Monday, September 30, 2019

Venus of Willendorf: the Image of Beauty and Survival

Venus of Willendorf: The Image of Beauty and Survival The Venus of Willendorf illustrates the characteristics of a woman in a utopian society because her figure demonstrates a society in which there is a stable food supply, and her most feminine features, breasts, hips and buttocks, are accentuated as a symbol of beauty and survival. According to PBS, â€Å"It was discovered on the banks of the Danube River, in Austria, and it was most likely made by hunter-gatherers who lived in the area. † During ancient times, food was scarce.People would eat whatever food they could get their hands on. When there was food available, dopamine, which is a neurochemical that plays a mojor role in reward driven learning, motivated the people to eat as much as they could. Dopamine triggers the chemical DeltaFosB. This chemical is also known as the binge chemical, â€Å"A ‘binge mechanism’ is an evolutionary advantage in situations where survival is furthered by overriding normal s atiety. Think of wolves, which need to stow away up to twenty pounds of a single kill at one go.Or our ancestors, who needed to store high-quality calories as a few extra pounds for easy transport to survive hard times. Or mating season, when there's a harem to impregnate. In the past, such opportunities were rare and passed quickly† (Yourbrainonporn. com). The Venus of Willendorf is a depiction of how human nature takes control of the brain in the presence of a food surplus. The Venus of Willendorf is a symbol of vitality, for she would survive during famine.Additionally, the artist who created the Venus of Willendorf was influenced by environment in which he or she lived in. â€Å"The people who made this statue lived in a harsh ice-age environment where features of fatness and fertility would have been highly desirable. In neurological terms, these features amounted to hyper-normal stimuli that activate neuron responses in the brain. So in Paleolithic people terms, the par ts that mattered most had to do with successful reproduction – the breasts and pelvic girdle.Therefore, these parts were isolated and amplified by the artist's brain† (PBS). Thus, the Venus of Willendorf was an attractive sight for it left its possessor daydreaming of a happier civilization where children survive beyond childbirth and food is unlimited. The Venus of Willendorf was the ideal woman in a successful society at the time of its creation, for her figure evokes two very important parts of maintaining a civilization: food and offspring. Because of DeltaFosB, our brains are chemically geared to eat when there is food around.James Kettlewell describes this phenomenon without science in regards to The Venus, â€Å"Consider when and where this Venus of Willendorf lived, when all food had to be gathered or killed, and its availability was never guaranteed. In her age corpulence would have made the most positive kind of statement. † The Venus of Willendorf†™s large figure represents food and the process of feeding. The overconsumption of food leads a concentration of DeltaFosB in the brain; when people of hunter and gatherer societies ate, DeltaFosB stimulated them to eat as much as possible.If there were an abundance of food, the DeltaFosB response from dopamine would produce figures like Venus of Willendorf. Venus of Willendorf’s large figure stimulated the thought of food in 22,000-24,000 BC when she was erected. Advances in food storage and childbearing techniques has made The Venus of Willendorf less of idolized figure, for there is social stigma with being fat in western society, but many countries in impoverished societies idolize fat. As a rite of passage in Nigeria, girls spend time in a fattening room.At the end of the three-month process, the women are believed to be more beautiful. Ann M. Simmons, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times visited Nigeria to write an article about the female lifestyle, â€Å"The fatten ing room is at the center of a centuries-old rite of passage from maidenhood to womanhood. The months spent in pursuit of poundage are supplemented by daily visits from elderly matrons who impart tips on how to be a successful wife and mother. Nowadays, though, girls who are not yet marriage-bound do a tour in the rooms purely as a coming-of-age ceremony.And sometimes, nursing mothers return to the rooms to put on more weight† (1). The Nigerian Gross Domestic Product per capita in 2011 was $1,452, while in the U. S. the Gross Domestic Product per capita was $48,422. It seems that poverty directly affects a societies’ perception of fatness. Tonga, Samoa, and Micronesia, countries that celebrate fatness, have GDP per capitas of $4,168, $3,532 and $2,852 and overweight percentages of 90. 8, 91. 1 and 80. 4, respectively. According to toptenz. net, â€Å"Excessive fatness continues to be embraced by many countries as a sign of health, wealth and happiness. Additionally, th is website continued to use Tonga and Samoa as exemplar countries that acknowledge this type of beauty. Could it be that the development of western civilization has changed the ideal citizen? In America fitness is seen as a necessity for fitting into the culture. Those who can afford a gym membership and are able to use it have more influence over the perception of beauty and fertility, for the fit citizens are often wealthier. The countries that celebrate fatness maintain a semblance of the hunter/gather society that created the Venus of Willendorf.An archaeologist in a special for PBS said that the Willendorf is, â€Å"Indicative of a general human tendency-wishful thinking. What you are seeing is altered or modified in order to give you a heightened experience†¦If what’s important to is the breast, hips and buttocks, then you’re stretching them out to get more gratification from the statue than the woman sitting next to you. † These eloquent words apply not only to the Venus, but also to the young women in the feeding huts in Nigeria. The aspects of a woman that are considered beautiful are exaggerated in order to make them more beautiful.Besides beauty, The Venus of Willendorf is well equipped for childbearing, for she has wide hips, and her breasts are well stocked for feeding a child. In times of famine, The Venus would survive. In Nigeria, elders who give advice about being a good mother and wife accompany women who spend time in fattening huts. Being fat is part of being a good mother in Nigeria. The Venus of Willendorf is a symbol of the same traits demonstrated in Nigeria, but the image of the Venus was only a pipe dream for the Paleolithic people.Their ideal woman would have been a spitting image of Venus, but the citizens of the long gone civilization did not have the technology to live the fantasical lifestyle of the Venus of Willendorf Words:1126 Works Cited Kettlewell, James. â€Å"Rethinking Classic Themes in Art Hist ory. † James Kettlewell:The Venus of Willendorf. N. p. , n. d. Web. 24 Sept. 2012. . Wilson, Gary. â€Å"Start Here for an Overview of Key Concepts. † Your Brain On Porn. N. p. , 12 May 2012. Web. 24 Sept. 2012. . Simmons, Ann M. â€Å"Where Fat Is a Mark of Beauty. Editorial. Los Angeles Times 23 Sept. 1998: 1-2. PROFESSOR SCHUTZER'S WEB PAGE. Pierce College. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. . Duvall, Susan. â€Å"Top 10 Countries Celebrating Female Obesity. † Top 10 Lists. N. p. , 17 Nov. 2011. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. . â€Å"GDP per Capita (current US$). † Data. The World Bank, 2012. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. . Streib, Lauren. â€Å"World's Fattest Countries. † Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 8 Feb. 2007. Web. 24 Sept. 2012. . â€Å"Venus of Willendorf: An Exaggerated Beauty. † PBS. PBS, 2006. Web. 24 Sept. 2012. .

