Ethics of Same Sex Marriage Essay

Society has many views on same sex relationships and marriages, people are either for it or against it. In this paper, we will first look at same sex marriage in America and how homosexuals and heterosexuals feel about the issue. We will look into the ethical issue that same sex marriage presents. We will look at how the classical theory of how deontology would resolve the issue of same sex marriage. Next, we will contrast deontology with the perspective of relativism. Finally, we will see which of these views on same sex marriage is closest to my own personal views. The ethical reason behind why people in society believe that same sex marriage is wrong is simply due to discrimination. Society does not have a valid reason why same sex marriage should not be allowed; it is just simply based on one’s own biased reasoning for not allowing it. Same sex marriage is something that people have been fighting for rights for many decades. Andrew Koppelman (2004), celebrated journalist and author, states that â€Å"Most Americans agree with the first sentence of the proposed amendment: â€Å"Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. The main question this raises is whether this rule is important enough to enshrine in the Constitution† (p. 4). Many Americans can agree that the first sentence of the amendment is broad and that it invalidates domestic partnership laws that allow same sex couples the rights of marriage without the name (Koppelman, 2004). Marriage is not just a word but rather an institution, which the amendment makes impossible for same sex marriage to have the rights to that institution. In 1996, the defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) prevented the federal government from recognizing same sex marriages and allows individual states to have the power to define their own family laws. This allows each individual state to choose whether to ignore the first sentence of the amendment or agree with the first sentence of the amendment when deciding whether or not make same sex marriage legal in one’s own state. With this being said, a governor can choose to allow same sex marriage in the state they govern; however, when that governor’s time has lapsed and another person takes over, that person can decide to remove same sex marriage. All of same sex couples that were married in that state are now no longer considered married in the eyes of the law anymore. Also if a same sex couple gets married in their current state that they reside in where same sex marriage is considered legal; then the couple decide to move to another state that does not allow same sex marriage, they are then not considered married in the eyes of the law in the current state that they are now living in (Koppelman, 2004). In The Limits to Union: Same-Sex Marriage and the Politics of Civil Rights, Jonathan Goldberg-Hiller (2002) writes that gay rights activists have been fighting for same sex marriage rights since 1970. In 1990, one gay couple and two lesbian couples applied for a marriage licenses in Hawaii at the department of health, several people in the states made efforts to challenge the marriage laws and were denied. In 1991, the three couples hired a local civil rights attorney proceeded to sue the state circuit court for violations of their rights of privacy and equal protection. The judge ruled that the same sex couples did not enjoy the right to marry, which followed with the couples filing for an appeal in 1993 with the state supreme court. The state supreme court made the first national ruling that rejecting same sex marriage applications was unconstitutional gender discrimination, but didn’t show a state interest. The state at the time felt that not allowing same sex marriages did not uphold moral values and protect children and filed for a motion to reconsider; however, it was rejected in the Supreme Court (Goldberg-Hiller, 2002). Like Hawaii, many same sex couples have fought their state circuit court all the way up to their supreme court and have been fighting for many years to legalize marriage in their state and have been unsuccessful. In 2004, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, the District of Columbia and two Native American tribal jurisdictions have legalized same sex marriages. As the years go on, more and more same sex couples will continue to fight for their right to marry who they choose and more states will eventually allow same sex couples their rights to marry whomever they choose (Koppelman, 2004). Those that are oppose same sex marriage focus their reasoning on religious beliefs. Same sex couples do not want to be treated as second class citizens, they do not focus on what religion states; they just want to be treated as equal as heterosexuals when it comes to their right. Same sex couples believe if one is to bar any class of people from marrying whomever they choose, it then deprives them of their social institution; that many feel defines the most meaningful part of life, to marry someone one loves. Same sex couples believe that their relationships are no different than that of a heterosexual marriage. Same sex couples can have maintain a home together, provide an environment that children can thrive in and care for each other the same as heterosexual married couples do (Goldberg-Hiller, 2002). In Attributions and the Regulation of Marriage: Considering the Parallels between Race and Homosexuality, Mark Joslyn and Donald Haider-Markel (2005) writes that for many people, these days, the issue of same sex marriage is an ethical controversy. Same sex relationships have been considered taboo and an ethical issue in many places throughout the United States. Many people oppose same sex marriage and the rights of homosexuals. The future for same sex marriage and civil unions appears to be very bright for legal recognition. Lesbians and gays had major setbacks in 2004 election, however, many feel that was just a speed bump. In Ethics and Social Responsibility, Kurt Mosser (2010) explains that ethics are the concern of what is morally right or wrong to an individual. Ethics is the study of what I ought to do or what should other people do. The philosophy known as ethics forces individuals to consider whether the things we do are right or wrong, good or bad, immoral or moral. Ethical issues have relationships even with religious traditions and legal political doctrines (p. 2). In Marriage, Autonomy, and the Feminine Protest, Debra Bergoffen (1999) explains that the ethical issues and the ethical problems same sex marriage presents is that society feels that if they make same sex marriage legal, the same sex couple would then destroy the meaning of marriage. To society, that meaning of marriage is procreation and the education of children. Procreation is not possible with the same sex, for it takes a man and a woman to make a child. Marriage is considered the ethical site of a couple and a decision people make to maintain a particular way of being. So, society feels that since same sex partners cannot procreate and have children that they should not be able to marry. Some men and women cannot conceive a child and procreate due to medical problems from either the man or woman. Many heterosexual partners, with the help of technology these days, use ways of fertility such as artificial insemination, egg donations, surrogate mothers and adoptions. So procreation is not always feasible with heterosexuals. So the statement of that marriage should be only among man and woman for the sake of procreation is actually unjust. A lesbian couple can then have a child with the help of sperm donation and a gay couple can have a child with the help of surrogacy or adoptions (Joslyn & Haider-Markel, 2005). If heterosexuals have the same issue as homosexuals, in regards to procreation, then one can say ethically it is fair to allow same sex partners to then marry To society, these days it is not uncommon to walk down the street and see a man and man, or woman and woman holding hands and it is considered normal to many Americans. However, to the older generations, they feel that a man and man, or woman and woman should not be together, even though it is a part of society these days; they have a hard time agreeing and understanding same sex relationships. The ethical values of someone from the sixties are going to be different from someone who was brought up in this day and age (Bergoffen, 1999). Ethics allows one to determine what is right and wrong, however, what we consider right or wrong is based on our upbringing and surrounding culture with other theories like deontology, we can see how these ways of life can be incorporated into society. The classical theories of deontology would resolve the problem of same sex marriage. Deontology looks at the reason and rule for why an act was done, instead of the consequences from the act. Deontology focuses on what we are obliged to do as moral human beings. Deontology realizes that all actions have consequences; however, those consequences whether or not actions are ethical should not be determined by the actions consequences. Deontologists feel that people have an obligation or duty to treat other human beings with respect, dignity and take their dignity into consideration when one has to deal with another person, as we expect them to do when someone has to deal with us. One cannot use another person nor can another person use them to get what one wants (Mosser, 2010). Deontological theory of how one should be treated allows same sex couples to be treated as just and fair as heterosexuals are treated. With deontology, people have the right to be who they are and is not fair to outcast others for any reason (Mosser, 2010). With this way of thinking, society should legalize same sex marriages and then all will be treated fairly and justly. When one says that a person cannot marry someone because they are marrying someone of the same sex, as oppose to opposite sex, is not treating someone with respect and dignity. Treating a person this way is instead out casting them as different and who are we to make that judgment in society? Deontology would fix this way of thinking in society, for people would treat same sex couples the same as heterosexual couples, thus allowing people to love and marry who they choose, not who society says they should marry. When one contrasts the theory of deontology with the perspective of relativism, one looks at two views that kind of work together. Where deontology focuses on what we are obliged to do as moral human beings, where relativism focuses on an individual’s moral claims that are either right in a culture or wrong for society. Relativism is where an individual’s values and beliefs are simply understood in one’s own culture, society or one’s own personal values. With relativism, one may find oneself debating with another person over what sport is considered the best sport. One person may believe that their viewpoint is more superior than the others view point of the issue. It is simply just that one person was raised with different views than the other. Deontology would then come in and would condemn some actions, if those actions violate the fundamental rule of treating others fairly and justly; thus allowing individuals to have their own beliefs or views (Mosser, 2010). To look at relativism and deontology together in regards to same sex marriages would help societies with dealing with same sex marriage. If society looked at the issue through the view of deontology, they would look at the situation in a moral way that every human being deserves to be treated fairly no matter the situation. Society with the perspective of relativism would have one’s own views on the matter of same sex relationships and marriage based on ones upbringing and culture and would accept what the culture says is ethical. So, a society that outlaws same-sex marriage would be acceptable to a relativist. However, with deontology in mind, society would treat same sex partners the same as heterosexuals. Even though each individual has one’s own views and beliefs on same sex marriage; with deontology one is not allowed to consider the consequences of same sex marriage, instead to simply treat others as human beings with the same respect and dignity that one would want done unto them (Mosser, 2010). My views on same sex marriage go along with deontology and relativism. I was raised in a family where we were taught certain ways of life but not to judge others for the way of life another may choose to live. With relativism, one would look at every situation based on how ones culture and ociety around them brought them up. For me, same sex marriage is something I feel should be allowed. I grew up having many gay and lesbian friends and to me it is normal for someone to date someone of the same sex. I do also feel that just because it is something that another person feels is right does not mean I have to agree with it to make it happen. When another person marries the same sex, it is them that are in that relationship not anyone else, so why does it offend or hurt others to see someone happy? Even if it is something a person is not comfortable with, who are they to judge? Would society be alright with someone telling them who they can or cannot marry? Some cultures marriage is pre-arranged; however, for many people in the United States heterosexuals are free to marry whomever they choose too. With deontology and relativism in mind, society can have their views on same sex marriage, but not let one’s own views cause them to treat others different than one would want to be treated. In my freshman year in high school, I moved from California to Virginia where I was introduced to a whole new way of life compared to ways of life I knew in California. With relativism, I was used to certain ways of being that to me made Virginia a strange place to live in. It was in high school that I encountered my first homosexual person. At first, the whole way of thinking to me was wrong, immoral and not how the bible said relationships should be. I now see that growing up, my mother thought in ways of deontology and would always explain to me, whenever I was confused, about ethical values and how whether we feel something is morally right or wrong it does not make others ways of life morally wrong. As the years past, I was one of the bridesmaid’s in a wedding of my two dear lesbian friends, held in Las Vegas. Even though their way of life was not the way I choose to live, it did not give me the right to judge them for who they loved and who they wanted to marry. At their wedding, I could see that the two were happy and in love and a year later, with the sperm donations of our friend, the two had a beautiful baby girl. With relativism and ethical upbringing, ones views on who they marry is their own views; with deontology, one accepts everyone for their own views and upbringing even if they do not understand it but one does not judge it. In conclusion, we have seen now that the ethical reason behind why people in society believe that same sex marriage is wrong is simply due to discrimination. We have, also, seen that society does base their belief of ame sex marriage on one’s own biased reasoning, not because it is harmful to society or anything that can be justified. It is simply a view of relativism, one’s own beliefs based on their society and upbringing. We have also seen that if society looked at same sex marriages with the views of deontology, society would be able to see things as they are and not discriminate and judge others for their beliefs and views. Society would treat everyone as they would want to be treated and same sex couples would be allowed to choose who they want to marry, just as heterosexual couples choose who they want to marry.

