A History of the World Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A History of the World Economy - Essay Example However, it remarkably focuses on the gains and resilience of the free world economy. It systematically traces the origins and ultimate arrival of a global order now ubiquitously termed as globalization. The industrial revolution in the early 18th century ushered in an era from when there has been no looking back. Be it political, social or economical developments, changes had started happening, and happening fast. Too fast for philosophers and researchers to apply the prevalent principles and pinpoint which way the world was headed and how best to keep matters under control to avoid situations running out of hand. Unknown then, the world was inexorably headed towards two world wars when the globe caught in the destabilizing politics of world domination by different European countries and exultant with the benefits of the new inventions like the "Morse Code" telegraph and the steam engine, did not think what could happen to a globe as a result of selfish motives. And when the wars did take place in two quick successions it was too late to put in place a proper political and economical order. It also led to a debilitating depression when the political framework and economic structures had lost their moorings and had to be restructured from a scratch. None would challenge the view that the concept of globalization existed well before its actual ascendance. The very term 'globalization' has seen a widespread and rapid usage and acceptance since the last two decades. Economists like Martin Albrow defined globalization in terms of a single world society and system of processes which incorporates the world into one homogenous order. Or like Anthony Giddens who described globalization as a "new form of world interdependence." However, none would have guessed the enormity of scale in which globalization has seen changes in world economy in which economy that was not based on democratic principles was bound to collapse. The book has little to offer on the pre-globalisation era except during the pre and post war periods. It only dwells at length on the different situations and practices of economy in different parts of Europe, especially central and east Europe in comparison with the well developed economy of the north and northwestern Europe. Communication and Transport The upsurge in economy resulting from rapid advances in communication and transport saw the emergence of a new world order. Corrupt, obsolete socialist, bigotry, and archaic systems could do little to withstand the speed with which they had to introduce reforms they would have rejected had they the choice. True, globalization to any countries was synonymous with western culture. Because western countries like the USA, UK, Germany, and France were anyway in the forefront of the new economic system. The speed and ease with which communication and traveling became possible with the internet and airways and bullet trains were quickly adapted by these nations and countries like China, India, Korea, and the Eastern. European nations like Poland followed suit with their large skilled workforce. The book systematically closes in, following the events of the 18th century onwards, on the inevitability of globalization even in the face of stiff

Chainsaw Al Dunlap Essay Example for Free

Chainsaw Al Dunlap Essay l â€Å"Chainsaw Al Dunlap†: A New Breed of Manager? West Point graduate Albert J. Dunlap, former chairman and CEO of Scott Paper Company, claims that the U.S. Military Academy made him â€Å"tenacious and very organized†. Others say his experience gave him an â€Å"inyour-face attitude rare among executives† and made him a valuable hired gun for straightening out troubled companies. Dunlap is known to attack and challenge nearly every premise and person that gets in his sight. Those who interfere with his efforts usually get chewed up by the experience. Scott Paper is a familiar brand name to the American consumer. Founded by Clarence and Irvin Scott in 1879, the company eventually became the worlds largest supplier of toilet tissue, paper napkins, and paper towels. As it matured, however, Scotts profitability suffered and growth stagnated when rival Procter Gamble took an increasing market share. Between 1960 and 1971, Scotts market share of consumer paper products dropped from 45 to 33 percent. In the period 1990 to 1994, Scott continued to lose market share, and in 1993, the company lost $277 million and saw its credit rating deteriorate. By 1994, Scott Paper was a moribund bureaucracy. In hiring Al Dunlap, Scotts board of directors signaled its determination to take decisive action. Dunlap initiated changes that would eliminate 11,000 employees (71 percent of headquarters staff, 50 percent of all managers, and 20 percent of hourly workers). He sold off unrelated business units — including publishing papermaker S.D. Warren Company, for $1.6 b8llion — and slashed spending — the research and development budget alone was cut in half, to $35 million. Not surprisingly, Dunlaps cost cuts and increased prices achieved immediate bottom-line results. The companys profitab8iliyy soared, as did the market value of its stock, which rose 225 percent under Dunlaps leadership. Dunlap claimed that by launching new products and selling unprofitable ventures, he had positioned Scott Paper for long-term positive returns for investors. Critics disagreed, seeing Dunlaps moves as constituting a short-term strategy to groom the company for a merger. In the words of one former marketing executive, Dunlaps strategy â€Å"became a volume-driven plan to pretty up the place for sale†. In fact, on December 12, 1995 , Scott shareholders approved a $9.4 billion merger with Kimberly-Clark Corporation. As for Al Dunlap, he enjoys his â€Å"chainsaw† reputation and believes that his approach is helping to change the norms of corporate behavior. However, according to Peter D. Cappelli, chairman of the management department at the Wharton Business School , â€Å"He is persuading others that shareholder value is the be-all and end-all. But Dunlap didnt create value. He redistributed income from the employees and the community to the shareholders.† Neverthel ess, the cuts continue. Kimberly-Clark plans to remove 8,000 workers from the combined companies 60,000 workforce by 1997 and to close Scotts headquarters in Boca Raton , Florida . One former high-level Scott executive believes that the company is now â€Å"just a hollow core.† Meanwhile Dunlap walked away with $100 million in salary, bonus, stock gains, and other perks. He offers no apologies for his approach: â€Å"Im not going to apologize for success†¦for all this, for hard work. Thats the freemarket system.† Dunlap does not believe that a business should be run for the stakeholders, such as employees or the communities in which they live, but for the shareholders-period. â€Å"Stakeholders are total rubbish,† according to Dunlap. â€Å"Its the shareholders who own the company. Not enough American executives care about the shareholders.† The real question is whether short-term stockholder gains are good for business down the road. Says Sarah Teslik, executive director of the Council of Institutional Investors in Washington, a watchdog group for big shareholders: â€Å"Dunlap holds himself up as a role model, but any company is apt to have significant stock runup if current costs are reduced by a huge amount. Thats no guarantee [Scott] will do well in the future.† On the other hand, some analysts contend that Dunlap has changed corporate America for the better. In a Financial World magazine poll, for example, CEOs voted he is now a high-profile business leader who will be sought out by the boards of other troubled companies to enhance shareholder value. It remains to be seen, however, what impact the short-term and long-term consequences of Al Dunlaps management theory will have on corporate America and the American workforce. Questions: †¢ Describe Al Dunlaps management approach. Does it fit any of the classical or modern approaches? Explain. How does it contradict some points in these approaches? †¢ Delineate the good points and bad points of a massive downsizing effort such as that undertaken at Scott Paper — as if you were a stakeholder, and then, as if you were a shareholder. Are your two lists different? Explain. †¢ What factors were the keys to increased productivity at Scott Paper? How was Dunlap responsible for the companys turnaround? †¢ Describe the kind of company that might hire Dunlap next. What goals might its board of directors have? What problems might the company face? What companies in the news today fit your description?

Rational Choice Theory Essay -- Legal Issues, Criminal Activity

There are three main points that are reinforced in rational choice theory (Cornish and Clarke, 1986). First, it may work better or worse for different types of crime, yet it is thought that there are rational choices in every type of crime even impulsive and pathologic crimes. Second, the theory should be applied on a crime-specific basis. Hence, burglaries can’t be grouped together in among residential and commercial categories. Rather, they must be broken into smaller facets such as public housing burglaries or wealthy residential neighborhoods. Finally, a distinction is made between criminal involvement and criminal events. Criminal involvement describes how individuals get involved in crime and further continue or abstain from this lifestyle. Criminal events have unique underpinnings, which are often shorter processes than criminal involvement structures. Among the goals of rational choice theory is to explain all types of crime (Cornish and Clarke, 1986). However, it does not propose that there is an underlying unity between different types of crime like other theories. Instead, these diverse elements are important in explaining why such events occur. Also, it incorporates factors that lead to crime, emphasizes the pattern of decisions throughout a criminal career, and accounts for situational variables of crime. In comparison, the deterrence theory proposes that the fear of legal punishment diverts people away from crime, while rational choice theory advances that in the act of choosing whether or not to commit a crime the benefits are weighed (Stafford and Warr, 1993; Cornish and Clarke, 1986). Hence, in both theories pain is a cause for not committing crimes. Furthermore, the deterrence theory has two chil... ...um, these three points show that development is a constant interaction between the self and the environment coupled with chance or luck. Recognizing that luck plays a role, or more appropriately called â€Å"random development noise†, is important to show the significance of the randomness of the process. Thornberry (1987) acknowledges the weight of the social control theory, social learning theory, and integrated models that combine the two. However, there are three limitations. First, causal structures are unidirectional instead of reciprocal. One example, social psychological research points to the reciprocal relationship between delinquent values and behaviors. Second, these theories use models that are usually non-developmental in nature – only focusing on one age range. Lastly, they surmise causal effects in a social structure to be similar throughout.