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Credit Creation

SANDHYA DWIVEDI ROLL NO: 60 SUBJECT: CENTRAL BANKING CREDIT CREATION AND MONEY SUPPLY PROJECT SUBMITTED TO PROF. RASHMI CREDIT CREATION Credit creation is one of the important functions of a commercial bank. It constitutes the major component of money supply in the economy commercial banks differs from other financial institutions in this aspect. Other financial institutions transfer money from the lenders to the borrowers. Commercial banks while performing the same function, they create credit or bank money also. Professor Sayers says, â€Å"Banks are not merely purveyors of money, but in an important sense, they are the manufacturers of money†. The process of credit creation occurs when banks accepts deposits and provide loans and advances. When the customers deposit money with the bank, they are called primary deposits. This money will not be withdrawn immediately by them. Hence banks keeps a certain amount of deposits as reserves which is known as cash reserve ratio and provide the balance amount as loans and advances. Thus, every deposit creates a loan. Commercial banks give loans and advances against some security to the public. But the bank does not give the loan amount directly. It opens an account in the name of the borrower and deposits the amount in that account. Thus, every loan creates a deposit. The loan amount can be withdrawn by means of checks. They create deposits while lending money also. These deposits created by banks with the help of primary deposits are called derivative deposits. Customers use these loans to make payments. While paying they issue a checks against these deposits. The person who receives the checks, deposit it in another bank. For that bank, this will be the primary deposit. A part of the deposit will be kept as a reserve and the balance will be used for giving loans and advances. This process is repeated by other banks. When all the banks involve in this process, it is called Multiple Credit Creation. This can be explained with an example. Suppose, if a person deposits Rs. 1,000/- in a bank. Rs. 1000/- is the primary deposit. The minimum cash reserves ratio is 10% to meet the demand of its depositors. Now the bank can lend out Rs. 900/- i. e. Primary deposit – Cash reserve = Derivative deposit. Rs. 1, 000 – Rs. 100 = Rs. 900 (10% of 1000 is Rs. 100) The bank will give the amount to his creditor only in his account which is opened in his name. The borrower can deposit the amount with the bank. The bank can lend out Rs. 810/- out of Rs. 900/-, which has come back to the bank in the second round as primary deposits. This process will continue and if there is no cash leakage the credit creation would be processed as in the below figure: [pic] This process can be explained with a formula. Total credit created = Original deposit x Credit multiplier co-efficient. Credit multiplier co-efficient = 1/CRR x 1/10% = 1/10/100 = 10 Total Credit created = 1000 x 10 = 10000 If CRR rises to 20%, the credit created will be 1/20/100 = 100/20 = 5 So 1000 x 5 = Rs. 5000/- It is clear, that the amount of credit created depends upon the cash reserve ratio. Higher the CRR, lesser will be the credit created and vice versa. Limitations: ? Credit creation depends upon the amount of deposits. ? There exists an inverse relation between credit creation and cash reserve ratio. During inflation the CRR will be high to reduce credit. ? Banking habits of the people are well developed; it will lead to expansion of credit. ? Loans are sanctioned by banks against some security. If enough securities are available, then credit creation will be more and vice versa. If all commercial banks, follows a uniform policy regarding CRR, this credit creation would be smooth. ? If the liquidity preference of the people is high, the credit creation will be less and vice versa. ? If business conditions are bright then demand for credit will be more. ? Customers should be willing to borrow from the banks to facilitate credit creation. ? Credit control policy of the Central Bank, for example during the depression, the RBI encourages the commercial banks to expand credit. CONCLUSION:- To conclude, we can say that credit creation by banks is one of the important & only sources to generate income. And when the reserve requirement increased by the central bank it would directly affect on the credit creation by bank because then the lendable funds with the bank decreases and vice versa. MONEY SUPPLY The total supply of money in circulation in a given country's economy at a given time. There are several measures for the money supply, such as M1, M2, and M3. The money supply is considered an important instrument for controlling inflation by those economists who say that growth in money supply will only lead to inflation if money demand is stable. In order to control the money supply, regulators have to decide which particular measure of the money supply to target. The broader the targeted measure, the more difficult it will be to control that particular target. However, targeting an unsuitable narrow money supply measure may lead to a situation where the total money supply in the country is not adequately controlled. In economics, money supply or money stock is the total amount of money available in an economy at a particular point in time. There are several ways to define â€Å"money,† but standard measures usually include currency in circulation and demand deposits. Money supply data are recorded and published, usually by the government or the central bank of the country. Public and private-sector analysts have long monitored changes in money supply because of its possible effects on the price level, inflation and the business cycle. That relation between money and prices is historically associated with the quantity theory of money. There is strong empirical evidence of a direct relation between long-term price inflation and money-supply growth. These underlie the current reliance on monetary policy as a means of controlling inflation. This causal chain is however contentious, with some heterodox economists arguing that the money supply is endogenous and that the sources of inflation must be found in the distributional structure of the economy. Purpose: Money supply data is recorded and published in order to monitor the growth of the money supply. Public- and private-sector analysts have long monitored this growth because of the effects that it is believed to have on real economic activity and on the price level. The money supply is considered an important instrument for controlling inflation by economists who say that growth in money supply will only lead to inflation if money demand is stable. Convention: Because (in principle) money is anything that can be used in settlement of a debt, there are varying measures of money supply. Since most modern economic systems are regulated by governments through monetary policy, the supply of money is broken down into types of money based on how much of an effect monetary policy can have on that type of money. Narrow money is the type of money that is more easily affected by monetary policy whereas broad money is more difficult to affect through monetary policy. Narrow money exists in smaller quantities while broad money exists in much larger quantities. Each type of money can be classified by placing it along a spectrum between narrow (easily affected) and broad (difficult to affect) money. The different types of money are typically classified as M's. The number of M's usually range from M0 (most narrow) to M3 (broadest) but which M's are actually used depends on the system. The typical layout for each of the M's is as follows: †¢ M0: Physical currency. A measure of the money supply which combines any liquid or cash assets held within a central bank and the amount of physical currency circulating in the economy. M0 (M-zero) is the most liquid measure of the money supply. It only includes cash or assets that could quickly be converted into currency. This measure is known as narrow money because it is the smallest measure of the money supply. †¢ M1: M0 + demand deposits, which are checking accounts. This is used as a measurement for economists trying to quantify the amount of money in circulation. The M1 is a very liquid measure of the money supply, as it contains cash and assets that can quickly be converted to currency. †¢ M2: M1 + small time deposits (less than $100,000), savings deposits, and non-institutional money-market funds. M2 is a broader classification of money than M1. Economists use M2 when looking to quantify the amount of money in circulation and trying to explain different economic monetary conditions. M2 is key economic indicator used to forecast inflation. M3: M2 + all large time deposits, institutional money-market funds, short-term repurchase agreements, along with other larger liquid assets. The broadest measure of money; it is used by economists to estimate the entire supply of money within an economy. Fractional-reserve banking: The different forms of money in government money supply statistics arise from the practice of fractional-reserve banking. W henever a bank gives out a loan in a fractional-reserve banking system, a new type of money is created. This new type of money is what makes up the non-M0 components in the M1-M3 statistics. In short, there are two types of money in a fractional-reserve banking system: central bank money (physical currency) commercial bank money (money created through loans) – sometimes referred to as checkbook money. In the money supply statistics, central bank money is M0 while the commercial bank money is divided up into the M1-M3 components. Generally, the types of commercial bank money that tend to be valued at lower amounts are classified in the narrow category of M1 while the types of commercial bank money that tend to exist in larger amounts are categorized in M2 and M3, with M3 having the largest. The Reserve Bank of India defines the monetary aggregates as: †¢ Reserve Money (M0): Currency in circulation + Bankers’ deposits with the RBI + ‘Other’ deposits with the RBI = Net RBI credit to the Government + RBI credit to the commercial sector + RBI’s claims on banks + RBI’s net foreign assets + Government’s currency liabilities to the public – RBI’s net non-monetary liabilities. †¢ M1: Currency with the public + Deposit money of the public (Demand deposits with the banking system + ‘Other’ deposits with the RBI). †¢ M2: M1 + Savings deposits with Post office savings banks. M3: M1+ Time deposits with the banking system = Net bank credit to the Government + Bank credit to the commercial sector + Net foreign exchange assets of the banking sector + Government’s currency liabilities to the public – Net non-monetary liabilities of the banking sector (Other than Time Deposits). †¢ M4: M 3 + All deposits with post office savings banks (excluding National Savings Certificates). [pic] Link with inflation: Monetary exchange equation: Money supply is important because it is linked to inflation by the â€Å"monetary exchange equation†: MV = PQ †¢ M is the total dollars in the nation’s money supply †¢ V is the number of times per year each dollar is spent †¢ P is the average price of all the goods and services sold during the year †¢ Q is the quantity of goods and services sold during the year where: †¢ velocity = the number of times per year that money turns over in transactions for goods and services (if it is a number it is always simply nominal GDP / money supply) †¢ nominal GDP = real Gross Domestic Product ? GDP deflator †¢ GDP deflator = measure of inflation. Money supply may be less than or greater than the demand of money in the economy In other words, if the money supply grows faster than real GDP growth (described as â€Å"unproductive debt expansion†), inflation is likely to follow (â€Å"inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon†). This statement must be qualified slightly, due to changes in velocity. While the monetarists presume that velocity is relatively stable, in fact velocity exhibits variability at business-cycle frequencies, so that the velocity equation is not particularly useful as a short run tool. Moreover, in the US, velocity has grown at an average of slightly more than 1% a year between 1959 and 2005 (which is to be expected due to the increase in population, unless money supply grows very rapidly). Another aspect of money supply growth that has come under discussion since the collapse of the housing bubble in 2007 is the notion of â€Å"asset classes. † Economists have noted that M3 growth may not affect all assets equally. For example, following the stock market run up and then decline in 2001, home prices began an historically unusual climb that then dropped sharply in 2007. The dilemma for the Federal Reserve in regulating the money supply is that lowering interest rates to slow price declines in one asset class, e. g. real estate, may cause prices in other asset classes to rise, e. g. commodities. Percentage: In terms of percentage changes (to a small approximation, the percentage change in a product, say XY is equal to the sum of the percentage changes  %X +  %Y). So: %P +  %Y =  %M +  %V That equation rearranged gives the â€Å"basic inflation identity†: %P =  %M +  %V –  %Y Inflation (%P) is equal to the rate of money growth (%M), plus the change in velocity (%V), minus the rate of output growth (%Y). Bank reserves at central bank When a central bank is â€Å"easing†, it triggers an increase in money supply by purchasing government securities on the open market thus increasing available funds for private banks to loan through fractional-reserve banking (the issue of new money through loans) and thus grows the money supply. When the central bank is â€Å"tightening†, it slows the process of private bank issue by selling securities on the open market and pulling money (that could be loaned) out of the private banking sector. It reduces or increases the supply of short term government debt, and inversely increases or reduces the supply of lending funds and thereby the ability of private banks to issue new money through debt. Note that while the terms â€Å"easing† and â€Å"tightening† are commonly used to describe the central bank's stated interest rate policy, a central bank has the ability to influence the money supply in a much more direct fashion. Conclusion: Assuming that prices do not instantly adjust to equate supply and demand, one f the principal jobs of central banks is to ensure that aggregate (or overall) demand matches the potential supply of an economy. Central banks can do this because overall demand can be controlled by the money supply. By putting more money into circulation, the central bank can stimulate demand. By taking money out of circulation, the central bank can reduce demand. For instance, if there is an overall shortfall of demand relative to supply (that is, a gi ven economy can potentially produce more goods than consumers wish to buy) then some resources in the economy will be unemployed (i. . , there will be a recession). In this case the central bank can stimulate demand by increasing the money supply. In theory the extra demand will then lead to job creation for the unemployed resources (people, machines, land), leading back to full employment (more precisely, back to the natural rate of unemployment, which is basically determined by the amount of government regulation and is different in different countries). However, central banks have a difficult balancing act because, if they put too much money into circulation, demand will outstrip an economy's ability to supply so that, even when all resources are employed, demand still cannot be satisfied. In this case, unemployment will fall back to the natural rate and there will then be competition for the last remaining labor, leading to wage rises and inflation. This can then lead to another recession as the central bank takes money out of circulation (raising interest rates in the process) to try to damp down demand.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Important Time in My Life Essay

