Thursday, October 31, 2019

ASB'S Framework for Preparation and Presentation of Financial Research Paper

ASB'S Framework for Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements - Research Paper Example Three more important concepts which are identified by IAS 1 are Prudence, substance over form and materiality. These concepts form the basis of the selection and implementation of the accounting policies. The basic purpose of the framework presented by the IASB is to provide the definition of why the financial statements are required. It also ascertains the qualitative characteristics that eke the process of making the information provided by the financial statements more useful. The framework also elaborates about the basic elements included in the financial statements and the concepts for recognizing and measuring them in financial statements. The general purpose financial statement is required to provide information regarding the financial position including the cash flow and performance of the company. The information provided in the financial statement helps a company in comparing its performance from the last year and supports the management in undertaking important decisions regarding the business. The purpose can only be fulfilled if the financial statements provide information regarding the following aspects of the company. Other information in the notes and related documents help the users in estimation and evaluation of the present and future position of the entity. The framework provided by the IASB addresses the general purpose financial statements prepared by every business entity for addressing the information requirements of a wide range of users in making economic decisions. As the framework addresses the purpose of preparing the general financial reports it may not apply to the special purpose financial reports.  

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

BLUES INC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

BLUES INC - Essay Example Managers of Blue’s Incorporated are determined to become the leader of denim products in the industry. As we know that companies make every effort to gain competitive advantage in the market, Blue’s Incorporated can maintain its dominant status by evaluating the current marketing budget as well as the marketing budget of the competitors. As market analyst, I evaluated the current budget of the company and came up with the decision to change the current marketing budget. Changes in the budget will be very productive for Blue’s Incorporated as they will allow the company to expand the brand name. The objective of giving Blue’s Incorporated a time to excel is at hand (Applying ANOVA and Non-Parametric Tests, 2003). In the first week, the marketing budget of the company was set to $169 million. At present, the market share of the company is nearly 6% of the total share of the denim industry, which is nearly $40 billion. Setting the marketing budget to $169 million is really a good decision, as it will ensure a brilliant future for the company (Applying ANOVA and Non-Parametric Tests, 2003). In the second week, there were two tasks. First task was to examine fluctuations in the market size whereas the second task was to arrive at a sales forecast. Tasks included examining the average model and k-period for the production level as well as for the average model. The company chose a weighted moving average along with two k-periods and estimated the weights at 0.2 for a period of 12 years whereas 0.8 for 11 years. The production level of 40.00 million units was set for the estimate. However, this decision did not seem to be a good one as it could have a negative effect on the future of the company (Applying ANOVA and Non-Parametric Tests, 2003). Although the company made incorrect decisions in the 2nd week of the research, but in the 3rd week, the company attentively analyzed and examined the quarterly

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Promotional Program Situation Analysis

