Dear John, Book vs Movie

Author Nicholas Sparks added to his list of best sellers with the novel Dear John. Dear John is a love story, love stories make big money in movie form, so the novels are popular to make into a movie. Books and movies are two forms of entertainment that are closely related and we overlook the differences among them. There are many similarities between the two, but there are also major differences. If one has never read a novel and then watched the movie version of the novel they may not have experienced this comparison and contrast to the the two forms Even though Dear John contains similarieties and differences the message still remains the same.. Love. The first major contrast is that each form has a different author. Nicholas Sparks wrote the novel and Jamie Linden turned the novel into a screenplay which was then directed by Lasse Hallstrom. Sparks has written both the novel and screenplays for some of his other works but turned the screenplay writing over to Jamie Linden for this project. When there is a separate author on the novel and screenplay the initial story is almost certain to be written differently based on the second authors interpretation of the original authors work. In some instances there is a third interpretation with a director of the movie. A lot can go wrong when the original story is interpreted differently by the author that writes the screenplay and a director that then directs. Michael O’ Sullivan of The Washington Post, wrote in a review of the movie, â€Å"I think our relationship is in trouble†. O’ Sullivan is trying to get across to the reader of this article that the movie’s story has problems and disappoints him as a viewer. A. O. Scott of the NY Times reports that â€Å"Jamie Linden is careful to respect the vague, whispery tones of Mr. Spark’s writing† but â€Å"did however, change the books ending in a way that both deepens and blunts its impact†. The author of the book or movie explains themes, symbols, and the main plot in different ways. Movies may be easier for the audiences to visualize the story, but, books may leave room for readers to use their own imagination. Ending change is another major contast of these two forms of Dear John. The book version The author of the book or movie explains themes, symbols, and the main plot in different ways. Movies may be easier for the audiences to visualize the story, but, books may leave room for readers to use their own imagination.

Family vs. Law Essay

Family, an important theme of life, gets expressed throughout many ways in society. Family may take precedence over many things, including authority and the law. Within the tragic play, Antigone, the author Sophocles presents situations where the characters have to choose between their family and the law. The characters must choose what is more important to them, their family or obeying the laws of Thebes. Throughout the play, Sophocles presents a strong theme of family values and the importance of it through the actions of Antigone, Creon and Haimon. Antigone, placed in many situations throughout the play, has to choose between her family and the law. Antigone chooses to honor her brother, Polyneces, by burying him even though she will break the law by doing so. Antigone asks her sister Ismene to help bury their beloved brother, but when Ismene says no, Antigone responds by saying, â€Å"But as for/ me/ I will bury the brother I love† (Prolouge. 192). Antigone chooses to honor her brother and risk breaking the law because family means more to her. Antigone puts her family first, presenting her as a selfless person. Along with the risk of breaking the law, Antigone also risks her death. Once Creon tells Antigone of her punishment after finding out she buries Polyneces, she has to decide whether or not burying her brother is worth it. After Creon tells Antigone of his plan for her, she says, â€Å"This death of mine/ is of no importance; but if I had left my brother/ lying in death unburied, I should have suffered. / Now I do not† (SceneII. 208). Antigone shows Creon that he cannot stop her from saving her family by trying to punish her with death. Antigone chooses to help her family and stand up for them, even when faced with death. Sophocles shows Antigone as a brave person by denouncing Creon’s rules and saving her brother. Through Antigone’s actions, Sophocles shows how he favors family over authority and the law. Sophocles expresses his devotion to family throughout Creon’s actions in the tragic play. Prior to Creon’s initial decision to let Antigone die, the Choragos convinces him to let her go free. Creon, reluctant at first, listens to the Choragos and says to them, â€Å"It is hard to deny the heart! † (SceneV. 235). Creon knows deep down inside that he will be doing the right thing by letting Antigone go free. Although Creon wants Antigone to pay for breaking the law, his family ties with her prove to out shine his devotion to the law. As Creon orders the Choragos on what weapons to bring, he says, â€Å"I buried her, I/ Will set her free† (SceneV. 236). Creon realizes that his family ties with Antigone mean more to him than justice and he wants her to know that by freeing her himself. Creon wants to prove to Antigone that he does care about her safety and her future so he will set her free so she can go on living her life with Haimon. Although Creon decides to free Antigone partly out of guilt, he mostly does it because of her love for her. Sophocles shows throughout the tragic play that he prefers family over the law through the actions of Creon. Sophocles shows his devotion to family over the law by the actions of Haimon. Haimon has to decide whether to fight for his wife’s life or obey his father. Haimon, driven mad by the situation he has at hand, decides to kill himself after he finds out Antigone has done the same. The messenger delivers the horrible news to the Choragos and says, â€Å"Haimon is dead; and the hand that killed him/ Is his own hand† (Exodos. 239). If he cannot live with Antigone, then Haimon does not want to live at all. Haimon’s devotion and love for Antigone is stronger than his will to obey the law. Even as Haimon â€Å"died/ He gathered Antigone close in his arms again,† (Exodos. 241). By having Haimon’s last moves before his death be hugging his wife one last time, Sophocles shows that family takes precedence over the law through Haimon’s selfless acts. Haimon wants to show to everyone, especially his father, that his love for Antigone overrules everything else, particularly the laws that Creon creates. Throughout Haimon’s actions in the play, Sophocles shows that family means more to him than the law. Throughout Antigone, Sophocles shows that his strong devotion to family overrides authority and the law. Sophocles proves this to the reader through the actions of Antigone, Creon and Haimon and the choices that they make throughout the play. Even at the face of death, Antigone chooses to honor her brother over obeying the law as a way of showing Sophocles’ devotion to family. Prior to Creon’s original decision to kill Antigone, he changes his mind and decides to spare her life to exemplify Sophocles’ loyalty to family life. Haimon chooses to spare his own life to support his wife and rebel against the laws his father creates to prove Sophocles’ commitment to family. Sophocles shows that his devotion to family overrides the law by the situations and decisions Antigone, Creon and Haimon make. Not just in the play Antigone, but even in the world today, family values have high precedence over the laws and rules created to follow.

A Summary on Perseverance

I know many people who persevered in their life. If you look at their biography you will see that they were very successful because they never give up. Many people don’t have that much confident in them so they give up so easily. Well I also persevered in my life. I didn’t give up at that time I wanted to give up but I was brave enough not to give up. our greatest glory is not in never failing but, in raising up every time we fail by Ralph Emerson. â€Å"Fall seven times stand up eight† this quote stands for perseverance and as well as for Mr. Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln persevered by â€Å"NEVER GIVING UP†. Mr. Lincoln went through many troubles in his life but he persevered and become the 16th president of the United States of America. Mr. Lincoln’s life went through like this. In 1831 he failed in business but he didn’t give u and tried again bidding for congress in 1843 but unfortunately he lost his bid for congress. In 1855 he tried again for the run of senate but he lost the run. Still he didn’t give up later in 1856 he got elected for vice president but unluckily he got defeated for Vice President. Well because Mr. Lincoln persevered in his life so in 1860 Mr. Abraham Lincoln became the 16th president of the United States. Mr. Lincoln was confident enough not to give up because he knew that one day he will success in his life and he did. He was brave and he had â€Å"STRONG Belief†. I also persevered in my life. I tried and tried until I reached my goal. When I came to us the first time I knew enough English to understand the teacher and work well but it was hard for me to adjust in a different in a different lifestyle well somehow I tried but failed. I didn’t felt like trying again but my mom encouraged me to try and try hard until I reach my goal. My mom was my strength. I tried and tried hard to adjust in U. S and after one year I adjusted and I felt like I’m here since I was born. This showed that â€Å"I never gave up† I reached my goal by trying over and over again. Every single person in this world went through many up’s and down’s in their lives but many fought and succeed but many gave up. â€Å"Just because you fail once in life doesn’t mean you will fail every time†. â€Å"As long as you persevere and endure, we can get whatever we want†. You should never give up in life like Mr. Abraham Lincoln and I didn’t gave up until we got what we wanted. So if you persevere in your life you will get it done soon. what I prefer is never give up in life. we all learn from over mistakes, so learn from your mistakes and go on try it again.