Hpv Controversy

Whitney Sienko McInnis December 6, 2007 â€Å"HPV Vaccine Controversy† The recent news of a vaccine that could prevent a large percent of cancer deaths in the United States alone would generally be considered a reason to celebrate. However, the current attempts of many states, including the governor of Texas, Rick Perry, to pass an ordinance making it mandatory for preteen girls to have the Gardasil vaccine to protect them from some of the forms of cervical cancer caused by HPV has met a great deal of opposition. The objections to this legislation getting passed are primarily voiced by concerned parents who believe that the vaccination is too new to the market and that the long term effects are still too unknown.. This essay will discuss what genital HPV is and how it causes cancer in women, will describe the Gardasil shot and the attempts to make it a mandatory vaccine inoculation for schools in the United States and will detail both sides of the controversy surrounding it. Though the benefits of this vaccine could greatly outweigh the risks, the governor attempting to force a mandate requiring the vaccine to be given to all sixth grade girls could be considered an imposition on parents’ right to choose what is best for their children. Genital HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that is caused by the human papillomavirus (â€Å"Genital HPV Infectionâ€Å"), a group of viruses that contains more than 100 strains, 30 of which are sexually transmitted. This disease is spread by genital contact, and the carrier generally has no signs or symptoms of the infection. The only way to fully protect oneself from contracting HPV is to have no genital contact with another person. That is why it is no surprise that more than 20 million people currently have this infection and that 50 percent of sexually active persons will contract it at some point in their life. There is no cure for HPV, but it is possible for the infection to go away on its own. Though it is usually an asymptomatic infection, it occasionally causes genital warts and mild discomfort, but the greatest danger of this infection is in the ten identified strains that have been linked to cervical cancer in women. Most of the deaths caused by cervical cancer are in women who did not undergo routine pap smears to check for abnormalities. Since persons infected with HPV rarely show any signs or symptoms of an infection, it is often detected too late if at all. It is estimated by the American Cancer Society that in 2007, approximately 11,150 cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed in the United States, and, though the death rate is declining every year because of an increase in pap smear testing, cervical cancer will still kill about 3,670 women this year (â€Å"What is cervical cancer? †). Development of a vaccine to protect against HPV began in 1993, and the trials for the Gardasil vaccine itself began in 1997. After only nine years of testing, Merck submitted an application to the FDA for fast-track approval (CQ Researcher 419). It took only four clinical trials before the FDA approved Gardasil (Mendenhall), and the drug was approved by the FDA for only eight months before it was first mandated. Gardasil is used to prevent HPV and the cervical cancers that are caused by certain strains of the virus, such as types 16 and 18 which are responsible for about 70 percent of all cervical cancers diagnosed in the United States (McClain). It also protects against two of the strains that are known to cause genital warts. Gardasil was licensed in June 2006, and within a month states such as Michigan were already proposing to mandate the vaccine for girls as young as eleven. In February 2007, Texas governor Rick Perry ordered the vaccine for sixth-grade girls (â€Å"Texas Plans for Mandatory HPV Vaccine Fuel Controversy† ), only to have more than two-thirds of the Texas House of Representatives vote to rescind the executive order (Lang). In response to the twenty two states that were proposing to mandate this vaccine, Representative Paul Gingrey from Georgia reintroduced the Parental Right to Decide Protection Act (CQ Researcher 419). There are many reasons that this vaccine could be beneficial, not only to our society, but to many of the underdeveloped nations of the world in which HPV and cervical cancer are still considered to be an epidemic (MacDonald). It could save the young women who get the vaccine from the future trouble of ealing with a highly invasive cancer, as well as protect them from the embarrassment that comes with contracting a venereal disease. However, the controversy of this topic is not in whether the vaccine is a benefit to women’s health, which many, including the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control, believe that it is; but in the debate over whether it is the parents’ right, not the states’, to choose what is best for their child. The question of mandatory vaccination raises medical, moral and legal issues that are not easily reconcilable (Lovinger). Many parents are opposed to the mandating of this vaccine for three reasons. First, HPV is not spread by casual contact, as are the other diseases that children are vaccinated against for the safety of the classrooms. Second, the vaccine has only been approved for a short while, thus not all of the side effects and long term effects are known. Last, parents are afraid that by getting their child vaccinated against a sexually transmitted disease they will be encouraging promiscuity. Gardasil would become the first vaccine mandated for school-aged children that targets a microbe spread primarily through sex. (Wallis) Many have questioned whether an STD vaccine should be required for school attendance, since genital HPV is sexually transmitted as opposed to being spread by casual contact. Whooping cough, polio, Hepatitis and measles are just a few of the vaccines that children must already have in order to attend many public schools, and all of these infections are easily spread either by being in contact or close proximity of someone who is infected (CQ Researcher 415). These infections are all rapidly spread and have the possibility of becoming an epidemic at a school, which is the reason that it is necessary for children to have them. You cannot get genital HPV by shaking hands or sitting next to another child in class, so there is insufficient reason for the vaccine to be mandatory for school attendance (CQ Researcher 416). If parents’ would like to willingly give their daughter the shot, then it is a family choice. Also, there is still much uncertainty about the inoculation’s long-term safety and the possibility of dangerous side effects. While the most common complaint by girls that have received the shot is pain at the site of injection, a national watchdog group using the Freedom of Information Act has uncovered more than 1,600 reports to the FDA of â€Å"adverse events† linked to Gardasil, with 371 of those events being ranked as â€Å"serious†. These â€Å"effects† included three deaths from blood clots and heart problems, which Merck was quick to explain away by blaming birth control pills and pre-existing conditions. Other reactions included paralysis, seizures and fainting (McClain). There has also been some debate on the means in which the trials to test the drug were conducted. The clinical studies done only included 1,200 girls under the age of 16. Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center is concerned about these studies as well and she stated, â€Å"That is just not enough information. What is the scientific evidence that it is safe and effective to use in the age group for which it is recommended? If you look at it on balance, it has not been proven. † Diane Harper, director of the Gynecological Cancer Prevention Researcher Group at Dartmouth Medical School called the inoculations â€Å"a great big public health experiment. Many parents are upset at the thought of their children becoming the â€Å"guinea pigs† for this vaccine and are concerned about the many stories that they have heard or read in the news about the possible long-term effects and the side effects that may not be mentioned on the pamphlets at the doctor’s offices (Gulli, George and Intini). Finally, many parents are con cerned that they will be sending the wrong message to their children by giving them a shot to protect against an STD. Some people have raised the issue that we could be sending teenagers the message that we expect them to be sexually active. A study done by the University of North Carolina showed that one in ten parents was concerned that the vaccination would encourage their children to have more sex (â€Å"Will Teenage Girls Have More Sex? †). Though the abstinence based teaching of sexual education in our country falls many times on the deaf ears of the hormone-run youth of society, forcing every student, even those who may not be at risk, to have the Gardasil shot is somewhat extreme. Overall, this is a decision that needs to be made in the home, not in the courtroom. In conclusion, the controversy surrounding this topic is more a battle of family right to choose verses the state government’s level of involvement in the health of our children. Once the vaccine’s long term effects have been more studied and the vaccine has earned a more respected reputation, I believe that people will grow to accept that it is simply another way to protect those that we love from a devastating disease. However, it should be the decision of the parents in cooperation with their child’s physician of when and how to protect our children from such obstacles in life. Though the Gardasil vaccine is a victory in protecting the lives and bodies of women all around the world, forcing nine year old girls to have the Gardasil shot as an obligation to school attendance is overstepping the boundaries between a family’s choice and the will of an unacceptably paternalistic government. Word Count: 1678 Sienko