Promotional Program Situation Analysis Sony Entertainment has a large brand name and has a large target market for all of their electronic product line. Because of the high demand for new technology and consumers buying Sony quality products, it has an annual advertising budget of approximately five billion US dollars globally  [1]  . And last year in 2009, Sony spent 3.4 billion dollars in advertising alone, which is around what other competitors spend on advertising. Sony has an effective approach with spending money on advertising their new products and promoting new games for Sony game consoles. The corporation uses a variety of promotional media strategies to advertise new products that are coming out. The way Sony does this is through magazines, newspapers, video game trade shows (like E3), internet advertisement, Playstation internet forums, TV advertising, sponsorship, and word of mouth. The largest reach to consumers is through television commercials. Sony has been found in many different kinds magazines to reach their large target market. Sony airs their commercials on a large scale of channels and networks. For example, Sony PS3 game commercial appears on comedy central, Fox, cartoon network, and many more. Their current commercial is an actor as the Vice President of Sony entertainment that illustrates people asking the VP questions about the PS3 and he answers with something that promotes the PS3 game and console. The commercials have a slight humor to them to keep the viewer interested and to remember the advertisement. Sony Playstation has made appearances in TV shows such as two and half men, and movies, like the 40 year old virgin. The message strategies are to illustrate the entertainment a person gets out of a video game and the detailed computer generated images, CGI, that are used in the games. Overall, Sony Playstation is a strong competitor for the entertainment industry. The competition is moderately intense, but it is fragmented because there is not one major company that dominates the market. The technological trend is leaning towards television advertising and internet advertising. 90% of the target market have internet and 70% use the internet to shop online. Sony is already capitalizing on this trend and spends most of the advertising budget on advertisement spots. The company meets customer satisfaction with its products and customer service. The company is always seeking to make things better and expand its products. Positioning and Campaign Theme Game consoles are trying to reach the demand for the consumers wanting video games that have the latest, like-real life graphics, and an enjoyable experience. When consumers compare the three major video game consoles, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3, there is no comparison. The PS3 has everything all in one console. With the new Playstation Interactive, it will bring Sony to another level of gaming and setting it farther apart from the competition. The major difference with the PSI is that it makes the person in control feel like they are really inside the game. PSI is the only product that enables the character to simulate the same movement the gamer is doing by using all of their full body motion. Playstation focuses on having the best technology and implementing having the latest of technology in one console. Sonys mission statement is to experience the joy of advancing and applying technology for the benefit of the public. Sony has positioned all of their product lines around this philosophy. Playstation Interactive will define their position in the market by using product differentiation, and uses of the product. Our logo Be in controlà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Be interactive positions the product as of being in control of the game and being involved in more than a controller. It also sends the message of being an innovator of having the best and latest technology on the market. Playstation Interactive does more than play games. It has all the capabilities of the PS3. The PS3 slogan now is it only does everything. To keep the mission statement and message of the product to the market intact of its features, another slogan is Having everything at your movement. This slogan shows that it does more than video games, and has the best technology in one console. The message is consistent with the positioning statement. It does this by having slogans that relay the message from an advertisement as it positions the product in the market. As stated above the two slogans that would be used are Be in controlà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Be interactive and Having everything at your movement. Communication Objectives and Strategies The advertising strategy for the PlayStation Interactive is attempting to communicate the major benefits of the product. The value of the PSI is that it will create an unbelievably real virtual gaming experience. The gamer will feel their game is a reality, which is the ultimate benefit. The goal is to differentiate PSI from any other gaming system that can be made similar, and to appeal to potential customers in a psychologically manner. The objectives of the campaign are to make the PSI a desirable gaming system. Its new technology will be perceived as the leader and pioneer of the next gaming generation. Our objectives are to: Increase knowledge and awareness of this new technology to 90% of gamers in the selected target market in a 12 months period. Close gap in Market share between PS3 and XBOX by introducing new technology. By doing this, we expect to increase our market share by 10% in a 12 months period, and reinforce the brand image of Playstation among existing customers. To achieve our goals we will reach to the early adapters of the gaming industry to have them talking and blogging about our product, creating a Buzz that will provide the company with word of mouth advertising. We will incent product trial and drive purchase among the target market by offering game demos with over 80 games to choose from. We will also set demonstration available to main retailers (BestBuy, Target and Wal-Mart) to stimulate trials for potential customers. A Web site will be launched dedicated to the PSI besides the existing Sony Playstation official Web site. Each game will contain a link to the Web site where users can find out about more games and subscribe