, he mentioned that there was a â€Å"Christ† who is a brother of James. Again, he referred Jesus Christ in an unflattering way considering he is a Jew: â€Å"Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats....He was [the] Christ...he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him.† One version reads, â€Å"At this time there was a wise man named Jesus. His conduct was good and [he] was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. But those who became his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion, and that he was alive; accordingly he was perhaps the Messiah, concerning whom the

Liberalism - Why do liberalists place so much emphasis on democracy Essay

Liberalism - Why do liberalists place so much emphasis on democracy Does that make sense How important is democracy in international relations. Use examples - Essay Example Decision making in a democracy is based on majority rule and the rights of the minorities are protected. A democratic government guarantees equality of all citizens, freedom of speech, assembly and religion, among others. Liberal states are not necessarily democratic (Bobbio 2006: 1). Liberalists strongly emphasize on democracy. The concentration of power and wealth among few people in the society is not good as it brings about many social evils. Democracy has various benefits. It ensures that all citizens are treated equally before the law. It also gives every citizen the right to power. Therefore, anyone can seek an elective post in government. Democracy helps in distributing power to the people. It allows disgruntled voters to vote to change the leadership. A few years ago, democracy used to exist in Western Europe and Northern America only while the other states were not democratic or liberal. However, today many states are democratic. Democracy is the basis for economic and social development. It enhances the development of a nation by making leaders accountable, and therefore helps in fighting vices like corruption. Inefficient leaders are voted out by the electorate and if the leaders who replace them wish to stay in power, they have to meet the expectatio ns of the public. Failure to perform will lead to ouster from office in the next election. Democracy also helps in the even distribution of wealth (Bobbio 2006: 38). The wealthy conservatives in power dislike democracy because they see it as a way to help the poor to rob the rich. However, liberalists maintain that without democracy, the poor are exploited by the rich. Liberalism is concerned with limiting the powers of the government. Democracy considers the opinion of the majority as the only criteria to ensure that the government powers are legitimate. Liberalists strongly advocate the strengthening of democratic institutions. They advocate national referendums, compulsory voting, comprehensive

Renanlt Nissan the making of Global Alliance case Essay

Renanlt Nissan the making of Global Alliance case - Essay Example major changes were taking within the global automotive market characterized by large-scale mergers between some of the major automotive companies in the world. In addition, the economic slowdown being experienced in the Asian region was also affecting the industry, with many of the Asian automotive manufacturers experiencing financial problems. Conversely, the earlier attempted merger between the company and the Swedish carmaker Volvo in 1993 was unsuccessful and had left a negative effect on the company. This merger had been a well-planned initiative that was based on shared synergies between Renault and Volvo and comprised a significant part of the European industrial policy (Krcmar & Klein, 2006). The merger negotiations had lasted for three years and had involved various key authorities, including the French industrial minister, as the French government was a major stakeholder in the company. It was therefore important for the company to be able to undertake a successful merger undertaking in order to go past the effects of the previous failed merger. A major strength involved the company’s privatization 1996 due to the various changes in the country that resulted in the separation of economic and political factors and influences. This privatization process resulted in the French government owning only 46% of the company’s shareholding (Krcmar & Klein, 2006). As such, the management was quite sure that the company’s shareholders would approve the company’s need to expand as well as provide the management with a conducive environment to implement the company’s strategy. Another major strength of the company was its experience and market share, as the company was a major automotive producer within the western European and South America automotive markets and had a 5% of the total global automotive market. The company had excelled in the field of mid-range cars and light commercial vehicles. It was also ahead in cost reduction, efficient purchasing and

Health care marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Health care marketing - Essay Example The quality of a product does not vary over the course of time. Whatever the quality of the product is, it remains what it was at the time the product was purchased. On the other hand, the quality of a service varies at different points in time e.g. an Internet service that shows high speed generally occasionally becomes slow. Since products are a one-time purchase, they have to be provided guarantee with unlike service, that is purchased just as much as and till the time it is paid for. Therefore, marketing a product requires the vendor to establish a guarantee period for it after which, no claims made by the customer would be entertained. Marketing a service requires the vendor to provide the guarantee till the time the service is delivered. Vendors have to be more careful while marketing a product because a customer who has bought the product once might never show up for a second buy if the quality was compromising whereas in the case of service, vendors can and actually do sometimes decline the quality of service temporarily because they know that they can upgrade it in case any claims are

Responsibilities of sports engineers Essay Example for Free

Responsibilities of sports engineers Essay Sports is something that attracts every person in this world towards itself. Sports has become a very common field that everybody has interested in. People are gaining more and more interest in different sports from all over the world. And that is why sports engineering is gaining significance and recognition. It is a special field of engineering, which involves everything from the development to the testing of the different sports equipment. The discipline includes numerous activities and everything related to sports and sports equipment. The sports engineers have several responsibilities that are discussed here at length. The very first responsibility of a sports engineer is the designing of the sports equipment. With the development of different sports and an increase in their popularity, people are eager to make use of the best of the sports equipment. And this is where the sports engineers can contribute by developing new equipment that would help the athletes perform better. Sports engineers are also responsible for carrying out a complete lab and experimental testing of the sports equipment, athletes and the interaction between them. This is one of the most important parts of the job of a sports engineer because it is not possible to make use of anything without testing the equipment and the nature of interactions the users would have with the equipment. The sports engineers not only carry out laboratory testing but are also required to test the performance of the athletes and different devices in the field, i. e. the environment of the sports. Field testing needs to be completely accurate so that there is no scope of mistakes and the athletes are prepared to use their equipment in the real conditions and situations. Computational modeling has been used only for scientific purposes till now. Computational modeling approach is usually employed in physics and other scientific applications, whether it is fluid dynamics or any other experiment. Sports engineers are also making use of this technique and approach for determining the forces acting upon the working of the equipment and for stimulating its working before actually developing them. Sports engineers also need to continuously work with the different government bodies and the authorities for making sure that the rules are adhered to and everything is carried out within the pre-defined guidelines. Sports engineers also have to work with the athletes to regularly keep a track and improve the performance of the different athletes in different fields. They need to find out new ways and measures for enhancing the performance of the sportsmen. Thus, we see that sports engineers are extremely important people and they need to carry out all of their responsibilities sincerely for the development of different sports and for the betterment of the athletes. Reference link: http://classof1. com/homework-help/engineering-homework-help.

