Athletes and their Impacts on Endorsement of Sportswear Literature review

Athletes and their Impacts on Endorsement of Sportswear - Literature review Example Others include prominent businessmen and politicians. Apart from their careers and appearances in events, celebrities act as spokesmen for different brands in their promotion (Kambitsis et al. 2002, p. 160). This paper will analyze the effect of celebrity (athlete) endorsements in sportswear marketing on the consumer's perception of the product and overall purchasing decision. â€Å"A celebrity endorser is a person who is known by the public for his or her achievements in areas other than that of the product class he or she is endorsing† (Friedman & Friedman 1979, p. 63). This is one of the forms of celebrities that are use by companies in order to promote their products. The reason for use of celebrities is engrained in the influence that they command be it on a national or international stage. Sportsmen and women in particular have been utilized for promotion of a wide range of products most of which include sportswear and energy drinks. Athletes compared to ordinary people have a higher chance of commanding attention. Solomon (2002, p. 50) asserts that the perception that consumers get from brands being endorsed by celebrities is that they are interesting. This is also accompanied by a feeling of connection and positivity with the brands. There is a guarantee that the use of celebrities in promotional ventures will elicit a positive attitude towards the brands and in turn will affect the intentions to purchase. The main reason why people advertise is to persuade customers to buy their products. The whole purpose is pegged on the capability of the producers to alter the attitudes of the consumers. As persuasion is the pillar of this process, credibility in advertisements must be projected for the brand to receive the necessary attention. Athletes especially project trustworthiness, persuasiveness, expertise and objectiveness when used in advertisements (Till & Shimp 1998, p. 72). The customers are also attracted to the brands due to the attractiveness of the personality who is its spokesperson. The attractiveness is classified according to the person?s physical appearance, the relation that can be drawn with the consumer, likeability and the personality. Although the use of athletes is reliant on their skills, some of them are utilized because of their physical appearance that is not so much on the physical attractiveness but on the physique. Ohanian (1991, p. 52) asserts that the use of attractive celebrities as spokespeople is more effective than the use of others who are not as attractive. A halo effect is assumed where the excellence of a person in one direction is associated with excellence in another. An example is that the physical attractiveness of a person being related to coolness or happiness. There is an interaction between the brand and the spokesperson endorsing it. Friedman and Friedman (1979, p. 60) assert that â€Å"a famous relative to a ‘normal’ spokesperson is more effective for products high in psychological or social risk, involving such elements as good taste, self-image, and opinion of others.† There are numerous studies that have been done with the aim of examining the effectiveness that celebrities have as brand spokespeople. Martin (1996, p. 32) conducted such a study that there are those endorsements that performed exemplarily whereas others miserably failed. Michael Jordan’

Bible vs. Mythology Essay Example for Free

Bible vs. Mythology Essay There are many similarities and differences between Greek Mythology and The Bible. Whether it’s the creation of man and women, or the universe, stories have been told throughout time and some can be alike and others completely different. There are people that have gathered, translated and recorded all of these events for us now to learn about. Whether a person believes it is true or not is up to them but if a God is real how come the stories between these two different beliefs can be so similar. A strong similarity is the creation of man and the universe. However the Greek Myths and the Bible have many differences when it comes to how and why everything happened. A comparison between these two is the creation of the universe. In Genesis 1:1 it states that â€Å"the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters† (Genesis 1:2). Then throughout seven days, God created light, the sky, the sea, plants, stars, birds, animals that live in water, livestock, and finally mankind to rule over all the others. Everything starts off as a dark, empty void much like in the Greek Myths. In Mythology there was a lot of chaos to begin until Tethis the first mother mated with an endless river to create Gaia, Tartarus, and Eros. After that, Gaia (Mother Earth) mated with Ouranos (the sky) and created the Titans. The Greek God’s created all the living beings on Earth because they were bored and had nothing else to do. Unlike God it did not take seven days to create all. The Greek God’s would just think of something and it would happen. Prometheus was given the task to mold the animals from clay and Epimetheus gave them their unique abilities. In the Bible, whatever Adam called the animal was what it was named. With humans however, it took many tries for mankind to be created and with both the Bible and Mythology, there was a flood to wipe out everything. In the creation of men, both in the Bible and Myths, he was created from the earth. In the Bible man was formed from dust and God breathed life into him. When humans became so corrupted, God sent a flood to kill everything on earth. He spared Noah and his family along with seven pairs of every animal on Earth to repopulate once the flood had passed. There are two versions  from which men were created in Greek Mythology. Homer’s version is that man was molded from clay by Prometheus but was not given any special power because Epimetheus forgot about them. Hesiod’s version was that of a series of races: gold, silver, bronze, heroes, and iron. The time of the golden men was when Kronos ruled and everything was an easy, perfect paradise until they vanished. Silver was under Zeus’ rule when man had a short maturity and horrible old age. They were arrogant and disappeared under the earth. During the bronze era of man there was constant warfare until Zeus sends a flood to kill all of mankind. After that, the heroes followed, a time of mighty mortals who battled monsters and had a peaceful afterlife. Finally the era of the iron man, a balance towards fighting and attitude to the Gods. This time is also the time of the creation of women. Nowadays people don’t see women as evil but in the Bible and Myth’s women are defined as â€Å"beautiful and evil creatures† (Gods and Goddesses). The first woman, Eve, was created from the rib of Adam so women are the flesh and blood of man. Adam and Eve are the first humans in the Bible and at first all is serene and happy that is until Eve eats from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The serpent tricks her into eating the fruit and Eve shares it with Adam. Because of this Eve is evil for sharing the knowledge to Adam and leveling with God. In Greek Mythology, Prometheus and Epimetheus warn their children Deucalion and Pyrrha about the impending flood. They build an ark on which they survive and reach Mount Parnassus. That is where they consult the goddess Themis on how to repopulate the Earth. Deucalion was told: â€Å"You and your wife are to veil your heads, and as you walk from my sanctuary, throw behind you the bones of your mother† (Waterfield, Robin). So Deucalion and Pyrrha threw behind them rocks, the bones of Gaia and the rocks that Pyrrha threw formed women and the rocks Deucalion threw formed men. Another version on the creation of women is the story of Pandora and her box. Prometheus as the God of mankind is always looking out for them. He tricks Zeus into choosing the worthless offering and gives humans the better portion. As punishment Zeus takes fire from humans but Prometheus steals it back. Outraged, Zeus asks Hephaestus to forge a woman. Athena and Aphrodite taught her womanly skills, grace, and allure. Hermes gave her a cunning mind and a thieving temperament. Pandora  was sent down to Earth with a box in which all the horrible things in the world were inside. Eventually her curiosity got the best of her and Pandora opened the box unleashing all the evils into the world. This is why women are seen as beautiful and evil. Although people might think that these two subjects seem totally unrelated. They have much more in common than thought possible. This is only scratching the surface of the enormity of the comparisons between these two subjects. The main idea may be the same of a lot of these but there are many different versions separating the Bible from Greek Mythology. Works Cited Gods and Goddesses. AE Television Networks The History Channel, 2001. DVD Waterfield, Robin, and Kathryn Waterfield. The Greek Myths: Stories of the Greek Gods and Heroes Vividly Retold. London: Quercus, 2011. Print. The Bible