Japanese Family

Japanese family is known for being industrious, hardworking and for being responsible; but they have time for leisure. Japan is instituted through what they call the ie system. The ie or household is considered as the basic unit of Japanese law until the end of World War II. It consists of grandparents, their son and his wife and their children.Each family was required to follow to the ie system, with a multigenerational household under the legal authority of a household head. (Japanese Family† access 2007) This ie system is patterned after the Confucian’s of the upper classes of the Togukawa period.The ie lay legally the authority and responsibility to the household head. Every generation supplied a man and woman , with a preference to acquire by the first son and for the patrilocal marriage. In Japan daughters were expected to get married and the younger sons were expected to establish their own family.Japanese woman have no right to legally own or control property at the same time to choose her man to be her husband. The ie system are very restricted to the development of each individual, women’s rights and most of all the individual rights. During the late World War II, Allied occupation forced to create a new family beliefs based on the equal rights for women , equal rights required by all children and the freedom to choose of spouse and field. In the late 1960’s also most Japan marriages have been based on the mutual feelings and attraction of the couple and not the parents arrangement.Actual negotiations do not start until all the concerned parties including the husband and wife are satisfied with the relationship. Japanese family current lifestyles the husband and wife are satisfied with the relationship. Japanese family current lifestyles is that the father or husband may travel to work and return late.They spend so little time for their children except Sundays which is the favorite day for family outings. While the wives cal led as â€Å"expert or professional wife† which have a total responsibility for raising their children, to guarantee their career and marriages, managing the household and at their children, to guarantee their career and marriages, managing the household and at the same time the family budget. Wife also responsible in maintaining the social relations to their relatives, neighbors and for maintaining and managing the family’s reputation. Social life of wife is separated from that of her husband.She also required to participate in the adult education or other community activities. Mother and the children are the closest emotional ties. The question whether the contemporary Japanese families still have preferences for entertainment during their free time, is obviously an interesting one. Base on research conducted, despite their busy schedule Japanese family are engaged in different forms of entertainment. Fathers in Japan, choose the following entertainment during their free time are singing in the karaoke ,listening in the Japanese music and going to the department stores.They are doing this to make them feel relaxed, enjoyed and satisfied. On the other hand, mothers in Japan are only in the house and much comfortable in serving and cooking for their family. Most of them likes to watch TV movies. They are close to their children just because they are the one staying in the house always. Children in Japan like to watch movies, reading the anime, and listening Japanese music. The two leading forms of entertainment in Japan by family members are the Karaoke and Anime. Japanese love music. They usually sing and dance even though they are not good singers.They like to hear and sing different interesting melodies like â€Å"What a Wonderful World†, Love Spreads†, â€Å"99 Red Balloons†, â€Å"Bigorouf Strikes again†. Karaoke is one of the best choices of entertainment in Japan. Karaoke is very well-known in Japan. â€Å"Karao ke as a form of entertainment†¦, is as much a part of life as music itself. †[For Japanese people]. (Newman, 2001) Japanese Japanese are very passionate in singing in the karaoke. Karaoke have different kind of shows to choose from by amateur and professional. One of the shows is a glance inside the private karaoke rooms.In Japan. And the other one is the Home karaoke systems are located at electronic stores. Fathers in Japan are very busy because of their work but they have also time to enjoy their selves and go to some karaoke bars to sing their. This is the reason why they are returning home very late. Fathers in Japan have so little time for their wife and children but they see to it that they are all together during Sunday, their favorite day for their outing. Not only have the fathers loved to sing in the karaoke also the children specially the youth sing together with their friends They expressed their feelings by singing.Mothers or wives also love music but they o nly sing in the home karaoke, because they are only staying in their house to serve their husbands. Japanese families second choice of entertainment is the Anime. Anime reminds the Japanese culture Good example of this is the Manga which every Japanese people loves specially the Japanese children. Mr. Tezuka Osamo is recognized as the Father of Anime in Japan. He was distinguished as the Mangaka or cartoonist. Tezuka Osamo introduce anime to the TV screen, one of his own Manga on 1963 which is the Tetzuwan Atomu also known in the other country as Astro Boy. (â€Å"Modern Japan â€Å")Other well known cartoonist is the Gundam in the 80’s and Neon Genesis Evangelion on 1995. Japanese had a very eager appetite for Manga or comic books during rush hour on a train. In the West mainstream comics are almost entirely for children. Japanese Manga has different types and some are not appropriate for children. Examples of this are the graphic violence and sex. Two main forms of Manga come weekly, twice-monthly and monthly magazine . style Manga and paper books. Some good examples are in the sections on animated movies and TV cartoons.Japanese used Mangajin, one of a classic magazine as a fun and effective method to learn Japanese. It was promoted last 1990-97, it also contains interesting article on different aspects of Japanese culture. There is a shonen manga which is for young guys and shojo manga which id for young girl. They deal with a science fiction, young guys and shojo manga which id for young girl. They deal with a science fiction sports and romance and tend to portray male. Characters as the male manga do with the male characters. One of the popular female manga is Sailor Moon, which became a very successful TV show.Manga become popular and exceedingly large in Japan. One of the important things learned in this course is the reality of distinct family values among different cultures. That there is a difference between an Asian culture specially to th e Japanese. According to Mr. Yakamoto â€Å"I love singing in karaoke it makes me feel relaxed and happy† Based to Mr. Yakamoto’s statement he chooses karaoke as his entertainment because he find it relaxing and happy. Almost the father in Japan, their choice of entertainment is the karaoke . While in the other Asian country likePhilippines loves to watch movies and play basketball. His wife Mrs. Yakamoto loves to cook and sing in the home karaoke because according to her she wants to give the excellent service to her husband and kids. Their little son Aikihiru Yakamoto says that â€Å"For me my choice of entertainment in our country is the Anime. I really enjoyed reading it. † Based to the Yakamoto family they emphasized that they have their own choice of entertainment which give them satisfaction. They feel relaxed and happy too. Every country has different choices of entertainment but in Japan they emphasized that the karaoke and anime are their best choice d uring their free time.Their favorite day is Sunday which all the members of the family are join together to have their outing. Mr. John E. Lamuth, 45 years old author who finished his Master of Science Degree in Counseling from California State University who wrote â€Å"The Essential Guide to Family Values under the Grand Unified Theory of Ethics and Morality† which the title involve new moral scheme is the first grand combination theory of its kind: the ethical values establish in traditional Greek philosophy improved by the writings of the great Church theologians for the past two years.The typical groupings of ethical values defined within this scheme all happen to be related on an perceptive level, recommending a clear sense of essential cohesiveness. The source of innovation behind this alteration arises as a direct result of the emerging field of Communications, Theory, borrowing the critical concept of the met perspective. Based on this theoretical example, the concep tual groupings of virtues and values are cooperatively seen as subsets within this ladder of met perspectives, each more theoretical grouping constructing upon those which it succeed.There are ten levels hierarchy of met perspectives somewhat reproduced like GLORY reproduced as PRUDENCE, PROVIDENCE reproduced as FAITH, GRACE reproduced as BEAUTY, TRANQUILITY reproduced as ECSTACY , HONOR reproduce as JUSTICE, LIBERTY reproduced as HOPE, FREE WILL reproduced as TRUTH and EQUALITY reproduced as BLISS. The consistent hierarchy of qualities, morals, and best proves extremely complete in scope , accounting for almost every major ethical term renowned within the Western ethical tradition.It is simple to achieve a sense of the development towards increasing theoretical when examine each of the individually represent columns from top to bottom. Such external similarity, however, has an inadequate claim to be the complete picture; for it further proves probable to stand this hierarchy of fam ily values completely within a behavioral organization; specifically the vocabulary of operant conditioning recommended by the famous American psychologist ,B. F Skinner. The complete ten level of hierarchy of family values lastly accomplished the degree of authenticity applicable such accurate â€Å"technology of behavior.† Definitely, this new system proves particularly well appropriate for launching moral values to a new generation of youth. One of the important things learned in this course is the reality of distinct family values among different cultures. That there is a difference between an Asian culture specially to the Japanese. The grand unified theory of ethics in moral by Mr. John Lamuth is very applicable to Japanese family because they are very aware to their family reputation and moral. They give this kind of responsibility to all the housewives.That’s why all the mother or wives are responsible in maintaining social relations to their relatives, neighbo rs and for maintaining and managing the family reputation. In this theory we learn the importance of ethics and morality in a person itself. Because of this they can get the respect and love of others people. It is not hard for them to talk to them and ask for some help because we already planted a good moral for yourself. Japanese families gain this kind of high reputation. They possess some characteristics like being responsible, honest,loving and respectful from within and to their love ones.Meaning their family are intact and with a good relationship to each other. Japanese families are very ideal and somewhat to idolized by every family in Asian country and Western country too. They are really different to other families because even they are so busy they can save time too for their family specially Sunday. This is one good reason why they are so successful. Being successful and happy start first in the relationship we had for your own family. Family gives us the totality as a person. No one can understand you and love you like what your family gives you.Love, Care and Respect your family. Don’t be so selfish to give your love and attention to other member of the family and you will see in return that love and attention you give makes them feel better and very happy. Happiness makes a person successful because of doing their work easily.BIBLIOGRAPHYâ€Å"http://en. wikipedia. org. /wiki/Japanese_family†Http: www. furious. com/perfect/karaoke. html Modern Japan – Entertainment – Anime. htm Lamuth, John E. 1999, The Ultimate Guide to Family Values: A Grand Unified Theory of Ethics in Morality, California U. S. A

The River Between & Nectar in a Sieve essays

The River Between & Nectar in a Sieve essays Successful and highly praised novels always stand out because the literature has great characters, fascinating and sometime bitter ironies, clashes, conflicts, and noteworthy objectives that rise far above the actual plot structure and embrace much bigger worldly themes. Symbolism is always part of good literature, and the alert reader should be mindful that nearly every important situation presented in the novel could be placed on a bigger stage in terms that make the book more universal. In other words, in both of the novels reviewed in this paper, The River Between and Nectar in a Sieve, the characters are doing things that have application to people and cultures everywhere else on the planet. And in both novels, the struggle between and within cultures is not only against other cultures but also against the changing times and the modernization (globalization) of the planet. What a reader finds immediately profound and dramatic about The River Between is the symbolism of the two mountains (ridges) laying side by side with a river running between. In the story, the two cultures are dead set against one another, with opposing religious beliefs and values. The culture living on the Makuyu ridge subscribes to the Christian beliefs, having been affected and greatly influenced by the British colonial indoctrination; but the tribe living on the Kameno ridge where the storys protagonist, Waiyaki lives, wants to continue the old cultural traditions (like polytheism and circumcision). In fact Waiyaki is anxious for his circumcision to happen, notwithstanding the hideous feelings a reader gets as the author describes what it is like to be circumcised. This would mark his final initiation into manhood. Then he would prove his courage, his manly spirit, Ngugi writes on page 14. In every culture young men are seeking the path to manhood, to stability and a position of respect. The knife produced a ...

Tablets versus Textbooks Essay Example

Tablets versus Textbooks Essay Example Tablets versus Textbooks Essay Tablets versus Textbooks Essay One in three grownups own a tablet. As tablets are going more and more common a new argument has formed over whether K-12 school territories should exchange from print text editions to digital text editions on tablets. The first benefit of digital text edition is that pupils will hold new information at their fingertips. The 2nd benefit is that high degree instruction prefers tablets. The negative about holding a tablet is that many people don’t have wi-fi. As you can see, the benefits out-weigh the negatives by far and at that place truly should be no argument. On a tablet e-textbooks can be updated immediately to acquire new editions or information. Schools will non hold to constantly purchase new transcripts, which few public schools buy due to the high monetary values of text editions. Most public schools still have history books from when Bush was president. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that, too many pupils are utilizing books that are 7-10 old ages old with out-of-date material. Subjects are particularly beneficiary to topics that invariably change, such as Science and History. On e-textbooks new editions and new information can be invariably at your fingertips. High-level instruction functionaries prefer tablets over text editions. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Federal Communications Commission chair Julius Genachowski said on February 1, 2012 that schools and publishing houses should switch to digital text editions within five old ages to further synergistic instruction, salvage money on books, and guarantee schoolrooms in the US usage up-to-date content. The federal authorities, in coaction with several tech organisations, released a seventy-page usher for schools called the Digital Textbook Playbook, a roadmap for pedagogues to speed up the passage to digital textbooks. Some say that utilizing tablets is more expensive than utilizing print text editions. Puting tablets in K-12 schools involves purchasing the tablet and the text editions, constructing new wi-fi constructions, and developing decision makers how to utilize the engineering. Costss for e-textbooks on IPad tablets are 552 % higher than new print text editions in an mean high school. A outstanding instruction selling expert Lee Wilson, estimated the one-year cost per pupil per twelvemonth to be 71 dollars and 55 cents versus 14 dollars and 26 cents for print text editions. Although, this is true they are believing of the now and non maintaining in head the later. Right now, yes that much money will be spent but in the long draw it will add up to salvage you money. Just in a twelvemonth E-textbooks can salvage schools between two-hundred and 50 dollars and one thousand dollars per pupil per twelvemonth. Besides, tablet monetary values are dropping as the old ages go by, doing them even more low-cost. Tablets cost on mean four-hundred and 89 dollars in 2011, three hundred and 86 dollars in 2012, and are projected to be two hundred and 63 dollars in 2015. In the terminal utilizing tablets is less expensive than utilizing text editions. As times are altering it’s of import that we roll with the times. Using tablets in school will assist provide pupils with new information all the clip and high degree instruction prefers them. Some may hold incorrect readings of them being more expensive than text editions but as you read, they are non. Clark, Alli. Online Textbooks: Friend or Foe? – Private Tutoring and Test Prep – Educational Connections. Private Tutoring and Test Prep Educational Connections. N.p. , 3 Sept. 2013. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. LEAD Commission. Lead Commission, Np. , Nd. Web 27, September 2013. Long, Julie. IT Solutions Blog. 9 Benefits Of Classroom Technology: Ebooks. N.p. , 28 June 2013. Web. 07 Oct. 2013.

