To what extent did the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 signify a change Essay

To what extent did the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 signify a change in the way that force is used in international relations - Essay Example An urge to conduct an investigation in Iraq emerged when the Iraq government attacked US in the year in 2001. The US government felt vulnerable, especially after this attack that is believed to have been an operation of Al-Qaeda, one of the rogue groups in Iraq. The US government felt vulnerable and feared that the Iraq government would use the weapons of mass destruction against the US government. Another fear was that with these weapons available in Iraq, the Al-Qaeda group would access them and conduct a more severe attack than one of 2001. Thus, the US felt the need to launch an effective operation to inspect and disarm the Iraq government of any weapons of mass destruction that they could be holding. Although many felt that the rumour on the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was a mere speculation, the UN team engaged a powerful gear to unravel the truth of the matter. In 2002, the plan of inspection was underway and there was light that the Iraq government would comply with the inspection plan. On the other hand, the US government felt that this process was slow and that there was a need to hasten the process to avoid the looming threat that the weapons would be used against the US. In essence, they felt that the UN and the international bodies were slow in neutralizing a threat that would have dire consequences on US. However, the international body insisted that it was important to give Iraq sometime to comply with the demands of the inspection as there was still hope that the process would succeed. Even a number of the US allies accepted that this was not a time of war as there was no any evidence that there was any destructive weapon. Despite the efforts of many countries and international bodies to stop US from engaging Iraq in a war, the US government declared a war in the country and organized their troops

Principle of teaching Essay Example for Free

Principle of teaching Essay Maintaining an environment for ï ¬ rst-class higher education Nine educational principles underpin the University of Melbourne’s teaching and learning objectives. These principles represent the shared view within the University of the processes and conditions that contribute to ï ¬ rst-class higher education. The nine principles were ï ¬ rst adopted by the University’s Academic Board in 2002. This renewed edition of the document reï ¬â€šects the bold changes the University has undergone since then with the implementation of the Melbourne Model. Many elements of the nine principles are embedded in the philosophy of the Melbourne Model. The provision of a cohort experience, the breadth component, research-led teaching, attention to the physical and intellectual learning environment, knowledge transfer opportunities: these features of the Melbourne Model incorporate the nine principles on a structural level, reinforcing their importance and the University’s commitment to them. Aspects of the principles guiding knowledge transfer with regard to teaching and learning are the most signiï ¬ cant additions and while they are embedded throughout the document, they are particularly concentrated in principles two and seven. In principle two the interrelations between research, knowledge transfer and teaching and learning are described while in principle seven the practical elements of embedding knowledge transfer in teaching and learning are discussed. Nine guiding principles 1. An atmosphere of intellectual excitement 2. An intensive research and knowledge transfer culture permeating all teaching and learning activities 3. A vibrant and embracing social context 4. An international and culturally diverse learning environment 5. Explicit concern and support for individual development 6. Clear academic expectations and standards 7 Learning cycles of experimentation, feedback and assessment . 8. Premium quality learning spaces, resources and technologies 9. An adaptive curriculum The nine guiding principles are interrelated and interdependent. Some relate to the broad intellectual environment of the University while others describe speciï ¬ c components of the teaching and learning process. Together, these principles reï ¬â€šect the balance of evidence in the research literature on the conditions under which student learning thrives. Each principle has a direct bearing on the quality of students’ intellectual development and their overall experience of university life and beyond as they embark on a process of lifelong learning, regardless of whether they come to the University as undergraduate, postgraduate coursework or postgraduate research students. Generic statements of beliefs, values and practices cannot completely capture the diversity and variation present in a large and complex University. However, the underlying principles presented in this document hold true despite variations across the disciplines in traditions of scholarship and in philosophies and approaches towards teaching and learning. Indeed, the nine principles described here support the process of interdisciplinary learning encouraged by the Melbourne Model: they provide a framework under which teachers from different backgrounds and disciplines can work together to plan, develop and provide coherent interdisciplinary learning experiences for students. The ultimate objective of the University of Melbourne’s teaching and learning programs is to prepare graduates with distinctive attributes — described in the next section — that enable them to contribute to our ever-changing global context in a meaningful and positive way. The purpose of the present document is to guide the maintenance and enhancement of teaching and learning standards that serve this end. It is a statement of what the University community values. As such, it has aspirational qualities and the suggestions for good practice offered provide laudable benchmarks to which the University is committed within the availability of resources. Responsibilities The maintenance of the University of Melbourne’s teaching and learning environment is the responsibility of the whole institution. This document identiï ¬ es various University, Faculty and individual responsibilities, though not all of the detailed implications apply equally to all members of the University community. The Academic Board is responsible to the University Council for the development of academic policy and the supervision of all academic activities of the University of Melbourne, including the preservation of high standards in teaching and research. It has core quality assurance functions, including the approval of selection criteria, the monitoring of student progress, the approval of new and changed courses, and the monitoring of the quality of teaching and learning. The Provost is responsible to the Vice-Chancellor for the conduct, coordination, and quality of the University’s academic programs and the planning of their future development. The Provost provides academic leadership, working in close collaboration with the Academic Board, deans and professional staff to ensure the alignment of accountability, budgets and initiatives in the delivery of academic programs and consistent, high quality student support. The Academic Board and Provost together ensure that the University: †¢ recognises and rewards excellence in teaching through its policies in staff recruitment, selection and promotion criteria; †¢ provides extensive opportunities for professional development in teaching and learning; †¢ supports and promotes research-led teaching; †¢ develops and maintains high quality teaching and learning spaces and resources; †¢ places high importance on the place of knowledge transfer activities in making its degrees relevant and distinctive and supports its staff and students in pursuing such activities; †¢ encourages and supports innovative approaches to teaching and learning, including through the application of advancements in information and communications technology; and †¢ provides mechanisms for on-going curriculum review involving all stakeholders (students, community, industry, professional associations, and academics) of the content, structure and delivery of courses and the learning experiences of students. The University is committed to the scholarship of teaching in the belief that academic staff in a research-led environment should apply scholarly principles to teaching and to the leadership of student learning. In practice, the scholarship of teaching involves academic staff being familiar with and drawing on research into the relationship between teaching and student learning. It also involves evaluating and reï ¬â€šecting on the effects on student learning of curriculum design, knowledge transfer activities, teaching styles and approaches to assessment. The present document is designed to support consideration of the University’s obligations in terms of the scholarship of teaching and to assist in the review and enhancement of the quality of personal teaching practices. Students have responsibilities as well for the quality of teaching and learning. The effectiveness of a higher education environment cannot be expressed simply in terms of the challenge, facilitation, support and resources provided by teaching staff and the University as an institution. Students have complementary responsibilities. Students have responsibilities for their personal progress through their level of engagement, commitment and time devoted to study. Students also have obligations to contribute to the creation and maintenance of an effective overall teaching and learning environment. These obligations include: †¢ collaborating with other students in learning; †¢ contributing to the University community and participating in life beyond the classroom; †¢ developing a capacity for tolerating complexity and, where appropriate, ambiguity; †¢ respecting the viewpoints of others; †¢ being reï ¬â€šective, creative, open-minded and receptive to new ideas; †¢ actively participating in discussion and debate; †¢ seeking support and guidance from staff when necessary; †¢ accepting the responsibility to move towards intellectual independence; †¢ being familiar with the Graduate Attributes and consciously striving to acquire them; †¢ respecting and complying with the conventions of academic scholarship, especially with regard to the authorship of ideas; and †¢ providing considered feedback to the University and its staff on the quality of teaching and University services. The Attributes of University of Melbourne Graduates The University of Melbourne Graduate Attributes are more than simply an aspirational vision of what the University hopes students might become during their candidature. They can be used practically to guide the planning and development of teaching, knowledge transfer and research to ensure the University’s students acquire the experience, skills and knowledge necessary for graduates in today’s complex global environment. Graduate Attributes The Melbourne Experience enables graduates to become: Academically excellent Graduates will be expected to: †¢ have a strong sense of intellectual integrity and the ethics of scholarship †¢ have in-depth knowledge of their specialist discipline(s) †¢ reach a high level of achievement in writing, generic research activities, problem-solving and communication †¢ be critical and creative thinkers, with an aptitude for continued self-directed learning †¢ be adept at learning in a range of ways, including through information and communication technologies Knowledgeable across disciplines Graduates will be expected to: †¢ examine critically, synthesise and evaluate knowledge across a broad range of disciplines †¢ expand their analytical and cognitive skills through learning experiences in diverse subjects †¢ have the capacity to participate fully in collaborative learning and to confront unfamiliar problems †¢ have a set of ï ¬â€šexible and transferable skills for different types of employment Leaders in communities Graduates will be expected to: †¢ initiate and implement constructive change in their communities, including professions and workplaces †¢ have excellent interpersonal and decision-making skills, including an awareness of personal strengths and limitations †¢ mentor future generations of learners †¢ engage in meaningful public discourse, with a profound awareness of community needs Attuned to cultural diversity Graduates will be expected to: †¢ value different cultures †¢ be well-informed citizens able to contribute to their communities wherever they choose to live and work †¢ have an understanding of the social and cultural diversity in our community †¢ respect indigenous knowledge, cultures and values Active global citizens Graduates will be expected to: †¢ accept social and civic responsibilities †¢ be advocates for improving the sustainability of the environment †¢ have a broad global understanding, with a high regard for human rights, equity and ethics Principle 1: An atmosphere of intellectual excitement The excitement of ideas is the catalyst for learning Intellectual excitement is probably the most powerful motivating force for students and teachers alike. Effective university teachers are passionate about ideas. They stimulate the curiosity of their students, channel it within structured frameworks, and reveal their own intellectual interests. While students have strong vocational reasons for enrolling in courses of study, unless they are genuinely interested in what they are studying their chances of success are low. Pascarella and Terenzini’s (1998) meta-analysis of research on the effects of university education concluded that the evidence unequivocally indicates that greater learning and cognitive development occur when students are closely engaged and involved with the subjects they are studying. The research evidence shows that most undergraduates commence university with a strong interest and curiosity in the ï ¬ eld they have selected, providing a strong foundation on which to build. A Centre for the Study of Higher Education study of applicants for university places (James, Baldwin McInnis, 1999) showed that intrinsic interest in the area of knowledge was among the most important inï ¬â€šuences on their choice of a university course. University of Melbourne graduates conï ¬ rm these sentiments. When asked for their views of their educational experience at the University some time after graduation, graduates consistently stress the inï ¬â€šuence of staff who were excited about ideas, and the importance to them of studying in an atmosphere of intellectual stimulation and discovery. Part of fostering an atmosphere of intellectual excitement in students includes providing them with stimulating experiences that enable them to realise the value and knowledge of their skills in external settings. Some of these experiences will involve activities in the classroom – such as problem and project-based approaches and involvement of community and industry participants in class activities – but many will take students beyond the University’s campuses, to include such activities as ï ¬ eld and industry placements or internships, on-location subject delivery and student exchange programs. As well as providing students with a vibrant intellectual experience, embedded knowledge transfer activities allow students to understand and analyse the social, cultural and economic contexts in which their own knowledge acquisition is situated as well as help them realise their capacity, responsibility and opportunity for current and future knowledge transfer. Implications for practice †¢ Subjects are planned and presented in terms of ideas, theories and concepts. †¢ Conï ¬â€šicting theories and approaches are incorporated into courses to stimulate discussion and debate. †¢ Courses are designed to foster an understanding of the legal, political, social, economic, cultural and environmental contexts for practice in national and international settings, and of codes of conduct and the ethics of practice. †¢ Knowledge is presented in terms of broader contexts — intellectual, social, political, historical — to help students understand the signiï ¬ cance of what they are studying. †¢ Students’ personal engagement is fostered by teaching which encourages them to relate their learning to their own experiences. †¢ Staff convey enthusiasm for the subject matter and work to provoke students’ curiosity. †¢ Courses and subjects are revised regularly to incorporate new theories and approaches. †¢ Staff model the excitement of intellectual exploration when working with students. †¢ Students are given opportunities to make discoveries for themselves and creativity is rewarded. †¢ Innovative approaches to teaching and learning are incorporated into existing courses so that necessary, ‘base-line’ learning is revitalised. †¢ The University provides resources and activities to allow students to develop their interests beyond the experiences provided within their courses. Principle 2: An intensive research and knowledge transfer culture permeating all teaching and learning activities A climate of inquiry and respect for knowledge and the processes of knowledge creation and transfer shapes the essential character of the education offered by a research-led University It is a basic conviction within the University of Melbourne that the University’s research activities and research culture must infuse, inform and enhance all aspects of undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and learning. Across all disciplines and across all study levels, education in a research-led university develops its distinctive character from an understanding of and respect for existing knowledge and the traditions of scholarship in particular ï ¬ elds, recognition of the provisional nature of this knowledge, and familiarity with the processes involved in the ongoing creation of new knowledge. Historically, research and teaching have always been considered in symbiotic relationship at the University of Melbourne; however, the Melbourne Model introduced a crucial third strand to this relationship: knowledge transfer. In the context of teaching and learning, knowledge transfer experiences â€Å"underpin the development of high levels of skill and ï ¬â€šexibility in problem-solving, in creative contributions in the workplace, in understanding, assessing and initiating innovative contributions to community needs and in promoting and developing egalitarian ideals and social, civic, ethical and environmental responsibility† (Curriculum Commission 2006: 35). Research thus lays the foundations for knowledge transfer, but knowledge transfer, in turn, elucidates the signiï ¬ cance of research by placing the knowledge it produces in context. The process of knowledge transfer is also inherently two-way: as students engage in activities such as substantial ï ¬ eld-based projects or placements and internships, so too they engage with industry, the professions and the broader community, taking their knowledge – which has its origins in research and experiences to the world. Not all students are directly involved in research activity, but the University has a strong commitment to the teaching-research nexus, and aims for all undergraduate and postgraduate students to beneï ¬ t from being taught or supervised by active researchers, from studying a curriculum informed by the latest research developments, and from learning in a research-led environment. Training in research skills is fundamental to students acquiring the skills of critical thinking. As Baldwin (2005) has shown, there are myriad opportunities and methods for teachers to incorporate research in teaching, a process fundamental to students ’learning how to learn’; that is, how to effectively process and apply both their present understandings and giving them a framework and skills for using the knowledge they will acquire in future. It is essential, therefore, that teaching staff are learners too and that their teaching is infused by their learning and their love of research and scholarship. The particular beneï ¬ ts for undergraduate students of an intensive research culture derive from experiencing the ‘latest story’ — curricula underpinned not only by the corpus of human knowledge in the particular ï ¬ eld but also by the latest research and scholarship — and from learning in an educational climate in which knowledge claims are viewed as fallible, ideas are questioned and inquiry-based learning is given a high priority. Knowledge transfer adds yet another dimension, giving students the opportunity to see knowledge at work in social, economic and cultural context. Interdisciplinary learning and teaching can also provide students with unique perspectives and solid understandings of how knowledge is created and used. However, while interdisciplinarity should be embraced — underpinned by the maintenance of established quality assurance and evaluation processes — a strong disciplinary focus should, nonetheless, be preserved (Davies and Devlin 2007). A climate of respect for ideas and spirited inquiry in which theories and ideas are actively contested supports the development of critical thinkers and heightens student sensitivity to the history of the evolution of knowledge, the provisional nature of knowledge and the processes of knowledge renewal. Knowledge transfer adds a signiï ¬ cant new dimension to curriculum design and delivery, encouraging innovation and dynamism in approaches to teaching. It is essential, however, that the overriding principles of coherence and appropriateness – within both a subject and the broader course of study itself – are maintained; that is, that knowledge transfer activities are embedded, relevant and targeted to the overarching goals of the degree. Ultimately, exposure to the interdependence of research, learning and teaching and knowledge transfer provides students with the opportunity to acquire the graduate attributes (see page 4), and to use them in practice. Implications for practice †¢ Teachers model intellectual engagement in the discipline, including an approach of analytical scepticism in the evaluation of all research. †¢ Current research and consultancy experiences are directly incorporated into teaching content and approaches. †¢ Teachers demonstrate that they value lifelong learning, and foster in students an awareness that it will be essential in their professional and personal lives. †¢ Students are trained in the research skills of particular disciplines, but that they are also aware of the possibilities for and challenges in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research; †¢ Students are made aware of the traditions of scholarship in particular ï ¬ elds, the history of knowledge development, and the body of existing knowledge. †¢ Teachers keep abreast of current developments in their own and related disciplines and incorporate this knowledge into their teaching. †¢ Evidence-based or scholarship-informed practice is emphasized, and students gain experience in critically evaluating and contributing to the evidence base, or in critically assessing and contributing to the scholarly discourse on practice. †¢ Research students are exposed to current research through involvement in staff seminars and conferences. †¢ Students are made aware of the questioning of paradigms that is central to the development of knowledge. †¢ Staff demonstrate a commitment to professional values and ethical practice in the conduct of research. †¢ Students conducting research are made to feel part of the community of researchers while they are being trained in its procedures and values. †¢ Staff adopt a scholarly, evidence-based approach to the decisions made about curriculum design, teaching approaches and assessment methods. †¢ As appropriate, staff conduct research into the effects of teaching on student learning. †¢ Staff demonstrate a willingness to revise their own views and admit error, and encourage this attitude in students. †¢ Students are enabled to see the relevance of research to current practice through exposure to experienced practitioners, e-enabled case experiences, ï ¬ eld trips and other in situ learning experiences.