Concepts of Bias in the Media

Concepts of Bias in the Media What is Media Bias? What is media bias? It is the perception, correct or incorrect, that television, print, and online content particularly journalism lacks objectivity and either consciously or unconsciously skews to favor a particular ideology, agenda, or point of view, political or otherwise. The term is generally (though not exclusively) employed by conservatives who are frustrated by their perception that the news media is relentlessly liberal and unfair in its coverage of news events. A simple Google search of the phrase media bias in fact turns up an overwhelmingly disproportionate number of conservative or rightward leaning sites raging against liberal bias in the news. Arguably, then, media bias is a term that is used as a tool in political warfare: The press is often thought of as a unified voice with a distinct bias (right or left depending on the critic). This simplistic thinking fits the needs of ideological struggle, but is hardly useful in coming to a better understanding of what is hap pening in the world. (Cline, 2005) Deeper insight is critical into understanding what media bias is, beyond a buzz phrase. It is perhaps unlikely that true objectivity is possible given the inherently subjective nature of human perception and experience. Human communication always takes place in a context, through a medium, and among individuals and groups who are situated historically, politically, economically, and socially. (Cline, 2005) Balance in journalism, however, is not only possible but also desirable. It is also possible and desirable for journalists to be aware of their own prejudices and/or biases and to adjust the methodology of their news reporting accordingly. Taking pains to seek out as many sides of an issue as can be reasonably included in a story is the minimum a journalist can do to ensure balance, even if complete objectivity is ultimately unfeasible. To the extent that it occurs, however, bias is neither necessarily inherently unfair, nor does it necessarily imply untruth. Facts are facts, and although they can be used selectively and manipulated to support a certain ideological point of view, the truth is ultimately what a good journalist seeks, or at least a fair array of facts which allows the consumer of the news report to come to his or her own conclusion as to what the truth is. In his Media / Political Bias essay, news media professor Andrew R. Cline poses a variety of questions which may be used to determine whether media bias truly exists in any given news story. Here are a few of them: What is the authors / speakers socio-political position? With what social, political, or professional groups is the speaker identified? For example, numerous recent reports have shown that various departments in the United States government (including the Department of Defense, Social Security Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services) have been producing news segments, complete with fictional reporters and anchors hired by the government, which are then dispersed to television and radio stations as if they were press releases. In many cases, news outlets have run these spots unedited and without attribution explaining that the source is the government. This practice by the Bush Administration has provoked outrage from all political corners, some of which have dubbed the practice propagandistic and fascistic. Given the conservative ideological slant of the Bush Administration, it is unreasonable to assume that these faux news segments are without bias, particular ly after the Administration publicly rejected the finding of the Congressional Government Accountability Office that such stories designed to resemble independently reported broadcast news stories so that TV stations can run them without editing violate provisions in annual appropriations laws that ban covert propaganda. (Lee, 2005) Who would the government go out of its way to give itself permission to not disclose to media outlets that the Bush Administration produced its pre-packaged news segments? As alluded to above, the mere fact of their engaging in such activity does not mean that the positions advocated by the government are without merit or lacking in factual accuracy, but it is peculiar, if the Administration believes in the factual veracity of its productions, that they are unwilling to let them be subjected to scrutiny. It is therefore incumbent upon the news stations to reveal the source of these news segments, and/or seek other points of view with which to balance t he point of view articulated in these segments. Does the speaker have anything to gain personally from delivering the message? Making headlines of late in the United States is the so-called right-to-life case of Terri Schialvo, a brain-dead woman who has been on life support since an accident in 1990 that left her in a coma. Her husband and legal guardian has on twelve separate occasions received the blessing of a variety of courts to disconnect her feeding tube and allow her to die, saying he is convinced that not only does she have no hope of recovery, but she would not have wanted to live in such a vegetative fashion. However, Miss Schialvos parents disagree and want her kept alive. They hired a spokesman to handle all their media interactions, a man by the name of Randall Terry. Who is Mr. Terry? He was famous as an anti-abortion activist in the 1980s and 1990s, whose organization Operation Rescue advocated harassment and violence as a means to stop abortions and to conduct protests at abortion clinics. A 1998 lawsuit put a st op to Operation Rescues activities, leaving Mr. Terry without his key cause, and, presumably, means to earn a living. Can Mr. Terry be trusted as an objective, fair spokesperson for Terri Schialvo, given his bias? Is his goal an altruistic one, i.e. simply to save Terri Schialvos life, such that it is, or does he have another agenda, to further his own career and the cause of the religious fundamentalists who refuse to accept the various court decisions giving Mr. Schialvo the right to terminate his wifes life? Mr. Terrys own words may give some insight into his ultimate goals: In a 1995 speech, for example, Terry reportedly said of doctors who perform abortions, When I, or people like me, are running the country, youd better flee, because we will find you, we will try you and we will execute you. (Miner, 2003) This is a peculiarly ironic and hypocritical warning, given Mr. Terrys proclamation in defense of the sanctity of human existence: Life is life. (Miner, 2003) Given these fac ts, it is unlikely Mr. Terry can be trusted to be unbiased or objective given his ulterior motives and personal belief system both of which he is entitled to, but ought to be fairly and fully disclosed by those reporting on the Terry Schialvo case. How does the speaker present arguments? Is the message one-sided, or does it include alternative points of view? Does the speaker fairly present alternative arguments? Does the speaker ignore obviously conflicting arguments? If the message includes alternative points of view, how are those views characterized? Does the speaker use positive words and images to describe his/her point of view and negative words and images to describe other points of view? Does the speaker ascribe positive motivations to his/her point of view and negative motivations to alternative points of view? The most effective way to explore this series of questions is to utilize the macro-example of the Fox News Channel, owned by Rupert Murdochs News Corporation, employs the slogans We Report, You Decide and Fair and Balanced, when in fact Fox News is anything but. First, the chairman of Fox News, Roger Ailes, was the campaign manager for George Bush, Sr.s 1988 presidential campaign, and a political consultant for several subsequent Republican candidates. The 2004 documentary Outfoxed obtained internal Fox News memos that documented directives from senior management instructing news editors, assignment editors, and anchors to focus on stories mirroring talking points issued by the Republican Party on a daily basis. Notably, the Republican Party line that Democratic Senator John Kerry, George W. Bushs opponent in the 2004 presidential campaign, was a flip-flopper, is employed dozens of times by Fox News anchors out of the context of editorials, following a March 16, 2004 memo from Fox Ne ws executive John Moody setting the story of the day, which says, Kerry, starting to feel the heat from his flip-flop voting record, is in West Virginia. The documentary also shows several clips in which Fox News anchors deliver other shockingly unfair and unbalanced lines on-air, such as Assuming the unthinkable happen and Senator Kerry becomes president Former Fox News reporter John DuPre details how he was sent to California to cover Ronald Reagans 90th birthday party at the Reagan Library, only to find only a handful of citizens had showed up; when he tried to tell his superiors there was no story to be covered, he was told to lie on air that a huge crowd had amassed nonetheless. Later, DuPre was suspended and then resigned. The media watchdog organization Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) conducted a study analyzing six months of Fox News Channel programming (June to December 2003) to see if, in fact, the proportion of its guests political viewpoints was indeed fair and balanced. The study determined that 57 percent of guests were explicitly conservative, 12 percent were centrist, and 11 percent were liberal or progressive. These data speak for themselves. Another remarkable aspect of Fox News Channels analysis of current events and news is the way in which it characterizes opinions that run counter to the conservative Republican point of view. Outfoxed shows conservative talk show host Bill OReilly repeatedly demanding on several different occasions that his liberal guests shut up when they disagree with him after OReilly denies on camera that he has only silenced a guest once in such a manner. When OReilly guest Jeremy Glick, whose parents were killed in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, expressed his opinion that President Bush had helped create a foreign policy environment which fomented the hatred of Al Qaida against the United States, OReilly flew into a rage and threatened bodily harm on the air to Glick unless he left the building. On the Fox News Channel talk show Hannity Colmes, co-host Sean Hannity taunted actress Janine Garofolos stance against the Iraq war by taunting her: Saddam Hussein loves you. Ultimately, one of the most damning statistics is an October 2003 poll of regular Fox News viewers which showed that 67% believed the United States had found a link between Iraq and Al Qaida, an assertion completely unsupported by facts and explicitly rejected by President Bushs bipartisan 9/11 Commission. Can any reasonable person come to the conclusion that Fox News Channel is seeking to provide the truth to its viewing audience? What is even more chilling, however, is that several Rupert Murdoch-owned media outlets in Australia refused to run ads for Outfoxeds theatrical release in that country, claiming the film was offensive, and (unsuccessfully) threatened lawsuits to prevent its release in the United States. Fox News Channel has the First Amendment freedom to say whatever it cares to on-air, whether it be right-wing propaganda or anything at all; what is intellectually disingenuous is that the channel refuses to acknowledge its bias, and instead employs a blatantly false marketing technique to assure viewers of its journalistic objectivity. Former Fox News producer Jeff Cohen says in Outfoxed that a better slogan for Fox News would be We opine, you recline. This witty remark cuts to the heart of the issue, which is that Fox News is and should be free to be an outlet for right-wing editorializing, but it is nothing less than a travesty for a powerful 24-hour cable news channel to pretend to be a reputable source for objective reporting. To be fair to Murdoch, he has made no public secret of his wish to balance what he perceives to be the liberal bias of such media outlets as CNN, CBS News, and the New York Times, but none of these sources of news employ the crass, manipulative distortions employed by Fox News Channel. The one example, perhaps, is the story on CBS 60 Minutes program in which famed anchor Dan Rather delivered a story purporting to show documents proving George W. Bush had illegally avoided military service during Vietnam. It was subsequently determined that the documents may have been forged, and not properly vetted in a rush to air the story in time to affect the 2004 presidential election. The resulting scandal led to Rathers early retirement. These sorts of incidents, however, are few and far between in comparison to Fox News Channels regular journalistic transgressions. In forming Fox News, what Murdoch may have reacted against legitimately is the irrefutable fact that most journalists are left-leaning in their personal political views. 1997, the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) surveyed over 1,000 journalists, asking What is your political leaning? The results? 61% said Democrat or liberal-leaning; 15% said conservative or Republican-leaning, and the rest identified themselves as independents or centrists. Not only that, but the proportion of journalists identifying themselves as conservative or Republican-leaning had declined 7% since the survey was first taken in 1988, whereas the liberal-leaning/Democratic statistic was unchanged. Is it possible for these 61% to not consciously or unconsciously let their personal views affect the way in which they report the news? The political proportions found in the ASNE rather closely resemble the political proportions of the guests on Fox News Channel, except in reverse. Nobody can say whether this is a coincidence or not, but Murdochs formula is certainly enjoying a considerable amount of success. Fox News ratings are even eclipsing those of longtime cable news giant CNN: [As of March 2, 2005] FNC averaged 1.57 million viewers in primetime, up 18 percent from the same period last year, while CNN fell 21 percent to 637,000 viewers from the same time period The growth appeared across the board at Fox News: On the Record With Greta Van Susteren up 37 percent; Hannity Colmes up 19 percent; Special Report With Brit Hume up 20 percent; and The OReilly Factor, up 9 percent. (WorldNetDaily, 2005) Clearly there is a hunger for what Fox News is peddling, whether it be garbage or truly fair and balanced. The real question is why Murdoch and Roger Ailes arent simply calling Fox News exactly what it is: an unashamedly biased and partisan source of conservative propaganda. What, indeed, is wrong with bias as long as there are a fair number of balanced biased outlets available for people to choose from? As alluded to before, Murdoch and Ailes are perfectly entitled to program their cable channel any way they care to; it is within their First Amendment right to do so. However, given the fact that millions of people tune in to Fox News, in many cases solely to Fox News, to become informed, it is a travesty of journalism that Murdoch and Ailes arent being honest about what their channel is peddling. If they were to claim that CBS and the New York Times are not honest about the liberal slant of their journalistic wares, then the challenge for Fox News is to one-up its rivals in integrity by being honest about what it is. Until such time, as they do, they are the ultimate example of media bia s; they are not a cure for the problem, but a mutation of a terrible virus. BIBLIOGRAPHY Cline, Dr. Andrew R. Media / Political Bias, University of Missouri, 2005. Lee, Christopher. Administration Rejects Ruling on PR Videos, Washington Post, March 14, 2005. Miner, Barbara. Randall Terry Resurfaces: Christian Right Jumps into Terri Schiavo Fray In These Times, November 24, 2003. Outfoxed, documentary produced and directed by Robert Greenwald, Carolina Productions / MoveOn.org / The Disinformation Company, 2004 American Society of Newspaper Editors Survey, 1997. Available from: http://www.asne.org/kiosk/reports/97reports/journalists90s/survey19.html CNN Tanking as Fox News Surges, WorldNetDaily, March 2, 2005

