Wednesday, October 30, 2019

The Story of an Hour (1894) by Kate Chopin Essay

The Story of an Hour (1894) by Kate Chopin - Essay Example When she first hears the news of her husband's death, she is excited. Although she cried when she first heard the information, she was happy about it at the same time. The narrative states, "She said it over and over under the breath: "free, free, free!" (1). She was at that moment beginning to realize that she was free of the challenges with her husband. As a widow, she would be able to live her life as she wanted, and the property and wealth would go to her. She was beginning to enjoy the idea of freedom. As an example, when she looked out into the open square from the opened window, she saw the treetops "that were all aquiver with the new spring life" (1). It was interesting that she noticed this because it symbolized her "new life" without her husband. As she imagined her husband in his casket, she knew that she would weep again, but it would not be out of grief; instead it would be from relief. She understood her freedom as the narrative states, "†¦a long profession of year s to come that would belong to her absolutely," "There would be no one to live for in those coming years", and "there would be no powerful will bending hers †¦" (2).

Monday, October 28, 2019

The Dome of the Cathedral, Florence Essay Example for Free

The Dome of the Cathedral, Florence Essay The Cathedral was designed and built in between 1377-1466 by the architect and visionary Fillipo Brunelleschi and numerous others. However parts of the building appear to date back to the 11th century, by a sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio (Farfan, 2001). The cathedral itself is located north of the Piazza del la Signoria and towers over the city. Initially there had been a great deal of competition with regards to who would be granted the contract of building the dome (also known as the Santa Maria del Fiore), but Brunelleschi used the innovative idea of constructing the dome support structure without a wooden center (Farfan, 2001). In 1420, Brunelleschi was granted the contract that involved the inner support being constructed from brick alone (Farfan, 2001). The dome consists of a complicated geometrical design, with an octagonal drum that with several empty shells within to lighten up the interior of the structure, this Brunelleschi called the ‘oculus’ (the eye). Brick ribs crisscross the interior but do not serve as a support for the building. The springing put of the dome is approximately 177 feet above ground level. From the base of the drum to the top of the dome is around 108 feet, showing the massive volume of the building as a whole. The radius across the outer edges of the octagonal drum measures 176 feet. An estimated amount of bricks used is in excess of 4 million (Farfan, 2001). The octagonal domes inside the cathedral were completed in succession of one another in order to create a stable support. The process is complex and dependent of precision timing and measurement. Bricks were laid using the ‘herringbone’ method, being laid on sloping beds in a ring like fashion, the spirals are closed with protruding bricks laid lengths ways instead of breadth. The cones within the spiral are divided into 5 equal geometric points in order to locate the ‘pointed-fifth curvature’. The axis of the inverted dome corresponds directly with the domes outer structure. The slack line corresponds with the bricks beds resting on the inverted cone surface. As work commenced the domes vertex shifts upwards (Farfan, 2001). The completed dome is supported by 3 half domes on the exterior of the structure. The ‘quinta acuto’ (eight corner ribs), the method of the radius divided into four-fifths of the maximum crossing span, is visible in even the half domes (Salvadori, 1980). Sandstone bricks were used within an iron reinforcement, prevent the collapse if the dome under pressure from its parallels (Salvadori, 1980). This was the largest dome built without wooden centering. This was the first instance that Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders were used in architecture since the ancient times. Constructed out of sandstone and iron reinforcements, Brunelleschi designed tiles for the surface of the dome that would be easy to maintain and resist the elements (Salvadori, 1980). The outer facades are constructed with visible cantilevered arches, presenting themselves as alcoves facing onto the street below. Atop the Dome is Brunelleschi’s famous lantern which is hollow marble. The ornately decorated exterior is what can be described as truly Renaissance grace, elegantly yet elaborately consisting of numerous alcoves, facades and frescoes. The main facade is pink and green. The interior has stained glass windows in order to allow as much light in as possible and the paving entering the dome is marble. The interior also has frescoes of The Last Judgement, by artists Giorgio Vasari and Frederico Zuccari. The interior is extremely vast with extraordinarily high ceilings and is extremely well lit. The oculus sheds a direct beam into the middle of the building. The Duomo itself fits in with the Renaissance architecture surrounding it, including The Baptistery designed by rival Ghiberti, whose equally Gothic sculpture and is equaled if not surpassed by Brunelleschi’s ornate facade. All machinery and hoists used in the building of the dome have been removed, however numerous modern students of architecture have rebuilt models using versions of the machinery that would have been utilized, as well as making bricks in the same way as Brunelleschi would have done. Because of the openness of the structures interior, it is easy to move around in and facilitates vast numbers of people at one time. It is also constructed so that most of the inner quadrant can be viewed from the center of the building. Brunelleschi initiated the idea of linear perspective, with all points converging to a centralized point, this is evident in his construction of the dome particularly. This was also the beginning of the humanism approach, focused on the sensibilities of people. This meant that the building itself had to be as user friendly as possible while still being an aesthetic asset to the city. The idea of perspective for Brunelleschi was the most important aspect of humanism, drawing from the postulate that art is how the person views their world. Therefore the artistry of the dome had to by some standards be appropriate to the period, social climate and what the people of the city were expecting (see footnote 2). As a result, much of the richness associated with renaissance art is visible in the construction of the dome, but it remains relatively unobtrusive, its colors being predominantly bronzes and burnt browns. The interior flagged marble floor has alternating pieces of dark ruddy brown and cream, making at more aristocratic than religious. This lends itself heavily on the idea that the initial purpose of the dome was not religious, but more a centerpiece around which the city could be arranged. It has the ‘landmark quality’ that associates it with other countries and cities almost via its competitiveness. The entrance to the dome, through Giotto’s bell tower, which was completed only after the death of Brunelleschi. Three doors mark the entrance and exits of the dome. The main door is called the Almond door due to its elliptical shape. It has a painting of The Assumption of Our Lady Into Heaven, by the painter Nanni Bianco. Rich renaissance colors mark this painting as a distinct aspect of renaissance culture. High up on the side portals of the main painting are two small statues of the prophets by sculptor Donatello. There is also a mosaic in the lunette of the portal door, by the artists Domenico and Davide Ghirlandiao. Due to the three small domes supporting the dome itself, entrances and exits are through these portals, meaning that one can basically enter and proceed through the opposite entrance if necessary. The Dome of Florence Cathedral could basically be described as a landmark that does not intrude on other buildings within the Florentine setting, instead it serves as a central point in the city and has become a tourist attraction over the years. For students, the remarkable invention of stone supported domes has also become a topic of discussion. Previously having used wooden support scaffolds, the stone version may have been costly and time consuming but it gave the opportunity to build stronger and larger constructions. IT has been used over centuries as a gathering place for local meetings and also to house the some of the nost beautiful renaissance artworks of time. It is possible that Brunelleschi’s ideas about light and space influenced more modern architects such as Lloyd Wright, whose ideology was to allow as much natural light as possible into the building. The colors of the interior of the dome allow this natural light emanating from the oculus to be expanded and rather than giving the cold internal feel such as some of the older basilica’s would, the dome gives off an intensely warm energy. This was certainly an invention that changed the face of architecture and has long held it position in the history of the art. Sources: â€Å"Dome: Almond Door†. 2008. FirenzeViva. com. Accessed: 10 February 2008. (http://www. firenzeviva. com/duomo-firenze/duomo_almond_door. htm) Farfan, Maria. 2001. â€Å"Dome Structures: Santa Maria Del Fiore (Florence). † McGill University, Philosophy of Structures. Accessed 10 February 2008). http://www. arch. mcgill. ca/prof/sijpkes/arch374/winter2001/sfarfa/ensayo1. htm Salvadori, Mario. 1980. â€Å"Florence Cathedral – Dome†. Architecture Around The World. Accessed: 10 February 2008. http://www4. bfn. org/bah/a/virtual/italy/flor/cath/dome. html â€Å"The Early Renaissance in Florence† (date unknown). NGA. Accessed: 10 February 2008. http://www. nga. gov/collection/pdf/gg04en. pdf

Saturday, October 26, 2019

The Presidency of F.D. Roosevelt :: American America History

The Presidency of F.D. Roosevelt In the ancient world, the only way a person could become famous through out the world was to be some sort of king, master warlord, or a descendent of a holy entity. Monarchies, that lasted long enough, kept the memories of their former leaders alive, conquered peoples never forgot the names of their conquerors, and religions have a knack for constantly worshiping the same divine prophets. Some remain of the ancient celebrities are still famous to this day, many of them now shrouded in the mists of time and have become slightly warped by literature and business. For example, the charitable St. Nicholas, warped by language translations and commercialism, is now a large gift giving elf by the name of Santa Claus. But in this day and age, where anyone can record anything he or she wants to, will any of the present day lords and prophets shine as brightly through the shroud of mythology and time as the ones of old? In 500 years - providing anyone is still alive to care - a few men and women will stand out against the haze of time and represent the twentieth century. If there is a group, among them will be at least man involved in World War II. Roosevelt, Churchill, Tojo and Hitler -especially Hitler - are all candidates for the group because of their involvements in the bloodiest wars of the twentieth century. In this world,blood is a hard thing to forget about. Which ones, and in what light they'll be remembered in depends entirely on the biases of historians and the abilities of governments to cover up the embarrassing moments blemishing the memories of their leaders. So if the United States is still around and as powerful as now in five centuries - and hopefully it will - F.D Roosevelt will most likely be one of the mist breakers from the second world war because of the American people's great interest in the presidents involved in wars and the governments talent for hiding less than flattering information from the world. Roosevelt's involvement in the great World War II allows him to fit , comfortably, the U.S standard of fighting presidents. Entering the war on the side of the Allies after a sneak attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt became a kind of vengeful hero, fighting the good fight in the name of justice. In so doing he ended an economic slump by gearing the

