Gay Bashing

In 2008, 190 homosexuals were killed in Brazil, one every two days, known as a 55 percent increase on the previous year. The annual report on murders of homosexuals, according to the Grupo Gay da Bahia from Brazil, says that 64 percent of the victims were gay men, 32 percent were transvestites, and four percent were lesbians. This is absolutely astonishing. Even though homosexuals have chosen an alternative lifestyle, they still deserve to live a normal life without being victimized of physical harm for their choices.Homosexuality is not â€Å"normal† in biological terms. If it were normal, then everybody would be homosexual and that is self-evident. Homosexuals are actively striving to convince us that homosexuality is â€Å"normal,† but they confuse frequency and familiarity with normality. Today's world is more familiar with homosexuals, their reputation, their struggles, their status in the population, but that doesn't change the underlying biology: homosexuality is not â€Å"normal. We are all people. People who love, cry, eat and breathe just like everybody else does. If homosexuality is not â€Å"normal,† then what is it? Homosexuals, and heterosexual as well, argue that it is not a choice, but inherent to who they are. With certain qualifications for people of confused identify, it is acceptable to believe that homosexuality is rooted in biology, and that the individual doesn't choose it. The American researcher Dean Hamer published research that seemed to prove that homosexual orientation could be genetically transmitted to men on the x chromosome, which they get from their mothers† (Am I Gay? ). If it is rooted in biology, and is not normal, then therefore, homosexuality must be a genetic quirk, a genetic mutation that causes a person to have a sexual identity that is innately in contradiction with that person's physical self and with the natural instinct to pass one's genes to the next generation through procreation with a person of the opposite sex.If science proves homosexuality is innate, is there any basis to deny gays equal treatment — including the right to marry? But if scientists unravel the roots of sexual orientation, will it some day be possible to â€Å"fix† people who don't fit the norms or abort fetuses likely to be born gay? † (Doughton). In our culture, the victim of gay bashing is considered the sinner. That's why so often the crimes against homosexuals go unpunished until someone is found beaten, burned and tied to a fence post. There is a pat psychological answer–gays are threatening to us because of homosexual tendencies built into the human psyche, which frighten us and which we must put away from us†¦at any time, in any culture it seems to be convenient to have a group of people who can be demonized and excluded†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Stop Bashing Gay People). The verbal taunts and persecution of people because of their sexual orientation are so commonpla ce they set the stage for murderers who think it's no crime to hate gays and to act on that hate. â€Å"It is that instinctual fear of rape that drives much of homophobia.Straight men often instinctually see gay men as a threat, and they instictively fear that threat. It's a fear of a loss of control, of dominance, of status† (Bidstrup). As anybody can tell, the opportunity to be threatened, humiliated and to live in fear of being beaten to death is the only â€Å"right† our culture grants on homosexuals. If you listened to the opponents of laws designating gay bashing as a hate crime, you'd think there really was some fundamental difference between being a black man, who is beaten and dragged behind a truck, and being a gay man, who is beaten, his skull crushed, and left tied to a fence to die. Gay bashing also sends the message that whether a person is actually lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or queer, if they are perceived by others as being so, a negative (a nd potentially violent) reaction may occur† (Matzner). The only real difference is the nickname the killers use to describe the victim. The one used for the black man is considered an obscenity so appallingly offensive, it can't be written, printed, or projected verbally. The one used for the gay man is a common expression. It's familiar in schools, comedy routines, the media, and on street corners all across America.There is the perception that homosexuals are a socially acceptable target. Therefore, when young people are asked, they will justify and defend targeting gay people as inferior. â€Å"Gaybashing is the most socially acceptable, and probably the most common, type of hate crime, especially among male teenagers and young adults† (Matzner). There's a belief nowadays that it's not so cool to assault racial minorities. It's not so cool to assault women, Blacks or Jews. But assaulting gays is actually something humorous to a lot of young people. It's probably the last socially acceptable group to assault.Part of it is related to the fact that discrimination against gays is still legalized and encoded. That sends a message to young people that, if gays don't have equal rights in employment, housing, child custody, the military, or marriage, then there's something wrong with them, and nobody's going to mind if we have some fun at their expense. According to statistics released by the FBI, hate crimes that are specifically committed in relation to the victims sexual orientation have risen over the past three years. There were 1,017 reported in 2005, 1,195 in 2006 and 1,265 in 2007.The FBI reported a 6 % increase in hate crimes against gay, lesbian and transgender people in 2008. A gay-bashing incident took place in Vancouver in March of this year. â€Å"He’s a faggot. He deserved it. I’m not a fag. The faggot touched me. He deserved it,† the accused said to a witness. Richard Dowrey, a 62-year old man was punched in the fac e at a pub and has left him clinging to life in the intensive care unit at a local hospital. The force of the punch threw him backgrounds, falling to the ground and hitting the back of his head. â€Å"Most commonly, respondents said that they were defending themselves against sexual predation† (Franklin).The man will live with permanent brain damage for the rest of his life. Unfortunately, this incident was humorous to someone. What if you were the man who had to live as a vegetable for the rest of your life? Nobody should think that there is not a possibility of this happening the other way around. It may not be as likely, but there is always that possibility of a homosexual physically harming a heterosexual just for being heterosexual. Gay bashing occurs even among children of very young ages, and in this instance, it was too late. 11 year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover was found dead after he hanged himself earlier this week by tying an electrical cord around his neck that was fastened to a support beam in his home. The child had enduring day after day of taunting with anti-gay slurs at the school he attended† (Hipps). People don’t realize that they go too far with the unbearable taunting. Not only may it lead to physical harm, but it really affects people emotionally and to the point that they may inflict harm upon themselves because they have lost their self-esteem. Being homosexual may not be the norm, but they are human beings just like the rest of the world.They have feelings as well. Another example of a gay bashing tragedy: the heart-wrenching story of Brandon Teena, a young transsexual murdered in a hate crime, which took place in the 90’s. Brandon was born biologically a female, but lived as a male. Because of this, he was subsequently brutally beaten, raped and murdered. His life story and death was later portrayed in the Academy Award winning film, â€Å"Boys Don’t Cry. † This story was brought to life agai n for people to manifest the horrific actions that did and still do take place in our prejudice society.It is needed to have these stories known and fleshed out. It is unfortunate that our society lives in a country where hate crime legislation is not necessary, but it is. If a crime is committed because of a prevailing prejudice, that prejudice will only subside when we as a society are having an active conversation to bring the issues out into the open. The more they get shoved into the dark, the darker and more horrible they become. Acts and laws need to be passed in order to bring these issues to light in a way that the media cannot ignore.It would be the best way to both bring these crimes to justice and bring about cultural change in our society about a minority group. â€Å"The cost to society is enormous, not just to the gay person, but to his family, his acquaintances, his employers, and to society as a whole† (Bidstrup).Works Cited â€Å"Am I gay? Are you born gay? Can you stop being gay? † Bidstrup, Scott. â€Å"Homophobia: The Fear Behind The Hatred. †The Nature of Homophobia. 3 September 2000. Doughton, Sandi. â€Å"Born gay? How biology may driveorientation. † Seattle Times. 19 June 2005. Franklin, Karen. Why Do People Say Gay bash? † Assault onGay America. 1995-2008. Frayssinet, Fabiana. â€Å"RIGHTS-BRAZIL: Gay-Bashing Murders Up55 Percent. † IPS News on the Web. 22 April 2008. Hainsworth, Jeremy. â€Å"Community demands court treatgaybashing as a hate crime. † Where Queers Conspire. 26March 2009. Hipps, James. â€Å"11 Year Old Hangs Himself Over Gay Slurs. †Gay Agenda. 2008. 11 April 2009. Matzner, Andrew. â€Å"Gaybashing. † Social Sciences. 2004. 19August 2005. Schneider, Walter H. â€Å"Gay Violence Statistics. † Fathers ForLife. 1998-2008. 1 April 1998. â€Å"Stop Bashing Gay People. †

Consumerist Society Essay

What are the pros and cons of living in a consumerist society? Our world is one big shop. Everyone run, buy and scream every day for things they don’t even need. People become on big stampede which don’t care about anything else except goods. The most obvious advantage of living in consumerist society is better living standards. Consumers circulate turnover and that is how our standards of living is increasing. Another advantage is that people have wide range of products to select from. Everyone can compare price, size, color and anything thing else they want personally to fit their needs. Another important point is that shopping provides recreational activity for the whole family. They can get to the supermarket and spend there all day in recreational activities and shopping. As for the disadvantages of consumerist society that rich people gets richer and poor – poorer. While rich people enjoy their lives and don’t care about others, poor people get more and more into debt. Greedy employers exploit workers and make a huge profit. An even stronger argument against is that major production and consumption causes a lot of waste and pollution problems. From trash our planet started warming and it caused giant problems all over the world which are bigger than consumption. To sum up, I want to say that consumption is good if the people are not forced to buy what they don’t need. Everyone has a right to choose what they need. People shouldn’t be used as cheap work energy. Machines are created for that.