A Proposal of Metrics for Botnet Detection based on its Cooperative Behavior

The primary contribution of the paper is the proposal of three metrics that can help identify the presence of botnets in a wide area network (WAN). The proposed metrics, namely relationship, response and synchronization are measured with respect to the traffic over a WAN. It is assumed that the behavior of botnets will recurrently exhibit these metrics. The authors define relationship as the connection that exists between the bots and bot master of a botnet over one protocol. This metric tries to detect the structure of a botnet’s relationship by analyzing the network traffic.It is observed that the response time to commands received by a legitimate host varies significantly while that of botnets is comparatively constant. The response time as a metric can thus help detect botnets. As the bots present in a botnet are programmed to carry out instructions from the bot master on a predetermined basis, it is assumed that their activities will synchronize. An analysis of the networ k traffic can possible help identify synchronized activity between hosts, thus detecting botnets.The metrics are evaluated by analyzing traffic measured in the Asian Internet Interconnection Initiatives (AIII) infrastructure over a period of 24 hours. The analysis validates the metrics proposed as a dense topology relationship, short range of response times and synchronization of activities are detected in the presence of a botnet. The authors propose that a combination of all the metrics be used for detecting a botnet. The design of an algorithm to detect botnets based on a combination of the three metrics has been identified as future work. Summary of â€Å"IRC Traffic Analysis for Botnet Detection†The paper addresses the problem of detecting botnets by modeling the behavior of botnets. The main idea of the paper is to analyze network traffic, model the behavior of botnets based on the analysis and use pattern recognition techniques to identify a particular behavior model a s belonging to a botnet. The proposed model for detecting botnets analyses traffic that uses the IRC protocol. A traffic sniffer is used to analyze packets in the promiscuous mode. The protocol detector detects traffic using the protocol of interest to the analysis, in this case IRC.The packets are decoded using the IRC decoder and the behavior models are built. The detection engine detects a botnet based on the behavior model. The features used to build a behavior model include features related to a linguistic analysis of the data that passes through an IRC channel in addition to the rate of activity in the channel. It is observed that the language used by bots has a limited vocabulary and uses many punctuation marks. The language used by humans is observed to have a wider mean and variance with respect to the words used in a sentence. The features used to model the behavior of botnets hare listed.The experiments have been conducted with clean data collected from chat rooms and bot net data collected at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Pattern recognition is performed using support vector machines (SVMs) and J48 decision trees and the results are reported in terms of confusion matrices. Though the botnets are detected using the above methods, the authors report that a further analysis of the data is necessary. Unsupervised testing of the model and expansion of the model for adaptation to other scenarios is proposed as future work. Summary of â€Å"The Automatic Discovery, Identification and Measurement of Botnets†The paper proposes a technique for identifying and measuring the botnets used to deliver malicious email such as spam. The implementation and performance of the proposed technique has been presented. The authors are of the opinion that the existing methods for detecting botnets used to send spam use significant amount of resources and are often applicable only after a botnet has been operational over a period of time. The authors propose a passive method for identifying botnets by classifying the email content. The headers present in the emails are used to group the mails.The authors assume that a botnet has a central center for control and that the same program is used by a botnet for creating and sending spam emails. Based on these the authors propose to classify emails by a passive analysis of the header content present in them. The Plato algorithm is proposed to identify the sender and the program used to send the email. The performance of the Plato algorithm is analyzed based on the following factors: clustering, durability, isolation and conflicts. The analysis is performed on a sample data containing 2. 3 million emails. In the dataset 96% emails are identified as having a probability of being spam.The algorithm is observed to successfully reflect the features associated with spam email. It helps group the emails based on the characteristics of the sender and the sending program. This grouping of emails can hel p identify a botnet and thus enable the membership and size of the botnet. The authors propose that the algorithm can be further used for classifying bulk emails, to understand the relationship between spam and viruses and as a replacement for spam filters using statistical methods. Summary of â€Å"Towards Practical Framework for Collecting and Analyzing Network-Centric Attacks†The paper proposes a network-centric framework based on an awareness of risk to help detect attacks from a botnet and prevent these attacks. The authors state that the bots follow certain network traffic patterns and these patterns can be used to identify a bot. The proposed framework consists of three main components, namely bot detection, bot characteristics and bot risks. The first component, bot detection, is used to detect known and unknown bots that try to penetrate the system. A honeypot based malware collection system component is used to attract bots to the honeypot and thus help detect bots. After the bots have been detected the characteristics of the bots are analyzed. The behavior of bots and their characteristics are identified by analyzing known malware, network traffic patterns and detecting the existence of any correlation between various instances of a malware. Various components are used to perform each of the tasks involved in bot characterization. To determine the risks posed by bots, the vulnerabilities present in the existing system are identified. The risk posed by a host with certain characteristics is calculated based on the vulnerabilities associated with the system. Thus the risk factor can be modified on demand.A combination of the identified characteristics and the associated risks is evaluated when a decision regarding the blocking of traffic is made. The authors present results that demonstrate the ability of the proposed framework to detect different types of bots. The feasibility of the proposed framework has been demonstrated. Enhancing of the co rrelation system and integration of the risk aware system with the architecture are proposed as future work. Summary of â€Å"Wide-Scale Botnet Detection and Characterization† The paper proposes a methodology based on passive analysis of the traffic flow data to detect and characterize botnets.A scalable algorithm that gives information about controllers of botnets is proposed based on analysis of data from the transport layer. Four steps have been identified in the process of detecting botnet controllers. Suspicious behavior of hosts is identified and the conversations pertaining to this host are isolated for further evaluation. These are identified as suspected bots. Based on the records of suspected bots, the records that possible represent connections with a controller are isolated. This is referred to as candidate controller conversations in the paper.These candidate controller conversations are further analyzed to identify suspected controllers of botnets. The analysis is based on calculating the following: the number of unique suspected bots, distance between model traffic and the remote server ports, heuristics that gives a score for candidates that are possible bot controllers. The suspected controllers are validated in three possible ways: correlation with other available data sources, coordination with a customer for validation and validation of domain names associated with services (Karasaridis, Rexroad, & Hoeflin, 2007).The botnets are classified based on their characteristics using a similarity function. An algorithm is proposed for the same. The authors report the discovery of a large number of botnet controllers on using the proposed system. A false positive of less than 2% is reported based on correlation of the detected controllers with other sources. Also the proposed algorithm is reported to successfully identify and malicious bots. The future work is identified as the need to expand the algorithm for other protocols and analysis of the evolution of botnets.References Akiyama, M. , Kawamoto, T. , Shimamura, M. , Yokoyama, T. , Kadobayashi Y. , & Yamaguchi, S. (2007). A proposal of metrics for botnet detection based on its cooperative behavior. Proceedings of the 2007 International Symposium on Applications and the Internet Workshops. 82-85. Castle, I. , & Buckley, E. (2008). The automatic discovery, identification and measurement of botnets. Proceedings of Second International Conference on Emerging Security Information, Systems and Technologies. 127-132. Karasaridis, A. , Rexroad, B., & Hoeflin, D. (2007). Wide-scale botnet detection and characterization. Proceedings of the First Conference on First Workshop on Hot Topics in Understanding Botnets. 7-14. Mazzariello, C. (2008). IRC traffic analysis for botnet detection. Proceedings of Fourth International Conference on Information Assurance and Security. 318-323. Paxton, N. , Ahn, G-J. , Chu, B. (2007). Towards practical framework for collecting and analyzing n etwork-centric attacks. Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Information Reuse and Integration. 73-78.

750 word editorial to submit to USA today for possible publication on Article

750 word editorial to submit to USA today for possible publication on why I think the Mental Health Access ACT OF 2012 needs to be passed so it can help the nations veterans - Article Example Delivering mental healthcare to this segment is a unique challenge that requires specialized training. Combat stress has become the inescapable part of life of a war veteran that results in psychological stress. The Post-Deployment Health Assessment for soldiers has revealed the alarming results of mental disorders for those who are engaged in violent war-fronts where they have to witness killings and bloodshed. The Mental Health Access Act of 2012 aims to improve and enhance programs and activities of the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to improve the levels of resilience of the veterans. Establishment of such a system to provide accurate and reliable measures for mental health services to the veterans is the need of the hour. The bill sponsored by Senator Murray (Democrat) and introduced on June 25, 2012 is the right step in achieving the desired goal. The bill broadly has the twin objectives. Pre-deployment training, wherein the soldiers will be counseled about what to expect in the front to enable them to be mentally tough and let them know how to handle it when confronted and the options available to them. Soldiers killing themselves and committing suicide is distressing news as compared to their dying in warfronts for a cause. According to the figures reported by the Department of Veterans Affairs the nation’s veterans who live through the conditions, post-traumatic disorders coupled with substance abuse have turned out to be serious ailments. Many ancillary problems like emotional numbing, sleeplessness, irritability, hyper vigilance, depression, anxiety and poor concentration makes their life tortuous. The authorities need to take decisive steps to prevent, inform and treat. The brave, faithful men and women who have sacrificed much and have dedicated their lives to serve the nation deserve more and their grievances need to be comprehensively addressed, treated and alleviated. The Mental

English class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

English class - Essay Example Hobbs was a man, who strived for the best all the time and tried to achieve greatness and the status of being a hero. Even though he did finally achieve popularity, he realized later that it was not because of the true perseverance that he had put into his work; but because of the disgraces that he had showered his life with. He later had the epiphany that he would then ‘suffer’ for all the wrongdoings that he had done. (Morgan Alex) Thus, after looking up the word, I understood that suffering is a very different kind of pain that humans have to endure during their lifetime; it might last and leave a scar on one’s life, and some people might even learn to move on and forget the past. Therefore, I do not only see the word as something associated with physical pain because after looking it up and reading the text again, it is clear that suffering is what usually mental trauma is. Works Cited Malamud, Bernard. The Natural. (1952) Definition for the term â€Å"Suffer /Suffering†. Merrim-Webster Dictionary. 3 February 2011. Web. Morgan, Alex.