to our email list and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.This Web site will also provide visitors with information about the new technology of the PSI. Visitors will be able to order the system and games through the website as well. We plan to offer games with custom made features only for our online customers. We will place advertising ads in the large gaming magazine such as GamePro and Game Informer. We will place commercials on stations such as G4 and Spike which target the same gaming market as PSI. We intend to improve relations with game retailers by providing them with cooperative advertising support. Other examples of advertising would be direct response advertising, co-operative advertising, and sales promotion (like when Sony dropped the price for the PS3 to $299.00). Advertising Appeals The advertising appeals which will be used for the PSI is a fun, sometime humorous and emotional appeal. The advertising will create a desire. Video game/console advertising is sort of like movie trailers, the reason being the trailers get the viewer involved in the situation or, in a gaming case, the action. One commercial, for example, advertises a new game and shows a brief glimpse of what the game is like, the detailed graphics and at the end of the commercial will show the logo for the Sony PSI. An advertisement for the product can show a person playing the Nintendo Wii on the couch and not moving their body just moving the controller. Then the screen will shift to a person playing Playstation Interactive actually moving their whole body as the person in game does exactly the same thing as the person in control. This advertisement will show product differentiation and product usage. Other advertisements can show the advanced graphics of a game with a character running around in the game then the camera will zoom out of the television showing the game footage and show a person running around doing all the things the character is doing, then it will move to a slogan, Be in controlà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Be interactive. We think these types of appeals will work best for our campaign since one of our goals is to establish a reputation for games that poke fun at what many would consider humorous or ridiculous actions by well-known people. Additionally, to help promote games via word of mouth, each game has the option to notify a friend. So, a user can send a text message to a friend instantly to share their excitement or recommendation about the games. Rationale for Creative Recommendations The reason for choosing the advertising strategy selected, is due to the fact that the act of gaming requires more a mental state than a physical state. Therefore by advertising to customers psychological side it may create more of an intense desire to have the newest technology in gaming. Advertising Media Recommendations Strategy We first must create awareness of our virtual gaming system to the novice and serious video gamer so they can be aware that our virtual gaming system actually exists. Secondly we have to show how our gaming system is different and superior to any other gaming system in the market today. This wont be easy task but can yield major dividends if done correctly. In our media strategy we wont neglect the power and the influence of word of mouth advertising which will be a huge factor in promoting our virtual gaming system. The target market we are going to reach has to be overwhelming satisfied with our virtual gaming system otherwise they wont recommend their friends to go out and purchase the system. The target market were reaching would only recommend the system if they all can play against each other. In other words we have to completely satisfy all of their friends so they can all go out and buy a virtual gaming system for their own home. Either we satisfy all of them or none of them to buy the virtual gaming system. We believe word of mouth advertising will eventually supersede all traditional forms of media advertising once people learn more about our virtual gaming system. In the meantime we will coordinate different media strategies to maximize our virtual gaming system by bringing out brand awareness of our gaming system. Advertising and Communication Objectives First our communication to the public will be about how our virtual gaming system is unique to anything on the market. Secondly, any video game enthusiast will have an opportunity to not just a play a video game but to actually feel and be a part of the experience within the game! This is a far different experience then just playing a game and your body movements are mimicked on the screen with the other competitors in our target market. When you think of a video game slogan, such as the one in John Madden Football; Its in the game! This virtual system will entirely change your perspective because the player of the virtual gaming system is going to literally be, in the game. The last message that we want to convey to our target market is that our virtual gaming system comes complete with everything included. No need to go out and buy any accessories to use and play our virtual gaming system since it comes complete in our base package. Target market Video Game Players Teenagers to young adults 15-35 You enjoy playing video games in your spare time and you already own a Playstation 3, Xbox or a WII. This is a video gaming system that you must have immediately! It takes video games the way we know it today and intensives the experience you receive from playing video games and multiplies it 100 over. Getting the system is cool but its even cooler if you get it before all your friends get the system. Since youre the coolest kid out there you open up the virtual gaming system and it blows you away on how realistic and fun the system is. So you decide to brag to all your friends how cool the virtual gaming system is. Since we live in a stay connected era your friends are jealous that not only they dont have a virtual gaming system to play against you, they dont have a system period, to play with. This is an unfair competitive advantage that most teenagers and young adults wont put up with at all. So you know what happens next, youre not cool if you dont own a virtual gaming system. You nag your parents, begin working part-time or you sell your old gaming system to gather the money to get your own virtual gaming