Managing Activities to Achieve Results Assignment

Managing Activities to Achieve Results - Assignment Example ISO 14001 lays down certain tools and principles for efficient management of the environment and also can provide certificates to authenticate an organization’s adherence of principles. It does not enforce any compulsory rules for effective environmental activities, but provides a framework that can guide an organization towards achieving an effective system of environmental management. The principles set by ISO 14001 can be applied by any organization irrespective of its activity or sector. A company or organization that uses ISO 14001 can ensure proper assessment of environmental impacts and improvement steps can be duly taken. This can have a favorable impact on the management body of the company, its employees and external stakeholders. There are various advantages attached to ISO 14001. It can ensure effective management of environment impact which results in reduction of waster disposals and energy consumption. It can also enhance efficiency in the activity level of busi ness thereby minimizing costs incurred for running of the business. It also paves the way for developing opportunities needed for expansion of business. ISO 14001 can help the organization to abide by legal obligations and this can attract more stakeholders and gain high trust level of the customers. Finally, it prepares the organization to confidently adapt to changing structure of the business (ISO-14000 – Environmental management, 2013). Sutton Chemicals Ltd. I. Sutton Chemicals Ltd. manufactures chemicals and this is a hazardous activity. The company has a previous bad record of accidents and poor health and safety management. Problems relating to safety measures are not only present in the production area, but also members in the administration departments have been facing several accidents and mishaps. In many cases employees had to take three days leave from work in order to recover from injuries sustained during the accidents. Among the various reasons that have been attributed to the accidents in the administration departments are poor ventilation, incorrect chairs and badly adjusted computer monitors. For Sutton Chemicals Ltd., it is advisable to use the environmental standards set by ISO 14001. This will help the organization to assess and monitor environmental issues and their impacts, and likewise reduce the risks arising from the environment. Misuse or inefficient management of chemicals can cause many environmental perils. Chemicals can pollute the air and cause bad odour leading to respiratory problems and dizziness among workers. By adopting the ISO 14001 standards, organizational activities can be more effective with reduced risks which can benefit the company because costs can be curbed and profits can be enhanced. The environmental policies and regulations that are laid down by the ISO demand that â€Å"companies set specific, measurable and timely objectives and targets† (BSI helps to reduce..., n.d.). ISO 14001 can guide Sut ton Chemicals Ltd. to fulfill its mission of securing a cultural environment in the workplace with minimum risks related to health and safety. Also, the chemicals produced can be preserved and sustained with efficient management. It is essential in a chemical factory that chemicals be handled in safe manner as it is good not only for the workers and other employees but also good for the business. Proper and sustainable management of

Could Alice Carter have done anything differently here Why or why not Term Paper

Could Alice Carter have done anything differently here Why or why not - Term Paper Example Bob could not do the job since he lacked the skills but had good credentials. "I would ensure that there is a good succession planning. This will ensure that one is trained and induced effectively before allowing the previous worker to go. There should be training evaluation to ensure that the work skills are competently acquired. Bob should not keep the job. This is because the succession planning was good enough to allow Bob be trained early enough for the responsibilities which were not hard enough. Despite the training from Alice, Bob still showed numerous weaknesses which were may lead to organization diverting from the mission or even making less in along run. It is evidenced that Bob lacks conscientiousness and has neurotism which makes him not perform well. In addition, Bob was employed simply because his paper was good but not because he had the ability and skills to do the tasks. His credentials were good and he had made a good impression. He is a man of constant problems. Ordinarily, performance appraisal involves addressing individual in a systematic way. I will evaluate Bob’s performance so as to ensure that the Job is done perfectly.First; I will examine the quality and quantity of output. This should result as expected and it should go with the mission.Secondly, I will observe his judgment and cooperation which are vital for teamwork and progress. His supervision and leadership abilities will also be scrutinized.This should be done well without partiality and complains.Lastly, his performance will be measured based on his initiative and dependency. The performance measures will be used in compensation reviews, competency building, and promotions."

Don't Blame the Eater Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Don't Blame the Eater - Essay Example 154). He gives an example of how one is likely to find a McDonald’s restaurant on a drive down a street. He also faults the fast food restaurants for not providing calorie information on their information charts (Zinczencko, p. 154). He also argues that in fast food packaging, there is no calorie information like on grocery items and this prevents the consumer from making an informed decision. He illustrates how having chicken salad, almond and noodle, dressing and a coke comes to more than half of what the government recommends for daily calorie intake (Zinczencko, p. 155). He says that fast food companies do not bear any warning on their ads showing the harm they can do. He argues that companies should put this information so that consumers can make informed decisions on their diet. He concludes by saying that the government will soon realize that these companies are a threat to the health care

Facebook Inc Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Facebook Inc - Term Paper Example User can then enjoy its services including the exchanging of messages, joining groups that suit them like their schools or work places. Facebook was started by Markl Zuckerberg together with his friends and roommates from college. When it started it only gave membership to the students of Harvard. It later spread out incorporating other colleges in Boston. Eventually its number increased to students in high schools and anybody above the age of 13. This does not mean that there are no children below 13 years who have Facebook accounts. A research by Consumer Reports reported that there are about 20 million children below 13 years who have Facebook accounts thereby breaching its terms of service. In 2009, Facebook was ranked as the most famous social networking site. Most fans of facebook commend it stating that Facebook helps them remember their colleagues and friends’ birthdays, bug their friends, play games, chat with long term friends among other uses. Its critics are howeve r complaining that is has become an obsession especially in the United States. They have complained that it is a time waster and supports narcissism. Facebook is estimated to have about 150 million new visitors from the United States in May 2011. Two years ago, it was estimated that about 42% of the population in United States had opened up Facebook accounts. In May 2011, its market growth started deteriorating; it lost 7 million users especially in Canada and the United States. This paper will discuss the market trends, market structure, business environment, pricing strategies, and government role. It will also analyze the nature of its products and services in United States as compared to other countries. 1. Nature of Product/Service Facebook Life cycle A product Life cycle is significant in marketing. These stages are Introduction, Growth, Maturity, and Decline. Sales are not as important in the introduction stage not unless the brand has already taken effect. At the introductio n stage, the users are introduced to the service where they are expected to register. Users are able to request their friends to join Facebook. This stage usually has its users using it for communication and networking. At the growth stage, Facebook starts inventing new features but not many registrations come up. This is where users employ the services mainly for commercial use. The maturity stage does not have much going. Registrations greatly reduce, and some users may opt to terminate their accounts. Finally, the decline stage has more people terminating their accounts than joining. A good example of a social site at this stage is MySpace. According to a recent research carried out, investors would rethink of their decision to join Facebook before doing so. This is due to the fact that Facebook is currently at the downward slope of the life cycle, especially in its major markets like the United States of America. Even though Facebook appears to be doing perfectly well as will be discussed in this paper, it is in its third stage, which is maturity, heading to the fourth stage, which is decline particularly in most of its biggest markets in the world. The first sign of its decline was the report on its traffic drop in its largest markets: United States and Canada. The first time, it lost about six million users. It has continually fluctuated around this figure since then. At the same time, UK, Russia and Norway recorded a loss of about 100, 000. Facebook’s reports do not however, indicate these figures, but instead reflects a growth. This growth is said to be gained from countries that have embraced Facebook late. Role of technology Facebook’

Toledo - The City of Three Faiths Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Toledo - The City of Three Faiths - Essay Example E. Already, united Christian conquerors had launched the Reconquista in a bid to recapture Spain from Islamic rule. The twin threats of united Christian armies and rivalries between the smaller kingdoms eventually led to the demise of Islamic rule in Spain. The fall of the kingdom of Granada in the reign of Isabella and Ferdinand marked the official end of Islamic rule on the Iberian Peninsula. Between the Islamic conquest and expulsion from the Iberian Peninsula, a significant body of developments occurred throughout Spain in myriad fields. As commercial centers and centers of learning opened up their doors to all and sundry, the level of commercial advancement and research took on a new shape altogether. The developments in medieval Spain opened up the doors of Europe’s enlightenment and growth centuries later. The kingdom of Al-Andulas and the various kingdoms in its legacy gave rise to a number of cosmopolitans such as Seville, Cordoba, Toledo and Granada. All of these cit ies became centers of excellence in terms of economics, culture, science and religious tolerance. However, amongst these cities perhaps Toledo remained the most significant in terms of political and cultural development. Toledo first became a center of excellence under the Islamic regime of Al-Andulas after which King Alfonso VI conquered it in 1085 in his Reconquista bid. Unlike other regions where Christian takeovers incited bloodshed, violence and persecution, the takeover of Toledo was markedly different. Alonso placed no compulsion on the local Muslims and Jews to convert or immigrate to other lands. The real motives behind Alfonso’s actions have been questioned with some labeling them as altruism while others label them as commercial interests attached with the Muslims. Whatever the case, Alfonso allowed the Muslims to use the great mosque of Toledo and appointed a Christian governor (who spoke Arabic) to â€Å"oversee civil authority†. Muslim chronicles from the time indicate that Alfonso proclaimed himself as the King of two religions (Islam and Christianity as Jewish populations were too small). This declaration even by a king was revolutionary for the time as the Church considered all other religions as paganism alone. Alfonso’s recognition of Islam meant that he was ready for tolerance and peaceful coexistence. It must also be mentioned that Toledo served as an important commercial center on the important Spanish crossroads for trade and other commercial pursuits. Over the centuries Toledo’s centralized location as well as its commercially savvy population were able to transform the city into a massive commercial hub. The onset of commercial activities meant that Toledo had money to spare and that there were various cultural streams interacting with each other. Consequently, Toledo transformed into a vibrant commercial and cultural center. In contrast, the new rulers of cities such as Barbastro subjected their populations to inhumane and barbaric treatment that reduced these cities to dark ages. An-Andulas had managed to remove these cosmopolitan centers from abject poverty and backwardness, but the Reconquista managed to throw them back into poverty. This remained true for nearly all of the Iberian Peninsula except for Toledo. Toledo’s ruler Alfonso had captured the city in order to enhance his standing based on the city’s vibrant commercial and cultural activities. The Muslim population in the city was the very reason for its

Introduction and research questions sections Assignment

Introduction and research questions sections - Assignment Example There is a salient need for restaurants to find strategies of presenting such cultural dishes, making them more appealing and acceptable. It is not an easy task for many restaurants who intend to offer traditional delicacies as they were cooked in the previous era (Axtell 15). Most of the cultures do not just consider certain foods as taboos without evidential basis, but rather based on cultural and religious beliefs. In the 21st century, hotels are striving to ensure that customers can learn to enjoy some foods regarded as taboos and enjoy their nutritional values. However, if such foods are served with the traditional labels, identifying them as taboos, customers are less likely to be interested. Restaurants are compelled to engage in rigorous research if they are to identify some of the factors contributing to viewing some foods as taboos. The value of research in any business cannot be underestimated. In the dining industry, the most critical aspect is being able to discern the customer’s preferences. When hoteliers understand the customer preferences, they can improve their services hence ensure customer loyalty. In the specific case of taboo dishes, restaurant owners should consider the presentation of the dish, its name, health benefits, and the effect of peer pressure while determining whether to eat a taboo food. Many of the taboo food present desirable nutritional values. Such foods contain elements that are needed by the body and that can serve to improve an individual’s health immensely. Therefore, it is critical for restaurants to engage in rigorous research to identify the steps that can be taken to make taboo foods acceptable (20). In order to identify the factors that determine the consumption of taboo dishes, it is critical to define research questions that will address different aspects of consumer behavior. The criticality or research questions cannot be overemphasized because they present the