How should the second amendment be interpreted Research Paper

How should the second amendment be interpreted - Research Paper Example For example, recent calls to control and even ban gun use as a response to increasing violence and murder in schools that involve guns such as the the recent shooting in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown inadvertently run counter to the basic Bill of Right of the Second Amendment. This is not the first however that this Amendment had been challenged and in fact, there were several court decisions made in the past that undermined this provision due to its unclear coverage and extent. For example, we can cite the U.S. v. Cruikshank (1876) case whereby it was often cited out of context with the claim otherwise that Second Amendment is "is not a right granted by the Constitution" (Guncite.com, 2010). This out of context interpretation also resulted in other flawed state regulation such as a provision in the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 law in the District of Columbia that requires all firearms including rifles and shotguns to be kept "unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock. The Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 also contained a provision that prohibits the residents of the District of Columbia from owning handguns except those that were registered prior to 1975. As expected, the law was challenged and was elevated in the Supreme Court. Until finally on June 26, 2008 the Supreme Court made a decision to affirm the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Heller v. District of Columbia. The Court of Appeals had initially made a decision to remove two provisions in the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 as unconstitutional. The provisions that were removed as unconstitutional were the provision that prohibits the residence of District of Columbia from the ownership of handguns except prior 1975 and the provision that requires all firearms to be "unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock" at all times. The decision elaborated that the Second Amendment â€Å"protects an individual right to bear arms† further stating its decision was "premised on the private use of arms for activities such as hunting and self-defense, the latter being understood as resistance to either private lawlessness or the depredations of a tyrannical government† (Library of Congress). Further, this right help preserve a citizen militia â€Å"the activities [the Amendment] protects are not limited to militia service, nor is an individual's enjoyment of the right contingent upon his or her continued or intermittent enrollment in the militia." (Guncite.com). With regard to handgun ownership, the Supreme Court thus decided that the District of Columbia cannot prohibit its citizen from owning such as guaranteed by the right enunciated in the Second Amendment albeit subjected to restrictions. The specific provision of Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 that specified that all firearms including rifles and shotguns be "unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock" was also struck down as unconstitut ional. Although the District asserted that there are exceptions to this provision, it still meant to a total prohibition on functional firearms that would be used for self defense. The court further exegete; Section 7-2507.02, like the bar on carrying a pistol within the home, amounts to a complete prohibition on the lawful use of handguns for self-defense. As such, we hold it unconstitutional. Further, in the original U.S. v. Cruikshank in 1876 case which is often misinterpreted

Childhood Obesity and Fitnessgram Testing Thesis

Childhood Obesity and Fitnessgram Testing - Thesis Example The research affirmed that teachers can implement this assessment tool to act and operate as an instructional instrument. The assessment tool helps teachers to design a significant curriculum that will assist them to meet the needs of their students where they show the deficiency. The qualitative sample showed that the students that are in the intervention group have a positive view on the Fitnessgram assessment and its ability to enhance their BMI. The Fitnessgram makes students aware of the level of their fitness and design ways to maintain it. The research showed that if students show a full strength on the five components of the assessment tool (aerobic capacity, abdominal strength, flexibility, body composition, and upper body strength), they can be termed as physically fit. When a student is fit in these five key areas, then the student is healthy, active, and fully operation member of the society. The project showed that the tool served the five principal goals and improved th e health outcomes and fitness levels of the sampled students. It also provided Georgia with a longitudinal data that they can develop self-assessment techniques that they can know their fitness level, use fitness information to develop instructional programs and decisions, and develop a long-time activity for their students. The analysis of the t-test and the means for the independent samples showed that the participants in the sample were statistically identical (refer to table 1).  

Student Success Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Student Success Plan - Essay Example The major purpose of the review is to provide helpful information on the value of the various approaches to parents and teachers so they would be better able to determine which was best for their child/student. In order to affectively ensure that educational pursuits are being taught effectively for the benefit of this young girl, we must provide a plan of action that will enhance her abilities in art and reading yet transfer those abilities toward subjects including mathematics, language, science, social science and music. There have been many studies on the subject of teaching autistic students. Autism is a very complicated disability that affects a child's cognition, perception, speech and motor abilities and so very much more. Seeking other methods for autistic children to express their intelligence has been the goal for many educators. For some with certain disabilities this requires a certain level of motivation. Possessing the ability to structured teaching is the ultimate goal of teaching this autistic girl, especially at the young age of six years. Classrooms must be structured in a specific manner for teachers to effectively teach their autistic students. ... round this young girl's strengths of reading and art would in fact be to the benefit of her educational pursuit, incorporating artistic measures into mathematics, the creation of maps for social sciences, and the use of diagrams which are designed and drawn in artistic formula. Five steps to creating the most effective learning environment and plan for a six year old with autism would require the following: A classroom which is designed to have access to the tools for drawing, painting and other design capacity would in fact be of benefit. Physical organization of the classroom environment is effective in allowing for focused attention on lessons as they are managed. Ensuring the situation in which this student will be fully functional in placement of desks, doors, and bathroom facilities will assure a balanced environment for more enhanced learning experiences. The use of color in the various teaching formats will maintain attention span and allow for focus upon the objectives of the daily lesson. Color, if used effectively, can allow associative capacity, one color for a certain activity, or a certain location in the classroom, such as the bookshelf. The use of scheduling gives a structure to classroom learning utilizing sequential memory and organization of time. Utilizing two levels of scheduling simultaneously will allow for focused individual education along with group activities. Events outlined for the entire classroom that also focus on the time to spend in individual educational pursuits. Utilizing simplified language will facilitate a greater capacity for understanding instruction and communication for both the student and the teacher and the ability to allow autistic students time alone if they need it. Simplified language and the use of pictures to

Does the advent of globalization require a new set of approaches Essay

Does the advent of globalization require a new set of approaches - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the advent of globalization and the shift in power structure has prescribed the exigency to reexamine existing political theories and political philosophy that govern state relations. Moreover, there is also a requisite to reevaluate the political framework effected on the domestic affairs of the state as the current gauge utilized for political analysis, according to leading political experts, fail to factor the fundamental issues that govern a country’s relationship with its population. These issues are said to be the consequences of the ‘global economic and information systems’ and the challenges resulting from powerful ‘ethnic and tribal forces’. However, there are other political scientists who contend otherwise. Hirst and Thompson, for instance, are skeptical of the ‘extent’ of globalization as ‘capital mobility’ does not generate a robust ‘shift of investmentâ€⠄¢ and labor requirement from the economically advanced countries to the developing territories of the globe. Similarly, Hay, partly skeptical of globalization, put forward somewhat similar contentions as according to him, it would be erroneous to assert that the consequences of globalization depict uniformity in every region of the world. As the effects of globalization in the previous and the current decades cannot be discounted, studies in the different areas of society stress the fact that the impact of globalization, from the biggest to the smallest state is apparently considerable.... This impact, of course, varies from one state to another as political, economical, socio-cultural and technological aspect of each state all across the globe vary considerably. Moreover, even economically advanced countries like the United States is not impervious to the effect of international and transnational occurrences such as terrorism and economic events. Other countries, considered vulnerable and less formidable in terms of economy or stability, apparently yield more to the impact of external forces as compared to the economically robust countries. But however significant or trivial the effects are, it is considerable to note that almost every country in the world is affected by globalisation in the present century. One of the actors that contribute to the transnational, international and domestic setting in politics and economics is technology, more specifically recent advancements in communications technology. The progress in this field, in turn, hastened the effects of globalisation in the last half of the century as well as the in the present decade. The progress that human beings have made in the field of information and communications technology brought about changes not just in our daily business affairs but also in the affairs of the state, in the world economy and in international and domestic politics. The advent of the World Wide Web and the Internet technology, which transformed the way we acquire information, is a significant aspect of globalisation as it accelerated the attainment of our goal to become 'global citizens' and internationalised persons. Sceptics like Hirst and Thompson, for instance, asserted that during the last half of the 20th century, globalisation remained a

Film analysis on the film a league of their own Research Paper

Film analysis on the film a league of their own - Research Paper Example In their absence baseball had no future and its suspension was on the cards. In this delirious time Philip K. Wrigley who was the owner of Chicago Cubs thought of a solution to keep baseball alive in America. He proposed an idea which was the All American Girls Softball League which would be a booster for the men coming home from war service. This league ended up being transformed into a pro baseball league for girls in America. 2 This film revolves around two sisters from Oregon who play baseball passionately. Then Ernie Capadino is sent to recruit players from various cities of America. Capadino visits a softball game in rural  Oregon and likes a catcher called Dottie (Genna Davis). The recruiter offers her a tryout, but she refuses as she is in favor of working in her family’s dairy farm. Kit who is an ambitious girl and little sister of Dottie is all up to try for the series. After a few debacles various recruited girls get to Chicago where Jimmy Duggan (Tom Hanks) is set to be their manager. This enthralling movie is a historical tale of two sisters that join the first women’s baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amidst their own growing rivalry. This movie provides a recap on various historical points. This film works brilliantly historically because it addresses quite a few things. The main historical points made in the movie are the setting of the movie, the ending of the men’s baseball league, the initiation of a women’s league, recruiting of women from various places and also the league’s popularity. The league began in 1943 during the ongoing World War II among the superpowers of the world. The absence of the men from the baseball circuit proved to be a threat to the game’s cessation in a country where the game was a favorite leisurely activity. The film also rightly describes the historical event of talented women being recruited from around the country.