There comes a time in our lives where we all have to face important decisions and challenges maybe taking examinations or starting a new job. For me, going to secondary school was an important time and was a big challenge. This can be a stressful and nerve racking experience for any eleven year old, unlike most of the people that started my school I didn’t know many people from my previous primary school, so they already had foundations and memories and did not really have to make new friends as importantly as I did. There was only 9 people in my year 6 and 7 went to the same school as I did. Before I knew it the six weeks holiday was over and the morning arrived with the new shoes and the shiny black blazer. Then I had to be walked to school by my Mum. I was reluctant to leave the comfort of knowing somebody but somehow found that extra confidence to walk into the school hall full of strangers. Luckily for me I attended football on Fridays and Saturday mornings and there was a boy from there. I straight away went and sat next to him and was very relieved. Little did I know we were sectioned off into forms and I had humiliated myself by walking into the other form’s turf instead of my own heroic Miss Watson form. After having a sixth form girl come show me the correct way in front of everyone and show me to my rightful place, I found that people started to come and talk to me and one girl especially called Jasmine who was also alone, started making conversation. I thought I would be able to stick with her the rest of the day, especially when our names were called out together for being in the same form. We spent the morning meeting our tutors and taking part in activities and games in order to get to know each other. As we were learning more and more about each other, I was fairly confident by lunch time I had made a friend in Jasmine, and got over being alone on my first day. Although, as I soon found out, Jasmine had got friends in other houses and forgetting me she soon ran off to go meet and play with them. I was too shy to go after her and introduce myself to a whole new group of people, instead I just stood against a wall by myself as I did not know what else to do or where to go. Looking back on this now I would never just stand against a wall by myself watching everybody making friends and enjoying their lunch time but at the time my shyness took over and that was it. Time passed slowly and there was still half an hour to go before I could be in the comfort of the classroom with the people I recognized again. I then got through the first day of an  important time of my life. Why was it important? Because it kick started my road to getting a higher education and making friends.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Belief in People and Team Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Belief in People and Team - Essay Example As a leader, one realizes that one has to focus on that common interest to make sure that the organization functioned effectively. As Dr. Bennis has pointed out in his writings, it is essential that the leader create a sense of mission (ASAE Foundation, 2004). That is exactly what one did to keep the organization to a good start. The group started out by defining the mission and vision statements. One had to make sure that everyone in the organization believed in the objectives that were set. One knew that as the leader of the group, one has to rally them towards the attainment of the goals. The next step was to engage and motivate the members (ASAE Foundation, 2004). The problem that one faced is how to motivate each one of them. One realized that to be able to motivate them it is essential that one gets acquainted with each individual and uncover what drives them into action. One has to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of each member to be able to assign them to jobs which wi ll put their talents and skills to their best use. This is a point which Dr. Bennis emphasized in his book, that is, a leader should determine the highest potential of each member (1994). One did this by letting each member fill out a questionnaire where they were asked their qualifications, interests, talents and hobbies. After going through the form, one got an idea which person may be appointed to do a certain duty. As a leader, one got to know his members better and identified the things that motivate them. Another unforgettable experience that one had about leading the organization was when one had to introduce changes in the previous system established by the past president. The past president required that each member report directly to him about the donations that were gathered for the projects of the group. One believed that the organization would function better if they were divided into groups which were

Thursday, September 26, 2019

E commerce. group project, MIS class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

E commerce. group project, MIS class - Essay Example In the event that many people log into our site or share our advertisements and updates with their friends, we can safely conclude that the marketing aspect of the project is a success. Success would also be established by the increasing number of online donations or feedbacks. Social networks are bound to bring in plenty of feedback even those that are considerably impertinent. In an effort to isolate the effects of this kind of technology, the only thing that can really be done is actually ignore the irrelevant sort of feedback or response. The entire plan is to collect donations in the promotion of charity for the baseball team; any information pertaining to anything other than the main course is considered to be immaterial in all respects. There is always a chance of failure in every venture undertaken in business. In other words, there is no guarantee of success in this case. Therefore, in case of failure, the charity group will take to the streets and literally publicize our project to people by word of mouth. Needless to mention, it is much easier to persuade people on a personal level. All in all, we do hope that this project will work and that the reception will be worthwhile. It is a good thing what the baseball team is attempting to do for charity and we hope that the public perceives it as

Types of Aging Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Types of Aging - Essay Example exposure to toxins may dramatically reduce expectancy. Today’s society has witnessed a pronounced increase in longevity coupled with lowered birth rates. Aging bears both positive stereotypes (such as becoming wiser, more confident, and more motivated) and negative aspects such as predisposition to disease, disability, and depression arising from isolation which influences old people’s self esteem (Morgan and Kunkel 2011, p.11). Some years back, aging experience was not a cosy affair. Nevertheless, improvements in health and nutrition aided by technology have eased the experience making it more comfortable. Modern technology has improved the living conditions of many people. However, the increase in longevity has yielded shortcomings such as a rise in risk of abuse, exploitation, and neglect among the older people. Statistics from the Office for National Statistics (UK) indicate that the percentage of the population above 70 years will continue to surge through the 21st century. A report from the Office of National Statistics places the life expectancy of persons at 75 years, a figure that rises with dawn of each day. The contemporary society has undergone demographic, structural, and cultural transformations with the advent of aging populations. In fact, gerontologists have coined the term â€Å"global graying† to describe this phenomenon. ... Chronological age also aids in prediction of health problems within the population and is a common variable in research endeavours (Blackburn & Dulmus 2007, p.3). Biological/physiological aging refers to body changes that accompany advancement of years. The physical changes that occur in people are not all normal since they borrow heavily on lifestyle choices and cultural practices. Some of these changes can be modified, if not prevented. Psychological aging refers to how people act and feel about themselves as they age. As people age, the information processing capability such as reaction time, intelligence, learning, memory and problem solving are affected. Similarly, their personality and self concept is affected. For instance, a 90-year-old who is occupationally active may be considered as psychologically young (Morgan and Kunkel 2011, p.12). As people age, they become functional dependent. This is particularly more pronounced in mental functions such as learning of new languages (Hillier and Barrow (2011, p.48). Functional age helps in targeting of services to sub-groups guided by age and need e.g. identification of people with physical limitations and who need home care. Contemporary societies have been able to maintain a reasonable quality of life of the old while preserving their functional independence. In addition, as people age, social factors such as society’s perception of â€Å"growing old† or being â€Å"old† define and redefine the social construction of self. As individuals age, they are bombarded with contradictory social meanings, structures, and processes attached to age. Most of these constructions are erroneous accounts on the effect of aging on the physical and mental capabilities of the elders. People interpret events in

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild - Essay Example Apparently, industrial revolution became a major tool of change among the whites and the blacks. So many Africans became sycophants of white rulers simply because of the nature of their rule. In addition, a strong relationship existed among the whites and the colonialists that gave the blacks a recognizable strategy of making sure that some issues were approached in a technologically sound way. Some items of trade like ivory, rubber, guns, and steam boats were mainly used by colonialists to enhance their strategy and to provide a better way of realizing their goals. During that particular era, slaves were the main target for colonial masters (Hochschild 33). Also, new technologies facilitated colonization process by making sure that all the colonial territories were managed in a highly controllable manner. With the use of guns, colonial masters engaged in superior war tactics that finally created a territorial battle among the colonial masters. Most of the colonial masters participat ed in a process that gave an indication of where various communication strategies were practiced. With the kind of knowledge that was available by then, many European powers decided to practice the act of ruling Africa with an iron fist. With the use of technology not withstanding, there was an indication that many countries in African were not ready for any kind of kind of leadership that could ruin their action. Use of superior weapons such as guns and effective means of transport gave the colonialists the power to control the Africans in a manner that reflected strong urge for leadership. Industrial revolution offered many African nations an opportunity to understand the strength of colonial masters. All the relevant aspects were considered by colonial masters. It is undeniable to point out that all the aspects of colonialism originated from the desire by colonial masters to offer the best of their services in Africa. Nevertheless, a substantial number of colonial groups based th eir success on the use of superior weapons and technology. A perfect illustration of technology application is when the Africans are colonized from a perspective that is not the will of the many local people (Hochschild 76). Again, the success of colonialists was significantly as a result of use of superior weapons. Africans were defeated on the grounds that many colonialists were using highly superior weapons. For example, there was no way an African was allowed to use a gun during the war. This was simply a strategy by many colonialists to avoid the undermining of public image. There was a perception by then that Africans could make easily in any battle if their weapons were crude and inferior. Also, the colonial masters in most parts of the African continent decided to investigate the influence caused by such kind of battles in common people. The outcome therefore revealed clearly that so many people within the continent had a strong perception about the colonialism and its negat ive effects. The ultimate impact of the technological approaches became the final indication of how African colonies could be ruled (Hochschild 45). The killing of many Congolese never appeared in the American news and media simply because African was perceived as a dark continent. The massacre went unnoticed and many people were killed with the use of superior weapons. Unlike the Nazi massacre in Germany, the killing of so many

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Globalisation,Transnationals and Economic Development in Uk(78114003) Essay