Effects of health education intervention on patients knowledge, Essay

Effects of health education intervention on patients knowledge, attitude and health behaviour in asthma - Essay Example However, findings are unlikely to be generalizable to patients with asthma in whom a complex interplay of factors complicate management and who are therefore often excluded from or fail to attend standard research. Asthma is the most common medical chronic disease in western society. Despite advances morbidity rates are increasing. According to a study from Harty et al (2003), in 1996 a threefold increase in prevalence over a decade was demonstrated in Irish schoolchildren aged four to nineteen years of age that reflect the early childhood years when asthma tends to be more prevalent and hospital add mission rate tend to be higher. Otherwise, deaths due to asthma are uncommon and most of the deaths occurred in people over 65 years. In the 5 to 34 year age group, there was a rise in the death rate in the early to mid 1980s, peaking in 1986, and then decreasing (Glasgow et al, 2003). However, Asthma is a chronic inflammation of the bronchial tubes (airways) that causes swelling and narrowing (constriction) of the airways (Bell et al, 2000). The result is difficulty breathing. The bronchial narrowing is usually either totally or at least partially reversible with treatments. Bronchial tubes that are chronically inflamed may become overly sensitive to allergens (specific triggers) or irritants (non-specific triggers). The airways may become twitchy and remain in a state of heightened sensitivity. It is likely that there is a spectrum of bronchial hyperreactivity in all individuals. However, it is clear that asthmatic patients and allergic individuals (without apparent asthma) have a greater degree of bronchial hyper reactivity than non-asthmatic and non-allergic people. In sensitive individuals, the bronchial tubes are more likely to swell and constrict when exposed to triggers such as allergens, tobacco smoke, or exercise (Butz et al, 2006). Moreover, the frequency and severity of asthma is a serious health issue over the entire world, crossing all national, cultural, social, and economic boundaries (Johnson, 2003). Health education interventions should be a major component of treatment, as they have the ability to make significant impacts both in terms of public and practitioner policy as well as personal suffering (Cote et al, 2006). The symptomatic and lifestyle effect of asthma upon the patients can be debilitating. Accordingly, when assessing, planning and evaluating the care of the asthma patient, nurses and healthcare providers must be especially aware of the conditions, quality of life issues, and therapies associated with the disease. Further, because asthma involves significant patient self-help behaviour associated with most chronic diseases, education is vital. Accordingly, the issue of both practitioner and patient awareness is particularly significant: A health education initiative will have a positive impa ct upon these individuals. The fact that the onset of physiological responses can happen very quickly and, in severe cases, cause asphyxiation, means patient assessment should be based upon symptomatic presentation and observable behaviours. The frequency and

Vacation Memory About Namibia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vacation Memory About Namibia - Essay Example John is an American who had come to Africa in the seventies and had attempted to hike from Cairo to the Cape Town. However, when he had arrived in Botswana, he had fallen in love with the country and had chosen to settle. John had taken the liberty of hiring a vehicle for us and we all went to spend the night at his magnificent house on the outskirts of the city. Early the next morning, we left Gaborone and traveled south until we came to the Trans-Kalahari road, which connects all the countries that have the Kalahari Desert within their borders. It was here that my preconceptions of Africa being a backward place, a jungle, were forever shattered. The Kalahari Desert has a diverse ecosystem with some parts of it being semi-arid and inhabited by cattle keepers who own large ranches. Other parts are filled with sand dunes as far as the eye can see and within these, one is likely to find antelopes that have adapted to life in the desert. After every two hundred miles, there is a picnic area where long distance drivers take a break before continuing their journey. This is a measure that the government of Botswana has taken to ensure that accidents due to fatigue are avoided. We reached the Namibian border after eight hours on the road and the friendly customs officers quickly cleared us to cross into Namibia. Immediately one enters Namibia, he is struck by the level of organization that the people of this country have. One will note that all the buildings and roads are built in straight lines and that everybody is very orderly in all their activities. We were told that this characteristic was inherited from the Germans who were the first people to colonize Namibia after the partition of Africa. However, the place that fascinated me the most in this country was the city of Windhoek, which is the cleanest and best-organized city I have ever seen.

Examining Yourself as a Writer Essay Example for Free

Examining Yourself as a Writer Essay The art of writing is a unique skill that requires the writer to have great flexibility and be open to improvement. Some may consider themselves a â€Å"perfect writer†, when in reality, no one is, and will ever be. Writing is a process that requires one to continuously build on skills learned in previous situations, applying new techniques and strategies to future writing projects. Different settings require different writing styles, and with that being said, one must be willing to change their writing skills to suit the requirements of their current setting. In the following essay I will reflect on past writing assignments, identifying my best and worst writing courses, strengths and weaknesses as a writer, and my opinion on why writing may or may not be beneficial to me throughout my career. Although I consider English/Composition one of my strong points, writing wouldn’t fall into the category of things I like to do. As bad as it sounds, I’m the type of person who only writes when it’s required of me to do so. As I look back on my writing career I’d have to say my best writing course was a course entitled Health Disparities. I took this course my junior year at Spelman College and was required to write quite a few papers. I would name this course my best in terms of writing because we were able to choose between a number of topics to write our papers on, versus just one, and each topic focused on something I personally am very interested in, which is health. Most of the papers required 5-10 pages, but because I was interested in the topics 5-10 pages felt like 3-5. The professor provided detailed feedback on our papers, giving us the opportunity to revise the paper before turning in the final copy. I would have to say that my worst writing co urse was Intro to Eastern Religious Traditions. I disliked this course because the subject matter itself confused me. The writing assignments were outlandish and required a great deal of critical thinking and research on a topic that I found to be very complex and confusing. I am not a big fan of research papers, especially when I have no interest in the topic of discussion. Another thing that made it so bad was the fact that the professor was very strict and it seemed like nothing was good enough. It was from this course that I learned the importance of being an open writer, in  terms of adjusting my writing style to accept new forms and topics of writing. All writers have strengths and weaknesses when it comes to their ability to formulate a piece of literature. One of my main strengths in writing is the ability to formulate sentences that are grammatically correct. I have always been particular about using correct punctuation, spelling words correctly, and making sure my sentences flow. I would also consider my vocabulary to be quite extensive, allowing for the use of more sophisticated words throughout my writing. My weaknesses include issues with starting my introduction, expressing my ideas and thoughts in a concise and coherent manner, and formulating the body of my paper, as far as weeding out what is and isn’t important in relation to my thesis statement. When given a prompt, so many thoughts start flowing through my head that I sometimes get overwhelmed and can’t decide what information I should and shouldn’t use. One thing Ive never been too keen on is outlining my thoughts before beginning a piece of writing. I’m the type of person who thinks and writes at the same time, which may not allow me to adequately brainstorm on the information that should be provided in my writing. With that being said, I will work on first, placing my ideas on paper, then placing those ideas into an outline, and lastly formulating my paper into a smoot h and concise piece of writing In my opinion, writing is a fundamental aspect of all facets of life, especially in most, if not all careers. If one is unable to write, it can be very hard for them to carry out even the smallest tasks. You don’t have to be an expert writer, but basic writing skills are a must. In my future career as a Nurse, writing will be very relevant. Nurses have to complete patient charts, provide detailed explanations of the patients care regimes for those who will be providing care to the patients after them, etc. Communication between nurses and doctors is crucial and if not documented with precision a patient’s life could be in jeopardy. A nurse without writing capabilities would not be able to perform their job with the proficiency that they should. As previously mentioned, writing is a process that welcomes proficiency, but not perfection. One must understand the importance of being flexible and open to change when it comes to writing. Practicing good writing skills can be a little difficult but, it’s a long-term commitment which facilitates the ability to develop better writing habits. With great effort, weaknesses can be turned into strengths,  and current strengths can always be improved. I look forward to improving my ability to articulate my ideas in a clear and intelligent manner, as well as practicing my new skills in and outside of this course, as well as in my future career as a Nurse.