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Physical Exercise and GPA Essay

Physical education connotes many different things to people. To some it is a subject area which focuses on physical training. Conventionally, this has meant promoting activities which lead to anatomical and physiological development (Sansone, 2000). The notion of â€Å"PT† and calls to improve the physical condition of our nation’s youth in order to provide a strong base for the military have also been consistent with this idea (Ennis, 2001). Others have had a more expansive view of physical education and portrayed the area as â€Å"education through the physical,† rather than of the physical (Pringle, 2000). Such a notion suggests that involvement in a variety of sports and games provides participants not only with opportunities to develop physical prowess, but to learn important social values while developing desirable personal traits. A third major thrust that has affected the meaning attributed to the concept is associated with its recreational function (Ruth, 2006). The basis of this theme is that people perform optimally when they have periodic diversions from their normal â€Å"work† world, and that involvement in physical activity can provide necessary relief and renewal. Closely affiliated with this idea is that physical recreation provides a â€Å"wholesome† and constructive use of one’s free time (Lee2002). Despite such grandiose themes, Duda (2001) has argued that within the larger context of higher education classes focusing on the acquisition of skilled movements and play are viewed as â€Å"†¦ nonintellectual, nonacademic, nonessential, and nonartistic† (p. 433). As a result of such perceptions he believes that physical education is relegated to a peripheral role in the academy, and its practitioners pay a price for its marginal status in their daily lives. Furthermore, Duda suggests that a large part of physical education failing to gain acceptance in higher education is a consequence of the static criteria used to assess academic value in general. According to his analysis value of a curricular offering is typically based on such things as the intellectual challenge of material, the extent to which subject matter is categorized as academic rather than motoric, the usefulness of learning various skills, and the cultural significance of an area of study. His recommendation for redressing physical education’s plight is to convince those using such criteria to assess worth in broader, and less dualistic ways. Hence the types of challenges presented in physical skill acquisition situations might be understood as important stimuli for developing human capacities that complement those capacities acquired from more conventional intellectual pursuits. While the idea of rethinking criteria that should be used for judging academic value may be laudable, how this might come about is difficult to conceive. An alternative and, yet, much simpler approach for improving the viability of physical education classes in higher education is to improve the quality of student outcomes. In essence, it may be that the inclusion of physical education in higher education is not contested on philosophical grounds, but on operational ones. As Duda (2001) conveys â€Å"†¦ performance classes are elective, not required. Skill instructors are rarely hired as tenure track faculty. Credit toward graduation may not be given for such classes, and grading is often pass/fail. Passing marks are virtually assured with a good attendance record† (p. 437). If such a profile is accurate, it is difficult to understand how student achievement can be significant or the entire enterprise viewed as essential to the general curriculum. Indeed, such a profile connotes that the physical education curriculum is soft, and that whether or not students acquire certain information and/or master specific skills is ambiguous. Considering physical education’s past philosophical themes and its current trends of providing opportunities for students to: (a) recreate, (b) build and maintain health through exercise, (c) learn how to compete and cooperate, and (d) develop specific sport skills and levels of fitness, instructors often have difficulty in identifying and utilizing meaningful grading criteria. This has been attributed to both philosophical (Midgley, 2001) and managerial (Pringle, 2000) concerns. Indeed, as observed by Church (2001) many physical educators compute grades based on student behaviours which are unrelated to performance or knowledge objectives, such as dress, participation, and discipline. Interestingly, Ennis (2001) found that in colleges and universities virtually all grading in physical education is left to the discretion of the instructor, including selection of criteria and instruments to be used to assess student achievement. They also reported a trend toward less testing of all types. Consequently, it is not surprising that with so many ideas about what is to be accomplished, and so little control over how this should be done, it is difficult, if not impossible to determine the value of physical activity courses in the general curriculum. Indeed, it is one thing to provide sound philosophical arguments for why a particular discipline belongs in the curriculum, and quite another to operationalize the philosophy so that its essence is actualized. Recent studies suggest the importance of objective assessment not only as a device to promote the legitimacy of physical education in an academic setting, but as a tool to promote learning. For example, Pringle (2000) showed that student achievement in table tennis classes reflected the focus of evaluation. Students graded totally on physical skills performed most skilfully at the end of a class performed most skilfully, while those graded on attendance and participation had lower performance scores but the highest attendance rates. As well, Lee (2002), demonstrated how the proper use of evaluation and grading tools promotes on task behaviour and superior skill development in volleyball. Chen (2001), using a riflery task, also demonstrated that grading based on task competence was superior to grading based merely on participation when skill development was examined. Hidi (2000) further argues that the appropriate use of grading can promote positive attitudes towards a course, develop a student’s sense of confidence, and lead to substantial achievement. The reason why a rift exists between using grading as an integral part of the learning process, and using it only to fulfil administrative requirements seemingly is a complex problem that involves philosophical, technical, and practical issues (Duda, 2001). Yet, in a time when accountability is expected, and when cost cutting is widespread, empirical evidence for the integrity of a program is imperative. What and how we grade conveys a great deal about who we are, what we do, what we can accomplish, how we are viewed by others outside of our field, and whether physical education is considered as essential to the mission of education. Hence, the purpose of the present investigation was to acquire empirical descriptive data about grading of physical education in higher education. In light of our field’s history of divergent philosophical views, ambitious, and often ambiguous goals, and its defensive position in higher education (Duda, 2001), an examination of what and how we grade would seemingly shed light on where we are as a discipline. Furthermore, such an investigation might help identify important issues that need to be addressed and resolved if we are to gain the degree of acceptance the field has so desperately sought over the years. Method Instrument To acquire information about college physical education programs a questionnaire was developed which, in addition to requesting information about an institution’s profile (e. g. , public-private, size, approximate percentage of students enrolled in physical education, etc. , asked a series of questions about its physical education activity program. These included: (a) whether students received academic credit which counted in a student’s GPA, (b) the number and duration of class meetings, (c) how important various factors such as skill development, effort, and attendance were in computing a grade, (d) whether the department had a policy on grading, (e) the approximate percentage breakdown of grades awarded (e. g. , As, Bs, Cs, etc. ), and (f) whether the issue of grading had been considered by the department in the past five years. Prior to mailing the survey, questions were pilot tested on a group of five senior collegiate faculty members in a department of exercise and sport studies. These individuals each had taught undergraduate and graduate theory courses as well as a variety of undergraduate physical activity classes at a number of colleges and universities. They were quite knowledgeable about different types of service programs (e. g. , credit, required, no credit non-required) and how they typically operated. Furthermore, they were apprised of the questionnaire’s intent, and were asked to provide feedback on the clarity of questions as well as the instrument’s overall format. Based on feedback from this group, questions were reworded, added and deleted. In addition, the sequence of questions was revised for the purpose of providing a more coherent structure. The final version of the survey contained eight questions, some of which had subparts. As well, pilot testing demonstrated that a respondent could complete the questionnaire in approximately ten minutes. Coding of Data As surveys were returned data were coded into an Excel Spreadsheet by two trained assistants, and then analyzed using Exel’s statistical functions. It is noteworthy to report that during the data reduction process it became evident, as conveyed by a number of respondents, that quantitative data which were requested from a number of questions did not exist Consequently, many respondents either did not answer such items or acknowledged that they merely volunteered their own perceived best guess, or a numerical range within which they believed the actual value requested would occur. Hence, a decision was made to code and analyze all data acknowledging that, for the most part, they only reflect respondent’s best estimates, rather than â€Å"hard† numbers. Furthermore, where a range was given, the midpoint was used in further analyses. In passing, the observation that certain types of data were not acquired or readily available may in itself be an important finding since a department’s viability may depend on such information. Items falling into this category included such things as: (a) the number of students taking physical education classes in a semester, (b) the typical grade distribution (e. g. , % As, % Bs, etc. ), (c) the factors utilized to compute course grades, and (d) whether an institutional limit existed for the number of physical education courses that could be taken by a student for academic credit. Results Sample Within a thirty day period of mailing surveys 556 (44%) responses were received. Table 1 shows a break down of respondents by institution type and size. Because of financial limitations, further attempts to obtain data from nonrespondents were not attempted. Of the 556 respondents, 78 (14%) indicated that they did not have, or no longer had a physical education activity program. This was somewhat of a surprising finding, especially so because many conveyed that their institution’s program had been recently eliminated. Whether a trend toward program elimination actually existed is of significant import to our profession and deserves immediate attention. Schools which indicated that they did not offer physical education classes were removed from further analysis, leaving 478 institutions in the database. Is Academic Credit Given for Physical Education Activity Courses? An important question posed by this investigator was whether institutions grant academic credit which counts in a student’s GPA for taking physical education activity courses. Presumably, this would indicate whether classes were viewed as a meaningful part of the institution’s general curriculum. It was found that 335 (72. %) of respondents reported that academic credit which is computed in a student’s GPA was awarded for physical education activity courses. Table 2 reveals that Public State Universities and Colleges were somewhat more likely to award academic credit than Private Universities and Colleges. Furthermore, while a few institutions had a unique formula for computing the amount of credit earned in a class, nearly all institutions granted one credit per course. A follow-up question probed how much of such credit may be counted in a student’s total academic program. Although there seemed to be a great deal of uncertainty regarding the answer to this question, many respondents indicated that their institution had not set a limit or did not have a policy (only 65% of respondents who count physical education credit in the GPA responded). Those that were clear on this issue indicated that a limit did exist, and that the median value across institutions and within school categories was four credits. A subsequent question probed what the course time commitment was for earning credit. Across institutional types classes typically met for the length of a semester (14-15weeks), and for two contact hours a week. How are Grades Computed? A number of questions regarding how grades were computed ‘followed. An initial issue was whether or not the department had a policy on grading. The idea here was to get a sense of whether faculty members agreed on how such things as skill, knowledge, and class participation should be weighed in determining a student’s performance. In regard to this question, 80% of respondents indicated that their departments did not have a formal grading policy. Nonetheless, many individuals conveyed that students were administered tests of skill and knowledge, but that course instructors ultimately determined assessment tools, how various components were weighed, and the course grade computed. Because most departments did not have a formal grading policy, the next set of questions should be interpreted as only giving a general sense of how grades are computed from a respondent’s general perceptions. This question probed whether grades were competency based (i. e. students are assessed on the absolute level of performance attained), or norm based (i. e. , students are graded in relation to other students in the class). Results showed that most respondents (60. 6%) thought that grading at their institution was competency based, although a fair number reported that they thought their grading system was more norm based (23. 3%). The remaining 16. 1% either were unsure or did not respond to this item. Another question related to this issu e was whether the amount learned was considered to be as important as the level of performance attained. Interestingly, 72% of respondents believed that instructors at their institutions weighed the amount learned as being equivalent to the proficiency attained, while 21% did not see these of equal importance. The remaining 7% were missing or undecided. In light of the previous data indicating a bias toward competency based grading, the response to this question is surprising since the amount learned would only be of importance if it correlated highly with proficiency attained. This may or may not be the case, but needs further investigation. Another way of probing the importance of factors employed in computing a grade was to ask respondents about how important they believed a subset of factors were in arriving at a grade. They rated the factors of (a) effort, (b) attendance, (c) attitude, (d) amount learned and (e) level of performance on a five-point scale anchored by the terms very important(5). Overall, attendance (1. 3) and amount learned (1. 4) had the lowest median values (i. e. , highest perceived weighting). The level of performance attained (1. ), and effort expended (1. 8) followed closely, while attitude (2. 3) appeared lowest in importance. It should be noted that all of these criteria tended to fall between the very important and uncertain end of the continuum. With the exception of performance attainment, it is not clear why the other factors identified were viewed as important in grading, if grading is competency based. For that matter, these criteria would also be somewhat problematic for a norm referenc ed standard which focuses on relative competency attainments. Respondents were also asked to estimate the percentage distribution of grades in physical education at their institution. Overall, as were perceived to be the most prevalent grade and were awarded to 51% of students. Bs were the next most prevalent grade awarded to 31% of students with Cs following at 14%. Ds and Fs were infrequently given with a combined percentage of 7%. Has the Issue of Grading been Considered in the Past Five Years? A final question asked whether the issue of grading had been considered by a department in the past five years. Although 51% had not discussed this issue, 47% had done so. The questionnaire requested respondents who answered this question in the affirmative to comment on what issues were discussed by their departments. Clearly, the topic of whether to change from a letter grade system to a pass-fail system was the most widely discussed issue. Related to this was the subject of grade inflation and the idea that moving to a pass-fail system may reduce pressure from various constituencies (e. g. , administrators, faculty, regents) to reduce the number of high grades awarded. There were also numerous comments about criteria to be used in grading, consistency in grading across sections of a course, and among different courses. Several respondents also commented on the conflict between trying to encourage lifelong participation m activities and the negative connotations of having to grade based on an individual’s proficiency. From the nature and number of comments collated, it was evident that departments have grappled with this issue, but remain in a quandary about an ideal solution.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Future Trends in Health Care Essay