Globalisation,Transnationals and Economic Development in Uk(78114003) - Essay Example sult of such a trend, the globalization - as an idea or an activity – has been expanded in most of countries around the world creating specific obligations and rights for both the states and the individuals. Current paper examines the effects globalization in the local economic development of UK particularly in relation with the position and the activities of the transnationals. It should be noticed that the analysis of the above subject is taken place presenting at a first stage the current situation in the international community (regarding this particular issue) and at a next level, the findings are compared with the ones of the UK financial market in order to formulate a secure assumption on the problem. On the other hand, a series of particular issues are been exposed (with reference to the UK market) which should be considered before arriving in any conclusion regarding the specific subject. The post-World War II ‘phenomenon of globalization-the increasingly close international integration of markets both for goods and services, and for capital - may in many ways be viewed as a resumption of a trend observed in the world economy a century ago; by some measures, international economic integration increased just as much in the 50 years before World War I as in recent decades, and reached comparable levels; then, as now, integration was driven in large part by the proliferation of markets and rapid technological change. The process was interrupted and reversed from 1914 to after World War II’ (World Economic Outlook, 1997) Globalization is a term ‘variously employed, even by experts within a single discipline; moreover, there is substantial debate, not only about its definition, but also about whether it is actually occurring, its significance, and how it shapes our future’ [8]. At its most accepted form globalization ‘rests upon, or simply is, the growth in international exchange of goods, services, and capital, and the increasing levels of

Monday, September 23, 2019

Narrow Scope of the Equality Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Narrow Scope of the Equality Act - Essay Example The division enlisted from varied segments of the business such as prostitution and pornography. However, an action study notes that in spite of such moves, the rights of sex workers are yet to be fully covered as required by the Equality Act. The action element also comprised of developing an informal union that brought together of sex workers and in the UK. It was to be known as the International Union of Sex Workers. Since its inception, the branch has provided union benefits leaflets that are tailored to sex workers with benefits that include discounts on self-defence classes and lingerie products. There has been ongoing work to arrange sex workers who are not UK citizens. The arrangement has been geared towards ensuring that all their rights are catered for through ways like establishing contacts with their families in their home countries and teaching them to speak English to assist them in their work. Social activities have also been developed to link them with the society the y ply their trade in (Feis-Bryce, 2012).Following closely in the footsteps of the World Organisation (WHO) and The Lancet among others, the Economist has come out in favour of decriminalising prostitution. In the UK, currently, sex work is technically legal as opposed to the popular opinion depicted in scenes. Moreover, sex selling itself is not illegal. Nevertheless, soliciting, brothels and pimps are illegal. While this might sound fair and promising to sex workers, it however does mean that sex workers are often forced.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Psychological Effects on Subprime Mortgage Crisis Essay Example for Free

Psychological Effects on Subprime Mortgage Crisis Essay The day of owning a home was a wonderful experience that Janet Wilson discovered after closing on her first home. She’s a single mother with two sons and when her loan officer explained that her mortgage loan would be approve and she felt her dream of homeownership will be reality. The closing costs were at a minimum due to the loan officer explained it would be an easy closing with low out of pocket costs. Janet worked for a healthcare organization for several years and was able to save enough money to buy needed furniture for her home. Janet enjoyed her new home and finally felt the independence and accomplishment in her life. At 45 years old, she waited a long time witnessing others in her family and friends reaching that goal of homeownership. Janet desperately wanted to reach that goal as well as experience the feeling of obtaining the American dream. In three years of homeownership she was able to pay her mortgage with no problem and was able to start to re-decorate her home. Her boys loved the neighborhood and had developed close friends their age. Ms.  Wilson forgot all her about her closing until one day she received in the mail a letter from her mortgage company that her interest rate is being increased. Janet saw her new adjusted mortgage payment and she almost fainted with disbelief. She was extremely concern of why she wasn’t informed of this possibility from her loan officer at the initial closing. Janet called the mortgage company and they showed no compassion that made the ordeal even more stressful. Janet did not know what to do and the fear of losing her dream home and not having a roof over her son’s head made the situation completely worse. After a couple of months passed with the increased mortgage payment in effect, Janet was unable to make the mortgage payment so then a barrage of letters was received about a pending planned foreclosure. Janet could not work, sleep, or eat due to the enormous stress about the horrible thought of having no place to live and becoming homeless. The thought of losing her home and turning her life upside down with the automatic backlash on her credit score brought psychological effects to her mentality. She knew it would be harder to get another residence to live with bad credit score and with her limited amount of income. According to Steve Berger’s article; â€Å"Legislators presiding over the subprime crisis hearings should look in the mirror and pose a few hard questions before assigning all blame to predatory lenders and mortgage brokers (Berger, 2007). Ms. Wilson experience was the fundamentals of many other in the mortgage meltdown. With limited regulations in place when Ms. Wilson took out the mortgage loan, the predatory lenders gain an opportunity to make money on the backs of someone else dream. There a great deal of pundits stating that many are to blame and that nearly three out of every four subprime mortgages originated by brokers were either fraudulent or misleading tactics used to trick borrowers and lenders (Bitner, 2008). In the meantime, Janet Wilson is facing foreclosure and in a difficult position to choosing what to do in her stressful crisis. She is torn between trying to save her home with a tight budget or to walk away due to the limited availability – to avoid paying the increased mortgage payment. Janet is listening to every news update on the government attempt to assist homeowners in the mortgage crisis as the investors were assisted. In addition, to the rise of foreclosures across the country similar to the situations like Janet Wilson, the financial industry must and will change in order to bring the United States economy back on track (Lee, 2003). In the meantime, the homeowner is stuck not knowing what tomorrow will bring or if their home will be taken away due to misleading practices.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Bilingual Child Support in the Classroom