Nature versus Nurture :: Genes vs Environment

Abstract The paper covers the debate of nature versus nurture. Within the paper there is an introduction in which the hypothesis is given and a literature review that provides the reader with previous studies done with nature versus nurture. The methods, results, discussion and recommendations from the research study are also provided within the paper. Introduction and literature review The research question is: When comparing Nature verses Nurture in children which one is stronger than the other? The hypothesis is: Nature has a stronger correlation than nurture when it comes to individual differences between males and females. There is a big controversy between whether inherited genes or the environment influences and affect our personality, development, behavior, intelligence and ability. This controversy is most often recognized as the nature verses nurture conflict. Some people believe that it is strictly genes that affect our ways of life, others believe that it is the environment that affects us, and some believe that both of these influence us. A wide variety of characteristics have been considered in such debates, including personality, sexual orientation, gender identity, political orientation, intelligence, and propensity for violence or criminality (Wright, 1998). Human nature is the range of human behaviors that is believed to be innate rather than learned. There is much debate over which behaviors are innate and which are learned, and whether or not this division applies equally to all individuals. Although "nurture" may have historically referred mainly to the care given to children by their parents, any environmental (not genetic) factor also would count as "nurture" in a contemporary nature versus nurture debate, including one's childhood friends, one's early experiences with television, and one's experience in the womb(Wright,1998). Indeed, a substantial source of environmental input to human nature may arise from external variations in prenatal development (Wright, 1998). Either way, social scientists have been struggling for centuries deciding whether our personalities are born or made. Tests are done often on identical twins that were separated to see how they are influenced. In the past twenty years, it has been discovered that there is a genetic component to about every human trait and behavior (Pinker, 2002). However, genetic influence on traits and behavior is partial because genetics account on average for half of the variation of most traits (Pinker, 2002). Researchers are finding that the balance between genetic and environmental influences for certain traits change as people get older (Pinker, 2002).