Personal face-to-face communication is and will continue to be the foundation of the patient- physician relationship. Electronic communication between caregivers and patient through telephones web-sites and e-mail are forcing medical staff and physicians to rethink the way they provide care to the patients, the accessibility to on-line health and wellness information. Home monitoring systems, personal health records, and on-line support groups is making it possible for society to take charge of their health (Center for Practice Improvement and Innovation, 2008). This paper will look at electronic forms of communication; new and old be used externally as a delivery source of conveying patient specific information, the impact of distance delivery on health care, the use of electronic systems to transfer records, and the impact of said systems today and a projected five years in the future. Physician practices, for nearly a century, have relied on the telephone to communicate to communi cate with patients. The telephone have been used to relay lab results, handle consumers renewing prescriptions, scheduling patients for their appointments, and reminding patients of future appointments. In addition to medical personnel use, the telephone is used to communicate to other departments or facilities, unit to unit communication, and insurance companies. The telephone can be also used as a clinical tool. With patient who are chronically ill and have established a relation ship with the physician, the telephone can serve as a office visit (Center for Practice Improvement and Innovation, 2008). With advancement in technology, as the number of patients and physicians acquiring the means to electronically communicate increases, the willingness and desire to apply the provisions to ambulatory care ahs gathered momentum. Caring for patients electronically increases productivity, practice efficiency, and lowers operating costs. On-line communication can produce these results through reduced administrative costs, fewer telephone calls, and growth by attraction of new clients. Compared to phone calls, e-mail transcripts are less distractive and can be performed relatively  inexpe nsive; they are self documenting and can be done at the leisure of the physician. On-line communication allows the patient to read and reread to gain a better understanding of directives. The use of internet communication results in patient retention and patient satisfaction (Center for Practice Improvement and Innovation, 2008). The safest way to communicate on-line is by using a secured messaging system. HIPAA regulates that all health care organizations protect all patient health information, especially health information being transcribed electronically. A secured site for medical information is to protect unauthorized users from access. The most common protection for electronic information is installing an encryption system (Center for Practice Improvement and Innovation, 2008). The Impact of Delivery on Health Care Information technology tools incorporated in medical practice results not only in service availability and improved quality but also in transformation of the care delivery model. Health care systems in the modern sense, relies on the concepts of patient continuity of services, shared care, and empowerment. These fulfillments can be made possible by establishing safe electronic contact between patients and physician. The use of telemedicine applications improves the process of exchanging information between medical professionals representing different areas of medicine and referential levels. Telecommunication progress and computer science leads to transformation in other domains. Information technology opens the window for assuring appropriate healthcare quality within reasonable cost (Duplaga, 2004). The Use of Information Technology As consumers demand more opportunities to use the internet. The internet is transforming the consumers as they interact with the health care system. Telemedicine for remote patient monitoring of patient health is increasing in use by doctors and health care providers. The internet is also transforming health care through electronic medical records. Records stored electronically boosts survival rates ad improves coordination by allowing facilities and medical providers access to share medical information with ease. An electronic medical record is the heart of any computerized information system in health care. In absence of this, modern technologies such as decision support systems cannot be integrated into the clinical  workflow. Current Electronic medical records systems are delivering safe, high quality health care. Medical vision and need for use is why telemedicine was created. Telemedicine cover a wide range of capabilities. Telemedicine can be defined as the delivery of image s, data and sound enabling medical practitioners that diagnose and provide options in medical care at a distance. The transmission of this medical data can be accomplished through other technology systems such as the telephone, web using interactive video, computer or fax. Real time applications and store and forward are two types of telemedicine systems delivery. With real time systems, participants are using the system at the time of care delivery. Such as two doctors discussing methods of treatment or delivering treatment. Specialized software such as exam cameras and other imaging devices can make the atmosphere of both participants being in the same room. A store and forward system does not require that. Using this system allows medical personal to gather needs resources such as, Patient medical history, images, and other pertinent data. One can then recommend treatment at a later date or time. Physicians may use these systems to train and learn as they can provide real life, real time experiences (Masys, 2010). Information technologies have the ability to affect distribution and the types of jobs in the health care Industry. In a background of a growing body of knowledge in the realm of health sciences, recent models of decision making by clinical practitioners, relying mainly upon their memory and personal experience, will be inadequate for effective health care delivery in the twenty-first-century. In the health care industry, information activity is intense. From the point of view in business, two kinds of action are performed: medical procedures to support therapy, disease prevention, diagnosis, and the communication, acquisition and storage of information. Information technologies have launched a social trend and will continue to have a huge impact on the health care industry. The ring bearer of this trend is the internet. The internet brings access to interpersonal communication and information on a large scale to millions of people world wide. In 2001 roughly 54 % of Americans were using the internet and the adoption rate from new comers with this technology is about two million per month (Masys, 2010). Most American children are both using a computer and accessing the internet in their homes or at school. E-mail lists,  disease-related chat rooms, offshore pharmacies, internet telemedicine services, and hundreds of alternative and conventional medical websites are the panicle of a world with personal choices. Evidence suggests that for internet users with acute illness, making doctor appointments has changed from first to last resort, a trend that is strengthened by the decision of services in environment of manage care (Masys, 2010). In conclusion, it can be very difficult to predict how medical practices will use electronic communication in the years to come. Just implementing a system is not going to have a great impact on the quality of care delivered. The systems have to be exceptional design and can be used effectively for it to impact the quality of care. However, one can rest assure that the role of communication will grow significantly More patients are demanding that physicians communicate with them electronically and physicians are recognizing that this media can be a key tool in managing the demands facing their practices, thus adding fuel to the trend. Reference:. Center for Practice Improvement and Innovation. (2008). Communicating with Patients Electronically. Retrieved November 27, 2010 from http://www.acponline.org/running_practice/technology/comm_electronic.pdf Duplaga, M. (2004). The Impact of Information Technology on Quality of Healthcare Services .Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Retrieved November 28, 2010 from http://www.springerlink.com/content/mlc0atymr41lllq3/ Masys, D. (2010). Effects Of Current And Future Information Technologies On The Health Care Workforce. Health Affairs. Retrieved November 25, 2010 from http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/21/5/33

