Oppression: a Comparative Literary Analysis

Oppression: A Comparative Literary Analysis There has been an ongoing battle within trends in society, and continues as time evolves and revolutions occur. Such battles include issues of oppression; be it in marriages, families, or in society as a whole. Two particular stories that tackle these issues within the idea of oppression include â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. While Chopin’s story deals with how women are expected to conform by society’s standards, Kesey’s piece argues how men are feeling emasculated from the pressures of society in whole. Such major similarities and difference these two have with one another include dealings with marriage, the desire for individualism and nonconformity, and the issues with gender norms. Now Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† is a short story of a woman who, because of her husband’s supposed death, realizes her newfound freedom and independence. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, on the other hand, is a novel set at a psychiatric hospital located in Oregon, with characters including Chief Bromden, one of the protagonists and the narrator, who is half ­Native American and pretends to be deaf and mute. There is also Randle McMurphy, who is the other protagonist and a rebellious convict sent from prison. The plot concerns itself with McMurphy’s interaction with the other patients in the ward along with those who run it. From then on he comes up with events for the patients to participate in, with the intention of making them stand up for themselves against society’s pressure. Initially he thinks that being in a psychiatric institution is an easy way out compared to prison, however in the end he violently thrashes against Nurse Ra.

Explore F.Scotts Fitzgeralds presentation of class and wealth in The Great Gatsby and The Diamond as Big as the Ritz

Wealth and social class permeate much of F. Scott Fitzgerald's ‘The Great Gatsby' and ‘The Diamond as Big as the Ritz'. Set during the roaring twenties when many people had newly accumulated wealth after the war, both texts seek to explore and satirise the complexities of wealth and social class. They particularly focus on how far people may go to fit into a social class or protect their fortune. Despite ‘The Diamond as Big as the Ritz' being set within the fantasy genre, elements of Fitzgerald's own life run as undercurrents throughout both texts. Fitzgerald's life features heavily in the texts, be it through the characterisation of Nick and Gatsby or the underlying references to his personal experiences. The experiences of the main protagonists' form parallels with Fitzgerald's interactions with the wealthy, both at Princeton and Great Neck and in his relationship with Zelda. ‘The Diamond as Big as the Ritz' satirises the exuberant wealth experienced by Fitzgerald when visiting a Princeton classmate. ‘The Great Gatsby' on the other hand, is more reliant on aspects of Fitzgerald's own life which forms the emotional foundation of the novel. Gatsby's relationship with Daisy mirrors Fitzgerald's turbulent relationship with Zelda who much like Daisy, was regarded as being incredibly materialistic. Gatsby can therefore be seen as a representing Fitzgerald's pursuit of sufficient wealth to support an aristocratic love interest. He does this to the detriment of his artistic integrity which he compromised by writing short stories to fund Zelda's opulent lifestyle. This is mirrored by Gatsby compromising his integrity and personal worth by bootlegging and lying about being the ‘son of some wealthy people in the Middle-West', in order to please Daisy and hopefully gain acceptance. He fails in both these areas. In integrating elements of his personal life, Fitzgerald may be implying that loving someone of a different social class comes with compromises and that one may lose sight of who they are in the process. ‘The Great Gatsby' by virtue of its representations of wealth and class can be seen as a running criticism of the American Dream and America's obsession with wealth amidst the hedonistic culture of the 1920's. The American Dream had originally been founded on the notion that anyone, irrespective of their background could achieve anything in the ‘land of opportunity' if they worked hard enough. Fitzgerald however, believed that the American Dream was just an ‘illusion' and that it had been corrupted by the of pursuit wealth. He consistently challenged the idea of the achievability of the American Dream in ‘The Great Gatsby'. The geographical motifs of East and West Egg embody just how unachievable the American Dream is. This geographical separation may symbolise the hypothetical and literal divides between the nouveau riche who reside in West Egg and aristocrats of East egg, consequently highlighting how they will forever lead separate existences. This gives the impression of the American Dream being highly flawed, as having acquired great wealth does not translate into acceptance for the people of West Egg, who are seen as the social subordinates of the aristocrats of East Egg. This is further established by the behaviour of the guests at Gatsby's party. The people of West Egg lack the refinement, grace and manners of their aristocratic counterparts for whom these traits form the rudiments of their social class. This consequently demonstrates how East and West Egg are separated by more than geographical distance but also by simple things such as social etiquette and fashion choices. Jordan's party (who consist of fellow East Eggers) are ‘spread around a table on the outside of the garden' ‘carefully on guard', emphasising that even within the intimate confines of the party the divide is still apparent and the people of East Egg are reluctant to mix. The corruption of the American Dream is further explored through the main protagonists' initial amazement and delight (early on in the text) at the great wealth they encounter. Fitzgerald employs a myriad of symbolisms, metaphors and similes to depict the sheer luxury and over exuberance of the aristocrats within both texts. Through these devices he is able to satirise the materialistic world the aristocrats inhabit, making it appear outlandish. In ‘The Diamond as Big as the Ritz' John Unger, a boy from Hades with ‘meager standards of living' is ‘amused and delighted', by the luxurious lifestyle Percy and his family lead. When he arrives with Percy they are driven in what Percy dismissively calls a ‘buggy'. However, the reader can extrapolate from John's reaction at the ‘thousand minute tapestries of silk, woven with jewels' that the vehicle is far from an old buggy. In this instance John's amazement may have been employed to paradox Percy's dismissive attitude towards wealth as he refers to the luxurious car as ‘old junk'. Fitzgerald may have used this paradox highlight the hollow nature of the wealthy, whose lives are fueled by consumerism to the extent that they place little value to the possessions everyone else would deem as extraordinary. In ‘The Great Gatsby', Nick is also amazed by the wealth he experiences at the Buchanan home. His first interaction with Daisy and Jordon has a dream like quality to it. When he meets the women they are dressed in white, ‘their dresses rippling and fluttering †¦ a short flight around the house' this gives the women an angelic quality which hints at how Nick is initially drawn in by their great wealth. This surreal and dream like quality of wealth is also reflected in ‘The Diamond as Big as the Ritz' with the depiction of the girl who is dressed like ‘Titania'. In the play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Titania is the queen of the fairies which Fitzgerald may have used to allude to the magical and mystifying qualities of wealth present within both texts. Conversely, the amazement the main protagonists' initially showcased soon dissipates when they discover the corruptive nature of wealth and the wealthy. Despite the people of East Egg possessing an abundance of grace, elegance and taste (that comes with adhering to the norms of aristocratic society) they lack compassion. The East Eggers are presented as little more than bullies who use their money to alleviate any concerns they have, irrespective of who they hurt in the process. This morally corrupt nature of the rich is explored through the Buchanan's in ‘The Great Gatsby' and the Washingtons' in ‘The Diamond as Big as the Ritz'. The Buchanans' are presented as ‘careless people' who ‘smash[ed] things up' only to retreat back into ‘their vast carelessness'. Their lack of moral fiber is further emphasised when instead of attending Gatsby's funeral they move into a house far away. Fitzgerald may have used the Buchanans' as a moral didactic for the readers to illustrate how wealth can corrupt when one allows themself to become consumed by it. On the other hand, it could represent the unfair nature of capitalist societies whereby the wealthy upper-class can afford to pay for peace of mind. This conflicts with Gatsby whom despite accumulating his wealth through criminality is kind and loving, keeping watch outside Daisy's window to insure Tom does not hurt her, consequently illustrating that wealth alone does not corrupt but when coupled with high social status it can have disastrous effects. Moreover, in both texts religion (which is supposed to strengthen ones moral compass) has been replaced by consumerism. Atrocious things are carried out in the name of wealth in the texts, including murder and imprisonment. These things are written off as a natural pre-requisite of success and expansion. Here Fitzgerald argues that wealth can be its own prison blinding its pursuers, dehumanizing them to the extent that they devalue human life and assume that everyone can be bought. Fitzgerald satirizes the absurd nature of the rich when Mr. Washington tries ‘offering a bribe to God' with a voice immersed in ‘inextinguishable pride'. Ross Posnock, a Marxist writer, praised Fitzgerald in his essay ‘A New World, Material Without Being real' for his presentation of the capitalist society in ‘The Great Gatsby'1. Posnock believed that Fitzgerald had captured the capitalist society's obsession with material wealth and how it leads to people being regarded as little more than object that can be acquired along with capital in order to boost ones social status. Gatsby's vast wardrobe is a ‘heavy defensive wall' consisting of ‘thick silk' and ‘expensive dye' which support the Marxist view of material possessions providing a barrier against hardship which the rich can hide behind. For Gatsby, and many others, material possessions help to protect their status in the same way the ‘invisible cloak' of Gatsby's army uniform had hidden his lower class status when he first met Daisy. In general, the negative portrayal of consumerism in his work has made him very popular with Marxist writers. In conclusion, Fitzgerald uses ‘The Great Gatsby' and ‘The Diamond as Big as Ritz' to highlight the negative elements of wealth and class, whilst particularly emphasising that class roles will never be crossed. Both texts highlight the potential hazards of capitalist societies when one becomes consumed by materialism, placing greater importance on monetary fortune and status than the consequences of their actions. Although Fitzgerald presents both wealth and class in negative lights he reminds the reader that wealth alone does not give way to moral corruption hinting that it is wealth in conjunction with high social class that leads to the decaying of one's moral compass.

