Hide and Seek

Ion the poem Hide and Seek, Vernon Scannell makes excellent use of all the sense to bring out the great excitement children usually experience whenever they play this ever- green game. The fact that short sentences are used in rapid succession and that the poem seems to have been written in one short stanza also contribute to this feeling. The persona is the one being sought, so he hides himself in the toolshed at the bottom of the garden making sure that his feet â€Å"aren’t sticking out†.The place smells salty because of the sacks of sand and both the floor and air feel damp and cold. As the seekers draw stealthily close, the poet is almost afraid to breathe and automatically closes his eyes as if by doing so, it would be difficult for his friends to find him. Time passes, the poet feels stiff, cold and uncomfortable so he decides to come out of his hiding place only to find that the other children have long abandoned the search and left him alone in the dark shed. à ¢â‚¬Å"The bushes hold their breath: the sun is gone. Yes here you are. But where are they who sought you?†?Although this poem is basically a poem about childhood recollections, a moral can still be learnt form it: namely that in life, when success seems to be within easy reach, we should not allow ourselves to feel too over-confident as we might end up losing all and feeling bitterly disappointed. Diction (The writer’s choice of words) The poem starts with the imperative verb ‘call’. Examples of words in the imperative are ‘ call out’ ‘call loud’ ‘be careful’, ‘don’t breathe’, ‘don’t move’, ‘stay dumb’, ‘hide’, ‘push pff’, ‘uncurl’, ‘stretch’, ‘come and own up’.In the poem, these words/verbs in the imperative form are very important because they are showing the expertise of this boy at play in this well -loved game. It is almost as if the boy is instructing the reader as to how we should play the game as well as we possible can, in order not to be caught. In â€Å"be careful that your feet aren’t sticking out† the young persona/the young child is giving us readers a good piece of advice – he wants to make sure that he makes the search for him a very difficult one. This shows that he wanted to be the winner at all costs. This shows that he wants to be the winner at all costs.In fact, in the next line, â€Å"Wiser not to risk another shout. † The boy is again giving advice, showing that the risk of being caught is very much possible since his friends might be close by. The adjective ‘cold’ is repeated twice in the poem, whilst we also have the word ‘damp’ to show the discomfort that the boy was feeling. In this poem we also have words like, ‘musn’t sneeze’, ‘whispering’, ‘hushed’, â₠¬Ëœdumb’, ‘mutters’ and all the words show the excitement felt by the boy, when he was being sought by his friends, he tries to avoid any sort of noise, even going as far to say, ‘don’t breathe’.There is only one stanza in this poem and there are four instances of rhyming couplets, ‘out’ and ‘shout’, ‘door’ and ‘before’, ‘land’ and again’ and ‘coat’ and ‘throat’. The fact that there is little rhyme in thus poem is indicative of the excitement being felt by the boy as he lies in hiding. The poem is very rich in figures of speech. From the very first line we find alliteration of the letter/consonant ’c’. This alliteration almost makes the call of the boy even more audible in our minds and it also gives the poem a certain vibrant feeling from the very start.We also have alliteration in the second line, ‘sacks in the toolshed smell like the seaside’’ with the letter/consonant ‘s’ and the effect that this creates is very much like the sound of the sea upon the shore, bringing about the olfactory image of the sea to mind. The soothing sound effect created by the alliteration of the letter ‘s ‘ brings to mind a feeling of calmness and serenity; a feeling that is extended in the following line when the persona says, ‘they’ll never find you in this salty dark’ meaning that he is calm because he knows that he is safe.The alliteration of the letter/consonants in ‘sound so’ almost enables us readers to hear the low voices and the increasing silence as the tension mounts. The alliteration of the consonant ‘d’ in ‘don’t breathe’ and ‘don’t move’ brings out the sense of urgency and heightened excitement felt/experienced by the boy. We also have alliteration in ‘dark damp’, ‘smel l of sand’ and in both these instances it is the alliteration of the letter ‘s’ which makes us almost feel the coarseness of the sand in the young child’s throat.The poem is also rich in personification where inanimate objects are being human qualities. For example: ‘cold bites’ this figure of speech makes us realize just how cold and uncomfortable this boy was feeling as he lay on the cold floor. The personification ‘darkening garden watches’ shows that the only thing greeting our winner in a dark garden, whilst in the next line, ‘the bushes hold their breath’ this personification not only reminds us of the effort done by the boy in order to avoid those who sought him, but also portrays the silence that surrounds the boy once he emerged from his hiding place.The very last in the poem sums up the disappoint felt by the persons, as soon as he realizes that all his friends had abandoned the search long before. Indeed th e feeling is one of bitter disappointment and although this is basically a poem about childhood recollections, a moral can still be learnt from it, namely that in life, when success seems to be within easy reach, we should not allow ourselves to feel over- confident as we might end up be losing everything and feeling completely empty, and disillusioned losers. Theme of childhood ï » ¿Hide and Seek Ion the poem Hide and Seek, Vernon Scannell makes excellent use of all the sense to bring out the great excitement children usually experience whenever they play this ever- green game. The fact that short sentences are used in rapid succession and that the poem seems to have been written in one short stanza also contribute to this feeling. The persona is the one being sought, so he hides himself in the toolshed at the bottom of the garden making sure that his feet â€Å"aren’t sticking out†.The place smells salty because of the sacks of sand and both the floor and air feel damp and cold. As the seekers draw stealthily close, the poet is almost afraid to breathe and automatically closes his eyes as if by doing so, it would be difficult for his friends to find him. Time passes, the poet feels stiff, cold and uncomfortable so he decides to come out of his hiding place only to find that the other children have long abandoned the search and left him alone in the dark shed. à ¢â‚¬Å"The bushes hold their breath: the sun is gone. Yes here you are. But where are they who sought you?†Although this poem is basically a poem about childhood recollections, a moral can still be learnt form it: namely that in life, when success seems to be within easy reach, we should not allow ourselves to feel too over-confident as we might end up losing all and feeling bitterly disappointed. Diction (The writer’s choice of words) The poem starts with the imperative verb ‘call’. Examples of words in the imperative are ‘ call out’ ‘call loud’ ‘be careful’, ‘don’t breathe’, ‘don’t move’, ‘stay dumb’, ‘hide’, ‘push pff’, ‘uncurl’, ‘stretch’, ‘come and own up’.In the poem, these words/verbs in the imperative form are very important because they are showing the expertise of this boy at play in this well- loved game. It is almost as if the boy is instructing the reader as to how we should play the game as well as we possible can, in order not to be caught. In â€Å"be careful that your feet aren’t sticking out† the young persona/the young child is giving us readers a good piece of advice – he wants to make sure that he makes the search for him a very difficult one. This shows that he wanted to be the winner at all costs. This shows that he wants to be the winner at all costs.In fact, in the next line, â€Å"Wiser not to risk another shout. † The boy is again giving advice, showing that the risk of being caught is very much possible since his friends might be close by. The adjective ‘cold’ is repeated twice in the poem, whilst we also have the word ‘damp’ to show the discomfort that the boy was feeling. In this poem we also have words like, ‘musn’t sneeze’, ‘whispering’, ‘hushed’, †˜dumb’, ‘mutters’ and all the words show the excitement felt by the boy, when he was being sought by his friends, he tries to avoid any sort of noise, even going as far to say, ‘don’t breathe’.There is only one stanza in this poem and there are four instances of rhyming couplets, ‘out’ and ‘shout’, ‘door’ and ‘before’, ‘land’ and again’ and ‘coat’ and ‘throat’. The fact that there is little rhyme in thus poem is indicative of the excitement being felt by the boy as he lies in hiding. The poem is very rich in figures of speech. From the very first line we find alliteration of the letter/consonant ’c’. This alliteration almost makes the call of the boy even more audible in our minds and it also gives the poem a certain vibrant feeling from the very start.We also have alliteration in the second line, ‘sacks in the toolshed smell like the seaside’’ with the letter/consonant ‘s’ and the effect that this creates is very much like the sound of the sea upon the shore, bringing about the olfactory image of the sea to mind. The soothing sound effect created by the alliteration of the letter ‘s ‘ brings to mind a feeling of calmness and serenity; a feeling that is extended in the following line when the persona says, ‘they’ll never find you in this salty dark’ meaning that he is calm because he knows that he is safe.The alliteration of the letter/consonants in ‘sound so’ almost enables us readers to hear the low voices and the increasing silence as the tension mounts. The alliteration of the consonant ‘d’ in ‘don’t breathe’ and ‘don’t move’ brings out the sense of urgency and heightened excitement felt/experienced by the boy. We also have alliteration in ‘dark damp’, ‘smell of sand’ and in both these instances it is the alliteration of the letter ‘s’ which makes us almost feel the coarseness of the sand in the young child’s throat.The poem is also rich in personification where inanimate objects are being human qualities. For example: ‘cold bites’ this figure of speech makes us realize just how cold and uncomfortable this boy was feeling as he lay on the cold floor. The personification ‘darkening garden watches’ shows that the only thing greeting our winner in a dark garden, whilst in the next line, ‘the bushes hold their breath’ this personification not only reminds us of the effort done by the boy in order to avoid those who sought him, but also portrays the silence that surrounds the boy once he emerged from his hiding place.The very last in the poem sums up the disappoint felt by the persons, as soon as he realizes that all his friends had abandoned the search long before. Indeed the feeling is one of bitter disappointment and although this is basically a poem about childhood recollections, a moral can still be learnt from it, namely that in life, when success seems to be within easy reach, we should not allow ourselves to feel over- confident as we might end up be losing everything and feeling completely empty, and disillusioned losers. Theme of childhood