Nature of Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Nature of Philosophy Essay Philosophy * Comes from the 2 Greek words  « philos -love  » and  « sophia -wisdom  » * tasks that requires a deliberate effort to seek the truth. * The act of questioning or wanting to know initiates philosophy, and most of the time we relate philosophy to thinking. * Knowledge of all things, through this ultimate causes, aquired through the use of reasoning * Is the intense and critical examination of beliefs and assumptions Philosopher * Lover of knowledge * A person who seeks knowledge for its own sake and not for any other motive. * Philosophers examine questions dealing with life’s most important aspects. * Raphael (1994) describes philosophy as essentially divided into two branches: the Philosophy of knowledge and the Philosophy of practice. * The Philosophy of knowledge is attentive to critical examination of assumptions about matters of fact and argument. Included in this branch are: epistemology (study of knowledge), metaphysics (the study of ultimate reality), the philosophy of science, philosophy of mind and philosophical logic. * Philosophy of practice, on the other hand, focuses on critical examination of assumptions about norms or values and includes ethics, social and political philosophy, and the philosophy of the law. It is the Philosophy of practice, particularly moral philosophy, that provides a groundwork for discussion of many of the troubling issues facing nurses. Objectives of Philosophy * To seek the deepest explanations of existence and the nature of being. It specifically uses reasoning to show its natural scope in deriving explanations Spiritual / religious influences * Historically, many of the dominant religious institutions made judgements about the origin and essence of healing and described those who would hold positions as legitimate healers. * Nevertheless, nursing in  some form has existed in every culture, and has been influenced by spiritual beliefs, religious practices, and related cultural values. Gender influences * In every culture, women have been healers * As a result of the perception that women are more humane and more caring by nature, they have been viewed as naturally endowed with nursing talents. *  «Every woman†¦ has, at one time or another of her life, charge of the personal health of somebody, whether child or invalid- every woman is a nurse.  » ~Nightingale ANCIENT / PRESOCRATIC (7th century B. C) * Greek thinkers, called themselves  « wise men  » but of humility. * PYTHAGORAS- * One of the Greek thinkers, wanted to call himself a person who just love wisdom or a philosopher. * From then on, the Greek used the word philosophy for love of wisdom and philosopher as a lover of knowledge. * In the ancient times the position of healer was practiced by those thought to have special spiritual gifts. * When the reigning deity had a feminine, bisexual or androgynous nature, women were leaders in the healing arts. * As the world became a harsher place, and the Gods assumed a masculine nature, women’s role as independent, primary healer was taken away The Early Christian Era. * Early Christian nurses were frequently women of high social status and often became independent practitioners. * When religious belief moved toward a single male God, women’s healing role changed from that of sacred healer to subservient caregiver. MIDIEVAL / MIDDLE AGES * Christian scholars and Arab philosophers were the first to create a direct link of Philosophy to Theology, one of its main inspirations in the Christian faith which became a stimulus to reason. * During this time, monastcism and other religious groups offered the only opportunities for women to pursue careers in nursing. * Much of hospital nursing was carried out by repentant women and widows called sisters and by male nurses called brothers. * Deaconesses, matrons, and secular nursing orders were among the organized groups that had religious foundations and offered nusing services. * Much of hospital nursing was carried out by repentant women and widows called sisters and by male nurses called brothers. * Deaconesses, matrons, and secular nursing orders were among the organized groups that had religious foundations and offered nusing services. * Women who entered nursing orders donated their property and wealth to the Church and donated thier lives to service-believing that  « charity  » was synonymous with  « love  » * The term empirical relates to knowledge gained through the process of observation and experience. * Consequently, people were more likely to seek healing through religious intervention since the position of the Church was that only God and the devil had the power to either cause illness or promote healing * The crusades, which begin in 1096 and lasted nearly 200 years, brought many changes in health and population. * In response to the compelling need, military nursing orders were formed. These orders draw large numbers of men into the field of nursing. * During the Middle Ages, the status of women also declined. In many ways this was directly related to church doctrine. * St. Thomas Aquinas, known as the  « Angelic Doctor  » wrote that one should  « only make use of a necessary object, woman, who is needed to persevere the species or to provide food or drink†¦woman was created to be man’s helper, but her unique role is in conception†¦ since for all other purposes men would be better assisted by other men.  » * St. Jerome remarked that  « women is the gate of devil, the path of wickedness, the sting of the serpent, in the world a perilous object » * It was a popular religious view that women were essentially evil by nature. The pain of childbirth was believed to be punishment for Eve’s transgression, and served the purpose of reminding women of their original sinful nature. * Although the medical profession was officially sanctioned by the church, and male physicians were beginning to be trained in the university setting, there was scant scientific knowledge. They used bloodletting, astrology, alchemy, and incantations * Peasant women were  often the only healers for people who had no doctors and suffered bitterly from poverty and disease * These folk healers had extensive knowledge about cures that had been handled down for generations via oral tradition. * These women developed an extensive understanding of bones and muscles, herbs, drugs, and midwifery * This atmosphere set the stage for Church-sanctioned crimes against women in the form of the witch hunts. * Any women who treated an illness, even if she aplied a soothing salve to the diseased skin of her child, was likely to be acused of witchcraft. * If the treatment failes, she was sough to have cursed the patient. If the treatment succeeded, she was believed to be in consort with the devil * Although women were permitted to practice midwifery, these women were in danger of being accused of witchcraft if anything went wrong with either mother or baby MODERN (16th- 18 century A. D * During this period, Rene Descartes was known as the Father of Modern Philosophy, to his philosophy of rationalism and empiricism * RATIONALISM- is a philosophical doctrine that specifically uses resoning and proof in explaining reality EMPIRICISM: regards experience as the only source of knowledge,for it was during this time that the abundance of knowledge in science became a challenge for all philosophers to prove their discoveries and breakthrough to the aid of the aforementioned doctrines Renaissance and the Reformation * The sixteenth century heralded the beginning of two great movements: the renaissance and the reformation. * The renaissance produced an intellectual rebirth that began the scientific era * The reformation was a religious movement precipitated by the widespread abuses that had become a part of Church life and doctrinal disagreement among religious leaders. * The scientific community made advanced in mathematics and the sciences. * Rene Descartes is credited with proposing a theory that quickly altered philosophic beliefs about the separation of mind and body. * He proposed that the universe is a physical thing, and that everything in the universe is like a machine, which can be analyzed and understood. * Based on Descartes’ work  « cartesian philosophy  » began to replace religious beliefs related to the physical and spiritual beliefs of humankind. * As a direct result, a separation was created between the acts of caring and curing in the healing arts. * The reformation produced a split in the church. * A struggle between Catholic and Protestant groups spread across Europe, as a result, Catholicism lost its power in many countries. * Laws and cusotms in Protestant countries discouraged the humane care of the  « downtrodden and the weak  » CONTEMPORARY (20th century) * The existence of a great variety of doctrines of philosophy strenghtened its grasp in seeking the truth. * Among these are the doctrines of: * Karl Marx- Marxism * Immanuel Kant- Kantianism * Jean Paul Sartre- Existentialism The modern era * Florence Nightingale became a model for all nurses. She was a nurse, statistician, sanitarian, social reformer, and scholar. * she was politically astute, intelligent, and single-minded. * Although she was opposed to using church affiliation as a criterion for admision to nursing programs, her religious beliefs were evident in her dealings with students, whom she admonished to work, work, work, because  « if there is no cross, there is no crown  » * Another of nursing’s great modern leaders is Lavinia Lloid Dock * She was concerned with the many problems plaguing nursing, warning that male dominance in the health field was the major problem confronting the nursing profession.