Vs of Big Data

Vs of Big Data Big data based on the word itself means data which is big but how much big is considered as big? For a small business, big data might be few gig while Facebook processes 100s of Tb data every day [6]. So, the definition of big data will slightly differ from organization to organization. Few years back big data meant the huge size of data which is beyond the ability of normal software to process and handle it. Big data was defined using the 3 Vs : Volume, Velocity and Variety but now that has changed and now four more Vs were added which consists of [1] : Variability: This means the data does not have same meaning every day and is constantly changing Veracity: Making sure the data we have is accurate Visualization: Visualizing the data so it can be easily interpreted by readers Value: The final goal is to get some value out of data University of California, Berkley asked forty thought leaders in data science field about the definition of Big Data. John Akred the founder and CTO of Silicon Valley Data Science described big data as, Big Data refers to a combination of an approach to informing decision making with analytical insight derived from data, and a set of enabling technologies that enable that insight to be economically derived from at times very large, diverse sources of data [5].While David Leonhardt who is an editor for The New York Times defines big data as, Big Data is nothing more than a tool for capturing reality just as newspaper reporting, photography and long-form journalism are [5].ÂÂ   As we can see different people from different industry has different definition of Big Data but one thing in common is that it follows the basic three Vs defined before and the end product is different. Microsoft defines big data as patterns which can be used with proven practices for predictable results. Further they defined big data as Data often produced at fire hose rate, that you do not know how to analyze at the moment but may provide valuable information in future [4]. Then they ask the readers if they know what the visitors to their website are really thinking? Or if they are business owners and if they know what the customers think of their products? They ask these questions and then tell them that the answer is hidden in the pile of data which is hidden away and if you can find it still it might be difficult to process it and get meaningful insights out of it. Microsoft then further defines big data as Big data typically refers to collections of datasets that, due to size and complexity, are difficult to store, query, and manage using existing data management tools or data processing applications. We notice here that they are trying to focus on the difficulty of storing, querying and managing data and can expect a solution or product for it. So basically, Microsoft is trying to connect with their readers by asking them if they have a big data problem and then providing an example of what techniques data analysts and business managers are following and how Microsoft can help them. Then they describe Big Data with the text book definition using the three Vs and links the readers to their product called HDInsight [4]. HDInsight is a Hadoop- based solution which Microsoft offers. It is an all in one solution which can store data, process data and executing data analysis. Tableau is one of the biggest company and provider of visualization techniques which can help companies visualize data from any source. They define big data as structured or unstructured, petabytes or terabytes, millions or billions of rows, you can turn data into big ideas[1]. They try to focus on the visualization part as Tableau is used discover and understand their data. So, if we compare it to Microsoft definition they are missing the part about storing the data, retrieving it and the problems behinds it.ÂÂ   While explaining the meaning of big data tableau keeps pointing out the importance of visualizing the data regardless of the size of data and how organizations can leverage this to their benefit. They also iterate that storing, preparing and iterating data is costly and Tableaus vision is to help companies apply best practices to get the most out of their data. SAS uses the three Vs of big data (Volume, Velocity and Variety) to define it and say its not the amount of data that is important but what to do with it and how to use it to make better decisions. SAS adds two more dimensions Variability and Complexity to its definition of big data. They define variability as inconsistency in the amount of data that flows which cannot be controlled [3]. Complexity is defined as different types of data coming from different sources and connecting and combining it to get meaningful insights out of it. When we compare, the definitions provided by these companies it is obvious the core definition of big data remains the same but then these companies tailor tit according to the products they offer. Microsoft which provides end to end solution for big data talks about storing of data which is skipped by Tableau as it provides solution for visualizing the data and not storing. So, we can conclude that there is no authority on the exact meaning of Big Data and its solutions. Works Cited [1] Understanding Big Data: The Seven Vs. Dataconomy. July 23, 2014. Accessed January 30, 2017. http://dataconomy.com/2014/05/seven-vs-big-data/. [2] Big Data. Tableau Software. Accessed January 30, 2017. https://www.tableau.com/stories/topic/big-data. [3] What is Big Data and why it matters. What Is Big Data? | SAS US. Accessed January 30, 2017. http://www.sas.com/en_us/insights/big-data/what-is-big-data.html. [4] What is big data? Accessed January 30, 2017. https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn749868.aspx. [5] What Is Big Data? What Is Big Data? Blog. September 03, 2014. Accessed January 30, 2017. https://datascience.berkeley.edu/what-is-big-data/. [6] Data size estimates. Follow the Data. June 24, 2014. Accessed January 30, 2017. https://followthedata.wordpress.com/2014/06/24/data-size-estimates/.