Abraham Lincoln, Melungeon or Myth? Essay

Some historian believe that Abraham Lincoln was born an illegitimate child to Abraham Enloe and Nancy Hanks. It is possible that Abraham Lincoln could be tied to the Melungeon heritage through both of his parents? Many growing number of historians believe that Abraham Lincoln possess many qualities that distinguishes him as a Melungeon, and in fact believe that he is a direct descendant. The questioning of his parentage generates much interest and theories in regards to this great Presidents past. Abraham Lincoln was born February 12, 1908. His father was â€Å"said to be† Thomas Lincoln and his mother Nancy Hanks. He was born in a log cabin in Sinking Springs, in Hardin County Kentucky. After the death of his mother, his father remarried a wonderful lady named Sarah Bush. Abraham loved his step-mother and became very close to her and her 3 children. Despite his relationship with step-mother Sarah, Abraham did not maintain a good relationship with his father because of his resentment he held towards him having to turn all his wages over to him by some sort of law. Because of Lincoln’s hatred of slavery, which denied to slaves the â€Å"fruits of the labor† (McPherson 3), some people believe it may have influenced Thomas Lincoln expropriation of Abrahams’ earnings. Their relationship became so strained that when his father called him to his death bed, Lincoln refused to make the 80 miles trip to see him. His father died with no goodbyes given. Despit e Lincolns troubled and humble beginnings, he was able to self-educate himself, mainly by reading lots of books and became a very successful lawyer. In the American peoples’ eyes, Lincoln’s tale of â€Å"rags to riches†, is the ultimate â€Å"American† success story (Steers, Edward). There have been many myths, hoaxes and misconceptions regarding one of our greatest President throughout the years. During his early political career there was lots negative campaigning that was used to the taint his  campaign, just like we see and hear of today. Charges of illegitimacy were often hinted at because of the negative effect it had on the accused. â€Å"Illegitimate† people were considered defective. Lincoln’s paternity has long been in question due to the knowledge that a bastard son was born to a man named Abraham Enloe (Barton 18). The mother of the baby boy was a servant girl who worked in the Enloe household name Nancy Hanks (Lincoln’s mother). The question of his parentage generated much interest because of this claim and because Lincoln himself was reluctant to comment on his father and mother. Folks believed that it served as some sort of evidence of his knowledge and shame of his illegitimate birth. Authors Kennedy, N. Brent, and Robyn Vau ghan Kennedy. The Melungeons: the resurrection of a proud people: an untold story of ethnic cleansing in America. 2nd, rev., and corr. ed. Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 1997. Print. Presents the question of whether or not Abraham Lincoln was Melungeon himself, making him the first Melungeon (tri-racial) President. According to Ely Gallegos (a research team member), there is a great deal of circumstantial evidence that Lincoln shared a Melungeon heritage, possibly through both parents. Lincoln’s family fits the Melungeon model very well. Lincoln’s paternal grandfather also named Abraham Lincoln, immigrated with his wife Bathsheba Herring and their 5 children to Kentucky. Why would an established settler leave the beautiful Shenandoah Valley for the wild, untamed lands of Indian-dominated Kentucky? Money? Possibly a Melungeon movement? Lincoln’s father features also fit the description of a Melungeon. His mother, Nancy Hanks was born an illegitimate child to Lucy Hanks. H istory has no record of the identity of Nancy’s father. Nancy also had many characteristics of a non-Anglo (Sandburg 30). Her hair dark, dark brown, keen little gray eyes, outstanding forehead, somewhat accented chin and cheek bones and a body of slender build. Because of the geographical location of the Lincoln’s family and outstanding questions of Lincoln’s heritage, this leads to the theory of many researchers that Lincoln could possibly be a Melungeon himself. If true, this would make Abraham Lincoln the first (tri-racial) President. Brent Kennedy, an author who wrote the book â€Å"The Melungeons†, a spent a great deal of time writing about a time of â€Å"ethnic cleansing in American† and shares details on how the Melungeons seemed to disappear during the time of the first â€Å"census taking†. Because of their tri-racial ethnicity, they  did not fit under any category listed on the Census, so for â€Å"recordkeeping† purposes, they were categorized as either melotos/white/Indian/Africa Am erican, when in fact they were â€Å"all†. Melungeons were suggested to be descendants from â€Å"tri-racial isolates† (Los Angeles Times), a mixture of whites, blacks and American Indian who historians say interbred along Appalchia’s ridges during the 18th centuries. Old documents and stories passed down throught the generations tell a tale of â€Å"Portugese† Berbers, â€Å"sheperd-like† people who came to American in ships. They were proposed to be decendants of early Portuese, Spanish, Sephardic Jewish Mulims, Moorish, and/or Gypsy/Roma colonish in the southeastern United States (Kennedy 1997; Hirschman 2005; Price 1953), that were exiled from Spain and Portugal through a religious witch-hunt know as the â€Å"Spanish Inquisition†. Many of them settled in the hills of the Appalachian Mountians. Over time The Melugeons, were pushed off their lands, denied their rights, murdered, mistreated and became an embittered and nearly defeated people. They tried to fit in with Anglo neighbors, but lost their heritaage, their culture, their names and their original religion, but not their genetic structure. Many folks who believed themselves to be of Melungeons decendant, have become a part of â€Å"on-going† research which even includes giving blood samples. There continues to be actual on-going Melungeon DNA studies still taking place still today. Lincoln’s paternity has long been in question due to the knowledge that a bastard son was born to a man named Abraham Enloe (Barton 18). The mother of the baby boy, was a servant girl who worked in the Enloe household named Nancy Hanks (Lincoln’s mother). The question of his parentage generated much interest and because Lincoln himself was reluctant to comment on his father and mother. Folks believed that served as some sort of evidence of his knowledge and shame of his illegitimate birth. During his campaign many people tried to use this information against him. They tried to discredit him, by calling him â€Å"illegitimate†. Many people still today are interested in the fact that Abraham Lincoln may been the fir st â€Å"tri-racial† President. A couple hundred years later after his birth, there are still many unanswered questions regarding Abraham Lincoln. â€Å"Robert Ingersoll said it best. â€Å"Lincoln, he proclaimed† was a not a-type, He stands alone-no ancestors, no fellows, no successors†. Even the word Melungeon became a most disparging term. To be legally classified as a  Melungeon, meant to be â€Å"Nobody at all†. What would it have meant for Abraham Lincoln, a â€Å"self-educated†, depressed human being, born in a one room cabin to illegitmate parents to be labeled a â€Å"Melungeon†? Would the American people have voted for him? Did Lincoln’s passionate spirit to â€Å"free the slaves† come deep from within or did it come from darker place then anybody could ever have imagined? Just how different would the pages of our history books read, if people would have truly believed that Abraham Lincoln was a â€Å"Nobody†, a Melungeon? Work Cited Alexander, J. Trent, Chad Berry, Beth Bissmeyer, Donna Corriher, Rodger Cunningham, Damon Falke, Steve Fisher, William Gorgy, Jesse Graves, Margaret Gregor, Elizabeth Hirschman, John Lang, Robert Ludke, Irene McKinney, Lindsey Martin, Phillip Obermiller, Eric Rademacher, Mark Roberts, Emily Satterwhite, Barbara Smith, Shilah Turner, Jennifer Westerman, David Whisnant, and Donal Yates. â€Å"Appalachian Journal: A Regional Studies Review.† Toward a Genetic Profile of Melungeons in South Appalachia 38 (2010)111. Print. Kennedy, N. Brent, and Robyn Vaughan Kennedy. The Melungeons: the resurrection of a proud people: an untold story of ethnic cleansing in America. 2nd, rev., and corr. ed. Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 1997. Print. McPherson, James M.. Abraham Lincoln. Oxford: Oxford University Press,2009. Print. Sandler, Martin W.. Lincoln through the lens: how photography revealed and shaped an extraordinary life. New York: Walker Pub. Co., 2008. Print. Steers, Edward. Lincoln legends myths, hoaxes, and confabulations associated with our greatest president. â€Å"Lincoln’s Father: The Paternity of Abraham Lincoln†. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2007.14-28 Print.