Balanced Scorecard

Since the Market downturn in October 2007, a challenging set of economic events has been rocking the financial services industry and AXA equitable has since experienced major changes to keep the company competitive. A well-developed balanced scorecard is what AXA Equitable needs in order to remain a worldwide leader in the financial services industry. In the past, management have believed that the factors critical to the success of a company were based solely upon financial measures; this is why the Balanced scorecard was developed. The BSC has gained increasing popularity as an effective management tool that aligns employee actions and goals with corporate strategy since first being introduced in 1992 (Davis Albright, 2004). Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton proposed the balanced scorecard (BSC). The Balanced scorecard is a widely recognized tool to support decision making at the strategic management level which improves the satisfaction of the strategic objectives (Kaplan Norton, 1992). The BSC provides feedback on internal business processes, performance, and market conditions in order to review the trategy and future plans and  Large U. S. companies, such as General Electric and Federal Express, and non-profit and public organizations have implemented the BSC approach (Creamer Freun, 2010). According to the module, â€Å"financial measures are inadequate, however, for guiding and evaluating the journey that information age companies must make to create future value through investment in customers, suppliers, employees, processes, technology, and innovation (Baltzan, Phillips, Haag 2010). The balanced scorecard deals with a proposed model that embraces both financial and non-financial aspects to measure performance of an organization in the financial services industry (Wu, Tzeng, Chen, 2009). The  balanced scorecard[pic](BSC) is a multi-criteria evaluation concept that highlights the importance of performance measurement, and it recognizes that performance measurement should be incorporated in both of financial and non-financial measures; it captures not only a firm’s current performance but also the drivers of its future performance (Tseng, 2010). The balanced scorecard would be a positive force for AXA Equitable as it is a vital part of an overall strategy to become and remain an industry leader. Since times can be unsettling and while no company is immune from the challenges of a volatile market, management should strive to identify the factors that are critical to the success of the company. AXA Equitable needs to implement the measures listed on the balanced scorecard to achieve the company’s critical success factors. This will strengthen the company and continually improve AXA Equitable’s ability to manage through turbulent market conditions when necessary. The Balanced scorecard has four main parts. The balanced scorecard is developed along the four well-known perspectives of Financial, Customer, Internal Business Process, and Learning and Growth Performance, which, at any point in time of measurement, characterize the current status and future potential of organizations (Craig Moores, 2010). The financial perspective includes the measure of an organizations financial performance. For instance, it measures revenue growth, shareholder’s value, assets under management, and cash flow. This perspective links the company to its shareholders with main attention to the question: â€Å"How do we look to our shareholders and those with a financial interest in the organization? † Financial goals include achieving profitability, maintaining liquidity and solvency both short term as well as long-term, growth in sales turnover and maximizing wealth of shareholders (Asosheh, Nalchigar, Jamporazmey, 2010). The customer perspective includes the measure of an organizations market share, customer satisfaction, customer retention, customer referrals and value added activities. This is the second external oriented perspective that takes a look at the organization’s customers, who are the crucial factor for financial success generating revenue by buying products and services. The question is: â€Å"How do our customers perceive us in term of products, services, relationships and value-added? † (Asosheh, Nalchigar, Jamporazmey, 2010). The internal process perspective includes the measure of an organizations productivity, research and development, customer complaints and returns, and operational speed. This Measure focuses on the internal processes that will have the greatest impact on customer satisfaction and achieving an organization’s financial objectives. Firms should decide what processes and competencies they must excel at and specify measures for each of them (Asosheh, Nalchigar, Jamporazmey, 2010). The learning and growth perspective includes the measure of an organizations turnover ratio, hiring goals, education and training of new and existing employees, and number of new and improved products or services. This perspective identifies the infrastructure that the organization must build to create long-term growth and improvement. Intense global competition requires that organizations continually improve their capabilities for delivering value to customers and shareholders. Thus the question remains: â€Å"To achieve our future vision, how will we continue to improve and create future value for our stakeholders? † (Asosheh, Nalchigar, Jamporazmey, 2010). The best way to measure AXA Equitable’s financial performance is the shareholders value. This shows the value that the shareholders perceive AXA Equitable to be worth. There is strong evidence that the balanced scorecard is an effective strategic management tool that leads to improved shareholder returns (Crabtree DeBusk, 2008). The primary objective of management should be maximizing its shareholder’s value. Since the turbulent economy, AXA Equitable shareholder value is back on the up rise again. This can be seen with the stock price. AXA Equitable stocks, just like most other companies, were not immune to the highly volatile market conditions; However with the market getting back together, the stock price is gradually rising again. The management decisions at AXA should be geared towards maximizing the wealth of AXA Equitable shareholders, which means increasing the value of shares owned by existing shareholders. A good measure of AXA Equitable’s superiority over its competition would be the ability to generate consistent and high total returns that it gives to its shareholders over time. Major company issues will exist with AXA Equitable if management interests are not aligned with those of shareholders. When managers pursue self-serving behavior rather than the maximization of shareholder wealth, several symptoms may become apparent: low stock returns, below-average operating performance, and suboptimal investment decisions. The likelihood of company problems is higher when managerial incentive systems do not coincide with shareholder wealth maximization (Manry Stangeland 2003). It is very important that AXA Equitable management put the interest of the shareholders first. Research suggests that firms with management that pursues its own interests at the expense of shareholders will perform comparatively worse than firms with management whose interests are aligned with shareholders (Manry Stangeland 2003). When a company like AXA Equitable is able to generate wealth for its shareholders year after year, it is able to differentiate itself from the competition and creates better value for its shareholders. Investors who purchase AXA Equitable shares hope that the returns they get on their investments would be higher than what they could get from putting those funds in a risk-free savings account. This shows that the investors are definitely willing to tolerate more risk of ownership in AXA Equitable because of the chance of making higher returns. Assets under management are a measure of the total market value of client assets with the company. AXA as a whole has 1. 46 trillion dollars in assets under management, making it the 13th largest company in the world. One of the biggest advantages of having assets under management as a critical success factor on the balanced scorecard is that focus on increasing the total value of assets under AXA demands continuous efforts and improvement by the management and employees of AXA. This financial measure is not only obvious to AXA management and employees but also those outside the company, i. e. the public. Ranking organization like Fortune 500, use the figures for assets under management as a financial success measure to rank companies against their competition and industries. Constantly increasing the sale of financial products or services is a very important aspect of a company especially one in the financial services industry. AXA Equitable offers a wide range of financial products and services like fixed income investments, equity investments, individual retirement accounts, education planning accounts, life disability insurance and annuities to its clients. The products or services is used to address their needs and help shape their financial futures. The sale of AXA Equitable’s financial products or services is crucial in measuring the financial success of the company. The product or services sale is exactly how the company makes money and becomes profitable. Employees of AXA Equitable earn production credits after each sale of its products or services. Production Credits are the total amount of compensation that AXA Equitable pays to its employees in form of commission for the sale of its products or services. The total amount of production credits earned by each employee is the best way AXA uses to measure employee performance. The Production credits can also serve as a measure of financial performance that AXA Equitable uses as a requirement for other benefits other than commission for its employees. Benefits such as medical plan eligibility, stock options, stocks appreciation rights, AXA Share plan and AXA Equitable Advantage. AXA Equitable should strive for consistent and positive investment results for its investment portfolios. This is very important to a company that deals with attracting new prospects and retaining existing clients. An AXA Equitable client, for example, with a portfolio with poor investment results will not remain with the company if that client can get better results with other financial companies outside of AXA Equitable. AXA Equitable financial advisors manage the managers. Portfolio managers manage the investment portfolios and financial products inside AXA Equitable. Those managers are in turn, managed by the financial advisors that make these investment portfolios available to the clients. The portfolio managers are responsible for picking the equities and bonds available in each portfolio, making changes and the investment results for the portfolios they handle. Clients can benefit from a professional allocated portfolio of AXA Equitable funds that delivers automatic diversification, risk management benefits, quarterly rebalancing, and consistent investment results. The customer perspective section of he balanced scorecard cannot be effective if customer satisfaction is not the number one focus. The first and most important rule for any company in the financial services industry is that the client is of the utmost priority. Financial advisors should learn to put the interest of their clients first before any other interests. Companies in a service industry should understand that customer satisfaction is a great measure of performance. Banks and other companies that deal with providing financial services to the public must first put more emphasis on customer satisfaction, and then on financial return. These companies must ensure that their customers remain loyal to them and develop new markets to attract new customers (Wu, Tzeng, Chen, 2009). A crucial part of maintaining client satisfaction is understanding the clients and their needs. AXA Equitable and its advisors are responsible for making financial recommendations and providing its clients with financial products and services, and financial education to address their needs and help the clients create the retirement of their dreams. AXA Equitable should take sending out client satisfaction surveys to every client on the anniversary date of purchasing a financial product or service very seriously. This Client Satisfaction Index survey is a true measure of customer satisfaction and has helped the company identify the key drivers of client satisfaction. AXA Equitable uses this survey to get client feedback on their financial products and the level of service that their advisors showed the client throughout the year. Value added activity is an important way a company can separate itself from the competition. Companies in the financial services industry primarily offer financial products or services to their clients. Why would a client want to use AXA Equitable’s products and service versus another financial company like American International Group (AIG)? What can AXA Equitable offer that client that no other company can? For example, every financial advisor is required to provide the clients with a contract after every sale of a financial product or service. This contract usually contains copies of signed forms and prospectus. It is better to hand deliver these contracts instead of mailing it to the clients. AIG, a major competition for AXA Equitable, usually sends out thank you cards and client referral forms after every new sale of the company’s financial product or service. This is very effective because it showed that AIG appreciates the client and their business. Value added activities can be as simple as remembering a customers’ favorite drink. Whatever the activity is, managers must find a way to capitalize upon it, as doing so will enable them to gain a competitive advantage. AIG uses this service-oriented strategy to get additional referrals and establish relationships with their clients. BSC is an effective performance measurement tool in performance improvement, which positively affects service quality (Ghani, Said, Laswad, 2010). Exceeding client expectations is another critical success factor on the balanced scorecard that AXA Equitable and its employees should incorporate. When this strategy is taken seriously and done correctly, the clients are satisfied; they stay with the company longer, purchase additional financial products or services and most importantly, refer others to the company. Customer satisfaction offers an immediate, meaningful and objective feedback about clients’ preferences and expectations (Mihelis, Grigoroudis, Siskos, Politis, Malandrakis, 2001). AXA Equitable has provided several tools like eRelationship ® for its financial advisors for client contact. The eRelationship ® platform is a good way for the advisors to have continuous contact and build strong relationships with their clients all year long. For example, doing the simple things like remembering and sending out birthday cards, wedding anniversary cards, seminars invitations, could go a long way in building and maintaining credibility, trust and satisfaction with the clients. When the financial advisor is compassionate and is always willing to help, the clients can now see the true value of the advisors. AXA Equitable needs to generate clients constantly to be successful in the financial service industry. To be successful in this business, the financial advisors have to constantly be in front of their clients. Activities that drive the success of AXA Equitable financial advisors include prospecting and meeting new clients, number of appointments set, running appointments and appointments closed. AXA Equitable uses to 5-3-1 weekly matrix to guide our advisor activities They will be successful every week if they can have five prospecting visits, run three client appointments and sign up one new client†. Internationale Nederlanden Groep (ING), another major competition in the financial services industry uses a performance management strategy to keep track of employee activities. The financial advisors are required to submit their performance goals, development plans, and action plans at the beginning of every quarter to their managers. At the end of the quarter, performance reviews are conducted by the managers to measure the activities and production of the financial advisor. The balanced scorecard will help enhance communication between the client and the organization to ensure favorable organization performance (Wong, Lam, Chan, 2009). The internal business process perspective measures efficiency and productivity level within the company. During the client appointments, after the recommendations have been presented to the client, how quickly and efficiently can AXA Equitable provide the financial products or services needed to the client? This can be done with a software called eDox ®. eDox ® is an online database software that the financial advisor carries with him to every appointment with clients. eDox ® contains information about every product that AXA Equitable offers to its clients as well as links to products from other companies that AXA Equitable advisors can also offer to its client. Intra-industry trade (IIT) has been central to increasing the variety of products available to consumers (Moshirian, Li, and Sim. 2005). eDox ® also serves as a tool that top management uses to send out memos, journals, sales ideas, and information on new product launches to every employee of the company. When the client agrees to go ahead with the advisors recommendation and get the financial products; all the applications and forms necessary to make the sale can also be found on eDox ®. A continual review and constant improvement of eDox ® would be very important to keep productivity levels high to become an industry leader. AXA Compliance department is faced with the task of keeping AXA Equitable and its financial advisors compliant with the governing rules made by the Security and Exchange Commission. The Security and Exchange Commission set rules, regulations and guidelines that govern all the companies in the financial services industry. The SEC draws up new regulations periodically that sometimes make business very difficult in the financial services industry, for example, the 90-24 transfer rule, which involves more documentation for transfers of funds between one financial companies. Meeting these guidelines and standards set by the Securities and Exchange Commission is important to eliminate client complaints, trading malpractice, and negative internal and external audit for AXA Equitable Growth within a company like AXA Equitable does not always have to mean more profits because it is in the financial services industry. To become a leader in this industry, the financial company would have to hire more financial advisors to acquire more clients, which in turn leads to more productivity within the company. AXA Equitable should set hiring goals for its managers each year that the company expects to be met because an increase in the number of financial advisors every year will cause an increase in the amount of business written in that year. AXA Equitable and other companies in the financial service industry are constantly rolling out new financial products or services to keep pace with market volatility and unlimited client needs. The companies equip these products with better features and benefits to make them more attractive to the clients and stand out from the competition. AXA Equitable should be committed to providing its financial advisors with the resources necessary to build a lifelong career. Companies facing intensive competition also have a greater impetus to find ways to differentiate their products and services from those provided by competitors, this frequently results in a greater number of product and service lines and differentiation sought through increased customization of products and services in order to meet specific customer desires. (Guilding and McManus, 2002). The Learning center at AXA Equitable is set up to train and support new and experienced financial advisors. For example, when a new financial advisor is hired, the advisor is required to take some necessary courses on AXA Advisors Virtual University (AAVU) to learn everything about the company, its policies and financial product or services. American International Group (AIG) is another company that has a similar new employee development strategy. AIG developed a New Branch Employee Orientation Program where new employees receive online orientation sessions that include information about AIG, as well as company policies and benefits. AXA Equitable should require additional sessions for training and development for their financial advisors. These sessions should include experiences and accomplishments of experienced licensed financial advisors to keep the all other financial advisors motivated and knowledgeable about everything going on with the company and the industry as a whole. Introducing a balanced scorecard in an organization and implementing the critical success factors identified on it will not be an easy task. When firms develop a  scorecard they often start with a strategic performance measurement system which includes a set of financial and non-financial measures. Afterwards, the cause and effect relationships between the different (sets of) measures are developed further to translate the firm strategy to operational activities (Wiersma, 2009). AXA Equitable’s Management and employees will have to cultivate a change initiative. The increasing use of balanced scorecards is changing the way top managers run their companies. When envisioning a firm’s future development, they no longer focus chiefly on monetary success indicators in the financial area, Instead balanced scorecard is designed to complement financial measures of past performance with their measures of the drivers of future performance (Asosheh, Nalchigar, Jamporazmey, 2010). Companies need to address issues to help assess competition in their industry. The Balanced Scorecard is generally implemented at the corporate, business unit, and individual level, and also becomes a powerful tool for the directors to monitor the implementation of the corporate strategy.