United Airline history (from 1990 to 2000) Research Paper

United Airline history (from 1990 to 2000) - Research Paper Example â€Å"And if I did [fly with you], I wouldn’t bring my luggage / ‘Cause you’d just go and break it, / Into a thousand pieces, / Just like you broke my heart† (Carroll, n.d.). This is not a love song; it is rather a sad song about a passenger’s bad experience when he boarded the plane managed by the United Airlines. The persona in the song criticizes the â€Å"complete indifference† exhibited by the flight attendants towards him. Entitled United Breaks Guitars, the music piece subtly reveals two facets in the narrative: (1) the passenger’s plight; and (2) the United employee’s lack of professionalism. First, the needs or reasonable complaints of the customers appear to be insignificant to the employees of the United Airlines. This shows the level of treatment in which the United provides its customer-passengers. And second, the United flight attendants apparently fail to behave professionally by reacting to the passenger’s plight with the heartless words â€Å"Don’t ask me.† Communications strategy Smith, Berry, and Pulford (1999), on the other hand, states that the United Airlines has been pondering on the minds of its travellers. For instance, United inquires or explores on the daily activities of its passengers and on the persons whom these customers speak to whenever they book a flight. The underlying principle here is, obviously, the end in which the United Airlines can track and attract numerous costumer-passengers. The problem, however, is that United is more concerned with obtaining and gaining a number of customers rather than in providing satisfactory services towards them. Moreover, the focus on the traveller has a drawback to the personnel who book the flight and other United employees associated to booking and travel policy. Smith et al. (1999) argue that these people (e.g., travel agents) have the capacity to â€Å"influence over the choice of airline† made by the cu stomer-travellers. It is empirical for the travel agents, they say, to possess a much more detailed information about â€Å"routes, schedules and prices† in order to better serve their customers (Smith et al., 1999). Technology It appears that the United Airlines cares less to the passenger’s plight and more to the company’s ways of gaining more traveller-customers. Kelly (1999) writes about the United’s parallel processing technology wherein it functions as a machinery in â€Å"forecast[ing] demand† and thereby increases the company’s profit. According to a study, the United Airlines dramatically accumulates a large amount of profit from such technology by as much as $100 million per year (Kelly, 1999). Named as IBM RS/6000, the technology operates through an analysis or calculation from the given data in order to determine the passenger-demand forecast. In using this technology, United only looks and focuses on the flight â€Å"paths† of a particular travel route in contrast to its flight â€Å"legs† (Kelly, 1999). That is to say, the path that is to be analyzed or computed, from the Boston-to-Los-Angeles flight route with a stopover in Chicago, is the Boston-to-Los-Angeles path. The signifier â€Å"legs† signifies the short route (i.e., stopover) from state to state while the term â€Å"paths† refers to the ultimate destination of the passenger-traveller from one state to another. On employees Blacks The United Airlines composes employees of different colors; of the many colors, the Black stands high and bright. For one, there are numerous African Americans working in O’Hare International Airport situated in the state of Chicago. Most of them are United’

Documentary Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Documentary - Personal Statement Example (Rosenthal 1996, 31-35) So while the genre title 'f 'documentary' is a useful one for Video Store owners, the conventions and styles used by documentary filmmakers vary so greatly that the term documentary really does not give the viewer much 'f an idea as to what to expect from their viewing experience. One mode 'f documentary is the institutional documentary. Institutional documentary is, in its most generic meaning, a documentary that is financially and legally supported, and more often than not, ethically regulated by the organisation that funds the project. Because 'f this, there is no one film maker behind the documentary who has creative control, as the institution funding the project is primarily concerned with documenting it's cause and this drives the content and often the style 'f presentation. The style 'f these documentaries are not really exciting and do not rely on dramatisation, rather they rely on using the power 'f the content to influence the viewer. This may make the documentary less interesting to watch but what we must realise in institutional documentary is that the institution is driven by a desire to convey a strong message but often limited by a strict budget. This leaves no room for special effects or extra scenes that may not be cost efficient, even if th ey may the documentary more 'entertaining'. The documentary film Facing the Music directed by Bob Conolly, a part observational and part performative documentary, is an example 'f an Institutionalised documentary. Concepts 'f the institution, the issue 'f funding and sponsorship, the questions 'f authority and resistance are all enmeshed in this documentary. The documentary follows the protagonist, Ann Boyd as she fights against the system that ultimately aims to destroy the music department at the University 'f Sydney. The directors in this case follow the institution 'f the Music Department, and document on what they see happening from their perspective. (Rabiger 1998, 1-7; Bruzzi 2000, 15-17) The film did not have a large budget and relies heavily on presenting the talents 'f the musicians studying at the University, and the passion and determination 'f Boyd to influence the viewer to see that the department should receive funding to continue to develop these amazing talents. The film moves slowly, does not make use 'f spec ial effects and relies heavily on content to influence the viewer. The content 'f the film is driven by the Music Department's desperate need for funding and aims to show the viewer just how important this Institution is. The film's purpose very much influences its style. While Institutional documentary is one form 'f documentary film, it differs greatly from other modes 'f documentary. Self Reflexivity is also another principle 'f documentary. It is defined as "any aspect 'f a film which points toward its own process 'f production" So since we are aware 'f the processes through out the documentary that created it, such as camera equipment in view, the voice 'f a person behind the camera to an interviewee or anything that points towards this aspect, it in fact makes the Documentary feel more

International Marketing and communications Essay

International Marketing and communications - Essay Example The report is conclusive although the company should conduct future research in the market for it to be successful in the market. The company should follow the proposal in its operation to succeed in the new market. In the recent times companies have been undertaking measures to diversify their products and services in order to compete in the world market. The report gives an analysis of the entry mode, marketing strategies and other factors affecting the introduction of Verizon wireless mobile phones in the Iranian market. The report studies the effect of culture on a product, pricing and positioning. Research is done on the factors that affect the sale of the product in the country including the origin of the country which affects its marketing. The Iranian telecommunication sector has been experiencing massive growth in the past few years. Verizon wireless is a joint venture company in the telecommunications field which is based in the United States in New Jersey. The company is the second largest in this line in the United States and it reported an immense amount of revenue in the previous year as explained by Information Gatekeepers, Inc (2009).The company is well established and this can be seen through its expansion and mergers with other companies for example in 2009 it bought Alltel wireless according to Polishuk (2010). This is a clear indication that the company has enough resources to venture into the Iran telecommunications market and compete with local based companies by employing proper strategies. The company is one of the major carriers in the United States to use the CDMA technology. The company offers 3G data and voice services and it invests annually to expand and maintain its network as explained by Information Gate keepers Inc. (2009). The communication system in Iran has developed over the years an d the current plan is to modernize and expand the network with the aim of improving efficiency, increasing the urban

Cave Allegory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cave Allegory - Essay Example From the time I was a child, down to this very day, there has been one constant in my life that has given me direction. That constant is work. I can never remember a time when I have not been working to accomplish some sort of self-imposed goal. Some of my earliest memories are of shining my grandfather’s boots for a quarter. I had carried groceries, fed dogs, trimmed lawns, weeded gardens and delivered newspapers all before the age of eight. As I matured, the work in which I engaged became more complex, physical and financially rewarding. My memories of working are probably so vivid because coupled with this desire to work has been the desire for stuff. I have been blessed and cursed with an inordinate streak of materialism. Like a raven, I am constantly attracted to shiny baubles and glittering gizmos. For the first two decades of my life, this focus on material possessions and the accumulation of artifacts was the drive behind my work efforts. Coming from a thoroughly worki ng class background, money was not something my parents had to give to me. I’m not sure how, but I always instinctively knew this from the earliest age. My mother has told me that I have never asked for a toy while in a shop; not even so much as a piece of candy. Somehow I always realized that the answer would be a resounding no. So I did what I observed the adults in my community doing. I worked for what I wanted. The praise for my work ethic came early and often. â€Å"Such as good helper† and â€Å"What a hard worker† was like the refrain of a sweet song I loved to hear. Work and save was the order of the day. Buy the gadget and then another. Impress your friends with your stuff. Looking back, I can see that what I thought was the due reward to a job well done was actually a sort of blindness that kept me from seeing and experiencing so much of life that is beautiful and sustaining. My materialism was not a reward. It was a shroud that blocked out the light o f a greater way. Everything in my life was jolted by the death of a cousin and dear friend during a summer holiday. In the morning we were on the beach, having a wonderful time. By the time for our evening meal, she was dead in the hospital. No one understood what had happened, but later the entire family would get and education we neither wanted nor asked for in the biology of the brain and the dangers of aneurisms. My first experience with the death of a loved one was like a light being shone into a cave for the first time. I suddenly saw that despite all of my possessions and my admirable willingness to work for them, they were in fact of little worth. Amid the brooding and mourning in the weeks following the death of my cousin, I realized for the first time in my life that everything I had worked so hard to accomplish was truly transitory. I would die, just like my cousin. No amount of MP3 players or fine clothes would change this fact. I became depressed. The center of my world , my stuff, now held no joy for me. My depression was, thankfully, of the 24-hour variety. I found that my new perspective on life and death was somehow liberating. For the first time in memory, I spent an entire day not thinking about what I was going to buy next or how I was going to earn my next bit of money. I spread a blanket in a nearby park and watched squirrels for four hours. I took a nap. I read a book (not a sales catalog) for the first time in months. I meditated. I asked myself a question. What good is work if all it gets me is stuff? I am not a

Progressive Era through the Great Depression Research Paper - 1

Progressive Era through the Great Depression - Research Paper Example Some of these include the end of American isolationism when it entered a war with Spain between 1895 and 1898, the moment when American women were given the right to vote in 1917, and America’s entry into the First World War in April 1917 (Stein, 2009). Other turning points were the stock market crash in October 29, 1929 which precipitated the Great Depression, the day when John Glenn became the first man to orbit the earth in 1962, America’s entry into the Vietnam War in 1959, and the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 (Stein, 2009). In recent years, America has been transformed by the advent of personal computers in the 1980s and the terrorist attack in New York in 2001. Historical Events that shaped American Society The Revolutionary War and the Civil War each greatly affected the then young America (Stein, 2009). The revolutionary war guaranteed the nation’s sovereignty and the Civil War helped to enforce the significance of the federal government over t he state governments. When World War One ended more than two decades later, America was resentful for having been forced to use its resources to fight a war in which it had no spoils. This resulted in a re-newed focus on isolationism. This isolationism would cause America to stay out of the Second World War until its own shores were attacked by a member of the Axis powers. On discovering the atrocities visited on Europe’s Jews by Germany, America experienced a sense of guilt for maintaining its isolationist policy while Adolph Hitler executed millions of innocent human beings. This guilt would result in the US taking an active role in the affairs of other nations- thereby earning the moniker ‘the World’s policeman’. This involvement was evident in the creation of the United Nations, involvement in the Korean War, the many attempts to curb Communism, and the launch of the war against terror. America’s development of social security was another change that resulted the Great Depression; which proved to Americans that their economy would not always economy be on the rise. In the 60s, the social revolution caused by the civil rights movement forced America to examine race relations and look for ways to truly ensure that all citizens were treated equally. Why women earned the right to vote in the frontier states of the West before eastern and southern states It was in Wyoming where women were first given the right to vote. Soon, Utah, Colorado, and Idaho also allowed their women to vote. Wyoming’s reasons for allowing women to vote were not tied to any idealism but were rather aimed at curbing the existing shortage of women in the state. By ratifying this act, Wyoming hoped to draw more women. Another reason is that Western states were basically being created out of undeveloped woodlands. This called for all types of labor that could be availed. Women worked tirelessly in clearing woodlands and farming alongside the men. Thi s earned them a respect that was not enjoyed by their counterparts in eastern states. How women and minorities have changed American Culture In the past, most women and Minorities were openly discriminated against. Most of the time, they were given menial jobs at very low pay (Sage, 2010). There acceptance into the American mainstream workforce has resulted in the acceptance in American society that individuals should not be judged on the basis of their ethnicity

Grant Proposal Essay Example for Free

Grant Proposal Essay There are many steps to writing a grant proposal and it’s has to be written very well with all the grammar and spelling done correctly. You have to have a Request for Proposal this is a notice to the public will be generally be distributed and applicant agencies usually have 6 to 8 weeks to respond to the request for proposal. Then you have the Abstract which is the summary and its 45 single space lines. Table of Content which is the road map for the reader to understand the structure of the applicant proposal. Specific Aims/background and significance this is the present the rational and basis for the development. Needs and Problem Statement this is where they show the urgency of the problem. Target Population is where they are target the population that needs the most help. Approaches and Method is kind of like the elder lady would say where’s the beef. Long- and short-term goals can be anything form the vision to mission, goals, objectives, and the activities is term that proposal writers program. Process, outcome, and impact objectives this is where they will show the objectives and the outcome of the proposal. Activities plans and scheduling which is the same as the timeline for everything taking place. Evaluation plan. This is where they assesses the achievement of a specific program. Agency Capacity and Project Management this is the creditability of the agency which is the same as with us in trying to get a credit card. Budget and budget Justifications this is where they are going to try to get the funding besides the grants. The purpose of a grant proposal is so that the human service can get the grant needed to help the community. The grant proposal and program plan help each other and as close to being the same.