Correlation Between Gene Mutations and Phenylketonuria

Correlation Between Gene Mutations and Phenylketonuria Mutations of the Phenylalanine Hydroxylase Gene in Iranian Patients with Phenylketonuria Correlation between gene mutations and Phenylketonuria Alireza Biglari1, Fatemeh Saffari 2, Safarali Alizadeh3, Zahra Rashvand 3 , Reza Najafipour4, Mehdi Sahmani4 ABSTRACT Background: Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive disease results from point mutations in the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene. Objectives: The aim of this study was the identification of sixteen different mutations in Iranian patients with hyperphenylalanemia. Patients and Methods: The mutations were detected during the characterization of PAH genotypes of 39 PKU patients from Qazvin and Zanjan provinces of Iran. Results: These mutations have been analyzed by using PCR and direct sequencing of PCR products, including the splicing sites and the promoter region of all 13 exons of PAH gene . A mutation detection rate of 74.3% was realized. Two mutations were found at high frequencies:R176X(10.25%) and P281L (10.25%).The frequencies of the other mutations were: p.R261Q(7.69%), p.R261X(5.12%), p.R252Q(5.12%),IVS2+5G>A(2.56%),IVS2+5G>C(2.56%),p.L48S(2.56%),c.632delC(2.56%), p.E280K(2.56%), p.R243Q(2.56%), p.I283N(2.56%), IVS9 +5G>A(2.56%), IVS9+1G>A(1.28%), IVS11+1G>C(1.28%), p.C357R(1.28%). Conclusions: The present results confirm the high heterogeneity of the PAH locus and contribute to information about the distribution and frequency of PKU mutations in the Iranian population Key Words: Phenylketonuria. PAH gene. Iranian population. mutation detection 1. Background Deficiency of hepatic phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) [EC.1.14.16.1] is the major frequent cause of hyperphenylalaninemia (1). Phenylalanine hydroxylase convert phenylalanine (Phe) to tyrosine. This enzyme encoded by PAH gene that located on chromosome 12q23.2. The PAH has 13 exons and 12 introns and is 90 kb in size (2). Mutations in any exon of this gene cause damage to the PAH enzyme. Defection of PAH lead to toxic accumulation of phenylalanine in the body fluids and cause damage to the nervous system. This injury can be resulted to growth failure, microcephaly, mental retardation and neurobehavioral abnormalities (3). Phenylketonuria (PKU, MIM# 261600) is one of the most common inborn prevalent disorders of amino acid metabolism characterized by a defect in the hepatic PAH and subsequently phenylalanine accumulation in body fluids (4). According to blood phenylalanine (Phe) levels, PKU has been classified as mild PKU, mild hyperphenylalaninemia (MHP) and classical PKU. Classical PKU is the most severe form of this disorder. Phenylalanine restricted dietary treatment prevents the neurotoxic complications of Phe and its metabolites if it is implemented at an early age (5). The prevalence of PKU varies worldwide. In Caucasians, the prevalence is about 1/10000 live births (5) while Iranian population incidence is 1/3627 (6). In fact, the high rate of consanguineous marriages in Iran may be a contributing factor to the high incidence (References ). The molecular bases of PKU have been studied in different populations, So far, more than several hundred different mutations in the PAH gene have been identified by the PAH Mutation Analysis Consortium in the PKU patients. These mutations have been listed in the PAH mutation Analysis Consortium database (http:// www. Pahb.mcgill.ca). The most frequently occurring type of PAH gene mutations are missense (7). The mutations of PAH gene demonstrate considerable ethnic groups and geographic areas variations (8). Previous researches have shown a correlation between PAH genotypes and metabolic phenotypes in PKU patients. Those studies have demonstrated the phenotypic relations of particular mutation combinations (9-11). Mutation analysis of a given population can be useful for the better understanding functional aspects of mutant proteins and the relationship between genotype and phenotype. 2. Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular basis of PKU in all PKU Patients from two adjacent provinces of North West of IRAN; Qazvin and Zanjan. For this purpose, all 13 exons of the PAH gene of all patients were analyzed using direct sequencing for detecting of any genetic variations include mutations, polymorphisms and others. 3. Patients and Methods: In this descriptive study; we selected all children with known PAH deficiency living in Qazvin and Zanjan provinces. Thirty-nine unrelated children were enrolled after obtaining informed consents from the parents. All selected cases have several grades of mental retardation except few patients who have diagnosed during neonatal screening exam. Before molecular studies, The PAH activity and phenylalanine concentration of all patient serum samples were measured by standard conventional biochemical methods. The blood phenylalanine concentration ≠¥20 mg/dl was clinical criteria for classical PKUdiagnosis (12). Genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood samples using Qiagen DNA purification kit (Valencia, CA, USA). Specific primers for all 13 exons of PAH gene were designed by primer 3 software and verified them by NCBI database. The PCR conditions for all exons were set experimentally based on each primer specifity. The primers and their reaction specificaions were summarized in table 4. The PCR tests were done by Verity ABI thermal cycler (ABI, USA). PCR products were electrophoresed in 2% agarose gel and visualized after staining by gel red nucleic acid stain (Biotiom; U.S.A). For scanning PAH gene in order to finding any variation in the 13 exons, all amplicons were sequenced by ABI 3130 genetic analyzer (ABI; USA) and the results were matched up to the human genomic DNA sequence in GenBank database to explore the probably mutations. Values were presented as the mean  ± standard deviation and statistical significance was defined as p0.05. All analyses, including the x2 test were carri ed out using SPSS 16 software (SPSS Inc. Chicago. IL. USA). Ethical Considerations of this study was approved by the ethics committee of Qazvin University of medical sciences (Ethic cods; ). 4. Results In this study, a total of 39 PKU patients were subjected to scanning PAH gene heterogeneity from Qazvin and Zanjan province. Among 39 patients, 24 come from the Qazvin province, 15 from the Zanjan. The subjects have 1 month to 10 years old. The serum phenylalanine concentration of all patients was ≠¥20 mg/dl. By whole genome sequencing method, 16 different mutations were found in 78 mutant alleles (Diagnostic efficiency 74.3%). The mutations included eight missense mutations (50%), five splice mutations (31%), two nonsense mutations (12.5%) and one deletion (6.25%). All of the mutations were reported in previous studies (REFERENCES). (Table 1). Exon 7, 6, 2 and the flanking intronic regions consist 85.5% of the mutant alleles. The most frequent of mutations were p.R176X and p.P281L by 10.5% frequency followed by p.R261Q (7.69%), p.R261X and p.R252Q (5.12%) which consist nearly 40% of all mutations. The p.R261X and p.R252Q Mutations were less frequent. All other mutations had frequencies less than 3%. Among the 39 unrelated families studied, 20 (51.2%) were homozygote, 6 (15.3%) heterozygote and 2 (5.12 %) were compound heterozygote and 11 (28.2%) were no PKU causing mutations. In addition, the p.L385L, p.Q232Q and p.V245V polymorphisms also were detected in our study with the frequency of 84%, 51% and 17% respectively. These polymorphisms were seen the highest prevalence in PAH gene at other reports (Table 2). Table 3 are shown genotypes of 39 PKU patients too. 5. Discussion In this research, we looked for genetic heterogeneity in 13 exons of the PAH gene of all PKU patients that admitted to Qazvin and Zanjan University of medical sciences health systems in order to finding causative PKU disease genetic factor. From this experiment, 29 of 39 PKU patients were found to contain the mutation in one or more exons of PAH gene. Our analysis of the homozygosity of the mutations were nearly similar to that observed in northwestern Iranian populations (13). The majority of the recognized mutations were situated in the catalytic domains (143-410 amino acid), and some of them (P281L, R252W) were located in the cofactor binding regions. The most common mutation in our subjects was P281L. These data have the same opinion with other results obtained from Iran (13-14). The P281L mutation in exon 7 with a relative frequency of 10.5% is C→T substitution that lead to conversation of Pro to Leu at codon 281 of PAH gene. The another more frequent mutation in our stu dy was p.R176X (10.25%) which is similar to data obtained from another study at Khorasan Razavi region (14). Previous study on the genotype / phenotype association demonstrated generally a positive correlation between R176 X mutation and classic phenotype (15). Several studies have reported IVS10-11G>A mutation. This is a splice mutation in the end of intron 10 that observed with a high incidence in Mediterranean region, Brazil and some area of Iran including East Azarbaijan, Semnan, Khorasan Razavi and Hamadan (16-19). However this mutation was not found in the present study. The virtual absence of this mutation in our study may reflect the regional variability of populations. The next most frequent mutation in present study was R261Q (7.69%) that occurs on a CpG mutation hotspot on exon 7 that leads to conversion of Arg to Gln at codon 261 of PAH. This mutation is common in the Mediterranean and southern Europe but low incidence in Spain (18, 20-21). We found also R243Q mutation i n 2.5% frequency while other researcher were found it in China and Korea in 18.2% and 12% frequency respectively. Most mutant alleles of PAH that manipulate its transcription and translation can decrease the intracellular stability of protein and finally reduce enzyme function completely. we also explore the association between mutations and polymorphism variations. We observed c.755G>A mutation and c.168+19T>C polymorphism on the same allele together. We also detected association between the p.Q232Q polymorphism and c.842C>T, C781C>T, c.782G>A, c.755G>A and c.526C>T mutations that occurred on the same allele in cis form. similar association have been reported in the previous study (14). In our study, the most mutant alleles were located on exon 7 and 6 (73%). Other studies in Iranian population were reported agreement results with our findings (14, 16). Thereby to plan detection strategy; the samples will be screened first for mutations in these regions. If mutations were not identified, the other exons and their adjacent will be tested. Our results of Iranian individuals with PKU confirm a heterogeneous spectrum of mutations, displaying different ethnic and geographical origins. Moreover, our findings were slightly different from other ethnic groups. These findings can be useful to genotype/phenotype relationship in patients and provide future some ability to confirmatory diagnostic testing, prognosis and predict severity of PKU patients. [V1] References: 1.Guldberg P, Rey F, Zschocke J, Romano V, Francois B, Michiels L, et al. A European multicenter study of phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency: classification of 105 mutations and a general system for genotype-based prediction of metabolic phenotype. American journal of human genetics. 1998 Jul;63(1):71-9. 2.Santos LL, Fonseca CG, Starling AL, Januario JN, Aguiar MJ, Peixoto MG, et al. Variations in genotype-phenotype correlations in phenylketonuria patients. Genetics and molecular research : GMR. 2010;9(1):1-8. 3.Zhang J, Meng J, Zhai X, Fang G, Gao J, Shi M, et al. [Identification of novel mutations in the phenylalanine hydroxylase gene of classical phenylketonuria]. Zhonghua yi xue yi chuan xue za zhi = Zhonghua yixue yichuanxue zazhi = Chinese journal of medical genetics. 2005 Apr;22(2):134-7. 4.Williams RA, Mamotte CD, Burnett JR. Phenylketonuria: an inborn error of phenylalanine metabolism. The Clinical biochemist Reviews / Australian Association of Clinical Biochemists. 2008 Feb;29(1):31-41. 5.Olsson GM, Montgomery SM, Alm J. Family conditions and dietary control in phenylketonuria. Journal of inherited metabolic disease. 2007 Oct;30(5):708-15. 6.Koochmeshgi J, Bagheri A, Hosseini-Mazinani SM. Incidence of phenylketonuria in Iran estimated from consanguineous marriages. Journal of inherited metabolic disease. 2002 Feb;25(1):80-1. 7.Scriver CR. The PAH gene, phenylketonuria, and a paradigm shift. Human mutation. 2007 Sep;28(9):831-45. 8.Zschocke J. Phenylketonuria mutations in Europe. Human mutation. 2003 Apr;21(4):345-56. 9.Kayaalp E, Treacy E, Waters PJ, Byck S, Nowacki P, Scriver CR. Human phenylalanine hydroxylase mutations and hyperphenylalaninemia phenotypes: a metanalysis of genotype-phenotype correlations. American journal of human genetics. 1997 Dec;61(6):1309-17. 10.Desviat LR, Perez B, Garcia MJ, Martinez-Pardo M, Baldellou A, Arena J, et al. Relationship between mutation genotype and biochemical phenotype in a heterogeneous Spanish phenylketonuria population. European journal of human genetics : EJHG. 1997 Jul-Aug;5(4):196-202. 11.Romano V, Guldberg P, Guttler F, Meli C, Mollica F, Pavone L, et al. PAH deficiency in Italy: correlation of genotype with phenotype in the Sicilian population. Journal of inherited metabolic disease. 1996;19(1):15-24. 12.Guttler F. Hyperphenylalaninemia: diagnosis and classification of the various types of phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency in childhood. Acta paediatrica Scandinavica Supplement. 1980;280:1-80. 13.Bonyadi M, Omrani O, Moghanjoghi SM, Shiva S. Mutations of the phenylalanine hydroxylase gene in Iranian Azeri Turkish patients with phenylketonuria. Genetic testing and molecular biomarkers. 2010 Apr;14(2):233-5. 14.Hamzehloei T, Hosseini SA, Vakili R, Mojarad M. Mutation spectrum of the PAH gene in the PKU patients from Khorasan Razavi province of Iran. Gene. 2012 Sep 10;506(1):230-2. 15.Acosta A, Silva W, Jr., Carvalho T, Gomes M, Zago M. Mutations of the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene in Brazilian patients with phenylketonuria. Human mutation. 2001 Feb;17(2):122-30. 16.Zare-Karizi S, Hosseini-Mazinani SM, Khazaei-Koohpar Z, Seifati SM, Shahsavan-Behboodi B, Akbari MT, et al. Mutation spectrum of phenylketonuria in Iranian population. Molecular genetics and metabolism. 2011 Jan;102(1):29-32. 17.Kleiman S, Avigad S, Vanagaite L, Shmuelevitz A, David M, Eisensmith RC, et al. Origins of hyperphenylalaninemia in Israel. European journal of human genetics : EJHG. 1994;2(1):24-34. 18.Rivera I, Leandro P, Lichter-Konecki U, Tavares de Almeida I, Lechner MC. Population genetics of hyperphenylalaninaemia resulting from phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency in Portugal. Journal of medical genetics. 1998 Apr;35(4):301-4. 19.Dianzani I, Giannattasio S, de Sanctis L, Alliaudi C, Lattanzio P, Dionisi Vici C, et al. Characterization of phenylketonuria alleles in the Italian population. European journal of human genetics : EJHG. 1995;3(5):294-302. 20.Perez B, Desviat LR, De Lucca M, Ugarte M. Spectrum and origin of phenylketonuria mutations in Spain. Acta paediatrica. 1994 Dec;407:34-6. 21.Loeber JG. Neonatal screening in Europe; the situation in 2004. Journal of inherited metabolic disease. 2007 Aug;30(4):430-8. Table 1 spectrum and frequency of PAH mutations identified in 39 patients Table 2 PAH polymorphisms identified in 39 patients Table 3 Distributional genotypes in 39 PKU patients Genotype Polymorphism Number of patients u/u c.168+19T>C , c.1155G>C,c.696A>G 1 c.838G>Ap.E280K/ c.838G>Ap.E280K c.735G>A,c.912G>A,c.1155C>G 1 u/u

The Feminist Element of Eudora Weltys The Bride of Innisfallen :: Eudora Welty The Bride of Innisfallen