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, published in 2001 by Barbara Ehrenreich, is a book in which the author goes undercover and investigates the lives of the working poor by living and working in similar conditions. The book demonstrates fairly well two social paradigms, namely conflict theory (inspired by Marx and Weber) and structural-functionalism (inspired by Talcott Parsons). Conflict theory is clearly demonstrated throughout the book-social order based on inequality, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. There is also evidence of structural-functionalism, though it is not the best fit. Structural-functionalism is defined as a society in which there are groups of people organized into levels that enable individuals in this society to find stability, order and meaning (Kimmel, Aronson, and Dennis 2011). Ehrenreich shows that there are certainly levels within society, however, because of the inequalities that are present, the individuals in the working poor are unable to find stability or order because they are running a never-ending race so to speak. These inequalities have many effects on society at large (both wealthy and those in poverty), as well as the families within the working poor. The economic inequality in our culture has many probable causes, but they all affect society as a whole, regardless of your class or status. These effects include things such as trust/social cohesion, crime/deviance, and population health (especially that of the working poor). There is a correlation between income inequality in a society and general mistrust, demonstrated by a U.S. General Survey (Uslaner and Brown 2002). One economist, a Joseph Stiglitz (2012), argues that this inequality has also led to distrust of businesses and the government. Crime is also a correlated factor in societies with a bigger economic gap. Several studies have been done that show a significant increase in homicides, both in the U.S. and worldwide, in societies that have a large margin between the rich and the poor (Martin, Wilson, and Vasdev 2001). Homicides are generally the most common measure of violent crime due to the fact that statistics are reported worldwide. There are also numerous consequence s for population health in societies with a larger economic inequality. Researchers have found that these societies have a slightly lower life expectancy, and a higher incidence of social and health problems like incarceration rates, teenage births, mental illness, obesity, education and others (Wilkinson and Pickett 2009). It has also been shown that this inequality and social stratification can be linked to to anxiety, depression, drug abuse, and other stress-related disorders (Booth 2010). It is because of this constantly present inequality that I believe Ehrenreichs book most accurately represents conflict theory. At one point in the book, Ehrenreich remarks, Maybe, it occurs to me, that Im getting a tiny glimpse of what it would be like to be black (p. 100). This is a slightly good point because, while we as a society view class as an achieved status, oftentimes it is fixed and ascribed much like race. Of the consequences brought about by this societal inequality and conflict, the working poor themselves experience the majority. Throughout Nickel and Dimed we are shown that there are many hidden costs to being poor, and oftentimes those in poverty are stuck in a rut with no way out because of them. The working poor have to live day-to-day in hotels accumulating costs, where is would normally be cheaper to rent an apartment if they could simply afford the security deposit and starting utilities. Without a semi-permanent shelter and rising debt, the working poor are us ually forced to buy less healthy, more expensive meals because they dont have the luxury of the appliances needed to cook and store food. Being poor is often a self-fulfilling prophecy, and those who believe they are stuck in poverty for the rest of their days are often likely to do just that. In another part of the book, Ehrenreich and other maids are watching a training video on how to clean rooms and vacuum. The video itself is slightly demeaning, almost as if made to be watched by young children. In one part of the video, the man giving instructions says See, I am the vacuum cleaner (p. 74). This sort of paints a picture in the readers head as to how the company views and treats its employees: like they are mindless robots whose only purpose is to serve the business. To the rich, that is basically what they are. The rich view the working poor as a group in society that is made to be taken advantage of, very similar to Karl Marx view of the proletariat. In their eyes it fulfills the structural-functionalism paradigm of society-as many say, someone has to do it. Unfortunately this is not the case, because the theory calls for all individuals in society to have stability and order in their lives. As evidenced by Ehrenreichs investigation into the working poor, the last th ing the working poor have is stability, therefore this theory is not an entirely accurate representation of our culture. Instead there is the ever-present conflict between the rich and working class. It is shown by both Ehrenreichs book and in the real world that the working poor are blocked from advancing in society by many different obstacles. These obstacles are things like housing, transportation, and other basic necessities (Ehrenreich 2001). For instance, the working poor often do not have a permanent residence or family to stay with while they save money, and cannot afford a large deposit for an apartment. This means they have to settle with weekly hotel rooms, which end up being more expensive, yet are the only affordable option because they dont require large down payments. Transportation is another common factor; if one is a member of the working poor they likely do not have their own car and have to rely on public transportation. Depending on the location it is do-able, but public transportation in our society is still not widely-available in every city. One study shows that single mothers who were able to work out a carpool or something similar with their peers were m uch less likely to require government aid (Eden and Lein 1997). Food and clothing are also problems; without savings it is much harder to buy uniforms and such for jobs. The working poor also have to deal with odd work schedules, often working all times of the day and never having consistent hours. Not only does this mean it is harder to save up money, but being able to spend so little time at home also puts the working poor in a position where it is difficult to find the time to cook for themselves, and are often left with the choice of unhealthy fast food. Working odd hours also leaves parents helpless when it comes to childcare; while there are many options for childcare including free programs and social networking with peers, working at all hours of the night means you might not always have a babysitter lined up. Obviously this has negative consequences for both the children and the parents. Ehrenreichs book shows quite well how the conflict theory can apply to our society and the ever-growing gap between the rich and the working poor. In recent years people seem to be taking more notice of the working poor, but the gap is still as large as ever. In her evaluation at the end of the book, Ehrenreich states, The working poor, as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor I agree with the author in the sense that the working poor are definitely taking one for the team so to say. They carry out the menial labor that is required in our society, but not everyone wants to do. Unfortunately because we dont live in a utopia, they suffer for it. They make great sacrifice by doing jobs they often know dont lead to advancement in society, because they know that it has to be done by someone. The conflict theory applies to both Ehrenreichs book and our society in the real world-there are numerous inequalities in the workforce, and the allocation of resources for individuals in our society is distributed unfairly.

Importance of Manners in Pride and Prejudice Essay -- Pride Prejudice

Importance of Manners in Pride and Prejudice Manners have survived throughout the many passing years of history and culture to influence the ways human beings interact even today in the way we relate to one another: what is acceptable and unacceptable social behavior. Proper manners in everything from conversation to eating have long been distinguishing mark of social status. Even now they are often important in business and social situations. But in the eighteenth century, manners were paramount. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, set at the end of the eighteenth century, explores the many humorous eccentricities in a world of etiquette and proper conduct. When love, pride, clumsiness and transparency are all run through the gauntlet of delicate manners, a whimsical sort of satire is achieved. The context of propriety creates the cunning irony that brings this book to life. A perfect example of the irony in Pride and Prejudice is seen in the relationship of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. While Mrs. Bennet is constantly theatrical and melodramatic, Mr. Bennet is very quiet and reserved. Mr. Bennet is always toying with his wife's tendencies to exaggeration. When Elizabeth Bennet refuses to marry the dim-witted and unattractive Mr. Collins, her mother is inconsolable. She bursts into a fit and tells Elizabeth that if she doesn't marry Mr. Collins, then she will disown her as a daughter. Mr. Bennet at this point steps in and provides the ironical relief: "An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. --Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do." (p... ...he irony. From the bumbling Mr. Collins, who means less than he says, to the ironical parries of Ms. Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice is certainly a comedy of manners. Each character, in their own way is either outside the traditional bounds of propriety, or bound within them so clumsily that even sincerity often comes across as humorous. In each situation shown, the characters began in a context of manners that set stage for the illuminating irony each character in some way sets forth. As shown through the situations and characters in the novel, Pride and Prejudice is a book brought to life by the context of propriety. Within this context are created the many ironical contradictions and pretenses exposed by its various colorful characters. Work Cited: Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York: Airmont Books, 1992.