Wholistic Visual Cues When Reading

Wholistic Visual Cues When Reading To what extent do we use wholistic visual cues when reading? Researchers have proposed that individuals use the outline shape of a word, meaning wholistic visual cues, in visual word recognition in reading. Various methods have been used to investigate reading in individuals with differing reading abilities. The reading abilities of young children and individuals with dyslexia have been studied to determine how this deviates from normally reading adults. The majority of research found the use of wholistic visual cues is most beneficial to individuals with dyslexia (Perea Panadero, 2013) and those in the early stages of learning to read (Ehri, 1995). However, disparity between the research conclusions exist, proposing that wholistic visual cues are used in conjunction with other recognition processes. The holistically biased hybrid model (Allen, Wallace Weber, 1995) and the process model (Besner Johnston, 1989) both provide theories for word recognition. The holistically biased hybrid model uses either an addressed or an assembled pathway to process words, with the addressed pathway being dominant in normal reading (Allen et al., 1995). This model accounts for both word frequency and provides an explanation for reading behaviours when presented with a mixed case paradigm, supporting the use of wholistic visual cues in reading (Allen et al., 1995). Alternatively, the process model recognises words using either a familiarity assessment, letter analysis or multi-letter identification (Besner Johnston, 1989) and rejects the use of wholistic visual cues. The interactive activation model uses similar analytical methods as the process model (McClelland and Rumelhart, 1981), whereby numerous variables of the word are processed for recognition. The different uses of visual cues was dete rmined by Paap, Newsome and Noel (1984) who concluded that wholistic visual cues are used in the initial stages of word recognition and this is then followed by abstract letter identification. Evidence for both of these models have been found and provide evidence for and against the use of wholistic visual cues using a variety of research methods. A method used to research the importance of word shape in reading is that of the cloze test, whereby participants must anticipate the upcoming word. Haber, Haber and Furlin (1983) tested adult reading using cues including word length, envelope shape or providing the following word. They found that participants used the shape envelope to recognise the target word. The cue provided word length information which decreased the number of alternative applicable words. However, the wholistic visual cues did not provide semantic cues, suggesting that other methods of word recognition are required in conjunction with wholistic visual cues. Mirman and Magnuson (2008) discovered that words which are semantically similar increase reaction times in visual word recognition. These pieces of research support the interactive activation model because it requires the processing of several aspects of the word in parallel, including semantics (McClelland Rumelhart, 1983). Fisher and Murray (1987) replic ated Haber et al.’s (1983) research using children as their participants. No age difference was discovered in the use of wholistic visual cues between the ages of 10 to 13 years old. However, Johnston, Anderson and Duncan (1991) determined that at 8 years old salient external features improved reading accuracy which was not seen at the age of ten. This research therefore suggests that wholistic visual cues may be used more in reading behaviours when improving reading ability. Naming tasks have been particularly important in researching developing reading abilities. Webb, Beech, Mayall and Andrews (2006) studied the effects of concealing either the inner or outer sections of words for children. The outer sections of a word elicited more accurate reading ability, whereas inner visual information of words had no influence on the individual’s reading behaviours even when accounting for frequency effects. Increased performance when presented with the outer sections of words as opposed to the inner sections was also evidenced by Beech and Mayall (2005). This concluded that individuals process word shape envelopes in visual word recognition, suggesting that wholistic visual cues may play a role in the initial stages of the interactive activation model (Webb et al., 2006). It is also possible to explain the findings using Gestalt theory, proposing that individuals form connections between the outer sections of words in order to make up for the missing word sections (Beech Mayall, 2005). The Gestalt theory provides evidence for the use of wholistic visual cues and it is evident when researching the effects of presenting other sections of words. This was then analysed further by presenting only the upper section of words to normally reading adults. Perea, Comesana and Soares (2012) determined an improved reaction time when upper sections of words were presented. However, this did not apply to pseudo-words, implying that the word must be known in order to have the desired effect. The decreased reaction time indicates that upper sections of words have more salient cues than lower sections of words, meaning they are more representative of the target word. These pieces of research therefore emphasise the importance of wholistic visual cues in visual word recognition, however research by Pelli, Farell and Moore (2003) contrasted these conclusions. The researchers determined that individuals focus on minor cues in words and collate these for an overall representation of the word, contrasting the evidence of using wholistic visual cues when reading. Further information other than word shape envelopes must therefore be known in orde r to accurately process the given word. An alternative way in which the use of wholistic visual cues has been researched is that of using a mixed case paradigm, presenting an array of uppercase and lowercase letters to participants (Coltheart Freeman, 1974). Presenting words in a mixed case format increased reaction times as well as reducing the recognition of the word, providing evidence for the importance of wholistic visual cues and contradicting the interactive activation model (Coltheart Freeman, 1974). However, the mixed case paradigm had no influence on the identification of individual letters in this case, supporting the interactive activation model and opposing the use of wholistic visual cues. Besner and Johnston (1989) also found pseudo-words in a mixed case format to be detrimental to reading ability. This therefore demonstrates the need for the word shape envelope and rejects the interactive activation model due to the reduced reading ability. Allen et al. (1995) used a lexical decision task to compare the r eading of lower and mixed cases when given a time constraint on processing. The experiments concluded an increased reaction time for pseudo-words in a mixed case format, indicating the importance of wholistic visual cues in word recognition. Participants struggled to accept or reject pseudo-words presented for 400ms, representing the processing limitations during short exposure periods. This research is in line with Allen et al.’s (1995) holistically biased hybrid model but contrasts the analytical models, including the process model. The research carried out by Allen et al. (1995) indicates that for the successful completion of lexical decision tasks wholistic visual cues are necessary, meaning that reading methods may adapt to the task’s requirements. This provides an explanation for the great degree of variation seen in the research into the use of wholistic visual cues and shows the high level of validity of this method due to the replicability of the findings. Further research has led to the suggestion that wholistic visual cues may only be used in circumstances where normal reading behaviour is inhibited. This was recently demonstrated by Perea and Panadero (2013) using a lexical decision task to analyse reading behaviours for adults, children and children with developmental dyslexia. There was no effect on the reaction times for word recognition when pseudo-words were presented as having the same shape as real words for adults and children. However, those with developmental dyslexia were found to be affected by the word shape of pseudo-words (Perea Panadero, 2013), reflecting how wholistic visual cues are used to a different extent. This indicates the use of more analytical processing methods in normal reading. Lavidor (2011) also found word shape envelopes to be beneficial to individuals with dyslexia. These pieces of research suggest that children and those with dyslexia fixate on particularly salient cues in order to reliably process words (Ehri Wilce, 1985). This again dismisses the word shape hypothesis and provides further evidence for the importance of the interactive activation model (McClelland Rumelhart, 1981) during normal reading due to the use of feature analysis. These studies highlight the requirement for top-down processing in normal reading behaviours compared to dyslexia, as the interactive activation model (McClelland Rumelhart, 1981) requires the processing of multiple factors in word recognition. Cognitive processing, including top-down processing, is a vital part of visual word recognition. Research carried out by Yates (2013) provides further evidence with clustering effects that word shape alone has limited influence on normal reading behaviour. If a set of words only differ by a phoneme then word recognition requires a higher level of activation and is processed more slowly (Yates, 2013). This infers that the use of a word’s shape envelope is influenced by cognitive processing ability. Cognitive processing can again be seen by analysing parafoveal vision. When monitoring eye movements McConkie and Zola (1979) discovered normally reading adults do not detect any changes to manipulations of word shape in parafoveal vision. Contrasting evidence by Haber, Haber, Furlin, Paap, Newsome and Noel (1984) determined that when proofreading, participants remained unaware of changes to words unless the word shape envelope was manipulated. An alternative explanation for the lack of evidence for the word shape hypothesis may be that the use of wholistic cues becoming automated (Webb et al., 2006). Research has proven the importance of the word shape envelope for young readers and dyslexics, however it has not been consistently reported in adults. If word shape is processed in a more automated manner the individual’s cognitive load would be significantly reduced (Webb et al., 2006). This reduction would allow other, more efficient, reading behaviours to occur. These pieces of research led to the conclusion that wholistic visual cues are important in visual word recognition, however as an individual matures their reading behaviours may be modified. Previous research has found that individual’s reading methods change as their reading ability improves. Children initially use wholistic visual cues and then potentially develop more effective reading methods (Perea Panadero, 2013). Research by Seymour and Eldre (1986) determined that in order to read children have to be specifically taught to read each of these words, meaning they are unable to determine the phonological information of a word and as such rely on wholistic visual cues (Webb et al., 2006). This was also supported was Ehri (1995) who described stages in children’s visual word recognition. When children learn to read they engage in sight word reading or logographic reading, meaning that the word is read through memory retrieval. As children’s reading ability develops they learn the relationship of phonemes and graphemes and are thus able to apply this to more complex words in the consolidated alphabetic stage (Ehri, 1995). Research using children i s therefore of great advantage when focusing on adult reading. The conclusion has been reached that as children develop their reading ability they refine their use of wholistic visual cues. Thus as visual word recognition becomes more refined individuals use other recognition strategies in parallel with wholistic visual cues. Research into the use of wholistic visual cues has shown that adults do not necessarily use wholistic visual cues. However, evidence has shown that children and individuals with developmental dyslexia use these cues to a great extent. This difference may occur due to the processing of wholistic visual cues becoming more automated as reading develops. Alternatively, the varying use of wholistic cues may be explained by the demands of the task, as shown by lexical decision tasks (Allen et al., 1995). For this reason wholistic visual cues provide a more accurate account of visual word recognition when taken in conjunction with analytical models, such as the interactive activation model and the process model. References Allen, P. A., Wallace, B., Weber, T. A. (1995). Influence of case type, word frequency, and exposure duration on visual word recognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 21(4), 914-934. Beech, J. R., Mayall, K. A. (2005). The word shape hypothesis re-examined: Evidence for an external feature advantage in visual word recognition. Journal of Research in Reading, 28(3), 302-319. Besner Johnston (1989) Beech M Coltheart Freeman (1974) Allen Ehri, L. C. (1995). Phases of development in learning to read words by sight. Journal of Research in Reading, 18(2), 116-125. Ehri Wilce (1985) Lavidor Fisher Murray (1987) Webb Haber, L. R., Haber, R. N., Furlin, K. R. (1983). Word length and word shape as sources of information in reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 18(2), 165-189. Haber, Haber, Furlin, Paap, Newsome Noel (1984) Beech Mayall Johnston, Anderson Duncan (1991) Beech M Lavidor, M. (2011). Whole-word shape effect in dyslexia. Journal of Research in Reading, 34(4), 443-454. McClelland and Rumelhart (1981) McConkie, G. W., Zola, D. (1979). Is visual information integrated across successive fixations in reading? Perception and Psychophysics, 25(3), 221-224. Mirman Magnuson (2008) yates Seymoure Eldre (1986) Webb Paap, K. R., Newsome, S. L., Noel, R. W. (1984). Word shape’s in poor shape for the race to the lexicon. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 10(3), 413-428. Pelli, D. G., Farell, B., Moore, D. C. (2003). The remarkable inefficiency of word recognition. Nature, 423, 752-756. Perea, M., Comesana, M., Soares, A. P. (2012). Does the advantage of the upper part of words occur at the lexical level? Memory and Cognition, 40, 1257-1265. Perea, M., Panadero, V. (2013). Does viotin activate violin more than viocin? On the use of visual cues during visual-word recognition. Experimental Psychology, 61(1), 23-29. Webb, T. M., Beech, J. R., Mayall, K. M., Andrews, A. S. (2006). It’s what’s on the outside that matters: An advantage for external features in children’s word recognition. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 94, 163-181. Yates, M. (2013). How the clustering of phonological neighbours affects visual word recognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 39(5), 1649-1656.