Migration, Immigration and Their Effects on Religion, Women And Essay

Migration, Immigration and Their Effects on Religion, Women And Minorities in Germany - Essay Example A country like the United States is considered to be a â€Å"melting pot† of different cultures and ethnic minorities. The same can also be said with the European Union with its free movement of labor. Higher wages attract workers, especially women to migrate with the idea of having a better and improved welfare. This paper aims to examine the effects of migration on women, religion and ethnic minorities. In this case, Germany shall be examined due to its immigration and refugee policy. It is also considered to have the largest foreign population in Europe. In fact, Germany’s foreign population has already exceeded seven million people for each of the last 10 years, not counting those migrants who have acquired German citizenship (Oezcan, 2004). Clearly, these factors pose challenges to the Germany and the European Union. Migration in Germany In European history, Germany was identified to have a long history of absorbing migrants from Europe: Lutherans from Austria, Huguenots from France, Jews from East and Central Europe. However, this openness through the years sparked debates and inquiries. Nationalists espoused a particularist approach to such issues which stressed on blood rather than territory or birth right. Those that migrated to Germany were never identified to be Germans. Such an approach was very much seen in Hitler's regime wherein Jews were considered to be a lesser race compared to full-blooded Germans. The particularist approach in Germany history was subdued by the need for economic recovery especially after World War II and German Unification. By the end of the late 1980s, foreigners were increasingly being blamed for taking jobs, housing and public services away from German citizens (Hollifield, 1997:48). There was a need to rebuild Germany after the damages it suffered after the war. With a relatively low population and workforce, it needed foreigners to work and rebuild infrastructures. Nonetheless, this was not seen by German citizens who were easily displaced and unable to receive benefits from the state. The Effects on Women, Religion and Ethnic Minorities In 2000, a new citizenship law came into force, the first such measure in nearly 90 years. For the very first time, children born to foreigners in Germany automatically receive German citizenship, provided one parent has been a legal resident for at least eight years (Oezcan, 2004). The demography and ethnic makeup of Germany has clearly become diversified. Data in 2000 shows that 41,300 children born of parents with non-Germany citizenship became German by birth; in 2001 the figure was 38,600. Without the new rule, these children would have appeared among the statistics on the foreign population and therefore would have increased the number of foreigners by about 80,000. With the continuous entry of temporary workers, refugees, asylum seekers from countries such as Poland, Russia, Czech Republic and Turkey, the society of Germany is bound to be characterized by diversity and dynamicity. For instance, the inflow of different culture greatly affects religion. If one would examine the history of Germany, it has been the refuge for exiled religious groups. Previously it was a Catholic country but with the rise of Protestantism and its variants, the German princes changed their alliance. Currently, the country still serves as a hodgepodge for different religions such Roman Catholic, Lutheran Protestantism, Orthodox Christianity. Immigration to Germany in past decades has seen the arrival of more foreign citizens and more religious communities. At the end of 2001, there

Comparing Mortgage Rates Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comparing Mortgage Rates - Research Paper Example Mortgage quotes that are published such as these are usually rates and terms available under the best of circumstance while your rate will vary according to: credit, down payment, house location and size, and your ability to prove income and assets Verbal rates are not a guarantee and you must get a written quote if you want to be assured the rate is ‘locked’ in and you should always get a letter of confirmation of your rate, rates that go up between the start of your mortgage process and the closing date can cost you thousands of dollars over the life of your loan Do not assume that because you are offered at good rate on one type of loan that you will get the same rate on a different type of mortgage Many people do not consider closing costs and fees when shopping for a mortgage Based on the effective annual rate the Lending tree offers the best rate for a fifteen year fixed interest rate loan. This amount is the percentage paid per year on the mortgage over the lifeti me of the loan. AmeriSave offers the lowest effective annual rate on a thirty year mortgage. Paying some of the interest in advance can reduce the accrual over the course of the year. Any fees or penalties that you accrue during the loan are added to the principle and will increase the EAR. These effective annual rates make sense as being the lowest because they are also in line with the lowest rates. Different lenders are able to offer different rates somewhat based on what type of lender they are, a mortgage lender or mortgage broker, each charging a different commission rate on the loan. Mortgage broker do not actually lend money and are used to help an individual find a direct loan, charging the consumer a fee for this service. While this is advantageous in that they will shop many lenders for you in an attempt to gain the best rate you will pay the associated fees, which are usually between 0.5-1 % of the loan value. The difference in rate will have a material impact on the con sumer because the value of the property will either decrease or increase with the market over the course of the loan. Investors may choose 30 year investment mortgages over other options because the value of the dollar while continue to decrease while the investment property and amount of payment remains the same. This is due to inflation of the economy and other market factors. References Today's Rate Results. (2012). Bank of America. Retrieved 2012, from https://www9.bankofamerica.com/home-loans/mortgage-purchase/TodaysRateResults.go?referrer=/home-loans/mortgage-purchase/rates Mortgage - Home Loans - Refinance - Mortgage Refinancing - Mortgage Rates - Home Equity. (2012). Retrieved 2012, from http://www.lendingtree.com/ Mortgage, Refinancing, Home Loan, Mortgage Rates - GMAC Mortgage. (2012). Retrieved 2012, from http://www.gmacmortgage.com/ Chase Mortgages - Home Lending | New or Refinance Mortgage Loans Online. (2012). CHASE Home: Personal Banking | Personal Lending | Retiremen t & Investing | Business Banking. Retrieved 2012,

College inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

College inc - Essay Example Which is not a bad mindset to be subliminally feeding the viewers at all. The commercials for these schools do not sell an education, they sell idealism. They sell a lifestyle, They sell a promise to give you an education that will set you on the road to financial stability. In other words, the ads feed on the vulnerability of the American population that is looking for a way to have a better life or a better job. The people who tend to be enticed by these ads are those who have been rejected by regular educational institutions either for lack of qualifications or a full roster of students. If I were in charge of a for profit school that is worth around $60 million like Chancellor University, I would allocate 50 percent of the profits to raising the standard of education by hiring the best possible professors that money can buy in a contractual basis. That is because tenure is something that is severely over rated. Teachers should not be paid more on the basis of their tenure at a college, rather they should be paid for the quality of their ability to teach. If they dont pass muster, then get rid of them. But that can only be done if the professor does not hold tenure at the college. Federal grants help the students at the for profit colleges get a jump start on their education by allowing the students access to taxpayer dollars that was meant to help them give back to the society later on in their professional lives. Since the FSA takes care of 90% of the fees, the student practically has a free ride through college. The for profit colleges benefit from the system because they are sure to be paid for their tuition fees and other charges regardless of the actual capacity of the student to pay for their education. Uncle Sam actually takes care of that for them. The problem is that some for profit colleges such as DeVry University offer programs that are not accredited by the correct institutions and therefore

Critical Thinking Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Critical Thinking - Assignment Example However, other students who could apply with lower scores successfully were considered and admitted to the college. The Supreme Court condemned the evident rise of such discrimination and regarded it as unconstitutional. During the year 1996, California State endorsed to be the first in eradication of the affirmative actions that was mostly involved in most public schools. The banning of the affirmative actions was done with inclusive of the colleges. The above fact commands critical thinking per Moore work. In support to the inclusion of critical thinking in the article by Moore, vividly highlights that many of the admission done in colleges would consider the applicants race rather than grades. Moore represents the Supreme Court verdict on racial discrimination issue as one of the major factors that should be put into consideration among the rest in the domain of admissions. The justice ruling Supreme Court in the United States strong talks of the banning of the affirmative actions in the schools. Racial discrimination being one of the issues discussed; some of the colleges in Texas has engaged the law enforcement particularly with race issues, Moore, (2005). The University of Syracuse case filed under the US Supreme Court, the Councilor was judged with the affirmative action. If a right judgment of the law has to take the correct order, a collection of fear for integration pace to the factor may seem to be full of hardship. When the racial discrimination takes over the campuses in the US, it will leave the States of Color. Now, the only prime debate that has already kicked off in the US Supreme Court is all about the Michigan University regarding the advantages that people have been relatively getting. The affirmative actions in the schools and colleges has got to a safer side according to the article’s author by demonstrating that, issues like racial discrimination are being observed and discussed by the US Supreme Court for better

Solar Powered Heat Pump System Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

Solar Powered Heat Pump System - Research Paper Example Solar panels have been available for some time now. In 2006 B&Q, one of the largest DIY companies in the UK started marketing solar panels for around  £1,500 each. Microgeneration provides technology for ‘heat and/or electricity on a small-scale from a low carbon source’ (Roberts & Sims 2008, p. 363) and generated power should not exceed ‘50kW for electricity generation and 45KW thermal for heat production’ (Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act, 2006 as cited in Roberts & Sims, 2008, p. 363).Scientists measure energy from the sun and translate it into ‘kilowatt hours per day per square meter’ (Caldwell 1994, p. 97). Sunlight that reaches the earth’s surface depends on latitude, the barriers like cloud or humidity. However, the sun’s energy is distributed in a uniform manner. For example, a rain forest in Washington is stricken by the sun’s energy, which is translated into 3kwh/d/m2, but southern Arizona and nearby are as receive 7kwh/d/m2. Full sunlight refers to a thousand for every square meter of global radiation. Companies that market photovoltaic forecast PV output with the use of computer models and simulation that include insolation data. In predicting an unknown area, they use the common rule of ‘plus or minus 10 percent on an annual average based only on latitude and closest weather data’ (Caldwell 1994, p. 98). There are factors that should be considered in determining costs of installations. Number one factor is the site and the weather. The photovoltaic output is sensitive to transients like clouds.

Scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Scholarship - Essay Example I love exploring new cultures and studying their ways which I am unaware of. To date, I have been to various countries and have frequently had interaction with culturally diverse people from different parts of the world. I love being in a multicultural society and that happens to be one of the many reasons why I am applying to the universities in UK. I chose the programme of Radiography Diagnostic Imagery because in addition to being a wonderful academic programme for laying the basis of a professional career, but also the university it is offered in is located in a city that is conventionally known for the cultural diversity of citizens. I foresee many advantages of pursuing this course specially in this university one of which is that I would have least inconvenience finding myself residence or becoming part of the mixed tapestry that constitutes culturally diverse population. It was right after I participated in the internship programme offered at the Medicare Hospital in Dubai, t hat I made up my mind to pursue my degree in Radiography Diagnostic Imagery. During my internship, I discovered a unique combination of art and science while technician skills were made use of to handle the technology. One thing that I particularly appreciate about this field of study is that the work is quite diverse in nature. I am fascinated by the mere thought of being called upon for the management of conventional radiography, ultrasound screening, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and radionuclide imaging and other areas that a Radiography Diagnostic Imagery Manager needs to take care of. Diversity in the areas of responsibility in this field motivates me to pay full heed to my studies and undertake the programme with full focus and attention. I specifically want to play key role in the diagnostic process, therefore, my interest is particularly in Radiography Diagnostic Imagery instead of Radiography and Oncology. To me, the ability to develop and analyze images that diagnose illnesses for patients is more of an emotionally satisfying factor than a scientific challenge. Although I greatly admire and acknowledge the value of providing the cancer patients with radiation treatment, yet the diagnostic side of work motivates me to adopt this as a profession. I think that this is one potential way of making my dream of helping people come true. I have always been an active participant in sports and all sorts of physical activities both within school and out of school. Throughout my years in school, I actively participated in quite a lot of physical activities that were arranged off and on in addition to the regular studies. Quite often, I have led the teams in football, badminton, and basketball. I generally manage to perform equally well in both individual and group activities, though teamwork is very motivating for me as I feel encouraged to become prominent with more effort and hard work. I love team work because it makes me feel like at home . I depend on others and they depend on me. Mutually, we develop a force that is irresistible and directed at the achievement of goals. Teamwork happens to be another factor that drives me towards this profession because the nature of work requires personnel to work in close collaboration and cooperation with one another. In diagnostics, I visualize myself as part of a team who work together to analyze the patient’s conditions to assess his/her diseases, develop a treatment plan and devise ways

Plato, John Dewey, Maria Montessori Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Plato, John Dewey, Maria Montessori - Essay Example To the prisoners the shadows and objects are his reality. (Cottingham, 1996, p. 67-69 512-513) In case the prisoner is allowed to turn around or even stand the sunlight coming into the cave from the entry will be too much for him. And if they are objects passing by their shadow to the prisoner are the reality rather than the object itself. He will see the sun as the source of the shadows that he has seen. Once this prisoner is taken outside and gets enlightened and has he desires to free other prisoners in the cave but they are not willing to set free. When the prisoner is back in the cave he is trying to adjust to the dim light and has to get used again. His identification of the objects on the wall goes down this makes the other prisoners to think that going to the surface has destroyed his eyesight. In the allegory the outside of the cave or the world represent amass knowledge and the cave is a representation of a dark place with limited information leading to a faulty reality. (Cottingham, 1996, p.67-69 512-513) According to Plato to get reality one had to look at the order of the creation to increase understanding of experience. 'Humans had to travel from the visible realm of image-making and objects of sense, to the intelligible, or invisible, realm of reasoning and understanding. "The Allegory of the Cave" symbolizes this trek and how it would look to those still in a lower realm. Plato is saying that humans are all prisoners and that the tangible world is our Cave. The things which we perceive as real are actually just shadows on a wall. Just as the escaped prisoner ascends into the light of the sun, we amass knowledge and ascend into the light of true reality: where ideas in our minds can help us understand the form of 'The Good'. (Cottingham, 1996, p. 67-69 512-513) In Plato theory, what we perceive through our senses is not a reality i.e. what the prisoners see as the reality on the wall are just shadows, but on the contrary when one gains knowledge then he/she is able to understand the true reality. (Cottingham, 1996, p. 67-69 512-513) Unlike Plato in the Allegory of the cave the Pragmatisms connote that action and knowledge are two different spheres and also there is a supreme truth exceeding the sort of inquisition (ways by which the organisms can get a hold of their surrounding) that organisms use to get by in life. (Shusterman, 1997, p.11, 23, 90-95) This theory provides an environmental account of knowledge. 'Real' and 'true' are used in the inquiry process and they cannot be comprehended outside of that context. The theory acknowledges an outside world which needs to be tackled or dealt with. John Dewey says 'something is "made true" when it is verified.' According to Pragmatists; 'truth is not ready -made, but jointly we and reality "make" truth.' Truth is characterized by being mutable and it relative to abstract system. (Shusterman, 1997, p.11, 23, 90-95) In the Allegory of the cave approach they are no visible importance of teaching since the students observe and learn from what they see. A teacher or a mentor is not assigned any role since in Plato view of man is as a universal being that does not learn but discover. All human beings have the ability to move being ignorant to being knowledgeable as Plato asserts. (Shusterman, 199