Critical Analysis of Interview with the Vampire Essay -- essays papers

Critical Analysis of Interview with the Vampire Charismatic. Charming. Sensual. Beautiful. Would you ever use these adjectives to describe a vampire? The common theme in portraying vampires in literature has always involved depictions of great violence, ugliness, and fear. Novels involving vampires never portrayed the vampire as a heroic character, but rather as the villain who was then destroyed in the end. Stereotypical vampires terrorized towns, lived in grim, dark, towering castles and turned into bats when in trouble. Authors were simply not inspired to build a tale around the life of a vampire, his shortcomings, his doubts, his fears. Rather, authors used the vampire as a metaphor for evil that resides in humanity. Essentially, vampires were the demons inside ourselves that we had to slay. In the 1970’s, Anne Rice reinvented the vampire genre by publishing Interview with the Vampire. Unlike other vampire novels, Interview was the life account of Louis du Pointe du Lac as an interview conducted throughout the night with a reporter recruited by Louis himself. Louis unlike the common stereotype is not a vicious killer. In fact, his tale is of his struggle to keep his humanity intact, to battle his nature and his thirst for blood. In reminiscing he introduces us to the colorful and vibrant vampire world inhabited by the likes of Lestat, Louis’ creator and lover; and Claudia, a child-vampire created by Louis and Lestat who later becomes Louis’ lover. The threesome becomes an unorthodox family unit, living in splendor and happiness. However, their happiness is not permanent as Claudia matures mentally but is forever stuck in the body of a child. There is a striking difference between the classic vampir... ... the charismatic, chic and sensual creatures have made their way into modern culture, the concept of vampirism has undertaken many new meanings. Meanings that are not associated with the thirst for blood and brutality, but rather a thirst for understanding. Vampires have metamorphosed into a metaphor for our human desires, needs and passions. No longer are they the metaphor for our dark side, but rather they’re an accepted part of us. Bibliography: Rice, Anne. Interview with the Vampire. Randomhouse: 1976. Tomc, Sandra. "Dieting and Damnation: Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire," Blood Read: The Vampire as Metaphor in Contemporary Culture. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997, pp. 95-113. Waxman, Barbara Frey. â€Å"Postexistentialism in the Neo-Gothic Mode: Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire.† Mosaic, Vol. 25, No. 3, Summer, 1992, pp. 79-97

Bentham and Kant Essay

Jeremy Bentham was an English philosopher and political radical. He is highly known and respected today for his moral philosophy, primarily his principle of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism evaluates actions based upon their consequences. Bentham is most famously known for his pursuit of motivation and value. Bentham was a strong believer in individual and economic freedom, the separation of church and state, freedom of expression, equal rights for women, the right to divorce and the decriminalizing of homosexual acts. During his time he helped with the abolition of slavery, the abolition of the death penalty and the abolition of physical punishment, including children. Bentham was born in Houndsditch, London in 1748 to a very wealthy family who supported the Tory party. He was very intelligent and bright minded. When he was a toddler he was found behind his father’s desk reading the history of England and at age three he began studying Latin. He obtained his masters degree from Oxford College in 1766, where there after he trained as a lawyer but never practiced. Instead, Bentham decided to write about the law. One of Bentham’s major influences was Joseph Priestley. Bentham read Priestley’s work and had quickly changed his mind about the conservative political views that he had grown up in. One statement in particular from The First Principles of Government and the Nature of Political, Civil and Religious Liberty had a major impact on Bentham; â€Å"The good and happiness of the members, that is the majority of the members of the state, is the great standard by which every thing relating to that state must finally be determined. † Bentham was also heavily influenced by the philosopher David Hume. In 1798 Bentham wrote Principles of International Law where he argued that universal peace could only be obtained by first achieving European Unity. He hoped that some for of European Parliament would be able to enforce the liberty of the press, free trade, the abandonment of all colonies and a reduction in the money being spent on armaments. One of Bentham’s most famous works was Constitutional Code in 1830. Here Bentham shares many of his ideas and beliefs on political democracy. Bentham argues that political reform should be dictated by the principal that the new system will promote the happiness of the majority of the people affected by it. He also argues about universal suffrage, annual parliaments and vote by ballot. Bentham believed that there should be no king, no House of Lords and no established church. In Constitutional Code Bentham also includes his view that men and women should be able to vote. Bentham also addressed the problem of how government should be organized and suggests the continual inspection of the work of politicians and government officials. Perhaps Bentham’s most famously noted for his work with Utilitarianism and is noted as the founder of modern utilitarianism. His work can be found in his book The Principles of Morals and Legislation. Utilitarianism is defined as â€Å"a theory in normative ethics holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes utility, specifically defined as maximizing happiness and reducing suffering. † Bentham examined the concept of punishment and when it should be used as far as whether a punishment will create more pleasure or pain for society. He believed that the legislation of a society is vital to maintain the maximum pleasure and the minimum degree of pain for the greatest amount of people. Jeremy Bentham passed away on June 6th 1832 at the age of 84. Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant was born, lived and passed away in his home town of Konigsberg. He lived from 1724 to 1804. He studied at the local university and later returned to tutor and lecture students. It wasn’t until he met an English merchant by the name of Joseph Green that Kant learned of David Hume and began to develop his ideas of morals and values. Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason (1781) is believed to many to be his greatest work. Kant’s was known mainly, however, for his moral code The Categorical Imperative. Immanuel Kant was a follower of Deontology, or duty ethics. Deontology is a theory holding that decisions should be made solely or primarily by considering one’s duties and the rights of others. One of the most important implications of deontology is that a person’s behaviour can be wrong even if it results in the best possible outcome. And, an act can be right even if it results in a bad outcome. In contrast to consequentialism, a philosophy infamous for its claim that the ends justify the means, deontology insists that how people accomplish their goals is usually, or always, more important than what people accomplish. Kant’s moral philosophy is based on the categorical imperative, good will, and duty. According to the categorical imperative, it is an absolute necessity, a command that humans should accord with universalizable maxims to treat people as ends in themselves and exercise their will without any concerns about the consequences or conditions of their actions. This concept can also be expressed in systematic terms by the two following formulations. The first form of the categorical imperative prescribes that we must act only according to that maxim whereby we can at the same time will that it should become a universal law. The second one states that we ought to treat humanity, whether in our own person or in the person of another, always at the same time as an end and never simply as a means. In order to obey the categorical imperative, people have to act on a maxim that can be universalized. For instance, Kant argues that a lying promise is bad since it does not pass the universality test. Whenever a person makes a promise knowing that he will have to break it, he violates the first formulation of the categorical imperative. He intends to make use of another man merely as a means to an end which the latter does not likewise hold. In other words, Kant does not believe that lying promises are bad due to the fact that they generate bad consequences but because they result in a practical contradiction. According to him, people can’t lie since they can’t act for the results. Considering the second formulation of the categorical imperative, we have the need to have others working for us limited to some morality principles without treating them merely as a means. Kant believes that even though we have the ability to create our own ends, we can’t use people for our own devise. If we interfere with others to pursue their end while pursuing our own end, we violate their autonomy. We can’t have double standards for ourselves and for others. It is morally obligatory for us to respect others since people are rational agents. We must respect everyone in the exact same way and treat them as autonomous. As rational beings, humans are systematically united through common laws within the Kingdom of Ends. We belong to this kingdom as a member when we legislate in it universal laws while also being ourselves subject to these laws. According to Kant, everyone, no matter who they are, should be both the legislator and the follower of moral laws. Overall, Kant’s theory emphasizes that no one is an exception to moral laws, that people must act on strongly held beliefs or duties that are not in their own interest, and that we should never use people.