Free sample - The Untold Story of Welfare Fraud. translation missing

The Untold Story of Welfare Fraud. The Untold Story of Welfare FraudThe Untold Story of Welfare Fraud reviews the consequences of the implementation of the law concerning provision of financial aid to poor families. It reveals the imperfect character of the law which actually left no way out for people as they had to choose whether to keep to the law or to leave their families without food. According to Abramovitz (1988), women were not enough protected by the government and its laws as they could not make their own living without men. The following article presents two types of variables which are essential for understanding of the welfare fraud and the implementation of the Welfare Fraud Diversion Program. The dependent variable is the amount of people who broke the law subject to difficult life circumstances as well as those who were convicted of welfare frauds and received criminal records without breaking the law. The independent variables are the complexity of the application and compliance procedures, the sex and education level of the parents accused of welfare frauds, illegal actions of the controlling authorities. The article shows that the amount of frauds was influenced by the implementation of strict limits and measures which were in fact aimed at decreasing of the number of people enjoying state financial aid. The unit of analysis of this study is the process of law enforcement that was caused by the present law which was aimed at making an exact division according to the degree of the conducted crimes. According to Gatta (2005), the other reviewed issue is the impact of the welfare reform to the number of related crimes. According to the article, low-income women were greatly influenced by the law. Their lives and future of their families was under the risk of extinction because of low quality level of life and financial problems which occurred at those times. The article describes â€Å"the realities of the women caught in the web of welfare fraud prosecution after the 1996 changes to the welfare law†. O’Connor (2001) presents a kind of knowledge â€Å"grounded in practice, in activism, and in the experience not only of the material deprivation but on the everyday workings of the economy†. The influence of the imperfect law on the number of violations was researched through the quantitative and qualitative study of the welfare frauds' cases. The authors conducted a content analysis of the Public Defender’s welfare fraud case files for the year 2001. They also researched qualitative data of the year 2005. It was done in order to find out any differences which could have taken place since the conduction of the first research in 2001. The results of both studies were used to create the complete image of reasons leading to fraud conviction. According to the case study the people accused of welfare frauds may be divided into several groups. The first group involves people who intentionally broke the law in order to receive money. Usually, they pretended to be mistreated or mislead social workers about their actual income and, thus, cheated the government. The second group comprises of people who did everything possible to keep to the law but could not provide information about the income of their spouses or partners as they did not keep in touch with them. Applicants also often violated the rules as they could not clearly understand the procedure of income reporting. Such cases were very common taking into account that all women accused of welfare fraud did not attend colleges. In some cases the profit of the family in the subsequent month was higher than the financial aid threshold and woman was consequently accused of welfare fraud though her annual income was still far below the poverty line. Those people did not have any intension to abuse the law or to commit a crime. Nevertheless, they were assumed to be guilty and received the same status of criminals as those people who had conducted welfare frauds intentionally. The third group includes individuals who were not allowed to provide any information about incomes of their spouses or partners. Such cases were also very common and usually husbands threatened their wives for reporting additional incomes. Women did not have any choice as the only income was brought by their husbands. The study of the cases of the second and third groups shows that those people did not commit any crimes but their criminalization was caused by the wrong government's policy. The government tried to stop the wave of law violations, and enforced so strict reporting and supervision policy that non-guilty people were charged of fraud as well. The amount of criminal records was so high at that period that supervising authorities had no time to check whether crime was intentional or non-intentional. Accused people had no funds for legal assistance and could not protect themselves properly. Consequently, people saw only the increasing number of criminals without the context producing this figure. It was widely used for justification of the law reform. In addition to the proceeding costs burden that was taken by non guilty individuals their criminal record precluded them from finding sufficient jobs and made them apply for the governmental aid and again commit fraud. Besides, authorities has developed special measures that allowed convicting of welfare fraud but at the same time violated the privacy of aid receivers. The â€Å"man in the house† method is an example of such methods that were widely used for looking for law-breakers. In case a man was found in the house of a woman receiving financial aid she was incriminated under report of income for the purpose of welfare fraud. It looked like a circle of poverty. The dependent variable of crimes' quantity was clearly influenced by the independent variables mentioned above. In diachronic perspective, such enforcement of rules and laws may be compared with the actions that lead to the discrimination. The methods applied by the authors allowed revealing the possible sexism and division for gender roles. It turned out that fathers convicted of welfare frauds were subject to civil responsibility while mothers were accused of crimes. This clearly proves gender discrimination. Nevertheless, these results were not discussed in the paper though they worth further consideration. The selection of the sample in the first study of 2001 cases may evidence that the authors managed to analyze comparatively small amount of information. On the other hand, such statistic data cannot be considered to be the only possible source of information as it does not give the whole picture of the problem. As it can be seen from the actual study, the roots of the problem may be found deep in the history. Consequently, the whole period starting from the implementation of the law until the present time should be analyzed for the clear understanding of the problem. The method of comparison of two different studies makes it easier to forecast future development of the law and allows scientists finding out the ways of the program's improvement. Despite the authors were good in the choice of variables, the system of their conclusions may become unstable if other factors will be chosen as key factors. There are other potential variables which might slightly change the prospective the research got. This research is based on the data collected in San Diego, California and the results may be different in other states of the US. The level of welfare fraud would be different in different states and correlates with the criminal rate of the state. The amount of welfare frauds may also vary taking into consideration the amount of working places and the average quality of life in the state. In such case, the research described in The Untold Story of Welfare Fraud would not reflect the situation in the US. In addition, the correlation between the amount of welfare frauds and a number of poor families should be researched. Perhaps the increasing number of frauds was caused not only by strict measures but also by the increased number of poor families. Finally, the share of second and third groups was not indicated in the study that excludes the possibility of the comparative assessment of the negative effects of the governmental policy. The problem of the interconnection between the legal status of people under financial aid and suspicions regarding their income level and the rate of the actual help from the government should be taken into consideration as the problem of discrimination according to the social status. The law enforcement system does not give any possibility for poor people to get out of the trouble they got in. It becomes difficult for them to find a well-paid job and to earn enough money for living. In addition, the law providing financial aid to ordinary people should be understandable for them. As it was already mentioned the reason of numerous violations was the lack of understanding of the law. To summarize everything mentioned, it would be useful to appeal to the law system and to make the process of helping people less difficult for understanding. As a result, the law would not be broken by people on a regular basis just because of the large amount of details but instead it will bring a clear vision of the line which separates law obeying citizens from criminals. The research might be continued in the future on the basis of the data collected from all over the country but not from the only city as the welfare reform spreads across the US. According to the research, it may be said that the general picture of issues related to the past welfare reform is presented, however additional surveys showing the state of things at the present moment should be conducted. The fast development of the legislation makes even slightly out of date information irrelevant for the research. It may be made in cooperation with politics and attorneys from the whole country. Each state may create a group which would focus on collecting of the data about this issue in order to form a precise picture of the legal environment in the country. They may also make proposals to legislative bodies concerning improvement of the law in accordance with the principle of stability of the functioning and the suitability for citizens. The general attitude towards poor people also nee ds to be reestablished as the present one indirectly makes them live in poverty and does not involve any cooperation with government and the police. In conclusion, it is worth mentioning that the research perfectly shows what is going on in the city but not nationwide. The implementation of the welfare reform is a next step on the way to the era of law and justice. Nevertheless, the violation of the law is caused not only by unintentional actions but also by the intentional ones. Consequently, the reduction of the welfare frauds' number may be achieved in several ways including elimination of stereotypes concerning poor women obtaining governmental aid. Labeling people is a wrong way of behavior as it leads to wrong statements about others caused by the unsupported generalization. Stigmatizing of a person belonging to certain class is in fact a discrimination which may be eliminated only by the implementation of new social behavior patterns and broadening of the outlook of the members of the society.

Investing in Back Bay-Beacon Hill Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Investing in Back Bay-Beacon Hill - Essay Example As the report declares the main aspects of the real estate industry in Beacon Hill are as follows. First, properties in the area are valued at a price that is either double or triple of its value ten years ago. This presents an opportunity for profits for investors and developers in the long run. Second, properties in the area are either rented as apartments ranging from $1,600 for one-bedroom apartments up to $2,100 for two-bedroom apartments. Third, speculators forecasted the â€Å"back slope† in the northern part of the Beacon Hill area to increase value in the future. Fourth, due to state legislature, which established the Beacon Hill area as an historic district, constructions of new buildings have been prohibited. As a result, the values of existing buildings were enhanced, while land values were limited. This paper stresses that given the aforementioned characteristics of the real estate market in Beacon Hill, Alexander concluded that buying a property in the â€Å"back slope† would be most profitable because of the relatively lower values of properties there. Furthermore, he realized that it would be best to purchase a property, which would require an extensive amount of renovation to have better control on the property’s income potential. The property that interested Alexander was a 4-unit apartment in the â€Å"back slope.† The property is located in the middle of the block and is set 100 feet from the road.

Fibromyalgia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Fibromyalgia - Research Paper Example In the United States, more than six million people are likely to suffer from this disorder. This paper will provide details of the disorder including symptoms, diagnosis and the available treatment. Although research has been done in a bid to identify the causes of Fibromyalgia, there is still limited success; therefore, the causes of Fibromyalgia have remained unknown to many specialists. However, the findings from the recent research have associated Fibromyalgia with certain factors; for example, individuals who come from a family with an evident history of the disorder are likely to develop Fibromyalgia in their life (Elrod 76). This suggests that there is a genetic susceptibility to the disorder. Additional research has also associated the development of Fibromyalgia with the exposure to traumatic events such as involvement in car accidents, repetitive injuries, different types of illnesses or even participating in a war. Moreover, having certain diseases make an individual more prone to developing Fibromyalgia. Such diseases include, lupus diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, and other types of arthritis. Prior to the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia, an individual may be compelled to seek the help of different specialists because of the persistent pain and fatigue which are the primary symptoms of the disorder. In the past, these symptoms have been confused with the symptoms of other diseases. This served to place a difficulty in the efforts to diagnose the condition. Many doctors have remained unaware of the condition and its symptoms a factor that hindered positive diagnosis. Therefore, many patients suffered without specialized treatment for the condition. However, in the modern day there is increased understanding of the characteristics of the disorder a factor that has led to a possible diagnosis (Ostalecki 56). Many doctors usually consider the patient history

Continuous Professional Development of a Mental Health Social Care Coursework

Continuous Professional Development of a Mental Health Social Care Manager - Coursework Example Merle Recruitment social forethought agencies dependably attempt to make express the connection between keeping up skill and undertaking CPD movement. For numerous professionals, be that as it may, the term proceeding professional development is more about what they do than what it implies. They emphasize the movement itself, (for example, going to a gathering) instead of the reason for the action (staying up with the latest). It is paramount, notwithstanding, that we do the inverse. Going to a meeting does not in itself guarantee that we are sheltered to practice. In any case, if rather, for instance, we distinguish that we have to overhaul our information and abilities in our work with individuals who are extremely introvert and particularly go to a meeting workshop on this theme, this may carry us closer to guaranteeing that our clinical practice is sheltered. It is an unobtrusive, however significant, distinction. As the Assistant Manager at Merle Recruitment social forethought org, I generally expect that they were fit to practice as a recently qualified specialist, say 25 years prior. In any case what matters to you now when you counsel them? For the majority of us, we have to realize that the professionals we counsel about significant matters are equipped to practice, paying little heed to if they qualified yesterday, a year ago or 25 years back. This is the place CPD enters the picture. The most recent day of professional preparing signs the start of deep-rooted taking in (Golding & Gray, 2006). These days, most professional forms have built CPD forms that their parts are obliged to accompany. For numerous professional gatherings, enrollment to practice is expressly connected to confirmation that they embrace methodical CPD.  