Analyze an entertainment product Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analyze an entertainment product - Essay Example These questions, and many more, while be explored with respect to television and violence, and the controversial topic of media censorship. Seeking to explore the relationship between television, arguably the most prevalent entertainment product in homes around the United States, and violence, this essay will begin with a look at violence across countries. The relationship between violence and television will be discussed then we turn to a discussion of media censorship, particularly how it relates to violence on TV. This research paper will then conclude with a summary of the findings and an analysis of the research presented. Television is everywhere and has spread to all four corners of the globe. Much like television, violence is a universal phenomenon found all over the world. Violence on TV however is a relatively new concept and is not found across the world. Restrictions placed on violence in the media are culturally-specific and not universal. The result is that violence on television is common in some parts of the world while uncommon in others. In Canada and the United States, restrictions on television are usually not too strong and generally related to violent content or things that are considered to be obscene (generally sex). A good example of this in North America was Janet Jackson’s infamous â€Å"wardrobe malfunction†, in which her left breast was fully exposed during Super Bowl Sunday, the most-watched television event in the United States. Apparently more than 90 million viewers had a fleeting glimpse of the singer’s breast and â€Å"about 542,000 complaints were r eceived by broadcaster CBS† (British Broadcasting Corporation 2008) following the incident. Accordingly, broadcaster CBS was initially fined $550,000 for indecency and obscenity. In other places in the world, China and the countries of Asia in particular, restrictions are placed more strongly on violence, obscenity and

Impacts of Social Media Marketing Essay Example for Free

Impacts of Social Media Marketing Essay With the emergence of internet-based social media it has made it possible for people to communicate with thousands of other people around the world about products and the companies that provide these goods and services to them. Accordingly, the impact of consumer to consumer communications has been tremendously heightened within the marketplace. Many people would argue that social media is a hybrid element for promoting a company and its products, considering that in the traditional sense it allows companies to speak directly to their customers, while in a nontraditional sense it enables customers to talk directly to one another. The information, timing, and volume of social media-based conversations that occur between consumers are outside of a managers’ direct control. This goes against any traditional integrated marketing communications where there is a high sense of control from the manager. Thus, it is the managers’ responsibility to learn how to shape a consumers discussion in a manner that is consistent with their organizations mission statement and performance goals (Kerin, Hartley Rudelius, 2009). Traditional Marketing Traditional marketing techniques involve direct mail, trade shows, television, radio broadcasting and social events which are still very prevalent and are still heavily used by many companies around the world to market products and the services offered by their companies. Marketing through television provides companies mass exposure to a wide array of individuals with a mass message. Many businesses dont realize that television can often be one of the most cost-effective forms of advertising. The advantages of television are that it has everything needed to catch the attention of your projected audience: audio and visual. Community based television stations which are often looking for advertisers and are more willing to accommodate advertisers because of a less rigid schedule. Newspapers and classifieds are becoming increasingly popular and is a great way to target clients at a reasonable cost. The yellow pages have become a commonplace for companies who want to locate their specific business needs. Another way for businesses to market is with brochures, these are a great way of advertising a business. Depending on the type of business, brochures can be extremely useful. For a business that is in the industry of travel or tourism, brochures are a must, and there are multitudes of places where they can be displayed for customers to view. If a business is in a different type of industry it may be a little more difficult to find locations to display brochures, except to use them in mail drops, as handouts at trade shows and conventions, or for a direct mail out to potential customers. If a company is a manufacturer or supplier, it will need to provide their brochures to a distribution network. Brochures are a great way to market, but a company should make sure they are a cost-effective use of your time and investment, and if a company is going to produce brochures, they should know ahead of time how and where they will distribute them. Social Media Marketing Social media marketing represents low cost tools that are used to combine technology and social interaction with the use of words. These are typically internet based. Social media gives marketers a voice and allows them to communicate with their current customers and potential customers. Companies are able to personalize their brand and it gives them a way to spread their message in a relaxed and conversational way. Many people used to think Facebook was just for teens and young adults. Companies did not see much value for the social media site. That is all slowly changing though. Several companies are using Facebook to market their products and are seeing great success. Consider the following statistics provided between September 2008 and February 2009 the number of Facebook users between the ages of thirty five and forty four increased by 51%, user among the ages 45-54 jumped up 47 % and user ages 26-34 increased by 26 % more then half of Facebooks 140 million users are out of college. Clearly, social media is no longer just for the college student. Facebook is used as a marketing tool because it is easy to gain new clients, promote new products and services while offing deals and sales and staying in touch with your customers (Zarrella , 2009). Social media can be used to provide an identity for the products and services that a company has to offer. It can also create relationships using social media with people who might not otherwise know about a company’s products or services or what our companies represents. If a company wants new customers and retain their current ones they must establish a good relationship. Social media can be used to associate one’s self with their peers, which could be serving the same target market. It could also be used to communicate and provide an interaction with the consumers a company is looking for. Conclusion There are many advantages to using social media as a marketing tool for a company. However a company cannot just depend on social media alone to market their company, they must integrate it with other vehicles of marketing. While social media can create awareness for a company, it may not be the right form of advertising for a company. Companies must be consistent with any form of marketing that it chooses to use. The role that social media plays in the marketing of a company is to use it as a communication tool that allows a company access to those interested in their product and makes the company visible to those who do not know what services and products a particular company has to offer. It can be used as a tool to create a personality behind a company’s brand and create relationships that otherwise may never have happened. Social media cannot only create repeat-buyers for companies, but also customer loyalty. The fact that social media is so diversified and it can be used in several different ways, ways that best suit the interest and the needs of a company shows that it is a good source of marketing for any business (McAdams, Neslund Zucker, 2008). The form of marketing that a company uses really comes down to what type of audience the company is trying to attract and what they can ultimately afford to spend on adverting and marketing for the company. Any of the marketing techniques work a company just has to be consistent with the form they choose to use. Social media marketing is the way of the future and is not going to go away anytime soon. References Zarrella , D. (2009). The social media marketing book. Kerin, R. A., Hartley, S. W., Rudelius, W. (2009). Marketing. (9 ed.). McGraw-Hill/Irwin McAdams, T., Neslund, N., Zucker, K. D. (2008). Law, business, and society. (Ninth ed.). McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Impact of Feminism on Social Work Practice