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Understanding Society Through Cultural Artifacts

Understanding Society Through Cultural Artifacts Researchers can learn a great deal about a society by analyzing cultural artifacts such as newspapers, magazines, television programs, or music. These cultural artifacts, which can also be considered aspects of material culture, can reveal a great deal about the society that produced them. Sociologists call the study of these cultural artifacts content analysis. Researchers who use content analysis are not studying the people, but rather are studying the communications the people produce as a way of creating a picture of their society. Key Takeaways: Content Analysis In content analysis, researchers examine a societys cultural artifacts in order to understand that society.Cultural artifacts are the aspects of material culture produced by a society, such as books, magazines, televisions shows, and movies.Content analysis is limited by the fact that it can only tell us what content a culture has produced, not how members of the society actually feel about those artifacts. Content analysis is frequently used to measure cultural change and to study different aspects of culture. Sociologists also use it as an indirect way to determine how social groups are perceived. For example, they might examine how African Americans are depicted in television shows or how women are depicted in advertisements. Content analysis can uncover evidence of racism and sexism in society. For example, in one study, researchers looked at the representation of female characters in 700 different films. They found that only about 30% of characters with a speaking role were female, which demonstrates a lack of representation of female characters. The study also found that people of color and LGBT individuals were underrepresented in film. In other words, by collecting data from cultural artifacts, researchers were able to determine the extent of the diversity problem in Hollywood. In conducting a content analysis, researchers quantify and analyze the presence, meanings, and relationships of words and concepts within the cultural artifacts they are studying. They then make inferences about the messages within the artifacts and about the culture they are studying. At its most basic, content analysis is a statistical exercise that involves categorizing some aspect of behavior and counting the number of times such behavior occurs. For example, a researcher might count the number of minutes that men and women appear on screen in a television show and make comparisons. This allows us to paint a picture of the patterns of behavior that underlie social interactions portrayed in the media. Strengths of Using Content Analysis Content analysis has several strengths as a research method. First, it is a great method because it is unobtrusive. That is, it has no effect on the person being studied since the cultural artifact has already been produced. Second, it is relatively easy to gain access to the media source or publication the researcher wishes to study. Rather than trying to recruit research participants to fill out questionnaires, the researcher can use cultural artifacts that have already been created. Finally, content analysis can present an objective account of events, themes, and issues that might not be immediately apparent to a reader, viewer, or general consumer. By conducting a quantitative analysis of a large number of cultural artifacts, researchers can uncover patterns that might not be noticeable from looking at only one or two examples of cultural artifacts. Weaknesses of Using Content Analysis Content analysis also has several weaknesses as a research method. First, it is limited in what it can study. Since it is based only on mass communication – either visual, oral, or written – it cannot tell us what people really think about these images or whether they affect people’s behavior. Second, content analysis may not be as objective as it claims since the researcher must select and record data accurately. In some cases, the researcher must make choices about how to interpret or categorize particular forms of behavior and other researchers may interpret it differently. A final weakness of content analysis is that it can be time consuming, as researchers need to sort through large numbers of cultural artifacts in order to draw conclusions. References Andersen, M.L. and Taylor, H.F. (2009). Sociology: The Essentials. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Jamaica Kincaid essays

Jamaica Kincaid essays Born in Antigua in 1949, Jamaica Kincaid moved to the United States to attend college. Her works are semi-autobiographical, and deal most frequently with two particular themes. The first theme deals with Antigua and island life in the Caribbean. Kincaid captures the essence of the island through realistic images and vivid descriptions. While all of her works treat this theme, her first nonfiction work, A Small Place, deals exclusively with Antigua and the lives and lifestyles of its inhabitants. The second theme Kincaid explores extensively is that of women and their relationships with each other, particularly the mother-daughter relationship. Kincaid writes of mothers and daughters in Annie John, Lucy, The Autobiography of My Mother, and "Girl". The short piece, "Girl", is one of Kincaid's best representatives of the theme of a young woman's relationship with an older female relative, and of gender roles. "Girl" was first published in 1983 in At the Bottom of the River, a collection of stories which won the Morton Dauwen Zabel Award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. "Girl" is a short piece that shows the dialogue between an older woman and a younger girl, probably a mother and her adolescent daughter. In the piece, the mother instructs her daughter on many subjects, from cooking and cleaning to social skills and love. Despite its brevity, "Girl" is a work which accurately and intimately portrays a mother-daughter relationship and expected women's roles. The title of the piece, "Girl", is an integral part of the work itself. The title serves several purposes. First, the title represents the age of the daughter. She is not a woman, not yet on her own, but a girl, still dependent on another, still with much to learn. Second, the title represents the mother's perception of her daughter. She does not consider her a woman or a young lady, but a naive girl in need of constant instruction and supervision. A t...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Romantic Gestures for Long-Distance Relationships

Romantic Gestures for Long-Distance Relationships Dealing with a long-distance relationship? Wish you could do something that, despite the distance, lets your significant other feel like youre right there beside them? Check out these 5 places to start. Send flowers. It sounds old and cheesy, but it works. And you dont have to be sending flowers to a girl to make it work, either. Practically everyone including guys loves receiving flowers, and most florists offer arrangements specifically for the masculine type. An unexpected bouquet can cheer up someone and make them feel loved and appreciated for days on end.Send a care package. Who in college doesnt love a care package? It can be baked goods, music, or special mementos that celebrate your relationship. But no matter what it is, a care package is guaranteed to let someone know how you feel about them.Make and send a video. It can be sappy. It can be funny. It can be a video of you talking. It can be a video of things you guys have done together. It can even be a montage of photographs of the two of you over the course of your relationship. Regardless, it will be appreciated and cherished.Make a good, quality phone call. Amidst all you both have to do, spending a solid hour (or m ore!) on the phone, without distraction, can do wonders for your relationship. Making the time to have a phone date of sorts just may be enough to feel like youre not so far apart after all. Plan a surprise visit. It doesnt have to be for this weekend, and it may be months away. But knowing that a surprise visit is coming will warm your heart in the meantime and mean everything to your boyfriend or girlfriend when you arrive. (If you do go last minute, however, make sure you know how to get the best deals for college students.)

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Operations Management Coursework on Night Club Events - 1

Operations Management on Night Club Events - Coursework Example Chances that the super power would diminish in the next decades are clearly high. The best positioned countries to challenge America’s prominence are found in East Asia and globally by China. (Abdelnour, Wesley & Herman pg57) It is believed that if Chinas economic growth continues consistently the next two decades just in the same pace as the last two decades, then it would surpass and rival the United States of America in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) .GDP is not measured in terms of dollar but in terms of purchasing power parity. Even if Chinas economic status does not does not reach the Americas standards, it is notable that the growth has created a fundamental political inspiration in the entire East Asia. The economic clout extends East Asia affecting both great powers and the developing countries due to enthusiasm for raw materials and competitive prices for low cost goods. China is resolute in climbing the technological ladder, a clear indication that it might affect United States of America economically. Already China is regarded as the most dominant military powerhouse in the entire East Asia thereby making significant strides creating excellence in the armed forces. The tense relationship between USA and Russia has been fuelled by Americans interest in Crimea with regard to the sanctions that have been attached to Russia recently by President Barrack Obama of the United States. Several banks have been blacklisted by the US government following the Russian infiltrations in Ukraine. Majority of Russian businessmen in the United States who have close links with Vladimir Putin have been expelled from the country. President Obama has also come with strategies to tame some parts of the Russian economy comprising both the oil and gas industries which form a bunch of Russians export. (Abdelnour, Wesley & Herman pg29) According to President Barack Obama, the action would interfere with the

Business ethics. Social enterprise and business and poverty Essay

Business ethics. Social enterprise and business and poverty. Responsible investment - Essay Example This essay describes action of SELCO in her social entrepreneurship responsibility. SELCO has set example in social entrepreneurship both in India and worldwide. The company successfully presented solar electricity for lighting and power to the less privileged persons in the society. SELCO faced several challenges before succeeding in her operations and objectives in helping the poor. It initially grew purposely through gaining of enough capital and experience thus making it to attempt expanding her networks, which greatly interfered with her financial status. The company then increased the price of the solar panels thus causing a serious decline in the sales and the general operations of the company. Investors were not impressed by the decline of the business and forced the company to lay off employees and contract the business in 2000s. In 2008, SELCO acquired finance from the World Bank and International Finance Corporation to streamline the company although the company remained a for profit organization. However, the director of the company was able to obtain new investors who were aligned with the mission of the company thus making the company to keep her sales and service organization intact. The director was also able to boost the morale of the company’s employee who helped it to continue devising innovative solar solutions. The company successfully devised the solar system that could suite specific needs of the needy urban and rural persons. This was indeed a very good way of achieving social entrepreneurship objective of fulfilling the society needs. SELCO was able to design solar panels that exactly met the needs of the society by beginning with a broad needs assessment of specific part or activity of the underprivileged people in the society (Crane and Matten 2010, p. 474-476). The company ensured that they designed solar panels for street vendors, midwives and even the rural farmers who were in dire of the solar panel. The redesigning process involved many different activities that would ensure that the needs of particular markets were met. The company ensured that her operations were client based thus causing it to restructure and redesign her solar panels. SELCO was able to acquire funds from the World Bank and IMF perhaps due to her social objectives. It also gained publication due to her social entrepreneurship objectives. The company also arranged for financial assistance for the rural people who could not afford to buy even the cheap user customized solar panels. This slowed the company’s growth and made it to earn small levels of profit. The company could also not align her social objectives with the investors needs. Responsible Investment Responsible investment is one of the optimistic emerging trends in the financial world that integrates financial goals with positive business values that shapes the society future. Responsible investments vary because some companies may invest in the environmental factor s, employees’ welfare or society effects such as smoking. Responsible investment is a very vital area in doing business since sustainable society is crucial to the company’s values. Although it is important for organizations to reconcile society’s needs and the business objectives, the main problem is linking the economic, social, and environmental advantages with the