Gender Stratification & Women

Gender stratification and women in developing nations is a serious issue women struggle to overcome. They are not respected by their own husbands let alone others within their communities. Women are forced to work in deplorable conditions with no financial rewards. They are denied jobs, education, healthcare and resources to provide good healthy homes for their children. Even in the United States where women are independent and hold many male-dominated professions there are still situation of gender discrimination. Developing† nation is a word often used to describe underdeveloped, peripheral, or less developed countries. Women constantly struggle to hold their own in these developing nations. The responsibility to care for and support their families along with the added burden of finding the resources to accomplish it makes life hard on women in these countries. In 1960 The Modernization Theory was introduced to these countries encouraging the change from traditional, technologically simple to the modern industrialized nation. The theory was to provide these nations with the technological knowledge to develop â€Å"Western-style institutions and market-based economies. † Policymakers based their theory on statistic from Europe and the United States as a basis for establishing standard economic and political policies. The developing nations found the theory to have little association with the experiences of their countries. In response to the push for modernization theory, the development of the dependency theory came about. Clearly this push for development was to come at the expense of the host country. These countries began producing their own goods so they were not dependent on the developed nations. The view of the dependency theory was that developed nations found it beneficial for these countries to remain underdeveloped. Whereas big corporations often relied on the natural resources and cheap labor, found in these countries, to maximize their profits (Wermuth & Monges, 2002). The role that women play in developing nations, such as Africa, is very important. However, women are not given credit for their contribution to the development taking place. Unrecognized as full partners either in the family or in society, women have been denied equal access to education, job training, employment, health care, ownership and political power† (Anunobi, 2003, p. 62). The effects of economical and political problems in Africa make life difficult for men and women. The societal concerns of their community include the lack of opportunity, poverty, and inequality within their countries. The female is generally the main supporter of the family, she is responsible for the children and making sure they are fed and cared for. The increased establishment of commercialized agriculture has added to the burden of these women. The men were provided with commercial opportunities by selling their crops for money, and acting on their rights to land and the labor of their wives for their own benefit. In some areas men have many wives to work their land as free labor, and they are not obligated to share their profits with the family. â€Å"Gender bias is especially pernicious in African nations where most of women’s activity takes place in the non-wage economy† (Anunobi, 2003, p. 9). Womens’ work was basically for survival and not wage earning therefore they were not seen as being economically productive. The men used their wives and children as laborers in their family fields to produce crops taken into town and sold from money. The wife was forced to perform the domestic duties for her husband and yet she was not able to claim any share of his income. This gave further opportunity for men to expand their land ownership and financial stability. However, the burden of caring for the family was placed on the female. Unable to obtain jobs of their own many women resorted to selling sex, food, or other domestic services to other men to support their families. â€Å"In parts of the region, rural tribal authorities were given the right to prevent unmarried women and children from moving to the towns, and urban authorities had the power to send those who defied such restrictions back to the villages† (Anunobi, 2003, p. 67). This left women virtually helpless against the stronger more powerful men of their nation. Unable to own property or be a part of decision making for their families, these women themselves have become a orm of property to be controlled. It was purely a survival tactic for women to stay with their husbands because, if divorced, they had no rights to the wealth that she helped her husband to obtain thus further compounding her economic vulnerability. â€Å"Gender bias or gender discrimination is thus a fundamental cause of poverty in its various forms it prevents hundreds of millions of women from obtaining the education, training, health services, childcare, and legal status needed to escape from poverty† (Anunobi, 2003, p. 69). This bias against women is a major contributor to the high birth rates in the developing nations. Unable to control their family income or have access to productive resources, the children are forms of social status and economic security for these women. To reduce the number of children being born into poverty is to increase the womans’ productivity and give her control over resources. â€Å"In poor households, women and girls are generally allocated less food than men and boys; two thirds of the world’s illiterate adults are women. Women tend to be more malnourished, less educated and less involved in public decision making than men† (Alvarez-Castillo & Feinholz, 2006, p. 115). It is clear to see that women in poor developing countries have very little command over productive resources. Women are not able to obtain title to land in their own name and have no legal right to the land of their husbands. Even upon the death of a husband, the widow has no legal right to the marital property. It is the combination of all these disadvantages against women in developing nations that keep them from gaining independence and self control. Women were seen and not heard, as they did not complain or disagree with their husband as they were oftentimes beaten. In an effort to combat these inequalities the poor and peasant women formed self help groups to aid one another in their efforts toward equality. It is these groups that provid economic assistance, credit for farming, childcare and, assistance toward business ventures. The husbands were powerless over these groups of women, unlike the power they hold over their wives. The women’s groups made huge strides in improving the lives of women and the welfare of their families and communities. The greatest problem for these groups was the lack of challenging the gender roles that kept them subordinate to males, and because of the gender division the wealth and power remained primarily to the men. â€Å"Development should encourage more cooperation between the sexes with the goal of ending poverty, reducing fertility, and securing the environment† (Anunobi, 2003, p. 74). Improving the status of women and allowing them to be a vital part of improving the economic and industrial aspects of their nation will benefit and establish an environment in which women and men can prosper together. The front line in the struggle for women’s rights appears to lie in the poorest, most patriarchal, least democratic nations† (Walker, 2005, p. 32). The Women’s rights campaign focus mainly on the underdeveloped nations. Women are beaten in the Middle East for not adorning the traditional Islamic clothing. In Afghanistan women are abused and deprived of their legal rights with or without the Taliban. The Pakistani women endure domestic violence and â€Å"honour crimes† in which they are attacked with acid. (Walker, 2005) This is a continuous struggle to establish universal women’s rights within these poor developing countries. The sad truth is â€Å"developed countries hardly offer a good example in their treatment of women – in fact they help make things worse† (Walker, 2005, p. 32). In Japan, pornography and its display is a common site in the mainstream of their society. Men are known to frequent bars offering expensive sexual service of women. These women are typically being trafficked from the Philippine nations in hopes of alleviating the poverty of their families at home. The control of men over women’s sexuality goes beyond that of social behavior and employment. Contraception was not legal for women until the availability of the pill in 1999, and still many physicians refuse to prescribe it. The Japanese nation may be a technical pioneer and one of the biggest global aid contributors but the treatment shown to the women in this nation is far less advanced (Walker, 2005). Examining the United States and its support of human rights; the United States is labeled as the world leader in this area. Women represent two thirds of poor Americans, and the majority of households living below poverty level are headed by females. Many American women are deprived of healthcare and those who do have coverage are 68% more likely to pay more out-of-pocket expense (Walker, 2005). â€Å"According to Amnesty USA, guns in American homes increase the risk of someone in a household being murdered by 41%, but for women the risk increases by 272%† (Walker, 2005, p. 33). These statistics are not that surprising as 85% of women in the United States are victims of domestic violence (Walker, 2005). Unfortunately, these instances of abuse on women’s ights are generally seen as isolated instances in the United States, unlike the widespread abuse of women’s rights in developing countries. The unbalanced relationship seen between women themselves is somewhat disturbing. This is displayed when women hire cheap foreign nannies to care for their children or buy clothing made in sweatshops. If women play a role in the gender-bias system they are just as capable of fighting to change it. The familiar image of poor women is seen as very similar, yet approached somewhat differently. The women who live in the third world are seen as victims of poverty in a developing country. The other women live in America and are referred to as the â€Å"welfare queen† (Mehta, 2009). These images both portray women of poverty and powerlessness, yet each images paints a different picture of their lives. The United States foreign policy makers and international development institutions strive to remedy this image of Third World women by encouraging them through empowerment; so they can be an asset to their families and community. Development policies have supported women’s rights and increasing their economic and educational opportunities. Local community centers were developed to provide poor women with education and job skills to start their own business. On the other hand, a completely different message is sent about the image of the welfare queen. She is seen as being lazy and unwilling to work and a burden on her family and community. The reform laws did little to build their level of education, or potential to be leaders within their communities. Instead there were limits on the single mother’s receipt of aid, family caps on additional children born while on welfare, and taking away benefits from those mothers who are attending school. The goal was to get these women into work, and it did not matter if it was a low paying dead end job, at least they were working (Mehta, 2009). It seems in the developed nation more attention should be given to pushing for higher education and building of work skills so that these women could be a beneficial part of the growing economy. â€Å"U. S. policy evinces skepticism that U. S. women could be affected by the same kinds of oppressive economic and cultural forces that keep women in poverty in the developing world† (Mehta, 2009, p. 68). American poor women are denied the potential of becoming strong leaders within their communities, unlike the opportunities for success given to their sisters in developing countries (Mehta, 2009). The negative image of the welfare queen has stunted the U. S. Welfare Policy to create laws that punish poor women. â€Å"The United States loses out on the positive effects of women’s empowerment that are already accepted and highlighted by the United States as sound policy abroad† (Mehta, 2009, p. 69). The potential that the developing nations have by empowering their women is very beneficial to their economic growth. Women always have been the strongest contributing influence on the family unit. Future development should encourage cooperation between men and women with the ultimate goal to end poverty, reduce population growth, and secure the environment. It seems obvious that not capitalizing on the talent and skills of women to protect men’s privileges is a waste of human resources (Anunobi, 2003). Hillary Rodham Clinton said, â€Å"Supporting women is a high-yield investment, resulting in stronger economies, more vibrant civil societies, healthier communities, and greater peace and stability† (USAID, 2009).

The Children by Nina Fedorova Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Children by Nina Fedorova - Essay Example Lida is the main child. Manchuria is China and hard. Many peoples refugee there and Japan controlled. Lida and her mother are Russian and escape violence in Russian Revolution. Lida sings good and loves Jimmy from U.S. They will have marry some day and mail letters, but Lida stops getting them. When traveling to sing. Lida sees friends in Harbin and Shanghai. She sees the Platova, Mother Abbess, and Mme. Militza. Mainly Lida worrys for Jimmy, because must marry to be happy. Glafira marrys George and they are happy with brothers in Australia. Mother Abbess even wants to marry, but she dies. Jimmy has accident in hospital and Lida sad and sick but Leon downstairs send her letters. Lida writes Jimmy how that Leon asked her to marry and Jimmy doesn't write until he leaves so she choose. Leon is in Spain and Mrs. Clark finds out about Jimmy to help Lida to go to U.S. Before Lida leave, her home flooded. Piano can't be sold. Rooms Mother rent are full of peoples without house, so Lida has no money to leave. Lida's friend Alla is sick because her mother did not like her husband. They stay with Lida but Alla dies. "Fate deprived Alla of many pleasures in life now refused her even the traditional accessory of death." (Fedorova 340). The city was under water. People moved in boats and tubs and rafts. With no place to bury Alla. Mother sew her in sackcloth and she in General took body on boat to Hei-ho river and push her in. Japan soldiers sit in boats over fences because of blockade. The town is almost dry when Second World War happens. Russians have party for Lida because Miss Clark pays for boat. Lida travels with Mr. Rind and Professor Kremenetz, but she is careful without Japanese permission. Mr Rind is American but Professor Kremenetz is Russian and says "A Russian girl is almost ridiculous in her devotion. A Russian heart is the pathetic heart of a child rushing for an illusion, hurting himself and others - still refusing to take reality as it is." (Fedorova 375). Lida gets to Seattle and Jimmy buys her oranges. Everyone is child and Russian child have to learn. Many learn in The Children. The Shanghai student are get impressed by Lida and come see her sing. The boys stop changing Mme. Militza's sign and bring her flowers because a book told them how. Nikitka's mother rents him to Mrs. Pitcher and she sends him to school with English. He learns with younger child and then he cheats. No other English students like him and Nikitka gets beat for cheating so he runs away. Comrade Dasha is Communist. She read newspapers for Mr. Rind in Harbin. When Lida watches the frozen river at Christmas, she talks that God means she is never lonely. Dasha laughs because she is atheist. Dasha take Mr. Rind to Communist meeting where she is dead. Dasha saves the speaker from a bullet and has a big funeral because she was a worker. Lida tells Mother Abbess and the mothers pray because Dasha was atheist. Sinner Vera is a liar about everything. Her parents are killed at six years old. Mother Abbess says "To lie i s perhaps her way to believe that one can change the facts." (Fedorova 145). Lida's cousin Dima in England. He can go to U.S. but stays to fight for Mrs. Parrish in England. Dima has plan for children. He writes to Lida and her Mother to tell them about plan. He takes all from all fighting countries and they go to island.