Impact of Feminism on Social Work Practice The emergence of feminism and its impact on social work practice This research considers the application of feminist thought in social work practise. Specific areas of consideration include the gap from social workers’ personal acceptance of feminist constructs and their use of such constructs in daily practise, the effects of perpetuation of hegemonic gender roles by social workers, and domestic violence victims perceptions of the effectiveness of social work based on the perspectives of their social workers as considered above. This research further describes a focus group of college social work students who are also domestic violence victims. It records their perceptions of social workers’ worldviews and the impact of such on service. Conclusions include that there is significant gap between the understanding or acceptance of feminist constructs amongst social workers and its application in daily field practise, that social workers are often likely to perpetuate hegemonic gender roles, and because of such perpetuation view domestic violence situations as individual occurrences rather than part of a greater societal pattern of oppression, and that domestic violence survivors feel best served when work with them uses a feminist theoretical framework. Introduction Feminism and social work have been associated for many years; however, although many social workers personally espouse working from a feminist perspective, the systems of social work still favour work from a traditional or patriarchal perspective. This research, therefore, seeks to first consider findings from previous study regarding this phenomenon and the theoretical frameworks for both social work and feminist thought. In this light of information gleaned from these findings, it became apparent that hegemonic gender roles, a common topic of feminist research, play a relevant part in work with survivors of domestic violence. Specifically, domestic violence survivors are often directed, either explicitly or implicitly, that their situation is personal and should be considered and dealt with from a personal and pathological perspective rather than applying the tenets of feminist thought that view such situations as manifestations of structural and power problems in our greater society. This study then seeks to document whether this gap between social work theory supportive of feminist worldviews and social work application of practise exists, and if so, how prevalent a gap it is. This is accomplished through use of a focus group of college students, all of whom have taken at least one course in social work theory and are themselves domestic violence survivors who have been served, to whatever level of quality, by social workers. Discussions within the focus group involved ideas of gender roles and social worker advocacy of hegemonic gender roles, whether explicit or implicit. The focus group then built on this foundation to consider group participants ‘experiences with social workers and whether they presented an individual / pathological perspective of domestic violence, or whether they presented a perspective that consider the wider influence of society and its systems. This was further related to the effect of such perceptions on the understanding of and service to group participants at the time of intervention. Literature Review Feminism has emerged in the past thirty years as a viable worldview. Dietz (2000), quoting Bunch (1980), defined feminism as â€Å"transformational politics that aims at the dismantling of all permanent power hierarchies in which one category of humans dominates or controls another category of humans† (372). â€Å"In the feminist and empowerment traditions, the personal is political, and individual change and social change are seen as interdependent† (Deitz 2000,372). Feminism contends it is not adequate to simply include women in the world’s political and power systems, as these were designed by and for men and therefore favour a highly masculinised mechanism for responding to issues and require women working within these systems to-do the same (Scott 1988, Moylan 2003). Simply including women is not enough; society must give women’s experiences equal time and consideration, eventually recasting the very meanings of the topics it considers (Scott 1988). Rather, feminism argues women must be engaged in both the system development and decision-making processes that shape our society (Moylan 2003). Consequently, one area where feminism has particularly challenged traditional views is in the area of gender roles. For example, Dominelli and McLeod (1989) examine the way in which social problems are defined, recognising gender as particularly important in understanding client groups, and stress egalitarian relationships between therapists and clients. Gender is also an important consideration of social work due to the patriarchal society that still dominates most of our world. This power framework rests on a basis of hegemonic masculinity (Cohn and Enloe 2003). Connell (1995) created the term ‘hegemonic masculinity’ to describe the valued definition of manhood in a society. He argues that whilst there are multiple possible masculinities in a culture, only one or a few are most valued or considered ideal (Connell 1995). This gender definition is constructed both in relation to femininity and to other, subordinated masculinities, and is used to justify both men’s domination of women, and the hegemonic ally masculine man’s power over other men (Cohn and Weber 1999). Whilst women are increasingly being included in world systems, the systems themselves still were designed for and operate by and for men. Therefore, women who participate within the system must do so from male paradigm, even if it is sometimes at odds with their own preferences for how to go about dealing with a situation (Cohn and Enloe 2003). Feminism historically is a â€Å"critique of male supremacy, the belief that gender order was socially constructed and could not be changed† (Cott1989,205). Masculinity is often defined as what is not feminine, and femininity as what is not masculine, although understanding the dynamics of one requires considering both the workings of the other and the relationship and overlap between the two (Cohn and Enloe 2003). Masculine definitions are often based on strength, domination and violence, whilst feminine on weakness, nurturing, compassion and passitivity (Rabrenovic and Roskos 2001). The result is pressure omen adhering to a hegemonic definition of masculinity to view forms of addressing conflict other than a physical or masculine response as feminine and a threat to their manhood (Moylan 2003). The popular concept of gender holds that masculinity and femininity â€Å"are unchanging expressions based on the chromosomal male and female bodies (Butler 1990). â€Å"Gender is assumed to be ‘hard-wired,’ at least in part† (Hawkesworth 1997). Masculine actions and desires for men and feminine actions and desires for women alone are normal, these masculine and feminine traits are not a matter of choice, and all individuals can be classified as one or the other (Hawkesworth 1997). However, whilst our society men are considered strong and dominant, and women passive and nurturing, â€Å"the meanings of male and female bodies differ from one culture to another, and change (even in our own culture) over time† (Connell 1993, 75). For example, there have been â€Å"periods in Western history when the modern convention that men suppress displays of emotion did not apply at all, when men were effusive to their male friends and demonstrative about their feelings†(Connell 1993, 75). â€Å"Masculinities and felinities are constructed or accomplished in social processes such as child rearing, emotional and sexual relationships, work and politics† (Connell 1993, 75). Feminism, however, contends gender is a constructed by each culture, and as a social practice involves the incorporation of specific symbols, which support or distort human potential (Hawkesworth 1997). Gender is created through â€Å"discursively constrained per formative acts, â€Å"and the repetition of these acts over time creates gender for the individual in society (Butler 1990, x). People learn to â€Å"act† like women or men are supposed to; women are taught to behave in a feminine manner, men are taught to act in a masculine manner. This is often reinforced by authority figures, such as social workers. Barnes (2003)cites a number of studies which find social workers often assume the â€Å"disciplinary gaze† of notions of â€Å"what and how to be woman, â€Å"perpetuating traditional gender roles (149). â€Å"Armed with rigid codes of gender appropriate behaviours, social workers often sought to regulate and mediate women’s interactions with the soci al, economic, and political world† (Barns 2003, 149). Feminism and social work share a number of similarities. Both believe â€Å"in the inherent worth and dignity of all persons, the value of process over product, the appreciation of unity-diversity, the importance of considering the person-in- environment, and a commitment to personal empowerment and active participation in society as a means to bring about meaningful social change† (Barrette 2001, 266-267). Similarly, both feminism and social work address multiple approaches to handling situations, challenging the institutionalized oppression common in manpower structures and supporting â€Å"the reconceptualization and redistribution of that power† (Barrette 2001, 267). It follows that one impact of feminism on social work practise is the consideration of issues from a societal rather than personal perspective. For example, this might include viewing a domestic violence situation not from the perspective that the family is dysfunctional, but from the perspective of the society that created the family. The psychology-based focus of clinical social work â€Å"often leads to individualizing social problems, rather than to viewing themes the result of relations of power, primarily oppression and abuse†(Deitz 2000, 369). As such, individuals experiencing such difficulties are â€Å"taught† that their particular experiences are inappropriate, rather than addressing the systems that created the difficulties in the first place (Deitz 2000, 369). Nominally and McLeod (1989) re-evaluate social work practice from feminist perspective, considering the functions of social work such as therapy, community interaction, and policy making not from pathological standpoint but from one of defined roles endorsed by societal conditions. As such, they contend that working from feminist perspective allows the social worker to address the causes of social issues, rather than the symptoms played out in individual’s lives (Nominally and McLeod 1989). One area of difference in social work practise between those operating from a feminist framework and a traditional framework is the concept of distance. Traditionally, the â€Å"patriarchal bias against relationality and connection† is intended to lead to â€Å"connection without harm, love without power abuse, touching without sexual abuse in psychotherapy†(Deitz 2000, 377). Unfortunately, in practise it often results in â€Å"power over† relationships where those receiving services feel â€Å"less than† those providing them. â€Å"Healing happens when someone feels seen, heard, held, and empowered, not when one is interpreted, held at distance, and pathologies† (Deitz 2000, 377). Deitz (2000) finds that social workers often institutionalize a â€Å"power over† stance from professional training and discourse that constructs the identities of clients as somehow disordered, dysfunctional or impaired. â€Å"Whether between parents and children; physicians and patients; social workers and consumers of services; Whites and Blacks; or heterosexuals and lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered persons, power over relationships give the dominant partners or group the right to define the meanings of subordinates’ experiences (including their resistance)and thus their opportunities for self-affirmation† (Deitz 2000,373).This creates professional relationships that ignore the environmental, historical, and social contexts of the problem, discount people’s strengths and resilience in assessment and intervention, and lead â€Å"to the objectification of people as diagnoses, rather than to empowerment† (Deitz 2000, 370). â€Å"The keys to empowerment in feminist micro practice are reconnection and transformation through political activity; survivors of oppression and abuse experience reconnection through relationships based on mutuality, collaboration, and trustworthiness† (Deitz 2000, 376). Theories from social work, psychology, and particularly developmental psychology describe empowerment as primarily a process, with the personal transformation of the individual becoming empowered at its foundation (Carr 2003, 8). Barriers to empowerment and problems of disenfranchisement caused by powerlessness are primarily political, rather than psychological. Powerlessness is defined as the inability to effectively manage one’s emotions, knowledge, skills, or resources; it is â€Å"derived from the absence of external supports and the existence of ontological â€Å"power blocks† that become incorporated into a person’s development† (Carr 2003, 13). As such, many survivors also work to reconnect to others in their communities, often seeking political activity that â€Å"emphasizes the empowerment of others, such as by organizing Take Back the Night marches or speak-outs, volunteering for crisis hot lines, seeking legislative changes, or becoming social workers or human service professionals† (Deitz 2000, 376). For example, feminist work with abuse survivors â€Å"emphasizes the relationship between abuse and oppressive social relations (Deitz 2000,374). On the other hand, the dominant clinical social work approach to oppression and abuse relocates the problem of oppression in victims. Psychological theories are typically employed, which â€Å"locates pathology in individuals, rather than in oppressive relationships and systems, and considers the long-term effects of oppression to be symptoms of individual pathology† (Deitz 2000, 374). Unfortunately, whilst many social workers have been exposed to or even personally support operating from a feminist framework, the systems in which they work prevent them from actively utilising feminist insight in their daily practise. Research Plan This research seeks to study the prevalence and impact of traditional and feminist practitioner constructs from the perspective of those served. Specifically, a focus group study will be conducted with a group of college students, all of whom are currently studying social work and therefore have some concept regarding social work practice, feminist and traditional worldviews. In addition, all students in the focus group will have experienced domestic violence and have been provided the services of a social worker in some form during their teenage years. Three areas of discussion will be undertaken by the group. These will be provided to individual group participants in writing several days before the group in order for students to have time to consider what they would like to share regarding their opinions and own experiences. The first group activity will involve creating definitions of â€Å"masculine† and â€Å"feminine† from the perspective of a typical social worker based on the students’ teenage experiences. Students will then be asked to discuss where, if at all, they personally feel they and their family members who were involved in the domestic violence situation(s) â€Å"fit† regarding these preconceived definitions. It is anticipated some students will have been uncomfortable with societal constraints they or their family experienced as teenagers. As all are studying social work, they are also anticipated to make more connections between societal power issues, hegemonic gender roles, and their influence