Dilemmas in Assessment of Student Writing :: English Writing Teacher Student

Being a new teacher of English, I find the assessment of compositions to be a concept I question and struggle with on a regular basis. Having consulted several colleagues, mentors, administrators, and fellow graduate students, I have come to the conclusion that there is no easy answer to this tedious yet ever important question. While there are many inlets and outlets to this dilemma, for the sake of time I will touch on only three. While all three are very different in terms of concepts, rituals, and conducts, they all come together to one common goal - helping students express themselves in terms of writing. Subjectivity While assessment can give students, parents, and administrators a view of where a student stands in terms of achievement, one must always remember that the grade is subjective. There is no right or wrong answer in English, as there is in math or other quantitative areas of study. The basis of â€Å"a grade† depends upon a student’s ability to choose a course of thought and convey it accurately and convincingly in written form. The subjectivity falls in how the teacher interprets or responds to the ideas and supporting information. For example, during my first venture as a student teacher, I was given the task of grading â€Å"free choice† essays. The students were given free range of the subject matter, and were told to write an insightful and poignant essay on the topic of their choice. After grading the papers, my mentor sat with me and we discussed some of the grades I had given for several of the students’ papers. Upon glancing briefly at the comments I had made and the grades I had given, my mentor began asking direct questions as to why I would grade certain papers one way, but would assign a different grade to others that were quite similar. As she went on to read through other papers, she would agree with some of my grades, but strongly disagree with others. I found this interesting because, while we were both reading the same essays, we were focusing on different points or concepts, which shaded our perception of the piece as a whole. In retrospect, I believe that afternoon spent rereading essays with my mentor was one of the best teaching practices that I have come across. Once in a while, teachers needed to refocus their grading instincts by, in effect, orally defending their stance on grading policies.

A Kinetic Study of the Base Catalyzed Cleavage

The University of Lethbridge Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry Chemistry 2740 Laboratory Experiment 2 A KINETIC STUDY OF THE BASE CATALYZED CLEAVAGE OF DIACETONE ALCOHOL USING A DILATOMETER The decomposition of diacetone alcohol into two molecules of acetone is catalyzed by hydroxide ions and is an example of an aldol condensation in reverse. O OH OHO 2CH3-C-CH3 CH3-C-CH2-C(CH3)2 The rate of decomposition is first-order with respect to the concentrations of both diacetone alcohol and hydroxide ion: Rate = k[OH-][diacetone alcohol] (1)However, since hydroxide ion is a catalyst its concentration remains constant during the reaction. The overall reaction appears first-order (i. e. is a â€Å"pseudo first order reaction†) and follows the observable rate law Rate = k' [diacetone alcohol] where k' = k [OH-] (2) Since the overall reaction is first-order we can study the kinetics of the reaction by measuring any property of the system that undergoes a change which is proportional to the extent of reaction. Such a property in this case is the volume of the reaction solution.The effective volume of one molecule of diacetone alcohol is not the same as the effective volume of two molecules of acetone and as a result the total volume of the reaction solution changes as the reaction proceeds. In this case the solution expands although in some reactions it contracts. A simple instrument for measuring volume changes is a dilatometer which consists of a glass bulb to which is attached a tube with a stopcock (for filling the bulb) and also a piece of long capillary tubing.The bulb is filled with reaction solution to the point where liquid just enters the capillary tube and then the stopcock on the filling tube is closed. As the solution expands it does so into the capillary tube causing the meniscus in the tube to rise. By measuring the distance up the capillary tube that the meniscus travels one has a measure of the volume change. One can determine the actual volume change if the crosssectional area of the capillary is known but even that is not necessary in this experiment.Since the position of the meniscus in the capillary column can be measured accurately using a cathetometer, this is a good experiment to test the Guggenheim method for determining first-order rate constants (refer to Appendix A on â€Å"First-order Reactions†). In this method readings are generally made at times t0, t1, t2, t3, etc. , with each reading Page 2 – 1 Chemistry 2740 Laboratory Experiment 2 taken at a constant, accurately determined time interval after the preceding measurement. The resulting data list is divided into equal halves.For example, if there are 20 readings taken at times t 0 – t19 with corresponding measurements P0 – P19, the data would be divided in two between readings P9 at t 9 and P10 at t10. Next, the differences between the measurements in the two data sets are taken, i. e. , P0-P10, P1-P11, P2-P12, etc. Notice that t he time interval between each pair of readings is constant. Finally a plot of the natural logarithm of the differences against time, i. e. , ln(P0-P10), ln(P1-P11),†¦ vs. t0, t 1,†¦ should yield a straight line of slope -k, the first-order rate constant.Apparatus Cathetometer, 3 dilatometers, timer. A dilatometer is a device for measuring the expansion (or contraction) of a liquid. Ours is of relatively simple design and was made locally by Luis Delgado from various pieces of glassware. It consists of an expansion bulb to which is attached a fine capillary tube with a narrow and hopefully uniform bore. The expansion tube is connected at the other end to a filling tube through a stopcock. When the stopcock is closed, a solution in the expansion tube can only expand up the capillary tube.The volume of liquid in a capillary or cylinder is given by the cross-sectional area, A, of the cylinder times its length, l (V = A x l). Thus by measuring the travel, ? l, of the liquid up the capillary tube one has a quantity that is proportional to the change in volume of the reaction mixture (? V = A x ? l). As a result one can follow first order reactions with a dilatometer and use the first order equation ln [(lo – l? ) / (lt – l? )]= kt Stopcock Capillary tube Filling tube Expansion bulb (3) A Dilatometer and other equations such as the Guggenheim equation that are derived from it to analyze the results.This assumes that ? l (and therefore ? V) is proportional to the extent of reaction. One must be careful with thermostating when using a dilatometer. A dilatometer, after all, is a glorified thermometer and a quite sensitive one at that. Thus the apparatus and the reaction solution must be pre-equilibrated to the temperature of the reaction. The Page 2 – 2 Chemistry 2740 Laboratory Experiment 2 dilatometer is filled by pouring reaction mixture into the filling tube. Try to pour down the centre of the tube and not down the walls of the tube.Al so do not fill the filling tube above the level of the water in the water bath because the part of the filling tube above water level will not be well thermostated. Next the reaction mixture must be forced into the expansion bulb by use of a rubber bulb applied to the top opening of the filling tube. Often air bubbles become trapped just below the stopcock. These can be removed by sucking back with the rubber bulb. Continue to add more reaction mixture to the filling tube, as necessary. Force reaction mixture into the expansion bulb until the liquid level reaches the top of the bulb just below the capillary tube.Stop forcing liquid into the bulb and allow the liquid level to rise into the capillary tube as a result of the flow of liquid from the filling tube to the expansion bulb. DO NOT FORCE LIQUID INTO THE CAPILLARY TUBE. Close the stopcock. The dilatometer is now ready for making measurements of the meniscus height. The cathetometer is a device for measuring the relative height of the liquid column in the capillary. It consists of a vertical steel rod with a scale marked along its length and a telescope that runs up and down the rod.In operation one measures the height of the liquid column by moving the telescope so that the cross-hair is focussed on the meniscus of the liquid column. The position of the telescope (and thus the meniscus) is then read off the scale on the bar with the aid of a vernier. Ensure that you can read the vernier scale (refer to Appendix B on â€Å"Reading a Vernier†) and can operate the telescope (focus, movement up and down, and leveling) before proceeding with measurements. Reagents Diacetone alcohol, ~ 0. 40 M NaOH. Waste Disposal A 4-litre bottle for the collection of wastes is supplied with the experimental set up.All excess stock reagents and reaction solutions should be disposed of in this bottle. The glassware can then be given a single small rinse into the waste container before being cleaned further in the sink. I n preparing reaction solutions only remove as much reagent from the stock container as is necessary to make the reaction mixtures. Page 2 – 3 Chemistry 2740 Laboratory Experiment 2 Procedure Notes: 1) In order to finish this lab in the time allotted, students must be well organized and prepared to start this experiment at the beginning of the period. 2) The ~ 0. 40 M NaOH solution will need to be standardized by each group.This can be done before or after the experiment is completed, but must be done before the calculations for the report are started. Students can arrange a suitable time for this with their instructor. (Note: A similar task was performed in Chemistry 1000 lab; it may be helpful for you to review that procedure. ) Three kinetic runs should be performed at hydroxide ion concentrations of approximately 0. 100, 0. 200 and 0. 400 M. Prepare 100 mL each of 0. 100 M and 0. 200 M sodium hydroxide solutions from the 0. 400 M solution provided. Allow a dilatometer to t hermostat in the 25 ° C water bath. Pipette exactly 50 mL of 0. 00 M NaOH solution into a 200 mL Erlenmeyer flask, stopper the flask, and allow it to thermostat in the bath as well. When the dilatometer and sodium hydroxide solution have been thermostated for at least 10 minutes, start the reaction by adding with a pipette 2 mL of diacetone alcohol into the flask containing the 50 mL of 0. 100 M NaOH solution. Stopper the flask, shake it vigorously to ensure mixing and then let it stand in the water bath for a short period to allow the bubbles to settle. Pour the settled solution into the filling tube of the dilatometer and proceed to fill the dilatometer as outlined above.When the solution enters the capillary close the stopcock on the filling tube ensuring that no bubbles remain in the bulb. Clamp the dilatometer firmly in place in the bath so that the expansion bulb is covered with water. Commence reading the height of the meniscus in the capillary column with the cathetometer and continue to do so at exactly 3-minute intervals for at least 15 readings (45 minutes). The first reading can be obtained by clamping the telescope so that the cross-hair is just above the meniscus; start the clock as the meniscus climbs to the crosshair. Because the telescope inverts its image, the meniscus will appear to be below the cross-hair when it is actually above and the meniscus will appear to be travelling down when it is actually travelling up the capillary. ) Subsequent readings will require close cooperation between lab partners. One person should follow the meniscus with the telescope while the other partner gives out the time so that the first partner can clamp the telescope in position at exactly 3-minute intervals. Page 2 – 4 Chemistry 2740 Laboratory Experiment 2 When the readings have been completed put the dilatometer aside and proceed to the second experiment.While the first experiment is being performed, the dilatometer and the 50 mL of sodium hydrox ide solution for the second experiment should be clamped in the bath to thermostat. Repeat the procedure using 0. 200 M NaOH and 0. 400 M NaOH in place of 0. 100 M NaOH and with time intervals of 1. 5 and 0. 75 minutes respectively. In the case of the run using 0. 400 M NaOH, allow the reaction to go to completion and then read the height of the meniscus. Before leaving the laboratory, please enter names, date, and experimental data into the computer. DO NOT FORGET TO ENTER YOUR STANDARDIZATION DATA INTO THE COMPUTER ONCE YOU HAVE OBTAINED IT.Calculations and Report Use the Guggenheim method to calculate the apparent first-order rate constants (k’) for each run. For the last run, also calculate k’ using equation (3). Compare the rate constants calculated by the two methods and discuss the validity of using the Guggenheim method to calculate rate constants (i. e. discuss if the value calculated using the Guggenheim method compares favourably to the value calculated usin g the standard method). Calculate the second-order rate constants (k) in each case and discuss this confirmation of the first-order dependence on hydroxide ion concentration. Page 2 – 5