Being a Vegetarian Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Food Health Essay

Being a Vegetarian "Animals are my friends and I don't eat my friends." -George Bernard Shaw Vegetarianism used to be an unusual lifestyle choice. Today it is becoming more common and accepted by mainstream society. While there are many reasons for choosing a vegetarian diet, the most important are health reasons, environmental and economic reasons, and, above all, ethical reasons. Health reasons alone are sufficient grounds for becoming a vegetarian. Research has shown that we do not require meat in our diets and that it is actually healthier to avoid meat. Meat is high in saturated fats which are known to cause clogged arteries Cultures that consume less meat than North America have much lower cholesterol and lower rates of heart disease. For example, Japan used to have a lower incidence of heart disease, as well as cancer, before meat consumption increased. There is also reason to believe that humans have naturally evolved to be herbivores, rather than carnivores. Human teeth resemble the teeth of other herbivores, and human intestinal tracts are long, unlike the short intestines found in carnivores. What is natural is usually healthier, and people who become vegetarians frequently report a feeling of increased energy and well being. There are also environmental and economic reasons for becoming vegetarian. Some people are not aware of these reasons, but a lot of environmental destruction is linked to meat production, especially cattle farming. Huge areas of f...

Driving that Train, High on :: Short Stories Drugs Addiction Papers

Driving that Train, High on. . . "If I could do one line today and not be an addict, I would,'" Melissa said when she was sober and knew she could not handle cocaine. But when she was face to face with the candy for the first time in almost a year, she didn't care whether or not she would become an addict again. Knowing the devastation the drug would cause, knowing one line would bring back all the pain again, she still wanted it more than her education, more than her family, she would have given everything for it, all over again. Sitting at the table, hair pulled back in a pony tail, dressed in a sweater and chinos, (she had really cleaned herself up from a year ago) Melissa drank her beer as if it were going out of style. Watching her friend exchange money for a bag, she had to ask "Can I have a line?" "Melissa, I know you want one, but can you do one and not get hooked on it again?" "Yeah, sure." "I don't want to be the one who gets you all fucked up." "If I couldn't handle it I would tell you, I swear." Melissa walked back to the party, now anxious, and took a seat in her chair. This time she wasn't worried about drinking her beer. The only thing she now thought about was getting that line. She kept him in her sight, the way parents keep an eye on their young children to make sure they don't take off somewhere. If he left, she wouldn't get a line. She wanted that line. "Just one, it won't do anything." "I will in a second, wait until we get back to your house." "It's safe here, no one cares, let's go in the bathroom, no one will know." "Just wait, Melissa." She walked away again. She didn't realize it but she went up to him every five minutes for the rest of the night. "Can I have a line?" "Can I have that line?" "Can I have that line now?" Before she knew it everyone was in the back room, snorting coke. No one would give her a line. She got pissed off and snuck out the sliding glass door.

The Sound and the Fury :: Essays Papers

About The Sound and the Fury The Sound and the Fury, published in October of 1929, was Faulkner's fourth novel, and clearly his first work of genius. Now considered to be one of the strongest American contributions to the fiction of high modernism, it has generated countless critical interpretations. In writing the novel, Faulkner experienced a creative absorption and passion that he was never to forget. He said of â€Å"The Sound and the Fury†, "It's the book I feel tenderest towards. I couldn't leave it alone, and I never could tell it right, though I tried hard and would like to try again, though I'd probably fail again." The novel tells the story, from four different perspectives, of the disintegration of a Southern family. The father is unfriendly and passive, and though he clearly loves his children, he drinks himself to death. The invalid mother has no love for her children and continuously demands that she herself be taken care of. Benjy, the mentally retarded son of whom his mother is ashamed, is castrated after he begins to exhibit sexual behavior. Quentin, the troubled and romantic son, goes off to Harvard to fulfill his mother's lifelong wish and commits suicide there. Caddy, the only daughter, becomes pregnant while still a teenager and quickly marries a man who turns her out of the house when he discovers that their child is not his. Caddy is described as â€Å"loose† by many readers of the novel. Jason, the mother's favorite, loses his chance at a well-paying job when Caddy's marriage fails and he is reduced to supporting the family by working in a general store. Caddy's daughter, n amed after her brother Quentin, is brought up in the unhappy Compson household although everyone is forbidden to speak her mother's name. Quentin has her revenge upon her Uncle Jason when she steals the $7000 he has gathered by embezzling it from his mother and from funds sent to Quentin by Caddy. The family is supposed to be supported and cared for by a lazy family of black servants, led and held together by the matriarch Dilsey (the only good person I found in the book). Because of its experimental style, â€Å"The Sound and the Fury† presents a challenge for readers.

Destin Brass Products Co. Case Study

Destin Brass Products Co. has been established and grown to bring forth valves ( 24 % of the company gross ) , pumps ( 55 % of the company gross ) , and flow accountants ( 21 % of the company gross ) . This paper will exemplify the recommended solutions for the direction of the company that are seeking to measure the competitory tendencies of the market for the mentioned merchandises, and seeking to get down new schemes to cover with these tendencies. Finance and accounting, as mentioned by Ambler ( 2008 ) are the necessities and footing to the short and long being of any type of companies. The high fight of market requires that all types of concerns have a comprehensive apprehension to the costs and net incomes in much item in order to ease determination doing procedure. In Destin Brass instance, the company tried to set up a high trade name name for bring forthing the valves, but subsequently as an enlargement to the concern, the company included two new merchandise lines which are the pumps and the flow accountants maintaining in head the similarities of productions and the handiness of the productions capacity. Destin Brass did non hold a distinguished rival in the valves market because of the high quality of the valves produced, but there is a monolithic competition in the pump and flow accountants market. This paper will capture a clip of the company concern where there is a high competition on the pumps ‘ monetary values and the solution of increasing the monetary values of the flow accountants did non alter the market. The direction is in demand to reconsider its fiscal scheme in order to face competition.The fiscal analysisAfter measuring the current fiscal state of affairs of Destin Brass, The analysis hereby will join forces to reply the direction inquiries, and illustrations of the below solutions had been used by concern and it proved to hold an influence of determination devising procedure sing the company scheme. The solutions are as follow s:Merchandise costs as per the ABC informationFrom the given information in the instance survey, there is a connexion between the merchandises costs and the costs incurred by the activities related to the productions of each merchandise line. The reply to this issue is to fix cost estimations for the three merchandises by using the necessities of the activity based costing, table 1 shows that the ABC costs of the valves is 37.8, the pumps is 48.82, and the flow accountants is $ 100.63. The ABC method attempts to link the indirect costs to the merchandises, and accordingly handle them as direct costs. Based on the instance analyze fiscal information, the computations in table 1 have been prepared by utilizing the followers: Making a cost pool for the machine depreciation and care cost, and apportion the merchandises based on machine hours. Making a cost pool for having and material handling costs by ciphering the figure of minutess consumed for every merchandise. Making a cost pool for technology costs by ciphering how much technology is consumed by each merchandise.Comparing the ABC with the criterion and the revised unit costsIn this comparing, it will look the cost of each merchandise under the three types of bing computation methods and the ground why they are different. Table 2 shows the comparing. The three bing methods dainty direct costs which are run labour and stuff, in the same manner. Furthermore, fiscal experts support the thought that direct costs is non the existent job as this can be tracked to the merchandise, but the issue is that bing computations gets complicated when seeking to apportion the operating expenses ( Indirect costs ) . The allotment of operating expenses is where the differences in costs come under the three bing methods. In the criterion cost accounting there is no attempt made to track the operating expense costs to the merchandises. It is believed that indirect costs can non be related with the merchandises that ‘s why they are summarised and so allocated to the merchandises based on the given allotment factor ( cost driver ) . In Destin Brass instance, the operating expenses which include the receiving and stuffs managing, packing and transportation, and depreciation and care for $ 680.000 per month, are allocated based on the tally labour dollars. Consequently, every merchandise is allocated a per centum of the operating expenses in the same ratio that the merchandise consume of labor ( valves 0.5 tally hours per unit, pumps 0.5 tally per unit, and flow accountants 0.4 run per unit ) . See table 3 for inside informations. The revised cost accounting makes portion of the indirect costs as direct. The stuff and handling costs are treated in a separate manner, but non the best cost driver had been chosen ( direct stuff dollars ) , as it would be seen in the ABC. Furthermore, setup labor is assigned straight based on the apparatus hours for which information is available. The staying operating expenses are allocated on the footing of machine hours. As mentioned by Peggy Alford, this gives an thought why rivals are cutting monetary values on pumps. It is now clear that costs of the pumps is overstated utilizing the criterion bing method while the costs of the valves are unostentatious. But, bing can be improved particularly that the flow accountants ‘ monetary value is non truly explained that they are cheaper to bring forth than it was calculated by the criterion bing method. The ABC method paths every bit much as possible of the indirect disbursals of the merchandises and services. So any disbursal incurred of a merchandise is straight charged to that peculiar merchandise instead than distributing the disbursal over all the merchandises. When disbursals incurred of a figure of merchandises, they are gathered and allocated based on a proper cost driver. In this manner, the allotment will be done in proportion to the existent costs ingestion by all the merchandises. Table 1 had shown the ABC costs computations for the three merchandises. Now, we can see that flow accountants have been subsidised by pumps and selling them for $ 97.07 is loss devising ( be $ 100.63 ) instead than at 42 % gross border. But, subsidizing flow accountants had made pumps less profitable while selling monetary value of $ 81.26 corresponds to 43.37 % gross border. The costs of the valves are the same under both the criterion and the ABC methods.Strategic deductions of the fiscal an alysisHarmonizing to Bhimani et La ( 2008 ) , extremely competition concern environment requires a comprehensive costs understanding, and a proper costing scheme is indispensable to ease determination doing. In Destin Brass instance, the direction is confronting a determination whether to travel on in the pumps market in malice of the monetary values autumn and decreasing net income borders or to cut this concern line and dressed ore merely on the valves and the flow accountant ‘s merchandises which are profitable. But, doing a determination following the standard costing method would hold caused black effects for the company as it would cut the profitable merchandise and concentrate on merchandises that are selling at a loss. Destin Brass is an ideal illustration of how critical is to hold an accurate bing method to follow to supply strategic determination devising. But, in malice of the importance of the fiscal and accounting information that the bing method will supply, the direction vision should be supported by the information non merely dictated by the accounting information.The following month consequencesIn the clip where cost accounting does non count for the cost allotment to find the costs of the merchandises, it does non impact the bottom line. Here, presuming that the measures of the productions and the gross revenues, stock list, selling monetary values stay the same, and the monetary values of stuff, labor, managing remains the same. The net net income would be the same as the net net income of the last month. The bottom line will be affected in instance the consequences demoing in the ABC method are considered and the merchandising monetary values are adjusted.DecisionThe costing methods used to place the strengths and failing of the concern public presentation helps direction to make up one's mind whether operations require any betterments. This indicates that the inaccurate costing allotment can take to either over or under pricing. Con sequently, this will forestall the direction from taking the company to do higher net income, retain clients or take the company to wrong strategic determinations.