on domestic violence than a focus group without such background. The third area of discussion will centre on how the students’ perceptions of their social worker(s) understanding of gender roles influenced their and their families reception of adequate service. The researcher will both tape record and take notes on the group discussions. Data gathered from the group will then be compiled and analysed. In addition, students from the focus group will be given the option to write a response to the group activity, if they so desire. These will be further included in the group data. Methodology Data collection involved four means. Prior to the group starting, each participant was given a questionnaire (see Appendix 3) to gather basic demographic information. The questionnaire also asked for brief summary of their abusive situation. Regarding data collection of the group proceedings, as described above the focus group session was tape-recorded and the researcher took notes to supplement the recording of group discussion. The recorded sessions were then transcribed into print form, with research notes added in at the chronologically appropriate points of the transcription to provide a more complete written overview of the focus group discussion. In addition, group participants had an option to write a response the group to be included in the group data. Four participants wrote responses, which were considered with the group data following analysis of the focus group discussion. Participants were provided with the three areas of group discussion several days prior to the actual focus group meeting. They were not given any directions or guidance regarding the optional written responses to the group activity. Data analysis first involved dividing and coding group data. Responses to the first topic of discussion were divided into three categories: those representing a traditional worldview, those representing feminist worldview, and those that did not clearly represent either worldview. From these groupings, overall findings regarding the worldviews typically experienced by the group participants were summarised. This was then further compared with the definitions of traditional gender roles identified by the group. Data from the second topic of discussion were also broken down into those representing a traditional worldview, those representing feminist worldview, and those that did not clearly represent either worldview. It was important to then note participant perceptions and emotional responses to these coding, and in which worldview grouping they and their families were reported to feel best served and empowered. Data from the specific discussion regarding service were then similarly analysed, and combined with previous findings to present a picture of the impact of traditional versus feminist worldviews on social work practise, emphasising work with teenage domestic violence survivors and their understanding of gender roles in society. It was anticipated at the conclusion of such research, a view could be asserted as to whether feminist perspective has a significant impact on the practise of social work as it is currently undertaken and whether this impact, if any, leads to improved service. As the focus group involved a relatively small number of participants(nine total) and data from their interactions were primarily qualitative in nature, it was decided not to perform any complex statistical analysis on focus group data. It was felt that such types of analysis would neither reveal findings that could be considered statistically significant nor provide a more accurate understanding of the issues under consideration than a more qualitative analytical approach. In consideration of space and relevance portions of the discussion were used to support conclusions in the findings and analysis sections of this dissertation, whilst an overall summary of the most relevant portions of the discussion are included in Appendix2. Implementation Project Nine students meeting the criteria laid out in the research plan agreed to participate in the focus group. They were primarily organised by one group participant, who had discovered other domestic violence survivors through classroom discussions and through participation in a survivors’ group in the local community. All nine students were currently studying social work or had taken at least one social work course as part of a related course of study, such as education or criminal justice. There were six women and three men, ranging in age from nineteen to twenty-seven. Racially, seven were Caucasian, one was Black, and one was Asian. All present as coming from upper working class to middle class backgrounds. All had experienced domestic violence as teenagers, making their experiences fairly recent and therefore providing a relatively current depiction of social work practise. Five students (three women, two men) had been removed from their biological parents at some point during their teenage years. All had been involved in interventions into the family by a social worker representing either a government organisation, or in the case of one woman, a local church. Some of the participants previously knew each other and were somewhat aware of each other’s experiences, which should be considered in group analysis. Five regularly participated in a survivors’ support group in the community. One man and one woman were cousins. In addition, two of the men had known each other as teenagers from intervention through the school system. Jennifer, a twenty-four year-old Caucasian woman, was chosen to be the moderator, as she had been the one who had assisted the researcher by arranging for most of the participants to become involved in the study. The group then moved almost immediately into discussion of the topics provided. The group had been provided a whiteboard for its use, which Jennifer implemented to organise individual comments and ideas. It is surmised that the easy manner with which the group undertook the discussion was based on the fact that they were all students and therefore used to having study groups, group discussions, and the like, and that all of them had at least publicly shared their experiences previously, either as part of a classroom discussion or survivors ‘group, or both, and were therefore more comfortable in engaging in such discussion than might be typical for a focus group dealing with such experiences. Findings and Analysis The first finding of this research is that the majority of social workers in service or domestic violence survivors to not consistently employ feminist constructs in practise, despite the likelihood of having been exposed to such constructs. This manifested itself in three significant ways. First, families were overwhelming dealt with as individuals with problems. That is, the abuser was described as making poor choices or having some type of pathological issues that led to his or her decision to abuse (in one participant’s family, both parents were abusive). As such, the abuser was described from psychoanalytical standpoint by the social worker(s), and his or her behaviour labelled as individually deviant. The survivors of the domestic violence situations, particularly them others, as the majority of abusers from the groups’ experiences were male family members or boyfriends of the mother, were also reported tube consistently dealt with from an individual perspective. In this sense, their behaviour was also reported to be categorised by the social workers involved as unhealthy, pathological, and coming from some sort of unresolved personal issues, such as low self-esteem. In the case of only one participant did the social workers involved in either intervention or therapy consistently relate the domestic violence situation to broader issues of oppression, societal power structures and the related hegemonic gender roles, or patriarchal norms of society. It is of note that this participant received service from progressive women-helping-women organisation, rather than a traditional government-organised social work programme. Group participants also repeatedly described their family situations as unhealthy, and they certainly were, but from the perspective that both the abuser and abused were reacting or displaying emotion inappropriately, rather than that the motivation or norming behind the behaviour was at fault. For example, Trent described his mother as drawn to violent, alcoholic men. â€Å"She always seemed to go for these guys that didn’t know how to express anything except by breaking stuff, yelling, hitting, you know.† His further descriptions of his mother’s ‘boyfriends indicated an assumption that if these men had been raised with or taught proper means of dealing with their frustrations and emotions, the abuse to him and his mother would have been lessened or eliminated. This idea was supported by at least one social worker, who suggested counselling for Trent, his mother, and the then boyfriend as one possible way of addressing the abusive situation. Several participants did bring feminist theory and thought into group discussion, pointing out, for example, that dominance or aggression by men in any form was unhealthy, and questioning why it was only seen as unhealthy by most of the social workers they had encountered, and bothers they knew in the community, when physical violence was actually involved. There was a related discussion, albeit brief, about the unwillingness of neighbours, relatives, and others in the community, such as members of the same church, to intervene in the domestic violence situation. Participants indicated their perception that whilst this was often due to a fear of getting involved or knowing how to help the situation, there were repeated occurrences in everyone’s experience where an unwillingness to intervene derived from others’ implications that the man of the house had some right to choose the way in which the household operated, or that he had a right to discipline his wife /girlfriend and children as he saw fit. Wendy reports hearing an aunt state â€Å"Well, it’s his family, their kids, she wants to stay with him, â€Å"and dismiss the on-going violence as therefore an acceptable family lifestyle, or at least one in which none of the rest of the family should be expected to intervene. Participants then acknowledged this and several other systemic situations that perpetuated their abuse, such as reluctance of authority figures to continue questioning when initially told nothing was wrong, and unwillingness of police to intervene repeatedly. Similarly, regarding gender roles, discussion indicated a belief by most participants that their social workers believed a traditional stereotype of what was appropriate behaviour for a man and a woman, and that these behaviours were different. There were reports of acceptance of physical response as an appropriate masculine reaction, but the level of physical response not being considered appropriate. Male participants were encouraged to talk about their experiences, but report never being given permission to express fear, or an emotional response such as crying. One male participant reported starting to cry as part of a group experience, and being discouraged rather than encouraged to continue, whilst female members of the group were allowed to and even supported in such emotional expression. There were similar reports of various hegemonic ally feminine expressions, such as crying, fear, and nurturing behaviours, being supported and encouraged by social workers for male family members but not female, as well as an acceptance or assumption of weakness on the part of adult females who chose to remain in an abusive situation. The discussion then moved to the effect of traditional and feminist perspective on social work service. Participants overwhelmingly reported feeling better served when social workers sought to empower them and their families. This did usually involve practise of methods derived from a feminist view, such as the use of reflective journaling and support groups, as well as encouragement from the social workers tithe mother that she could, indeed, survive and prosper outside the domestic violence situation, that she did have the inner reserves to address the situation and move to a healthier lifestyle, and that societal pressure to be with a man, either as a romantic partner or as a father / father-figure for children was not necessary for successful life. Participants also report feeling personally empowered by such encouragement, and therefore able to support their mothers in attempts to leave relationships. From their own study in social work theory, focus group participants were able to briefly discuss the ramifications of the patriarchal societal power structure on a woman’s decision to stay in a violent situation. One issue brought up included the perception that society will view a woman as a failure and undesirable if she does not have aromatic relationship with a man in her life. A number of women participants in the group reported feeling similar pressure to maintain romantic relationship with a man in their life, regardless of their other commitments or interests, and an expectation that they would not be successful women if they did not ultimately get married and have children. When questioned by other participants, the three male participants reported not feeling such pressures. Another issue raised was the mothers’ perception that they needed a father figure to successfully raise children, particularly boys. This was perpetuated in the life experiences of group participants even though the men occupying these roles were viewed by the male participants as destructive, rather than constructive, influences. Issues of supporting disciplining children and managing household operations were also indicated, as was the financial support provided by the bitterer. The group indicated all these issues were societal, rather than individual, and lack of addressing of them affected the effectiveness of the social services they had received. Overall, the participants were generally positive about at least one social worker with whom they had a relationship during their teenage years. Participants typically felt feeling most encouraged and best served by those social workers who did not present themselves as being distant or above the participants and their families, and who did not overly emphasise their family’s issues from a perspective of individual dysfunction. These findings indicated that a feminist interactive construct, which avoids â€Å"power over† methods and practise is perceived to be most effective by domestic violence survivors. Recommendations It is recommended from findings of this study that social workers are first provided greater exposure to and training in feminist methods and theory as it relates to their practical, day-to-day practise. For example, all participants reported some positive experiences in response to reflective methods such as reflective journaling and survivor support groups. Considerations of ways to more greatly include such methods in typical practise are therefore indicated. Of greater concern are the systems in which social workers operate. Whilst most of the social workers in these focus group participants ‘experiences had some familiarity with feminist theory or methods, as indicated by their emphasis on empowerment or use of specific strategies, there is something within the government-sponsored social services structure that prohibits practise truly based on feminist tenets. A sharp contrast was provided by the young woman served at a progressive, private service, where feminist theory was the obvious framework on which service was based. She was by far the most positive about her experiences and workers, and reported insights, understanding and empowerment to change not consistently reported by other focus group participants. It therefore recommended that more research be pursued as to what factors