Rhitorical Appeals in Literature Essay

In â€Å"Superman and Me† by Sherman Alexie, the narrator’s claim is that if you do your best to obtain knowledge, even those considered to be low class can flourish and rise up in a world such as ours. In this specific case, the narrator turns his quest for knowledge into a fight to improve his life as well as the lives of his fellow Indian’s. He read whenever possible in hopes that he could escape the poverty of the reservation and make something of himself, unlike the other kids who purposely did bad in class and pretended to be stupid. Sherman Alexie uses the rhetorical appeal of Pathos, or emotion, as well as Ethos, to get his point across. He writes about how when he was a kid, no one was there to help them in school and teach them how to write properly, and how as an adult he Is continuously fighting to help kid’s in the same situation he was once in so that they do not have to go through what he did to succeed and become successful in life. There is no better interpretation of what Alexie is trying to prevent or solve as he himself was in the same situation that he is fighting to end to this day. He says â€Å"I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky. I am trying to save our lives† (Alexie Phar. 8). Throughout his essay, he shows how using his knowledge, arrogance, and luck he manages to â€Å"break out† of the Indian reservation to become a successful writer in an attempt at saving â€Å"our† lives: Not just his life, but the lives of all Indians, both current and future. In the poem â€Å"Crazy Courage† by Alma Luz Villanueva, the author talks about a man named Michael that she met in her fiction class, who, as she later finds out, is a cross dresser. Using the rhetorical appeal Pathos, the author  truly proves her point- that other people’s opinions do not matter so long as you are courageous and confident about yourself. In the poem, Michael seems so courageous, even though he is dressed in woman’s clothes and in front of an entire class, that it â€Å"shocked / the young, seen-it-all MTV crowd / into silence†(Villanueva 20-23). The class was so shocked at the confidence of the person in front of them considering his situation that they couldn’t even speak. In fact, even â€Å"those who would kill him† were impressed at the level of courage he must have had, and the fact that he seemed even happier in the seemingly odd clothes and outfit he was wearing (Villanueva 27). Last but not least is the poem â€Å"Theme for English B† by Langston Hughes. The author Langston Hughes seems to use more of a Logical appeal. While it doesn’t seem to be the most organized Poem, there is without a doubt some sort of claim. While it isn’t necessarily the best example of a claim that relates to knowledge and individual power, it seemed like an interesting poem to write about. In my opinion, the author is trying to show that even though he is of a different race than his white teacher, and even though he is from Harlem, he is just like everyone else. He likes â€Å"to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love. / [He] like[s] to work, read, learn, and understand life†(Hughes 21-22). On the other hand, I feel like this poem has a hidden message, which is that obtaining knowledge is important for him to eventually become as â€Å"free† as his older, white teacher. That is why, in my opinion, he mentions where he went to school and the fact that he is in college to learn, in hopes of getting somewhere in the long run. That is also why, in my opinion, he points out that he is the only colored student in his class. Not necessarily to point out his color or race, but to show that he is one of the few in his race that finds knowledge to be an important thing. Overall, I feel like all of these claims are somewhat valid. The claims in â€Å"Crazy Courage† and â€Å"Superman and Me† are without a doubt true in my opinion, however the claim in â€Å"Theme for English B† seems a bit weak. I’m not quite sure when the third poem was written, however nowadays I feel like the level of colored people obtaining an education is relatively fair. Racism is for the most part nonexistent in at least the northern half of the United States, so that is no longer a problem in our  society here. I feel like if the poem was written recently it would not have been as successful as it was, and you wouldn’t be finding it in text books. Perhaps the poem was written a long time ago so the authors points were valid, however nowadays plenty of colored people are receiving proper educations and going to college.

Native Americans in the United States and African American Cowboys Essay

APUSH, DAY-2-2 TO WHOM AND TO WHAT EXTENT WAS THE AMERICAN WEST A LAND OF OPPORTUNITY 1865 – 1890 During the year of 1865 to 1890, the American’s west land was a land of economic development for Native American, white settlers from the east across the Mississippi farmers, miners, ranchers and as well as African American cowboys and immigrants for Irish and Chines, moving west for goal of economic achievement and their position for profit. First, the Native Americans people opened the way of exploitation of the west land naturel environment. The Dawes Act, which turned Indians into landowners and farmers and distributed 160 acres for farming, designed Indians as individual rather than a group of tribes. The railroad made their trip easier, which Pacific Railroad Act was passed in 186, law allowed construction of new transportation systems. The Act also provided grants of land and limited jobs for immigrants’ worker on railroad, especially Chines immigrants worked for a lower wage and discovered millions of gold and silvers. The immigrants worked for a wealthy white settler in the west. Moreover, the railroad opened faster access for transportation for castles, miners and all the peoples, who were making money. Including the Homestead Act was passed; its offered 160 acres of land for any settlers live on the land for five or more years with little registration fees. It helped poor people to achieve economic business and farmers who needed more land, were permitted to purchase of up to 160 acres of land for $2. 50. The farmers took advantage of Westland by doing international market, which mostly depended on railroads for shipment. Even farmers had difficulties of weather conditions, the produced the agricultural business by the Bonanza farm. The farmers were hopes to getting rich soon. Together with the African American cowboys and cattle industry turned into a new marker as well. Because of Indians on to new reservation and the railroad opportunities bring them easier transportation anywhere in urban markets; without the railroads the new business were take a time to make money . In brief, west land was a place of a new beginning for people who were moving for seeking life and opportunities and hoping to get rich. The wealthy white settlers made the most profit in Westland.