Some Interpretations Have Portrayed Tragic Heroines

Some Interpretations Have Portrayed Tragic Heroines as Manipulative Plotters Driven by Passionate Desires. Others Have Seen the Tragic Women as Victims of Powerful Individuals or Society as a Whole. Bearing in Mind By Troubleshoots Gertrude is a very minute character in Hamlet, yet the same cannot be said about her impact on the action of the play. Certain audiences view Gertrude in different ways, some sympathies with her as a character, and see her actions as empowering towards women as a whole, letting loose of the social conventions of the Shakespearian era, in addition to being a caring mother.However, I feel there are two options that can be seen here concerning Gertrude as a person, and neither of them are positive, as the only two plausible ways in which her character can be based on is a manipulative plotter, or one who is simply invested in her own ignorance. Considering her lack of concern for the social conventions of the time, alongside poor ways of dealing with an unsta ble son, it is my personal opinion that Shakespeare intended Gertrude to be seen as a manipulative plotter, rather than a woman who epitomized a tragic heroine.To begin assessing how much of a tragic heroine Gertrude really was, it is imperative o assess the tragic conventions of the time. ‘A hero must fall from fortune and power, with a tragic flaw allowing the reader to empathic with the character' (Aristotle 335 BCC) In addition to this, Shakespearean tragic conventions also suggest that a tragic heroine must show promise of further greatness and possess a character trait that would normally be a virtue, but under the circumstances of the play become a flaw.On the surface my repudiation of Gertrude as anything other than a manipulative plotter may seem a brash claim; at least it does until we are met with the way she infernos Claudia in Act 2 Scene 2. Her line thanks Guilelessness, and gentle Restaurants' (2:2:34) is used either to correct what Claudia said Just before her, or is simply her mistaking between Restaurants and Guilelessness.I think it is obvious that it is merely Gertrude correcting Claudia, as if the line were meant to be said with indecision, Shakespeare would have most likely used a question mark in the speech in order to highlight that Gertrude was meant to say the line with a certain amount of uncertainty. This shows that whilst the nature of the line may have been unsorted as one that was merely of her own confusion, I maintain the claim that it is far more likely that Shakespeare intended for this to be an indication of Gertrude out for – one who is devious, scheming and willing to plot.Considering that the social conventions of the time dictated that women were to be inferior to men, the idea of correcting a man without even a hint of uncertainty portrays to a Shakespearian audience an ignorance of social values; in my opinion this is used as a subtle hint early on to make the audience know that this is a character to watc h out for, as her expedient nature percolates and promulgates itself to the audience throughout the rest of the play.Whilst it may be conceded that a modern audience would see Gertrude in a less damning way, we cannot ignore the fact that this wildly contradicts the idea of a tragic heroine being one that the audience can empathic with, nor does it show any evidence of her having a virtue which would turn out to be a flaw.Gertrude moral turpitude is pumped at relentlessly throughout the play, and is shown further in Act 2 Scene 2, where Gertrude is shown without ambiguity or doubt hat she is aware of Hamlet's grief ‘l doubt [Hamlet's upset] is no other but the main: His father's death and our detracts marriage' (2:2:56), dispelling any possible nature that Gertrude does not know what is wrong with Hamlet.Despite this, she makes no effort to console Hamlet, and merely accepts the very brief Well, we shall sift him' reply that is given by Claudia. This meaner one of two things: that she is unable to think or speak for herself, or able to speak up but unwilling. Considering that she had already corrected Claudia earlier in the play, it thus follows that this line was not en that showed her as a victim of powerful individuals as she has already proven earlier that she is not a mindless sycophant.When we are to consider that her son has been horrifically upset to the point where he is bordering on insanity, and the reason for this is because of Gertrude marriage to his brother only two weeks after the death of his father (for whom he had the greatest admiration) yet still felt no need to console him, I would argue that by her inaction what she did was indicative of a manipulative plotter.Not only this, but her status as a tragic heroine is dispelled, s simply allowing one's own flesh and blood to suffer is the direct antithesis of what it meaner to be a tragic heroine: ‘a character which allows the audience to empathic with them'. I feel that this is st rong evidence for her status as a manipulative plotter. It is not only in Gertrude treatment of Hamlet that her manipulation is evident, but in her behavior towards other characters. The Queen's hostility towards Aphelia initially appears through sophisticated strategies of aggression, but the increasing dangers force stronger defenses. Whether resulting from physical action or ethical taxation, the Queen is culpable in the death of Aphelia† (Lobber, Harmonic 2004) The quote above suggests motives for Gertrude in killing Aphelia, and thus truly securing her status as a manipulative plotter, and one completely incapable of fitting the definition for a tragic heroine.Of course, interpretation of Gertrude is a difficult thing, and a large part of this is due to Shakespeare giving Gertrude very few spoken lines during the play, yet this does seem odd considering that her role is so crucial to Hamlet's suffering. So why does Shakespeare do this? Personally, I feel her infrequent ap pearances, yet essential role are placed within the play in order to create a sense of suspicion about Gertrude, to keep the audience wondering about where Gertrude be said that this quote is not enough to completely condemn Gertrude.However, when all the evidence piles up, Shakespeare creates a special bond between Aphelia and Gertrude, particularly when we look at the following interpretation â€Å"the language of flowers creates a relationship that in effect places them in close proximity' (Radcliff, S – 1998) which again implies that Shakespeare purposely rated closeness between these two in this scene for a purpose, and I feel that in creating this bond Shakespeare was effectively offering Gertrude a chance to be seen as a tragic heroine, yet we know that at the very least she was passive or unable, both of which contradict the supposed nobility of a tragic heroine.That said, I think that the closeness created by Shakespeare was to show that Gertrude actually did have t he chance to save Aphelia, and if he had not used the language of flowers in such a way, it would have shown Gertrude inability rather than her nature as a manipulative plotter.This is supported by the fact that Gertrude ‘kills' Aphelia from the play, and whilst I realize it is completely impossible to prove the speculations about off-stage events, she does in fact ‘kill her' off from the play, as she is the one who reveals her death, making it far too coincidental for it to be unintentional, and in my opinion the most obvious interpretation seems to me that Gertrude is meant to be seen as a manipulative plotter.In conclusion, I do feel that Shakespeare intended Gertrude to be a manipulative plotter, as every possible moment of niceness she portrays within the play, in my pinion can be countered with at least an equally good reason as to why she could have done so in a meticulously fetid way. Even when we consider her name ‘Gertrude', the sounds of the g and the â €˜r' are harsh sounding, and this could well have been done in order to create an immediately disliked and nasty character.Her ignorance is a possible interpretation, but upon further exploration of her lines we have discovered that she is aware of why Hamlet is upset, and yet still chooses to take no act to relieve this. We have seen compelling evidence from other critics to suggest her involvement in Aphelion's death, combined with several remarks that come off as at the very least petty, if not malicious, in addition to the chances she has to make a big difference in the play, yet seems either incompetent or scheming.