Bloodlines Chapter Thirteen

MY CELL PHONE RANG at the crack of dawn the next morning. I was already up, being an early riser, but Jill rolled over in bed and put her pillow over her head. â€Å"Make it stop,† she groaned. I answered and found Eddie on the other end of the line. â€Å"I'm downstairs,† he said. â€Å"Ready to practice some self-defense before it gets too hot.† â€Å"You're going to have to do it without me,† I said. I had a feeling Eddie was taking his promise to Clarence about training us very seriously. I felt no such obligation. â€Å"I've got a ton of homework to do. That, and I'm sure Ms. Terwilliger's going to make me do a coffee run today.† â€Å"Well, then send Jill down,† said Eddie. I glanced over to the cocoon of blankets on her bed. â€Å"That might be easier said than done.† Surprisingly, she managed to rouse herself enough to brush her teeth, take aspirin for a headache, and throw on some workout clothes. She bid me farewell, and I promised to check on them later. Not long after that, Ms. Terwilliger called with her coffee demand, and I prepared myself for another day of trying to fit in my own work with hers. I drove over to Spencer's and didn't even notice Trey until I was standing right in front of him. â€Å"Ms. Terwilliger's?† he asked, pointing to the caramel sauce cappuccino. â€Å"Huh?† I looked up. Trey was my cashier. â€Å"You work here?† He nodded. â€Å"Gotta make spending money somehow.† I handed him some cash, noting that he'd charged me half price. â€Å"Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't look so great,† I told him. He looked tired and worn out around the edges. Closer inspection showed bruises and cuts as well. â€Å"Yeah, well, I had kind of a rough day yesterday.† I hesitated. That was a leading comment, but there was no one in line behind me. â€Å"What happened?† I asked, knowing it was expected. Trey scowled. â€Å"That asshole Greg Slade wreaked havoc in football tryouts yesterday. I mean, the results aren't up yet, but it's pretty obvious he's going to get quarterback. He was like a machine, just plowing guys over.† He extended his left hand, which had some bandage-wrapped fingers. â€Å"He stepped on my hand too.† I winced, remembering Slade's out-of-control athleticism in PE. The politics of high school football and who was quarterback weren't that important to me. True, I felt sorry for Trey, but it was the source behind the tattoos that intrigued me. Keith's warnings about not causing trouble rang back to me, but I was unable to stop myself. â€Å"I know about the tattoos,† I said. â€Å"Julia and Kristin told me about them. And I get now why you were suspicious of mine – but it's not what you think. Really.† â€Å"That's not what I've heard. Most people think you're just saying that because you don't want to tell where you got it.† I was a little taken aback by that. I was pretty sure Julia and Kristin had believed me. Were they actually spreading around the opposite? â€Å"I had no idea.† He shrugged, a small smile on his lips. â€Å"Don't worry. I believe you. There's something kind of naively charming about you. You don't seem like the cheating type.† â€Å"Hey,† I scolded. â€Å"I'm not naive.† â€Å"It was a compliment.† â€Å"How long have these tattoos been around?† I asked, deciding it was best to move in. â€Å"I heard since last year.† He handed me my coffee, thinking. â€Å"Yeah, but it was the end of last year. School year, I mean.† â€Å"And they come from a placed called Nevermore?† â€Å"As far as I know.† Trey eyed me suspiciously. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Just curious,† I said sweetly. A couple of college kids dressed like rich hobos got in line behind me and regarded us impatiently. â€Å"Can we get some service here?† Trey gave them a stiff smile and then rolled his eyes at me as I moved away. â€Å"See you around, Melbourne.† I headed back to Amberwood and delivered Ms. Terwilliger's coffee. I wasn't in the mood to stay leashed to her all day, so I asked if I could go elsewhere if I kept my cell phone handy. She agreed. The library had too much activity and – ironically – noise for me today. I wanted the solitude of my room. As I was cutting across the lawn to catch the shuttle, I spotted some familiar figures behind a cluster of trees. I changed direction and found Jill and Eddie squaring off in a small clearing. Micah sat cross-legged on the ground, watching avidly. He waved at me as I approached. â€Å"I didn't realize your brother was a kung-fu master,† he remarked. â€Å"It's not kung fu,† said Eddie gruffly, never taking his eyes off Jill. â€Å"Same difference,† said Micah. â€Å"It's still pretty badass.† Eddie feinted, like he was going to strike at Jill's side. She responded fairly quickly with a block, though not quite fast enough to match him. Had he been serious, he would have hit her. Still, he seemed pleased with her response time. â€Å"Good. That would deflect part of a hit, though you'd still feel it. Best is if you can duck and dodge altogether, but that takes a little more work.† Jill nodded obediently. â€Å"When can we work on that?† Eddie regarded her with pride. That expression softened after a few moments of study. â€Å"Not today. Too much sun.† Jill started to protest and then stopped herself. She had that worn-out-from-the-light look again and was sweating heavily. She glanced up at the sky for a moment, as though begging it to give us some cloud cover. It remained unresponsive, so she nodded at Eddie. â€Å"All right. But we're doing this tomorrow at the same time? Or earlier maybe. Or maybe tonight! Could we do both? Practice tonight when the sun's going down and then again in the morning? Would you mind?† Eddie grinned, amused at her enthusiasm. â€Å"Whatever you want.† Smiling back, Jill sat down beside me, getting into as much shade as possible. Eddie regarded me expectantly. â€Å"What?† I asked. â€Å"Aren't you supposed to learn to throw a punch?† I scoffed. â€Å"No. When would I ever need to do that?† Jill nudged me. â€Å"Do it, Sydney!† Reluctantly, I allowed Eddie to give me a quick lesson on throwing a punch without injuring my hand in the process. I barely paid attention and felt like I was mostly providing entertainment for the others. When Eddie finished with me, Micah asked, â€Å"Hey, would you mind showing me some ninja moves too?† â€Å"They have nothing to do with ninjas,† protested Eddie, still smiling. â€Å"Come on up.† Micah leapt to his feet, and Eddie walked him through some rudimentary steps. More than anything, it seemed like Eddie was sizing up Micah and his capabilities. After a while, Eddie grew comfortable and let Micah practice some offensive moves to get rid of an attacker. â€Å"Hey,† protested Jill when Eddie landed a kick on Micah. Micah shrugged it off in a guy kind of way. â€Å"No fair. You wouldn't hit me when we were practicing.† Eddie was caught off guard enough that Micah actually got a hit in. Eddie gave him a look of grudging respect and then said to Jill, â€Å"That was different.† â€Å"Because I'm a girl?† she demanded. â€Å"You never held back with Rose.† â€Å"Who's Rose?† asked Micah. â€Å"Another friend,† explained Eddie. To Jill, he said: â€Å"And Rose has had years more experience than you.† â€Å"She's had more than Micah too. You were going easy on me.† Eddie flushed and kept his eyes on Micah. â€Å"Was not,† he said. â€Å"Were too,† she muttered. As the boys sparred again, she said quietly to me, â€Å"How am I ever going to learn if he's afraid of breaking me?† I watched the guys, analyzing what I knew of Eddie so far. â€Å"I think it's more complicated than that. I think he also just believes you shouldn't have to take the risk – that if he's doing a good enough job, you shouldn't have to defend yourself.† â€Å"He's doing a great job. You should have seen him at the attack.† Her face got that haunted look it did whenever the attack that had driven her into hiding was mentioned. â€Å"But I still need to learn.† She lowered her voice even more. â€Å"I really want to learn to use my magic to fight too, not that I'll get much practice in this desert.† I shuddered, recalling her display from the night before. â€Å"There'll be time,† I said vaguely. I stood up, saying I had to go get some work done. Micah asked Eddie and Jill if they wanted to get lunch. Eddie said yes immediately. Jill looked to me for help. â€Å"It's just lunch,† said Eddie meaningfully. I knew he still thought Micah was harmless. I didn't know, but after seeing how infatuated Jill was with Lee, I figured Micah would have to make some pretty aggressive moves to get anywhere. â€Å"I'm sure it's fine,† I said. Jill looked relieved, and the group headed off. I spent the day finishing off that miserable book for Ms. Terwilliger. I still thought having to copy the archaic spells and rituals verbatim was a waste of time. The only point I could see for it was that if she ever did need to reference them for her research, she would have an easy computer file to check and not risk damage to the ancient book. It was evening by the time I finished that and my other homework. Jill still wasn't back, and I decided to use the opportunity to check on something that had been bothering me. Earlier in the day, Jill had mentioned Eddie defending her in the attack. I'd felt from the beginning that there was something strange about that initial attack, something that they weren't telling me. So, I logged onto the Alchemists' network and pulled up everything we had on the Moroi rebels. Naturally, it was all documented. We had to keep track of important events among the Moroi, and this ranked pretty high. Somehow, the Alchemists had gotten pictures of the Moroi Court, with protesters lined up outside one of the administrative buildings. Dhampir guardians were easy to pick out as they mingled and kept order. To my surprise, I recognized Dimitri Belikov – Rose's boyfriend – among those doing crowd control. He was easy to spot since he was almost always taller than everyone around him. Dhampirs look very human, and even I could admit that he was pretty good-looking. There was a rugged handsomeness to him, and even in a still photograph, I could see a fierceness as he watched the crowd. Other protest pictures confirmed what I knew. By far, most people supported the young queen. Those against her were a minority – but a loud and dangerous one. A video from a human news show in Denver showed two Moroi guys nearly getting in a bar fight. They were shouting about queens and justice, most of which wouldn't make sense to a human observer. What made this video special was that the guy who'd filmed it – some random human with a cell phone camera – claimed he'd seen fangs on both men in the argument. The videographer had submitted his recording claiming he'd witnessed a vampire fight, but no one gave it much credibility. It was too grainy for anything to show up. Still, it was a reminder of what could happen if the Moroi situation spun out of control. A status check showed me that Queen Vasilisa was indeed trying to get a law passed so that her rule was no longer dependent on there being at least one other person in her royal family. Alchemist experts guessed it would take three months, which was about what Rose had said. The number loomed in my head like a ticking time bomb. We needed to keep Jill safe for three months. And for three months, Vasilisa's enemies would be trying harder than ever to get to Jill. If Jill died, Vasilisa's rule would end – along with her attempts to fix the system. Yet none of this was what had really driven me to research. I wanted to know about Jill's initial attack, the one that no one talked about. What I found wasn't much help. No Alchemists had been there at the time, of course, so our information was based on what Moroi sources had reported. All we knew was that â€Å"the queen's sister had been viciously and severely attacked – but had made a full recovery.† From what I'd observed, that was certainly true. Jill showed no signs of injury, and the attack had occurred a week before she came to Palm Springs. Was that enough time to heal from a â€Å"vicious and severe† attack? And was an attack like that enough to make her wake screaming? I didn't know but still couldn't shake my suspicions. When Jill came home later, she was in such a good mood that I couldn't bear to interrogate her. I also remembered too late that I'd meant to research the case of Clarence's niece and her bizarre death by throat-slitting. Jill's situation had distracted me. I let the matter go and called it an early night. Tomorrow, I thought drowsily. I'll do it all tomorrow. Tomorrow came much more quickly than I expected. I was woken out of a heavy sleep by someone shaking me, and for a split second, the old nightmare was there, the one about Alchemists carrying me away in the night. Recognizing Jill, I just barely stopped myself from screaming. â€Å"Hey, hey,† I scolded. There was light outside, but it was purplish. Barely after sunrise. â€Å"What's going on? What's the matter?† Jill looked at me, face grim and eyes wide with fear. â€Å"It's Adrian. You have to rescue him.†