How Does Australias Landscape Depicted in Poetry Essay

Australia is a land of great contrast and diversity, its physical landscape is one of many of its great features, and its diversity is very broad. The poem My Country by Dorothea Mackellar greatly relates to the beauty and size of the Australian landscape. The poems Alcohol by Peter Goldsworthy and Metho-Drinker by Judith Wright relate to the Australia’s attitudes towards the misuse of drugs and alcohol in modern Australian society. These issues are also shown a lot in the movie ‘Beneath Clouds’, directed by Ivan Sen. The poem ‘My country’ describes Australia’s landscape with great extent and shows the author loves for this land using many examples. In this poem the author tries to bring Australia to its simplest form, the use of poetic techniques such as metaphors and similes, or the use of personification. ‘I love her jewel sea’, this metaphor gives the effect of preciousness and shows how special Australia really is to her (Dorothea Mackellar). Another example is the quote ‘the pityless blue sky’, which is personification and gives the blue sky an attitude towards the land beneath them, and of cause it’s referring to Australia’s drought. The land of the rainbow gold†, the author is describing her view of Australia, her love for the country. Another example of how ‘My Country’ depicts the Australian landscape is using alliteration, ‘for flood and fire and famine’, these are all common natural disasters, showing the complexity of the country, the good and bad side. â€Å"All you who have not loved her, you will not understand†, this quote is the author saying that no one will understand her love for the country. Alcohol is a poem that is about the problem of alcohol in society, it is written in a first person form and shows the thoughts of a youth boy using alcohol. The poem is appeals on an emotional level, as it describes the joy of alcohol for teenagers. The quote â€Å"Surf’s up, I said at school. My drinking friends came round†. This quote from the poem really shows the boy’s initial attitude towards alcohol, he is looking back and reflecting his times as a teenage boy. This quote relates to Australia’s diversity as underage drinking is a known problem in today’s society. â€Å"Why such simple stuff work magic in the mind†, this quote gives a good idea of the teenage boy’s perspective of alcohol at the time, he also refers to it as â€Å"a rain hat fell from heaven†, and also â€Å"proof of god†, these references show his love and reliance on alcohol. The poem relates to Australian society very greatly, it shows the perspective of many teenagers in modern society, also it shows how innocent alcohol can look, but still carry the long term effects if abused. Metho Drinker is a poe m about a man that is hopeless and near death due to the misuse of alcohol and methylated spirits. Methylated spirits are often a used drug in Australian society today. Unfortunately 73% of users are aboriginal, and 60% of that are in outback Australia. It is a big problem in today’s society. â€Å"Under the death of winters leaves†, this quote is the first line in the poem, it initially creates miserable visual imagery and sets a sad mood. â€Å"O take from me the weight and waterfall ceaseless time that batters down my weakness; the knives of light†. This quote is describing the man’s view on his life, ‘O take from me the weight’, he is saying take me from this life of hopelessness. He describes the daytime as ‘the knives of light’, he is saying this because the light shows who he has really become. His white and burning girl, his woman of fire, creeps to his heart and sets a candle there†. The quote is referring to methylated spirits being his ‘woman of fire’, a woman generally being a man’s wife and most important thing to them. Also the author uses personification by referring to the ‘metho’ as ‘his white and burning girl’. â€Å"To melt away the flesh that hides from bone, to eat the nerve that tethers him in time†. Now the author is creating a gruesome atmosphere using visual imagery, it is describing the effects of the ‘metho’ on the homeless man. It was for death he took her; death is but this; and yet he is uneasy under her kiss and winces from that acid of her desire†. This quote is the final three lines of the poem, it is describing the man’s attitude towards his problems, and he drank the ‘metho’ in order to take his own life. This poem relates to Australia quite a lot, it shows the perspective of drug addicts, homeless people and alcoholics. There are a lot of problems in Australia regarding unemployment and housing, this creates a very unstable lifestyle for a lot of Australians causing them to lose their homes, family and friends. The movie ‘Beneath Clouds’, directed by Ivan Sen is about two young aboriginal teenagers searching for a better life. Lena, a light-skinned daughter of an Aboriginal mother and Irish father and Vaughn, an aboriginal boy in minimum security prison in North West NSW. Striking events throw them together on a journey with no money and no transport. To Lena, Vaughn represents the life she is running away from. To Vaughn, Lena represents the society that has rejected him. And for a short amount of time they experience happiness together. The movie is set in the outback of New South Wales, showing a very broad landscape background for 70 percent of the movie. It is set like this to show the ‘emptiness’ of the town, and to show how far away general society is. Lena is running away from her family because of the implications that alcohol had on her family. Before she run’s away she looks at a photo of how her family used to be, but previously see the mother drinking and abusing her, and the son getting taken away by the police. Alcohol were being drank by both the mother and father, with empty beer bottles over the house, this showing the abuse of alcohol in that household. Vaughn is a 19 year old aboriginal boy who escapes jail and somehow ends up running away with Lena. During the journey we see a lot of racism, shown evident in three scenes. The woman driving on the road, about to pick Lena up, then see’s Vaughn and drives straight off, the policemen’s attitude towards the aboriginal man’s car and also when Vaughn walks in to the bar, the men’s suddenly find Vaughn suspicious as soon as they see him. This racism is a pure example of Australia and its different perspectives. Australia is a place of6 great diversity and contrast, the poems Alcohol by Peter Goldsworthy, Metho Drinker by Judith Wright and My Country by Dorothea Mackellar prove this in many ways. They show the great beauty of Australia’s landscape, and explore the different problems of Australian society misusing drugs and alcohol. This is also shown in the movie ‘Beneath Clouds’, directed by Ivan Sen.

Breast Cancer : A Common Cancer

Breast Cancer Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in the world. Even though each patient’s condition is different, breast cancer with the same stage tend to have outlooks that are similar to each other, and they are often treated the same way (1). Like other cancers, breast cancer is ordered by stages according to the size of the tumor and how far the cancer has spread. Pathology reports will incorporate information about the stage of the breast cancer. That is, whether it†¦ 7, 2014 Breast cancer in women Breast cancer in women For the purpose of this assignment, I chose breast cancer as it is very common and second leading cause of death among cancers in United States, after heart disease. However, due to the improvement in drugs, technology, early detection and better understanding on the disease, the rates are declining as compare to the past. Some of the common risk factors that can results in breast cancer are women’s age, history of breast cancer, presence†¦ Cancer has been around for a longtime, but breast cancer has become more prevalent in the past ten years, and the second leading cause of death in women. Although breast cancer is a more common factor for women, men can also have breast cancer. However, the survival rate of men is less than that of women with breast cancer. There are different types of breast cancer, however; Ductal Carcinoma Cancer is the most common type of noninvasive breast cancer women experience. The American Cancer Society†¦ Breast cancer is the 2nd most common, occurring cancer in women. By exploring the pathophysiology of breast cancer, one will understand the causes and be able to educate women on how to reduce the risk associated with breast cancer. Concept, System, Anatomy, and Physiology Breast cancer falls under the concept of cellular regulation. The main body system that is affected by breast cancer is the reproductive system. Breast cancer is defined as the unregulated growth of abnormal cells in the breast†¦ Problem With breast cancer awareness month recently passing, breast cancer is getting more attention than it ever was every year. Breast cancer is so prevalent that it is the most common type of cancer among women other than skin cancer. A disease of this caliber has proven to deserve the awareness it is spreading. Breast cancer is developed from harmful tumor cells that occur in the breast. Normally, cells are multiplied appropriately to differentiation, cell division, and growth†¦ Every minutes a woman dies of breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women. Every year, invasive breast cancer is diagnosed in many women alone. Doctors have not been able to find the cure yet. But thanks to nonprofit charities, such as the Susan G. Komen, researchers are receiving enough money that is donated to breast cancer to look deeper and try to find ways to cure and to help prevent such a fatal disease. Early detection of breast cancer helps prevent fatalities among†¦ IORT II. Problem: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer for women. It is when there is a lump in the breast that contains cancer cells. Some lumps do not contain cancer cells though. The doctor will have to diagnose someone with breast cancer. Breast cancer is one of the top ten leading causes of death in females. Even males can get breast cancer. At least 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. In 2011 40,000 women died of breast cancer. Breast cancer is genetic. That†¦ Cancer occurs as a result of mutations in the genes responsible for regulating the growth of cells and keeping them healthy. Normally, the cells in our bodies replace themselves , healthy new cells take over as old ones die out but, over time, mutations can â€Å"turn on† certain genes and â€Å"turn off† others in a cells. That changed cell gains the ability to keep dividing without control or order, producing more cells like it and forming a tumor. Breast cancer refers to a malignant tumor that has†¦ women with breast cancer since 1895 (x-ray) 1956 (ultrasound) 1977 (MRI), and 1992 (mammogram). They have all been very beneficial to women. Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women. About one of three cancers are diagnosed. Cancer is a group of diseases that cause cells in the body to change and grow out of control. Most cancers will form a lump or mass in the breast, which is called a tumor. It is named after a part of the body where the tumor originates. Breast cancer begins in†¦ Abstract Breast cancer remains the most common type of cancer diagnosed in women in the United States. It is the second most common cancer death with lung cancer being the first. African American women have a higher incidence of dying from the disease than any other race or ethnical group. For many years, it was thought that this was due to African American women not having access to the same health benefits as those of other races and that it was often found at a more advanced state. Though there†¦