The Russian & History Essay Example for Free

The Russian History Essay In 1918 and 1824, the Russian took over this Region of Kyrgyzstan. They included it in its union of member nations which was called U. S. S. R. The people of Kyrgyzstan instigated several revolts and demonstrations against the union. But the Russians were very brutal and stronger which caused many Kyrgyzstan people to free to the Parmir Mountains or to Afghanistan. In August 1991 the Kyrgyzstan regained there independence. Many organizations, groups and others who had freed the country were recalled to re-gather and reestablish into a solid group that included a backlash against the Russian. In 2000 February two rounds of parliamentary elections were held in Kyrgyzstan. The organization for Security and Cooperation engency (OSCE) was the international elections over seer. After the elections, this organization reported that elections failed to comply with commitments to free and fair elections and hence invalid. But the public remained calm over this matter, they never demonstrated or protested. (www. advantour. com/kyrgyzstan/history. htm) In 2005 February 25 another election was organized. The same organization which held responsibility over overseeing the election process in the previous election of 2000 was the same election overseer for that election. After the election president Akayev was announced the winner and sworn in. But the election observers reported that elections had some improvements over the 2000 election. The added that indelible ink was used, Transparent ballot boxes and general good access by election observers to the voting centers, but the concluded the election didn’t comply with the commitments of free and fair elections Sporadic protest against peeved manipulated and fraud during the elections of February 27, 2005, erupted into widespread calls for the government to resign, which started into widespread calls march 24, 15,000 pro-opposition demonstrators in Bishkek called for resignation of the President and his regime. Protestors seized the main government building, and Akayev hurriedly fled to resign and denouncing the events as a coup, he subsequently resigned his office on April 4. El Salvador (examples of ‘jihad and MacWorld’) In 1972 an election was organized, the two main political parties were the PCN and the UNO. The PCN was the party in power and had chosen Colonel Arturo Molina as its candidate. The candidate for the UNO (United National Opposition) was Napoleon Duarte. The campaigns in this election process were violent and dangerous, incidents of harassment, kidnapping, and assault against their activists where sighted. Finally after the casting of the votes, it was found out the Duarte from the opposition side had worn the elections. The ruling party recalled for a re-count which it claimed the winner. And Molina of the Ruling party was sworn in as the president. The blatancy of the fraud employed to maintain the PCN in power outraged and disillusioned many Salvadorans, including members of the armed forces. One faction of the officer corps, a new military youth wing, attempted to talk direct action to the official; exploitation of a system that had until that point shown some promise of evolving in a genuinely democracy direction. This group of young army officers, led by Colonel Benjamin Mejia, launched a coup (www. workmall. com/wfb2001/el_salvador/el_salvador_history_index. html) on March 25 1972. Their immediate goal was the establishment of a revolutionary Junta. â€Å"It seemed clear however that the officers favored the installation of Duarte as president. Kyrgyzstan (international global forces’ role in its power struggle) From 1900 Kyrgyzstan experienced about two direct/indirect influences in its power struggle. The first one was its integration into the U. S. S. R, Union of member nations which had negatives and positives towards its power struggles. The ruthless suppression of 1916 rebellions in central Asia, Kyrgyzstan inclusive triggered by the Russians imposition of them, caused many Kyrgyz flee to chain, Afghanistan and in the Pamir Mountains. All its national resources and other produce was collected and sent to Russia, where the cake was divided into and the Kyrgyzstan could be sent back the peanuts. However on the positive side of its integration into the union of the U. S. S. R, it got considerable cultural, educational, social development and economic improvements. This changes and developments where brought about by the U. S. S. R broadness and dives try (www. workmall. com/wfb2001/kyrgyzstan/kyrgyzstan_history_index. html) The second international/global force to influence its power struggle indirectly was the U. S. It is speculated that U. S directly or indirectly influenced the disintegration of the U. S. S. R union. And helped many their struggle towards their impendence. It also offered aid in the field of democratic politics, human rights economic aid and other. (www. advantour. com/kyrgyzstan/history. htm) However if there were no international forces in this country’s struggle toward achieving power. There would have been positive and negatives effects. After the World War II, the cold war began; it meant that you had to support the U. S or the U. S. S. R. Those who believe in communism like China, Cuba, North Korea and many others were on the U. S. S. R side. And those who support capitalism like Britain, Australia, Spain, France and many others had to be on the U. S side. These countries benefited fir the support of these systems. They got grants, aid and markets for their produce in return for their support from these big two giants. El Salvador (international/global forces in its power struggle) During the 12 – year civil war, human rights violations by both the government security forces and left-wing guerillas were rampant. The accords established a Truth commission under United Nations auspices to investigate the most serious cases. The commission reported its finding in 1993. It recommends that those identified as human rights violators be removed from all government and military posts, as well as recommending the judicial reforms. Thereafter, the legislation Assembly grants amnesty for political crimes committed during wars Among those freed as a result were the El Salvador Armed forces (ESAF) officers convicted in the November 1989 Jesuit murders and the FMLN ex- combatants held for the 1991 murders of two U. S service men. The peace accords also established the AD Hoc commission to evaluate the human rights record of the ESAF officers (http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/History_of_El_ Salvador) The second direct involvement was by the U. S The carter administration had lost considerably leverage in El Salvador when the Romero government renounced United States aid in 1977. The United States there for welcomed the October 1979 coup and backed it up with its approval. When the economic aid package that by 1980 had become the largest western hemisphere recipients. A small amount of military aid also was provided. The United States advisers contributed to the third junta’s agrians reform program, particularly in phase III, of the reform, so called land to the Tiller decree of April 28 1980, granting title to small holders. (http://www. mongabay. com/reference/country_studies/el-salvador/HISTORY. html) However the United States had two motives why it involved its self in the El Salvador politics. First was to prevent the communism expansion threat through out the Central America. And to promote human rights this country. If there were no external forces in the politics of this nation perhaps the situation would have been worse. (www. hartford-hwp. com/archives/47/index) In El Salvador, there was violence through out the 1970s and 1980s, and thousands upon thousands died. In Kyrgyzstan, there was only very limited violence in 2005. With perhaps a dozen people dead as a result. Why was El Salvador so violent and why was Kyrgyzstan relatively peaceful? El Salvador These countries in the Central American Region were a high target in the cold war period. The U. S feared the expansion of communism could terminate its union states so it worked had to stop it rather if possible to eliminate it completely. Some countries were already converted like Cuba, Nicaragua, Chile and others. And the U. S. S. R put so much effort in these countries because they near to the United States. The Reagan administration initially appeared to stress the need to shore up El Salvador as a barrier against communism expansion in Central America. The United States Department of state issued a special report on February 23, 1981 entitled communism expansion interference in El Salvador which emphasized Nicaraguan, Cub and soviet support for the FMLN. The report was widely criticized in American media and the United States congress. Nevertheless, the administration succeeded in increasing substantially the United States military and economic aid to El Salvador appropriation. (http://www. mongabay. com/reference/country_studies/el-salvador/HISTORY. html) The second reason as to why there has been so much violence in El Salvador is the land issue. El Salvador is a small country, with a rapid growing population. Land in this country is not divided equally as much of the land was being divided by the rich and the high govern officials and little remain to the majority. Being the fact that most of the El Salvadorans people are farmers they don’t have a enough land for cultivation. So this has caused an influence in their politics. Whoever wants political power uses this land issue to win the attention of the majority landless in this country. (www. hartford-hwp. com/archives/47/index) In 1969 this land distribution wrangles went beyond their boundary to its most immediate neighbor Honduras. The El Salvador people crossed the boundary illegally into the Hondurans and encroached on their land. The Hondurans is a big country with a low population and most of the land is not development. President Oswald Lopez Arellan (1963-1971) influenced the law reform to evict the El Salvadorans back to their country. After their expulsion The government of El Salvador responded with a military offense to the Hondurans and a war between the two countries started. The people of El Salvador are power greedy. They didn’t have political willingness to take power democratically or by any peaceful means. When it means to rig elections they can do it, and the one who loses is not ready to give up and resort to military offences. They were used to coup way of taking over power. (www. politicalgraveyard. com/geo/ZZ/EL. html) Taking power and coup in this region had become the order of the day. In Cuba the regime which was in power used a barrier of a gun. In Nicaragua it was the same, Chile, Haiti and others. The only way of changing government in this region was not any other means but through military means. Kyrgyzstan (why has it been peaceful over the past years) There are many factors which have contributed to relative peace in this country over the past years. Kyrgyzstan’s union in the U. S. S. R meant the people of this country had little or non at political influence other than the union. Whenever the communist party choose some one for a position, it was final no question over that. Some how the people of this country got used to stay calm. The Kyrgyz Stan people had been deprived off their freedom of political choice. They never had before, any kind of greed for political power compared to the people of El Salvador. This speculated on their back ground before the 1900 and when the Russian included in to the U. S. S. R where Stalin had an iron hand to all who seemed like they wanted to oppose him This nation is a big country in relation to its population. It means the people of this country have more than enough land to cultivate and rear their animals without any interference. This gave employments to the youth who would have easily convinced in to acts of violence. (www. worldstatesmen. org/Kyrgyzstan. htm) The economy of this nation is big. Kyrgyzstan’s gross domestic product was in 2003 $1. 9 billion, in 2002 it was $1. 6 billion and in 2001 it was $1. 5 billion which contributes $536 for each Kyrgyz monthly. Kyrgyzstan have abundant hydropower, significant deposits of gold, rare metals, locally exploited coal, oil and natural gas. Agriculture produce includes tobacco, cotton, wheat vegetable (potatoes, sugar beets, beans) , fruits apple apricots, peaches grapes , berries etc. Its exports include small machinery transformers light industry and many others. Http://www. state. gov/r/pdi/bgn/5755.htm) Reference list Information about Kyrgyz Stan history, politics and economy (www. advantour. com/kyrgyzstan/history. htm) (Http://www. state. gov/r/pdi/bgn/5755. htm) (www. worldstatesmen. org/Kyrgyzstan. htm) (www. workmall. com/wfb2001/kyrgyzstan/kyrgyzstan_history_index. html) Information about El Salvador political history, economy (www. workmall. com/wfb2001/el_salvador/el_salvador_history_index. html) (http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/History_of_El_ Salvador) (www. politicalgraveyard. com/geo/ZZ/EL. html) (www. hartford-hwp. com/archives/47/index) (http://www. mongabay. com/reference/country_studies/el-salvador/HISTORY. html)