Friday, October 18, 2019

Managing in Multinational Companies Research Paper

Managing in Multinational Companies - Research Paper Example Culture refers to a set of gained knowledge that some individuals may employ to make meaning of experiences towards generating a unique set of behavior. Different business establishments engage diverse cultures in their setups. These cultures are necessary for guiding the entire organization towards a common objective, by promoting a uniform way of thinking and acting. In other words, an organization prevents the subjectivity of decisions and behaviors in an organization, which promotes uniformity and team working spirit. On the other hand, countries will have different cultures that organizations have to respect, which are inherent in the views and values of such a country. A multinational company setting its operations in the US will need to observe a relatively diverse organizational culture compared to one setting operations in Mexico. An organization has to respect and observe a country’s culture while designing its organizational culture. This report investigates the dif fering views and beliefs surrounding overtimes and how the issue differs across the two countries. In this investigation, the report will illustrate that national cultures have a role to play in shaping organizational cultures.  A common aspect in both countries is that a company will consider other types of employment other than permanent employment to save on labor costs, to achieve flexibility and to benefit from workers for a short period (JILPT, 2009). Such an approach is common in short-term specialized jobs. In addition, there is a major variation in hourly pay rates between permanent and part-time workers in Japan compared to Germany (Smith 2000). Part-time employees have fewer benefits in bonuses offered compared to their full-time colleagues in Japan than in Germany where bonuses are not of much importance. Germany has more part-time employees than in Japan due to the working time variation. There are two reasons to explain the prevalence of part-time working in Germany than in Japan. One, such part-time workers are found in the tertiary sector, which bore the brunt of economic crises than the manufacturing sector, which has motivated employers to source more part-time workers (Smith, 2000). Part-time working in both countries has mainly improved because of structural changes in the economy towards a service economy. In Japan, non-regular employees get much fewer salaries with the difference increasing when the bonuses and one-off payments are considered in permanent employment (Ishiguro 2008). In Germany, on the other hand, part-time employees and regular employees have fewer differences in their wages; a part-time worker earns almost like a regular worker (Smith, 2000), with part-time workers taking advantage of overtime payments to bridge this salary gap. These are some of the factors differentiating working patterns between the two countries.

Coke and Pepsi War Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Coke and Pepsi War - Article Example The analysis of the case study brings to light the problems both the companies have had with their concentrate producers, bottlers, and retailers while also highlighting the throat cut competition between Coke and Pepsi. The strategies deployed by the companies are the same: cost leadership and differentiation strategies. The strategic management model also reveals that the problems with the company were related to the supply chain and the diversification strategies into other non-cola drinks. The solution to the problems later discussed in detail is about stabilizing the growth and sales while at the same time re-branding its products to better appeal to the consumers. Coke and Pepsi are the two main competitors in the beverage industry globally. Both the companies have been at war since their inception. The situation is such that both companies, Coke and Pepsi, are at each other’s throats in order to gain most market share in the world especially the United States. Coke and Pepsi, each are trying to come up with innovative products and ideas in pursuit to increase the market share. The effectiveness and creativity of Pepsi and Coke’s strategic advantage will determine the ultimate winner with respect to sales, profits, market share and customer loyalty. The case study ‘Cola Wars Continue Coke and Pepsi in the Twenty-First Century’ present the scenario of both the companies internal and external strategies that have caused each company to battle on for such a long period. Over the years since the inception of both the companies, Pepsi and Coke have faced many issues and challenges that have led them to change their strategies. The main strategic issue for both the company has always lied in their quest for achieving the greater market share. Due to this point, the firms have constantly modified their bottling, pricing and branding strategies as new competition increased and gaining more market share became a life source for the Pepsi and Coke (Yoffie, 2004).

Thursday, October 17, 2019

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

Theories of management - Essay Example It also involves maintenance of employee satisfaction, which on the other hand is important in maintenance of consumer satisfaction. The competitiveness of an organization highly depends on the employees and therefore leadership that keeps the employees satisfied is important in maintaining productivity and competitiveness. There are several theories that explain leadership as it applies to organizations. The theories also highlight leadership characteristics, which are significant in the accomplishment of organizational goals. This paper presents a critique of various leadership and theoretical perspectives that point towards great leadership that is needed in organizations for effective accomplishment of objectives and sustainability. The willingness to be a servant of others is usually exhibited by great leaders in organizations. Their focus is to build the capacity of everyone to help the organizational workforce to accomplish the strategic goals. They believe that success is accomplished through the participation of all the individuals in the organization. They listen to others and involve them in decision making. Through their focus on generating satisfaction among others, they are able to rally followers. The functionalist perspective is that leadership involves motivating others, influence and participate in conflict resolution. Great leaders inspire a shared vision among their subordinates to ensure that the workers anticipate the best in future. They are visionary leaders who maintain credibility in their vision by presenting authentic predictions to the subordinates. They generate enthusiasm that makes all the workers motivated to work for the accomplishment of organizational goals. The participative the ories of leadership explain such leaders who are concerned about the views of their subordinates. They encourage people to form effective teams whereby they assist each

Audit proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Audit proposal - Essay Example This therefore shows that an audit should be frequently undertaken and in a very concise manner. Another reason it should always be undertaken is that it helps mitigate the possibility of any risks in the operations of the business. In line with the above, an auditor selected to conduct one to an organization needs to write an audit proposal to convince the management on the importance of conducting the audit and how cost effective they are likely to do it and achieve the organizational objectives. A proposal must be detailed and thorough, prepared in an ethical and professional manner (Blazek, 2008). Types of Audits applicable There are several forms of audit that can be performed to Kudler fine foods. This is to ensure its smooth operations, sure financial stability, and accountability and the most is, the audit to ensure that it’s system controls function effectively. Among the types of audits we have; financial audits, this is done ascertain the reliability, reliance, fair ness, accuracy of the financial data. Financial data that can be relied upon aids in the planning of several company activities, good financial data helps an organization in focusing into the future (Blazek, 2008). Another type of audit is the operations audit that is generally concerned with the audit of the general operations, with operations audit there comes an aspect of evaluation and assessment of the fine foods operations accompanied with complex operation structures incorporating the use of modern technology like the use of software in handling the assets of the restaurants. Information systems audit entails general controls review, application controls review and systems control review. General controls would involve assessment of the general system applications and security. Their development is fundamental and their maintenance comes with the package of these controls. Application control revolves around the review of several application systems within the organization. T he controls on inputs, processing and outputs are extensively analyzed, examined, and then assessed to determine their effectiveness. The last on this is the systems control review is the overview of the systematic development of a new system. This runs right from the identification of the organizational objectives, then the system development organizational needs. Lastly, there is the implementation of a system and evaluated. To crown it all Kudler fine foods can also apply the integrated audit system, which is easier to apply since it, summarizes all the above types of audits in totality (Blazek, 2008). Audit process recommended and application The fine foods restaurant is established in a system, which is industry specific and is in the verge of cost reduction measures. Its employees also have vast knowledge of the systems under which the fine foods restaurant operates. Kudler fine foods have installed a software system for efficient inventory control, efficient monitoring, and c ontrol of cash as the major assets of the business venture. The system handles effective acquisition of materials for the organization and issuance of the same materials. The software is also used to handle the accounting needs of the organization and therefore accurate financial reporting for decision-making. To control and allocate labor costs efficiently, the software system allows for a clock card process to account for the number of labor hours actually worked. Dummy workers are a major problem in majority of organizations and many organizations normally loose monetary resources through such leakages. The payroll process ensures that the right payments are made to the right people at the right time and without any loss of valuable

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

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

Theories of management - Essay Example It also involves maintenance of employee satisfaction, which on the other hand is important in maintenance of consumer satisfaction. The competitiveness of an organization highly depends on the employees and therefore leadership that keeps the employees satisfied is important in maintaining productivity and competitiveness. There are several theories that explain leadership as it applies to organizations. The theories also highlight leadership characteristics, which are significant in the accomplishment of organizational goals. This paper presents a critique of various leadership and theoretical perspectives that point towards great leadership that is needed in organizations for effective accomplishment of objectives and sustainability. The willingness to be a servant of others is usually exhibited by great leaders in organizations. Their focus is to build the capacity of everyone to help the organizational workforce to accomplish the strategic goals. They believe that success is accomplished through the participation of all the individuals in the organization. They listen to others and involve them in decision making. Through their focus on generating satisfaction among others, they are able to rally followers. The functionalist perspective is that leadership involves motivating others, influence and participate in conflict resolution. Great leaders inspire a shared vision among their subordinates to ensure that the workers anticipate the best in future. They are visionary leaders who maintain credibility in their vision by presenting authentic predictions to the subordinates. They generate enthusiasm that makes all the workers motivated to work for the accomplishment of organizational goals. The participative the ories of leadership explain such leaders who are concerned about the views of their subordinates. They encourage people to form effective teams whereby they assist each