Comparative Essay between La Goulue & Les Girard

The city of lights was all about fun and the nightlife during the 19th century. Fortunately enough, Jules Cheerer and Henry De Toulouse-Ululate were able to perfectly capture the essence of Parish's blooming nightlife through their posters. Generally speaking, both posters are the same style, however, each artist was able to create different visual effects and atmospheric perspective using their own aesthetic sense. In this situation, both posters are advertising to the viewer the exhilarating nightlife n Parisian cabarets back in the 19th century.Yet, Latter's poster managed to capture a distinctive and sensual atmosphere compared to Cheerer's joyful atmosphere. Louise Weber, the female dancer In Latter's poster, can be seen performing the provocative cancan dance, which exposes her undergarments as she kicks her legs. The audience in the background looks as if they are interacting with the dancer even if they are Just watching her. Meanwhile, the dancers in Cheerer's poster are che erfully dancing with their hands in the air with no audience around.Even though the figures depicted in both posters are 2-dimensional, Latter's poster has more depth because of the way he places his figures through out different layers. The male dancer and the unusual yellow shape on the left dominate the foreground. The main focus of this image is the female figure placed in the center and between the foreground and background. The contrasting silhouettes behind her further highlight the focus on her. The figure in the middle of Cheerer's poster is wearing a vibrant red dress, which easily catches the viewer's eye even though two lively nagging men overlap her.The two male figures are framing the woman in the middle with their legs. The soft, textured, and plain background contrast with the red and black of the flat figures and brings them out. There Is minimal use of shading, but instead, crisp black lines outline the figures, giving the illustration a flat look. Nothing seems to have a definite structure since there is no sense of strong, angular and straight lines but instead, the lines look more organic as seen with the text and figures.This poster might look a bit symmetrical but the artist drew both men who re facing each other with slight differences to add more to the unstructured and organic feel of the Image. One of the main features of Less Gerard is how the text and illustrations can be seen interacting with one another. One figure looks like as if he is standing on the letter G while the other figure has his legs passing through the letter o. The small 3rd figure relationship can be seen between the text and illustrations in the way they were rendered. The have a long pointed form.For example, the tip â€Å"A† in â€Å"Less Gerard mimics the man's foot. The text was customized by the artist hence the similarities between the illustrations and the text. Ululate uses several different fonts in his poster. In this case, Latter's font does n ot interact with the figures in the poster and does not look like it was drawn by hand but instead is placed on top of the figures with low opacity. The other text that is dominating the top part of the poster has more bold colors and is outlined in black, which balances out the heavy image filled bottom part of the poster.Since Ululate was influenced by Cheerer, the similarities in their work. Ululate also chose to work using the same medium, lithography, which is why their work has strong bold colors. There is no doubt that both artists were influenced by the Japanese style, as it is evident in most of their work. The flat planes of color, 2-dimensional figures, and crisp black contour lines are elements from the Kikuyu-e woodblock print style. Latter's composition of figures overlapping each other is also derived from the Japanese art style. On the other hand, the composition in Cheerer's poster is almost symmetrical.This shows us that even though Ululate was influenced by Cheere r, Ululate had a better understanding of Japanese art and was able to fuse that with his own work in order to produce his own style. In conclusion, the posters may seem to be very similar in style; nevertheless, slight differences between those posters do exist and those differences showcase each artist's unique touch. This demonstrates the endless cycle of an artist influencing another artist who in turn modifies and develops what he learned in order to develop his own style and that may even result in a whole new art movement.

Music-Induced Affect as Treatment of Elderly Depression Essay

Abstract   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Depression in elderly patients is one of the most prevalent psychological problems today. However, research and knowledge regarding this subject is limited and those involved in the application of this knowledge to help elderly individuals experiencing depression are lacking in efficient strategies and training. This paper aims to explore the efficacy of inducing positive affect through music as a strategy in treating depression in elderly individuals. The paper focuses on the effectiveness of music alone as tool in treating depression based on its capability to induce positive affect. It is hypothesized that positive affect continuously induced via music within a set time-period will lessen signs of depression. Introduction Depression has recently been recognized as one of main psychological problems facing society today. Literature shows that treatment of depression needs to be specialized in terms of the population it addresses. Certain groups, such as adolescents, respond to certain treatments differently when compared to another group, such as the elderly. (Aryan & Alvidres, 2001; Von Kroff et al, 2001) Depression among the elderly has specifically been found to be rampant and mostly unchecked mainly due to the fact that it was regarded earlier on as a normal step in an individual’s aging. (Casey, 1994) The need for further research on the subject is stressed by the fact that treatments and solutions for depression among elderly individuals are studied only in areas wherein a majority of the population is in the late stages of life. (Bramesfeld, 2003) Also, research has shown that general practitioners involved in treating depression in the elderly need to have more training and information on how best to handle depression in older patients. (Rothera et al, 2002) Diagnosis of depression is also a problem with 70-90% of depressed elderly patients going undiagnosed. (Koenig, 1999) A new strategy being researched for its effectiveness in treating depression employs the use of music techniques. Hendricks et al (1999) showed the potency of music in treating adolescent depression mainly because of its ability to inspire a change in the individual’s emotions. Hanser & Thomson (1994) and Hanser (1990) studies have also shown promise in the use of music techniques to treat depression in older individuals. This paper aims to validate these previous studies but will focus only on the musical aspect of the treatment. Previous research included exercise, muscle relaxation techniques, and recall of experiences which could have confounded the results of the previous studies attesting to the effectiveness of music techniques. Research Question   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     The goal of this paper is to determine whether there is a significant relationship between music-induced affect and depression. Can positive affect induced by music reduce depression? It is hypothesized that positive music-induced affect has a significant negative relationship with depression. Methods   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The design of the study is experimental and random. Specifically, it makes use of a 2Ãâ€"2 between-subjects factorial design. One variable will be the music-induced affect which will have two levels in the experiment, presence and absence of music-induced affect. Negative music-induced affect will not be used for ethical reasons. The other variable will be the test scores of the participants assessing the intensity of their depression. This will have two levels, test scores prior to the application of the music technique and test scores acquired after application. The two variables contribute tot eh 2Ãâ€"2 factorial design. (Mann, 1949) Setting   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The study will be conducted in a laboratory setting within primary care facilities from which the participants will be gathered. Performing the experiment in a primary care facility will be more convenient especially because the participants involved are elderly individuals. The laboratory setting will control for confounding variables that could be present in a real environment. Population   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The research sample will be composed of individuals from age 65 onwards coming from primary care facilities and who have been diagnosed with depression (ranging from mild to severe). This is to avoid ethical and scientific concerns regarding clinically-induced depression. Data Collection The independent variable is the positive music-induced affect will be measured with the State Form of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List-Revised (MAACL-R). (Zuckerman & Lubin, 1985) The depression level, the dependent variable, of the participants will be measured with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). (Beck et al, 1961) Participants will be randomly assigned to two groups. The experimental group will be administered with music sessions aimed at inducing positive affect. The music will be pre-tested on a different set of participants also with depression to check its validity in inducing positive affect. The control group will not be administered with music sessions and will only be administered the Beck Depression Inventory at the start and at the end of the experimentation period.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The experimental group will be administered the selected music once daily for a duration of four weeks. During the sessions, participants of the experimental set-up will be asked to clear their minds and to concentrate only on the music being played. The State Form of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List-Revised will be administered before and after each session to ensure that positive affect was induced. The Beck Depression Inventory will also be administered to this group at the start and end of the four-week experimentation period to document depression levels. Data Analysis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Collected data will be analyzed statistically with the use of a one-way analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA). The computed marginal means in the ANOVA will be the determining statistical value indicating the effect of positive music-induced affect on depression scores with the Beck Depression Inventory. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Music as a technique employed in treating depression will provide healthcare workers and low-income families with a relatively cost-free strategy of helping elderly individuals experiencing depression. This is also a technique that doesn’t require much training or medical expertise in its administration. All one would need in order to be able to administer this technique is knowledge as to which music selections are prescribed and certified to induce positive affect. This technique, because of its simplicity and speed of application, could also be used as a supplementary strategy to medication, counseling and psychotherapies being employed to treat depression in elderly patients.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The research, however, has many limitations. The range of elderly individuals that will be available for experimentation will only be confined to a specific locality. Time constraints will also be an issue. Further study should be conducted on a larger sample size and over a longer experimentation period. Different music styles and variations can also be checked to ascertain maximum effectiveness of the treatment. Gender could also be checked as a factor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Depression is indeed a psychological problem that afflicts today’s elderly individuals. Research regarding effective techniques has to be continued and expanded in order for healthcare workers to be able to best address this growing problem. References Arean, P., & Alvidrez, J. (2001). Treating Depressive Disorders Who Responds, Who Does Not Respond, and Who Do We Need to Study? Journal of Family Practices, 50(6), 529 Beck, A., Ward, C., Mendelson, M., Mock, J., & Erbaugh, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression, Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561-571. Bramesfeld, A. (2003). Service provision for elderly depressed persons and political and professional awareness for this subject: a comparison of six European countries. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18, 392-401 Casey, D. (1994). Depression in the elderly. Southern Medical Journal, 87(5), 559-563 Hanser, S. B. (1990). A music therapy strategy for depressed older adults in the community. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 9, 283-298. Hanser, S. B., & Thompson, L. W. (1994). Effects of music therapy strategy on depressed older adults. Journal of Gerontology, 49, 265-269. Hendricks, C., Robinson, B., Bradley, L., & Davis, K. (1999). Using music techniques to treat adolescent depression. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education & Development, 38(1), 39-46 Koenig, H. (1999). Late-life depression: How to treat patients with comorbid chronic illness.Geriatrics, 54(5), 56-61 Mann, H.B. (1949). Analysis and design of experiments; analysis of variance and analysis of variance designs. New York, Dover Publications. Rothera, I., Jones, R., & Gordon, C. (2002). An examination of the attitudes and practice of general practitioners in the diagnosis and treatment of depression in older people. International Journal Of Geriatric Psychiatry, 17, 354-358 Von Kroff, M., Katon, W., Wells, K., & Wagner, E. (2001). Improving Depression Care Barriers, Solutions, and Research Needs. Journal of Family Practice, 50(6), 529-561 Zuckerman M, & Lubin B. (1985) Manual for the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List-Revised. San Diego: Educational and Industrial Testing