Critical writing Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Critical writing Questions - Essay Example (Harding 12-16) My feminist literary critic examines Daviss later on works and reassessing the input in her later fiction to the causes of social reform. Davis Harding explored the tormented conflict, for her female characters, of marriage and professional work. Her works seemingly are exclusive longings for both family and artistic fulfillment but never arrive at a suitable resolution. Occasionally she celebrated the delight of domestic life. More often than not, she articulated ambivalence about the academically or creatively motivated woman. (Harding 21). In conclusion, in view Harding’s work as a critique of inactive Christianity. However, Davis Harding’s works of irony fall short of addressing sufficiently the outstanding constructive essentials of Life in the Iron Mills. On the other hand, her tale is a conversion tale that does not meet justice to Hardin’s text

American Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

American Law - Essay Example In his ruling Justice Marshall asserted that even as congress did not have the explicit power to authorize the incorporation of the national bank, the appropriate and essential clause offered a foundation for Congress to act. After establishing the legality of the exercise of this authority, the judge made a ruling that the federal government, even while being limited in its power had supremacy within the Union (McAlinn et al. 78-85). Following the Civil War, the judgments of the Supreme Court favored the states more by invoking the tenth amendment. The tenth amendment asserts that the federal government only has power which has been delegated to it by the states and the people. Since the 1930s, the court started invoking the supremacy clause more which gave the federal government wider powers than before. The court mandated that the federal government cannot be subjected to the legislation or policy of the states unless it wills to do so. The Supremacy clause puts it upon the states to make legislation while taking into account the policy of the federal government. ... Congress may also make policies that are geared towards coexistence of state and federal policy. Some of the Union policies may be preemptive for reasons of fostering uniformity of national policy. A good example is the Wagner Act of 1935 which guides all state law regarding labor unions and relations between employee and employer. A watershed case in the issue of the supremacy clause and the tenth amendment is the 1956 case of Pennsylvania versus Nelson. This case made provisions for assessment criteria in instances of the federal government preempting the states without an explicit stating of intent. The criteria asks questions on; whether federal law is so pervasive so as to lead to the presumption that Congress left the states with no leeway but to apply it as it; whether Union interest is so dominant that there is a presumption of an exclusion of enforcement of state law on an issue and lastly if the state laws present reasonable danger of conflicting with federal programs (McAl innet al. 200-212). Question 4 The case of the father promising to pay $5000 dollars to his son if he refrained from taking Marijuana is very similar to the Hamer v. Sidway case. The contention by the defendant is that there is no consideration to support the promise made by the plaintiff making the promise unenforceable. The defendant would assert that the plaintiff benefited from his non usage of Marijuana. The father would argue on the basis that with or without the promise, the son benefitted from his abstinence from Marijuana. The father would also argue that he received no consideration from the promise and thus there is no contract. Such an agreement however lacks a basis in law since it would make contracts of mutuality unenforceable (McAlinn et al 156-8).

Power Factor Investigation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Power Factor Investigation - Assignment Example This makes it necessary to use suitable means to correct the power factor. This paper examines the use of the synchronous motor for power factor correction. There are several ways of defining power factor depending on the context of study. However, all the definitions come from the understanding that electrical power manifests in three ways. These are real power denoted as P (also known as true power or active power), reactive power denoted as Q, and apparent power denoted as |S| (Singh, 2008). Apparent power is the magnitude of complex power denote as â€Å"S† which is the vector sum of real power and reactive power (Singh, 2008). Each of the three manifestations of power has a different measure. The unit of measurement of real power is in watts (W) that of apparent power is Voltage-Amperes (VA), while that of apparent power is in Reactive-Volt-Amperes (VAR) (Meier, 2006). The ratio obtained by comparing real power to apparent power is the power factor. ... Therefore, the power factor is unity. However, there are cases when the voltage leads or lags the current. The cause for this is when the circuit has an inductive load such as a motor. The motor stores power in its coils, reducing the actual power (real power) available to drive it. The total power supplied to the motor in this case represents the apparent power, obtained by multiplying the voltage and the current (VA). If there is a difference between the supplied power (apparent power) and the power in use (real power), then the power factor reduces to a value less than unity. Depending on its severity, it may require correction (Singh, 2008). The theoretical framework governing the operation of motors includes Fleming’s right hand rule and faradays laws of electromagnetism. When the thumb, the index, and the middle finger are at right angles, Fleming’s right hand rule describes the direction of the thrust by the thumb; the index finger shows direction of the electrom agnetic field, while the middle finger shows the direction of the current. Faradays laws on the other hand state as follows, there is an EMF induced in a coil whenever the flux through the coil changes with time. The magnitude of induced EMF is directly proportional to the rate of change of flux and thirdly, the direction of the EMF is such as to oppose the change in flux. Electricity distribution companies provide power as apparent power but it bills customers based on the real power they consume. Therefore, a low power factor makes power more expensive to the consumer with increasing severity as power factor drops. This is why it is important to invest in equipment for power factor correction. Motors tend to be the largest loads in electric

American Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

American Law - Essay Example In his ruling Justice Marshall asserted that even as congress did not have the explicit power to authorize the incorporation of the national bank, the appropriate and essential clause offered a foundation for Congress to act. After establishing the legality of the exercise of this authority, the judge made a ruling that the federal government, even while being limited in its power had supremacy within the Union (McAlinn et al. 78-85). Following the Civil War, the judgments of the Supreme Court favored the states more by invoking the tenth amendment. The tenth amendment asserts that the federal government only has power which has been delegated to it by the states and the people. Since the 1930s, the court started invoking the supremacy clause more which gave the federal government wider powers than before. The court mandated that the federal government cannot be subjected to the legislation or policy of the states unless it wills to do so. The Supremacy clause puts it upon the states to make legislation while taking into account the policy of the federal government. ... Congress may also make policies that are geared towards coexistence of state and federal policy. Some of the Union policies may be preemptive for reasons of fostering uniformity of national policy. A good example is the Wagner Act of 1935 which guides all state law regarding labor unions and relations between employee and employer. A watershed case in the issue of the supremacy clause and the tenth amendment is the 1956 case of Pennsylvania versus Nelson. This case made provisions for assessment criteria in instances of the federal government preempting the states without an explicit stating of intent. The criteria asks questions on; whether federal law is so pervasive so as to lead to the presumption that Congress left the states with no leeway but to apply it as it; whether Union interest is so dominant that there is a presumption of an exclusion of enforcement of state law on an issue and lastly if the state laws present reasonable danger of conflicting with federal programs (McAl innet al. 200-212). Question 4 The case of the father promising to pay $5000 dollars to his son if he refrained from taking Marijuana is very similar to the Hamer v. Sidway case. The contention by the defendant is that there is no consideration to support the promise made by the plaintiff making the promise unenforceable. The defendant would assert that the plaintiff benefited from his non usage of Marijuana. The father would argue on the basis that with or without the promise, the son benefitted from his abstinence from Marijuana. The father would also argue that he received no consideration from the promise and thus there is no contract. Such an agreement however lacks a basis in law since it would make contracts of mutuality unenforceable (McAlinn et al 156-8).

Most of the civilizations discussed in this section of class were Essay

Most of the civilizations discussed in this section of class were established on major rivers - Essay Example These were made of perfectly curved blocks whose construction have remained a mystery since it is not known how the builders carried the over five tones of building materials to the top of the building. Another technology included the production of dyes and inks by the use of plants, soot gum, fish and water. There were also water and sundial clocks. The seasonal flooding of the River Nile resulted in the deposition of fertile silt from the deserts thereby promoting agriculture along the river (Spielvogel, 2009). The Egyptians ploughed using human and animal drought machinery. Since the River Nile was prone to seasonal flooding, trenches were constructed to guide water to crops hence promoting basin irrigation. Agrarianism was a major practice in the ancient Egypt. The communities in the Upper Nile however carried out fishing, hunting and gathering as their major economic activities (Spielvogel, 2011). They hunted Zebras and cattle to bring food into the Nile. Agricultural products, game meat and fish were traded amongst themselves on a barter trade basis. The hunters and gatherers exchanged their game meat with farm products from the agrarian communities. This was because there was no trade and cultural diffusion between Egypt and the surrounding countries at that time. The river did not only provide water for irrigation and fish, but also provided a means of transport. The communities around the Nile used boats to travel along the river from one settlement to another (Quie & Bell, 2011). Winds helped boats travel against the river current and along the river. For fear that large boats would capsize; the Upper Nile communities used small boats such as canoes to travel through the region. Egyptian social system was strict and the government was centralized; it was divided into social classes in the order of the Pharaoh, Pharaoh’s family and relatives, nobles, priests, scribes, soldiers, workers, peasants, foreigners and slaves. In