Eddie in Blood Brothers Essay Example for Free

Eddie in Blood Brothers Essay Eddie and Mickey were born from the same mother Mrs. Johnston, but they have extremely different lives. They were identical twins; they look exactly the same. But Mrs. Lyons separated them and made them have a different life. From then on, one of them, Mickey stayed with Mrs. Johnston lives in a big, poor family and the other one who was taken by Mrs. Lyons became very rich and got everything. They have been in a different world because of many factors surrounding them to rich or poor from the moment they have been born. I think the most influential factors are the family they have got and the family classes different. The different kind and level of education they have got did also influence them much. Also, the religion of the family is one of the factors that affect the life of the child as well. Different thing has different amount of influence to Mickey and Eddies life. I am going to discuss the factors one by one. The social context is messy at the time between late 70s and early 80s that the play was set. It is called recession. Margaret Thatcher is the Prime Minister; she encouraged people to make lots of money. As a result, the rich people in middle or upper class can earn much money but the poor people in working class lost their jobs. Life is very hard for working class, as they get poorer without a job. Mickeys family is suffered from this social climate. His family is poor. Unlike Eddie, his family is in middle class, he is rich. They have a great contrast in their life because the classes are different. Marilyn Monroe is the social icon of the day at that time. She is very glamorous, rich and she represents a life of fantasy. Everyone wants to be her. We know that from the book on p. 14, Act 1, Scene 1, it said He told me I was sexier than Marilyn Monroe, which is about Mr. Johnston said her wife was sexier, lovelier than Marilyn Monroe. It shows the value of that time. But that is what totally different from Mickey. Mickey is poor; he dressed scruffy. He lives in council house and his family is working class. He does not have money to buy everything he wanted. But Eddie, he is rich, he has got new clothes, and he looks smart. He lives in private house and his family is middle class. They are exactly the same, but the way of living is really different with one of them is living in a rich environment and another lives in a poor world. This is how the classes different influence their life. The size and people in their family have also influenced them. Mickey has a big family with 7 brothers and sisters. The speech of the mother in p. 14, Act 1, Scene 1, told us about that. She said: Seven hungry mouths to feed and one more nearly due. Mickey is the youngest in the family; he has to fight for food and everything with the elder brothers and sisters. Therefore, he needs to grow up fast and look tough to protect himself in case of beaten up by others. He also wants to his elder brother Sammy because he wants to get older so he can do everything he loves. We can see how much he wants to be Sammy in the book on p. 30, Act 2, Scene 1, he has repeated the sentences I wish I was our Sammy. - for five times. He does everything Sammy did; however, Sammy was not a good example for Mickey to learn. So Mickey becomes a joker and streetwise since he has got influenced by his brother Sammy. The family of Eddie, we know that he is the only child in his rich family and they are in middle class. He lives with his mum only most of his life. We dont know much about Eddies father because the book does not mention about him much. Mrs. , Lyons, Eddies mother, loves her son very much. She gives him a good shelter, gives him everything he wanted. This makes very weak and soft and he will not know the hardship of the working class since life is easy for him. Time ran through quick by dramatic devices in the book. We can see how much difference between Mickey and Eddie over a long period. At first, when they are born, they are not much different from each other in either class or education. But when they are at the age of 17, Mickey is dropped out from school and on the other side Eddie was going to University. Then, when they both go to work, Mickey loses his job and Eddie is the boss of a factory. The education level made them have such a big difference. Mickey is poor educated as he left school when he was 17. He was study in government school. Normally, there is nothing bad to study in government school. But compare to Eddie, Eddie was study in private school, he was well educated. He could use a dictionary at the age of seven while Mickey do not even know what a dictionary is. We knew that from the conversation between Mickey and Eddie. Eddie said, I shall look it up in a dictionary. from p. 33, Act 2, Scene 2. From the speech of the narrator at p. 56, Act 4, Scene 1, we know Mickey and Eddie are getting older as they are 18. This is the job of narrator to take us through time and speed things up. Eddies goes into a University straight after he left his college but at that time Mickey was already dropped out from the school and working in a factory. Then, Eddie got a job, which is the boss of the factory, straight after he finished his studying. By that time Eddie becomes really powerful and rich but the other one, Mickey, is just a worker in a factory! They are identical twins but we can see how education makes them go into a different life. Superstition is one of the influences. Mrs. Johnston is very superstitious as we can see from the several events from the book. On p. 18, Act 1, Scene 3, Mrs. Lyons put a pair of new shoes on the table then Mrs. Johnston saw it and tell her never do this. This is a superstition thinking that something had will happen to you, which you will never notice. This shows that Mrs. Johnston is superstitious. I believe that she believes in religion. And this makes Mickey kind of superstitious as well. He believes what blood brother is. On the other side, I dont think Mrs. Lyons has any religion at all. She does not respect Mrs. Johnston and always use the weakness of Mrs. Johnston, that she is superstitious, to coerce her into doing something. At first Eddie does not believe any superstition things but Mickey influences him. He admires Mickey and everything Mickey does. He likes Mickey and wants Mickey likes him as well. On p. 32, Act2 2, Scene 2, we know Eddie gives sweets to Mickey. This reflected he is eager to please. Eddie used to dont know much about colloquial until Mickey told him. He thought everything Mickey said was smashing. And he believes that what Mrs. Johnston told her on p. 35, Act 2, Scene 2, about bogeyman. This shows that he is nai ve and innocent. In conclusion, I can divide the influences on the lives of Mickey and Eddie in four main sections. The differences between Mickey and Eddie in the family, the social class they are, the education they have and the religion of the family. They are identical twins but they have got a very different life, I think it is because these things that I have mentioned before influenced them.