Describe the role of Lipids in Living Organisms Essays

Describe the role of Lipids in Living Organisms Essays Describe the role of Lipids in Living Organisms Paper Describe the role of Lipids in Living Organisms Paper Lipids are a large and varied group of organic compounds, (3) which are insoluble in water, but soluble in organic solvents such as ethanol and ether. (7). The molecules contain atoms of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen. The ratio of hydrogen to oxygen atoms is always greater than 2:1. (2)Triglycerides are fats and oils and are made when glycerol form condensation reactions with three fatty acids to produce ester bonds. (2). At 20à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C fats are solids whereas oils are liquids. One of the major roles of lipids in organisms is the use of these fats as energy stores. Upon breakdown they yield 38 kJ/g of energy compared favourably with carbohydrates which yield 17 kJ/g, (3) so they therefore store twice as much energy than carbohydrates. Animals store fat when hibernating and fat is also found below the dermis of the skin of vertebrates where it serves as an insulator. (10). Plants usually store oils and a small mass for energy is used in plants where the dispersal of small seeds by w ind or insects is much easier. (9). Triglycerides are also compact, insoluble, can be stored at high concentrations, without requiring water as a solvent and are not mobilised as easily as carbohydrates, (5) which makes them long term energy stores. (5)Fats also act as shock absorbing layers. (2). This protects delicate organs such as the kidneys or the heart from physical damage. Aquatic mammals such as whales have extremely thick subcutaneous fat, called blubber. (3). The blubber is extremely important in thermoregulation as underwater hair is ineffective as an insulation because it cannot trap water in the same way as it can air. (10). Therefore as it is a poor conductor of heat, the layer of fat under the skin of aquatic mammals helps them to keep warm in cold climates. Fats aid buoyancy in aquatic mammals because they are less dense than water. This is especially true in vertebrates such as aquatic birds. (2)Lipids are used for electrical insulation in Schwann cells. The membra nes of Schwann cells are largely composed of lipid and they do not contain the protein channels. (9). The Schwann cells produce the fatty material myelin that surrounds the axons of many mammalian nerve cells. (6)Triacylglycerols also release twice as much water as do carbohydrates when oxidised in respiration. (5). A more indirect role of triacylglycerols is the use of their metabolic water, this is the water produced from their oxidation. (5). This metabolic water is of vital importance, which include the development of very young reptiles when enclosed in eggshells or the daily metabolisms of animals such as camels, which live in habitats where water is scarce. (5). Triglycerides are also commonly used in waterproof coverings. (2). Oil coats animal skin to waterproof it along with fur and feathers so that water is repelled and the animals insulation is not affected.However, insects and plant leaves use wax to form a waxy cuticle, which prevents water loss by evaporation and trans piration. (9). The waxes are esters of fatty acids with long chain alcohols other than glycerols. (10). Exoskeletons may also be coated with it. Saturated fatty acids that have no carbon-carbon double bonds have a high melting point and are found in animals whereas unsaturated fatty acids with one or more double bonds have lower melting points and are found in plants. (4). These fatty acids are also used to derive plant scents, which attract insects and aid pollination.Phospholipids are lipids containing a phosphate group and are formed when one of the primary alcohol groups of glycerol (head) forms an ester with phosphoric acid (tail), instead of a fatty acid. (10). The presence of the phosphate group means that the charge on the head of the molecule is unevenly distributed. It is said to be polar and is attached to water. The head end of the molecule is described, as being hydrophilic (soluble in water). The hydrocarbon tails do not have this uneven charge distribution. They are t herefore non-polar and will not mix with water. The tail end of the molecule is described as being hydrophobic (insoluble). (4). The main role of phospholipids in living organisms is that they are a major component of membranes and it is these solubility characteristics, which are of extreme importance in cells because lipids tend to associate into non-polar groups and barriers, as in the cell membranes that form boundaries between and within cells. (8).Therefore, if phospholipids were placed in water, they would arrange themselves into a phospholipid bilayer where the tails point inward and the heads outwards. (7). This bilayer forms the basis of cell membranes. The membrane is partially permeable as water; water soluble and polar molecules cannot pass through whereas gases, lipids and non-polar molecules can. Other more minor roles of phospholipids in living organisms are in the transport of fat between gut and liver in mammalian digestion and as a source of acetylcholine. (5)Ster oids are lipids whose molecules contain four rings of carbon and hydrogen atoms with various side chains. (9). Steroids are common in all organisms, mainly as hormones. Phosphatidyl inositol (a phospholipid lacking the group esterified to the phosphate) acts to release inositol trisphosphate and diacylglycerol as intercellular second messengers to hormones. (1). Terpenes are common in plants as pigments whereas cholesterol is the most common in humans. From cholesterol are made the bile salts, the sex hormones and the hormones of the adrenal cortex, (5) aldosterone and cortisone. (10). A steroid closely related to cholesterol occurs in the human skin and is converted to vitamin D by the ultraviolet rays in the sunlight. (5)Lipids also lower the surface tension in the air breathing vertebrates to make breathing possible. (11)Therefore evolution development has facilitated the compartmentalisation of cells with the aid of phospholipids it can be considered as a vital compartment, whi ch has enabled complex development and variation with birds fro example. Such variation as buoyancy, insulation etc are brought about by triglycerides.

Death Speech- a Streetcar Named Desire Essays

Death Speech- a Streetcar Named Desire Essays Death Speech- a Streetcar Named Desire Paper Death Speech- a Streetcar Named Desire Paper Essay Topic: A Streetcar Named Desire Blanche’s death speech plays a vital role in the development of the play â€Å"A Streetcar named Desire†. In the monologue the tension between Blanche and Stella comes to a zenith as Blanch explodes with rage as she expresses her jealousy-driven feelings to Stella. In doing so Blanche reveals much more, including her unstable mental state, her emotional reaction to the lost of Belle Reve, and most importantly her preoccupation with the theme of death. One of the roles of this excerpt is to provide the background towards understanding Blanche, and the justifications for her mental state and actions. It is evident that in the past she belonged to a higher class where extravagance was common. But when her family in Belle Reve gradually died off, not only did she have to experience the pain of losing her loved ones, but she was also left with no money or financial aid to keep the estate and ultimately was forced to let it go. Blanche defends herself by figuratively saying that the grim reaper put up his tent right on her doorstep and that is how â€Å"it slipped through my (Blanche’s) fingers†. She even goes on to accuse Stella of dealing with the crisis by â€Å"ignoring† it and moving on, hence leaving Blanche to deal with an unbearable burden. This is most obvious when she rhetorically asks Stella, â€Å"I let the place go?† This quote aids in leading the audience to perceive that it was Stella that let the estate go by not trying to help the situation. To accentuate her point Blanche brings up the irony of her being â€Å"at the bed when they (her family) cried out hold me† while condemning Stella for being â€Å"In bed with your (Stella) Polak.† During the speech there are numerous indications that prove Blanche was deeply hurt by her experience at Belle Reve. Firstly, the seemingly unnecessary long explanation in itself demonstrates the importance of Belle Reve to Blanche. Secondly, the frustration and anger she expresses with Stella highlights the importance of their home to her. Throughout the piece Blanche repeats words and phrases many times underlining her fury. For example, at the beginning she says, â€Å"I, I, I†, in the middle she utters â€Å"I saw,  Saw! Saw!† and in the end cries â€Å"I let the place go!, I let the place go?† Thirdly, it seems as if Blanche is accusing Stella of blaming her for losing Belle Reve when in the book Stella simply asks about what happened. This becomes clear when Blanche reproaches Stella by telling her: â€Å"And you sit there telling me with your eyes that I let the place go† and â€Å"Yes accuse me! Sit and stare at me thinking I let the place go!† This sort of presumptuous attitude and thinking influences the reader to assume that Blanche is unable to let go. In addition when Blanche says â€Å"I took the blows in my face and body†¦Farther, Margret, Mother†¦had to be burnt like rubbish† she is also directly conveying her agony. It is clear that Tennessee Williams carefully crafted this specific speech to introduce the theme of death, of which is recurrent in the course of the play. He makes sure to describe the devastation of having to deal with death through Blanche. â€Å"Funerals are quiet but deaths- not always†, â€Å"Sometimes they even cry out to you, ‘Don’t let me go’†, â€Å"Unless you were there at the bed when they cried out ‘Hold me’ you would never suspect there was a struggle for breath and breathing†, and â€Å"Why the Grim Reaper set up his tent on our doorstep† are some quotes that specifically and profoundly relate to the subject of Death. After reading these quotes and knowing that Tennessee Williams suffered from hypochondria (a cynical fear of death and diseases), one could decipher that Blanche’s mindset in this case is almost an emulation of the playwright himself. Due to the structure of the speech one could infer that the body language of Blanche goes from grief to anger to resentment and conclusively to disgust as she ends with that derogatory word â€Å"Polak†. As you can see Williams cleverly structures this one speech to portray and provide lots of valuable information about Blanche’s current state and past life; this in turn foreshadows her inner and external conflicts as the book progresses.