The Feminist Element of Eudora Welty's The Bride of Innisfallen Suzanne Marrs' work, "Place and the Displaced in Eudora Welty's The Bride of Innisfallen, focuses on Welty's settings in the collection specifically Welty's departure from using her native Mississippi. Marrs recounts the events of Welty's life in the early 1950s, the time Welty wrote these stories, and how her journeys in Europe influenced The Bride. But one important element of Marrs' critique gets buried within the text, the feminist element of Welty's technique which gives the women of Homer's Odyssey a voice, especially Circe. Marrs wrote that Welty had reread the Odyssey after completing The Golden Apples. With the epic fresh in her mind, Welty wrote Circe, her first story for The Bride, though the fifth in the collection: In this explicit rather than allusive use of myth and in her choice of a Mediterranean setting, Welty departs from the dominant pattern of her earlier works. Ultimately, Welty decided that her direct address of the archetypal Circe could be even more inclusively archetypal, and in the wake of her European travels and of meeting with Elizabeth Bowen, she revised her periodical version of her story to insure that the story's greatest emphasis would fall not upon a female version of myth but upon the unresolvable mystery at the heart of human identity, the mystery that distinguishes men and women from gods and goddesses, the mystery involved in the quest for independence and the battle against mortality. (2) Dorothy Parker wrote, "Penelope" the story of Odysseus' wife, giving voice to Odysseus' wife. In "Penelope" she remains faithful to Odysseus during his 20 year absence and her personal strength increases. Penelope fights off unwanted suitors and runs the kingdom alone. Parkertold Penelope's story beginning a Twentieth Century feminist view of the Odyssey and telling the tales of the women with the narratives of women. Circe, who is seen as the unseemly temptress who enslaves Odysseus with her sexuality in Homer's version, is given a voice by Welty. Welty's Circe says, "In the end it takes phenomenal neatness of housekeeping to put it through the heads of men that they are swine. The Feminist Element of Eudora Welty's The Bride of Innisfallen :: Eudora Welty The Bride of Innisfallen The Feminist Element of Eudora Welty's The Bride of Innisfallen Suzanne Marrs' work, "Place and the Displaced in Eudora Welty's The Bride of Innisfallen, focuses on Welty's settings in the collection specifically Welty's departure from using her native Mississippi. Marrs recounts the events of Welty's life in the early 1950s, the time Welty wrote these stories, and how her journeys in Europe influenced The Bride. But one important element of Marrs' critique gets buried within the text, the feminist element of Welty's technique which gives the women of Homer's Odyssey a voice, especially Circe. Marrs wrote that Welty had reread the Odyssey after completing The Golden Apples. With the epic fresh in her mind, Welty wrote Circe, her first story for The Bride, though the fifth in the collection: In this explicit rather than allusive use of myth and in her choice of a Mediterranean setting, Welty departs from the dominant pattern of her earlier works. Ultimately, Welty decided that her direct address of the archetypal Circe could be even more inclusively archetypal, and in the wake of her European travels and of meeting with Elizabeth Bowen, she revised her periodical version of her story to insure that the story's greatest emphasis would fall not upon a female version of myth but upon the unresolvable mystery at the heart of human identity, the mystery that distinguishes men and women from gods and goddesses, the mystery involved in the quest for independence and the battle against mortality. (2) Dorothy Parker wrote, "Penelope" the story of Odysseus' wife, giving voice to Odysseus' wife. In "Penelope" she remains faithful to Odysseus during his 20 year absence and her personal strength increases. Penelope fights off unwanted suitors and runs the kingdom alone. Parkertold Penelope's story beginning a Twentieth Century feminist view of the Odyssey and telling the tales of the women with the narratives of women. Circe, who is seen as the unseemly temptress who enslaves Odysseus with her sexuality in Homer's version, is given a voice by Welty. Welty's Circe says, "In the end it takes phenomenal neatness of housekeeping to put it through the heads of men that they are swine.

Polite Society Gone with the Wind in A Good Man is Hard to Find :: A Good Man is Hard to Find

Polite Society Gone with the Wind in A Good Man is Hard to Find A Good Man is Hard to Find is consistent with Mary Flannery O'Connor's view that contemporary society was drastically changing for the worse. O'Connor's obvious displeasure with society at the time has often been attributed to her Catholic religion, her studies in the social science field, and the fact that the celebrated lifestyles of the elite southern whites were "Gone with the Wind." Evidence of society's "demise" is woven into the story, and presented through an interesting generation gap. The grandmother is representative of godliness and Christianity which O'Connor apparently believed to be more prevalent in the "glamorous" Old South: The old woman settled herself comfortably, removing her white cotton gloves and putting them up with her purse on the shelf in front of the back window. The children's mother still had on slacks and still had her head tied up in a green kerchief but the grandmother had on a navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim and a navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print. Her collar and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace, and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once she was a lady. (2148) The parents pay little attention to the grandmother and when they do, they are often quite rude. The unruly children are representative of the breakdown of respect, and discipline, and are consequently a forecast of future generations. The Misfit represents evil. At one point the Misfit likens himself to Christ, in that they both were punished for crimes they did not commit. Christ accepted death for the sins of all people, however, and not only did the Misfit not do that, but he also killed other innocent people. Near the end of the ordeal, the grandmother recognizes the shirt the Misfit has put on as her son's shirt.

AIDS and Religion in Africa :: Free AIDS Essays

Introduction: Presently, somewhere between 34 and 46 million people live with AIDS worldwide. In total, Africa holds the highest number with just under 30 million people suffering from AIDS. Sub-Saharan Africa, by itself, accounts for between 25 and 28.2 million people. These numbers leave Northern Africa with just over one million people living with HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Any news you hear regarding the AIDS Epidemic, a main topic involves Sub-Saharan Africa. Besides a somewhat different climate, what else is special about Northern Africa that seems to keep the population’s HIV/AIDS prevalence rates low compared to the southern portion of the continent. Look at the two figures in the Appendix. One figure represents the religious spread including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Indigenous Religions. The other figure illustrates the spread of AIDS in Africa. Notice the similarities in spread. High correlation exists between low rates and the Islam territory and with high rates and Christianity. Religion seems to have immense influence over the spread of AIDS. The history of African religion dates back centuries through original tribal religions, Islam, Christianity with some Judaism. Within this paper, I will briefly describe the spread of each of these religions including tensions between each other and the already present traditional religions. Following this description, I will describe the main ideas behind each religion in a theological viewpoint as well as any social implications. These tenets are long developed with distinct traditions and beliefs backing them through the centuries. Over the last 20 years, a new factor has developed in Africa exerting extreme pressure on many of these long-lived traditions. I want to explore the relationship between the rise of the AIDS epidemic and the subsequent public health campaigns challenges focusing on the traditions behind the main religions. I look to explore how some of the already present traditions aid and also hurt the fight against AIDS, some of the religions’ reactions to the epidemic and future predictions on how the epidemic will reshape religion in Africa and possibly globally. Islam in Africa: The actual definition of the word, â€Å"Islam†, â€Å"refers to the peace that come from surrender to God† (World Religions: Islam). The book of Islam is the Quran, an unedited version of The Holy Prophet Muhammad’s messages of Allah’s teachings. The Islamic religion’s main tenets involve the â€Å"affirmation of one God, with total repudiation of polytheism and all forms of idolatry, including the use of images† with importance stressed with overall justice, humility and submission (McCasland, Cairns and Yu, 328).