Methods Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Methods - Research Paper Example The design also involves administration of pre and post examination test to measure the fluid levels among the participants (Nationaltechcenter.org, 2013). For this study, a non-equivalent control-group design will be used to allow the researcher to compare the measurements of treatment group with the measurements recorded by the control group. This is intended to determine if there is a variance in in the level of dehydration that can be associated with the administration of diuretics. The control group in this study will be a group of 40 patients suffering from hypertension, who will not be allowed to use diuretics for a controlled period of time within the acceptable medical standards. A pretest will be done on them to measure the level of hydration before the experiment is done and a posttest carried out later. Treatment group in this case will involve another group of 40 hypertension patients who will undergo pretest to measure their level of hydration, then issued with diuretic tablets. A posttest examination will then be carried out on the treatment group to determine level of dehydration. ... Sample and Setting This study will involve a sample size of 80 patients suffering from high blood pressure and are between age 40 and 55. The sample size will be divided into two groups, one being a control group and the other being treatment group. This group of people was chosen because of their health condition and the fact that people with hypertension conditions are medically allowed to use diuretics under prescription of the doctors to help them lose fluids that are retained as a result of their conditions. The study will be carried out at Agha Khan Hospital during clinics schedules in collaboration with the hospital’s administration and the doctors’ guidance. The choice of this setting is influenced by the high turnover number of the blood pressure patients who visit the hospital on a daily basis and the availability of doctors to monitor the control group in case of any effect as a result of the planned temporary deprivation of diuretics. Description of the Powe r Analysis This study used G Power software for the power analysis. This helps to avoid trial-and-error method of finding a sufficient sample size, G Power allowed imputing the desired power of 0.8 as directed together with the given alpha value, which is 0.5 and expected effect size of 0.3 to generate the minimum sample size needed. The power analyzed here gives the probability of whether to accept or reject the null hypothesis. It should be noted that effect size is of 0.3 indicates that there was a small effect. The alpha of 0.5 shows the error or 95% confidence level in the data used or that the researcher is willing to accept a possibility of a 5% chance in the results. Quasi experiments control the intervening variables, since there is a controlled administration of the diuretics to

Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Their Eyes Were Watching God - Essay Example ingless and theme less, and further added, â€Å"Miss Hurston voluntarily continues in her role the tradition which was forced upon the negro in the theater, that is, the minstrel technique that makes the ‘white folks’ laugh† (cited in Lester, 3). It was regarded by many that Hurston had exploited the cause of her own people by not correctly portraying the picture of the injustice and sufferings meted out to the blacks by their white owners. It was only in the 1970’s after another African-American writer Alice Walker of ‘The Color Purple’ fame, took an interest in Hurston and championed her cause, did the literary world of that age sit up and take notice. After Walker published an essay in Ms. Magazine â€Å"In Search of Zora Neale Hurston,† it pushed Hurston’s works back into the limelight, and soon there were many prints and reprints of her writings. This article will review the book ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ b y Hurston and will present a critical analysis on it by discussing her writing style and her manner of representing the novel’s chief protagonist. It will also review other authors’ reviews and analysis on Hurston and her novel ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’. Analysis of Zora Neale Hurston and her writing style: Zora Neale Hurston was born on 7th January 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama. Her father, John Hurston was a preacher and a carpenter, while her mother Lucy Hurston, was a schoolteacher. Soon, the family moved to Eatonville in Florida, a town famous for having the first black incorporated Municipality. Hurston completed her graduation from Harvard University and it is from here that she embarked on her writing career in 1921. Soon she moved to New York and became a prominent figure in the then famous ‘Harlem Renaissance’ writing group. Hurston was also an anthropologist, and in fact, her experiences in Eatonville and her researches into old folktales of the black population which influenced much of her writings.

The importance of analysis and analytical skills to the manager making Essay

The importance of analysis and analytical skills to the manager making decisions in business - Essay Example From this research it is clear that the importance of analysis and analytical skills to the manager making decisions in a business cannot be refuted. This is more so in today’s rapidly changing business environment and the availability of â€Å"too much† information due to the convergence of information technology, media and telecommunications. As is in life or any other important event in our lives, before embarking on a project planning is the first thing that managers have to do. As the clichà © goes, failure to plan is planning to fail. Planning involves a series of decisions that may range from operational to strategic. Project planning is a subset of operational planning whose core aim is to come up with a document referred to as a project plan. Within the project plan, managers and other stakeholders who were involved in the planning process define the objectives of the project, its scope, how the project will be conducted, the time allocated, cost estimates and roles and responsibilities of all the personnel who will be involved. Project planning involves four main steps that can be subdivided into additional steps depending on the task at hand. These steps are: establishing project goals, setting project deliverables, agreeing on project schedule and ensuring that there are support plans in place. The advantages of project planning are derived from each of these steps. In step one, stakeholders are identified, there needs outlined and project goals are set prioritizing the stakeholder needs. The advantage of this is that the outcomes are SMART goals which imply that it will be easy to detect whether the project is advancing, stagnant or regressing. Step two specifies the items to be delivered, how they are to be delivered and when they should be delivered. This advantage of this stage is that it sets up the key parameters that can be optimised using software tools to design the most effective and efficient project schedule. With a pletho ra of project management software currently in the market managers can easily identify critical path. Step two and three enable managers to balance the â€Å"tetrad trade-off† of: product scope, quality grade, time-to-produce and cost-to-complete. The final step of setting up support plans involves establishing risk management plans, communications plans and HR plans. The advantages here are numerous such as: having contingencies in place in case of anything, ensuring information goes to the right people during project implementation and using HR allocation to aid in establishing the project budget. There are also disadvantages to project planning such as: (1) at times it may take too long to come up with a plan – as rival companies catch up; (2) at times the planning committee may get lose sight of the purpose of the planning as they get bogged down in unnecessary detailing; and (3) it may lower implementation flexibility – which is dangerous in a rapidly chang ing environment – since personnel will may feel restricted by the options availed in the plan. 2.0. Financial modelling Investopedia (2011) defines financial modelling

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) PATHWAY (NURSING PATHWAY) Essay - 1