College Shower Dos and Donts

College Shower Do's and Don'ts Unless youve spent a lot of time at summer camp,  theres a good chance youve  never enjoyed the dubious pleasures of a shared shower. Dorm showers are a little nicer than camp showers, but while summer campers are children with few concerns about privacy and hygiene, college students are young adults. Standards are higher, and you need to know the unwritten rules of college showers. What College Dorm Showers Are Like Most dorms have large bathrooms for each hall. If youre in a single-sex dorm you may have two bathrooms on your floor available for your use. If youre in a coed dorm, there may be separate bathrooms for each gender or shared bathrooms. In most dorms, bathrooms include multiple sinks, toilet stalls, mirrors, and separate curtained showers. If youre living off-campus or in a fraternity or sorority house, the situation may be different. You may, for example, need to take turns using a single-user bathroom. Alternatively, you may need to create a bathroom schedule. The college shower is both a very private and a very public place. Whether youre in a dorm, an off-campus apartment, or even in a situation where you have your own room but share  a bathroom with others, its important to know how things work so no one gets offended or embarrassed. So how can you make sure you know the dos and donts that surround the college shower? The Dos Do wear shower shoes. You may love every person in your residence hall or Greek house, but feet are feet and dirt is dirt. Wearing shower shoes can actually protect you from infections, so make sure you have an extra, shower-only pair of flip-flops at all times.Do bring a shower caddy. A shower caddy is a hanging bag or container you carry with you from your room to the bathroom and back again. Find one that works for you so you can always have your shampoo, conditioner, razor, and anything else you might need handy.Do bring a towel or robe to wear back to your room. Forgetting your towel can be a nightmare, so hook it onto your shower caddy, or even better, fold it on top so that you never forget one without the other.Do clean your hair out of the drain. Youre in a shared space now, so treat it with the respect youd want from someone else and do a quick swipe to make sure you dont leave hair in the drain for the next person. The Donts Dont take an unreasonable amount of time. Taking a ton of time in the shower may feel nice for you, but it creates a huge backlog of people who need to shower. Remember that youre part of a community and try to keep your shower time brief.Dont shower with a friend. Having, shall we say, romantic encounters in the shower is not only disrespectful to others in your hall, but its also inappropriate and, perhaps worst of all, pretty darned gross. With all the private spaces that a college offers, take your friend somewhere a little nicer and more personal.Dont expect too much privacy. Yes, youll have your own stall, and most likely it will have doors or a curtain. But you are sharing a bathroom with others, so just be prepared for people talking, using up the hot water, coming in and out of the bathroom, and basically eliminating the kind of privacy you might be used to back at home.

National Gallery of Art Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

National Gallery of Art - Research Paper Example Also, I like his idea about the â€Å"15 minutes of fame†. His exhibit is located at the East Upper Level of the National Gallery of Art in DC that will run from September 25, 2011 to January 2, 2012 (National Gallery of Museum and Art, 2011). Andy Warhol’s Headlines: To Whom Does the News Belong features a timely articulation of the artistic perspective of the news industry in America. The news, which is typically a dry reporting of events and people take a new life of its own when Andy Warhol interprets it. In his interpretation about news, Warhol provides the uncanny definition that if somebody is in the news, then the news company should be paying the subject because they are selling the news of a person. The news company will however say that they should not because they are helping the subject of the news. News should be broadcasted and should be owned by everybody because if news does not have any news, then news is not a news. This is an uncanny play of words by Andy Warhol about the news I believe is the gist of the exhibit. In the exhibit, I took special notice about the Andy Warhol’s gift to Sean Penn when she married him in 1985. I am a big Madonna fan so I took a particular notice about the silkscreen gift of Andy Warhol to Madonna where it depicted Madonna’s reaction to show business magazines when they ran an unauthorized nude picture of her. The present had a fictional New York Post headline that reads â€Å"Madonna: I’m Not Ashamed† with hundreds of Keith Haring signature action figures. What used to be a scandalous news suddenly became a piece of art when Andy Warhol touched it. This is a typical example of Andy Warhol’s artistic ingenuity that transcends to everyday mundane subject such as news. What seems to be ordinary became an object of art when it is presented at a different perspective and overlaid with artistic impressions. This makes a typical uninterested party like me to

Individualized Education Program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Individualized Education Program - Essay Example The law requires that if any member of the ARD does not attend a meeting he must put it into writing. There must be an agreement between the parent and the school agreeing that that member should not attend the meeting. These may be done if the expertise of that member is not needed (Bateman, Barbara D, and Mary A. Linden 1998). Another requirement is when a member of the ARD committee does not attend the meeting and his expertise is needed in the meeting he must write a letter to the school and the parent in order for them to review it before the meeting day. The school and the parents are also required to write a letter indicating the same. The contract should be renewed with conditions because it will enable the dormant member to improve on high work and also to ensure that we don’t lose a member because we had little faith for them and yet if given another opportunity they would have done better.

Reflective account for postgraduate activities Essay

Reflective account for postgraduate activities - Essay Example All the same, I believed that my paper was in its comprehensive form. I was only to make a few changes with my lecturers in order to make the presentation easier. I finally made my oral presentation before other intellectuals and stakeholders. The initial part of the conference solely entailed presenting my ideas in concise forms. In the beginning, I made a justification for my study by stating that risk management is an unexplored element in the study of finance. This is because of the empiricism and analysis that studies on risk demands. In the oral presentation, I made my references from a PowerPoint slides that I had prepared on my laptop. This enabled me go through the presentation procedurally as I moved from the most basic parts to the most abstract segments. Thereafter, I faced questions from the audience, which occurred at the end of the presentation. When I began my PhD, I held the idea of testing my thoughts against fellow scholars. This is an ultimate feat for every scholar as other people discuss your findings over an issue. In turn, this is a method of gaining legitimacy in the academia. Gaining legitimacy finally certifies one’s academic products and makes a person gain acceptance among knowledgeable people. This is unlike the undergraduate level where there are no stringent standards over presenting ideas. In this sense, I wanted the foundation for advancing knowledge in the future and produce ideas that gain acceptance across disciplines. I realized that it takes more than a good idea to earn legitimacy in life. During the presentation, I had to develop charm while passing on my ideas. This because charm makes people glued to one’s ideas in spite of abstractions. Besides, I had to learn how to sustain an audience through long sessions. This was also essential for hearing my own inner voice as I made presentations.

Strategic finance and accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Strategic finance and accounting - Essay Example For one reason, mergers are undertaken so as to increase the growth rate of the organization. For this case, the chairman’s statement means that, through the merger, a stronger organization with a stronger financial base to acquire more and better assets and improve the management condition will be formed. In this light, with good management, when a new team of management personnel will be put in place, the chairman is visionary that the newly formed organization will be able to provide better services to the passengers at affordable prices as well as make better profits. Through the merger, there is reduction in competition that was there before between the two firms, and this can make the shareholders now run a more profitable business. The staff will also enjoy since new management comes with new management systems so that, the former problems that were being experienced earlier, must be sorted before the merger takes place. For instance, there has been a cabin crew dispute and strike in the airlines, which will be solved by the merger (TheGuardian, 2010). Therefore, the merger is compelling since it has several advantages, strategic in terms of tax benefits and reduction of competition and financial logic as it brings finances together for investing and improving the face of the new organization to result to better management, customer service and good profits. Considering a recent example of a merger between two cement companies; Lafarge and Holcim, the two companies had an intention of coming together to create the world’s biggest cement maker with combined sales of 32 billion pounds. The merger was aimed also at reducing competition which has made the two firms become the biggest rivals in the

Economic Finance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economic Finance - Assignment Example Theorists in this context often argued that the occurrence of East Asian crisis was the consequence of the fiscal irresponsibility performed by global institutions including the IMF, especially concerning its financial liberalization policy of the 1980s and the 1990s (Bustelo, â€Å"The East Asian Financial Crises: An Analytical Survey†). THESIS STATEMENT The following discussion hereunder intends to focus on the arguments made by Joseph E. Stiglitz on IMF intervention, which is often accounted as a key reason for the East Asian Financial crisis of the 1990s. Accordingly the discussion also includes the description of the other agendas laid by the IMF other than the promotion of stability and growth in the least developed countries of the world. HOW THE IMF INTERVENTION DID WORSEN THE EAST ASIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS OF THE LATE 1990s? According to Stiglitz, the IMF policies in respect to the gradual capital market and financial liberalization should be accounted as the most import ant reasons of the East Asian financial crisis in the year 1990 (89-91). Stiglitz further argues that the IMF was founded with an intention to deal with similar crisis situations, but it failed in preventing the East Asia Crisis of the 1990s rather worsening the crisis situation being emphasized to facilitate liberalization within the global economy. Such liberalization activities around the world contributed to currency speculations affecting the group of poorer and developing nations of the East Asian region (Stiglitz 91-95). Arguments by Stiglitz concentrates on the consequences of encouragement by the IMF, in support of the US Treasury, to promote capital market liberalization globally. As per the enacted policy measure of market liberalization, IMF credited the Asian markets with supply of capital in dollars as a measure to aid their sustenance in the currency exchange rates. Accordingly, the money was utilized by the countries to provide the various firms with dollars. These d ollars were again utilized by the firms in the repayment of loans obtained from the Western banks increasing currency speculation. Such a transition in the capital market led to high inflation rates in the East Asian countries. Additionally, in order to rectify this problem, IMF imposed higher rates of interest, taxes and cut offs on the government expenditures in the East Asian countries at the time when they were facing the negative consequences of high degree of indebtedness. As a consequence, many firms in the East Asian countries perished, thus worsening the crisis situation in the region (Stiglitz 104-113). According to Stiglitz, another the major fault of the IMF in worsening the crisis situation in the 1990s was its policy to support the attitude of a ‘bumbling restructuring’ (Stiglitz 113-118). Undoubtedly, restricting without proper planning inhibited the stable growth and reformation within the East Asian economies. Not only so, but according to Stiglitz, the restructuring increased the chaos within these economies, which were already suffering from increasing levels of unemployment along with deepening inflation rates and huge burden of indebtedness (113-118). Above the mentioned issues, Stiglitz also argued that the most serious fault of IMF in performing its responsibilities was its greater significance to corporate welfare rather than towards the development of the rudimental levels of the East Asian