Mina Loy’s poem “Lunar Baedeker” Essay

When read top to bottom, Mina Loy’s poem â€Å"Lunar Baedeker† may sound like a story of drugs, sex, and desperation. In reality, it is an encrypted biography of part of Loy’s life, as well as symbolic of the cycles of life. Let’s start with the title, shall we? â€Å"Lunar Baedeker,† the word ‘lunar’ means moon. It can also mean relating to the moon, but more importantly it can mean measured by the moon’s cycles. What in the world is a â€Å"Baedeker† though? Baedeker is actually one Karl Baedeker, a German who, in 1859, published a series of guidebooks. Mina Loy’s title, therefore, translates to either â€Å"a guide to the moon† or a † a guide to the moon’s cycle or cycles.† The first stanza is very autobiographical; it refers to Loy’s falling in love with her second husband, Fabien Avernarius Lloyd, also known as Arthur Cravan. â€Å"A silver Lucifer/ serves/ cocaine in cornucopia† Silver here can be read as a shiny, white color, or highly persuasive, or a metal that has the highest thermal and electrical conductivity. Lucifer can mean a fallen rebel or a fallen star. If you read ‘Lucifer’ as ‘star’ it fits in well with Loy’s celestial theme, but it is better construed as a fallen rebel, because Loy’s second husband, Cravan, was constantly on the run for being a draft dodger. The fact that he was silver describes him as beautiful, pure, and persuasive. The fact that silver has the highest thermal and electrical conductivity says that he had a lot of sex appeal and â€Å"sparks flew† between him and the poet. Cocaine is a highly addictive substance that causes euphoric effect. The fact that it is â€Å"served . . . in cornucopia† makes Loy sound very much like a young girl who is giddy with love and cannot get enough of her beau. A rendition of the couple’s bedroom life is in the next stanza: â€Å"To some somnambulists/ of adolescent thighs/ draped/ in satirical draperies† Though Loy has two children from a previous marriage, these lines make Loy sound like a virgin in her husband’s bed. The term ‘somnambulists’ means sleepwalkers, which keys you into this pertaining to night activities. Thighs are a common representation of sexuality, as they are so close to the sex organs anyway, and by describing what I assume are Loy’s own thighs as  Ã¢â‚¬Å"adolescent† she represents her own sexuality as immature, underdeveloped, vulnerable and unused. By being â€Å"draped/ in satirical draperies† Loy says that her immaturity is hidden, but only by clothing or cloth that intentionally exposes and criticizes her puerility. Loy’s third child, Fabienne, is referred to in the third stanza. â€Å"Peris in livery/ prepare/ Lethe/ for posthumous parvenus† Peris, which is not ‘Paris’ misspelled, is actually the plural form of the noun Peri. A Peri is a woman or girl who is descended from fallen angels and is excluded from Paradise. The term can also be used to describe a beautiful girl. Livery is servants’ clothing, implying that this ‘Peri’ is not from a wealthy family. Lethe is the river in Hades that would erase one’s memories if she were to drink from it. The ‘posthumous parvenues,’ however, is what ties this whole stanza into Fabienne. Loy’s husband, Cravan, married his wife in Mexico where he was dodging the draft. They separated and were supposed to meet up just before they returned to the United States, but Cravan never showed, nor was he ever seen again. Loy searched for him, and later he was assumed dead. Loy was already pregnant with Fabienne, and posthumous can mean ‘born after the death of the father.’ Better yet, a parvenu is one who is unaccustomed to wealth or power, but has recently gained a position of such but hasn’t gained the prestige that comes with the station. Fabienne, as a newborn, is completely unaware of the fact that she has just joined the human race. The fourth stanza of Loy’s poem, â€Å"Delirious Avenues/ lit/ with the chandelier souls/ of infusoria/ from Pharaoh’s tombstones† is a description of Loy’s search for her missing husband. The chandelier reference is also key because shortly after â€Å"Lunar Baedeker† is published, Loy opens a lamp shop and designs the lamps and fixtures herself. At the time that the poem was written, she was probably already dabbling in the art. The â€Å"Delirious Avenues† is a reference to her constantly searching blindly, with no clues, in every place or pathway her husband could be. The people who are a part of Cravan, Fabienne and Mina herself brighten the avenues; they are the â€Å"chandelier souls,† branches, pieces of Cravan. The â€Å"Pharaoh’s tombstone† indicates that Loy finally coming to terms with the fact that her husband is most likely dead. The acceptance of the loss of Cravan comes in the next stanza: â€Å"lead/ to mercurial doomsdays/ Odious oasis/ in furrowed phosphorous† â€Å"Lead† can be interpreted in more than one-way. It can indicate that Loy was brought to a conclusion by the previous stanza, but it can also be defined as the first punch in a boxing match. This is important because Cravan was known as the â€Å"boxer poet† because he was really only a second rate poet and used prize fighting to supplement his income. â€Å"Mercurial† is a reference to Mercury, who is the Greek god of travel, cunning, and theft, and is also associated with swiftness. Mercury is also the second reference in the poem to a shiny, silver colored element; in this case it is a poisonous element. In keeping with Loy’s celestial theme, Mercury is also the closest planet to the sun. Therefore, this doomsday, the loss of her husband, came swiftly, is like poison to her heart, and the heat of the planet Mercury can be paralleled to the fire of Hell. The term â€Å"Odious oasis† is an oxymoron. Loy’s only relief in submitting to the fact that her husband would never return to her was that she could give up searching for him. Her oasis is â€Å"in furrowed phosphorous† because she feels the loneliest at night, the term phosphorous, meaning something that glows or shines, is referring to the stars in the sky. The next stanza is somewhat cryptic, though the many references to white and light and the moon, â€Å"the eye-white sky-light/ white light district,† made me think of virginity and purity. The final line, â€Å"of lunar lusts,† indicates the sexual needs or desires of one who is chaste, another oxymoron. It is most likely Loy voicing her loneliness. At this point in the poem, Loy’s blending of words happens more and more. The first line is â€Å"—Stellectric signs,† —Stellectric being the combination of constellation and electric, meaning that Loy is taking meaning from the constellations in the night sky. The first sign she sees is â€Å"‘wing shows on Starway'† If looked at from a point of view where this is an actual show, as in a theatrical presentation, a wing can be defined as a dance step, and the Starway can be the stage, something similar to Broadway. Loy’s next sign is the â€Å"‘Zodiac carrousel'† which is the cycle of astrological signs that are represented by the constellations in the night sky. A carrousel is a  children’s amusement ride where one would sit on an animal-shape, which would tie in to the zodiac. A carrousel can also mean a cycle of activity that is complex and fast-paced and difficult to break free from. This shows that Loy was in a cycle that she may have been unhappy with. Both the zodiac and the carrousel are the first two of many references to things that are cyclical, or go in circles, or are round even. The next two references to cyclical occurrences are in the next stanza. â€Å"Cyclones† are high-powered storms with low pressure at the center, 99% of which in the northern hemisphere spin in a counterclockwise motion. The fact that they run counterclockwise could be Loy’s rebellion against the cycles she is trapped in, or her feeling that she is stuck in a backward cycle, or a backward life. These cyclones consist â€Å"of ecstatic dust/ and ash† means that Loy’s grief for the loss of her husband is beyond her reason and self-control. The dust represents what something disintegrates into when it is reduced to its lowest form, and can also mean a state of humiliation. The ash, which is the carbon left after something is burned completely, is symbolic of Loy’s grief, repentance and humility. An ash is also a type of tree that has a tough, elastic wood, which represents Loy’s strength and malleability, indicating that she will heal from this l oss. The dust and ashes â€Å"whirl† in this cyclone, another indicator of a circular, cyclical pattern. The next part of the stanza refers to â€Å"crusaders/ from the hallucinatory citadels/ of shattered glass/ into evacuate craters† The hallucinatory citadels is the safety and security Loy thought she had with Cravan. The shattered glass represents Loy’s broken dreams about her ruined marriage and the evacuate craters, which are probably on the moon, are the emptiness into which her broken dreams are siphoned. Crater is another important hint to Loy’s personal life also. Loy was a painter and an artist and a crater can also be a dimple in a painted surface, meaning that there were visible flaws in Loy’s life. Though Loy’s dreams concerning Cravan are broken and gone, she still had goals and aspirations, in fact, she has â€Å"A flock of dreams† still. Those dreams do sometimes â€Å"browse on Necropolis† which means she often thinks of and dreams about her lost husband, Necropolis being the city of the dead. The next stanza is a return to Loy’s lunar theme, and also a reference to a used and tarnished womanhood. â€Å"From the shores/ of oval oceans† The word oval means elliptical and egg shaped, which the orbits of the planets and moons are, but also it is derived from the Latin word ovum, which our word for the female sex cell. The â€Å"oxidized Orient† is the phrase that truly represents a tarnished womanhood. Oxidation is when something has been exposed to oxygen, which has cause a corrosion that is often black, brown or green. Orient is another reference to the moon, which in turn represents chastity. Orient can mean the East, where the sun and moon rise from, or rising in the sky, and also the luster of a pearl. The next image that Loy presents us with is the loss of her thirst for life. In â€Å"Onyx-eyed Odalisques/ and ornithologists/ observe the flight/ of Eros obsolete† dark eyed concubines and studiers of birds watch, inspect, and celebrate as Loy’s no longer useful lust, as Eros is the Greek god of erotic love, and her life-preserving instinct, which is also represented in Eros, leave her. The next stanza where Loy refers to her â€Å"‘Immortality'† as it â€Å"mildews/ in the museums of the moon† Immortality could refer not only to her unending love for Cravan, but also the possibility of her being famous for her writing or her art. The fact that it can mildew means that there truly is no such thing as immortality, but if there was, it would be in a place where it would be looked at and not used: a museum. This museum would be in the moon because the moon represents an unreachable place or goal. The next two lines are direct references to the moon. The â€Å"‘Nocturnal cyclops'† would be the one-eyed being that is active only at night. With the â€Å"‘Crystal concubine'† crystal represents something transparent and pretty, while concubine represents an unmarried woman who lives with a man, which is symbolic of the moon’s relationship with the sun. The very last stanza of â€Å"Lunar Baedeker† is full of meaning. It refers to the moon as â€Å"Pocked with personification† One general thinks that pocked means  to have craters or indents, when in reality it means to have pustules that are filled with infection. By being â€Å"Pocked with personification† the moon is infected with human attributes. The moon is also considered â€Å"the fossil virgin of the skies† Fossil here refers to the fact that the moons representation of purity and chastity are outdated and a remnant of the past. This is also another allusion to astrology in that the virgin, or Virgo, is a sign of the Zodiac. The final three words of this poem are very powerful. When thoroughly considered they represent an inner struggle and inner turmoil. To wax is to increase, grow or intensify, but it can also mean rage. Wane, on the other hand, means to decrease in size and diminish, but it can also be used to describe a loss of power or a fall from power. â€Å"waxes and wanes—-† This is symbolic of Loy’s struggle with her anger and pain after the loss of her husband, and in waning, she relents to her feelings.

11 Compare And Contrast Different Organisational Essay

Organizational structures Organizational structure is a system used to define a hierarchy within an organization. It identifies each job, its function and where it reports to within the organization. (Lucy Friend, 2009) There are several organizational structures; however, the type of structure in an organization depends on aim, size of the business, and industry. Carefully chosen structures will improve the communication throughout the organization. Types of Organizational Structures Functional Structure Employees within the functional divisions of an organization tend to perform a specialized set of tasks, for instance the engineering department would be staffed only with software engineers. (Sutton, 2012) Matrix Structures Matrix Structure is an organizational structure in which workers have to report to more than one party, as having two or three supervisors at the same time. For example, the workers working at factories have to report to different managers including production managers and marketing managers and sometimes to project managers if a separate project is going on. Divisional Structure The divisional structure groups each organizational function into divisions. Each division within a divisional structure contains all the necessary resources and functions within it. Organizational culture Organizational culture is an idea in the field of Organizational studies and management, which describes the psychology, attitudes, experiences, beliefs, and values of an organization. It can be defined as the specific collection  of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization. This definition continues to explain organizational values also known as â€Å"beliefs and ideas about what kinds of goals members of an organization should pursue and ideas about the appropriate kinds or standards of behaviour organizational members should use to achieve these goals. (Cheng, 1995). Types of organizational culture: Power Culture In the organizations, where power culture is used the authorization to make decisions are only given to few employees. Those employees are the ones who enjoy the benefits at the workplace also have to delegate their power to the other employees. In such organizations, employees have no other option but to follow the managers or supervisors instructions. Furthermore, employees cannot give their view and ideas and this leads to de-motivated labours and finally labours turn over in the organization increases. (Mullins, 2005) Role Culture This is a culture where every staff is assign with roles and responsibilities according to the specialized area, qualification, and interest of the employee in order to get the best out of the employee. This helps the organization to improve their productivity, as employees are good at their job. Today role culture is very common in organizations and it is very suitable for large organizations. (Mullins, 2005) Task Culture In Task Culture Organization forms a group in order to achieve the targets or to solve a specific problem. The organization that practices this culture put together four to five employees in a group who are specialized in similar areas also sharing similar interests. The common goal of each member is to contribute as many ideas as possible to complete the task in an effective way. For example, a company can use team culture in a period where the company is losing market share to identify the reasons behind and to improve whatever is wrong. 1.2 Explain how the relationship between organisation’s structure and culture can impact on the performance of the business The organizational structure and the organizational culture have the relationship to each other and they are the backbone of the organization. The both organization can affect progress of the organization. It can bring the stability and social system in the organization. . In organization having culture and structure strange there will be working environment also provides appropriate standards of working environment. The organization has different policies rules and regulations that how to communicate with the employee. The organization also shows about the responsibilities that who will report to whom mean who will be responsible to whom majority in this kind of organization tasks a good decision foe the company. Culture and structure has also some drawbacks on the business progress. If the organization culture is too much complex then in the organization decision will be very slow and also there will be centralized decision making in which the lower level employee’s will not be entertained. Organizational framework and way of lifestyle can impact progress of organization in the precious and in the adverse way. In the precious way it distinguish the organization to the one, which don’t have a way of lifestyle and framework. It explains the restriction of the firm (Bond et al. 1996). It provides a feeling of certificate among the employees to know each other for the success and success of goals. It can carry balance and team system in the organization. In any organization having way of lifestyle and framework unusual there will be workplace also provides appropriate requirements of workplace. 1.3 Discuss the factors which Influence individual behaviour at work Individual behaviour explain why a person behaves and reacts in response to  different situation therefore in order to get a better understanding about the behaviour, organizations have to be well aware of the main factors which affects individual behaviour at work. (Balmer, Baum, 1993) There are many terms and factors, which influence the behaviour. They are demographic factors, Perception, Abilities and skills, Attitude, and Personality. Demographic factors Demographic factors are a population of the quantifiable statistics. Demographics are also used to identify the study of quantifiable subsets within a given population, which characterize that population at a specific point in time. It is mostly used in public opinion polling and the marketing. It includes the gender, age, and ethnicity, knowledge of the languages, disabilities, mobility, home ownership employment status, and even the location. Perception The perception is the cognitive process that is meant for the interpreting the environmental stimuli in a different ways. A lot of the factors influence the perception of the individual behaviours. The manager plays the important roles in the study of the perception. It is very essential for the managers to make the favourable environment so that employees perceive them in the favourable ways. Abilities and skills Ability and the skills were highly influenced by the individual’s behaviours and the performance. The ability is the capacity of an individual to do something and the skills is defined as the ability to act in a way that allows a person to perform well. The individual can perform well in the organization if his abilities and the skills are bringing together in his job description. Attitude The attitudes can be defined as a tendency to respond the favourably or unfavourably to the certain objects, persons or situations. The formation of attitude is influenced by factors such as family, culture, society, peers  and organizational factors. The organization need to study the variables information that is related to their jobs so they can create the work environment in a favourable way so the employees give their best efforts to perform best in the organization. Attitudes are either positive or negative. The employees can perform best in the organization if they form a positive attitude. (Mullins, 2001) Personality The personality is the study of the characteristics and distinctive traits of an individuals and the inter-reaction between them and the way in which a person responds and adjusts to other people situations. The heredity, family, society, culture and the situation are influenced by the personality.