Leaving Home

My brother, Ricky, sister, Amrit and I had only found out a week before, that we were just about to be whisked away to a foreign country we hadn't set in for seven years, and seven years before that. We would be staying there for a whole month, so as you can imagine, we were taken aback, yet somewhat sceptic, as we'd always heard our parents mentioning a trip to India for a few months, but never actually believed they would go to the bother of booking the tickets. After all, my mother had only taken my now 5-year-old sister to see her family there four years ago. My immediate concern was language. I can read and write my mother tongue, and understand what people are telling me, but wasn't very good at speaking back. I think this pleased my parents, they thought it would be good for us, as they knew we would have to start learning to talk in our mother tongue Punjabi. It wasn't really difficult to prepare for the trip, well not for me anyway. All I had to do was make sure I had a holiday form, homework and suitcase packed. However, my poor parents had to sort out the passports, visas, currency, jabs (ouch) and house security while we were away. I didn't really tell my friends until the last minute, as I was expecting a cancellation, change in plan or even told I'd been set up and it was all a joke. I was actually a little annoyed with my parents for not booking during school holidays, not because I'd miss school, only the workload I'd have to catch up on. But once they explained that they couldn't get a holiday the same time as us, I felt quite sorry for them. When I think back to it, I was actually disappointed that we were going to India, instead of Canada in the summer, which is where I was hoping go, which was no longer possible. India as I last remembered it, was freezing in the morning, and boiling in the afternoon (we went in December), pretty smelly, the people were scared to talk to me and my brother (my sister wasn't born then), and we didn't really want to say anything to them. The thing that disgusted me most about this country was definitely the latrines. I tried not to go to the toilet unless I had a full bladder and was desperate; it was also hard to get toilet paper over there. This time, we prepared ourselves with plenty of rolls before we left. I wasn't very impressed then, but it was also the reason we had gone in the first place, that we didn't feel like enjoying ourselves. It was pretty depressing, as my mother's brother had died in a tractor accident on Diwali, so my mother left England a few weeks before us to go to his funeral. I must admit that I was a little exited, as many of my relatives from Britain had gone a few weeks before us, so we would be meeting them there as well. The flight had been delayed three hours, so I didn't really have a positive attitude when we arrived at the airport. The one thing that thrilled me when we were boarding the plane was that the passengers went on the stairs instead of the corridor, like in the movies, so that we could actually see the plane as we were boarding it. I' m not scared of flying, but I did grow a little nervous as I approached the plane, the paintwork was hand done, the panels looked loose, and generally dirty. I didn't look like it would make it all the way to India. The airhostesses also looked scary. The were from Kyrgystan, the airline company we were travelling with, and spoke in Russian to each other and in a Russian accent to the passengers. I had to strain to understand them properly. They wore thick bright coloured make up, and were always smiling. This had the opposite effect on me than intended, they reminded me of clowns! Inside, the plane was pretty cramped, and during the take off, my ears hurt and I felt sick. Since we were stopping in Turkey for a break, and changing planes in Russia, I had to go through this six times before we even landed in India. On the plane journey, my family were relaxing, listening to music, and reading magazines, but I was working away, struggling to get my homework finished before we reached India, so I could feel free without the stress of having to catch up there. Although we would be so busy I wouldn't even have time. The whole journey lasted two days, the second plane was even worse. Russia is so cold, that there was ice forming inside the plane! It was brilliant when we actually landed in Delhi. The sun was out and the people at the airport were so welcoming. After we came out through customs, we were re-united with my sister's water gun, and mother's almond hair oil, which had been confiscated in Birmingham. I had to laugh. Then we came across a big problem. One of our suitcases was missing. It contained all of my Ricky's clothing. We could claim the contents on insurance, but had to take him shopping for new clothes as soon as possible. I was thirsty, and wanted a drink, but there was one thing that stood in my way, no rupees. While my parents sorted out the lost property forms, l sneaked over to one of the currency exchange bureaus and decided to test the Indian in the office. I got out one pound and put it on the desk. He said, â€Å"is that all? † grinning. I replied,† it's all I've got. † Then he said, â€Å"well only for you then! † I got my sixty-five rupees, and went straight to get a coffee. My mother and I went to the arrivals lounge, where we met my uncle. They were hugging each other, and they all started chatting in Punjabi. The poor man had been waiting for ages, as he hadn't known about the delay, so I went to get the rest of my family. I whispered to my mum â€Å"Mum, he looks nothing like you. † Then she told that he was her cousin, not her brother. We somehow managed to pack everything into the Sumo, which is like a type of jeep or taxi. I was squashed in the back, it was very uncomfortable, but I concentrated on everything around me. There were loads of children coming back from school in their mopeds. Apparently, the timing for our trip had been brilliant for the weather, but our cousins would be taking their exams at this time. In India, the children have to take an exam at the end of every school year; the result of this exam determines whether they will be allowed into the next class. If they fail, they will have to repeat the year. I felt a bit like an intruder when I heard this, because they would have vital work to do, and I would be expecting them to show me around or getting bored. We arrived at the village we would be staying at, Gureh in Ludhiana, Punjab for the next week at around about midnight. I was surprised; could say shocked at the state of the house. The standard was better than the housing in England. The layout is not quite the same, but there was a toilet, a decant shower area, separate bedrooms, and they even had a car. I met my aunt, and my cousin Manjit, who's eighteen years old. He seemed quite shy, and always walked with his head down. His sister who is my age was already gone to sleep. We dumped our bags in our room, and after about an hour, went to sleep. The next day, we got up late and relaxed the whole day. When I met Pardeep, I remembered her from seven years ago straight away. She was pretty cheeky, and sometimes a bit spoilt, but she showed me around the village. I felt ever so conscious of my clothes. I was wearing trousers and a top, but everybody else, in their salwar kameez (type of Indian suit) just smiled. For the next the day of two, we visited relatives from villages that lived near Ludhiana. My uncle drove us. I felt a bit rude, as I didn't remember many of them. One day that week, we took the car ourselves, and I was told I was going to go to Mussayala. This village I could not forget. Last time Ricky and I had great fun chasing after the chickens, feeding the cows the chapattis we refused to eat, running around with our uncles and aunts. They're actually our age, but it's one of the funny age differences that happen a lot in our family tree. At this village lived my great granddad, which gave me something to talk about at home. The only way I can think of to describe Mussayala is that it is one of those ancient forgotten old places in the middle of nowhere. The village had a single toilet, which was sometimes pretty embarrassing. As I thought about how many times we had watched the home video we made from last time, I grew more exited. But when we arrived, in the evening, my â€Å"cousins† acted as if they couldn't figure out who we were. Okay, so maybe my Punjabi wasn't great, but they were so shy. I hoped that this would not carry on. Because my parents had arranged to see an architect about the building on the plot of land for my grandmother. The only architects we knew of were in Chandigardh, the capital of Punjab. I didn't really have any expectations of the city at first, but was very impressed. We got there on the bus, which isn't the best way of travelling in India. We were out in the town, and got to travel in the rickshaws. The roads were a lot cleaner than those in the villages. It was practically like England. We went an actual fast food restaurant, but it didn't sell meat so we just ordered chips and pizza. I wasn't anticipating there would be so many young college students, who wore the same sort of trousers and top I did. I immediately regretted my decision to wear a traditional suit that day. This was the one time I would have felt comfortable in my normal English clothes, and I'd just wasted that chance. The architects had a proper office, and were very professional, not just some back room of a shop, and didn't take long to find. It wasn't a very long meeting, as my parents didn't have enough information about the plot to make a plan. The data had to be really detailed, such as which direction the sun rises. I didn't realise that little things like this affected the construction of a house. We wandered around the centre of the town for a while, and the things I saw made me sure I would have felt comfortable staying here for a few days. But the problem of having too many things to do and too little time to do it in always got in the way. The city is really quite modern and developed; in fact, the whole of the country has really progressed in the last seven years. The shantytowns still lie on the outskirts of the towns, but technology is more advanced and the nation has noticeably prospered. Some people in the farm villages were even walking around with mobile phones. I think that which area of India you see that affects the overall impression. If you compared somewhere like Mussayala to Gureh, you can really see the change. The original plan had been to spend one week in Punjab, two weeks in U. P. where my mums family lived, and go to somewhere like Goa or Bangalore for the remaining week, before heading back towards Delhi. Since we had spent so long in Punjab because of this plot business, this was no longer possible. My dad said that it was silly that we thought we could get everything done in only a month. I was delighted that my cousin Pardeep had holidays and could come to U. P. with us. We really couldn't afford to be lazy the day we were leaving, we got ready early that day, but were still delayed, as the Sumo we had hired had to go back and get a roof rack for all of our luggage. My mum gave the servants some money, and we left with everybody waving goodbye. I was very grateful for their hospitality. This trip took the whole day. Me, Pardeep, Ricky and Amrit sat at the back, parents in the middle and drivers at the front. I just read a magazine, my brother and sister played, and my cousin listened to the Walkman. We stopped off at a few of what would be the equivalent to cafes a few times, bought a supply of crisps and some drink, and went to the latrines while we had the chance. On the route to U. P. , we had to go through a beautiful rural state called Haryana. This is the sort of place where you meet village maids milking cows, there was green grass everywhere and the landscape was beautiful. I had never seen anywhere like it, not even in the Hindi films. On the map, the state was just a small chunk of land. As we came nearer to the heart of U. P. (my mum's family lived south of UP) we saw many women wearing cloths over their heads, there were many more Muslims living here. I also noticed that the signs were written in Hindi. It was annoying, because I couldn't understand what they said, and felt quite ignorant. In Punjab, the main language was Punjabi. Even when the people here spoke Punjabi, they did with a Hindi accent which was difficult to understand fully. I didn't realise that such a change could happen only across states. As it grew dark, we were just approaching the town nearest to my mum's village, Kashipur. We stopped here to buy some bottles of coke. It was here that I began to get exited, we were so near. Pardeep kept telling us how far we were. My mum had already warned me, that most of my cousins my age, would be at their boarding schools, but the younger ones would be here. I was a bit worried, but also enthusiastic. We were all half asleep when we arrived. As we approached the house, I saw a huge a mass of people waiting to welcome us. I never realised I had such a big family. We got out, and everyone was hugging everybody else. It felt good, even if you didn't know who was who. My mum began telling how I was related to everyone else which sometimes got a bit confusing. My older cousins were joking, telling me how they were planning to marry me off some overweight drunk from India. They were also joking about my brother, because he doesn't speak much Punjabi. â€Å"He wouldn't know if we were swearing at him though, would he? He'd just ignore it. † This made me laugh. During the next week, some of cousins came from boarding school for a bit, but there was only one day where everyone was there together, and that was on Ricky's birthday that was celebrated with a couple of party poppers. In the middle of the last week, me and my family, Pardeep, my mum's brother and his son, Jatinder, my mum's sister's daughter, Kuldeep, and my mum's late brother's daughter, Amandeep, who is a bit bratty went on a day trip to Nainital, a village on the foothills of the Himalayas. This is the place my parents visited when they first bought Ricky and me to India. My brother and I of course couldn't remember the place at all, and didn't understand why they were so keen to go back there again. But when we actually got there, we soon found out. We were all crammed into the back of a jeep, and arrived in two and a half hours. During which Jatinder, who was sitting opposite me, flicked nuts at me, tapped me continually and succeeded in annoying me, although he is a year older. Nainital was BRILLIANT. It reminded me of Nepal. The people looked Nepalese and spoke in a Nepalese accent. We even dressed in Nepalese costume and took photos. We went on a few rides, and rode on some horses up the mountains. The view on the ski lift was spectacular, and the scenery of the Himalayas was amazing. Me, Ricky, Jatinder and Pardeep went to on a paddleboat on a large lake for an hour or so. This was tiring, yet relaxing at the same time. It was shortly after this, that we left to go back to UP. I was disappointed when we returned to Delhi for our last night. I didn't miss England at all, not even the tele. There were tears as we left the village. I felt sick at the bottom of my stomach when we waved goodbye. I'd got a little gift for each of my cousins, and made my uncle promise he'd make sure they got them. † See you in four months† I said to him, as we dragged our entire luggage to the x-rays. I knew there wasn't much chance of my parents letting me come back in the summer