Bilingual Child Support in the Classroom Information about your project Proposed project title Exploring the way bilingual children are supported in the classroom. Proposed research question(s) 5. 1.What challenges do bilingual children face? 22 2. What strategies are used? 33 3. How effective are these? 22 Proposed setting(s)/sample/case for research (e.g. teachers in a local secondary school, fellow students at university, etc). Students at Primary Schools. Section B Answer the questions below in as much detail as possible within the 1500 word limit (Max). You should use research literature, where relevant, to support your answers and include a reference list. Why is your chosen area worthy of research? Explain the rationale for your topic. As the aim of my research topic is to understand the factors affecting bilingual children learning experiences in the classroom, phenomenology was the suitable approach to put myself in the shoe of these students and comprehend their perspective on my research topic. This encouraged me to look into how bilingual students get supported in the school now. Being bilingual can have tremendous advantages not only in terms of language competencies, but also in terms of cognitive and social development (Lambert, 1990, p.210). There are numerous of researches that illustrate benefits of bilingualism, and these researches have taken into consideration that being bilingual not necessary mean speaking more than one language. However, the advantage of being bilingual is to be able to understand the cultural and language and use them more effectively. Cummins argues that if the child learns both languages balance between first and second language could be beneficial. (Baker 2001 p.165 and Cummins 2000, p.57) What is your chosen research design? Why do you think this is the best way to achieve the projects aims? The research design that I have chose is a mixed method approach such as qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative method is more suitable for my research, as Silver stated that qualitative research concentrates on the study of social life natural settings (2011, p. 194). Qualitative research is a way to understand peoples experiences and their lives, which is why I believe qualitative research is appropriate for my project as I also want to uncover the experiences of teachers and bilingual students. Qualitative data are normally gathered by monitoring, focus groups, interviews and classroom observation. However it may also be gathered from case studies and written documents. The research is focused on the experiences that bilingual children have in the school and how the school takes into consideration their cultural and linguistic backgrounds into teaching style. These questions require descriptive answers and understanding rather than measurements and statistical results associated with the quantitative approach. Qualitative research provides details by allowing to taking it in depth through interviews and the observation in the classroom to observe if the activities that bilingual children are taking part in are relevant to pupils own experiences and reflect on their cultural heritage. This research greatest used to respond why and how question. The strength of qualitative method is to attain more sensible feel of the world that cannot be practised in the numerical data and statistical analysis used in quantitative research; and also Ability to interact with the research subjects in their own language and on their own terms (Kirk Miller, 1986) Achieving high levels of reliability of gathered data due to controlled observations within the classroom and examine the different activities that bilingual children are engaging and the resources that the school use to help them improve their learning. Mini literature review: Using three academic articles summarise key issues relating to your research area. It is radically challenging when the students have different ways of learning, as they need to adopt and learn whole new curriculum and language. NALDIC (2011) identified the challenging task facing the EAL learner in the school: To progress from a radically different starting point from other children and to acquire the appropriate social skills as well as learning a new language. To accommodate the new language, values, expectations alongside the existing ones learned at home (NALDIC, 2011, p17) Their challenges also the ways in which the teacher can support to achieve their potential. Social settings will help the child to pick up basic conversational words and phrases. (Cummins, 1994, p.34). The National Occupational Standards (NOS) are specialised for supporting teaching and learning in schools (STL). This department has provided a range of standards for the teachers to meet when they support bilingual students learning. The national curriculum has provided a framework of what pupils should be able to know, understand and do at key points in their learning. (Education Department.gov.uk, 2015). The support that has been offered for bilingual pupils, which may involve support staff, is as follows; Observing bilingual pupils to monitor the impact of different teaching strategies, learning contexts or to have one-to-one support with students before or during the main lessons. What are your chosen data collection methods? Why do you feel these are most appropriate? The chosen data collection methods are class room observation and interviews. Observation the research watching, recording and analysing event of interest (Blaxter et al., 2010: 199) This can be classroom, meeting room and playground. This type of research is carried out in short term period observation is basic but important aspect of learning from and interacting and observing an understanding about the situation. According to Robson (2011) explain that observation gives you real life in the real world. Classroom observation method gives an insight to see the relationship between teachers and students and the activities the students are encouraged to do and see if they are enjoying it. The data that has been gathered can confirm, contradict and extend other data, for instance observation helps you to see in real life what participants have mentioned in interviews or questionnaire. (Lambert, 2012) It also gives you deep understanding of what challenges bilingual children faces and how classrooms are presented and observe the classroom setting. Interview study highlights the advantage of qualitative research in offering an apparently deeper picture than the variable-based correlations of quantitative studies (Silverman, 2011:18). Interview is in depth allowing the person to express their experiences, their values, aspirations, attitudes and feelings. Semi-structure interview pursuing the information which is most useful for your research and which feels the interviewee can provide. How do you intend to ensure that your research is valid? It is important that research is reliable, valid and tested information as this will help practitioners since they will use other peoples findings which will decrease the chances of subjectivity occurring these are the concepts of data, reliability, validity, subjectivity and objectivity BERA (2011). To ensure data is valid and accurate is to remove problems with design which compromise validity and to gather data from more than one method or from more than one source which is known as triangulation. To make sure that the research is valid is to afford time and resources for researcher training in use of the tool to reduce differences in participant responses across data collectors in order to achieve validity. ( Burton Bartlett, 2009) Using piloting could be important especially if you are collecting data with another researcher in order to observe same lesson and compare the notes that has been taken, to interpret and record events at the same way. This issue is relevant to any method carried out by more than one researcher as it is called inter-observes reliability. How do you intend to ensure that your research is ethical? Research ethics is concerned with respecting research participant throughout each project (Lambert, 2012) Ethical standards promote the values that are essential to collaborative work, such as trust, accountability, mutual respect, and fairness. It is designed to keep it confidential and to protect intellectual property interest. The three main issues most frequently raised in the Western research ethical guidelines and by the professional associations are, codes and consent (Informed consent), confidentiality and trust (Ryen, 2011, p.418). Codes and consent is that the participants has right to be informed clearly what is my research about and how you want to carry it out. According to Silverman perhaps informed consent is seen best as a process of negotiation, rather than a one-off action (Silverman, 2011, 324). In order for the individual to describe and share their accounts or behaviour in the report informed consent was essential. The confidentiality and anonymous treatment of participants data is considered the norm for the conduct of research. Researchers must recognize the participants entitlement to privacy and must accord them their rights to confidentiality and anonymity, unless they or their guardians or responsible others. ( BERA, 2011) To ensure the confidentiality, the school is being aware that the researcher is not going to be using the real name of their school. Also the teacher and the students who take part of the research report are to keep anonymous. This is important in order to protect such identities researchers need to use pseudonyms for the people who are taking part in the project and the school. (May, 2001, pg. 181). The feedback that is being received from participants is not being discussed or shared other than co-researchers involved with the specific investigation to protect the information they shared (Back, 2005, pg. 180). What problems could occur during the undertaking of your research and how do you plan to resolve these? At research place there will be policies and procedure relating to difficult situation such as child going through abuse, bully or any form of sensitive matter which should be shared with a designated member of staff. This will mean breaking the promise of confidentiality which has been given to the participants for greater safety and welfare of the participants. (Lambert, 2012) Ethical dilemma may arise when doing research such as researcher using internet including blog raise new variants of ethical questions concerning confidentiality of data, responsibility to research participant and respect of those actively engaged in the research and those who may be affected indirectly. In these circumstances returning to ethical principles will help the researcher to think through the issue. References Back, L. (2005) Home from Home: Youth, Belonging and Place, in, (Eds..) Alexander, C. and Knowles, C., Making Race Matter: Bodies, Space and Identity, London: Palgrave. Bell, J. (1993), Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First-time Researchers in Education and Social Science, second edition, Milton Keynes: Open University Press British Educational Research Association (BERA) (2011) Ethical guidelines for educational researcher. London: BERA. Burton, D Barlett, S (2009), Key Issues for Education researchers, London: SAGE Publications Inc. Cfbt.com, (2015). Teaching languages other than English CfBT. [online] Available at: http://www.cfbt.com/en-GB/What-we-do/Support-for-teaching-English-and-other-languages/Teaching-languages-other-than-english [Accessed 27 Dec 2016]. Cummins, J. (2000). Language, Power and Pedagogy: Bilingual Children in the Crossfire. Multilingual Matters: Clevedon. Department for Education and Skills (DfES) (2006) Primary Framework for Mathematics and Literacy. London: DfES. Lambert, M (2012) A beginners guide to doing your education research project, London: SAGE Publication Ltd May, T. (2001). Social research: issues, methods and process. Buckingham [UK], Open University Press Media.education.gov.uk. (2004). A language in common: Assessing English as an additional language. [ONLINE] Available at: http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/a/a%20language%20in%20common%20assessing%20eal.pdf. [Accessed 27 Dec 16]. NALDIC Working Paper 5. (1999) The Distinctiveness of English as an Additional Language: a cross-curricular discipline. Watford: NALDIC. Robson , C. (2011), Real World Research, Chichester (UK) : John Wiley Sons Ltd. Schools.norfolk.gov.uk.( 2013). Equality Services Reading Borough Council Welcoming and Supporting Newly Arrived Bilingual Pupils 3 Equality Services Directorate of Education and Childrens Services Supporting Newly Arrived Bilingual Pupils . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.schools.norfolk.gov.uk/view/NCC137979.[Accessed 26 Dec 16]. Silverman, D. (2013). Doing Qualitative Research: A Practical Handbook.4th Edition. SAGE Publications Ltd. Word count: 1485

Friday, September 20, 2019

Richard Feynman: Theres Plenty of Room at the Bottom

Richard Feynman: Theres Plenty of Room at the Bottom Describe his perspectives, its major points and its implications. The physicist Richard Feynman given a lecture at American Physical Society on December 29, 1959 named Theres Plenty of Room at the Bottom. This article was very different from the other commonly written topics on physics at that time. These days this lecture is commonly mentioned due to its extraordinary imaginative power. In this article Feynman predicted nanotechnology as an entire innovative field and explained the prosperity of innovatory technology advancements and applications such as very high density data storage media and very tiny mechanical devices would be practicable, with many improvements until ultimately essential physical limits at the atomic scale become applicable (Breitfelder). Feynman asked in his lecture to envisage a smallness contest in which we manage to write on a pinhead. Also he stated the techniques to read and write on pinhead. Feynman also talked about miniaturization of computers which is what exactly happening today; at the time of his lecture compute rs were very big. Feynman measured the opportunity of direct management of individualatomsas an extra powerful form of artificialchemistrythan those used at the time. Feynman considered very interesting implications of a general ability to control substance on an atomic scale. He was mainly concerned in the potential of smallcomputers andmicroscopeswhich could see things very small than is likely withscanning electron microscopes. Before Feynman given this speech there was very limited information of nanotechnology exists as he stated there is lot more research and experiments need to be done. However, he described various aspects of this technology and some practical examples of how to achieve large things at small scale. It includes writing very small text (for example the complete 24 volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica on the top of a pin), small computers (such as wire) and swallow the surgeon (very tiny robot which can go inside a person and examine him internally). In this article, Feynman asked some questions (like how do wewritesmall?) and he presented the answers for these questions in very significant manner. As he described there was no standard technique to write on such a small scale but it is not impossible. The article also explained the solution of small scale writing using techniques available to engineers in 1959.It was to turn round the lenses of the electron microscope in order to shrink and to enlarge the particular text. If the source of ions sent through the reverse microscope lenses it could focus to a very tiny dot. He further stated that it’s possible to write with that spot such as we write in a TV cathode ray oscilloscope by leaving diagonally in lines, and doing an adjustment which decides the quantity of material we are going to put as we scan in lines. He further assumed that every bit of the information in all books in a library could hypothetically be transformed to digital information and can be stored like bi ts consisting of elements which can have only a few atoms each. These can be two different shapes to represent 0s and 1s. This would bundle much more information into a smaller space, and according to Feynman the complete contents of the worlds large libraries could fit in somewhat the size of a dust nit. The author also presented the very different opportunity (which is the idea of his friend and graduate studentAlbert Hibbs) of swallowing the doctor,†. This idea involved building a little, swallow able surgical robot. This tiny robot goes inside the blood vessel of a person and can examine the internal problem and do the surgery by itself. One tinier machine can be designed to put permanently inside the body which can assist the poorly functioning of organs. Feynman further discussed how to design such a tiny robot with giving the example of atomic energy plants. The author’s imagination about the computers is very interesting as on one side he wanted to add more functionality to the existing computers, on another point he wanted them to be very small. Feynman stated that if we want to add more abilities to these existing large computers (which are of the size of the room) those new computers could be bigger than the pentagon’s building and some other disadvantages includes power consumption, heat generation, slow speed and too much material required. If speed of computers has to be faster, computers have to be smaller. The author recommended that very small computers could be prepared by fabricating all the required wires and components using chemical techniques, to form a little block consisting all the compulsory electronics. Feynman also said that building useful things could be done at the atomic level, by manipulating individual atoms to arrange them however the engineer or scientist wanted .However, he discussed the problems associated with these changes such as the gravity for these little things is not appreciable. If the sizes go smaller, some of the tools would also require redesigning due to the change in the relative strength of various forces. Even ifgravitywould become inconsequential, surface tension would turn out to be more important. At the end of this article, Feynman gave two challenges and offered a prize of $1000 for the person who can accept and solve it first. These challenges involved the construction of atiny electric motor no larger than 1/64th of an inch square and the second challenge involved the opportunity of making size of letters adequately small so that the entireEncyclopaedia Britannica can be written on the top of a pin. The information from a book page could be written on a surface 1/25,000 smaller in linear scale. In November 1960 William McLellan of Caltech, a meticulous craftsman, achieved the solution of first challenge with a device made by hand using conventional tools and claimed the prize. These days this tiny motor is placed in the corridors of Caltech. The book challenge took longer time; it was achieved just three years before Feynmans death in 1985 by Tom Newman, a graduate student at Stanford University, US, using electron-beam lithography. He scaled down the first paragraph ofâ€Å"A Tale of Two Cities†by 1/25,000, and calmed the second prize from Feynman (Feynman’s fancy†). The field has seen remarkable achievements since then, indeed, most notably the reduction of the area of transistors in microelectronic circuits by more than a factor of 107, or of the space required to store 1 bit of information on a magnetic surface by ≈108. Nanomechanical devices have seen tremendous progress, too, through impressive advances in scanning probe microscopy (Feynman’s fancy†). Works Cited Breitfelder, Kim. Theres Plenty of Room at the Bottom: Richard Feynmans Big Dream for Small Things. IEEE-USA Todays Engineer Online(2006): n. pag. Web. 17Jan.2014. Feynman, RichardP. Theres Plenty of Room at the Bottom. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems 1.1(1992): 60-66. Print. Feynman’s fancy. Chemistry WorldJan.2009: 58-62. Web. 17Jan.2014.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Description of the at-risk student Essay examples -- essays papers