Annual parent meeting Essay Example for Free

Annual parent meeting Essay Each year, Title I programs are required to host a meeting for parents to explain what the Title I program is and how parents can become involved in the Title I program. (This is different from the Annual Review meeting, which is also a requirement). At this meeting, the following issues must be addressed: Explain their school’s participation in Title I (whether they are schoolwide or targeted) Explain the Title I requirements (schoolwide or targeted, whichever is applicable) Explain what participation in Title I programming means, including: o A description and explanation of the school’s curriculum; o Information on the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress; and Information on the proficiency levels students are expected to meet. Explain the district parental involvement policy, school parental involvement policy, and school-parent compact. Explain the right of parents to become involved in the school’s programs and ways to do so. Explain that parents have the right to request opportunities for regular meetings for o parents to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions about the education of their children. The school must respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible. In order to keep parents informed, schools must invite all parents of children participating in Title I Part A programs and encourage them to attend. In a schoolwide program, this means ALL parents should be invited; in a targeted assistance program, just those parents with children participating in Title I should be invited. Schools must also offer a flexible number of additional parental involvement meetings, such as in the morning or evening so that as many parents as possible are able to attend. You must be able to document this meeting with minutes, agendas, sign-in sheets, etc. You may want to do more than the law requires for this meeting, especially if you often have problems with attendance. Below are a few things to keep in mind regarding the Annual Parent Meeting: This can be an introduction to the Title I program, a workshop, a welcome night, etc.; the format is up to you. Preferably, this meeting occurs at the beginning or in the fall of the school year. This meeting, whatever form it takes, must be documented with minutes. Is there two-way communication at this meeting, or is it the teacher/administrator giving information to parents about the program? Do you involve parents in the agenda? Do you try to get ideas from them on what this meeting should involve? Annual Title I Parent Meeting Requirements 8/2010 Page 1 Training Opportunities The Title I program should provide parents with opportunities to become partners with the school in promoting the education of the child at school and at home. This should include information about specific methods parents can use at home to complement their child’s education. The Annual Review Each year, schools must hold a meeting to review their entire Title I program. This meeting typically takes place in the spring of the school year. Therefore, if there are programmatic changes to be made, they can be implemented the subsequent school year. Questions to be considered include: â€Å"What worked well this year?† and â€Å"What changes would we like to make for next year?† Student Eligibility Targeted assistance Title I programs must inform parents that their child is eligible to receive Title I services. This notification must be sent home on an annual basis. Parents must be given the opportunity to decline services if they so choose. Below are a few things to keep in mind regarding informing parents of student eligibility: Documentation of parent notification for eligibility must be maintained. Be sure to retain copies of parent permission signatures, especially if parents decline services. Informing Parents of Student Progress Parents must be kept informed of their child’s progress. In targeted assistance programs, some type of progress report must be sent home to the parents to show their child’s progress with Title I services. This report may be sent home during conferences, with other report cards, or any other time a Title I teacher wishes. It is very helpful to send suggestions as to how parents can help their child with skills and areas in which the child may be struggling. Below are a few things to keep in mind regarding informing parents of student progress: The method used to notify parents must be documented. This notification must be disseminated at least twice a year, ideally more often. The notification must contain assessment results from at least three different assessments in the various areas the child receives Title I services. For instance, if a child receives services in reading and math, three reading and three math assessment results must be documented. Annual Title I Parent Meeting Requirements 8/2010

Deconstructivist Architecture Controversy

Deconstructivist Architecture Controversy Opinions about Deconstructivist Architecture are controversial and often contradictory- some critics consider it as a purely formal exercise with little social significance and ambiguous meaning whereas others see it as a way of locating the inherent dilemmas within buildings (and promoting) a serious and necessary criticism of unbridled consumer culture and media-driven hyper reality. In view of the debate surrounding the nature of Deconstructivist Architecture, discuss the ideas and philosophy related to it and argue in favour or against one of the opinions expressed above. Use examples as appropriate. INTRODUCTION: Deconstructivist architecture is a type of architecture developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Unlike any other type of architectural type, it escapes the conventional architectural pattern, breaking in that way all the rules of constructive theory. The leader of this movement was the French Philosopher Jacques Derrida, who as we shall see later, with his ideas and philosophy has much influenced other architects into accepting and applying this unpredictable type of architecture. In this course of paper, we will make a discussion on the concept of deconstructive architecture analysing at the same time its elements and background basic idea. Moreover, a historical development will be made on deconstructivism showing what are the origins of the movement. The philosophy will also be discussed behind this type of architecture and all will appear simultaneously with examples of buildings illustrating the concept of deconstructivist architecture. In addition to the above, some criticism will be made on the subject showing that the debate surrounding the nature of this form of architecture is both controversial and contradictory. Examples and commentary will be given by architects that have given their personal opinion on the subject throughout the years. MAIN PART: As already mentioned above, deconstructivist architecture is a style of architecture that contradicts the conventional methods of architecture. While an architect would dream of pure form, by using geometric shapes as cylinders, spheres, cones etc. avoiding instability and disorder, deconstructivist architecture supports the exact opposite. This type of architecture marks a different sensibility, one in which this stability and uniformity is disturbed. And it is exactly this ability to disturb our thinking that makes these projects deconstructive. The history and development: Deconstructivist architecture has initially had two main facets-modernism and postmodernism. While those two schools have ruled almost all of the forms of architectural styles, deconstructivist architecture opposed to their rationality. The journal Oppositions (published 1973-84) in which postmodernist architects and deconstructivist architects published their theories alongside each other, has been the decisive separation between the two movements. While postmodernism followed the historical references of modernism, deconstructivism has gone the other way- rejecting its acceptance and idea of ornament as an after-thought or decoration. Deconstructivism has also been influenced by the Russian Constructivism and Futurist movements of the early 20th century. Both tendencies were concerned with the radical simplicity of geometric forms, all expressed in graphics, sculpture and architecture. However, Constructivism has followed the ornamentation of building, whereas Deconstructivism refuted it. Maybe that is why this style of architecture is called deconstructivist; because while it draws from Constructivism, it radically deviates from it. Some Russian artists from which Deconstructivism has been inspired, include Naum Gabo, Kazimir Malevich and Alexander Rodchenko. The ideas and philosophy: Deconstructivist architecture is characterised by ideas of fragmentation, and manipulation of a structures surface or skin. It refers mainly to the architectural language being displaced and distorted with forms that are often set within conflicting geometries. Usually the building would be designed in parts or pieces in a weird manner with no attention or logic to be given to architecture norms. It would reflect pieces joined together to form unrelated abstract forms. Generally, the finished visual of the projects that illustrates the deconstructive styles, is characterized by a stimulating unpredictability and a controlled chaos. The whole philosophy of deconstructivist architecture was created by Jaques Derridas ideas influencing many later architects. Peter Eisenman and Derrida himself were concerned with the metaphysics of presence and this can be said to be the main subject of deconstructivist architecture philosophy in architecture theory. One of the most important events in the history of Deconstructivism includes the collaboration between the two Eisenman and Derrida on the project of the Parc de la Villette competition, 1.Parc de la Villette, Paris, 1982-1998Â  documented in Chora I Works; and the selected final project by Bernard Tschumi. Other seminal events include the 1988 Museum of Modern Art Deconstructivist architecture exhibition, organised by Philip Johnson and Mark Wigley in New York, which crystalized the movement, and brought fame and recognition to its practitioners. 2.Frank Gehrys own Santa Monica residence, 1978 The idea is that architecture is a language capable of communicating meaning and of receiving treatments by methods of linguistic philosophy. The philosophy examines the nature of reality and the relationship between the matter and the mind. The individual is seen as a composite of linguistic and social sources and can therefore be constructed. The dialectic of absence or presence is a part of the elements to be found and as Derrida notes, is to be found both in construction and deconstruction. According to him, any architectural deconstruction requires for a strongly-established conventional expectation to play flexibly against. Just as a building can be constructed by using the conventional rules of architectures, so a functional building can be built by using non-conventional methods of deconstruction. One example of Deconstructivist Architecture is the design of Frank Gehrys own Santa Monica residence. Beginning with an ordinary house in an ordinary neighbourhood, he changed its massing, spatial envelopes, planes and other expectations in a playful subversion. 3.Vitra Design Museum in Weil-am-Rhein, 1989 There have been many other examples of buildings illustrating the type of deconstructivist architecture over the years. Some of these would include the Turning Tosco in Malmo and the Vitra Design Museum in Weil-am-Rhein by Frank Gehry. Furthermore, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain and the Mits Stata Centre are some of the many buildings that were influenced and made from the deconstructivist architecture style. It appears from the examples and analysis above, that deconstructivist architecture has established a different mode and type of architecture. This has been criticised both with good and bad commentary. The opinions around this matter are controversial and contradictory. Controversial and contradictory opinions: Some critics evaluate this type of architecture as a purely formal exercise with little social significance with ambiguous meaning. Certain architects such as Charles Jencks the famous American theorist, architect and designer, claim Deconstructivism as a new paradigm, whereas others questioned the wisdom behind this type of architecture and the impact it might have on future generations of architects and the built environment. It has been described as fundamentally destructive, because of its rejection of all architectural rules, and its lack to provide clear values as replacements of those. 4.Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, 1997 Moreover, Deconstructivist Architecture has been seen as an intentional aggression on human senses, using certain mechanisms in order to express discomfort and anxiety. More specifically, Nikos Salingaros, calls the Derrida philosophy a virus, that invades the design thinking in order to construct destroyed forms. He further claims that it is an attack on logic, which does not produce logical statements. According to his views, what deconstructivist architecture itself is; meaning the dismantling of structures, traditional beliefs, logical statements and observations, it can easily resemble to the way in which a virus survives and proliferates. This occurs especially where deconstructivists insist on arguing that they are merely analysing and commenting on text. In infecting contemporary architecture, this virus attacks a forms internal organisation and coherence, leaving forms embodying disorganized complexity. One example of a building with which he condemns the philosophy and idea of deconstructivist architecture is the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain by Frank Gehry. In his opinion, this vanguard style represents an unnatural imposition of free-flowing ribbon forms sheathed in a continuous, shiny metal skin. It also eliminates all components that would otherwise lead to coherence. In general, architecture is everything Derrida rejects: beauty, consistency, coherence, functionality etc. in reality, deconstructivist Architecture rejects the reason for which architecture itself exist; for the expression of human needs. And therefore, an architecture that creates disorder, as in the case of Constructivist Architecture; is no longer architecture. In addition to the above, Kenneth Frampton, describes deconstructivist architecture as elitist and detached. In his view this is justified by the self-alienation of an avant-garde without due cause. While Constructivism intended a synthesis, with the creation of a new architecture, Deconstructivist Architectures anti-thesis, derives from the acceptance that global modernisation is pushing those norms beyond the barriers. The two aspects of critical theory are found in deconstructivist architecture; that is analysis and urgency. A building that illustrates this is the Wexner Center for the Arts, by Peter Eisenman. There is the tendency in Deconstructivism to set aesthetic issues in the foreground as of much importance. Huge buildings with extravagant materials and impressive colours would be just some of the characteristics. One building showing the Guggenheim Museum mentioned above. However, if that is made only for elite, and since such buildings are quite expensive to be built, it may increase the level of complexity while it will only attempt to reconcile modern architecture with local differences. 5.Wexner Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, , 1989 Moreover, there are those that argue that architecture is not a language capable of communicating. However, there are those who believe that deconstructivist architecture is innovative and still has things to offer to architecture. It is however often misled. There is the presumption that such an architecture style is a demolition or a dissimulation. Maybe that happens because people often relate the taking apart of a structure to be deconstruction right away. However things are not like that. Deconstructive architecture on the contrary, gains all its force by challenging the values of stability, harmony and unity, and unlike other forms of architecture, proposing for a different view of structure; a structure in which flaws are intrinsic. Such flaws cannot be removed without firstly being destroyed, and therefore they are structural. For this reason, the deconstructivist architect simply locates the inherent dilemmas within buildings and promotes a serious and necessary criticism of unbridled consumer culture and media-driven hyper reality. He is not a person that destroys or dis mantles buildings; what he actually does is to examine deeply the pure forms of the architectural tradition and examine the consequences and reactions where such forms are repressed. In taking those results, he creates something new yet structural. For this reason deconstructivist architecture may not appear as bad as it is made. It is not always bad to try and experience and create something new by altering certain things in a building; this does not necessarily mean that a building cannot be structural or functional. This fragmentation and discontinuity for example of Frank Gehry could Moreover, Deconstruction can be seen as a laughing matter. It is always ironic, playful, humorous and irrelevant about itself, a betrayal of the non-faith. This liberating dissection is what makes it so different from the existing constructions and orthodoxies. As Nietzsche puts it in the canonic Deconstructionist text, Thus Spake Zarathustra: He who must be a creator in good and evil- verily, he must first be a destroyer, and break values into pieces. It can be seen as an essential part of the comic tradition where for a long period now unfinished buildings or rough materials are used. Furthermore, Derrida in his interview, states that the impression deconstruction was given to the public by the media as an association with the end of philosophy is misleading. The media has given the idea that deconstruction is destructive towards texts and traditions, as well as to philosophical heritage. He comments on this idea given, arguing that to create an institution, it must to some extent break with the past while at the same time inaugurating something completely new. Deconstructivist architecture does not mean that we are reproducing but also try something that hasnt been done before. For this reason it has been criticised as violent, as it has no guarantee by previous rules. While it follows the premises of the past it creates something completely new, and this is risky. However, there is no need for absolute guarantee; we ourselves should invent the rules. In his opinion, that is what destruction is made for: not the mixture but the tension between memory, fidelity, t he preservation of something that has been given to us, and, at the same time, heterogeneity, something new, and a break. In general, Deconstructivist Architecture, attacks conventions with its codified unconventionality. One strong example could be the cubiculum of a Roman House in Boscoreale, now found in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. However, it can have further social significance than the one already stated to have. It is a matter of fact that even if unconventional, it can be useful and helpful in tracing defects of the already established norms of architecture. Moreover, as Derridas philosophy states, it is a method through which thinking can be communicated. Through the complicated and unconventional structure of the buildings, spaces need not always be the same, but also express the different emotions and feelings people have. CONCLUSION: Those who truly value Deconstructivist Architecture, it is for that creativity and inventive freshness that they create new rules in architecture. One the other hand, those who doubt this approach, are those who are always sure of the negative results and the anti-social nature of the activity. It could also just be a matter of self-denial. After all, deconstructivist architecture may appear odd to some people due to its unconventional and out-of-barriers technique and looks, but it has managed to find its own place in the world of architecture. It has also proven that it still retains social significance and recognition amongst the public. This can be illustrated by the demand of consumers to more and more ask for modern and different impressive buildings. It can also be seen by the famous buildings made by well-known architectures. However, this could not be made without the bad or good criticism. Even though, the buildings still manage to impress and attract, as except of being functional and structurally stable, they are also unique.