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Case study Pedophile Housing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Case study Pedophile Housing - Research Paper Example However, some argue that the offender's civil liberties are being violated in conjunction with these laws. In regard to Ms. Abaca's decision to change the current legislation she must consider the different types of offenders. The federal government requires the federal registration of all sexual offenders to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. However, sexual offenders can be further classified by their crimes. All sexual offenders have committed a violation of the victim's privacy. However, this violation can differ based upon classification. Presently differentiations divide sexual crimes into two categories. According to the United States Department of Justice (2008), "(i) any type or degree of genital, oral or anal penetration , or (ii) any sexual touching of or contact with a person's body either directly or through clothing" (6). However, there are strong differentiations between the two categories. Penetration of the victim's body is a serious violation of both the victim's civil liberties and personal space. In comparison category two as defined by the federal government is a broad category. These differentiations raise ethical questions if offenders that do not penetrate the victim should be required to register with both the federal and state sex offender registries as this maybe construed as a violation of the offenders civil liberties. The age of the victim plays an important role in sentencing the offender. Aggravated factors include imprisonment, kidnapping, making videos, prostitution of minors, possession/distribution of child pornography and any type of sexual violations that involve a minor. Currently sexual offenders cannot live within a specific distance of schools, churches, daycare centers, park and community centers. In certain states sexual offenders are not allowed to work within a specific mileage of these places. However, one can argue that this is not just to have broad rules and restrictions placed upon all offenders. Sexual offenders that do not have aggravated circumstances (which include the involvement of a minor) are classified into the broad classification of rules applied to sexual offenders. Like other offenders these offenders that have not committed sexual offenses against minors and do not have aggravated circumstances are not able to reside or work within a certain distance of places t hat involve children. These circumstances are unjust to these offenders as these limitations do not allow for the offender to pursue life in many different aspects. To further complicate the differentiations among sexual offenders, individuals over the age of 18 can be prosecuted for having sexual interactions with individual's fewer than 18. Although, this may appear to be a valid and important point there are instances in which this categorization can be unethical. For example, is it ethical to prosecute an 18 year old senior in high school that has had sexual interactions with his sixteen year old sophomore girlfriend In these cases, should the individual be forced to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life Instead of focusing on ethics these cases often slip through the system and are meant to be exemplary. According to Students Against Destructive Decisions (2007), "Currently 46.8% of all high school students report they have had sexual intercourse." With regard to these statistics one must wonder if it is fair to punish as eighteen year old senior that is having sexual

Monday, October 14, 2019

Enola Gay Essay Example for Free

Enola Gay Essay August 6, 1945 by Alison Fell In the Enola Gay five minutes before impact he whistles a dry tune Later he will say that the whole blooming sky went up like an apricot ice. Later he will laugh and tremble at such a surrender, for the eye of his belly saw Marilyns skirts fly over her head for ever On the river bank, bees drizzle over hot white rhododendrons Later she will walk the dust, a scarlet girl with her whole stripped skin at her heel, stuck like an old shoe sole or mermaids tail Later she will lie down in the flecked black ash where the people are become as lizards or salamanders and, blinded, she will complain Mother you are late. So late Later in dreams he will look down shrieking and see ladybirds ladybirds Bombing Repetition Simile Female View Personification Alliteraion Male View Pronouns GLOSSARY Enola Gay: this was the name given to (and painted on) the plane which carried the bomb to Hiroshima. The pilots mother was called Enola Gay. Marilyns skirts: there is a famous film clip/still photograph of the American movie star Marilyn Monroe, in which she walks over a pavement air vent and the warm air from it blows the full skirt of her light-coloured dress upwards over her head. drizzle: this means rain lightly, but here is used to evoke the way the bees descend, buzzing, on to the flowers. salamanders: a salamander is a lizard-like amphibian with a smooth skin. In ancient legend salamanders were supposed to be able to live in fire. ladybirds: there are numerous versions (not all in English) of the nursery rhyme which begins, Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home, Your house is on fire and your children are gone. There are numerous explanations for it, too. Ladybirds are quite difficult to dislodge, and the rhyme, when recited, was traditionally supposed to induce them to fly off of their own accord.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Caring For Patients With Dementia Essay -- Nursing

Caring for dementia involves a lot of patience and understanding. It should be dealt with audacity and flawlessness to ensure the vulnerable adults’ well-being. Aiding at home or care home required carers to be at their best, physically and emotionally. The responsibility can be distressing but it is rewarding as well since helping dementia adults in their day to day activities is a significant matter for them. However, carers need a pause as over duty can result to substandard nursing. The big question is: who take care for the carers of people with dementia? There is a 5 million estimate of the carers in the UK and figures are foreseen to upscale for the next 40 years to 9 million (O’ Dowd, 2007). With this high number of carers, for whom the carers can ask for support during times when difficulty arises in relation with taking care of people with dementia. There are many issues that can be related to carers of people with dementia. The physical and psychological workload can be attributed as the most common concern among carers (Fjelltun et al., 2009). In addition, O’ Dowd (2007) has stated that carers are more likely to endure more anxiety, and feeling of liability which resulted to carers’ negligence of their own wellbeing. Moreover, carers suffer more stress than those who are not giving care to elderly with dementia. In relation to this, carers’ health is not interrelated with their emotional functioning (Bristow et al., 2008). These different reports suggested that carers undergo psychological issues more notable in comparison with just ordinary people. This can be regarded to carers’ exposure to a stressful environment. Dementia is a complex and progressive condition which is frequently affected by certain conditi... ...of Health. (2010) Dementia. The more we understand the more we can help. Crown: COI Fjelltun, A., Henriksen, N., Norberg, A., Gilje, F., Normann, H. (2009) Nurses’ and carers’ appraisals of workload in care of frail elderly awaiting nursing home placement. Scand J Caring Sci [online] volume 23, p57–66 Available from: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=9&hid=2&sid=3f0cc818-facd-44f5-99fc-3c06a0edbd5c%40sessionmgr104 [Accessed 23 March, 2010] Hoskins,S., Coleman,M., McNeely,D. (2005) Stress in carers of individuals with dementia and Community Mental Health Teams: an uncontrolled evaluation study. Blackwell Publishing Ltd: Nursing and health care management and policy Personal Social Services Research Unit. (2007) Dementia UK. London: London School of Economics, King’s College London. O’Dowd, A. (2007) Who else is caring? Nursing older people. Volume 18, p12-14

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Translations Essay -- Literary Analysis, Brian Friel

Shakespeare once wrote, â€Å"What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.† I would have to disagree with Juliet’s assertion that a name is a meaningless convention, and I think Brian Friel would as well. It is a concept addressed in his play Translations, set at a time of change for his native Ireland, when the country itself is on the cusp of submission to the imperialism of England. Two significant colonial events are taking place: the implementation of the National School System which replaced locally-run hedge schools like the one in which the play is set, as well as the remapping of Ireland and anglicising of place names by the British. To translate something means to change it from one condition to another, or adapt it from one system or language into another; indeed this metaphor can be applied to this play but also to Irish history. In this paper I will discuss this play as an examination of language as a defining characteristic of a particular culture and its consequent power as a colonizing tool, the way language and communication can manifest themselves as positive or negative influences and how Friel exposes the violence, figurative and literal, suffered by the Irish people as a result of these translations. The English colonizers are using language in a negative capacity, as a vehicle to exert their power over Ireland. They claim that the renaming of places is being done â€Å"to advance the interests of Ireland,† (31), when in fact it is a step to eradicating the Gaelic language. While the English may not be enslaving the Irish or moving them all to reservations, as in the case of Canadian and American First Nations peoples, this is an example of a more subtle, but equally as damagin... ...slating a story (and struggling with the translation of it) that celebrates the triumphs of the Roman Empire, and written in Latin, the language of the conquering Romans. The irony of this final scene is that Translations is a play written by an Irish playwright, but written and performed in English, the language of Ireland’s conquerors. The message of Translations is simple: language is something much bigger than a way to communicate. Language is at the cornerstone of identity, whether it personal identity or that of an entire nation. To attempt to eradicate the language of a particular place is a crime against its character and legacy. Given Ireland’s unique colonial history and the challenges it still faces today in regards to the preservation of its culture and language, it is easy to see why this play has become such an important piece of Irish culture.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Sons and Lovers as an Autobiographical Novel