Description of the at-risk student Across the United States, there are certain factors that predict a student’s likelihood of becoming at-risk for failure. Benard says that, â€Å"Social science research has defined poverty, a social problem, as the factor most likely to put a person at-risk for ... school failure†(1997). Since there were 12.1 million children living in poverty in the United States in 2002, according to the census, the at-risk rates for students is just as high. Poverty is not the only risk factor, however. Children raised by a single parent are twice as likely to drop out as those raised by two parents. Also, black and Hispanic children, children with poorly educated mothers, students with poor health and nutrition, and students in a poorly funded school are more likely to drop out of school (Natriello 2002). Although some of these factors are interrelated, they increase the number of at risk students in the United States. Along with these environmental risk factors for failure a re situational factors. Students who have to change schools frequently have higher failure rates than those who stay in one school (Natriello 2002). Students with a poor academic history and those students with history of poor behavior have lower risk of graduation, along with students who teachers perceive as uninterested and poorly motivated (U.S. Dept. of Ed. 1994). The risk factors for failure in school are all closely related, and all contribute to the 35-40% of students in the United States who are at-risk (Natriello 2002). Students at risk are often difficult for teachers to deal with, so over time educators have developed different strategies for teaching these students. Management of at-risk students in the past ... ...students/atrisk/at400.htm Newspaper Articles (no author) (June 17, 2003). â€Å"Officials to Assist Students at Risk of Failing High School.† The Cambridge Reporter. Retrieved on November 3, 2003 from Lexis-Nexis Database. Schacter, Ronald (2003, October). Growing Minority Leadership.www.techlearning.com. Retrieved October 5, 2003 from Lexis-Nexis. Stuart, Bob (June 7, 2003). â€Å"Virginia Governor Targets Students at Risk for Failing†. The News Virginian. Retrieved on November 3, 2003 from Lexis-Nexis Database. Natriello, Gary (2002). Students at Risk. In D.L. Levinson, P.W. Cookson, Jr., A.R. Sadovnik (Eds.), Education and Sociology: An Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge Falmer National Center for Educational Statistics. Retrieved on November 15, 2003 from nces.ed.gov. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on November 15, 2003 from www.census.gov

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Eddie Lee :: Essays Papers

Eddie Lee The book I chose was â€Å" Be Good to Eddie Lee† written by Virginia Fleming. The book is based on a little boy who has Down’s syndrome. The three main characters are Christy, Eddie Lee who has Down’s syndrome and JimBud. The story is about a hot summer day and a quest to find frog eggs in the lake that they all live near. Christy was taught by her mother to be nice to Eddie Lee even though he is different. JimBud on the other hand, is unkind to Eddie Lee because he thinks he is a dummy. After reading this book I found that many of the six values of teaching were touched upon. The first value that I noticed was the one called â€Å"Envisioning Great Expectations†. This little boy Eddie Lee was allowed to play and go about as a normal child. There were no restrictions placed upon him based on his exceptionality. He was free to play down by the pond and walk in the woods just like the other kids. The second value that was also used in this book was â€Å"Enhancing Positive Contributions†. This was shown when Eddie Lee took Christy to the pond he had found deep in the woods and showed her the frog eggs. Christy was really surprised by this because she and JimBud had been looking themselves and couldn’t find any. This made Christy realize that Eddie Lee was just as capable of finding things as Jimbud was, even though Eddie Lee was different. The third value that I saw being used in this book was â€Å"Building on Strengths†. I found this when Eddie Lee was standing on the edge of the lake with JimBud and Christy screaming â€Å"BEE-U-TI-FUL.† This is when Christy realizes for the first time that there was more to the lake than just frog eggs. She sees what Eddie Lee is seeing and understands that some people see things different than others. She was to busy looking for frogs eggs that she didn’t even notice how beautiful the lake was and if it wasn’t for Eddie Lee she might not ever have. The fourth value that I found being used in this book was â€Å"Acting on Choice† Even though Eddie was told to stay home by both Christy and JimBud he chose to follow them. After eavesdropping on there conversation, Eddie Lee takes the initiative and grabs Christy’s hand and takes her to where she can really see some frogs eggs.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

UCD Workplace Issue

Although this can be a great advantage due to the unique perspective hat people from different backgrounds bring, it can also be detrimental as well to a certain degree. This may become an issue because individuals may sometimes prefer to speak in their own native language which can lead to other colleagues feeling ostracizes. My company is composed of non-Loris Individuals that come from different nationalities. The nationals span from Argentinean, Spanish, American, and Chinese. This creates a melting pot where our Ideas are reflective from the culture that we were brought up in.However, when my colleagues are conversing with each other, hey will often tend to speak Spanish whether It Is talking about a topic related to the company or Just friendly chitchat. Since the rest of the colleagues don't speak Spanish, we end up feeling as If we are missing out on something. However, I have to admit that I am also guilty of this as well too certain degree. Since I can speak Mandarin, I wil l sometimes converse with my Chinese colleague In Mandarin. However, we do not talk about work related topics.Rather, we converse about how our weekend went and talk about our hobbles. However, this can make other leagues feel left out who are going out to lunch with us because they are not able to communicate with us because they do not speak Mandarin. There was an Instance where my Chinese colleague and I spoke Mandarin during lunch and a colleague seemed to be confused and felt left out because she was unable to participate In the conversation due to her not knowing Mandarin. After that Incident, I became much more aware of not excluding Individuals through language.One way to solve the Issue of language boundaries Is to Implement a new many policy that dictates that employees can only speak English during working hours. However, during lunch hours, employees are free to speak their own language to their own discretion. This would allow transparency during the work hours and ensu re that all the employees In the company do not feel left out. Since lunch hours are a time where employees can do their own personal actively, speaking their own language would be appropriate.Using English as a standard would be the most logical option because English Is one of the most popular languages and Is regarded s the business of language. Also, many Europeans have an Intermediate level of English which makes communicating with other nonetheless easier whereas It Is not so efficient the other way around. Although this may Infringe on the rights of as a whole to become more collective and create a more transparent environment. Although there are drastic options such as only allowing English during the entire time at work, this is detrimental to the company as a whole.When companies allow only one language to be spoken at all times, this creates an almost dictatorship like ultra. If an English only rule was implemented in America, it may not be such a big issue but since this company is located in Europe where many different languages are being spoken, this would cause uproar. Furthermore, since English may not be the mother tongue of some employees, this may risk miscommunication which can lead to time and money wasted. Although a company with employees from different nationalities may bring different perspectives, language may sometimes become a deterrent towards the objectives of the company.This is due to people feeling left UT of conversations because they do not know the language. By implanting a policy where only English can be spoken during working hours with the exception of lunch hours, this will prevent alienation. Critics may point out that this infringes on the rights of individuals, but this new policy would foster a sense of community within the company. Although this policy would potentially be difficult to enforce due to employees feeling as if they're being coerced into a foreign language, it is imperative that companies do what is bes t for the objective of the company.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Lord of the Flies. Utopia and Dystopia Quotes

A Utopia is a place or society that appears perfect in every way. The government is perfect, working to improve society’s standards of living rather than their own, social aspects of the community run perfectly. There is no war or disease, only peace and happiness. Dystopia- Dystopia came from the term Utopia. It defines a place or society which is in complete chaos. The citizens are all suffering and are miserable. Often times in novels what appears to be a Utopian society it first by the visiting protagonist is actually revealed to be a dystopian society.The citizens are often revealed to live in terror, under complete control by the government, unaware of corrupt world in which they actually live in, or suppressed by the society as a whole. 3. ) This island in Lord of the Flies used to be a utopia because in the beginning of the story they had this beautiful new environment they could explore and run wild through without any adult supervision or anyone to tell them what to do. The boys were only concerned, at first, about having fun with no adult supervision. The island than became a dystopia when Ralph was struggling to regain his power while Jack was trying to have complete control.It also became a dystopia when everyone started to fight amongst each other and then when two of the boys died the island had defiantly become a dystopia. Utopia Quote: â€Å"Aren’t there any grownups at all? † â€Å"I don’t think so. † â€Å"The fair boy said solemnly; but then the delight of a realized ambition overcame him. In the middle of the scar he stood on his head and grinned at the reversed fat boy. † â€Å"No grownups! † Dystopia quote: â€Å"But then the fatal unreasoning knowledge came to him again. The breaking of the conch and the deaths of Piggy and Simon hung over the island like a vapor.These painted savages would go further and further. Then there was that indefinable connection between himself and Jack; who th erefore would never let him alone; never. † 4. ) The Running Man by Richard Bachman, 1984 by George Orwell, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 5. ) In the article Utopias and Dystopias: A Comparison of Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm, I believe the author did a very good job. I liked how the author organized the article and how she included quotes that went well with what she was just talking about.I also liked how she had a small summary of the stories she was talking about because since I had only read Lord of the Flies and not Animal Farm I would have been very confused with what her point was and what she was trying to get across. But since she had a small summary that went with what she was talking about, not a huge summary of the ientire book chapter by chapter, I understood just what she meant. I also appreciated how the author included page numbers after the quotes she used. Such as, â€Å"Apart from food and sleep†¦ found time for play, aimless and trivial† (Golding 49).