Research Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Research Proposal - Essay Example In the above context, the identification and the analysis of the requirements related with a new seizure clinic specifically involved in the treatment of epilepsy have been considered to be issues of significant advantage for patients around the world. The design and the development of such a clinic could help patients worldwide to improve their health on a daily basis by limiting the consequences and the symptoms of the disease. It should be noticed that the research on the particular issue (appearance and development of epilepsy) has been extensive and quite long. However, no particular improvement, on the health of patients suffering from the specific disease, has been noticed. It is perhaps the people involved do not comply with the rules set by the medical community or even they do not accept the significance of the disease for their health. In many cases, because of the usually short duration of the disease’s symptoms, persons suffered tend to deny their problem avoiding proceeding to the necessary treatment. Regarding this issue, the establishment of a new seizure clinic could lead to the increase of the volume and the quality of consultancy offered to patients but only in terms that the suggested measures are taken by patients and the proposed treatment is followed strictly. The ‘innovative characteristic’ of this clinic would be its target (limited to the treatment of the particular disease) and the quality of services provided to patients. Current study will be involved specifically with the establishment of a new seizure clinic for people suffering from epilepsy. For this reason, all issues related with this disease’s appearance and the development (both from medical and from sociological perspective) are going to be examined thoroughly. Any potential negative influence will be also highlighted in order to avoid the establishment of private

Biological Anthropology - Bipedalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Biological Anthropology - Bipedalism - Essay Example Disadvantages are that the eyes are now further from the ground, so further away from tracks being followed, or from low growing food. Also, by standing tall, the person is more likely to be seen at a distance by enemies and predators. As hominids moved out of Africa into cooler climates they were at a disadvantage as more of the body surface was exposed to colder weather. The Dikika infant was a three year old (Sloan) member of the Australopithecus afarensis group, and was found encased within Ethiopian sandstone. The baby is apelike in her upper body, but human like below the waist. She is very small, and is likely to have been carried a lot of the time. Her skull supports only the same space that a three year old chimp’s brain would, so, in evolutionary terms, bipedalism seems to have come before great brain development. Jenk describes how some argue that the ape like, tree climbing facilities exhibited in this specimen may simply be inherited, and were not necessarily used. Others say that these creatures used both humanoid bipedalism and ape like methods of locomotion. This is the skeleton of a very young child. This means that the skeleton does not exhibit the changes that would have occurred in an adult, because certain muscles were being used in preference to others. What is needed is a complete adult skeleton before a definitive answer can be arrived at with regard to the preferred method of

Motorola Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Motorola - Essay Example These are in mobile devices, mobility communication solutions, networks and connected home solutions. In the mobile devices section, the company sold a record 46.1 million units of handsets in the first quarter of 2006. This represents 21 percent of the total global market (Motorola, 2006b). Compared to figures recorded during the same period in 2005, there has been 4.8 percentage points improvement in sales. Major competing firms to the company in this sector are Nokia, Samsung Electronics, Lucky Gold (LG), etc. Whereas the market share of some of them (Nokia) dipped (Businessweek, 2005) that of Motorola company saw a rise. The Motorola Company is presently the leader in multi-mode and multi-band communications products and technologies. In a survey of the telecoms sector, Sandage (2003) pointed out that creating and delivering multimedia services to mobile handsets had proved more complicated to many mobile phone manufacturers than was initially envisaged. Any firm with capabilities in this area therefore, is bound to improve its position on the market with time. The Motorola Comp any's present 'seamless mobility" vision seeks to address this problem squarely. The company has pioneered several product developments in this sector. For example, it was the first to introduce a handset with a Linux operating system and Java technology providing full PDA functionality in 2003. Prior to this period, proprietary systems powered these handsets. The company has also contributed significantly to designing more portable and stylish handsets. Its RAZR V3 measures just 13.9mm. This particular gadget has won for the company a gold award in the consumer product category of the Business week magazine's industrial design excellence awards. In partnership with the GSM Association, Motorola company has developed in 2005, an ultra low-cost cellular phone with long talk time for consumers in developing markets. In the same year also, it introduced the Ojo personal video phone. This product has excellent capacity in transmitting full-motion video and audio synchronically over a high speed internet. The company is also the leading provider of push-to-talk over the cellular (PoC) technology to cellular service providers. These developments are important to internet telephony and television. The company has also developed the ROKR portable phone with the Apple Company, with the itune music software incorporated. The Motorola Company is also playing a leading role in the mobility communications solutions sector. It services the needs of individual consumers, business concerns and publicly funded institutions. In recognition of its meritorious services in this sector, the company was honoured with a Malcolm Bridge National Quality Award in 2002. That award was the company's second. The company has fared exceptionally well in comparison with its competing firms such as Nextel communications, American Movil, Western wireless, etc. The Motorola Company is also playing a leading role in the integration of core networks using wireless IP, wireless soft switch and IP multimedia subsystems. The company's networks unit has spawned several new innovative technologies in recent times. In 2000, for example, it introduced to the world, the first 700MHz wideband high-speed data transmission technology. This technology enables advanced solutions to be provided to customers. The linkage between broadband expansion and

Business and Society Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Business and Society - Case Study Example Clean water supply is however a significant problem, in India and globally, and has been the center of focus for such organizations as the United Nations with such goals as reducing the percentage of people who cannot access sustainable clean water supply to 50 percent by the year 2015. Threat to this sustainability is significant as initiated water projects stall amid locals’ inability to assume responsibility over the projects but clean water supply remains a health and economic necessity. Commercial players have moved in to supply clean water in India while other socially responsible companies seek non-commercial solutions. Social responsibility that incorporate profit oriented and non-profit oriented objective promises a solution and tops Byrraju’s current considerations. The foundation’s SWEET water project begun in 2004 and charges consumers little fee that is used for operations and maintenance. Many of the target customers are however not willing to pay t he price despite affordability and their concerns include taste of the project water and preference for other needs. Establishing the water project requires collaboration between the community, contributing 75 percent of construction cost after application, and Byrraju foundation contributing through loaning. The community then runs the project put pays a percentage of revenues to the foundation for the advanced loan and maintenance. The current situation however challenges feasibility of the project prompting alternative measures that Hari is considering such as raising prices, selling the project, market expansion, grant application, and

Land Use in Pinchot Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Land Use in Pinchot - Lab Report Example resulted in a decrease in the population of the predator/prey ecosystem while the 50% and 75% fragmentation created a more distorted distribution of the species. This shows that the hypothesis should be accepted. It was observed that increasing fragmentation is directly proportional to the increase in abundance of the Spiny Firegrass (SFG) and Elk population. The wolf and bluebunch wheatflower (BBWF) population remained constant at 0% and 25% fragmentation and drastically dropped at 50% and 75% fragmentation. The addition of the BBWF, elk and wolf created a more balanced ecosystem in the 0%, 25% and 50% fragmentation as affected by the hierarchy of the species in the trophic level (Moorecroft, n.d.). The increasing fragmentation caused the increase in the abundance of the SFG because of the increased amount of direct sunlight brought about by deforestation. The habitat has become more favorable for the SFG, while unfavorable for the wolf and BBWF which take shelter and protection from the forest. Lindsey (2007) emphasized that deforestation directly makes the species depending on the forests vulnerable; and in this case, it will be the wolves and BBWF. The wolves can be considered the keystone species in the Pinchot ecosystem because the results obtained from the 75% fragmentation created a trophic cascade because there was a very small number of the higher level predator that will be able to control the number of the elks in the ecosystem (Moorecroft, n.d.). The observations gathered shows that the ecosystem is a top-down control of population dynamics. Deforestation and urban sprawl has a direct impact on the food web because these two activities endanger the higher level predator, causing a trophic cascade in the ecosystem (Moorecroft, n.d.). Deforestation provides a better habitat for the proliferation of SFG, and urban sprawl drives away the wolves that live in the woods, causing the increase in the elk population, and consequently depleting the