Functional Behavioural Assessment Case Study

Functional Behavioural Assessment Case Study Functional Behavioral Assessments for Sean Siobhan L. Healy Introduction Mrs. Valdez, a second grade teacher at Hacienda Elementary School, contacted me via email requesting my services regarding one of her students. Mrs. Valdez would like me to meet with her and several administrators, including the principal of Hacienda Elementary School, to discuss the student’s behavioral issues. The subject of concern is Sean, a 9 year old boy, who had been held back to repeat second grade due to his ADHD and the resulting inattentiveness and failing grades. Sean is described as a bright and lovable boy at school and at home but due to his (recently diagnosed) ADHD, he is often â€Å"inattentive† during class, jumps out of his seat and throws crumbled up school papers at peers when asked to complete a task. His lack of concentration and the inability to finish any task at school have earned him failing grades during the prior school year and parents and teachers fear that he may be failing second grade again, if nothing is done to help him. Sean’s parents are against any pharmaceutical medications to treat his ADHD and they have consulted with an herbal doctor to treat the condition. Now, Mrs. Valdez has asked me to develop a behavior intervention plan for Sean, in order for him to succeed academically and socially during the current school year. The operational target behaviors seen in Sean are, a) inattention, in form of not paying attention to teachers’ instructions and school work, b) out-of-seat behavior, defined as any time Sean’s behind was not making contact with his chair, and c) throwing items (i.e., crumbled up papers) at peers. If my interdisciplinary team and I are able to describe the specific purposes of a Functional Behavioral Assessment for Sean, to the Hacienda Elementary School administrators during the planning meeting, then we will be able to design and implement an effective treatment plan for this student based on the results of the proposed FBA. Functional Behavioral Assessments are used to determine why an individual exhibits certain behaviors and in what way the environment influences the individual and their behaviors. In the beginning, the method of analyzing behavior was created with the autistic and severely intellectually disabled population in mind, but it can be applied to any individual with problem behaviors. According to the State Board of Education, North Carolina (2015), â€Å"The reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that a Functional Behavioral Assessment be conducted if a behavior was a manifestation of the disability or, as appropriate, for other disciplinary removals† (http://ec.ncpublicschools.gov). In many schools, the Individual Education Program Team (IEP team) develops an assessment plan to address problem behaviors. During IEP team meetings, target behaviors must be identified and specified. Decisions must be made about who will conduct each component of an FBA, and a timeline as to when the assessment will be completed is set. Usually, the IEP team will meet to discuss the assessment results and to design and implement behavioral interventions. Sometimes, The IEP team and members of a school administration need to bring in an independent team of experts in order to exhaust all possibilities of an effective FBA, especially in the case of Sean (State Board of Education, NC, 2015). Indirect Assessments are performed when information about antecedents, consequences, and critical variables, needs to be gathered indirectly via interviews, screening forms, and rating scales. The Indirect Assessments are considered an adjunct to direct measures, as the data gathered from these measures is usually not considered quite as reliable. However, Indirect Assessments are often the first procedures performed in an FBA because the observer is able to record meaningful observations and he or she may begin the construction of hypotheses about the function of behaviors rather quickly (Steege Watson, 2013). The interdisciplinary team would first assess Sean by conducting five general steps of a Functional Analysis. Step one would be a Functional Assessment Interview during which the team would question at least two or three persons who know Sean very well and who have been involved in the situations in which the behaviors occurred (most likely his parents and Mrs. Valdez). The interview would focus on identifying observable behaviors displayed by our referred student. For example, when addressing Sean’s â€Å"inattentive† behavior, the team should ask Mrs. Valdez, the teacher, to clearly and concisely describe the observable characteristics that constitute â€Å"inattentive† behavior. It is important to note during the interview, what function Sean’s behaviors serve. For example, his out-of-seat behavior may actually serve two different functions, one to get attention from his peers by jumping out of his seat, and two to escape from or avoid academic instruct ion from the teacher. This type of information will be relevant for the entire process of FBA, because, if the functions are different, the resulting interventions may be different as well (Steege Watson, 2013). With a typical ABC Assessment, when the interfering behaviors occur, the observer is expected to record those behaviors and the immediate antecedent and consequence variables. Observers often identify one immediate antecedent and one immediate consequence that occur during a behavioral event. For example, the ABC Interviewer could record the following in Sean’s classroom: A: Antecedent: Teacher, Mrs. Valdez, requests Sean to sit down and complete his task, B: Behavior: Sean jumps up, crumbles his school paper, and throws it at a peer, C: Consequence: Mrs. Valdez verbally reprimands Sean and sends him to the principals office. However, in this instance, a single ABC recording was not able to identify all of the relevant variables connected to this behavioral incident because, there were a number of additional incidents preceding this recording. Oftentimes, with the occurrence of a series of behavioral incidents, the observers verbally report or record only the final incident (S teege Watson, 2013). Thus, a Behavioral Stream Interview (BSI) could be performed in Sean’s case, in which contextual variables that are associated with the interfering behaviors, can be identified. This kind of interview centers on the idea that there are many variables, including individual, antecedent, and consequence variables in Sean’s environment that impact his challenging behaviors. These different variables often interact in a predictable manner and are not stagnant. Steege and Watson (2013), compare â€Å"the ongoing flow of behavior and related stimuli† to a river, â€Å"sometimes a stream that gently meanders through a meadow, and at other times a raging torrent rushing through mountainous canyons† (p.106). The BSI has the potential of identifying patterns by calculating the sequence in which the variables occur. It can be compared to a movie strip of several captured pictures in a sequence, unlike a single photograph â€Å"of a singular antecedent–behavior–consequence interaction (A-B-C)† (Steege Watson, 2013, p. 106). Furthermore, data could be collected through a questionnaire such as the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach, 1991, as cited in Sattler, 2002) which measures internalizing and externalizing problems in children and adolescents. The CBCL is designed for parents of children and adolescents ages 4 to 18 years old. The rationale for conducting the interview is to observe the target behavior. The reason for utilizing the CBCL is that it includes a Teachers Report form (TRF, Achenbach, 1991, as cited in Sattler, 2002). According to Sattler, the TRF has satisfactory validity. Functioning Assessment Screening Tools or a Motivation Assessment Scale may additionally be used. The Functional Behavioral Assessment Screening Form (FBASF) would be a particularly useful tool to record data about, a) interfering behaviors (i.e., target problem behaviors), b) behavioral strengths (i.e., characteristics that are functional and appropriate, adaptive behaviors, and skills), c) Reinforcers (i.e., stimuli that are preferred by the student, people, activities, and events), d) Communication skills (i.e., verbal expressions, gestures, signs, or devices). In the context of Sean’s case, his behaviors too, are not occurring randomly, but are caused by an interaction between antecedent, individual, and consequence variables (Steege Watson, 2013). Direct descriptive Functional Behavioral Assessments, on the other hand, are very powerful tools in school settings. They are powerful because the procedures center on direct observations of behaviors in situations and settings in which the target behaviors occur. Systematic observations, and not just mere indirect information lead to solid hypotheses on function and triggers of behaviors (Steege Watson). Therefore, step two in a Functional Analysis would be a Direct Observation and collection of data by observing Sean’s target behaviors directly. The team could do a Sequence Analysis by recording antecedents, behavior, and consequence (a Maladaptive Behavior Card can be used for this purpose). Furthermore, the frequency and rate of the behavior would be recorded. The frequency of occurrence per unit of time, for example, would be 30 behaviors divided by 20 min of observation = 1.5 behaviors per minute or about 3 behaviors every two minutes. Next, the duration of each behavior and the latency (which is the duration of time between a stimulus and a response) would be recorded, for example, how soon after the stimulus does Sean begin to jump up or throw paper balls at classmates (Carbone Zecchin, 2014). Step three deals with experimental manipulations if they are feasible based on the severity of the behaviors. This procedure enables the observer to empirically test the functions of the behavior. The situations in which the behaviors occur most frequently suggest the function of the behavior. In order to test for the functions of the maladaptive behavior, the interdisciplinary team would have to perform an Alone Condition Test in which Sean would be alone without any stimulation and then count if any aggressive behavior occurred within a 20 minute session. Next, an Attention Condition-Test is performed to find out if the behavior is maintained by attention. This involves engaging Sean in a preferred activity and if a maladaptive behavior occurs, the team would give him 10 seconds of attention after each occurrence of the target behaviors by saying â€Å"Sean, don’t throw anything at your classmate, you could hurt her!† The team would count the number of times the behav iors occurred and this session would last 20 minutes. Then, comes the Demand Condition – Test, which is designed to explore if a behavior is maintained by Escape or Avoidance. The interdisciplinary team will place Sean in a demanding task or situation and allow him to escape (or leave the situation) each time the target behavior occurs. The team would wait for about a minute and then direct Sean back to the demand situation or task, while keeping count of the number of times the behavior occurs. This session should also last 20 minutes (Carbone Zecchin, 2014). Last but not least, the Play Condition-Test will be performed, which is a control condition. In this scenario, the interdisciplinary team would place Sean in an enriched reinforcing environment, allow him to engage in preferred activities of his choosing, and count the number of times the behavior occurs. This session, again, will last 20 minutes. Step four will be a Functional Analysis Summary, to include a form/chart outlining the Functional Analysis Interviews conducted, the Direct Observation Data collected, and the Experimental Manipulation implemented. Step five will outline a Behavior Lesson Plan and after carefully choosing of an intervention, this will be called an Intervention Lesson Plan for Sean (Carbone Zecchin, 2014). In the literature by Steege Watson (2013),  The Conditional Probability Record (CPR) is a form that  allows the observer to simultaneously observe and record the  antecedents and consequences of behavior. The advantage of  doing so allows for the analysis of the likelihood  (probability) of a behavior given a particular antecedent and  the likelihood of a particular consequence following a  behavior (p. 134). Let’s say, we take a 5-minute excerpt from a 15-minute observation period, and it shows that Sean was out of his seat during 70% of the intervals, then, of the intervals in which Sean was out of his seat, 51% of those resulted in a verbal reprimand by Mrs. Valdez and 43% resulted in her physically guiding Sean back into his seat. Therefore, Seans out-of-seat behavior resulted in some form of attention by Mrs. Valdez in 94% of the intervals. On the other hand, when Sean was working on his assigned tasks, it resulted in no attention, verbal or physical, from Mrs. Valdez. So, only in 29% of the intervals in which Sean was working on his tasks, was Mrs. Valdez near him. Therefore, one of the hypotheses is that Seans out-of-seat behavior is maintained by Mrs. Valdez’ attention because doing so is more than three times as likely to result in some form her attention than working. During these observations, there may be some influence by Sean’s peers in the form of looki ng at him (23% of the intervals) or cheering him on (18%), however these consequences were not as probable as Mrs. Valdez’ attention. Additionally, there also appears to be a negative reinforcement because Sean is able to escape from the assigned task by getting out of his seat. Antecedent and consequent possibilities are verified by further observation and analysis (Steege Watson, 2013). The interdisciplinary team could complete a Functional Behavioral Assessment Observation Form (FBAOF) for Sean. This is an assessment procedure involving direct observation and recording data of interfering behaviors and contextual variables. The FBAOF is generally used to record â€Å"behavioral episodes† or â€Å"behavioral incidents† that involve one single interfering behavior. The observer uses an FBAOF each time the interfering behavior occurs to record, 1) Date and time of day, 2) Setting events (i.e., activities, tasks, places, etc.), 3) Antecedents (i.e., events that appear to trigger the behavior), 4) Behavior (i.e., the defined interfering/target behavior), 5) Consequence (i.e., events following the interfering behavior), 6) Effect (i.e., change in rate or intensity of occurrence of the behavior), 7) Staff (i.e., person recording the data, working directly with Sean). Should the interdisciplinary team use the FBAOF, they must differentiate between an †a ntecedent† and a â€Å"setting event.† The antecedent is a precipitating variable (i.e., a specific event triggering a behavior), while the setting event is just the general situation that the behavior occurred in (Steege Watson, 2013). Last, but not least, the interdisciplinary team could utilize the Task Analysis Recording Procedure (TARP), which is an effective â€Å"procedure for teaching functional life skills and for progress monitoring† (Steege Watson, 2013, p. 146). It is used for documenting a person’s level of performance on specific tasks, instructional procedures, identification of effective and ineffective instructional prompts, and to document levels of occurrence of interfering behaviors, especially in the context of instructional programs (Steege Watson, 2013). TARP is a useful tool for recording a decrease of interfering behaviors, while, at the same time, documenting an increase in desirable and appropriate behaviors. For example, we could use the TARP data recording in order to measure Sean’s occurrences of negative behaviors within a social or classroom setting, while, at the same time, recording any desirable behavior, such as doing his assigned tasks independently. This procedure is mostly used in individuals with autism who reside in group homes but TARP could be used in Sean’s case because of his ADHD diagnosis and being in a â€Å"group setting† (classroom) (Steege Watson, 2013). It is important for the interdisciplinary team to put emphasis on the vast selection of indirect and direct descriptive FBA procedures. In many cases, a combination of both types in an assessment process is adequate for an assessment and an understanding of behavioral functions. A comprehensive mixture of several procedures can lead to the design of effective intervention plans (Steege Watson, 3013). References Carbone, V. J., Ph.D., BCBA Zecchin, G., BCABA. (2014). How to conduct a  Functional Assessment Develop Behavior Plans to reduce Problem Behavior.  Retrieved on March 10, 2015 from  http://armstrong.edu/images/psychology/FunctionalAssessment.pdf Public Schools of North Carolina. State Board of Education. (2015). Functional Behavior   Assessment. Retrieved on March 10, 2015 from http://ec.ncpublicschools.gov/instructional-resources/behavior-support/resources/functional-behavior-assessment. Sattler, J. (2001). Assessment of children: Cognitive applications (4th ed.) La Mesa, CA:  Jerome M. Sattler. Steege, M.W., Watson, T.S. (2013). Conducting School-Based Functional Behavioral  Assessments, Second Edition. Guilford Press. VitalBook file.