Hurricane Floyd :: essays research papers

A hurricane is easily the most powerful storm that mother-nature can throw at us. Every year people who live on the coasts fight hurricanes with no dismay. A hurricane is simply too strong. Their winds reach speeds of 75 mph. The winds around the eye wall can reach 130 to 150 mph. They are 200 to 300 miles in diameter. The number of casualties is endless, as well as the widespread destruction that takes millions of dollars to repair. Even if the hurricane doesn’t cause a lot of damage, the storm surge will. Storm surge is the great tidal waves that crash into our coasts and make huge floods that are caused by hurricanes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hurricanes are extremely large area’s of low pressure that are over the ocean in either the North Atlantic ocean, or the eastern North Pacific Ocean. If a hurricane is in the western Pacific Ocean than it is called a typhoon. One in the Indian Ocean is called a cyclone. The danger region of a hurricane is normally in the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean. The hurricane season is the six month time period from June-November. The peak month of hurricanes is September.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hurricanes form over the ocean. Easterly waves, what hurricanes develop from, are long, narrow regions of low pressure which occur in ocean winds called trade winds. At first, these easterly waves can grow into something called, a tropical depression. A tropical depression occurs when winds are up to 31 mph. Then tropical depressions can be upgraded into a tropical storm if the winds reach speeds of 74 mph or less. Then finally a the storm can be bumped up into a hurricane if the winds reach 75 mph.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The National Weather Service is constantly trying to provide us with data and other information about when and where hurricanes are forming. It has been said that the only way to reduce the number of fatalities in serious storms is to give people more warning time for them to go to a safer place. Many times in hurricanes people are told to evacuate there city or state. The more time that people have to do this the more that people will do this. Throughout the entire hurricane season meteorologists keep a close watch on the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. They examine pictures of the area taken by satellites, and also take information on air pressure, wind speed, and temperatures.

James Joyces Araby - An Analysis of Araby :: Joyce Dubliners Araby Essays

An Analysis of Joyce's Araby "Araby" is a short complex story by Joyce that I believe is a reflection of his own life as a boy growing up in Dublin. Joyce uses the voice of a young boy as a narrator; however the narrator seems much more mature then the boy in the story. The story focuses on escape and fantasy; about darkness, despair, and enlightenment: and I believe it is a retrospective of Joyce's look back at life and the constant struggle between ideals and reality. I believe Araby employs many themes; the two most apparent to me are escape and fantasy though I see signs of religion and a boy's first love. Araby is an attempt by the boy to escape the bleak darkness of North Richmond Street. Joyce orchestrates an attempt to escape the "short days of winter", "where night falls early" and streetlights are but "feeble lanterns" failing miserably to light the somberness of the "dark muddy lanes"(Joyce 38). Metaphorically, Joyce calls the street blind, a dead end; much like Dublin itself in the mid 1890s when Joyce lived on North Richmond Street as a young boy. A recurrent theme of darkness weaves itself through the story; the boy hides in shadows from his uncle or to coyly catch a glimpse of his friend Mangan's sister who obliviously is his first love. Araby is about escaping into the world of fantasy. The narrator is infatuated with his friend's sister; he hides in the shadows, peering secluded from a distance trying to spy her "brown figure"(Joyce 38). She is the light in his fantasy, someone who will lift him out of darkness. I see many parallels to my life as a boy growing up in the inner city of Jersey City. We looked for escape also, a trip uptown to Lincoln Park, or take a train ride to New York City where we would gaze at the beauties on 7th Ave. The boy sees the bazaar at Araby as an opportunity to win her over, as a way to light the candle in her eyes. However, the boy is more awkward then shy, his adolescence is an impediment to his quest and he lost for words to speak. I vividly recall those times in my young life, driven by desires and struggling with the lack of experience to get through the moment. He fantasizes about her, how bringing her a gift from the bazaar will capture her heart.

The Strange New World of Virtual Reality :: Computers Internet Technology

The Strange New World of Virtual Reality Virtual Reality is a creation of a highly interactive computer based multimedia environment in which the user becomes a participant with the computer in a "virtually real" world. We are living in an era characterized by 3D virtual systems created by computer graphics. In the concept called Virtual Reality (VR), the virtual reality engineer is combining computer, video, image-processing, and sensor technologies so that a human can enter into and react with spaces generated by computer graphics. In 1969-70, a MIT scientist went to the University of Utah, where he began to work with vector generated graphics. He built a see-through helmet that used television screens and half-silvered mirrors, so that the environment was visible through the TV displays. It was not yet designed to provide a surrounding environment. It was not until the mid '80's that virtual reality systems were becoming more defined. The AMES contract started in 1985, came up with the first glove in February 1986. The glove is made of thin Lycra and is fitted with 15 sensors that monitor finger flexion, extension, hand position and orientation. Connected to a computer through fiber optic cables. sensor inputs enable the computer to generate an on screen image of the hand that follows the operator's hand movements. The glove also has miniature vibrators in the finger tips to provide feedback to the operator from grasped virtual objects. Therefore, driven by the proper software, the system allows the operator to interact by grabbing and moving a virtual object within a simulated room, while experiencing the "feel" of the object. The virtual reality line includes the Datasuit and the Eyephone. The Dtasuit is an instrumented full-body garment that enables full-body interaction with a computer constructed virtual world. In one use, this product is worn by film actors to give realistic movement to animated characters in computer generated special effects. The Eyephone is a head mounted stereo display that shows a computer made virtual world in full color and 3D. The Eyephone technology is based on an experimental Virtual Interface Environment Workstation (VIEW) design. VIEW is a head-mounted stereoscopic display system with two 3.9 inch television screens, one for each eye. The display can be a computer generated scene or a real environment sent by remote video cameras. Sound effects delivered to the headset increase the realism. It was intended to use the glove and software for such ideas as a surgical simulation, or "3D virtual surgery" for medical students.