Novel gained immense popularity during the 20th century. In the history of English novel D. H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers is a typical 20th century novel. The 20th century novels bear the characteristics of realism, romanticism, modernism, impressionism, expressionism etc. It was a time of complex human psychology. A contiguous overflow of a thought, which is happening in human psychology become the theme of the novel of the time. After the havoc and destruction of the First and the Second World Wars a great change in human psychology took place.Prominent psychological writers like- Sigmund Freud, Jung and Lucka came forward with their stimulating psychoanalytical theory. Freud’s theory of Oedipus complex and Lacka’s theory of child’s life or self-development greatly influenced the Novelists of The 20th century. Son’s and lovers by D. H. Lawrence is also a psychological novel where Lawrence as a psychoanalyst brings into focus the subtle and intrica te happening in the minds of his characters, like Gertrude Morel , Paul Morel , Miriam and others.Love PoemSons and Lovers deal with the psychology of the characters. Lawrence examines human life minutely and represents the complexity of human mind in his novel, Sons and Lovers. He brings out the deepest and subtle psychological aspect of his characters specially of Gertrud Morel and Paul Morel. According to the psychologists’ theory, there are three levels of human thought: conscious, subconscious and unconscious. Most of the thoughts lie dominant in subconscious and unconscious level. Sometimes it comes out into surface. Oedipus complex is one of such instinct.A psychological novelist like Lawrence externalizes the hidden and inner recondite thoughts of subconscious and unconscious mind. The theme of Oedipus complex is a dominant theme of Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers. Gertrude morel is a lady of delicate and refined taste and she married a miner named Walter Morel. Tho ugh it was a love marriage, within a few months of their marriage she discovered him as a stranger, a gambler, drunkard and an agitated person. Besides the poverty of Morels family disillusioned her. In spite of remaining as his wife, she lost all the interests for him.Morel’s rude and aggressive behavior with her and their children made her burdened with life with him. But nevertheless she remains with him because she had loving children as- Annie and William. All her love and affection was transferred to her children specially to her eldest son William who also loves his mother very much. When William came into maturity he managed to earn for family and it made her happy but gradually Mr. Morel becomes an outsider of the family. Because of the crude and vulgarity of his manner his children William and Annie also began to despise him. Mrs.Morel’s extreme love for her son William made the father jealous. In a state of conflict between husband and wife, both of them fel t dreary and lonely. So all the love and affection of a disappointed soul like Gertrud Morel find place in her lovely children especially in the sons- first in William then in Paul. The sons gave hope and spirit in Mrs. Morel’s life. Her heart filled with love and affection first for William then for Paul, her second son. Lawrence in a letter to his friend Edward Garnett said about the relation between mother and son: â€Å"But as her sons grew up, she settles them as lovers. This is the kind of love Sigmund Freud mentions as Oedipus complex. According to the theory, if the marriage between the mother and father is not happy and loving, the parents become interested in love for the child of opposite sex. The child functions as the substitute of husband or wife. Lawrence as a psychologist brings out the innermost psychology of his characters, Mrs. Gertrud Morel and her son Paul Morel. Mrs. Morel prevented her sons making love with other woman except her. She prevented William from getting intimate with the gipsy girl Lily.After the death of William she was slowly transforming her possessive feelings to Paul. Lawrence showed them wandering along the street of Nottingham with joy and excitement just like two lovers. She is a victim of an unhappy marriage. Her failure in life with Morel paved the way of Oedipus complex in her life. She gets attracted to her sons’ manhood. Nothing except Paul is valuable in her life. Paul also knew her passion for him. He loved his mother from his very childhood and could not break her heart. So he remained passive with any relationship with other women like Miriam and Clara.Miriam loved him intensely. He also had love for her but an unknown hand prevented him from the fulfillment of their relationship. He thought that he is only for his mother. His mother also knows that her only means of life on earth is Paul. What is the horrible consequence of an unhappy marriage, she knows it well. That’s why she says Wil liam, â€Å"Nothing is as bad as marriage that is a hopeless failure. † The relation between Paul and Miriam is a kind of spiritual love, yet nothing but his Oedipus feeling prevented him from marrying her. Both Mrs.Morel and Miriam desired Paul’s love and affection and it eats up the self of Paul. Mrs. Morel knew that Miriam is not like an ordinary woman who can leave her the share she desires in Paul. So she felt awfully worried about Paul. She could not bear it. She could let another woman have Paul but not Miriam. The tormented soul of Mrs. Morel says: â€Å"she’d leave me no room, not a bit of room. † Then she piteously utters: â€Å"And I’ve never- You know Paul- I’ve never had a husband- not really. † Paul helplessly comes forward to console his mother by asserting that he did not love Miriam.He strokes his mother’s hair and placed his mouth on her throat. Before parting for the night Mrs. Morel kissed him a long fervent kiss. Thus physical intimacy between mother and son become more explicit in the novel. Paul fells disturbed with Miriam as he thinks her foe between him and his mother. Nothing should disturb their relationship. Paul was aware of his helplessness. He frankly admits that he could only give Miriam his friendship- nothing more. Paul’s passion for his mother is also seen when in a railways carriage he noticed that his mother’s body looks frail, he thought that his mother is slipping away from him.Again in climbing the Cathedral hill, when she was out of breath and had to take rest Paul regrets that his mother is aging. He frankly says his mother: â€Å"Why can’t a man have a young mother? What is she old for? † He regrets for not being her eldest son to find her younger. After Annie’s marriage, Paul realized his mother’s loneliness. So, he asserts to Mrs. Morel that he would never marry and leave her alone. Another woman Clara came in Paul†™s life. She aroused the long repressed and over-refined sexual instinct of Paul who is a man of twenty-three. But yet sex remained complicated in him.Clara’s physical attraction also failed to bring Paul out of his psychological complexity. He thinks that only an over strong virginity in him and Miriam prevented them from physical contact. Paul realizes that the deepest of his love belongs to his mother. The clear sexual over tone of their relationship is seen during their excursion to Lincoln where Paul behaves almost like a lover when he tells his mother, â€Å"You forget I am a fellow taking his girl for an outing. † Mrs. Morel also accepts this sexual aspect in a pleasant mood. Mrs. Morel disapproved not only Miriam but also Clara saying hat he had not yet met the right woman. Paul could understand his mother’s passion for him as well as his weakness for her. So he felt that he would not meet that right woman during her lifetime. Even Clara too realized t hat Paul cannot come out of himself, so she leaves him and returned to Baxter. Mrs. Morel’s pangs and miseries of life and Paul’s emotional crisis ended with the tragic death of Mrs. Morel. Being unable to carry the psychological torture any more, Paul fed her a heavy dose of morphia with her night milk and next morning at about twelve eternal rest and peace came to the agonized soul.Paul knelt down by her death-bed and put his face to hers and his arms round her and whispered mournfully, â€Å"My love, my love- oh, my love. ’ And after the death of his mother he often moved aimlessly from one place to another, drinking, knocking about with men he knew. The real agony was that he had nowhere to go, nothing to do, nothing to say and was nothing himself. According to Lucka’s theory there are three stages of self-development: imaginary stage, mirror stage and symbolic stage. In the imaginary stage a child often birth thinks its mother as self. It finds itse lf in it mother.In the mirror stage he starts to think it differently. In the symbolic stage a child gets the name of his father. In Sons and Lovers Paul first identifies himself with his mother. He then finds his own self and then is identified with his father. But as he found his father, Walter Morel, unattractive and complex he again seeks place in his mother. So he could not found his own self-identity and could not come out of his mother. Lawrence employed the stream of consciousness technique which means a continuous overflow of a thought what is happening in human psychology.It saves his plot from the bondage of time and chronology. As a modern writer, Lawrence writes from the subjective point of view in order to share his own personal experience with the readers. He tactfully delineates the psychology of the perturbed souls of Gertrude Morel and her son Paul Morel. How psychological complexity destroys a man or woman is seen in the character of Mrs. Morel. As a frustrated wi fe she failed to enjoy properly the life of a woman and goes through a great complexity and psychological breakdown. She took shelter in a loving male person to make good of an unhappy young lady.The man also loves her deeply as she expect yet she could not satisfy her mind completely because the loving male person is none but her own loving son to whom all sexual aspects are forbidden for her as his mother. Obsessed with the mix emotional and passionate feelings her mind is completely shattered down. Side by side as a victim of her passionate love her son Paul also lost himself in her and goes through the same psychological complexity. Thus the emotional and sensual crisis of human psychology dominates the plot of Lawrence novel Sons and Lovers. So it is a great psychological novel in the history of English literature.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Genetically Modified Foods Essay