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Technical Writing, Project Specification Plan

Project Specification plan Sign-off sheet Name and Job title| Involvement in the project| Signature | Sharon Shameful,Chief Executive| -Signs off the project as a whole-Authorisation of interviews-Signs of on new project proposals| | Nathan SafeHuman Resources | -Hires new staff & also responsible for their interviews-Hires the technical writer-In charge of keeping up to date with staff reviews and reporting to management| | Money Penny Chief Financial Officer| -Signs off financial implications of the new policies and processes. Will provide financial background on health and safety training of staff. | | Mathew HandymanHealth & Safety officer & temporary Maintenance manager| -Signs off on the health and safety implications of the new policies and processes-Checks that proper health and safety procedure is implemented by all staff. -In charge of maintenance of all machinery and also trains new staff in using these. | | Hayden StarStaff Supervisor| -Supervisor ground staff-Interview n ew staff alongside human resource manager-Trains new staff in machinery| |Purpose The purpose of this documentation project is to come up with a new, improved process to prevent any future accidents involving dangerous equipment and providing employees with improved policies with proper health and safety procedure to prevent these accidents. The deliverables are: * A description of the new process, written up as business proposal, which will include a swim lane diagram illustrating who does what, at which level. * Dangerous Equipment use policy. * Procedures or instructions for one of the employees.The purpose of the documentation will be revised at daily meetings with the project manager, Nathan Safe. Definition of Audience Document| Audience | Audience Description| Business Proposal for training new staff and existing employees in the safe use of equipment| Management team| Has a good knowledge of finances and council operation as well as health and safety in relations to dangerou s equipment| Dangerous equipment use policy| All Employees| Ground knowledge of all equipment. Some already experienced in use of dangerous equipments. Are motivated to learn more after what has happened to a staff member. Procedure for Health and Safety and Maintenance officer| Mathew Handyman| Knows all about the machinery on hand and also their safety policies, but needs to be more proactive. | Note 1. Bruce alongside with his supervisor Hayden and 2 other colleagues will be available throughout the project for user testing Relationship of these documents to others The new documentation will replace the outdated Dangerous equipment use policy that has proved to be ineffective. The new policy and procedures must: * Follow proper health and safety codes set by ACC Fit with the councils financial budget * Fit with local councils general health and safety policies Production Information The business proposal will be presented in both electronic and paper form. The electronic copy wil l be make it easy for new additions. The proposal will consist of 2 – 3 pages and will also include at least one swim-lane diagram (in colour). The dangerous equipment use policy will be delivered as one page printed document. This will be handed out to all ground staff and also copies will be posted in the staff room in the maintenance shed.Intranet file will also be available to staff via the council network. Procedures will be only handed to one employee who will have to include this in action daily. Writers requirement Project will be mainly carried out on the premises of Maurati local council. Finalising and part of the writing will be done at the technical writers home office. During the project, the council will provide the technical writer, * Access to meeting rooms for interviews * Access to relevant documents * Access to scanner Admin will be assisting with all the printing and scanning.Originals will be printed by the technical writer at his preferred printing pres s. Nathan Safe, Money Penny, Mathew Handyman and Hayden Star will all be available for interviews during business hours. Sharon who is currently busy with the local gala will only be available on Friday. Ground staff will be available during their posted times, however, this will only be during their lunch hours. Free lunch vouchers will be handed at each interviews to all ground staff for taking time of their lunch to come for an interview.The technical writer will report all interview of staff to Nathan Safe. Schedules and Milestones Project Stage| Tentative time of Completion | Initial Research * Informal talk with Staff * Relevant document investigations * Scheduling with SMEs| 15 May 2012| Development of the project * Actual interviews conducted * Rough swim-lane diagram | 16-18 May 2012| Draft proposal complete| 20 May 2012| Draft Policy and procedure documents complete| 23 May 2012| Feedback on proposal and policy draftsTesting of procedure draft| 24 May 2012| Revising & Edit ing| 25 May 2012|Documentation Completed| 4 June 2012| Constraints Delays will be inevitable. Budget Technical writer’s work | Cost| Researching – 10 hours| $60 x 10= $600| Drafting Stage| $60 x 5= $300| Interview Staff and facilitating user-testing (vouchers will be provided free for charge to interviewees)| $60 x10= $600| Training Individual on Procedure| $60 x 10 =$600| Revising & Polishing – 10 hours| $60 x 10 =$600| Printing & Disbursement (standard) | $250| Total| $2,950 + GST|

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Psychological Insights about Lord of the Flies Essay

Abstract Sigmund Freud’s personality structure is used throughout William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies. Each character has the personality trait of Freud’s Id, Ego and Superego structure. Their personalities are challenged in the story due to the theme of a deserted tropical island. The 3 main characters minds are challenged the most in the story because Ralph and Jack are supposed to be leaders. Ralph only wants what is best for the boys and Jack only cares about hunting and surviving. Golding uses Freud’s personality theory to explain the personalities of the main characters. Ralph is the Ego, Jack is the Id, and Piggy is the Super-Ego. Williams Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies uses Sigmund Freud’s personality structural theory: Id, Ego and Superego. Each character in the book starts off with one personality, but then their mind is challenged when they crash into a deserted island. The boys have no parental authority and they realize it. At first they think life is going to be alright until most of them turn into a complete wild savage and they are no longer the well-behaved school boy they once were. Golding uses Freud’s personality theory to explain the personalities of the main characters. Ralph is the Ego, Jack is the Id, and Piggy is the Super-Ego. The Ego is supposed to be the balance between the Id and the Superego. Read more:  Simon quotes lord of the flies essay They understand that others have desires and needs and that being selfish can hurt us in the end. The Ego is the character who is supposed to be the better one out of everyone. Ralph is the ultimate Ego personality in Lord of the Flies. His conscience is balanced by Jack (Id) and Piggy (Superego). At the beginning, he does not know that he is the main key to survival, but soon to find out he really is. Ralph becomes a leader and wants to do well because of the influence of Piggy. When Ralph finds a conch shell and decides to use it as the main speaking tool on the island he shows a strong sense of Ego. â€Å"We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us.† He beamed at Ralph. â€Å"That was what you meant, didn’t you? That’s why you got the conch out of the water?† (Page 16) Whoever was holding the conch was allowed to speak and no one should interrupt. Ralph has a big heart and thinks before he acts. He shoes his kindness by protecting Piggy and only wanting what is best for all the other boys. Freud’s Superego personality represents the conscience. It is developed through moral and ethical restraints placed on us by our caregivers. Piggy is definitely the Superego in Lord of the Flies. Piggy is the Superego because he is the only boy who can see danger ahead of them. He tries to show kindness to all the other boys, but in return all he is picked on. Piggy sticks by Ralph’s side through the entire book. â€Å"Piggy was†¦ so full of pride in his contribution to the good of society that he helped to fetch wood.† Piggy only wanted what was best for the boys and for them to work together. He was considered the more scientific person of the group. His glasses played an important role in the book because they started the signal fire for the boys to be rescued. Even though Piggy was whinny and complained a lot he always stuck by Ralph’s side and never gave up on the thought that they could be rescued. The biggest personality that plays apart in Lord of the Flies is the Id. The Id overcomes most of the boys and makes them change. An Id personality contains our primitive impulses. Jack shows the change to the Id personality the most in the story. He starts off as a well-behaved young boy and then ended up turning into a wild savage. Jack becomes obsessed with hunting and killing animals. â€Å"‘Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!’ (Chapter 7) His whole mindset is about being hunter and nothing else matters. Freud says that an Id personality can sometimes represented by a devil sitting on someone’s shoulder. The devil sitting on Jack’s shoulder is making him change completely. At the beginning, Jack never would have thought about killing one of his friends, but his wild mindset takes over him and his group and they kill their friend Simon. Jacks sidekick Roger is just like him. Roger ends up rolling a boulder off the side of a cliff and smashing Piggy’s brains out and killing him. Both Jack and Roger let the devil get the best of them and do not realize it until the very end when they are rescued. All of the characters have a define personality on the island. Some of them change and others stay the same. The animalistic urges of the Id really come out in Lord of the Flies. The primitive desires of the Id are the leading feature of one’s individuality. The characters that symbolize the animalistic urges of the Id are created in order to demonstrate the primitive unconscious part of the human mind. There is a portion of Id in each character, but Jack, Roger, and Ralph are the most excellent examples. The Beast is a big symbol in the story because all the boys think there is a real beast on the island; when truly the beast is inside the boys. The only character to realize this is Simon because when he imagines the Lord of the Flies (pig head) is talking to him it tells him that the boys fear the beast because it is truly inside of them. Simon never explains to them because the inner beast comes out when the boys kill Simon when he runs out of the forest. The symbol of the beast takes over most of the boys. The beast is a psychological symbol inside the boys minds. Lord of the flies just isn’t just based on a psychological insight, but also how human nature takes over. K.M. Parivelan’s critical article about William Golding’s Lord of the Flies talks about how the book shows a psychological approach about human-self and human nature. â€Å"The work characterizes Golding’s underlying theme ‘man produces evil as a bee produces honey’. In all his works the author has relentlessly pursued the objective of making man face ‘the sad fact of his own cruelty and lust’ and has upheld the conviction ‘man is a fallen being’. The fact that man is gripped by original sin and is in an inherently perilous state justifies evil and Psychological Insights its innate fusion with human existence.† Parivelan is saying that Golding shows in Lord of the Flies that the boys on the island show their inner evil through human-self and human nature. The nature of the island makes the boys become a person who they really are not. Death and the presences of destruction come out of most of the boys, while â€Å"Right from the beginning, Ralph is the only character who demonstrates his resolve for creating a democratic society. Initially, he is exultant due to the new freedom.† Evil really shows in Lord of the Flies through the power of human-self and human nature. Evil, hunting and killing is now the only thing the boys care about. A human beings personality can change at time and in extraordinary situations. It all comes back to a psychological mind change and a personality. No human being has the same personality their whole life. Human nature can make a human being change completely if they have never lived in that kind of environment before. Ralph tries to be the civilized one and make sure there are ground rules that boys follow so nothing bad would happen. In the end, Jack turns on Ralph and becomes an evil and has a killing mind set. Ralph just wants the boys to work together so he creates a way of speaking when they have meetings. â€Å"At the beginning, the conch becomes a really powerful symbol for law, order and civilization. As the boys are slowly descending into savagery, the conch loses its influence among them.† The civilization among the boys changes and they do not work together. At the end, two of the boys lose their lives due to the â€Å"evil† psychological mind change of most of the boys. Sigmund Freud’s theory plays a huge role throughout the whole story. Each character starts out with one personality and then it changes into another. The â€Å"beast† was not really on the island, but truly inside of the boys. It took over most of them. Jack and Roger become pure evil and only care about killing animals and even humans. In the end, the boys are rescued and reality strikes back into their heads. All of the boys start to weep and finally realize what they had become. The boys had lost two of their good friends because they had let the â€Å"beast† overcome them. The boys probably learned an important lesson about how a human mind can snap at any given moment. Psychological Insights Parivelan , K. M. (n.d.). critical analysis of the psychological insights in Lord of the Flies by William Golding . Retrieved from Meghdutam website: http://www.rbhs.w-cook.k12.il.us/Mancoff/lofcritan.htm Psychological Behavior in â€Å"Lord of the Flies†. (2006). Retrieved from BookRags, Inc. website: http://www.bookrags.com/essay-2005/6/16/202753/419