Operartional management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Operartional management - Essay Example The case of restaurant managed by Ms Nok Si Leon shows that she is full of innovative and quality improvements ideas, thus some of them will not work in the airport setting. To present a total point of view, critics shall consider channels from the manufacturers' perspective, emphasizing their selection rather than the description of their components. Just the same, it should not be assumed that channels are always selected or devised on a rational basis. Many channels just grow and become habitual and institutionalized. In the future they must be planned more effectively because marketing tasks (which are shaped by technological changes, sociological and psychological factors, new product development, automation, and dynamic global markets) are becoming more complex (Naylor 2002). The proposed two shelf lines will help Nok to meet customers' expectations and different tastes. It should be evident that differences exist between the organization and management of a channel as compared with that of an independent unit. Authority does not flow directly through each of the units from the top down. Resources are owned and allocated by a number of units. Objectives and expectations of units vary; and although interdependence of interests exists, there are also conflicts. The ideal relationship as seen by each member may shackle other members. In such instances, negotiation, bargaining, and requests for cooperation as well as power become tools of coordination. Following Cohen and Roussel (2004) equilibrium in a channel depends on the development of mutually satisfying marketing relationships and roles among manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. The tie that binds and coordinates channel activity is the community of interest and independence that these groups share. Often the relationship is one in which the manufacturer is the primary organization and other channel members are secondary (Naylor 2002). The most ineffective strategy is to divide the restaurant into two areas and "move" it divided line when necessary. It will create a lot of problems for staff and visitors. Basically, restaurants have three channel policy courses available to them -- intensive, limited, or exclusive distribution. Intensive or broad distribution gives maximum exposure; these are convenience items where easy and ready access is important. The problem they pose of widespread market penetration often requires wholesalers. Limited menus permits a choice of dealers more ready to cooperate with a manufacturer and promote his line. This approach permits the concentration of effort on selected outlets, and requires careful planning. Nok should rely on high quality but limited number of food proposed to customers (Naylor 2002). For Nok, channel selection has great bearing on a company's financial requirements and market capability and vice versa. Given the total range of services supplied by a channel (the wholesaler, for example), companies are able to distribute to broader market areas and to expand their production capabilities. As distribution channels change, so do corporate financial requirements and resource positions. Manufacturers may establish a sequential plan for distribution based on their own development. For instance, a small manufacturer with a limited product line, limited finances, and geographically dispersed markets may use the full services of a wholesaler. As the manufacturer grows in financial

Macro economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Macro economics - Essay Example This essay aims at explaining how fall in household savings can have a negative effect on the UK macro economy. Savings kept in bank accounts are key part of money. To the extent banks decide to finance commercial investment with respect to amount of deposits they receive, an increased personal savings could raise investment by the established international organization. If money deposited is changed in equity subscription in ones own secure, savings serve for personal independence and careers, again with a possible connection to investment in a macro-economic sense. Invested in the Treasury bonds, and savings finance public expenditure inform of shares, they may directly or indirectly fund the firms. Savings may also be transfer overseas by remittances, leading to rise to a new option between savings and consumption. For instance, in the form of buying an existing house or in funds on entrepreneurial activity). Insufficient and minimized savings due to a deliberate policy to promote the growth of GDP by independent consumption alone can reduce, if the policy is only feebly effective, the national economy capability to absorb treasury bonds, which in certain circumstances may put the country under high pressure by foreign creditors, when public debt is huge and prevalently held by foreigners (Swan, 2007). The paradox of thrift remains an important idea from the Keynesian economics. Reduced saving is observed as negative because it does not provides the money to finance the capital investments needed to promote a long-term economic growth. But if many people in UK start saving more in the same time, it may causes a drop in the consumer demand and even deeper recession. What can be rational and good for an individual can be damaging for whole economy at large, Monetary easing (ME) is a type of monetary policy used by central banks, whereby it purchases financial assets from existing commercial banks and other private financial

The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy Essay Example for Free

The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy Essay The Cold War was the dominant conflict of the Twentieth Century. More than any other event, it defined the roles that virtually all nations played for almost 50 years. It was a truly World- Wide War, a content between two rival superpowers between the U.S. and the Soviet Union which for many years held the entire planet hostage to the threat of nuclear annihilation. By the time it was over, its players had spent the staggering sum of $15 Trillion (Windle, 2011). Regan Doctrine was not a label coined by President Reagan or his administration. It was a term used later by his critics to define his foreign policy strategy for countries around the world. The Reagan Doctrine was a strategy to aid anti-communist, or more specifically, anti-Soviet insurgencies in the Third World during Reagan’s two terms as president form 1981-1989. The primary goal was to overthrow Maxist regimes and prevent Marxist regimes from becoming established. Handelman referred Maixism as â€Å"Another of communism’s appeals was its centralized, state control of the economy. A command economy, first established in the Soviet Union, has two central features. First, the state largely owns and manages the means of production. That includes factories, banks, major trade and commercial institutions, retail establishments, and, frequently, farms. While all communist nations have allowed some private economic activity, the private sector has been quite limited, aside from nations such as China and Vietnam, which largely abandoned Marxist economics in recent years.   Second, in a command economy, state planners, rather than market forces, shape basic decisions governing production (including the quantity and price of goods produced) (Handelman, 2011, p.278). Under the Reagan Doctrine, the U.S. provided overt and covert aid to anti-communist guerrillas and resistance movements in an effort to â€Å"roll back† Soviet backed communist government in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The doctrine was designed to diminish Soviet influence in these regions as part of the administration’s overall Cold War strategy. Reagan wasted no time getting started in the implementation of his foreign policy. The Administration’s first comprehensive â€Å"U.S. National Security Strategy.† Which was a document approved by the President in May of 1982, stated the objective to â€Å"contain and reverse the expansion of Soviet control and military presence throughout the world, and to increase the costs of Soviet support and use of proxy,  terrorist and subversive forces.† (Presidential Studies, 2006) Reagan made staunch calls for public support in his efforts. In the State of the Union Address in 1985, for example, he stated that the U.S. must â€Å"not break faith with those who are risking their lives—on every continent, from Afghanistan to Nicaragua—to defy Soviet-supported aggression.† One year later he boldly remarked that â€Å"America will support with moral and material assistance your right not just to fight and die for freedom, but to fight and win freedom†¦in Afghanistan, in Angola, in Cambodia, and in Nicaragua.† (Political Science Quarterly, 2007) In most of these nations, the aggressive policies and actions of Reagan caused severe damage. In Nicaragua for example, the economy was decimated by U.S. sanctions and manipulation of its banking institutions. The Administration, supported by Congress, funded a war against the Sandinista National Liberation Front (Frente Sandinista de Liberacià ³nNacional, or FSLN). It was a war fought by various Nicaraguan rebel groups, labeled the Contras, which sought to overthrow the Sandinistas, who came to power after the revolution in 1979. â€Å"The development of Contra forces began in 1981 when Reagan authorized $19.5 million in funding for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to construct a paramilitary force of 500 Nicaraguan exiles from deposed President Anastasio Somoza’s National Guard.† (International Security, 1990) Along with congressionally funded aid, members of the Reagan Administration attained additional funds through the illicit sales of arms to Iran. Funds from these sales were funneled to the Contras. When this illegal activity was revealed in the â€Å"Iran-Contra Affair† in November of 1986, it led to the indictment and conviction of many of Reagan’s staff. Reagan policy in Nicaragua was failure in many respects. The Contra war was ill-conceived and did not enjoy support of the people of Nicaragua. The rebel forces never legitimately threatened the Sandinista government and military. The U.S. failed to gain international support for the war or its political and economic actions. In fact, Reagan was largely condemned by the international community. Domestic support and popular opinion was low as well. Reagan’s policies pushed communist nations into aiding Nicaragua. The FSLN enjoyed majority support of the people, and were not looking for a change until the end of the decade when they could no longer survive with the Sandinistas under U.S. pressure. Did Reagan really need to be concerned with Nicaragua? Probably not. In  damaging Nicaragua’s economy, Reagan Doctrine policy caused ripple effects on the USSR and Cuba who were aiding Nicaragua during this time. When the Administration began to halt trade and relations with Nicaragua, the USSR and Cuba began their efforts to provide the country increased economic aid, military aid, and trade revenue. By the time Reag an left office, economic aid from the USSR never came close to covering Nicaragua’s losses from U.S. sanctions on the economy. Reagan’s behavior toward Nicaragua, particularly in the glaring disregard for international law and world opinion, threatened to backfire and endanger broader U.S. interests, especially with foreign allies On the other hand, Reagan was widely eulogized for having won the cold war. Reagan helped end the Cold War by exercising prudent diplomacy and skillful statesmanship rather than by crusading against communism and exploiting Soviet vulnerabilities. The signing of the I.N.F. (Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces) treaty in 1987 marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War. I.N.F. was the first treaty to eliminate a complete class of weapons. It was also the first treaty to include an in-depth verification program. The INF treaty was the first to actually reduce the level of nuclear arsenals, or collections of weapons, rather than simply freeze them at certain levels. Reagans willingness to negotiate arms control agreements and support Gorbachevs reform efforts within the Soviet Union was key to the eventual fall of communist governments, first across Eastern Europe in 1989, and soon after in the Soviet Union in 1991. The foundation for ending the Cold War had been laid (Historycentral.com, ). Nicaragua was one piece to Reagan’s global foreign policy strategy. Nicaragua was not the only victim to Reagan’s aggressive policies. Countries such as Afghanistan, Cambodia, and Angola were infiltrated by U.S.-sponsored military insurgencies and suffered from U.S. economic policies. Though it can be argued that Reagan’s intervention in the Third World was essential in bringing down the USSR two years later, many people suffered the consequences of Reagan Doctrine. Nicaragua is an important case study of how effective and ineffective Reagan’s policies were in the Third World. Reagan Doctrine was a policy that gave military and material aid to countries that showed resistance against the USSR and the tyrannies they sponsored. Countries like Afghanistan, Cambodia, Angola, and Nicaragua were helped b  the United States; the Vatican and AFL-CIO’s international wing were also enlisted in the Doctrine to keep the Polish trade union intact. In his 1985 State of the Union Address, Reagan said, â€Å"We must stand by all our democratic allies. And we must not break faith with those who are risking their lives†¦ to defy Soviet-supported aggression and secure rights which have been ours from birth.† Then, in 1983, Reagan led troops into Grenada and overthrew the Marxist government and held free elections. : In regards to communism, the Reagan Doctrine’s â€Å"rollback mentality† broke the rule of containment set up by the Truman Doctrine, and this dissent played a huge hand in bringing down the Soviet Union and ending the Cold War. Reagan knew that the Russian economy would eventually fracture if there was an ongoing â€Å"arms race† between the Soviets and the United States; this is why Reagan began to build up the American military. Reagan threatened the Soviet Union by saying â€Å"We won’t stand by and let you maintain weapon superiority over us. We can agree to reduce arms, or we can continue the arms race, which I think you know you can’t win. One of Reagan’s first enhancements was the implementation of the Strategic Defense Initiative, or SDI. The SDI was a new program that would research and eventually develop a missile defense system that offered the promise of, in President Reagan’s words, â€Å"making nuclear weapons obsolete† The Soviets were afraid of such technology because it would render their weapons useless and leave them vulnerable. In October of 1986, in response to the SDI program, Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to a mutual disarmament of weapons in Euro pe but only if the United States agreed not to deploy the missile defense system. Reagan literally stuck to his guns and refused to tell the American people that their government â€Å"would not protect them against nuclear destruction.† The Soviets were beginning to realize that they didn’t stand a chance in an arms race with America, so in December of 1987, Gorbachev came to Washington, D.C., to sign the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which would eliminate an entire class of nuclear weapons. If Reagan had not continued the arms race, the Soviet Union may still be around today. Gorbachev’s trip to Washington was the first sign of Soviet surrender, and without Reagan’s military build-up, it would have never been possible. Ronald Reagan helped end the Cold War, such as the Reagan Doctrine, American military build-up, and his use of humor to shed a negative light on communism. The Reagan Doctrine was a strategy orchestrated and implemented by the United States to oppose the global influence of the Soviet Union during the final years of the Cold War. While the doctrine lasted less than a decade, it was a centerpiece of American foreign policy from the mid-1980s until the end of the Cold War in 1991. Under the Reagan Doctrine, the U.S. provided overt and covert aid to anti-communist resistance movements in an effort to roll back Soviet-backed communist governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The doctrine was designed to serve the dual purposes of diminishing Soviet influence in these regions of the world, while also potentially opening the door for democracy in nations that were largely being governed by Soviet-supported dictators. The most conspicuous examples of the new activism came in Latin America. In October 1962, the administration sent American soldiers and marines into the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada to oust an anti-American Marxist regime that showed signs of forging a relationship with Moscow. In El Salvador, whose government was fighting left-wing revolutionaries, the administration provided increased military and economic assistance. In neighboring Nicaragua, a pro-American dictatorship had fallen to the revolutionary â€Å"Sandinistas† in 1979; the new government had grown increasingly anti-American (and increasingly Marxist) throughout the early 1980s. the Reagan administration supported the so-called contras, an antigovernment guerilla movement fighting (without great success) to topple the Sandinista regime. References Chester Pach, â€Å"The Reagan Doctrine: Principle, Pragmatism, and Policy,† Presidential Studies Quarterly 36.1 (2006): 80. Handelman, H. (2011). the challenge of third world development. upper saddle rive nj: prentice hall. Historycentral.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.historycentral.com/Europe/ReaganandGorbMeet.html James M. Scott, â€Å"Interbranch Rivalry and the Reagan Doctrine in Nicaragua,† Political Science Quarterly 112, no. 2 (Summer 1997): 237. Kenneth Roberts, â€Å"Bullying and Bargaining: The United States, Nicaragua, and Conflict Resolution in Central America,† International Security 15, no. 2 (Autumn 1990): 78. Windle, J. (2011, December 20). Aol government. Retrieved from http://gov.aol.com/defense-spending-wizardry/