Popular Food - Mandarin Chinese Vocabulary

Popular Food - Mandarin Chinese Vocabulary Chinese food is one of the most popular types of cuisine worldwide. Its no wonder! Chinese food is tasty, healthy, and the wide variety means theres something for every taste. As with many cultural exports, the names of some Chinese dishes have changed by the time they arrived in other countries. So if you visit China or Taiwan, you may find that the names of dishes are unfamiliar. List of Popular Chinese Food Names If you visit a Mandarin-speaking country, this list of popular Chinese food dishes will help when it comes time to ordering food. The items have been roughly arranged by type of food. Click on the links in the Pinyin column to hear the audio. English Pinyin Characters boiled dumplings shu jio sticky buns mn tou steamed stuffed bun bo zi fried noodles cho min plain noodles yng chn min fried rice noodles cho m fn steamed white rice bi fn sushi shu s vegetarian platter s sh jn white radish patty lubo go spicy tofu m p dufu beef and rice niru fn egg omelet dn bng chicken leg and rice j tu fn Peking duck bi jing koy pork chop and rice pig fn fish cooked in soy sauce hng sho y fried rice with shrimp xi rn cho fn crab png xi egg and vegetable soup dnhutng seaweed soup z ci tng hot and sour soup sun l tng

Email Etiquette

Email Etiquette Email Etiquette Email Etiquette By Ali Hale If you work in an office, you probably write emails every day – to colleagues, to your boss, to clients. Even if you’re still at college, you’ll need to email your lecturers once in a while (maybe to plead for an essay extension, or to ask for help) – and many employers now expect resumes and cover letters to be sent by email. So, being able to write a professional, business-like email is a crucial skill. Daily Writing Tips has already covered the email subject line, but the body of your message also matters. 1. Start with a salutation Your email should open by addressing the person you’re writing to. Sure, you can get away with leaving out the salutation when you’re dashing off an email to your friend, but business-like messages should begin with: Dear Mr Jones, or Dear Professor Smith, (for someone you don’t know well, especially if they’re a superior) Dear Joe, or Dear Mandy, (if you have a working relationship with the person) It’s fine to use â€Å"Hi Joe†, â€Å"Hello Joe† or just the name followed by a comma (â€Å"Joe,†) if you know the person well – writing â€Å"Dear Joe† to one of your team-mates will look odd! 2. Write in short paragraphs Get straight to the point – don’t waste time waffling. Split your email into two to four short paragraphs, each one dealing with a single idea. Consider using bullet-points for extra clarity, perhaps if you are: Listing several questions for the recipient to answer Suggesting a number of alternative options Explaining the steps that you’ll be carrying out Put a double line break, rather than an indent (tab), between paragraphs. 3. Stick to one topic If you need to write to someone about several different issues (for example, if you’re giving your boss an update on Project X, asking him for a review meeting to discuss a payrise, and telling him that you’ve got a doctor’s appointment on Friday), then don’t put them all in the same email. It’s hard for people to keep track of different email threads and conversations if topics are jumbled up. 4. Use capitals appropriately Emails should follow the same rules of punctuation as other writing. Capitals are often misused. In particular, you should: Never write a whole sentence (or worse, a whole email) in capitals Always capitalise â€Å"I† and the first letter of proper nouns (names) Capitalise acronymns (USA, BBC, RSPCA) Always start sentences with a capital letter. This makes your email easier to read: try retyping one of the emails you’ve received in ALL CAPS or all lower case, and see how much harder it is to follow! 5. Sign off the email For short internal company emails, you can get away with just putting a double space after your last paragraph then typing your name. If you’re writing a more formal email, though, it’s essential to close it appropriately. Use Yours sincerely, (when you know the name of your addressee) and Yours faithfully, (when you’ve addressed it to â€Å"Dear Sir/Madam†) for very formal emails such as job applications. Use Best regards, or Kind regards, in most other situations. Even when writing to people you know well, it’s polite to sign off with something such as â€Å"All the best,† â€Å"Take care,† or â€Å"Have a nice day,† before typing your name. 6. Use a sensible email signature Hopefully this is common sense – but don’t cram your email signature with quotes from your favourite TV show, motivational speaker or witty friend. Do include your name, email address, telephone number and postal address (where appropriate) – obviously, your company may have some guidelines on these. It makes it easy for your correspondents to find your contact details: they don’t need to root through for the first message you sent them, but can just look in the footer of any of your emails. Putting it all together Compare the following two job applications. The content of the emails are identical – but who would you give the job to? i’ve attached my resume i would be grateful if you could read it and get back to me at your earliest convenience. i have all the experience you are looking for – i’ve worked in a customer-facing environment for three years, i am competent with ms office and i enjoy working as part of a team. thanks for your time Or Dear Sir/Madam, I’ve attached my resume. I would be grateful if you could read it and get back to me at your earliest convenience. I have all the experience you are looking for: I’ve worked in a customer-facing environment for three years I am competent with MS office I enjoy working as part of a team Thanks for your time. Yours faithfully, Joe Bloggs Have you ever received a really badly written email? Or have you ever been told you need to brush up your own email writing? Share your email etiquette horror stories – and any of your tips – in the comments! Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Idioms About Legs, Feet, and ToesThat vs. WhichDrama vs. Melodrama