Money Makes the Man in Theodore Dreisers An American Tragedy and Sister Carrie :: essays research papers

Money Makes the Man in Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy and Sister Carrie Through the social criticism of Theodore Dreiser, the plight of the poor is compared against the actions of the rich. In both An American Tragedy and Sister Carrie Dreiser presents characters who are driven â€Å"by ignorance and in ability to withstand the pressures of the shallow American yearning for money, success, fashion -- dreams about which Dreiser himself was indeed an authority† (W.A. Swanberg 254). Throughout his career, Dreiser wrote for a variety of periodicals in order to earn enough money to support himself. His success there lead him to write novels, which in turn guided his path to fame and fortune.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mirroring the life and ambition of Dreiser, the characters in An American Tragedy and Sister Carrie demonstrate the same goals and hopes for their lives. Like Dreiser, both Clyde and Carrie came from modest roots. In American society at the turn of the century, however, it is money that ultimately makes the man. As a result, both characters spend their lives working their way into this mold, even at the cost of compromising themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Within the book An American Tragedy, a poor boy is working his way up to become known. In his society, a name is known for the amount of money its holder makes. His actions in and out of work reflect what his social life of popularity will become. He strives for richness and a life of prosperity, but it is not always what he wants. His choices with love have to be that of wealth and success or he is dishonored.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This character, Clyde, takes a series of miscellaneous jobs to help him succeed. His first high paying job was as a bell hop in a hotel frequented by the rich. From there he went on to work at the shirt factory owned by his extremely wealthy uncle, Uncle Griffiths. Beginning in the wash rooms, Clyde eventually worked his way into a managerial position keeping tab of the payroll. While at the shirt collar factory Clyde engages in a relationship with Roberta, one of the workers under his charge. Clyde then falls in love with Sondra, a woman of the upper class. Not long after, he discovers that Roberta is pregnant. Rather than jeopardize his own rise into the upper class, Clyde must find a way to get rid of Roberta. His only thoughts are that of murder, but he lacks the courage to do it himself.