Friday, September 13, 2019

Exploring Dramatic Arts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Exploring Dramatic Arts - Essay Example Dr Vivian is stern at most times with her students. For example, when one of her students ask for a deadline extension of an essay due to the demise of her grandmother, Dr Vivian responded in a very unsympathetic way: â€Å"Do what you will, but the paper is due when it is due† (Edson, â€Å"Think Tank: About Life, Death and the Pause That Separates Them†). Little did she realize that her unconforming attitude would later cause her own distress. Another character is Susie Monahan, a registered nurse who took care of Dr Vivian during her last moments. Her role in the play is just as important as the other major characters in a sense that she subtly revealed the main message of the play, that is, to realize that intellect is just part of being a human, and that there are other things that should not be discounted: kindness, love, and care. Other character like Jason, who was a former student of Dr Vivian, can be labelled as a non-biological offspring of Dr Vivien. As her former student, Jason absorbed so much of the resounding principles of Dr Vivian for intellect and education. Jason turns out to be a significant element in the play that induces Dr Vivian to recognize her mistakes as an individual and as a teacher. Jason sees Dr Vivian as nothing but a sick body when he yelled to Susie, â€Å"She's Research! â€Å" (Cohen, â€Å"Margaret Edison’s Wit: An Audience Guide†). Jason made Dr Vivian realize that being human needs not just wit or knowledge but also things that are simple; real. The play Wit written by Margaret Edson affords me a whole new understanding of life. It introduces me to what is more important: things that are more important than intellect, fame or money. After reading the play, I realized that every person who walks this world should preclude himself or herself from taking a step outside of reality. Dr Vivian escaped from reality when she entirely bent all her focus to literature and on becoming the best scholar in her field; and started to stay away from normalcy. She lost the common human trait of sympathy and compassion. She developed the thought that every person can live a single existence and that there is no such thing as a multi-faceted life. Later she understood that, intellect or wit is just a portion of one’s being. It should not override other essential things that make a human being a human being. While it is also beneficial to be knowledgeable about your chosen field, it should not come at the expense of your existential truth. Personally, I would say Dr Vivian, the lead character of the play Wit, and I are very much alike. I always believe in the gain you can get out of sharpening your knowledge on a particular field of knowledge. Like Dr Vivian, I relatively developed a personality that is averse to living a life that embraces minimalism. I would say that one can be more useful if he or she knows a lot of things; and even when it comes to the most sensitive and confro nting issues of life, like death, superior intellect and deep grasp of the philosophical notions of life will simply let death pass by without causing any distress or anxiety. Nevertheless, Dr Vivian and I also have characteristics that, I would say, are not similar. Dr Bearing, because of her concentration to knowledge and intellect, she failed to recognize other aspects of her being. She only values her brain, which for her, is her most important organ. She displays unfeeling and stubborn behaviour to the people surrounding her. I have not gone this far. While Dr Vivian and I are very mu

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Xenografts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Xenografts - Essay Example Infants born with this condition usually have a lifespan of two weeks or less. Doctor Bailey and his team found out that a baboon’s heart is very similar in physiology to the human heart thus deciding that they might be able to successfully implant the baboon’s heart in Baby Fae, giving her another chance at life. Anencephaly is the condition when a neonate is born without a large part of the brain and skull. It is a neural tube defect which affects the tissue that grows in the brain and the vertebra. This defects starts very early in pregnancy when the upper part of the neurtral tube does not close. The causes of exactly this occurs have not yet been scientifically proved but research has shown that it is influenced by toxins in the environment the mother lives and poor nutrition including lack of folic acid which is essential for the development of the embryo. (Adam Medical Encylopedia) Anencephalic babies are born unconscious and they usually die within the first few days of life. Since the brain is not developed it is not capable of doing anything except keep the lungs and the heart working. For the last couple of decades, there is a shortage of organs like livers, hearts and kidney in the United States so doctors have started using anencephalic babies for their organs before they are officially pronounced dead. (Kolata, New York Times) The debate remains that whether it is morally right to use such babies for organs to save other lives and or should they be given medical care and kept barely alive. The term organ donor is misleading in this case because none of these babies are actually given a chance to live while donating their spare organs by free will and nor do they write it in their wills. Organ donor are actually people who donate a kidney because they have two, or let their loved ones know to donate their

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Judith Butlers 'Imitation and Gender Insubordination' Essay

Judith Butlers 'Imitation and Gender Insubordination' - Essay Example She is not a feminist. She departs from feminist theory to do other things. Drawing ideas from other writers and philosophers, her methods are rich and interesting and many feminists are struck and excited about her work. But other writers and thinkers see her ideas as taking away from the real and practical needs of women. Discussion Butler (1989) tries to ask essential questions. For example, she asks, once the subject "outs" her- or himself, is that person "free of its subjection and finally in the clear'?† (308). Or does the the subjection continue? But what does the following mean, characteristic of Butler's writing: "Can sexuality even remain sexuality once it submits to a criterion of transparency and disclosure .." (309) For something to determine itself, some other must exist to make this determination, and what is it this other? This other is a "prior to" and it is the most interesting thing which Butler says, I believe. Her thought is easily confusing unless one grab s hold of that idea. She is looking for the prior and I believe she is asking does whatever the prior is establish sexuality or is the prior already a sexually determined object. There is a danger that coming out "reinscribes the power domains that it resists" and that it is part of the "heterosexual matrix that it seeks to displace" (309). One must try to locate the "framework that privileges heterosexuality as origin". Butler would like to use the concept of the speech act (from philosopher John Austin) to say the way one creates being is the way in which one may create herself or himself. There is a difficulty perhaps always in this activity as one must ask who it doing the creating? From what position is the creating done, that of homosexuality or heterosexuality? I think it is important for Butler, because she wants to produce an original, defensible "I' that is thoroughly lesbian or homosexual, without the pejorative connotation. But that is her very problem. the pejorative co nnotation is already tied into the words and their origin from the heterosexual point of view. Butler would like to reach a non-reflexive position that perhaps is neither heterosexual nor homosexual. Butler has to establish, more or less a "private language", one that is not derived from the present language, because the present language already has the power relationships of sexual identities established in it - that is a man, and that is a woman. But Butler seeks "that grid of cultural intelligibility that regulates the real and the nameable' (312). 'Lesbian' exists as an 'abiding falsehood' in present discourse Hence as a falsehood, the being of lesbianism is denied, it has been erased from discourse. She and others must place it back, but it cannot be done under present 'existing regulatory regimes'. These regimes had wrongly created the category in the first place. There must be a prior for Butler. For example there is no prior to 'gender', hence the concept of ‘drag†™ itself is an original model, â€Å"gender is a kind of imitation for which there is no original â€Å" (her italics 333). Butler goes further and even makes heterosexuality a model for which there is no original. Her supporting writers then say that concepts of sexuality are socially constructed and not original forms that are necessary in some accepted way. She argues, "...there are no secondary consequences which retrospectively confirm the originality" of the original model (313). Because heterosexuality must always be in the act of replicating and emulating itself, there is always the risk that it will lose itself. I have a friend who says he must always prove to himself ‘not homosexual' by always repeating it or comparing himself to