A Psychological Analysis of Alice Walkers Everyday Use Essay -- Every

The human mind is divided into three parts that make up the mind as a whole. These parts are necessary to have a complete mind, just as the members of a family are needed to make up the entire family. The use of components to equal a whole is often exercised in literature. Alice Walker's short story, "Everyday Use," contains the idea of family and of the mind, therefore her work can be evaluated through psychological methods. Through their actions, the characters symbolize the three different parts of the mind: the id, the ego, and the superego. The first type of mind division, the id, "constantly strives to satisfy basic drives...[and] seeks immediate gratification" (Myers 379). In "Everyday Use," Dee's personality is equivalent to the id because she seeks her own personal gain and does not necessarily consider the consequences of her actions. Mama, the narrator in "Everyday Use," says that "Dee wanted nice things. She was determined to stare down any disaster in her efforts" (Walker 92). Dee strives for satisfaction in all she does; she will do everything in her power to get what she desires. The story recounts a situation in which Dee wants some quilts that were stiched by her grandmother, but Mama has already promised these treasures to Dee's sister, Maggie. Mama said that as she "[moved] up to touch the quilts. Dee moved back just enough so that [Mama] couldn't reach the quilts. They already belonged to [Dee]" (Walker 96). Mama explains that Dee is determined to gain possession of the quilts. Although the quilts belong to her mother, Dee has already mentally determined that the quilts belong to her. Dee's personality is comparable to the id branch of the The use of psychological strategies in the Walker's work shows that the characters are joined and create one unit, a family. Works Cited Alice Malsenior Walker: An Annotated Bibliography, 1968-1986. Eds. Louis H. Pratt and Donnell D. Pratt. Connecticut: Meckler Corporation, 1988. Everyday Use: Alice Walker. Ed. Barbara T. Christian. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1994. Myers, David G. Exploring Psychology. Third edition. New York: Worth Publishing, 1996. Walker, Alice. "Everyday Use." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Sixth edition. Eds. X.J. Dennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Harper Collins, 1995. http://www.dc.peachnet.edu/~shale/humanities/composition/handouts/sample/walker.html http://www.luminarium.org/contemporary/alicew/ http://www.seattletimes.com/extra/browse/html97/altalic_051697.html

Sex in Contemporary China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sex in Contemporary China - Essay Example Exposure has led to the emergence of certain practices in the world that never existed in the ancient world. The Chinese people are revered for their rich store of culture. Rich cultural histories have made it possible to analyze and make comparisons between cultures in different ages, and their perceptions on sexuality. On the subject of sex and desire, the Chinese culture adopted a range of views that shaped their beliefs. The topic of sexuality was viewed differently in the ancient times than in the modern times. The various changes in Chinese sexual culture, in modern China, were influenced by reforms that begun in the early 1980s. These reforms introduced a different perception of sexuality. With the reforms, the Chinese government continuously lost its grip on the restrictions that it had imposed on the people, which limited sexual practices. However, the government also allowed for the continuation of certain sexual practices that have continued to the modern world, and had profound influences on the people’s sexual culture. The modern Chinese culture is rife with sexual practices that have their roots to the ancient cultures allowed during the Mao Zedong era. However, the practices changed during the reign of the Qing dynasty more than three thousand years ago. China has been characterized by changes in the patterns of sexual desire. The modern china is characterized by the prevalence of same-sex sexual desire. The same sex desire has taken the path of lesbianism and homosexuality. Lesbianism has had a long but hidden history. This practice existed in ancient times, when parents allowed their daughters to engage in latent lesbian activities to avoid public embarrassment of the family in case they got pregnant. Modernity has paved way for the increase in this practice because several arguments have been advanced to support the practice. Firstly, lesbianism in china is seen as more spiritual and less sexual. The prevalence of lesbianism can be traced back to the ancient times when the ancient leaders prom oted homosexuality. This led to neglect of women in pursuance of sexual pleasure that resulted to women looking for other sources of sexual pleasure. The only resort was to unite with other females who shared the circumstances in a bid to satisfy their sexual desires. This practice was carried on to the modern world and has become more prevalent in china (Vosburg, 130). Secondly, the increase in number of same-sex relations has been followed by constant activism and lobbied for recognition. Coupled with the free world as a result of technological advancements, the Chinese culture has been under a lot of pleasure allowing for formal recognition of such practices. Although the Chinese laws prohibit Lesbianism, this sexual preference has been allowed a lot of freedom in China. The major cities in China are flooded with lesbian bars, cafes that give evidence for the prevalence of this practice. Thirdly, lesbianism has also been rampant in modern China because of independence among women . Access to education has made women attract well paying jobs, which has led to financial independence, a crucial role that was played by men in society (Vosburg, 133). Non dependence on men for the provision of basic needs has given women the freedom and will to choose their own path in life, including their sexual preference. The pressures of work give women limited time for interaction with their men. This has killed the desire

Fashion journalism and Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Fashion journalism and Internet - Essay Example It is not clear when this great disparity in the presentation of media began, but it is evident that there has been a great change in the presentation of fashion journalism by the media (Hall-Duncan 1979 pp.23). Among the contrivances that led to the development of fashion journalism before the introduction of internet include use of print media like magazines, televisions that aroused the curiosity of many people towards journalism. Breward (2003 pp.18) indicates that with the invention of internet, the mass had already devised an idea about fashion and its benefits. It is as a result of internet that people who had already invested or rather had an interest in the field of fashion journalism ended up presenting their ideas in a better and easier way. These personalities not only ventured in their localities but in a global context. The advent of the internet, however, seemed unwelcome by many individuals, not aware of the fact that it was bound to benefit various aspects of the eco nomy, fashion journalism being one of them. ... Deuze (2007 pp.19) on the other hand indicates that the numbers of people who purchase fashion magazines as a source of information related to culture have resulted into a shift in the use of internet as a source of information. Magazines and articles related to fashion have recorded a tremendous decrease in sales per annum, due to the fact that a majority of the people prefers the use of the internet. Majority of the households in the UK have access to the internet and find it cheaper to use the internet to update themselves on fashion unlike the print media, which majority of the people toady refer to it as stressful ‘paper work’. Freedman (2006 pp.61) traces the advent of the internet on the promotion of fashion journalism in the early twentieth century. Majority of the journalists had an easier time covering stories on fashion with the use of the internet unlike in the era of ‘darkness’ (Fuery 2009 pp.56). This essay will endeavor to highlight and critic ally analyze the impacts of the advent and use of the internet in fashion journalism according to the views of various analysts that have contributed to this topic. The essay will also attempt to highlight specific examples of the use of the internet in various circumstances to improve on fashion journalism. 1.1. Body 1.1.1. Access to material The internet has influenced fashion journalism in various ways. Thanks to the internet, many journalists in the field of journalism are in a good position to view as many images as they can form the internet. This is unlike before when the journalists only relied on information that was presented by specific print media. In short, the journalists were not presented with a

Critically evaluate the extent to which Frederick W Taylor's notion of Essay

Critically evaluate the extent to which Frederick W Taylor's notion of Scientific Management has had a lasting impact on management thinking and practice with - Essay Example Taylorism is an amusing and handy way to describe a sort of ruthless and quasi-Victorian efficiency that melds man with machine, often to mans disadvantage. However, Taylor did not intend it to be this way. He developed scientific management with good intentions to lighten the load of manual workers. Taylor also wishes to minimize waste in time, energy and abilities of worker as well as assuage poverty. But if his rigid methods fall into the hands of a brutal employer the results are often not to be desired and are contradictory to what his real intentions are. Thus the word Taylorism was born (Scientific Management 2008). In Taylor (2004, pp.3-4) own words â€Å"The art of management has been defined ‘as knowing exactly what you want men to do and then seeing that they do it in the best and cheapest way’; also, ‘the principal object of management should be to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer coupled with the maximum prosperity for each employee’. He adds that ‘scientific management has for its very foundation the firm conviction that the true interests of the two are one of the same; that prosperity for the employer cannot exist through a long term of years unless it is accompanied by prosperity for the employee, and vice versa; and that it is possible to give the worker what he most wants – high wages – and the employer what he wants – a low labor cost – for his manufactures†. Taking this definition the original objective of Taylor with scientific management is to benefit not only the employer but the employee as well. From his book it is clear that he view both the employee and employer as two entities that need to work hand in hand to be able to achieve the main goal of profiting from the business. Not only that but also need each other to accomplish their individual goals of high wages and low cost of production. Whether his principles were used properly or erroneously his impact in management were long-lasting. Since ideals

Eveline James Joyce Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Eveline James Joyce - Research Paper Example Dust is everywhere in her room in spite of the fact that she has been mopping and dusting for years. She is a part of this dusty atmosphere, just another object in her room. Thesis: a psychological development of this woman is intensely influenced by the external subjection to her self-restraint and her obsession with her father. A Flow of Life or a Stasis of Oblivion When love rushes in her life, she does not have any choice but to follow this external acclaim. She follows her lover, and it is difficult to imagine, but this calm woman has managed to board a ship about to set sail across the ocean. There is a high speed animated development of her life. Nevertheless, she gives up and is occupied by her vivid imagination, when she is dreaming about her lover, who is grasping her head and she is experiencing her inner passion and desire. In her real world, she lets these dreams be only in her mind, but she is resistant to the wind of change for sure. A gentle and a passive female natur e, she turns into a subjective animal, and it looks like she has no choice but only continue her passive life. â€Å"Eveline† in Dubliners reminds us about the importance of small pieces and images in our lives. It is possible to claim that the whole life is a big puzzle and different episodes in our lives are merely puzzle elements. Joyce saturates his manner of narration in this piece from Dubliners with vivid descriptions and luxurious emotions, rich impressions and endless feelings and perceptions. Even readers can experience his bright idealistic world through the small segments and episodes of his stories. It is possible to consider "Eveline" from different perspectives. On the one hand, in "Eveline" domesticity is clearly associated with details, with metonymy and synecdoche. The detail that will become Eveline's signature is the "odour of dusty cretonne" (Mosher 408). In this article the author clearly underlines that housewives and their housekeeping is associated wi th special smells and episodes of their lives. This woman always cleans up, and the curtains of crettone are her Everest. She always tries to put up with difficulties and deal with inevitable dust in those curtains. Her home is a museum of memories for her and nothing more. There are many different objects connected with her life, but it is better for her to get rid of them, like Italians get rid of old furniture on the New Year. Her female nature and her role of a housewife are developed in accordance with commonly accepted social templates, but in the real world she plays a very pitiful role because she has to count her meager funds. We can see that the "purse" is a metonymy of her role as housekeeper for her family. She is imprisoned in her home and her housekeeping obligations bear her down. She counts every nickel in her purse, and visiting market is really depressing and intriguing for her. Frank suggests getting rid of her imprisonment and offers a trip to Buenos Aires with h im. He says that his home is there. "Home" is a metaphor about her another life. It is a direct juxtaposition to her daily life and she hesitates whether to try on a new role or not. Joyce introduces and apt euphemism  for  "sexually  aroused"  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ "pleasantly confused" (Joyce 45). He shows that feelings are common for her and her love is just another background for her possible development. Moreover, it looks like this woman