Company Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Company Law - Essay Example The intention of the law makers is to establish a corporate fiction which is regarded as a legal juristic person with a separate legal entity, which is distinctive from the shareholders who own it and which gives the primary benefit of limited liability to shareholders. The main aim behind is that to encourage the shareholders to offer capital and to assume more risk on investments. By designing this, not only the costs are externalised but also the risk is mitigated to third parties. Due to this limited liability criterion, investor confidence is encouraged which in turn will kindle the economic development. Thus, limited liability can be seen as the foundation of the capitalism. Further, as moral hazard comes into operation, the benefits may not be equal to the externalisation costs thereby creating economic losses to third parties. So as to promote justice and fairness, the court may disregard the assumption of limited liability infrequently and thus court will inflict personal li abilities on the shareholders for the losses suffered by third parties in dealing with the company. This doctrine is called as lifting of corporate veil and this research essay will analyse how the courts are lifting the corporate veil when fairness and justice require it. Thus, the lifting of the corporate veil is a highly litigated issue in the corporate law sector1. Lifting of Corporate Veil under Fairness and Justice Grounds Under English Companies Act, the company is a distinct legal person wholly divergent from its members, and the company is entrusted to enjoy the privileges and owe some duties, which are distinct from that of rights or duties enjoyed by its shareholders. This notion has been regarded as a veil, a curtain or a shield between the members and the company. As an iron curtain, the shield is regarded as an impassable curtain. This has been well established in the case Salomon v Salomon & Co Ltd2. In this case, â€Å"it was held by the House of Lords that the comp any had been incorporated appropriately, and it was a legal person before the law and was different from those who established it†. As there was no fraud was committed by Solomon, the House of Lords were of the opinion that the secured debentures issued to Solomon would have priority over the unsecured creditors in the case of winding up proceedings of the company. Though 100% shares were held by Solomon and his family members, the court observed that company is distinct from its shareholders3. The creditors witness an inherent peril in dealing with a company since liability of shareholders is limited. When the risks are improperly or excessively transferred to creditors by the shareholders, then the liability shield is not justified. Under this scenario, courts have the capacity to disregard the separate corporate identity. The courts balance two competing features namely offering economic and democratic justification for the limited liability characteristic so as to promote the growth of the economy and the corporations and hence, the courts will be always hesitant to lift the corporate veil. However, the society and the creditors should be safeguarded as well from any peril unleashed by the companies and the shareholders. This fairness argument compels the courts to lift the corpo

Economic Finance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economic Finance - Assignment Example Theorists in this context often argued that the occurrence of East Asian crisis was the consequence of the fiscal irresponsibility performed by global institutions including the IMF, especially concerning its financial liberalization policy of the 1980s and the 1990s (Bustelo, â€Å"The East Asian Financial Crises: An Analytical Survey†). THESIS STATEMENT The following discussion hereunder intends to focus on the arguments made by Joseph E. Stiglitz on IMF intervention, which is often accounted as a key reason for the East Asian Financial crisis of the 1990s. Accordingly the discussion also includes the description of the other agendas laid by the IMF other than the promotion of stability and growth in the least developed countries of the world. HOW THE IMF INTERVENTION DID WORSEN THE EAST ASIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS OF THE LATE 1990s? According to Stiglitz, the IMF policies in respect to the gradual capital market and financial liberalization should be accounted as the most import ant reasons of the East Asian financial crisis in the year 1990 (89-91). Stiglitz further argues that the IMF was founded with an intention to deal with similar crisis situations, but it failed in preventing the East Asia Crisis of the 1990s rather worsening the crisis situation being emphasized to facilitate liberalization within the global economy. Such liberalization activities around the world contributed to currency speculations affecting the group of poorer and developing nations of the East Asian region (Stiglitz 91-95). Arguments by Stiglitz concentrates on the consequences of encouragement by the IMF, in support of the US Treasury, to promote capital market liberalization globally. As per the enacted policy measure of market liberalization, IMF credited the Asian markets with supply of capital in dollars as a measure to aid their sustenance in the currency exchange rates. Accordingly, the money was utilized by the countries to provide the various firms with dollars. These d ollars were again utilized by the firms in the repayment of loans obtained from the Western banks increasing currency speculation. Such a transition in the capital market led to high inflation rates in the East Asian countries. Additionally, in order to rectify this problem, IMF imposed higher rates of interest, taxes and cut offs on the government expenditures in the East Asian countries at the time when they were facing the negative consequences of high degree of indebtedness. As a consequence, many firms in the East Asian countries perished, thus worsening the crisis situation in the region (Stiglitz 104-113). According to Stiglitz, another the major fault of the IMF in worsening the crisis situation in the 1990s was its policy to support the attitude of a ‘bumbling restructuring’ (Stiglitz 113-118). Undoubtedly, restricting without proper planning inhibited the stable growth and reformation within the East Asian economies. Not only so, but according to Stiglitz, the restructuring increased the chaos within these economies, which were already suffering from increasing levels of unemployment along with deepening inflation rates and huge burden of indebtedness (113-118). Above the mentioned issues, Stiglitz also argued that the most serious fault of IMF in performing its responsibilities was its greater significance to corporate welfare rather than towards the development of the rudimental levels of the East Asian

Contemporary Art from the Middle East Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Contemporary Art from the Middle East - Essay Example The essay "Contemporary Art from the Middle East" discovers the exhibition Illuminance: An Elevation of Mind. The exhibition will feature the work of 12 internationally acclaimed and emerging artists from Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, and Turkey. All of the artists create sculptures and installations that reach beyond traditionalism, appreciating the authentic beauty of the culture which is being depicted. The work that these Middle Eastern artists have done is an aesthetic and intellectual adventure that records a personal journey and cuts a unique cross-section through culture. The exhibition focuses on the method of tracing and mapping a complex history of identity often misunderstood or misrepresented in the West. The exhibition also provides a new perspective that situates their work in an engaging and active space. Each artwork presents itself through multiple viewpoints: a fusion of both past and present, as well as between East and West. Moreover, the exhibi tion will include works by local artists including Adel Abdessemed, Dian Al-Hadid, Afruz Amighi, Yael Kanarek, Naama Tsabar, and internationally recognized artists like Mounir Fatmi, Susan Hefuna, Younà ¨s Rahmoun, Marwan Rechmaoui, Gulay Semercioglu, Mehmet Ali Uysal and Penny Hes Yassour to name a few. Illuminance showcases a variety of exciting ways in which contemporary artists are expressing themselves in the nuances of sculpture and installation art, which also includes collaborative efforts and mixed-media pieces.

Finance 3301 questions Essay Example for Free

Finance 3301 questions Essay Broussard Skateboard’s sales are expected to increase by 15% from $8 million in 2012 to $9. 2 million in 2013. Its assets totaled $5 million at the end of 2012. Broussard is already at full capacity, so its assets must grow at the same rate as projected sales. At the end of 2012, current liabilities were $1. 4 million, consisting of $450,000 of accounts payable, $500,000 of notes payable, and $450,000 of accruals. The after-tax profit margin is forecasted to be 6%, and the forecasted payout ratio is 40%. Use the AFN equation to forecast Brous- sard’s additional funds needed for the coming year. Required increase in assets – Increase in spontaneous liabilities – Increase in retained earnings = AFN AFN=($5/$8)*$1. 2 – ($1. 4/$8)*$1. 2-$9. 2*6%*(1-40%)=0. 75 0. 21 – 0. 33=21% Chapter 10 Tony Company’s balance sheet shows $300 million in debt, $50 million in preferred stock, and $250 million in total common equity. Tony Company`s tax rate is 40%, rd =6%,rPS =5%,andrs =10%. If Tony Company get capital structure of 30% debt, 5% preferred stock, and 65% common stock, what is its WACC? Wd=30% ; Wps=5%; Ws=65% WACC=Wd*rd*(1-T)+Wps*rps+ws*rs=30%*6%(1-40%)+5%*5%+65%*10%=0. 0108+0. 000125+0. 065=7. 59% What kinds of the T-bonds is the best proxy for the risk-free rate is the yield on? Answer: A A, long-term B, short-term C, No one Chapter 11 A company creates value when the spread between EROIC and WACC is positive—that is, when Answer: B A, EROIC ? WACC = 0 B, EROIC ? WACC 0; C, EROIC ? WACC

Society in The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Essay -- Handmaids

â€Å"Atwood’s feminism is an integral part of her critical approach, just as her concept of criticism is inseparable from her creative work† Walter Pache (1). A dystopia is a fictional society, usually existing in a future time period, in which the condition of life is extremely difficult due to deprivation, oppression or terror. In most dystopian fiction, a corrupt government creates or sustains the poor quality of life, often conditioning the masses to believe the society is proper and just, even perfect. Most dystopian fiction takes place in the future but purposely incorporates contemporary social trends taken to horrendous extremes. The novel, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, by Margaret Atwood focuses on the choices made by those controlling the society of Gilead in which increasing the population and preservation of mankind is the main objective, instead of freedom or happiness. The society has undergone many physical changes that have extreme psychological consequences. I believe Atwood sees Gilead as the result of attitudes and events in the early 1980s, which have spiralled out of control. ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ reflects Atwood’s views and critiques on civilisation. In an interview with Gabriele Metzler Atwood says, â€Å"There is nothing in the book that hasn’t already happened. All things described in the book people have already done to each other†(2). Throughout ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Offred is constantly conscious of her life before Gilead. This is reflected in the sections of the book headed â€Å"Night†. Offred often refers back to her life with her daughter and Luke, â€Å"Luke was in the living room. He put his arms around me. We were both feeling miserable. How were we to know we were happy, even then? Becaus... ...e extreme, she managed to visualise a dystopian world, which suppressed people’s freedom of choice. â€Å"Atwood is known as an outspoken defender of humanitarian values, an able and active advocate for woman’s rights and for freedom of speech† Nathalie Cooke (6). Therefore I do believe that Atwood’s novel ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ offers a very strong critique of American society in the 1980s. Bibliography (1) Walter Pache: â€Å"A Certain Frivolity†: Margaret Atwood’s Literary Criticism (2) Gabriele Metzler: â€Å"Creativity†: An Interview with Margaret Atwood (3) Bernard Richards: Margaret Atwood (4) Gabriele Metzler: â€Å"Creativity†: An Interview with Margaret Atwood (5) Lorna Irvine: â€Å"Recycling Culture: Kitsch, Camp and Trash†: Margaret Atwood’s Fiction (6) Nathalie Cooke: â€Å"Lions, Tigers and Pussycats†: Margaret Atwood (Auto) Biographically