Examining The Aspects Of Social Work Practices Social Work Essay

Examining The Aspects Of Social Work Practices Social Work Essay The aspect of social work practice I feel most difficult to perform is the gerontological social work. This paper would firstly describe the context of social work practice with old people. After that, I would exam the reasons preventing me from effectively conducting helping process by evaluating my attitudes, emotions and experiences as well as by reviewing professional literature on social work practice with old people. In the end, I will shape a personal plan on how to address this weakness in the future. There is a universal folk saying that everyone wishes to live a good long life, but no one wishes for old age. Although in virtually every helping process attempt, social workers bring their own emotional or cognitive influences to intervention, I feel especially difficult to perform in the interventions dealing with older adults. With the development of medical and health care and with the baby boomer generations entering into their old years, the aging of population in the twenty-first century has become increasingly concerned by more and more people. In responding to the drastic transformation of social institutions such as elderly social service and health-care system, the social work practice with old people turns out into one of the most popular social work aspect today. Apart from the well-known nursing homes and hospital, there are other settings for gerontological social work as well. Geriatric care management, community social service agencies, adult day health care, legal services ¼Ã…’home health-care agencies , macro settings for gerontological social workers and community planning also play their active roles in serving the older adult in a variety of ways. The gerontologiacal social work, which needs high level of self-awareness, commitment and professional skills, is somehow a complex mission for us to carry. Many social workers admit that social work practice with old people is both challenged and exciting for the reason that, at one hand, it reminds of feelings about death, aging of our family and ones own attitudes toward helping the disadvantaged and vulnerable old adults; on the other hand, it also presents joys and delightful pictures and makes us think more about ourselves. Root of difficulty Review own personal factors Among all the factors that influence my ability to perform this particular area, the subtle effects of my social and personal massages and the counter-transference feelings of old people would be matters of cardinal significance. Furthermore, I also affected by my characteristics and cognition to certain kind of old people. Stereotypes. When I was a child I always heard people saying that old people are vulnerable and need help, and older adults are less valuable as human beings because they have to rely on their children. At home, I was asked to behave properly and not offend grandparents; otherwise I would get scolds and punishment. While at school, I was required to help older people for that they have trouble getting around. These stereotypes toward elderly are usually negative for me and imply an attitude or unintentional message that old people are hard to take care of, stubborn, old-fashioned and unpleasant. Consequently, I always feel that I cannot handle the relationship with older people well and they will not like me. I feel uncomfortable in front of many of my eldership because I do not know how to keep conversations going with my poor eloquence and interpersonal skills. Even though I understand ageism is a destructive social justification when I grow older, I still cannot change the comments I once made on aging and I am a little bit afraid of old people to some extent. Personal emotion factors. I am by nature a sentimental and emotional person from an early age. My grandma passed away when I was in primary school. She left me even before seeing my admission into university and engagement with my fiancà ©. I always think that if she could see these, she would be very pleased and also, I would be the most delight person in the world. She always lived a difficult life when she was young and did not enjoy much in her late years. Sometimes all my family members would feel guilty for missing the chance to treat her well before she left us. As a consequence, when facing the dying older people, especially female elderly suffered from chronic disease or cancer, I inevitably feel urgent to save them and so scared to face the truth that they will eventually die someday. I doubt myself about what I can do for them and I am so scared that they will leave me before I can do anything right or helpful. In fact, that is one of the most difficult challenges in social work practice for me. Real understanding of old people. As a social worker, I appreciate that getting old does not inevitably mean the loss of intelligence, memory and cognitive functioning. I also understand that developing a level of understanding is necessary from a social worker standpoint, and it helps me to anticipate client needs and perform an ongoing self-critique in order to improve and grow my helping process. However, many times I feel I am not able to truly understand them and consider things from their perspective of views as I never experienced true aging. Many decisions I made somehow reflect my own perception of the situation such as to decide whether an old adult should stay in own home or hospital, or to conclude that an older person is showing poor judgment about financial decisions. Furthermore, it would be even harder to perform my role as a social worker when a balance between the opinions of the older adult himself, his family and the social worker need to be achieved. This obstacl e prevents me from behaving more successfully at building a sustainable relationship with elderly clients and I simply do the work and move on. When everything needs more time and patience. With the tight time schedule and many objectives to be accomplish, sometimes a social worker needs to be in a hurry to push on the intervention process. And some other times even if I have explained many times, it is still necessary to have extended periods describing complicated appointments to older clients. I always tend to speed it up although in that case, in order to attain my goal I should slow down to give them more time to think about the process. Lack of patience would be another problem preventing me from effectively working with elderly or even almost every aspect of social work practice. Reviewing the professional literature Many social workers admit that, even though both meaningful and satisfactory, working with elderly people can need a high level of self-awareness and self-discipline. The truth that everyone must eventually face the developmental stage of aging and death for themselves and their families may contribute to the anxiety and complexity of the helping process, as social work practice in the aspects of domestic violence or drug abuse may not personally affect worker. This can impact workers with older clients on both a conscious and subconscious level. Ageism and Death Anxiety. In most cultures around the world, particularly the Chinese culture, people feel uncomfortable when deal with death or anything related to death. From an early age, children are asked to avoid to talking death and dying, and to replace the word death with phrases such as passed on, or gone on to another world. Therefore, the social workers dealt with older people may require more self-control and comfort on the acknowledging the real pain caused by the loss of human life of family and friends. The anxiety of aging and dying process on ones own work, combined with generally indisposed experiences about the proximity of death surrounding older adults, bring about some social workers avoiding work with the aging. According to the Hong Kong Social Workers Registration Broads data gathered from its members about their areas of practice, despite older adults make up about 12.8 percent of Hong Kong population, less than 6 percent of social worker identify gerontological social work as their field of practice, which compared to nearly 30 percent for mental health. Countertransference. The reactions, real, and unreal, to a certain individual can occur irrespective of origin and can be based on ones own past or present experiences or characteristics. Counter transference can be described as social workers reactions involve feelings, wishes, and unconscious defensive patterns onto the client. In the professional relationship with old people, a social worker may place negative feelings or dislikes of older persons onto the client, which restrict his willingness (no matter consciously or unconsciously) to continue investigating and result in impatience or intolerance of the aging. On the other side, old clients who evoke images from ones past such as parents, grandparents or other elderly family members can make process even more arduous to advance as a result of destructive sympathy and the need to save an older person. The Independence/ dependence fight. Old people want to maintain their independence to make decisions while the social worker commits to promote self-determination and dignity of the individual. But things are not that simple. When an elderly claims for increasingly supporting service and experiences growing difficulties to maintain independence on his own, it will be confrontational to live up to the elderly expectations. McInnis-Dittrich (2008) states A worker can appreciate the desperate efforts on the part of an older adult to stay in his or her own home. Yet when an older adult is struggling with stairs or a deteriorating neighborhood, and difficulties in completing the simple activities of daily living challenge the feasibility of that effort, professional and personal dilemmas abound. This is a good example to understand that sustaining independence in the gerontological social work is a critical goal which has no simple good answer. Private functions become public business. Discussing the topic such as an old womans bladder and bowel functions or an older mans maintaining an erection or urinating with clients may cause awkward and uncomfortable resistance when social workers and other helping professional get involved. Therefore, sometimes it is important to be sensitive to the deeply personal nature when social workers try to acquire necessary comprehension of an older adults health conditions. A better understanding of interpersonal skills and psychosocial adjustment to aging would be helpful and essential. Personal plan to address this weakness Overcome stereotype influence First of all, I hope that from now on I will pay more attention to those featuring active, healthy, productive, and successful older persons so that I will develop a balanced understanding about aging and elderly. Aging is not painful and debilitating. Many wise, gracious, and humorous elderly have made admirable contribution to the world and have shown remarkable strength to achieve a positive as well as enthusiastic life. Secondly, another important thing for me is to keep the lines of communication open with older adults. If I can open my heart to communicate, they will share more with me. The stronger relationship between us will help me cope better with the stereotype challenges. Last but not least, in my future helping process I will often ask myself: does it reinforce stereotypes again? I should start from every thing in daily life to alter the attitude that hinders my ability to face the normal changes of aging. Make a change in attitude is not easy, but I will try my best to drive myself on the right direction. Awareness and Introspection Awareness of the emotional influence is the first and the essential key to solve my problem. How well do I manage my own anxiety with this clients situations should be my first concern. I will always remind myself that do not be affected by my experience and differentiate my experience of losing a family member from the intervention my client. That will help me to distinguish between the older peoples need and my own need and, to remain focused on the clients need. Furthermore, I could seek help from colleagues and supervisors as well. By discussing the situations with them, I can expose and explore my own feelings and get advices in order to effectively facilitate help process. To truly understand elderly Above all, I will try to get in touch more with old people to truly feel their emotional and cognitive problems, as well as to open my heart and listen to them. Maybe I can join them more in their music, art activities in communities. Aging does not necessarily mean the loss of memory and cognitive capacities, and I will try to explain the information in a variety of ways so that we can build understanding relationship. Moreover, reading more books about the psychological problems of the elderly would be really useful to analyze their psychological changes and behavior patterns. Equipped with a better look at the findings from professional social workers, I will more effectively comprehend the aging process the distinguishing features of elderly. Finally, I should learn from experienced social workers to get more suggestions when I feel difficult to continue. For one thing, they can improve my ways of carrying intervention by pointing out my mistakes. For another, they can help me understand and get the most from their strength and weakness by providing convenient and professional advice.