Type of Person Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Type of Person - Essay Example According to my test results, I am more Extraverted. As I understood the test and its typological theory background, moderately expressed extravert would mean that I am more into action. I draw energy from action. The higher is the level of energy that I see from people around me, through their reactions and actions, the more I am interested and motivated. The term moderate could mean that I am at the middle range, probably 40-60% since my percentage shows a 44% on this area of testing. Further readings on this type of personality test made me understand that I desire breadth and are action oriented. Being extraverted doesn’t follow that one is a bad girl or bad boy type. They could be more action oriented and are more expressive, not really shy but not arrogant either. Slightly expressed sensing personality could first be understood by the word slightly. Slightly because of the rate or percentage of score that I got. This area of testing measures the way I get or gather information from the world around me, either through reading, the television, or through the people around. My perception and understanding or the information that I have gathered is mostly based on my senses. In my various readings, it was stated that people who uses their senses to gather information prefer to trust that information which is in the present, tangible and concrete. Which is why, details and facts associated with that particular information is necessary for it to have meaning and be taken seriously. Slightly expressed feeling personality is the third area of the personality test result. This now deals with how I decide on things, or simply put as decision making. Typically, both thinking and feeling are important to be able to make a fair judgment or wise decision as based on the data and information gathered or presented. Slightly expressed feeling would then again mean that I am inclined to feeling more of the situation and decisions that I would make. By

Critically evaluate the extent to which Frederick W Taylor's notion of Essay

Critically evaluate the extent to which Frederick W Taylor's notion of Scientific Management has had a lasting impact on management thinking and practice with - Essay Example Taylorism is an amusing and handy way to describe a sort of ruthless and quasi-Victorian efficiency that melds man with machine, often to mans disadvantage. However, Taylor did not intend it to be this way. He developed scientific management with good intentions to lighten the load of manual workers. Taylor also wishes to minimize waste in time, energy and abilities of worker as well as assuage poverty. But if his rigid methods fall into the hands of a brutal employer the results are often not to be desired and are contradictory to what his real intentions are. Thus the word Taylorism was born (Scientific Management 2008). In Taylor (2004, pp.3-4) own words â€Å"The art of management has been defined ‘as knowing exactly what you want men to do and then seeing that they do it in the best and cheapest way’; also, ‘the principal object of management should be to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer coupled with the maximum prosperity for each employee’. He adds that ‘scientific management has for its very foundation the firm conviction that the true interests of the two are one of the same; that prosperity for the employer cannot exist through a long term of years unless it is accompanied by prosperity for the employee, and vice versa; and that it is possible to give the worker what he most wants – high wages – and the employer what he wants – a low labor cost – for his manufactures†. Taking this definition the original objective of Taylor with scientific management is to benefit not only the employer but the employee as well. From his book it is clear that he view both the employee and employer as two entities that need to work hand in hand to be able to achieve the main goal of profiting from the business. Not only that but also need each other to accomplish their individual goals of high wages and low cost of production. Whether his principles were used properly or erroneously his impact in management were long-lasting. Since ideals

Type of Person Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Type of Person - Essay Example According to my test results, I am more Extraverted. As I understood the test and its typological theory background, moderately expressed extravert would mean that I am more into action. I draw energy from action. The higher is the level of energy that I see from people around me, through their reactions and actions, the more I am interested and motivated. The term moderate could mean that I am at the middle range, probably 40-60% since my percentage shows a 44% on this area of testing. Further readings on this type of personality test made me understand that I desire breadth and are action oriented. Being extraverted doesn’t follow that one is a bad girl or bad boy type. They could be more action oriented and are more expressive, not really shy but not arrogant either. Slightly expressed sensing personality could first be understood by the word slightly. Slightly because of the rate or percentage of score that I got. This area of testing measures the way I get or gather information from the world around me, either through reading, the television, or through the people around. My perception and understanding or the information that I have gathered is mostly based on my senses. In my various readings, it was stated that people who uses their senses to gather information prefer to trust that information which is in the present, tangible and concrete. Which is why, details and facts associated with that particular information is necessary for it to have meaning and be taken seriously. Slightly expressed feeling personality is the third area of the personality test result. This now deals with how I decide on things, or simply put as decision making. Typically, both thinking and feeling are important to be able to make a fair judgment or wise decision as based on the data and information gathered or presented. Slightly expressed feeling would then again mean that I am inclined to feeling more of the situation and decisions that I would make. By

Jury and Group Think Essay Example for Free

Jury and Group Think Essay A jury is a sworn group of citizens gathered to provide a reasonable and unbiased verdict and a finding of fact on a legal inquiry presented to them officially or set a penalty based on the evidences and the law. This practice is considered to have originated from England where nobles and freeman were accorded the right to be tried by a committee of the same class as they are rather than be subjected to the judgment of the king. The right to jury trial in both state and federal proceedings is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Seventh Amendment also accords explicitly the right to jury trial for all parties involved in civil cases at the district level. In the United States, only juries can provide a verdict and set a penalty for the accused if found guilty. This is especially true for cases when the penalty decided is capital punishment (Jury, 2006). This power vested in a jury makes it important to analyze how verdicts are formed in the environment of jury deliberations. One way to do this is through jury simulation research. Jury simulation research involves the methods of research used to understand how a jury would react to statements made by parties involved in court cases and how they would arrive at the verdict. Some of the methods used are prospective juror demographic research, mock trials, jury selection, shadow jury and post-trial jury interviews. The usual market research techniques are also used such as phone surveys, focus groups and feedback sessions. The results of these researches are used by parties involved in court proceedings for settlement negotiations and setting up a defense or prosecution strategy that would be compelling to the jury (Jury research, 2007). The main strength of jury research is that it presents interested parties possible combinations of strategies that could possibly influence the jury verdict in their favor. Visual exhibits, witnesses, metaphors, timeline of events and other techniques in the presentation of evidence are tested to understand the viability of each and combinations of these for the benefit of the interested party. Psychological and sociological analysis is used to give parties an edge on jury trials. Research of this type has been successfully utilized in some landmark cases such as the IBM antitrust trial of 1969 and the O. J. Simpson murder case (Jury research, 2007). The main limitation is that it is impossible to predict exactly what needs to be done for a jury to make a decision in favor of the party. In the methods involved in jury research, questions are often general demographic ones that will not accurately predict the outcome of the jury deliberations. Surrogate jurors and not the actual jury members are used to represent the jury pool in the research. Jury research is simply no guarantee for victory in a case (Jury research, 2007). Mock juries are used in jury research to try to analyze in a controlled experiment how a verdict is reached in an actual jury. However, they cannot accurately mimic the behavior of actual juries. The behavior of the jury is based on the personal perspective of the individual jurors and external factors that may affect the behavior and decision making capabilities of the individuals and the whole jury in general. For instance, the pressure provided by the high stakes of a case, the stress from time constraints and routine disruption and other psychological stresses may not be exactly replicated in mock juries. â€Å"Group thinking† is the term used to describe tendencies of groups to base their decision not on their personal judgment but on the collective and single unanimous decision that may not always be the best given the biases and desires of the members of the group to come up with the decision at the soonest possible time. It is defined as â€Å"a way of deliberating that group members use when their desire for unanimity overrides their motivation to assess all available plans of action† (Janis, 1972). This very commonly affects the verdict of a jury. This is because, following the framework prepared by Janis (1983) on Group Thinking, the antecedents such as structural faults (insulation, lack of impartial leadership, lack of norms and procedures) and provocative context (high stress from external threats) are commonly characteristics of a presiding jury. This tendency to seek unanimity over proper assessment leads to bad decision-making. Some of the symptoms that often characterize defective decision making stemming from group thinking include the incomplete analysis and consideration of alternatives and objectives, failure to examine risks from choice and reappraise rejected ones, poor information search and selective information bias and failure to contingency plan. Because of the high stakes involved in jury cases, it is important to ensure sound decision-making by steering away from the tendency to group think. The most effective way to prevent group thinking is promoting vigilance against it. The first step is to recognize when symptoms of group thinking are starting to appear. Group members must strive to retain status equality to prevent a single member from influencing the entire group. New information must always be sought to challenge a reigning agreement to test its strength. Norms must be set to retain vigilance such as having a devil’s advocate, instituting dialectical inquiry and assigning a specific member to remind against bias and group thinking (Meade, 2003). The tendencies of group thinking may be uncovered through jury research. There is a danger that certain parties that rely on jury research may prey upon these tendencies. Therefore, it is important that jury retain its impartiality and sound decision making capability to effectively perform its duty to uphold justice in any court proceeding. Bibliography Janis, I. (1972). Victims of groupthink, Boston: Houghton – Mifflin Janis, I. (1982). Groupthink (2nd edn. ), Boston: Houghton – Mifflin Janis, I. (1983). Groupthink model. Retrieved 19 May 2007 from http://choo. fis. utoronto. ca/FIS/Courses/LIS2149/Groupthink. html.