Symbol Of America :: essays research papers

The thing that I see that represents America is Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There have been numerous historical events that have been the basis for the forming of the United States of America that took place inside Independence Hall. Basically, everything that happened during the time of the Thirteen Colonies and a period of time after the Revolutionary War that involved political affairs, all took place in Independence Hall. This place was pretty much the earlier version of the United States Congress back in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. Independence Hall, a historic monument of the United States of America, was where the U.S. first began to form from where the Continental Congress met to the place where the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution was signed to build it’s way to become one great nation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First of all, Independence Hall was where the Continental Congress held all their congregations that eventually led way to the independence of the United States. The Continental Congress was where all the forefathers of America from George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Hancock, and many others all decided to free America from British rule. And where else did this take place than at the site of Independence Hall, but after the Declaration of Independence was signed and a bloody war called the Revolutionary War was fought.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were signed in Independence Hall. The Declaration was just a little document that brought the birth of a â€Å"new, free nation.† The beginning of the United States was on July 4, 1776 at the signing of the Declaration where all the forefathers of America risked their lives as patriots to get rid of an â€Å"evil† tyrant ruling from far away across the ocean, and to create a democracy that they could believe in. One more thing was that the United States Constitution was signed after the Revolutionary War to bring deserving and fair rights to every American citizen. Freedom and rights were achieved by these historic documents after they were signed to bring in a new country that has lasted for centuries and for centuries to come.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What other thing represents America better than the place of Independence Hall where America was actually born? There were many things that can also be seen as the symbol for America from such things as the President of the United States, to freedom, to the â€Å"American Dream†/ â€Å"the almighty dollar,† and so on.

Oppressed Caribbean Culture Essay

Caribbean culture, in so far as it is conceded to exist, is at once the cause, occasion, and result of evolved and evolving paradoxes. The psychic inheritance of dynamic response to disparate elements interacting to find ideal, form, and purpose within set geographical boundaries over time could not have produced otherwise. The 1990s have witnessed no less of this, precisely because the decade serves to encapsulate contradictions in human development over the past half a millennium. The entire Caribbean, and indeed all of the modern Americas of which the Caribbean, like the United States, is only one part, are the creatures of the awesome process of cross-fertilization following on the encounters between the old civilizations of Europe, Africa, and Asia on foreign soil and they, in turn, with the old Amerindian civilizations developed on American soil long before Christopher Columbus set foot on it. It is a development that has helped to shape the history and modern condition of the world for some half a millennium and one that has resulted in distinctive culture-spheres in the Western hemisphere, each claiming its own inner logic and consistency. The Caribbean, at the core of which are a number of island nations, themselves in sub-regional groupings, is conscious of the dynamics of its development. For it rests firmly on the agonizing and challenging process actualized in simultaneous acts of negating and affirming, demolishing and constructing, rejecting and reshaping. Nowhere is this more evident that in the creative arts, themselves a strong index of a people’s cultural distinctiveness and identity. Admittedly, other indices of culture such as linguistic communication, which underpins the oral and indigenous scribal literatures of the region, religion, and kinship patterns, reveal the texture and internal diversity that are the result of cross-fertilization of differing elements. The result is an emerging lifestyle, worldview, and a nascent ontology and epistemology that all speak to Caribbean historical experience and existential reality, in some cases struggling to gain currency and legitimacy worldwide (and even among some of its own people) for being native-born and nativebred. For this is the original meaning of â€Å"Creole. † Whites born in the American colonies were regarded as â€Å"creoles† by their metropolitan cousins. And the Jamaican-born slaves were similarly differentiated from their â€Å"salt-water Negro† colleagues freshly brought in from West Africa. The term was soon to be hijacked by or attributed to the mulatto (half-caste) who defiantly claimed certified rootedness in the colonies–a status not as easily claimed by the person of African or European descent whose ancestry lay elsewhere, it was felt, other than in the Caribbean or the Americas. An understanding of the shared human thirst for freedom in terms of its cultural significance is critical. For the impulses that drive the Caribbean people (like people anywhere) to freedom within nation states, to the right to choose their own friends and political systems, and to independent paths to development are the same impulses that drive them to the creation of their own music, their own languages and literature, their own gods and religious belief-systems, their own kinship patterns, modes of socialization, and self-perceptions. All plans made for them from outside must take this fact into account, whatever may be the dictates of military and strategic interests or the statistical logic of tabulated growth rates and gross national products. The Caribbean people, faced as they are with the post-colonial imperative of shaping civil society and building nations, expect to be taken seriously in terms of their proven capacities to act creatively in coordinated social interaction over centuries in the Americas. They feel passionately that their history and experience are worthy of theory and explanation and expect others to understand and appreciate this fact. They are unique, paradoxically because they are like everybody else. The Caribbean has been engaged in freedom struggles and its inhabitants have been at the job of creating their own languages, and designing their own appropriate lifestyles for as long as and, in some cases, longer than most parts of what became the United States. Recognition of this and the according of the status due such achievement is a prized wish of all Caribbean people–Black, White, Mestizo, Indian (indigenous and transplanted), Chinese, and Lebanese. By general critical consent, the principal women writers in English to emerge, so far, from the Caribbean are the properly varied trio of Jamaica Kincaid (Elaine Potter Richardson) and Jean Rhys. I say â€Å"properly varied† because the immensely mixed political and social history of the Caribbean is reflected by and in its writers. Kincaid, the most experimental of the three, is seen by her admirers as a deliberate subverted of Dead White European Male modes of narrative. Yet any reader deeply immersed in Western literature will recognize that prose poetry, Kincaid’s medium, always has been one of the staples of literary fantasy or mythological romance, including much of what we call â€Å"children’s literature. † Centering almost always upon the mother-daughter relationship, Kincaid returns us inevitably to perspectives familiar from our experience of the fantasy narratives of childhood. Kincaid genuinely expresses her regard to Caribbean as those that have been â€Å"creolized† into indigenous form and purpose distinctively different from the original elements from which those expressions first sprang. With some of those original elements, especially those from a European source, themselves reinforcing their claims on the region, whether through politics, economic control, or cultural penetration, the Caribbean is becoming even more conscious not only of its own unique expressions but also of the dynamism and nature of the process underlying these expressions. These in turn constitute the basis for the claims made for a Caribbean identity. Jean Rhys, of Creole Dominican descent, is a formidable contrast to Marshall and seems to me the major figure to emerge thus far among Caribbean women writers. Though she lived mostly in Paris and England, the imagination of Rhys came fully alive in her novel of 1966, Wide Sargasso Sea, a remarkable retelling of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre from the perspective of Bertha Mason, Rochester’s mad first wife. The terrifying predicament of the 19th-century Creole women of the West Indies, regarded as â€Å"white niggers† by colonialists and as European oppressors by blacks, is presented by Rhys with unforgettable poignancy and force. Shrewdly exploiting the modernist formal originalities of her mentor, Ford Maddox Ford, Rhys achieved a near masterpiece in Wide Sargasso Sea. Allusive, parodistic, and intensely wrought, the novel remains the most successful prose fiction in English to emerge from the Caribbean matrix. In Wide Sargasso Sea, the starting point is this placelessness. Although Rhys’s novel starts with Antoinette’s childhood in Coulibri, its boundaries lie outside the novel in another woman’s text. In Jane Eyre we have the madwoman Bertha locked up in the attic of Thornfield Hall. The significant title â€Å"Wide Sargasso Sea† refers to the dangers of the sea voyage. Rochester first crosses the Atlantic alone to a place which threatens to destroy him, then once more, bringing his new wife to England. Both Rochester and Antoinette are transformed through this passage. Rochester gives Antoinette a new name, Bertha, and in England she finally is locked up as mad. Rhys finds her own place in Jane Eyre, â€Å"a prisoner of another’s desire. † She sets out to describe that place and, in doing that, she redefines it as her own. In her challenge to Jane Eyre, Rhys draws on the collective experience of black people as sought out, uprooted, and transported across the Middle Passage and finally locked up and brutally exploited for economic gain. She uses this experience and the black forms of resistance as modes through which the madwoman in Jane Eyre is recreated. In the film version Wide Sargasso Sea develops stereotypes of Black West Indians that strongly mirror Bogle’s discussion of classic film depictions of African Americans. The inner stereotype in the film is that of the â€Å"tragic mulatto† which, the film hints, describes Angelique, the evidently White child who has been raised by Blacks. Although Angelique insists on her â€Å"Whiteness,† a menacing dark skinned stranger claims at diverse points in the film to be her brother through her father’s relationship with a slave. The viewer is left to consider whether the widowed plantation owner seen at the beginning of the film is actually Angelique’s mother. While it does not answer this question directly, it obviously shows through Angelique’s actions that her culture is far more African than European. These suspicions, actions, and Angelique’s reliance on the ex-slave Christophine ultimately destroy her marriage and drive her insane. Christophine, herself, fulfills the â€Å"mammy† role since the film portrays her as a constant presence who fiercely guards Angelique from all dangers. In the West Indian context, though, she is given a twist, as she is not only guardian angel but also a practitioner of the magical art of â€Å"obeah. † This portrayal — a staple of films dealing with the West Indies — is never completely developed. Nevertheless, the film permits us to witness its potency, as Angelique, despairing of keeping her husband’s love, calls on Christophine to develop a magical potion to bind his affections to hers. One opponent for those affections is Emily, a young Black servant who might well be characterized as a female â€Å"Black buck† — a sexual predator who seduces a married White man into interracial unfaithfulness. Finally, there is Nelson, the long-suffering head of the household who intimately approximates Bogle’s â€Å"Tom. In the film, insults of various sorts that are directed towards him result only in silence and a determination to remain a faithful servant. Though, in Dominican novelist Jean Rhys Wide Sargasso Sea (1966), the island’s riotous vegetation and dramatic landscape are depicted with an ominous intensity that prompts the protagonist’s English husband to equate it with evil. Lally, the narrator of another Dominican classic, Phyllis Shand Allfrey The Orchid House ( 1953), faced with the menacing power the island’s nature exerts over Stella and Andrew, ruefully concludes that the island offered nothing but beauty and disease. Rhys’s protagonists, most evidently Antoinette in Wide Sargasso Sea, share a view of England as deadening, grey and emotionally destructive. England is a place of hypocrites, and the English have a ‘bloody, bloody sense of humour’. With a West Indian accent, she goes on, ‘and stupid, lord, lord’ (Wide Sargasso Sea: 134). But it remains Rhys’s place, the source of those English books which provided an early contribution to her construction of herself as writer. The idea of definitive national origin and affiliation is a source of anxiety for Rhys’s protagonists. For Rhys herself nationality was complicated by her exile and her race: also England did not value her Caribbean origins. For Rhys’s women, as perhaps for herself, England is also a place where human emotions, especially those associated with sexuality, are outlawed or repressed; she described sex in a letter of 1949 as a ‘strange Anglo-Saxon word’ (Abalos, David T. 1998, 66). Hemond Brown comments that Rhys’s attitude to England remained remarkably consistent over her whole writing career: ‘For those fifty-odd years, England meant to her everything she despised’ (Bandon, Alexandra. 1995). But despite this, she surely demonstrated in her characterisation of working-class English chorus girls and call girls and Rochester (perhaps informed by her important attachments to Lancelot Grey, Hugh Smith, Leslie Tilden Smith and Max Hamer, all upper- or middle-class Englishmen), that the poor Englishwoman and even the colonizing, socially secure Englishman have their own areas of serious emotional damage. She may have blown off steam sometimes, but in her fiction she took pains to be fair to the country which had both given her sustained literary identity and denied her dignity. In the Caribbean, complex racial narratives are the most powerful signifiers, although class increasingly reverberates now. In England, in Rhys’s lifetime, it was the class narrative which primarily constructed identity, though Rhys clearly writes the importance of race as a formative self-construction from her Dominican childhood. She sometimes sees race and class as equally important even in England, as in the case of Selina, who carries Rhys’s own outlaw status during an important period of her life. In the two explicitly Caribbean novels, Voyage in the Dark and Wide Sargasso Sea, race is evidently a major source of identity. Jean Rhys had long described the cultural dialectic of his region’s historical experience and contemporary reality in the following way: â€Å"But the tribe in bondage learned to fortify itself by cunning assimilation of the religion of the Old World. What seemed to be surrender was redemption. What seemed the loss of tradition was its renewal. What seemed the death of faith was its rebirth†. Caribbean existential reality is here portrayed as a creature of paradox. Surface appearances may well be masks for their opposites. What one sees is not likely to be what one gets. Other similar manuscript was in â€Å"Goodbye Mother† by Reinaldo Arenas, the grief inundated daughters Ofelia, Otilia, Odilia and Onelia kill themselves in front of their dead mum just for their cadavers to occasion a series of triumphant choruses from the legion of rats and maggots who feast on the putrefactory banquet. Neither of these authors, nor the evenly talented Rene Depestre and the former Dominican President Juan Bosch, is Anglophonic. It’s usually believed that the most excellent Caribbean literature in English consists of chronological polemics On the other hand Cristina Garcia novel â€Å"Dreaming In Cuban† tells the stories of the women of a Cuban family, scattered by revolution but still connected through a shared past. The narrative is polyphony of several voices who, in turn, describe their world from their viewpoint. Characters include Lourdes, an anti-Castro exile who runs a chain of â€Å"Yankee Doodle Bakeries,† and Felicia, whose perceptions connect and blur the lines between insanity and santeria. Pillar, Lourdes’s daughter and an aspiring punk artist, is determined to return to Cuba to reconnect with her grandmother and make her present life meaningful. She laments that history does not tell the important stories and longs to recover Cuba for herself: â€Å"[T]here’s only imagination where our history should be† (138). In the title of Dreaming in Cuban, â€Å"Dreaming† includes all the diverse dreams of Garcia’s female protagonists about the nature of being Cuban, what it is to be Cuban, to dream, not in American, but in Cuban. This necessitates Garcia’s taking into account all the conflicting elements of contemporary Cuban-ness for Cuban and Cuban American women. Amazingly, she never invalidates or disputes the diverse and conflicting perspectives of these different dreamers. She succeeds by giving readers a complexity of experience beyond binaries, where many diverse and conflicting perspectives circle around one another endlessly. These differences are constructed by differences in the various ideologies that the characters embrace communism, capitalism, traditional gender relations, voodoo, and feminism–and also by differences in their experiences due to varying historical locations in time and place.