The Abuse Of Power In Night And The Pearl

The Abuse Of Power In Night And The Pearl In the story Night by Elie Wiesel and The Pearl by John Steinback, I will be explaining, action,reasons, and the consequences of abuse of power in an excessive or unreasonable way. In Night I will be talking about Elieze and his father the abuse of power they experienced. In The Pearl I will be talking about Kino, and his family, the abuse they received by someone else having the power. In The Pearl Kino and Juana are also experiencing abuse of power. Have you money to pay for the treatment. (pg.11) this is the abuse uneducated, poor people, like Kino and Juana go through, for not having enough money to pay the doctor. Coyotito, Kinos son was stung by a scorpion and could not be attended by a doctor, because his parents cannot afford to pay. The doctor has gone out, he said. He was called to a serious case. He shut the gate quickly out of shame. (pg.12) the doctor abuses his power by helping only the clients with money, and putting aside the poor like Kino, Juana and Coyotito. Moishe the Beadle, was afraid that nobody would believe the massacre he experienced, as it turns out Moishe was right and nobody believed him. But now a young man named Elieze along with his family is experiencing the abuse of power by the Germans and the Hungarian police. We no longer had the right to frequent restaurants or cafes, to travel by train, to attend synagogue, to be on the streets after six o clock in the evening. Then came the ghettos. (pg.11) Elieze and his family are now prisoners in their own home, having to live by others rules. Sighet was divided into two ghettos, and every home was well watched and every window facing the street had to be sealed. Elieze and his family are now worried after finding out that, they will transferred to a unknown place. The ghetto was to be liquidated entirely; departures were to take place, street by street, starting the next day. (pg.13) The Germans are abusing their power and making everybody in Sighet fear for their lives, not know ing where they are going to be taken. That was asecret, a secret for all, except one: the president of the Jewish council. But he would not tell, or could not tell. The Gestapo had threatened to shoot him if he talked. (pg.13) everybody is waiting to find out what will happen, and what awaits them, after being imprisoned in their own homes unjustly by the Germans. Kino and Juana go fishing one day for oysters. Kino dives down into the water and starts to pull oysters off the hummock where they live. After opening all the oysters Kino opens the biggest one of all and finds a big shinny pearl inside. News of Kinos finding travels quickly into the ears of the doctors. He is a client of mine, the doctors said; I am treating his child for a scorpion sting. (pg.22) Now that the doctor knows Kino has money to pay for CoyotitoÂÂ ´s scorpion sting. The doctor decides that he will cure Coyotito, because Kino can now afford to pay him. The doctor is taken advantage of his power. The pearl was a sign of evil from the first time Kino found it. And suddenly he was afraid of his talking; his hand closed down over the pearl and cut the light away from it. Kino was afraid as a man is afraid who says, I will without knowing. (pg.26) the pearl as Kino and Juana start to notice is nothing but problems for them. One night after someone breaks into Juanas and Kinos home, Juana begs Kino to throw the pearl away. Throw it away; Kino let us break it between stones. Let us bury it and forget the place. Let us throw it back into the sea. It has brought evil. Kino, my husband, it will destroy us. (pg.38) Juana just wants to live in peace the way they lived before finding the pearl. Finally Kino and Juana take the pearl to sell it because they know people will try to take advantage of them. They are followed by the whole town, Now the dealers glanced quickly at one another, they knew they had played too hard, they knew they would be disciplined for their failure. (pg.52) the dealers try to take advantage of Kinos knowledge; they think they can convince him the pearl is not worth anything. Kino is aware of their evil intensions so he decides not to sell the pearl for the fifteen hundred pesos they offeredhim. The time has come you must leave all this, Hungarian police used their rifle butts, their clubs to indiscriminately strike old men and women, children and cripples. (pg16) The moment they have been waiting for has finally come. They are brutally being forced out of their homes by the Hungarian police and the Germans, the citizens are sacred and do not understand the cause of the police brutality. All the Jews, outside hurry (pg16) the citizens, are being lined up outside the street, so the police can take roll call They are forced to stand outside in the hot sun with no water. The heat was oppressive, sweat steamed from peoples faces and bodies children were crying for water. (pg16) Everyone has to wait in the hot sun for hours. Cruel and brutally is how the Germans are treating these poor people, not being able to stand up t o a higher power, the Germans are abusing their power on innocent people. Oh God Master of the Universe, in your infinite compassion have mercy on us. (pg20) El ieze after seeing his father cry for the first time in his life realizes this is not a game it is not a dream; all Elieze can do now is pray for all the injustice, pray and hope that this is just a big misunderstanding. Elieze cannot believe what they are being put through. We walked towards the station, where we were going to be taken by the Gestapo. After a long ride the train had finally come to a stop. In the air, the smell of burning flesh, it must have been around midnight, we had arrived in Birkenau. (pg28) The SS man came forward hitting and telling everyone to leave all the objects behind in the wagon. Their only things of value they had brought along had to be left behind Men to the left, women to the right. (pg29) This was the harsh reality, the moment when Elieze had been separated from his family, not knowing whether this was going to be the last time they would ever see each other. Elieze was scared and did not want to separate from his family. The threats continue for Kino and his family, the pearl has now become a real problem. Kino was attacked outside his own home by some stranger; Kino had no choice but to take a life to protect his family, killing a man for this reason Kino had to leave his home town. Kino was going to be wanted by these men and decided to leave It bit through neck and deep into the chest, and Kino was a terrible machine now.(pg86) This is what Kino has been driven to do, after being chased all over the place by some trackers trying to take his pearl and kill his family, Kino had no choice running out of places to hide Kino had to kill again. Kino had become as cold and deadly as steal.(pg87) After being pushed to the limit, Kino finally got tired and had to push back. Kino was tired of running, being scared, and treated like a dog. Worst of all Coyotito was shot, and killed by one of the trackers, causing Kino to lose his temper and go crazy. Kino killed the tracker with the rifle and with the same r ifle Kino killed the other two trackers. Sons of bitches, why have you come here? (pg30) The search for the truth is finally over, after a SS officer tells Elieze and the rest of the prisoners, why they have been brought to the concentration camp, and the terrible things that await them. You will be burned! With no compaction, you will be burned to cinder! Turned into ashes! (pg34) Elieze is stunned, and petrified at the news of being burned alive, how can the Germans be so cruel and cold hearted to just kill people for no reason, this is all a horrible nightmare for Elieze and the prisoners. A truck drew close and unloaded its hold, small children, Babies! Yes I did see this, with my own eyes.(pg32) Elieze cannot believe his eyes, how can something so incredible to believe be happening, and why doesnt anybody do something about this terrible nightmare. Why doesnt the world know about this horrible place, that is burning human being, and little defenseless children alive? If that is true, then I dont want to wait, ill run i nto the electrified barbed wire. That would be easier that slow death in the fire. (pg33) Elieze is now panicking and thinking of a better death, than to be burned alive. If he is going to die then he wants to have control over his own death. Now Elieze and his father are prisoners having to work and wait for their turn to be thrown into the crematorium, and be burned alive. As they approach the flames, they are ordered to go back to the barracks and wait to be transferred to another camp site. We had arrived in Buchenwald.(pg103) Elieze s father at this point cannot go on any further; he is tired, sick, and weak from all the beatings and cruelty the prisoners have been putting him through. They said that we were sick, that we would die, soon and that it would be a waste of food. (pg107) The guards did not feed Eliezes father because he is about to die, for the guards Eliezes father is just another body to throw away, they are just waiting for him to die so they can get rid of him. His last word had been my name.(pg112) Eliezes father could not fight any longer, after having a strong fever, he had started to hallucinate he could no longer go on dying on January 29. The resistance movement decided at that point to act.(pg1 15) Americans have penetrated into the camp and caused the SS to flee, and leave the prisoners behind. At six oclock that afternoon, the first American tank stood at the gates of Buchenwald.(pg115) the nightmare was over, just like that Elieze was a free man, he and the prisoners had been rescued from death. Not wanting to celebrate all Elieze wanted to do is eat some bread, he was dying of hunger and the way he wanted to celibate was by eating. From the depths of the mirror, a corps was contemplating me; the look in his eyes as he gazed at me never left me.(pg115) after so long of not eating right and being over worked like a slave, Elieze for the first time and could not believe it was him. In conclusion life is unexpected, and uncertain. The message The Pearl and Night give us is to never give up, to always keep fighting in what we believe. To stand up for our selves, and if possible to not allow others to control or take advantage over us. If we fall, to get up again to not allow miner speed bumps to slow us down. Fight for our right, our equality, and most importantly our freedom. These two amazing stories show us how brave and how much a human being can endure, under constant beatings and such cruelty by other human beings. This is a reminder to enjoy our life to the fullest, because any day our life, our luck can change so be happy with what we have and be grateful.