The Role and Proceedings in a magistrate’s court

The court system in the United Kingdom has continuously been changing over the year’s. In the recent past; the pace of change in court reforms has been fast, this has in turn led to some important changes within the English court system. For example, before the year 1979, the Lord Chancellors department (LCD) was responsible for running all the courts except the magistrate’s courts.It is during this year(1979) when the administration of magistrate courts was transferred to a state agency referred to as the court service which was earlier responsible for administering the functions of the supreme court of England and Wales, this also consisted of the court of appeal, the high court ,the crown court, county courts and several tribunals. Magistrates Courts were under the jurisdiction of local committees that were constituted under the authority of the home office until the beginning of the year 1991. Since this year, the Lord Chancellors Department took over the running of magistrates courts.The enactment of the courts act of 2003 led to the creation of her majesty’s courts service (HMCS) as the executive agency responsible for administering the English court system. The crown court on the other part is one of the courts that constitute the senior courts of Wales and England. The administration of the crown court is overseen by the HMCS and the court mainly handles appeals for decisions referred from the magistrate courts, convicting persons who have sentenced in the Crown courts, carrying out jury trials and finally, sentencing those who have been convicted in magistrate courts (Gray, 2004, p.16). This paper explores what happens in magistrate and crown courts and offers a comparative analysis of the two courts and seeks to create understanding of the role played by them in the administration of justice. The Role and Proceedings in a magistrate’s court The first visit by any one into a magistrate’s court will be characterized by so many questions. As Gibson and Watkins, 2009, p. 10, note, a first visitor will want to know why things are done in the manner they are done. Many of the criminal proceedings begin in the magistrates courts.These proceedings range from offences relating to parking, sexual offenses, crimes committed by youthful people or juveniles and cut across to cases involving murder. Besides these hearings, Welsh, Greenwood and Banks, 2007, p. 97, add that magistrate courts also carry put proceedings relating to family issues like neglect of young children and disputes between the husband and the wife. Most of the cases that are brought in a magistrates court are concluded through acquittals, conviction and sentencing by the magistrates.Magistrates do not work for a regular pay but in the course of their duties, they are given reasonable allowances to meet their travel, subsistence and loss of earning. According to Hunter and Roberts, 1997, p. 35, any one aged above eighteen years and has bee n charged with committing an offence is required to attend a hearing in the court. As mentioned earlier, a large percentage of the criminal cases in England and Wales are handled by the magistrate courts.The cases heard in a magistrate’s court are divided into summary offences (lesser offences), Either-way offences (cases that can also be heard in a crown court before a judge) and Indictable-only offences (serious offences such as murder, manslaughter, and rape). The hearing for the case takes place in the court, members of the public have a gallery from which they sit and follow the proceedings. In cases where the accused persons are young offenders or juveniles, special arrangements are made before the trial begins (Gibson, & Watkins, 2009, p.83). During my visit to the magistrates’ court, I noted that the nature of offences that were being heard were common offences which included affray (in which the defendant was a young man), a case involving assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), this case involved two young college mates of which the defendant was a female student. The last case involved theft, a young man was accused of having shop lifted a pair of sports boots from a shopping mall.The offences are defined in the following provisions; section 47, of the offences against the person act of 1861, Section 1 of the theft Act 1968, and Section 3 of public order act 1986. (Adopted from, Criminal Litigation & Procedure by Tyrer& Lawton, 2000, p. 119). Of the three cases, none of the defendants had a defense lawyer. In the case involving assault, the defendant appeared composed and decently dressed. When the charge was read, the defendant showed that she clearly understood the accusation against her.The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge explaining to the magistrate that the assault was due to excess drinking that made her to be easily provoked by the plaintiff. In delivering the sentence, the magistrate read out the charges clearly to the defendant and quoted extensively on the provision section 47, of the offences against the person act of 1861. the magistrate concluded his sentencing by requiring that the she pays a fine of three thousand pounds and also ordered that the defendant restrains from excessive indulgence in alcohol consumption.The defendant in the second case was young man and the witness was a shop attendant who worked in the shopping mall from where the defendant was accused of having committed the crime. The stolen shoes and tapes recordings from a closed circuit television (CCTV) camera inside the shop were produced and used as exhibits in the case. The prosecutor was able to prove that the defendant had committed the offence because of his alibi. Similarly, the defendant pleaded guilty and asked for forgiveness vowing never to commit the offence again.In settling this matter, the magistrate cited the nature of the offence and considering that the young man was a first offender, the magistrate ruled that the young man be freed upon paying reparations equivalent to the price of the stolen boots. The case involving affray involved a young man who was accused of threatening a neighbor with violence in a dispute arising from a bet that was not honored relating to the outcomes of a premier league encounter between two teams playing in the champions’ league.In delivering the sentence, the magistrate ordered that the young man be remanded and the case be heard on a later date since the defendant was not apologetic to the plaintiff and was openly violent even at the hearing of the case. I was particularly impressed with the way the prosecution was able to proof that the young man had stolen the boots from the shopping mall and in the case involving affray. My surprise comes from the conduct of the first two defendants who pleaded guilty to the charges, consequently, leaving the prosecution with no task to proof that the defendants had actually committed the offences.The Ro le and Proceedings in a crown court. The national audit office, 2007, p. 4 reports that crown courts handle the most serious cases for example murder and rape. The administration of these courts is a responsibility of the HM court services and the courts often handle appeal proceedings that are brought against convictions or sentences that were initially dealt with at the magistrate’s court. When a case is heard in the crown court, the judge has the authority alter or even reverse earlier decisions made regarding the case.During the trial, the judge and a jury that consists of around twelve people hear the case. Members of the jury who hear the case are required to come up with their own verdict regarding the matter in the proceedings. The defendant will be present together with defense and prosecution lawyers, together with members of the public who follow the court proceedings from the public gallery. At times, members of the press may be present in the court to follow on t he proceedings.The length of time a case may last in the crown will mostly depend on the nature of the case and the complexity involved in the gathering and presenting the evidences. So, the trials could last t for a day or proceeds for several weeks and even months. Cownie, Bradney and Burton, p. 317, explain that cases in a crown court are heard before a judge and jury; they however note that a small number of all the cases that appear in crown are acquitted or convicted through jury trials. An observation by Cownie, Bradney and Burton (p.317) is that most of the defendants in the crown court end up pleading guilty and the judge plays a critical role in the acquittal of those defendants who enter a not guilty plea. According to Gray, 2004, p. 16, offenses tried in a crown court can be categorized into four classes namely, Class 1(murder, treason and other related crimes ), class 2(Manslaughter and murder, rape cases), class 3(indictable and various either-way offenses) and finally class 4(robbery, assault and offenses causing serious bodily harm).During my visit to the crown court, I heard a case that involved a middle aged man, thirty five years of age who was charged with an indictable-only offense. The man was charged with grievous bodily harm which is contradiction to the provisions of section 18, Offence Against the person act 1861. Alonsdide this, the man was also facing an acquisition of affray which is a contradiction to section 3 public order act of 1986. These two incidents were tied to a fight that took place in the city centre between supporters of opposing teams.The defendant was represented by a lawyer and this is one of the cases in which the prosecution was put to task to proof that the defendant had committed the offence. The case also involved the jury which ruled that owing to the extensive damages to property and the disruptions of activities at the city centre occasioned by the brawl, the defendant had a case to answer despite not pleadi ng guilty. This case had received great coverage from the press and public interest in the case was also high.The case was not concluded as I had anticipated and the case was deferred to later date owing to the need for the prosecution to finalize investigations on other co-defendants who were still in police custody. Comparative analysis Looking at proceedings that are handled in the two courts, both courts carry out trials that fall in either one of the following offenses; summary offenses which are often petty offenses mainly tried in the magistrates courts. In the magistrates’ court, an important distinguishing note between the magistrates’ court and the Crown is that the proceedings do not involve a judge or a jury (Cullingworth, 2001 .p. 205). The magistrates, unlike the judge who sits in the Crown court, the maximum sentence that the magistrate can give to a defendant who is proven as guilty is six months, this is different from the sentences in the Crown court where the judge together with the jury can give a sentence that is more than six months. On the same note, the maximum amount of money that can be paid as fines in a magistrate courts differs from that which the judge can quote at the conclusion of a proceeding in a Crown court.This maximum amount is three thousand pounds. In regard to the second category of offenses, which are triable either-way offenses, proceedings can be held in any of the two courts. Most often, a case is referred to the Crown court by the magistrates court if the defendant has been charged with the same offence more than twice or when there are multiple charges in which the magistrate feels there is need to refer the case to the crown court (Hannibal & Mountford, 2007, p. 39).Such cases include serious offenses like assault and rape. Pertaining to the last category of offenses, which are indictable offenses, proceedings can only be conducted in the crown court. The nature of offenses is regarded as serious and the trials may take considerable time because the cases involved are complex. Such complex cases include trials for armed robbery, major fraud cases, rape, and grievous bodily harm . These offenses have harsh sentences that may include the defendant being sentenced to life in prison.Both courts have a shared responsibility of administering justice, though this is done at different administrative levels with majority of the criminal cases being tired in the magistrates’ court with some being referred to the crown court for further consideration. Conclusion The magistrate and crown courts were created to serve the need of administering justice as part of the English court systems. Many of the criminal cases are heard in magistrates’ courts which do not have a judge or jury during the proceedings.The nature of sentences that a magistrate can order are generally not severe because the maximums sentence period is six months and the fine is set at a maximum of three thousan d pounds. On the other hand the proceedings in Crown court often involve a jury, a judge, defense lawyers and the director of prosecution. Since the Crown court handles cases that are complex in nature, the English court system has made the process of justice administration easier as magistrates’ courts can be effectively used to divert sizeable number of cases that could end up being pushed in Crown courts.Keeping in mind the crucial role played other courts like the county and youth courts and the presence of a state agency solely responsible for administration of the courts, which is her majesty’s courts service, (HMCS), the English justice administration systems are quite efficient. Reference list Cownie, F, Bradney, A & Burton, M, 2007, English legal system in context, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Cullingworth, N, 2001, Edexcel BTEC first public services textbook, Nelson Thornes,Cheltenham. Gibson, B &Watkins, M, 2009, The Magistrates ‘Court: an Introduc tion, 5th Ed, Waterside Press, Sherfield.Gray, D, 2004, BTEC National in Public Services, Heinemann. Hannibal,M& Mountford,L,2007,LPC Handbook on Criminal Litigation 2007-2008, Oxford University Press, Oxford Hunter, J& Roberts, C. A, 1997, Studies in crime: an introduction to forensic archaeology, Routledge, London. National Audit Office, 2009, Administration of the Crown Court, The Stationery Office, London. Tyrer, J& Lawton, D, 2000, Criminal Litigation & Procedure, Routledge, London Welsh, T, Greenwood, W& Banks, D, 2007, McNae's essential law for journalists, Ed19, Oxford University Press, Oxford. .