Cause and Effect Essay Essay

About 70% of the couples who get married take the decision of getting divorce. Divorce is one of the most serious social problems in the modern world. It has become very common recently, and it affects all levels of society. In the past, divorce was quite rare. Today, however, a majority of marriages break up in the first few years. When involved in a divorce lack of communication, infidelity, and financial problems are the causes to provoke a couple to split apart and take their lives into different path. To begin with one significant cause that leads to a divorce is lack of communication. Many couples stop communicating with each other because each one is busy doing their own things in life whether it is work, hobbies, raising children, activities, among other things. A lot of couples have different job schedules not allowing them to see each other most of the day. When they finally get to see each other is at night and unfortunately they are both tired and they just go to sleep. Since the time that they live together is not enough, the couples find it hard to find time to communicate with each other due to having a busy life and for lack of energy. Also, many married people have poor communication because they do not know how to express their feelings to their partner. Marriage cannot be a successful relationship if either one does not discuss about his/her emotions or issues, and expects their partner to guess what the whole problem is about. Finally, most couples just do actions i nstead of using words. Married couples think that they do not need to express their love for each other verbally and that only providing for the house is sufficient to know that they care and love each other. Many people think that because they provide things from the home like food, pay bills, take care of the house, etc. they do not have any other problems and they live with happiness. Unfortunately, it just makes the couple weaker ending in a divorce. Its quite clear that the less communication that is used in a marriage, the more higher divorce rates. Furthermore, infidelity in a marriage can be devastating, and most of the time leads to divorce. Boredom in a relationship is not a good idea if couples want a successful marriage. Partners who do not challenge each other with enough excitement to keep the relationship interesting cheat. The desire for self-expansion can lead a husband or wife to be aware of opportunities outside of the marriage, opening the door to infidelity. Spouses do not communicate their desires for growth, and they feel the need to cheat. In addition, many couples can cheat using social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace etc. Social network is one of the most common causes of infidelity in married couples. Today, everyone can have a computer or phone that they can access to internet making it way easier to meet new people. Many couples have many jealously problems when they found out that their spouse has being talking or going out on dates with different women/men. Most married couples cannot forgive their spouse of infidelity, leading to an unfortunate divorce. Lastly, multiple sex partners before marriage can lead to infidelity. Many people when they get married think that they will change and stay with just one sex partner, but the truth is that they find it really hard to keep their promise. This can lead to a sense of loss, betrayal, unwelcome memories and other problems. These can affect a marriage later on. After a couple of months they feel satisfied with their spouse, but when the time keep passing they cannot be with just one person, and there is when infidelity takes place in a relationship. After infidelity most or all the trust is lost; not having any other option then the divorce in marriages. Finally, a cause of divorce are financial issues. Money or aspects related to it are of course a possible cause of disagreement between couples. For example, couples that live paycheck to paycheck deal with stress from the pressure of making enough money to survive and provide the family with necessities. If the bills get behind it could start an argument between the two and that on top of being behind with bills can be overwhelming causing more stress, which leads to an unhealthy relationship. For instance, many married couples go into debt. Many couples when they do not have money to pay something tend to use credit cards, but many people end abusing them. They say I will buy it now and I will pay it later. Unfortunately, bills do not stop from coming and when people less expect it they cannot get out of debt. This situation builds up stress between the couples not knowing how to get out of it, and just blaming each other without finding a solution. Finally, gender differences of how they see their financial problems can cause a divorce. For most males when it comes to money is to provide for their family. They like to carry this burden. For most females, their need is to make sure the family is provided for. Problems starts to show when the husband might work longer to provide, but the wife thinks his work is his top priority over family. The husband sees it just the opposite. For some husbands, just because they are working hard, it doesn’t mean they love their jobs more than their families. Obviously, too much work can cause the relationship to suffer. Economic problems can cause a disaster in a marriage, not having other option for the couples then the divorce. Clearly, divorce is a serious issue that can happen to anyone due to cheating, economic problems, and poor communication. Before taking the big step of marriage every couple has to think about all the things that imply being married. Couples should consider living in free union for a short time before getting married, by doing this, you can meet your partner well before making an important decision that can have a huge impact on every couple’s life. The cause of divorce are lamentable and all couples should try to consider them if they want to have a healthy and successful relationship and avoid falling during marriage.