Vaccination: A Necessary Precaution Essay -- Medicine Vaccines

The issue regarding vaccinations and their accompanying side effects has been a prevalent debate throughout society and medicine for a number of years. Some continue to believe that vaccinations are harmful and actually promote disease, but the truth is that the concept of immunization is one of the most significant advances in scientific history that has led to the prevention of countless diseases and epidemics throughout the world. Still, despite the overall improvement of public health, the usage of vaccinations remains a controversial concern that is constantly challenged. Vaccination critics argue that the serious side effects associated with vaccines have been underreported, underfunded, and rarely researched. This, however, is false. Vaccinations are a necessary part of society because they prevent the spread of major diseases, reduce the severity of illness, boost one’s immune system, and in turn, protect the populous from potential epidemics. The definition of a vaccination, as stated by the Encyclopedia Britannica, is â€Å"a suspension of weakened, killed, or fragmented microorganisms or toxins or of antibodies or lymphocytes that is administered primarily to prevent disease† (Encyclopedia Britannica). Vaccines stimulate the immune system to attack the specific harmful agent and then cause the anti-bodies to remain sensitized in case the agent should ever reappear in one’s system. Obviously, this can be helpful when trying to prevent disease, or any other illness for that matter, since the anti-bodies specific to that type of illness remain present in one’s body lest the illness returns. Since infants are extremely susceptible to infirmity, many are vaccinated as early as the first month of their life. This helps p... ...ubmed/11032190>. Encyclopedia Britannica. "Science & Technology::Vaccine." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, Web. . Fisher, Barbara Loe. "In the Wake of Vaccines." Mothering.com 126 (2004): n. pag. Web. 30 Nov 2010. . Narins, Brigham. World of Microbiology and Immunology. 1. Farmington Mills, MI: Gale, 2003. Web. . Riedel, Stefan. "Edward Jenner and the History of Smallpox and Vaccination." Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings 18.1 (2005): 21-25. Web. 1 Dec 2010. . Williams, Tony. "God's Will and Dead Viruses." Internet Review of Books Sep. 2010: 304. Web. 30 Nov 2010. .

Personal Narrative: Football Underdogs to Champions Essay -- essays re

Football Underdogs to Champions I had tried out for the High School football team but unfortunately was cut. I worked hard over the summer and even passed on the family vacation to North Carolina to attend football conditioning at the school. Even with all of my effort put towards running and weightlifting I was still cut. That however did not stop me from playing the sport I love. I had heard of a local pigskin football league that allowed any teen my age to play. I immediately conversed with my parents and received their permission to sign up. When I first went to get my equipment I met my first coach. Coach Andy was a larger gentleman with a muscular frame. He had a bald head and slightly crooked teeth. He seemed very friendly when I met him and found out he had played football during his high school and college career. I also met the president of the pigskin league Mr. Kemp. He was fitting other players for their shoulder pads and helmets. While I was getting fitted he noted that I was a larger player and asked why I had not played high school football. I took the comment as a compliment and explained the story to him. I had also found out that my team would be the Cowboys. Through various conversations at the fitting, I found out that the Cowboys was the team in which late arrivals and new players were assigned. The Cowboys were considered the â€Å"misfit† team that had been thought of as the worst team in the league. That very night from receiving my gear I had an idea. I knew that my friend Brian Alvey enjoyed football as much as I did. He had also tried out for the high school football team and had been cut the year before. I proposed the idea of him playing football on the same team with me in the p... ...ud of me and we continued to pummel the Redskins. Our defensive line would not allow them to score at all. On one occurrence, the Redskins made it to our end zone and had fumbled the ball. I quickly jumped on the ball and prevented them from scoring. We had come back and won with a blowout game. With the game sounding whistle came roars of cheers from the sidelines, bleachers, and the team. We had won the Turkey Bowl Championship. The underdog team of misfits and late arrivals had come together and won. Winning the Turkey Bowl was one of the most memorable experiences in my life. My team had come together and through hard work and effort won the championship. To this very day, I proudly display the large Turkey Bowl Championship trophy in my room. Every time I look at the trophy it reminds me of how a group of misfits came together and won as a team.

Half A Day

What does the middle-aged man say to the narrator when they meet? 4. What changes does the narrator notice as he walks home? 5. What happens at the end of the story? 6. Based on the narrator's thoughts and comments as he walks with his father, describe the kind of upbringing you think he has had. 7. What do you find unusual about the narrator's description of his day at school? 8. How does the middle-aged man address the narrator? 9. What does the narrators reaction to the changes in the city suggest about him? 10.What does the boys remark to the narrator at the end of the story reveal to you about what has happened? 1 1. A symbol is an object or action that stands for something else in addition to itself. What does the narrator's half a day at school symbolize? 12. Why do you think that Manful included only unpleasant details of modern urban life in the story? 13. A story told from the first-person point of view is narrated by one of the characters in the story. Why do you think tha t Manful chose to use a first-person narrator for â€Å"Half a Day†? 4. Describe an experience in your life when time seemed to pass more quickly than usual. Define the following words: Unmarred – Throng – Avail Horde – Refuse – Conjurer – Setting – Cairo, Egypt The narrator contrasts the landscape on the way to school with the school building itself. How does the narrator's description of the land contrast with that of the school? What do you know about Cairo, Egypt? What do you want to know? Research to find answers to your questions and other facts about Cairo, Egypt.Include information about the history and culture. Author Research information about Nagging Manful. Record five facts in the table below. Surprise Ending A surprise ending is an unexpected plot twist at the end of a story. The ending might surprise readers because the author provides ambiguous clues or withholds important information. A surprise ending is most effecti ve when it adds to the meaning of a story rather than merely overturning the readers expectations. Such writers as O. Henry and Guy De Unpleasant are famous for their surprise endings. 1.Is the ending of â€Å"Half a Day† a complete surprise, or does Manful provide some clues earlier in the story to suggest how much time has passed? Explain. 2. Do you think that the ending of â€Å"Half a Day† is effective and interesting? How else might Manful have ended the story? Find two quotes about time that are relevant to Mafioso's story. The quotations can come from literary, philosophical, scientific, or religious works, or they can be traditional proverbs. Use Google to search quotations or aphorisms about time. Explain how the quotes are relevant.