Lorex Memo

I will Indicate what Information I found Important in making the best economic decision for the target fill amount. There were several costs that we need to consider when analyzing what will return the most profit. I will walk you through the data I used, the analytical method performed, and my recommendation on what I believe would be the most profitable for Lore Pharmaceuticals. Determining the Proportion of Properly Filled Bottles I started by determining a list of target fill rates to test for your company.There Is a standard normal distribution function that can be used to determine the probability for different fill rates. I used the required fill rate of 10 ounces as a basis of lactating the proportion filled properly for that ounce level. The results only showed a 50% probability as you can see in exhibit A, in the first column. I increased the fill rate by . 1 ounces and continued to calculate the probability using the same standard normal function. These results, shown in e xhibit A, can be used to help calculate the highest possible contribution per case by considering the impact on revenue and variable costs.The results show, with every . 1 ounce increase to the target fill rate, the probability that the bottles with meet the proper fill requirement of 10 ounces goes up. Expected Revenue per Case Now that the probability of properly filled bottles has been calculated, we can determine our expected amount of revenue per case. We know that a case that Is properly filled will sell for $1 86 and a case that has been reworked will sell for 80% of fill rate of jazz. Is $167. 40.We arrive at this number by assuming 50% of the cases will be sold at $186 and 50% will be sold at 80% of $186, or $148. 80. You can see on Exhibit A, that as the probability of properly filled bottles increases, revenue also increases. This is because the higher probability that the cases will meet the 10 ounce requirement, the more cases you will be able to sell at full price. Cos t of Active Ingredients per Case When trying to maximize profit, it is important to consider what costs are going to impact the bottom line.Specifically, we will want to evaluate the variable costs that change related to the target fill line. I started with the data the company provided in the projected operating profit and I calculated what the cost per case of active ingredients per ounce would be. I included the active ingredients and the blending direct labor because these amounts correlate with how many ounces are in each total. The filling materials, filling direct labor, and filling overhead are important costs that will affect the bottom line; however they are not dependent on the target fill rate.By calculating a per ounce amount, we can calculate the active ingredient cost per case. As you can see in Exhibit A, the higher the target rate per bottle, the higher the cost per case. This is because the more ounces used to fill the bottles; the more ingredients are going to be used. Cost of Rework per Case Another cost to consider is the cost of rework per case. Unless every bottle meets the ill requirement of 10 ounces, there is going to be a rework cost. Given the hourly wage and rate at which a case can be reworked, we can calculate a per case rework amount.The higher probability that the bottles are properly filled implies a lower cost of rework. You can see in exhibit A, the cost of rework decreases as the target fill rate increases. Recommendation/Conclusion Based on the calculations, I would recommend that Lore Pharmaceuticals set a target rate of 10. 4 for the current production line of Linton. As you can see in Exhibit A, the highest contribution per case is at the 10. 4 rate. When we increase the target fill rate to 10. 5, the contribution per case decreases. Even though at a target rate of 10. Returns the highest projected revenue per case, the amount of active ingredients used to fill each bottle increases; therefore our contribution per case decreases. An alternative solution could be to invest in a more efficient production line for this drug. The quality of the production line that is being used for Linton is older and much slower than the other production lines in use. We would need to consider whether making improvements to the current production line or buying a completely ewe machine would be worth it for Lore verses using the current production line.

Purtsuit or Happyness: True Story Essay

Christopher Paul Gardner (born February 9, 1954 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a self-made millionaire, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and philanthropist who, during the early 1980s, struggled with homelessness while raising his toddler son, Christopher, Jr. Gardner’s book of memoirs, The Pursuit of Happyness, was published in May 2006. As of 2006, he is CEO of his own stockbrokerage firm, Gardner Rich & Co, based in Chicago, Illinois, where he resides when he is not living in New York City. Gardner credits his tenacity and success to the â€Å"spiritual genetics† handed down to him by his mother, Bettye Jean Triplett, nà ©e Gardner,[2][3][4] and to the high expectations placed on him by his children, son Chris Jr. (born 1981) and daughter Jacintha (born 1985). Gardner’s personal struggle of establishing himself as a stockbroker while managing fatherhood and homelessness is portrayed in the 2006 motion picture The Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith. The movie, starring Will Smith, Thandie Newton, and Smith’s son Jaden Smith, focused on Gardner’s nearly one-year struggle with homelessness. The movie grossed $163 million domestically at the box office and over $300 million worldwide, also one of Will Smith’s consecutive $100 million blockbusters. The movie took some liberties with Gardner’s true life story. Certain details and events that actually took place over the span of several years were compressed into a relatively short time and although eight-year-old Jaden portrayed Chris Jr. as a five year-old, Gardner’s son was just a toddler at the time. Chris Gardner reportedly thought Smith—an actor best known for his performances in action movies—was miscast to play him. However, he said his daughter Jacintha â€Å"set him straight† by saying, â€Å"If Smith can play Muhammad Ali, he can play you!† Gardner makes a cameo appearance in the film, walking past Will and Jaden in the final scene. Gardner and Will acknowledge each other; Will then looks back at Gardner walking away as his son proceeds to tell him knock knock jokes. Pursuit of Happyness: Questions 1. Identify some of the challenges that Chris Gardner faced when trying to sell his bone-density scanners. 2. What were some of the challenges that Chris’s wife Linda had to face? 3. List some of the risks that Chris Gardner faced in getting the job at Dean Witter. 4. What would result if Chris had given up on his dream of getting a job at Dean Witter? 5. Summarize some of the difficulties that Chris had to face while training at Dean Witter. 6. Did Christopher (Chris Gardner’s son) face challenges during this time? Identify some of those challenges. 7. List some of the alternatives that Chris and his son could have done to make their life better. 8. Explain how Chris felt at the beginning, middle, and end of the story. 9. Select parts of the story that were the funniest, saddest, happiest, and most unbelievable. 10. Select an action of one of the characters that was exactly the same as something you would have done. Part 3: Essay: Write a half page response to the following writing prompt. How can you take the lessons learned in watching this film to your life?

Louis Wright

The United States of America is still seen by many other nationalities as a prime place to immigrate to as can be noticed by the current influx of new immigrants.   Although American ways have often been perceived by other people as distinct, Louis Wright’s article, The British Tradition in America in Retrospect, clearly shows that many of the attractive aspects of American culture are actually rooted in British tradition. These aspects such as cultural conservatism, the practical view of religion, moral justifications even of unethical issues, individualism, the business culture, good academic education, fashionability of the English language and the beautiful laws in the United States are all rooted in British culture. One of the most attractive aspects of American culture is the way it seems to break away from traditions.   Many immigrants, especially those from developing countries, find novelty in the creative ways that Americans have been able to remodel British traditions to make it look new or non-conformist. US culture seems to encourage the freedom of expression that many artists desire.   This freedom to create is usually limited in other countries because of its own traditions. Another very prominent aspect of American culture that generates interest among interested immigrants is its perspectives on how to practice religion based on logic and what is profitable instead of theoretical.   Although Americans believe themselves to have broken away from British conservative religious practice, the religion is still inherited from Britain. The implementation of religion in the U.S. is merely loose compared to the very strict and binding religion of the British because of the new found freedom that the early settlers realized they had. Although Puritanism has made moral justifications on unethical issues before, Puritanism’s origins are traceable to Britain.   The origins of this belief are rooted in the British culture and merely implemented on American soil. One very basic attitude that Americans and British have in common is individualism.   The â€Å"mind your own business† attitude is very attractive to other nationalities with many cultural family traditions that hinder individuals from completely achieving financial success. Developing countries mostly lack the business mind-set and are usually focused on familial ties and traditions.   The American emphasis on commerce and trade (which are also rooted in British character) shows interested immigrants that success is easier to achieve in the United States if one is willing to work hard for it. Another attractive aspect of the United States that is deeply rooted in its British heritage is education.   Many foreigners seek to educate themselves within the universities of the U.S. because the academic curricula are based on classical knowledge translated within the bounds of ethical and moral principles.   There are many Christian foreigners who fancy being educated in Harvard, Princeton, etc. because of the way these universities have been espousing great knowledge without totally going against spiritual beliefs. Another very powerful attraction to the American continent is its language.   American English, even if it is already very different from British language due to the influences of other nationalities is still fashionable almost all over the world. The American English language is a great communication tool among international students because of the many books written in this language.   The media has been able to popularize the American culture and with it, the language.   Many nationalities look up to their brothers who can master the American English tongue. Above all, the American laws that espouse freedom and human rights are very attractive to cultures that are troubled by political problems.   American laws, which have been derived from the British legal system, seem to encourage individual freedom and able to protect even the smallest individual from abuse.   Gay’s rights, right to choice and other laws show how liberal but protecting the American legal system can be and this can be very attractive to immigrants. American traditions and fashionable life is very popular because it always seems modern and novel to conservative cultures and developing countries.   However, if one would really take away the hype and understand things the way Louis Wright does, it will become obvious that American have simply developed British systems and made some improvements before they called it their own.