Arizona Constitution

The American constitution plays a crucial role in delegating of laws in the country and it governs all citizens. On the other hand, a state’s constitution serves a similar purpose but only under the state’s jurisdiction. This constitution is the basis for other state laws including those of other sections of the state government. This implies that all the laws outlined by this constitution affect its organization, operations and maintenance. Actions carried out outside the constitutional boundaries are considered to be illegal. As such, the Arizona constitution has endeavored to effectively guide the State of Arizona by impacting on the state’s counties, schools, municipalities and corporations. This paper will discuss these distinct effects. In essence, the State of Arizona constitution sets boundaries for all laws within the state. In Article 12 of the Arizona constitution, the issue of counties has been clearly addressed. This article is detailed with guidelines regarding various aspects of counties. The county is hereby defined and its fundamental roles displayed. For instance in section 3 of this article, specifications are made on county officers, their election and term of office. A county is depicted to be inclusive of such officers like the sheriff, county attorney, treasurer, and superintendent of schools, a recorder and supervisors (Arizona State Legislature, 2007). These officers occupy these positions for a period of four years and this predicts when they cease to serve the people of Arizona. The article also specifies on the election of these officers, their qualifications, duties and powers. This ensures the effective use of the law when there are individuals or groups of people embarked on using corrupt and selfish means. Furthermore, citizens within a particular county are empowered to elect leaders of their choice and also in the enactment of county charters. Ideally, when the county’s citizens implore for the collection of taxes it must be done under the provision of the county charters. This protects citizens from unfair imposition of taxes. Municipalities are also subject to the jurisdiction of the Arizona constitution. As outlined by McClory (2001), Article 13 of the said constitutions dictates the conditions for the creation of municipalities. Section 1 of the article notes that the municipalities are not created by any special laws but by the existing legislature. The constitution mandates the minimal population for any city’s or town’s elevation into a municipality as 3,500 residents. Only then can these residents elect a board of freeholders which further develops a charter for the creation of the municipality. Again, the constitution explicitly leaves the role of enacting such crucial decisions to the citizens. Only after they have voted and a majority of the citizens having voted in favor of the charter is it passed. The Arizona constitution also gives municipalities the right to engage in business or entrepreneurial activities as stated in Article 13, section 5. This positively impacts on the municipality especially since such enterprises like garbage collection and waste disposal for all households can work positively in the municipal’s development. Apart from Municipalities, the Arizona constitution has also made provisions for other corporations. In Arizona State Legislature (2007) Article 14, Section 1 outlines a substantial definition of corporations to include associations and companies which possess powers and privileges not possessed by sole individuals or partnerships. In addition, these entities are individualized and empowered to sue others and be sued in return. This makes it simple for citizens who have qualms with such corporations to seek the intervention of the law since they are treated as such entities under the law. As constitution directs the procedures and requirements for the formation of corporations, it similarly warns that failure to incorporate these conditions will make corporations non viable and their claims inadmissible in courts. Corporations are also limited by this article in their capacity to fund political actions and endeavors. Article 15 also addresses the same issue of corporations only its concern is on public service commissions. It is in this regard that this Article establishes the Arizona Corporation Commission (Arizona Corporation Commission, 2010). As entities formed with the sole purpose of offering necessary services to citizens, the commissions perform the role of regulating and providing public utilities. The constitution also indicates that these corporations are under state regulation which aids in creating accountability and effective operations in these bodies. Finally, public education in Arizona is also another area which is strictly controlled by the Arizona constitution. This is inclusive of all types of schools be it elementary, middle or high schools. Included in this lot are also colleges and universities. In Article 11, these schools’ conduct and supervision is delegated to a board of education, superintendent of public instruction, among other governing bodies as per the law. The constitution has served citizens with low income earnings as it provides for the establishment of free schools. Furthermore, it also facilitates the acquisition of permanent state school funds which in Article 11, Section 8, should be derived from the sale of school lands, from estate shares and any bequests made to the state for educational purposes (Arizona State Legislature, 2010). Gifford and Hunter (2000) emphasize the integral role of constitutional provisions for school funding on the effectiveness of the public education system. Its impeccable endeavor to safeguard the wellbeing of the visually and hearing impaired has also ensured their appropriate treatment in their search for education.

A Book Review on Eckhart Tolle’s

A New Earth talks about being present in the moment of one’s life. It also talks about being in contact with one’s consciousness while looking deeper into life’s meaning.The author, Eckhart Tolle, experienced a spiritual transformation that has delivered him from extensive periods of depression. Deeply inclined by Buddhism, Hinduism, and other Indian schools of thought, the author emphasizes living in the current moment, the now. A new Earth is a book that puts ahead a number of sensible solutions to ways of thoughts that have caused a great deal of hurt and dysfunction in society. One must try reading A New Earth to experience a positive shift of his/her consciousness.The first part of the book talks about being still for the awakening of the consciousness through nature, specifically through a flower. The chapter also explained the pathway to Heaven, which the author describes as not being a place but is within the consciousness. Tolle is also reinstating the s ignificance of now.The author discussed the concept of awakening as being a vital part of recognizing the unawakened part of a person. The mind is easily fooled into thinking that it’s the ego, which is not the real being of a person. The ego will trick one to identify with it over and over again. The author also talked about one’s thoughts and the dysfunctions of man’s way of thinking.The first thing that one may become aware of in this book is that the author uses stipulations like the human consciousness’ evolution and enlightenment. Tolle however failed to define these terms clearly and would make it hard for a reader to understand what the author is trying to say. Reading the first chapter may pose quite a challenge for the unawakened person’s understanding.This book needs more facts rather than assumptions. The author also stated some things that are contradictory with the bible. For example, Tolle talks about a creature growing some wings an d evolving into a bird. The bible says that God created the birds of the air, and not that it evolved.Tolle also explained that the Holy Spirit, which was being signified by the dove, has provided a means for a reflective alteration in planetary consciousness. The reader personally doesn’t agree with this New Age teaching as the Holy Spirit leads people to salvation and not into a transferring of planetary consciousness.

Balancing Executive Development Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Balancing Executive Development - Coursework Example Boral Approach to Executive Development is a one of its kind program that has all the necessary elements that can make any program successful. Not only does it induce self-directed learning but also links performance to tangible results. It also allows for application of learning to real business cases and hence reinforces whatever learning is acquired during the course of the program. Some recommendations that can help Boral HRD practitioners make this program even more beneficial for their organization are listed below: 1. Currently this program is only for senior level executives who have achieved some recognition in the organization already through their hard work and capability. Boral can initiate such a program for middle and lower level managers and employees as well, so that they can develop technical, conceptual and social skills appropriate for their managerial level. 2. Boral can also take input from participants in order to make this program even more successful. Suggestions can be rated according to their impact on program and originality and the best one can then be incorporated into the executive development program. 3. Technology can be used to facilitate distance learning. Currently participants are expected to gather at a common place and take classes where it is convenient for all. If the scope of this program is extended then it will be beneficial to use video conferencing and other such tools to allow employees in remote locations to benefit from such a program. 4. In order to support ongoing learning in the workplace, Boral should seek assistance from higher institutions for vocational education and with universities. 5. Boral HRD practitioners should participate in professional associations and form networks with HRD practitioners of other organizations in order to keep themselves updated with respect to changing workforce development needs. 1 Introduction Learning has become, and will remain, an important issue for humans, as more and more nations now look towards evolving into "learning societies". Work organizations are becoming important