Nisa Critique

While there have been many rich descriptions of the life of the !Kung of south central Africa, the account given by Marjorie Shostak in her analysis of the life of a woman of this clan appears to be a fascinating account at best but not entirely scholarly since it flouts major ethnographic guidelines.Introduction:The !Kung people are a tribe of hunter-gatherers who live as bushmen in the   southwestern part of Africa,   in isolated areas of Botswana (where they make up only 3 percent of the population), Angola, and Namibia, deep in the Kalahari desert. After gaining fluency in the language of the! Kung, Shostak returned to Botswana in 1975 for six months to complete the life histories of several women in the tribe.Marjorie Shostak manages to takes us into the oldest culture on earth by living with a hunter/gatherer tribe in southern Africa and manages to give us the details of there way of life through an interview with them, of course, before their way of life was further damage d by careless government administration policies. She reflexively collects interviews and anecdotes that enable her to explain their morals, architecture, tribal politics, spirituality, games, marriage rituals and subsistence lifestyle, giving us one of the best looks at how human society began all those thousands of years ago. Also read: My Problem With Her Anger SummaryOne of its major flaws especially for those with a strong understanding of anthropology is the fact that she concentrates her analysis from the report of one dominant character named NISA [the name is fictitious]. This results in a narrative of an idiosyncratic life, one that, as the !Kung woman Nisa once told Shostak, †I will break open the story and tell you what is there. Then, like the others that have fallen out into the sand, I will finish with it, and the wind will take it away†; seems to imply that each woman’s life is unique and may not reflect the truth about women’s lives in the general community of the !Kung clan, even though it truly attempts to mirror the conventions and culture of the group as well.However, from the book we are able to determine Nisa’s character as a woman who is forthcoming in personality, and unabashed and expressive in her native tongue, although she also comes across as de manding and manipulative in behavior. This presented to Shostak great problems in gaining an objective analysis, a fact that generated early ambivalent feelings towards Nisa which as she reports, did not endear Nisa to her any bit. Although Shostak tried to interview more than a dozen other women of all ages; inviting recall, asking pertinent questions and seeking bio-graphical highlights she seems to finally have settled her choice on Nisa as informant because of her   particularly forceful, colorful language, and generally truthful replies.Secondly, although   the justification of Nisa as informant is reliable, it only serves to foster the concept of authenticity in ethnographic representation. The importance of authenticity in ethnographic representation is still in doubt as portrayed in James Clifford’s   review of Edward Said's Orientalism, Clifford asks, â€Å"Should criticism work to counter sets of culturally produced images like Orientalism with more â€Å"au thentic† or more â€Å"human† representations? Or, if criticism must struggle against the procedures of representation itself, how is it to begin?’The general consensus seems to be that authenticity is itself a representation which can be misused. For example, the purpose of the poet or novelist is creative self-expression. For the creative writer, representation is the vehicle for expression; the creative writer consciously chooses representations as representations. The writer of nonfiction, however, typically focuses on the substance of what she wishes to communicate, and often fails to realize that she uses representations when communicating her ideas hence giving rise to rhetoric. Rhetoric is the characteristic manner by which a text's language and organization convinces its readers of the truth, but is itself not truth.Thirdly is the issue of dialogue versus monologue in ethnographic presentation. It is very apparent that Shostak’s   focus moves aw ay from the central position of the ethnographer (implicit in ethnographic realism and explicit in Dumont’s example of the self-reflexive approach in his book The Headman and I: Ambiguity and Ambivalencein the Fieldworking Experience), and brings the importance of native informants to the foreground. â€Å"The other† is given the opportunity, albeit limited, to represent herself in Shostak's text. Shostak's text is also significant because it attempts to incorporate dialogue as a structural feature.Shostak demonstrates the potential usefulness of multiple voices although her ultimate control over the text makes it a monologue. The monological aspect is repeated within the text itself: there is no true discourse between Shostak's and Nisa's portions of the text, only alternating monologues.   However, according to Stephen A. Tyler this presents a problem in ethnographic presentation, one that is solved in a different approach which he suggest when he says, â€Å"A po st-modern ethnography is a cooperatively evolved text consisting of fragments of discourse intended to evoke in the minds of both reader and writer an emergent fantasy of a possible world of commonsense reality, and thus to provoke an aesthetic integration that will have a therapeutic effect.†Tyler's emphasizes the dialogical nature of ethnography [alternating monologues as is the case in Shostak’s work], were the discourse is between reader and writer rather than between the writer and the culture he studies. Tyler maintains that the experience which matters is not the fieldwork but the writing of the ethnography; the ethnographer does not attempt to represent another culture to the reader, but rather to evoke in the reader a recollection of his own culture. Ethnography is a way to make the familiar unfamiliar and then familiar again.Lastly is the authors choice of topics that evolve around the issue f sex and violence maybe justifiable if viewed from the perspective t hat narrative is highly charged with sex because sex is important in !Kung life. From Shostak’s   very provocative findings, such as a much more sexually egalitarian sensibility than our own, we see that in the !Kung culture, marriages are largely monogamous, with some sanction for a second wife; lovers are accepted for both husbands and wives, but discretion is made more important expressly because discovery can lead to mayhem and even murder. However, Shostak seems to get this information largely from Nisa’s own personal account.Personal accounts are   rarely written without particular motivation. Every account has some agenda. Scholars suggest that we need to always consider why the subject feels it is important to share his or her life either privately or with an anonymous public. This is because the narrator’s motivation will account for what parts of a life are discussed and what details are filtered out. What motivated the author of the personal accou nt?Whether written or oral, a personal account is a subjective, selective account of a life recorded for a specific purpose, ranging from personal catharsis to revisionist history. There are many motivations for the creation of personal accounts, including a focus on the self, on others, or on posterity. In this particular account, were Shostak seems to have solicited the story, rather than finding the account, the scholar’s reason for seeking the personal account will probably color the nature of the questions asked.In this case, the personal account will likely reflect the scholar’s interests more than those of the subject. Hence, it can be postulated that Shostak’s interests in giving Nisa’s account was to highlight the issue of women and not entirely for ethnographic purposes. This can be evidenced by the fact that in her time all the way to date, women’s stories in the West have been increasingly considered valid testimonies, along with accoun ts by people of color and those outside the highest strata of socio-political influence. Therefore, although it is impossible to view history from a wholly objective position, it is still helpful to be aware of such biases.In conclusion, I believe that what Shostak should have done was to strive to consider other sources that could offer insight about the !Kung people, such as official documents (marriage, divorce, and birth records, public notices), archived newspapers (human interest stories, political coverage), and glossy magazines (regional and national views reflecting social trends of the time, setting a context). Although her learning of the language is a great achievement enabling her to establish effective communication with the subject, it serves to tell us only a fragment of the whole picture.This fact takes on a deeper gravity when we consider that the question of truth may have many answers. Nisa’s portrayal of her life is indeed accurate in her own mind. Yet we know that, after all, memory is selective: people’s responses to experiences vary and people’s memories of experiences change with time and influence. Events that happen in a person’s life between lived experiences and recording those events can shape their telling, which only confirms that truth may have many answers.Reference:THE PROBLEM OF ETHNOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION http://home.pacbell.net/nicnic/ethnographic.html#14Shostak, Marjorie, Nisa: The Life and Words of a!Kung Woman. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press (1981). Nisa Critique Introduction:The Kung people are a tribe of hunter-gatherers who live as bushmen in the   southwestern part of Africa,   in isolated areas of Botswana (where they make up only 3 percent of the population), Angola, and Namibia, deep in the Kalahari desert. After gaining fluency in the language of the! Kung, Shostak returned to Botswana in 1975 for six months to complete the life histories of several women in the tribe.Marjorie Shostak manages to takes us into the oldest culture on earth by living with a hunter/gatherer tribe in southern Africa and manages to give us the details of there way of life through an interview with them, of course, before their way of life was further damaged by careless government administration policies. She reflexively collects interviews and anecdotes that enable her to explain their morals, architecture, tribal politics, spirituality, games, marriage rituals and subsistence lifestyle, giving us one of the best looks at how human society began all tho se thousands of years ago.One of its major flaws especially for those with a strong understanding of anthropology is the fact that she concentrates her analysis from the report of one dominant character named NISA [the name is fictitious]. This results in a narrative of an idiosyncratic life, one that, as the !Kung woman Nisa once told Shostak, †I will break open the story and tell you what is there. Then, like the others that have fallen out into the sand, I will finish with it, and the wind will take it away†; seems to imply that each woman’s life is unique and may not reflect the truth about women’s lives in the general community of the !Kung clan, even though it truly attempts to mirror the conventions and culture of the group as well.However, from the book we are able to determine Nisa’s character as a woman who is forthcoming in personality, and unabashed and expressive in her native tongue, although she also comes across as demanding and manip ulative in behavior. This presented to Shostak great problems in gaining an objective analysis, a fact that generated early ambivalent feelings towards Nisa which as she reports, did not endear Nisa to her any bit. Although Shostak tried to interview more than a dozen other women of all ages; inviting recall, asking pertinent questions and seeking bio-graphical highlights she seems to finally have settled her choice on Nisa as informant because of her   particularly forceful, colorful language, and generally truthful replies.Secondly, although   the justification of Nisa as informant is reliable, it only serves to foster the concept of authenticity in ethnographic representation. The importance of authenticity in ethnographic representation is still in doubt as portrayed in James Clifford’s   review of Edward Said's Orientalism, Clifford asks, â€Å"Should criticism work to counter sets of culturally produced images like Orientalism with more â€Å"authentic† or more â€Å"human† representations?Or, if criticism must struggle against the procedures of representation itself, how is it to begin?’ The general consensus seems to be that authenticity is itself a representation which can be misused. For example, the purpose of the poet or novelist is creative self-expression. For the creative writer, representation is the vehicle for expression; the creative writer consciously chooses representations as representations. The writer of nonfiction, however, typically focuses on the substance of what she wishes to communicate, and often fails to realize that she uses representations when communicating her ideas hence giving rise to rhetoric. Rhetoric is the characteristic manner by which a text's language and organization convinces its readers of the truth, but is itself not truth.Thirdly is the issue of dialogue versus monologue in ethnographic presentation. It is very apparent that Shostak’s   focus moves away from the centr al position of the ethnographer (implicit in ethnographic realism and explicit in Dumont’s example of the self-reflexive approach in his book The Headman and I: Ambiguity and Ambivalencein the Fieldworking Experience), and brings the importance of native informants to the foreground. â€Å"The other† is given the opportunity, albeit limited, to represent herself in Shostak's text. Shostak's text is also significant because it attempts to incorporate dialogue as a structural feature. Shostak demonstrates the potential usefulness of multiple voices although her ultimate control over the text makes it a monologue.The monological aspect is repeated within the text itself: there is no true discourse between Shostak's and Nisa's portions of the text, only alternating monologues.   However, according to Stephen A. Tyler this presents a problem in ethnographic presentation, one that is solved in a different approach which he suggest when he says, â€Å"A post-modern ethnogr aphy is a cooperatively evolved text consisting of fragments of discourse intended to evoke in the minds of both reader and writer an emergent fantasy of a possible world of commonsense reality, and thus to provoke an aesthetic integration that will have a therapeutic effect.† Tyler's emphasizes the dialogical nature of ethnography [alternating monologues as is the case in Shostak’s work], were the discourse is between reader and writer rather than between the writer and the culture he studies. Tyler maintains that the experience which matters is not the fieldwork but the writing of the ethnography; the ethnographer does not attempt to represent another culture to the reader, but rather to evoke in the reader a recollection of his own culture. Ethnography is a way to make the familiar unfamiliar and then familiar again.Lastly is the authors choice of topics that evolve around the issue f sex and violence maybe justifiable if viewed from the perspective that narrative is highly charged with sex because sex is important in !Kung life. From Shostak’s   very provocative findings, such as a much more sexually egalitarian sensibility than our own, we see that in the !Kung culture, marriages are largely monogamous, with some sanction for a second wife; lovers are accepted for both husbands and wives, but discretion is made more important expressly because discovery can lead to mayhem and even murder. However, Shostak seems to get this information largely from Nisa’s own personal account. Personal accounts are   rarely written without particular motivation.Every account has some agenda. Scholars suggest that we need to always consider why the subject feels it is important to share his or her life either privately or with an anonymous public. This is because the narrator’s motivation will account for what parts of a life are discussed and what details are filtered out. What motivated the author of the personal account? Whether writ ten or oral, a personal account is a subjective, selective account of a life recorded for a specific purpose, ranging from personal catharsis to revisionist history. There are many motivations for the creation of personal accounts, including a focus on the self, on others, or on posterity.In this particular account, were Shostak seems to have solicited the story, rather than finding the account, the scholar’s reason for seeking the personal account will probably color the nature of the questions asked. In this case, the personal account will likely reflect the scholar’s interests more than those of the subject. Hence, it can be postulated that Shostak’s interests in giving Nisa’s account was to highlight the issue of women and not entirely for ethnographic purposes. This can be evidenced by the fact that in her time all the way to date, women’s stories in the West have been increasingly considered valid testimonies, along with accounts by people of color and those outside the highest strata of socio-political influence. Therefore, although it is impossible to view history from a wholly objective position, it is still helpful to be aware of such biases.In conclusion, I believe that what Shostak should have done was to strive to consider other sources that could offer insight about the !Kung people, such as official documents (marriage, divorce, and birth records, public notices), archived newspapers (human interest stories, political coverage), and glossy magazines (regional and national views reflecting social trends of the time, setting a context). Although her learning of the language is a great achievement enabling her to establish effective communication with the subject, it serves to tell us only a fragment of the whole picture. This fact takes on a deeper gravity when we consider that the question of truth may have many answers. Nisa’s portrayal of her life is indeed accurate in her own mind. Yet we know that, af ter all, memory is selective: people’s responses to experiences vary and people’s memories of experiences change with time and influence. Events that happen in a person’s life between lived experiences and recording those events can shape their telling, which only confirms that truth may have many answers.Reference:THE PROBLEM OF ETHNOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION http://home.pacbell.net/nicnic/ethnographic.html#14Shostak, Marjorie, Nisa: The Life and Words of a!Kung Woman. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press (1981).