holidays, even though I told them I was willing to go alone. Apparently, it was so hot, that I wouldn't be able to survive, and would get ill quickly. When Kuldeep asked me when I was coming back, I jokingly told her on her wedding day, though she is only seventeen, but I was surprised when she made keep it as a promise to her. I had picked up many skills throughout the holiday. These include: milking a cow, driving a tractor, making ghee, and insulting somebody in Punjabi, many of which are pretty useless to me in Britain, but it was the experience of learning theses things from my relatives that I treasure. When the plane landed in Britain, I don't think I've ever felt so down. I still want to turn around and go straight back. The weather suited my mood perfectly, it was pouring down. My friends at school and family said there were three things that had changed about me. My skin colour was darker, or as my friend Shona said, â€Å"glowing†. (This sounded much nicer. ) I had also lost a bit of weight, which I have unfortunately regained. I think the change that most people especially my relatives noticed was, that I spoke much nicer Punjabi, and my words flowed better. I think this is because, in England, I could get away with thinking in English, translating the words into the other language, and then letting them out. Whereas in India, you must think sharply and reply quickly, so I had to train my mind to think, as well as speak in Punjabi, which is why it has improved so much. Leaving Home It was the last time I saw my Mother. My grieving pain for my mothers love infinitely grew. She was god in my eyes but was I the god given daughter she had hoped for? Everyday I had run to her absorbing her warmth as I wrapped my long limbs around her waist. The waist that had carried me for nine months, but was I worth the wait? Mother's predictable great force would transfer into my weakened bones forcing me to collapse onto the striped wooden floor. I would land with a thud hoping that the chances of me receiving a hug the next day would increase. Maybe my accidental escape was for the best. Perhaps I was destined for this moment, this was fait in the palms of my hand, waiting for me to reach out and snatch the opportunity. Mother had snatched my rights to live as a normal human being away. It was forbidden for me to even talk to her. I needed permission. I told my self through every breath that everything would end up right, I was right. Rain, rain everywhere. Summer had died out, until next year. Autumn had approached me. My memory remained in the happy days but my solidified body moved on with life. My inner self, deep down, stands proud and fearless to this world creation signed to god. I always believed that if god brings you to it, he will bring you to it. I was eight. I was blessed with the perfect parents. Both their hearts were fulfilled with love and care. Every moment was heavenly. I lived in an averaged sized, 3-bedroom apartment in what was considered ‘normal. ‘ It was good enough for me. The oval shaped window revealed its outer secrets, the growing towers bordered with a beautiful skyline. Father was a man of great expectations. A man of many wise words. His broad shoulders would easily swing me from side to side like a wild hungry lion ripping and swinging his possession; his raw meat. In my case I was the loving prey for my Father, the predator, the bread winner of the family. I was his little princess. Mother was a lady, petite sized with a facial appearance carved from the clouds up above, the clouds in heaven. Mother was a woman who glowed with love for me. Her greatest asset was her silky, black locks that matched her thinly waxed eyebrows which also complimented her brown tan. One day, for the first time every Mother and Father were in their bedroom raving. It wasn't a common sign which usually are positive. I could hear smashing and slamming against the walls. My ears sensed danger. They were noises that I had never heard before. The sense of love that flowed like a river through the air had shattered into broken pieces like corrupted glass which were non-fixable. I could barely make out what was being said. My distraction towards the aromatic spices and herbs from the kitchen flew up my tempted nose. The cuisine had blended with my tears of sadness. I couldn't understand, everything used to be perfect, what could have happened? Before the argument I had thought of Mother's voice as a relaxing tone, music being played from a magical flute that only she could master. Then the tables had turned. My voice seemed as sweet as sugar compared to mothers. Hers was now flat and dull. The lifeless mono-tone wasn't Mother at all. It was as if a Hoover had vacuumed out the energy, the encouragement, the enthusiasm. I thought that the past argument was normal for all married couples until it became a trend. To see physical fighting would be less painful than my pain. It felt as if a needle had attempted to pierce its way through my heart but got stuck leaving never ending pain. The trend became daily. The light ore around both my parents, especially Mother, had faded into the dark shadows. As everyday passed the hatred between the two grew and grew. Mother's once soft, tanned skin mounted with make up for affect had altered to a yellow, pale colour. I preferred Mother without make up but it was far better then seeing Mother like this. She didn't even attempt to make her self look better. You could tell by the way that she lounged around the house that she was too lazy to even care. Mother would sit on the Indian decorated sofas which stood out. The black, long shiny hair had also moved on to knotted tangles. Personally I blame the bottles containing alcohol that Mother used to wash down accompanied with her finger-sized cigarettes. I would watch her drown her sorrows as the booze over took her mind flooding her inner self with this poison. Mother's behavior began to really show. As much as I detested my life I loved it. Half of my heart, the candy half, told me everything would be fine and to carry on loving Mother but the other half, the cold half, would send messages to my brain whispering in my ears for me to leave. To escape! Escape to where though? All the pressure from my parent's constant arguments was too much for me to handle. My sensitive brain was over powered. The repeated parrot phrase ‘leave home' would haunt me in my dreams. Everyday before bed time I would bend my legs, clasp my hands tightly together so pearls of sweat would form. I would pray to god with devotion asking for him to solve my problems. I wished to exit my world of stress and tension. I never gave up. I waited and waited and waited†¦ The day came unexpectedly. With care I would drift pass Mother's negative energy. Deep down my love grew towards Mother no matter what she was. Mother was soft and sweet like gum on the inside but her hardened shell took over on the outside. She was brainwashed. I was always alert of every sharp movement she made, every sligh glance she gave me in the corner of her beady camera eyes, every snarl she would utter under her rotten breath. I quickly limped across the carpet like a sneaky mouse to find my self in front of the powerful door. I called it the ‘deciding door' as it decided weather I should leave the house and never return. On the way I had passed the rose red, ribena stain from when I spilt my glass on the floor. Mother had rescued me from injury. The memories were so fresh in my mind. It was as if it were yesterday. As I opened the door, the invisible wind flew in and out of my ears sending shivers up and down my spine as if an elevator were traveling to different floors. I would stand there shivering, imagining myself in Mothers arms. The whole of my Indian coloured skin would cover in goose bumps, each individual one containing a hair all stood up equal sized looking like they were under commandment in an army. My first step onto the African rug could have been my last. I wished. My long legged limbs would co-operate together so I could travel to where I wished to travel. They were under my instructions. I reached the pavement on the sides of the roads. As the first car lead the rest my heat rotated at a ninety degree angle to the right. No cars in sight. As I reached mid point in the road an internal feeling of sickness approached me. I looked down to find no blood. My consciousness was fading vastly. As I tried to demand my legs to get up they laid there lifelessly. I blinked once, the blue sky. I blinked twice, half the sky. I blinked 3 times, nothing†¦ Leaving Home It was the last time I saw my Mother. My grieving pain for my mothers love infinitely grew. She was god in my eyes but was I the god given daughter she had hoped for? Everyday I had run to her absorbing her warmth as I wrapped my long limbs around her waist. The waist that had carried me for nine months, but was I worth the wait? Mother's predictable great force would transfer into my weakened bones forcing me to collapse onto the striped wooden floor. I would land with a thud hoping that the chances of me receiving a hug the next day would increase. Maybe my accidental escape was for the best. Perhaps I was destined for this moment, this was fait in the palms of my hand, waiting for me to reach out and snatch the opportunity. Mother had snatched my rights to live as a normal human being away. It was forbidden for me to even talk to her. I needed permission. I told my self through every breath that everything would end up right, I was right. Rain, rain everywhere. Summer had died out, until next year. Autumn had approached me. My memory remained in the happy days but my solidified body moved on with life. My inner self, deep down, stands proud and fearless to this world creation signed to god. I always believed that if god brings you to it, he will bring you to it. I was eight. I was blessed with the perfect parents. Both their hearts were fulfilled with love and care. Every moment was heavenly. I lived in an averaged sized, 3-bedroom apartment in what was considered ‘normal. ‘ It was good enough for me. The oval shaped window revealed its outer secrets, the growing towers bordered with a beautiful skyline. Father was a man of great expectations. A man of many wise words. His broad shoulders would easily swing me from side to side like a wild hungry lion ripping and swinging his possession; his raw meat. In my case I was the loving prey for my Father, the predator, the bread winner of the family. I was his little princess. Mother was a lady, petite sized with a facial appearance carved from the clouds up above, the clouds in heaven. Mother was a woman who glowed with love for me. Her greatest asset was her silky, black locks that matched her thinly waxed eyebrows which also complimented her brown tan. One day, for the first time every Mother and Father were in their bedroom raving. It wasn't a common sign which usually are positive. I could hear smashing and slamming against the walls. My ears sensed danger. They were noises that I had never heard before. The sense of love that flowed like a river through the air had shattered into broken pieces like corrupted glass which were non-fixable. I could barely make out what was being said. My distraction towards the aromatic spices and herbs from the kitchen flew up my tempted nose. The cuisine had blended with my tears of sadness. I couldn't understand, everything used to be perfect, what could have happened? Before the argument I had thought of Mother's voice as a relaxing tone, music being played from a magical flute that only she could master. Then the tables had turned. My voice seemed as sweet as sugar compared to mothers. Hers was now flat and dull. The lifeless mono-tone wasn't Mother at all. It was as if a Hoover had vacuumed out the energy, the encouragement, the enthusiasm. I thought that the past argument was normal for all married couples until it became a trend. To see physical fighting would be less painful than my pain. It felt as if a needle had attempted to pierce its way through my heart but got stuck leaving never ending pain. The trend became daily. The light ore around both my parents, especially Mother, had faded into the dark shadows. As everyday passed the hatred between the two grew and grew. Mother's once soft, tanned skin mounted with make up for affect had altered to a yellow, pale colour. I preferred Mother without make up but it was far better then seeing Mother like this. She didn't even attempt to make her self look better. You could tell by the way that she lounged around the house that she was too lazy to even care. Mother would sit on the Indian decorated sofas which stood out. The black, long shiny hair had also moved on to knotted tangles. Personally I blame the bottles containing alcohol that Mother used to wash down accompanied with her finger-sized cigarettes. I would watch her drown her sorrows as the booze over took her mind flooding her inner self with this poison. Mother's behavior began to really show. As much as I detested my life I loved it. Half of my heart, the candy half, told me everything would be fine and to carry on loving Mother but the other half, the cold half, would send messages to my brain whispering in my ears for me to leave. To escape! Escape to where though? All the pressure from my parent's constant arguments was too much for me to handle. My sensitive brain was over powered. The repeated parrot phrase ‘leave home' would haunt me in my dreams. Everyday before bed time I would bend my legs, clasp my hands tightly together so pearls of sweat would form. I would pray to god with devotion asking for him to solve my problems. I wished to exit my world of stress and tension. I never gave up. I waited and waited and waited†¦ The day came unexpectedly. With care I would drift pass Mother's negative energy. Deep down my love grew towards Mother no matter what she was. Mother was soft and sweet like gum on the inside but her hardened shell took over on the outside. She was brainwashed. I was always alert of every sharp movement she made, every sligh glance she gave me in the corner of her beady camera eyes, every snarl she would utter under her rotten breath. I quickly limped across the carpet like a sneaky mouse to find my self in front of the powerful door. I called it the ‘deciding door' as it decided weather I should leave the house and never return. On the way I had passed the rose red, ribena stain from when I spilt my glass on the floor. Mother had rescued me from injury. The memories were so fresh in my mind. It was as if it were yesterday. As I opened the door, the invisible wind flew in and out of my ears sending shivers up and down my spine as if an elevator were traveling to different floors. I would stand there shivering, imagining myself in Mothers arms. The whole of my Indian coloured skin would cover in goose bumps, each individual one containing a hair all stood up equal sized looking like they were under commandment in an army. My first step onto the African rug could have been my last. I wished. My long legged limbs would co-operate together so I could travel to where I wished to travel. They were under my instructions. I reached the pavement on the sides of the roads. As the first car lead the rest my heat rotated at a ninety degree angle to the right. No cars in sight. As I reached mid point in the road an internal feeling of sickness approached me. I looked down to find no blood. My consciousness was fading vastly. As I tried to demand my legs to get up they laid there lifelessly. I blinked once, the blue sky. I blinked twice, half the sky. I blinked 3 times, nothing†¦