The effects of child labor in India

The effects of child labor in India Child labor has been a constant menace plaguing Indian society for centuries. As the Indian economy develops at a dramatic pace to become one of the worlds future economic superpowers, it is becoming extremely important to protect the future generation of this country, which are undoubtedly the children. Child labor holds a disgusting picture in todays India. India tops the list in the world of having the highest number of child laborers, under the age of 14, of about 100-150 million out of which at least 44 million are engaged in hazardous jobs (Larson, 2004). Even though the Indian Constitution prohibits children younger than 14 to be employed in any occupation or hazardous environment, child labor exists in this country (Ram, 2009). They often work for long hours in hazardous and unhygienic environment and receive meager pay (Forastieri, 2002). These young children deserve to be educated and benefit from their childhood rather than work at early age and face abuse. The Indian gove rnment should enforce their law of prohibiting child labor to eliminate this problem. It is extremely important to tackle this menace if childrens rights are to be protected and a vibrant, mentally strong and educated youth is to be ensured for the future. To begin with, child labor is a gross violation of human rights. Firstly, it violates the constitutional law of India (Ram, 2009). Secondly, it also violates the UNICEFS 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child whose article 32 include[s] the childs right to freedom from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the childs education, or to be harmful to the childs health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development (UNICEF, 2001, p. 6). Moreover, the International Labour Organisation (ILO)s Convention number 182 also aims at eliminating child labor (Fyfe, 2007). Due to the lack of enforcement of law by the Indian government, the 100 to 150 million children are not getting the national and universal human rights they are entitled to. When the thought of childhood comes to our mind, images like children playing and running around in school uniforms emerge. However for child laborers in India, its images of factory smoke, wounded fingers, and abuse that emerge. These children work for long hours inhaling smoke, working with dangerous machines, and facing abusive employers. The labor market in which these children work, the [labor] supply exceeds demand, and, therefore, they lack bargaining power with the balance always tilted in favor of the employers leading to exploitation (Mishra, 2000, p. 56). Also, since children are more vulnerable compared to adults and in weaker positions to negotiate, they face further mistreatment, abuse and get paid less. Some are even abducted, sold into labor and are forced into servitude with no hope of getting out (Schmitz, Traver, Larson, 2004). When children start working at such a young age and undergo through the above mentioned abuses and economic exploitation, it negatively affects their emotional and physical capabilities (Larson, 2004). In one case, a 10 year-old girl named Mina had her fingers almost worn to the bone because of working many hours rolling cigarettes for a beedi (rolled cigarettes) company (Larson, 2004). In the same beedi industry, another girl narrated that her work was not only hard but it was also painful for her to sit and continue for hours without any break to achieve her target of 3000 beedis per day, for a meager wage of 3 rupees per day. Surprisingly, an adult can hardly make 2500 beedis in the same time (Mishra, 2000). In Child Labour in India, Mishra (2000) mentioned a disheartening case of a 12-year old boy in a matchbox factory. The boy complained that his employer would beat him for minor mistakes and insult his parents in a filthy language which would cause him a lot of pain since it was no fault of theirs. He also said: My employer used to put a match box on my neck in order to bend it down sufficiently to concentrate on the work. This prevented me from raising and turning my head on either side. I was beaten several times by him for having raised and turned my head. The turning of my head was very well indicated by the fall of the match box from my neck. Sometimes he beats me with the help of a wire in an unkind manner. (p. 71) Companies find it profitable to use child labor because it helps them produce at lower costs and the innocent children can be trained to do dangerous work under unsafe and unsatisfactory conditions. Many children in India who are child laborers work in industries such as glass-blowing, matchsticks, fireworks and also the carpet-making industry (Larson, 2004). An example of the terrible working conditions can be seen in the fireworks industry. Factories labeled as D grade are legally binded not to employ more than 22 people in their factory. However, many of such factories employ around 20 to 150 people, including children! The D graded match box factories are legally allowed to produce at most 80 units of matchboxes but they produce upto 100 to 300 units (Mishra, 2000). These firms are breaking legal rules and the Indian government should step in to enforce their laws. Poverty-stricken parents in India who borrow loans often give their children to their debtor so that he can exploit the children by making them work and help in paying off the debt. The meager pay these children receive is not enough to cover up the amount of money to be repaid for the loan. In addition to this, the interest on the loan keeps increasing, which increases the repayment amount, and then the working child takes many years to pay off the debt (Larson, 2004). It is often pointed out that child labor helps pull people out of poverty by offering a source of income and survival for a poor family (Larson, 2004). However, this income comes at a huge cost as they are abused for work which affects their present and future life. An example can be seen above in the way children are abused as collateral for loans. The constant abuse child laborers have to go through in exchange for a small amount of income makes their life not worth living.It does not make much of a difference whether the child is earning money while working in a hazardous job or not, since every type of work involves a degree of stress. Hazardous work cripples the health, psyche, and personality of a child, and non-hazardous work causes forms of deprivation such as denial of access to education and denial of the pleasurable activities associated with childhood (Mishra, 2000, p. 14). Therefore, the child laborer who is working at a young age to earn some amount of income for his fa mily also does not get educated, which makes him unfit to grow up and get a well paid, decent job in the future. Child labor can even start a cycle as an uneducated illiterate parent will also start sending his young child to work as a child laborer, who in turn will also grow up uneducated, and use his child also as a source of income. Therefore, the Indian government should make an effort to enforce their child labor law in order to save these children, break this vicious cycle and protect its future generations. Having a formal education is the birth right of every child in this world. But child labor has stolen this right from these 44 million children. These children in India who are involved in child labor are not able to have time to go to school due to the intense and long working hours. According to the International Labour Organizations report, Child labour leads to reduced primary school enrolment and negatively affects literacy rates among youth (ILO, 2008). The report also found strong evidence that in a situation where school and work was combined, school attendance falls as the number of hours at work increases (ILO, 2008). This goes on to prove that working children in India involved in labor struggle to attend school due to their harsh and exploitive working hours which causes them continuous fatigue. As India has the highest level of child labor in the world, it is due to this reason that Indias rank in the Education Development Index (EDI) is a disappointing 102nd out of the 129 countries in the index (UNESCO, 2009). The EDI measures a countrys performance on universal primary education. High level of child labor in a country is often related with its low and unsatisfactory performance on the index (ILO, 2008). The Indian government should start enforcing their law against child labor so that these children can go to school easily. A working child also often gets deprived of having a bright and lively childhood due to lack of leisure activities. In a research conducted by Dr. D.V.P Raja, Founder and Director of the Madurai Institute of Social Sciences in India, more than 90% of the working children who were interviewed stated that they do not have enough leisure to play and engage in other recreational activities. This startling finding signifies that these children spend virtually all their waking hours working and are thereby totally denied any of the excitement and pleasures of childhood (Mishra, 2000, p. 48). The interviewees also stated that while at work, they did not acquire or learn any new skills. This goes on to say that the impact of child labor on the development and creative side of the child is quite disturbing. These children do not find their work enjoyable but rather than that they find it difficult and boring; but, however, they still continue to stick with these jobs because they dont have a choice nor do they find any other suitable alternative for them (Mishra, 2000). The government of India should now wake up and save these children before more of them become victims of a lost childhood. The problem of child labor has done enough damage to the lives and health of many innocent children in India over centuries by stealing away their many rights. It is now evident that child laborers are heavily losing out on all fronts and are becoming terribly incompetent to live future life as child labor negatively affects their mental, emotional and psychological capabilities .Child labor should be brought to an end now. It is high time that the Indian government starts taking this issue seriously and starts enforcing its own constitutional law against child labor so that Indias present and future generation of young citizens have their rights protected and are able to live their lives healthy and secure.

Tess of the DUrbervilles Essay -- English Literature Essays

Tess of the D'Urbervilles Tess of the d’Urbervilles is subtitled ‘A pure woman’ and this is how Thomas Hardy sees and portrays her throughout his novel. As the novel progresses the reader is introduced to many aspects of Tess as she grows from being a child on the verge of adulthood to a mature and experienced woman. In some parts of the book Hardy describes Tess as very passive but in other parts of the novel she is shown as a powerful and even godly sort of woman. The character of Tess is first shown near the beginning of the book as a proud and shy young girl. She is very loving of her family and holds them in high regard especially her parents even though they sometimes do feckless, irresponsible things such as when her father went to Rolliver’s (a pub) before going on an important delivery to â€Å"get up his strength for his journey†. At the club-walking at the beginning of the book Tess is shown to be just an ordinary, innocent country girl â€Å"not handsomer than some others† but it is also indicated that she is very attractive. The white dress she wears symbolises purity and virginity and Hardy suggests that this purity comes from lack of experience as he describes her as â€Å"untinctured† by it. She is also shown to be very protective of her father and when she is teased by her friends about him it appears that she is quite sensitive and not resilient to embarrassment. At this point Tess is a â€Å"mere vessel of emotion† and she still has a local dialect but with some educated speech. Tess is more responsible than her parents as she takes the beehive delivery herself when her father is too hung-over to do it. She is, however, contrary to her ordinariness marked out from the rest of her friends and fellow country girls from the very start of the book by a red ribbon in her hair. This doesn’t seem very significant at first but as the story progresses the colour red is mentioned several times to describe her and single her out from the rest. Some other examples of this are the blood of Prince (the family horse) which splashes on her white dress after he dies, her red mouth which is described as a flower a couple of times throughout the novel and Alec when he is described as â€Å"the blood-red ray in the spectrum of her young life†. The colour red, in general, is also frequently used to symbolise danger, passion, death and anger. Tess at this point in the nove... ...the same chapter. This happened at twilight, which the time between night and day that Hardy believed people became very sensitive to the world around them. Hardy has mentioned this theory of his before when Tess returns to Marlott after getting pregnant with Alec d’Urberville’s child. It is silent around that time and Tess seems to enjoy silence and not think of it as the absence of sound. As Tess noiselessly walks up to Angel, who is portrayed as a genuine stereotypical angel playing a harp â€Å"in the attic above her head†, she is described using the imagery of birth, growth and nature seems to be in a sort of hallucinatory, erotic ecstasy. This chapter also uses synaethesia to describe how she felt as she heard the music coming from Angel’s harp such as â€Å"the harmonies passed like breezes† and â€Å"his notes made visible†. In my opinion I think that this novel is quite depressing and the reader feels sorry for Tess as her misfortunes are usually not her fault. Personally I think that Tess is quite weak and if she had not been so weak she could have taken control of her life like she did at the end when she murdered Alec instead of being as passive as she was throughout the novel.