The topic of genetically modified foods is one that is hotly debated, but the problem is that the phrase GMO is very broad and encompasses techniques and modifications to food that you potentially should and shouldn’t be concerned about. At this point in time there doesn’t seem to be an overt benefit or risk to consuming GMO foods. According to the FDA, the big three GMO foods are soybeans, corn, and canola. But the FDA has also evaluated the safety of genetic modifications to flax, tomatoes, potatoes, cantaloupe, alfalfa, creeping bentgrass, papaya, sugar beets, wheat, squash, radicchio, and plums. The FDA lists consultations on GMO foods and what was genetically modified in the food to warrant the safety consultation on its website. GMOs, or â€Å"genetically modified organisms,† are plants or animals that have been genetically engineered with DNA from bacteria, viruses or other plants and animals. These experimental combinations of genes from different species cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding. The world population has topped 6 billion people and is predicted to double in the next 50 years. Ensuring an adequate food supply for this booming population is going to be a major challenge in the years to come. GM foods promise to meet this need in a number of ways: Pest Resistance: Crop losses from insect pests can be staggering, resulting in devastating financial loss for farmers and starvation in developing countries. Farmers typically use many tons of chemical pesticides annually. Consumers do not wish to eat food that has been treated with pesticides because of potential health hazards, and run-off of agricultural wastes from excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers can poison the water supply and cause harm to the environment. Growing GM foods such as B. t. corn can help eliminate the application of chemical pesticides and reduce the cost of bringing a crop to market. Herbicide tolerance: For some crops, it is not cost-effective to remove weeds by physical means such as tilling, so farmers will often spray large quantities of different herbicides (weed-killer) to destroy weeds, a time-consuming and expensive process, that requires care so that the herbicide doesn’t harm the crop plant or the environment. Crop plants genetically-engineered to be resistant to one very powerful herbicide could help prevent environmental damage by reducing the amount of herbicides needed. For example, Monsanto has created a strain of soybeans genetically modified to be not affected by their herbicide product Roundup. A farmer grows these soybeans which then only require one application of weed-killer instead of multiple applications, reducing production cost and limiting the dangers of agricultural waste run-off. Disease resistance There are many viruses, fungi and bacteria that cause plant diseases. Plant biologists are working to create plants with genetically-engineered resistance to these diseases. Cold Tolerance: Unexpected frost can destroy sensitive seedlings. An antifreeze gene from cold water fish has been introduced into plants such as tobacco and potato. With this antifreeze gene, these plants are able to tolerate cold temperatures that normally would kill unmodified seedlings. Drought tolerance/salinity tolerance: As the world population grows and more land is utilized for housing instead of food production, farmers will need to grow crops in locations previously unsuited for plant cultivation. Creating plants that can withstand long periods of drought or high salt content in soil and groundwater will help people to grow crops in formerly inhospitable places. Nutrition:Malnutrition is common in third world countries where impoverished peoples rely on a single crop such as rice for the main staple of their diet. However, rice does not contain adequate amounts of all necessary nutrients to prevent malnutrition. If rice could be genetically engineered to contain additional vitamins and minerals, nutrient deficiencies could be alleviated. For example, blindness due to vitamin A deficiency is a common problem in third world countries. Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Institute for Plant Sciences have created a strain of â€Å"golden† rice containing an unusually high content of beta-carotene (vitamin A). Since this rice was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, a non-profit organization, the Institute hopes to offer the golden rice seed free to any third world country that requests it. Plans were underway to develop a golden rice that also has increased iron content. However, the grant that funded the creation of these two rice strains was not renewed, perhaps because of the vigorous anti-GM food protesting in Europe, and so this nutritionally-enhanced rice may not come to market at all. GMO is essentially the next evolution of crossbreeding. Common ingredients derived from GMO risk crops are; Amino Acids, Aspartame, Ascorbic Acid, Sodium Ascorbate, Vitamin C, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Ethanol, Flavorings (â€Å"natural† and â€Å"artificial†), High-Fructose Corn Syrup, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Lactic Acid, Maltodextrins, Molasses, Monosodium Glutamate, Sucrose, Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), Xanthan Gum, Vitamins, Yeast Products. These ingredients are found in almost all the foods and snacks that we consume everyday and feed to our growing children. The notations above are just some examples of how GMO’s could be helpful to our crops, but there are also risks as well. There is a growing body of evidence connects GMOs with health problems, environmental damage and violation of farmers’ and consumers’ rights. Grass roots organizations have been crying foul since GMOs were first introduced into the food system approximately 20 years ago. Many people believe the consumption of GMOs may contribute to serious health issues. In fact, recent studies raise serious concerns about the safety of GMOs and show they may contribute to the following conditions: Intestinal Disorders: An Australian study recently claimed that pigs fed genetically modified (GM) soy and corn displayed a 32 percent rate of severe stomach inflammation whereas pigs not fed a GMO diet only showed 12 percent. Infertility: A study performed at the University of Vienna showed that mice fed GM corn over a period of twenty weeks had impaired fertility. In addition, some of the offspring of the mice displayed decreased weight. Kidney and Liver Issues: The International Journal of Biological Sciences offers a study that showed certain varieties of GM corn to have a negative impact on kidney and liver function. As a result, the study concluded that some GM varieties may contribute to hepatorenal toxicity. Increased Allergies: While it’s hard to pinpoint the source of any food allergy, there is concern that new proteins in GM soy and corn crops might increase their frequency. Organ Toxicity: An abstract from the National Institutes of Health (PubMed) indicates that studies show most GM foods cause some form of toxicity to certain organs such as the pancreas, kidneys, and reproductive organs and also show hematological, biochemical, and immunological factors. They go on to mention that major studies over many years will be required in order to support these findings. GMO is essentially the next evolution of crossbreeding. Common ingredients derived from GMO risk crops are; Amino Acids, Aspartame, Ascorbic Acid, Sodium Ascorbate, Vitamin C, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Ethanol, Flavorings (â€Å"natural† and â€Å"artificial†), High-Fructose Corn Syrup, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Lactic Acid, Maltodextrins, Molasses, Monosodium Glutamate, Sucrose, Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), Xanthan Gum, Vitamins, Yeast Products. These ingredients are found in almost all the foods and snacks that we consume everyday and feed to our growing children. If the risk of consuming GMO’s are overall harmful to the human bodies; then all food containing ANY GMO’s should be labeled specifically. This way each consumer is aware of that they are ingesting for their own personal health concerns or lifestyle. http://www. shape. com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/ask-diet-doctor-gmo-foods http://www. nongmoproject. org/learn-more/ http://touch. organicauthority. com/organicauthority/#! /entry/8-reasons-gmos-are-bad-for-you,516d81d0d7fc7b5670b377dc http://organic. lovetoknow. com/Why_GMOs_Are_Bad.

Dowry System Essay

Dowry System is a common social problem. its harmful for our society. now we will read a paragraph about Dowry System. lets go for read Dowry System paragraph. Dowry is the money or property that is demanded by the bridegroom when he marries a bride. The system of dowry has now become a curse to the society. The torture upon the women by men is a very common sight of today. Sometimes the women become a victim of loss of life as a result of the torture by their husbands. The main reason of dowry is negative attitude of the parents of the bridegroom and the lack of education of the bride. The bridegroom takes dowry and the womenfolk become victims of dowry. The dowry system affects the whole society. The parents of the bride sell properties and become penniless to fulfill the demand of the bridegroom. Sometimes they cannot keep their word they give before getting their daughters marrying. On the other hand, the bridegroom gets huge property without any efforts. I have the social voice. This social curse can be eliminated by making womenfolk educated and self-dependent. The menfolk also should be given proper education to change their attitude. Gender discrimination Gender discrimination means to create difference between men and women. Specially in the third world countries women is considered inferior to men. In spite of their having merits and capabilities, they are not given what they deserve. They are working in the family and out side the family, but their contribution is not seen with due honour. There are various reasons why women are not given equal rights. Firstly most of the people of our country are not educated. They fail to see the potentialities of the women and the contribution they have made in different sectors of our life. They think, as women are physically weaker than men, they will not be able to perform many duties that men can do and hence they must be dominated by men. Secondly people of our country are superstitious. They do not know their religion properly. In religion men and women have been given equal position. But in the name of religion they try to dominate over women and do not give opportunity to flourish. Female children are the worse sufferers. Even their birth is not received warm heartedly where at the birth of male children they distribute sweets to express their happiness. The female children are considered burden of the family. They are not given equal food, equal opportunity for education. They become objects of negligence and victims of social injustice. This is a great problem which is to be solved. If our people are educated and given proper knowledge of religion they will understand the value of woman and can learn about the contribution they are making. If our female children are groomed up properly they will be able to carry any responsibility bestowed upon them and our society will advance very quickly. Illiteracy has been the bane of independent India. It is a shame to note that, the country that gave Epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata to the world should, in the 21st Century turn out to be one among the most illiterate countries of the world. How this has come to be is of course not far to seek. Even in the understanding of a layman, it is clear that India has remained so very illiterate because it has, for centuries been slave to someone or the other. The rulers, whoever they may have been never wanted the Indians to be educated as, an educated mass of men would be difficult to reign, and so they never wanted them to raise their heads, and so, kept them away from the light of education. So much of course can be understood but, the sad story of the Indian masses is that even their own rulers, the Indians had no different attitude, they also wanted the Indians to remain mostly illiterate for much the same reason as the foreigners had wished. Just like the foreign rulers the Indian rulers also thought that an educated public may not be so easy to control so they also followed the track laid by their predecessors. Besides this, if the masses remained uneducated, any kind of manipulation could be easily managed in the favour of the rulers. Thus, since the Indian rulers also wanted to keep the Indian masses away from the light of knowledge, the result is for all of us to see that, even after fifty years of independence, India is still lagging behind the world in its ratio of educated/literate and the illiterate. This goes without saying that, an educated gentry is far more difficult to handle and to satisfy than an uncouth ^educated lot. For this simple reason the Indian rulers kerned it fit to keep education a far off dream for the majority and the image that the foreigners had established has been maintained by our Indian rulers for simple selfish reasons that are obvious. For this reason I feel that, the rate of literacy in India is no surprise. This has been the definite policy of the Indian rulers just to suit their vicious designs and their own inefficient policies. Illiterate masses can be led like sheep and goats very easily however and wherever they are taken. They can be very easily aroused on any emotional issues, they can be easily convinced into understanding and thinking as their rulers want them to. If the masses were to be educated it would not have been so easy for the politician to do what and how he wants to do on any issue. People would have to be convinced with genuine reasoning to the correctness of all that is being done or being planned. For this simple reason, even the dawn of the 21st, Century finds India listed among the countries with the lowest ratio of education. Now, after a little over fifty years, the Government has seen and understood the folly of such a lame policy of education. Now the Government is re-scheduling its literacy programmes and making a mark of the fundamental right of each resident of India to the right of education. If the masses had not been kept illiterate, they would have in so many years, raised a hue and cry about their right to education and the Governments of the past years would not have found it all so very smooth sailing. However, at least now the Government has awakened to the fact and need of correct education but, let us remember that the decades already lost cannot come back or regained. For, to complete the task in hand and to manage the huge backlog makes the job rather cumbersome and time consuming’ besides being difficult to achieve. It is hoped that, if the direction taken is continued we will in the course of another decade be higher on the grade educated/literate countries.