History of the Hydrofoil :: Watercraft Boat

Hydrofoil History Although a hydrofoil is defined by the Columbia University Press as â€Å"a flat or curved finlike device, attached by struts to the hull of a watercraft that lifts the moving watercraft above the water's surface†, the word is often used in reference to the watercraft as a whole. Using the same principles as an airplane wing, the foil develops lift as it moves through the water, eventually raising the hull of the boat above the surface as it reaches higher speeds. Thus, the drag experienced by the vessel is far less, making the ship far more efficient and economical to run. In fact, hydrofoils are now the vehicles of choice as ferries in many European and Asian countries, as well as for the American military. However, though the hydrofoil maintains the appearance of simple functionality, it is actually quite a complex mechanism with deep-rooted history. Let’s take a look: In 1906, an article published in Scientific American outlined the basic principles under which a hydrofoil should function. Logically, the principles made sense, but they had never been put into practice. However, always up for a challenge, Alexander Graham Bell got to work on the physical construction of such a vehicle, completing his work in the year 1919. His masterpiece, the HD-4 set a world marine speed record of 114 km/h – a record that remained unbroken for over ten years. During testing, Bell’s colleague, Casey Baldwin was said to describe a ride on the HD-4 as being â€Å"as smooth as flying.† As word of the speed and efficiency of this new marine vessel spread, many others became interested in the use of the hydrofoil, particularly for commercial purposes. Thus, in 1952, the first commercial hydrofoil was launched, with the capability of transporting 32 passengers at a speed of 35 knots. Given its simple mechanics, this accomplishment was deemed remarkable. As such, many other countries including Canada, the United States, and what was the Soviet Union began to commission research on high-performance military hydrofoils. The results were outstanding. Eventually, hydrofoils proved to be very fast and well-armed, capable of sinking nearly any and every other surface vessel. In addition to their service in the military, hydrofoils are still widely used today as tourist transportation. History of the Hydrofoil :: Watercraft Boat Hydrofoil History Although a hydrofoil is defined by the Columbia University Press as â€Å"a flat or curved finlike device, attached by struts to the hull of a watercraft that lifts the moving watercraft above the water's surface†, the word is often used in reference to the watercraft as a whole. Using the same principles as an airplane wing, the foil develops lift as it moves through the water, eventually raising the hull of the boat above the surface as it reaches higher speeds. Thus, the drag experienced by the vessel is far less, making the ship far more efficient and economical to run. In fact, hydrofoils are now the vehicles of choice as ferries in many European and Asian countries, as well as for the American military. However, though the hydrofoil maintains the appearance of simple functionality, it is actually quite a complex mechanism with deep-rooted history. Let’s take a look: In 1906, an article published in Scientific American outlined the basic principles under which a hydrofoil should function. Logically, the principles made sense, but they had never been put into practice. However, always up for a challenge, Alexander Graham Bell got to work on the physical construction of such a vehicle, completing his work in the year 1919. His masterpiece, the HD-4 set a world marine speed record of 114 km/h – a record that remained unbroken for over ten years. During testing, Bell’s colleague, Casey Baldwin was said to describe a ride on the HD-4 as being â€Å"as smooth as flying.† As word of the speed and efficiency of this new marine vessel spread, many others became interested in the use of the hydrofoil, particularly for commercial purposes. Thus, in 1952, the first commercial hydrofoil was launched, with the capability of transporting 32 passengers at a speed of 35 knots. Given its simple mechanics, this accomplishment was deemed remarkable. As such, many other countries including Canada, the United States, and what was the Soviet Union began to commission research on high-performance military hydrofoils. The results were outstanding. Eventually, hydrofoils proved to be very fast and well-armed, capable of sinking nearly any and every other surface vessel. In addition to their service in the military, hydrofoils are still widely used today as tourist transportation.

An Inspector Calls :: English Literature

An Inspector Calls Productions seen: Â · BBC Television Production (1981) Â · Film Production (1954) Part I J.B.Priestly's play is set in the spring of 1912 in the household of an upper-middle class family in the north of England. The plot of this dramatic play is based around the Birling family's involvement in a young girl's suicide. The Birling family consists of the two parents, Arthur and Sybil Birling and their two children Eric and Sheila. Gerald Croft is soon to become a member of the family as he has recently announced his engagement to Sheila. As the story unfolds we find that each of the family members is partly to blame. Which member however carries the most blame? It is important to realise that J.B.Priestly has made it deliberately difficult to place the blame solely on one person. Having read the play and seen two productions of it, I have come to the conclusion that Mrs Birling is the most to blame. This conclusion was founded for many reasons. One such reason was due to the process of elimination. Each Character, although guilty, has different responsibilities and different degrees of blame due to their involvement with the girl, their reaction to the news of her death, how they compare to the other characters and how the audience would or should perceive them. If we first take Mr Birling, who is questioned by the Inspector first. Mr Birling is described by Priestly as 'heavy looking, rather portentous...in his middle fifties with fairly easy manners....rather provincial in his speech." Birling is fairly successful in his line of work and is always striving to become better. He is self-important and slightly pompous. He could even be described as old fashioned. However he is a warm character and the audience should perceive him as such. Examples of this self importance can be found a lot in the text. For example, on page seven of the text, Mr Birling rambles on about such nonsense like " The unsinkable Titanic", "very little chance of a World War" and of "Russia being technically and socially behind" Mr Birling first became acquainted with Eva Smith when she came to work in his factory two years previously. Mr Birling started off the chain of events which lead to Eva's death by firing her from her job for asking for a pay-rise and ( when the rise was refused) for organising a strike. Although Mr Birling shows relatively little guilt or remorse for Eva's death, I do not feel that he is entirely responsible as at the end of the play he does in fact feel very guilty when the Inspector delivers

Experiment to investigate factors affecting the rate of reaction betwee

Experiment to investigate factors affecting the rate of reaction between magnesium ribbon and hydrochloric acid Rates of Reaction: Investigation Experiment to investigate factors affecting the rate of reaction between magnesium ribbon and hydrochloric acid. Chemical reactions between substances are caused by the collision of particles. More collisions mean a quicker rate of reaction. In the reaction between hydrochloric acid and magnesium ribbon, the chemical reaction takes place when the magnesium ribbon is dropped into the hydrochloric acid. The products are hydrogen gas and magnesium chloride. The equation for this reaction is as follows:- Magnesium + Hydrochloric acid Magnesium chloride + Hydrogen Mg (s) + 2HCL (aq) MgCl2 (aq) + H2 (g) Factors that affect the rate of reaction:- * Temperature * Mass of magnesium ribbon * Concentration of hydrochloric acid * Surface area of magnesium ribbon I have chosen to use the concentration of hydrochloric acid as my independent variable. These different concentrations can be varied easily and made up accurately for the experiment. Each experiment will be done four times so that an average reading can be calculated - ensuring an accurate and reliable conclusion. The measured variable will be the time taken for the same quantity of magnesium ribbon in each experiment to be used up in reaction. The constant variable will be the length of the magnesium ribbon used in each experiment. Rate of reaction = Gradient of the line of a graph plotted with time taken to cease reacting against concentration. Concentration of a solution describes the number of active particles in a particular volume. The unit of concentration is: mol.dm-3 Prediction I predict that the higher the concentra... ...ing around faster. This would mean HCL and magnesium particles would collide more frequently, thereby increasing rate of reaction. I think that my results on graph 1 were suitable to draw an accurate best-fit line. The points are all joined by the line. I used 5 different concentrations which were in a suitably wide range. If I were to repeat the experiment I would use a slightly wider range of concentrations to expand my conclusion, such as 1.25M, 0.75M and 0.25M. If the resources were available, I would also extend the range to higher concentrations than the 2M I was restricted to in this investigation. Further investigation could also include using another factor as my independent variable. I could differ the surface area of magnesium in my experiments, and see how this affects rate of reaction; in what way and if there is a definite proportional relationship.