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) PATHWAY (NURSING PATHWAY) - Essay Example The paper will be focused on two main parts. The first part will focus on a central patient in the central case. The second part, focusing on the justification of the methods will examine two different cases involve biological, psycholical and social factors relevant to ensuring the success of the ERAS framework. Joan is a 30-year old Caucasian lady of Anglo-Saxon origins married with two children aged between 3 and 5. She is an administrator at one of UK’s financial service entities. Joan has to go through a surgical operation for Appendicitis in a middle-sized medical hospital in South London. Joan has been told she will be discharged after 1 to 3 days and it will take 1 week to 1 month for the wounds to be healed fully and totally so she can return to normal life. Joan smokes one to three sticks of cigarettes a day and drinks alcohol occasionally. The standardised procedure for dealing with Enhanced Recovery After Surgery is steeped in the process of the ERAS society which asserts that a nurse or healthcare practitioner should do three main things as a general framework: These important information forms the basis for the evaluation and conduct of the operation. However, after the operation, there is the need for various degrees of the management of the impact of the operation through a given framework. The important elements and aspects of the post-operative management include amongst other things: This means that the broad framework of the strategy to be used will be one that will relieve the immediate pain and complications of the cuts in the surgical process (Ropper, 2010). It will focus on providing post-anaesthetic care and get Joan to be ushered into an era of recovery. Once the operation is done, there must be regular checks for complications that might need to be dealt with as a peculiar case relating to the patient (Alio-Sanz & Azar, 2009). Finally,

Discuss the economic and social significance of interracial marriages Research Paper

Discuss the economic and social significance of interracial marriages and families - Research Paper Example In the opinion of Root â€Å"while hate, fear, and anger are common responses to interracial marriage and have powerful short-term affects, love has proved a formidable opponent† (Root, 1). However, the degree to which interracial marriages are affected by distinctions of values, habits, raising children, friends, in-laws etc are found to be greater than any other type of marriage (Interracial Marriages). As Roots (43) believes subtle difference between caste and class is enough for causing higher hostility between interracial partners than others. To illustrate, the couples of interracial marriages often share different ethical values which lead to disagreements and conflicts among them. The difference in eating habits and type of food consumed are found to be one of the major problems encountered by couples particularly in interracial marriages. In addition, they share different notions on the preparation methods and the way of consumption. Interracial couples encounter diss imilarities and unlike views in their outlook and gender roles. The western and non-western societies have distinct outlook on the role of women in family and society. The extent of liberty and freedom enjoyed by women also influences the relationship of interracial couples. When individuals of different societies with dissimilar races bind in the relationship of marriage, they often fail to play their roles effectively. The expectation of higher dignity and consideration from other races often persuade individuals to get into interracial relationships. But this over expectation and other moral disagreements restrict the success of interracial marriages. Thus gender role expectations significantly influence the decisions and actions of interracial couples (Interracial Marriages). The root cause for the problems out of interracial marriages is that it is not accepted and encouraged by the society. The society tends to classify people on their races and culture. As a result, interraci al couples usually encounter problems including lack of friends and well-wishers in the society. They tend to maintain less interaction with society or remain isolated from the society. The in-laws of interracial couples have different views on the lives of their children which also will directly influence the relationship of interracial couples. Most of the problems of interracial marriages start when it comes to the upbringing of children born to them. The method of child rearing differs from one race to the other. They often find trouble with choosing the best strategies for their children’s development. Furthermore, interracial marriages are found to have great impact on the lives of their multicultural children too. For instance, the children of interracial couple normally face discrimination and inequality in society and sometimes even at home. They face challenges on their racial identity; and often fail to categorize them into a particular group. Moreover, there may b e pressure from parental side to choose a particular identity while the child may wish to pursue the other one. In addition, there may also be a situation of agreement of child and parents for a particular racial identity but when the society may not accept it. Children get mentally disturbed and annoyed with unfairness and inequity at the school level. Racism becomes one of the key issues in the school environments. Children of interra

EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF THE IMERGING OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY IN GHANA(CAN Essay

EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF THE IMERGING OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY IN GHANA(CAN GHANA AVOID A RESOURSE CURSE) - Essay Example Whether or not Ghana’s current institutional framework will be capable of meeting the challenges posed by oil exploitation, and will be able to use this opportunity to bring greater prosperity and stability to the country, is a difficult question. In this paper, the reasons why other oil producers have failed to make a success of this industry will be examined. Having made this analysis, recommendations will be given for how Ghana can channel its new mineral wealth into strong economic growth and an improvement in living standards across the country. Contents 1. Introduction 1.1 West African Oil Production 1.2 Western Interests 1.3 Advantages of West African Oil 1.4 The ‘Resource Curse’ 1.5 Ghana 1.6 Oil Exploitation in Ghana 1.7 Drilling Begins 1.8 Chinese Interest 2. Literature Review 2.1 Ghana’s Success 2.2 Kosmos-Exxon Mobil Contract 2.3 Warnings of a Resource Curse 2.4 The Beginnings of Insurgency 2.5 Excessive Borrowing 2.6 The Nigerian Experience 3. Methodology 3.1 Choice of Subject 3.2 Data Collection and Analysis 4. Recommendations 4.1 Democracy 4.2 Transparency and Accountability 4.3 Investor Confidence 4.4 Role of Foreign Oil Companies and Governments 4.5 Revenue Management 4.6 A Diverse Economy 5. Conclusion Bibliography Figures Fig.1. Sources of U.S. Oil Imports, 2007 Fig.2. Ghana’s offshore oil fields. Fig.3. ... line from landlocked Chad to coastal Cameroon, and new explorations for potential oil fields on the Atlantic coast were signs that the region was becoming one of the West’s major oil suppliers. There is a general consensus that the proven reserves of West Africa are greater than those of either North American or Eastern Europe and Russia, and current major suppliers are Nigeria, Angola, Congo (Brazzaville), Gabon and Cameroon. Indeed, Nigeria is the world’s sixth largest provider of oil, and Angola will probably prove to have more oil than Kuwait. In response to increased Western demand for oil, it is expected that Nigeria and Angola, the region’s two biggest producers, will double or even triple their output in the course of the next decade. 1.2 Western Interests During the Cold War, the United States in particularly was heavily engaged in Africa in a strategic and military capacity, as part of its fight against global communism. Its administrations were determi ned that the Soviet Union would be able to find extensive allies in the region. Economic assistance was offered through the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), both of which are heavily influenced by the United States government. United States engagement also the form of military intervention, in regions where Communist insurgencies threatened capitalist governments, regardless of whether or not the latter were setting an example of good governance. In Angola, for example, the United States launched covert and overt CIA and special forces operations, in collusion with several different groups, and was concerned above all that Communist forces in the country should not gain control over the oil reserves. This often involved supporting unrepresentative governments in Luanda or the

5 Paragraph Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

5 Paragraph - Essay Example All utility things like automobiles, washing machine, refrigerators etc. breaks down when they are most needed. Indeed, the uncanny coincidence of their breakdown forces one to realize that these objects have a mind of their own which they use for optimal impact against man. Things like personal items have innate tendency of getting lost at the eleventh hour! Gloves, pliers, keys of car, house, locker etc. tend to disappear from their normal place when they are needed urgently. Interestingly, they are often found in the places least expected like the long forgotten corner of the wardrobe or under the mattress of unused bed. How and when they get to be there has remained the mystery for all. Most profound is the knowledge of the objects which refuse to perform their duty once they are brought home by their masters. Cigarette lighters, toys, car clocks etc. are major items that only work once and thereafter refuse to show their talent again. This is perhaps the only category of objects that man has been able to demystify and therefore is less likely to get upset with. One can therefore succinctly state that society of inanimate objects has been successful in declaring their hostility against man. Objects of first two categories show that inanimate things are psychologically much advanced and know how to test human patience or indeed, increase their blood pressure to achieve their objective. Man needs to be much more aware of their cunning intentions so that he is equipped with alternatives that would defeat the evil intentions of the inanimate