system. This is how the popularity of the virtual gaming system will take off and a large part will be attributed to word of mouth advertising. Word of mouth advertising is huge trend in the target market were trying to reach to promote our virtual gaming system. Major Selling Idea or Key Benefits The major selling idea would be that the system includes a 3-Dimensional Virtual gaming experience. This key benefit will be the strength of our selling promotion. Since it gives the video game player an experience they can only enjoy if the use the virtual gaming system. This will be introducing a new state of the art dimension that will be the strength to our sales promotion. The Media Plan To create curiosity among the public, we will first advertise our slogan, follow by the PSI logo and the coming soon words. To effectively market the virtual gaming system we will first have the system setup in a display kiosk at retail stores for people to test and play the virtual gaming system. This will be our Internet/Interactive Recommendation of out media plan. The retail stores we will first launch the system at will retail stores like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target, GameStop, Toys R Us and HH Gregg. This will start the process of creating an advertising buzz about the system. This will be done one month before the release date of the actual system to allow people to prepare for the arrival date of the virtual gaming system. In the meantime while they wait for the release date this waiting period will create an enormous amount of hype about or gaming system. Once the systems are all installed and set up and running in all the retail stores listed above we will move to step two of our media plan and thats using the Internet as our recommendation for marketing the virtual gaming system. The Internet advertising will be done on banners on Google, AOL, Bing, You Tube and MSN home pages. This will have our company logo and invite people to see and try out our virtual gaming system kiosk wherever electronics are sold. The advertisement will also list the release date of December 3rd. This will create motion by consumers to get involved and try out the system for a free trail. For an incentive they can obtain a $15 off coupon redeemable off their first game purchase. The timing of this step will be a week after step one has been complete. The timing of the system will be to bring brand awareness in early November and have a release date to be set December 3rd. The rationale behind this marketing strategy is the target market where trying to reach is Internet savvy and love interaction. They will get the best of both worlds with a free trial period and an incentive to buy the virtual gaming system just by coming into the store. This will start the buzz and word of mouth advertising which is exactly the type of response where looking for. Friends discussing their first virtual gaming experience with other friends and bouncing off ideas and opinions about the new virtual gaming system. This will cause our target market to literally salivate from the mouth and cross off each day on their calendar until our December 3rd release date. The third step in our media plan after exactly one week after the Internet/ Interactive phase will be to use mass advertising and more specifically TV advertising. The television advertising will be short commercials showing someone using the virtual gaming system and then it will flash on the screen showing you what they see inside their glasses. The commercial will end with the systems slogan and logo and will simply say, coming December 3rd. Under the release date it will have the companys website address and say visit us online for more details. The television ad will just be used to give people just little bit of information about the virtual gaming system and give them an invitation to the website. When they visit the website it will have the system specifications and FAQs. The website will also show clips of the users at the retail store and interviews from the virtual gaming system designers. It will also have a 10 minute video will a virtual system executive selling to the viewers why the virtual gaming system is so unique. The website will also have a discussion board for others to discuss with others. The rationale behind this form of advertising is to penetrate the market near Christmas time so consumers and families have time to prepare for the added expense during the holiday season. Since our product is a virtual gaming system this will create the broadest amount of brand awareness and since the commercials will be short and to the point will save millions in advertising dollars. The goal for the television advertising is to accomplish a few things. The first is to create brand awareness to the virtual gaming system. The second is giving a brief insight into what the virtual gaming system actually does. The third goal it will do is educate consumers of the release date. Fourth goal is to invite people to visit the website to get more information. Once consumers visit our website were confident they will continue to find out more information by visiting the retail store next for the free trail. The last goal will be for video gamers to purchase our virtual gaming system. Budget Summary The Total Estimated budget is at $1 billion Rationale behind this budget The virtual gaming system kiosk will be approximately $350 million dollars of our advertising budget. This portion of the budget is the Interactive recommendation of our marketing strategy. The second expense will be approximately $150 million dollars in Internet advertising dollars. The remaining $500 million dollars will be dedicated in television advertising since this is the most expensive form of adverting dollars. The expenses will be the order of the steps as listed above. This is the most effective way of reaching the target market and creating awareness of the virtual gaming system. Regardless of whether youre a novice or serious video gamer, this media plan will reach the intended recipient.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Can God Love a Good Gay Guy? Essay example -- Homosexuality Religion E

Can God Love a Good Gay Guy? To begin my project, I’ll give you some of my background, so you can understand why the topic of Christianity and homosexuality is so relevant to me. I have been fortunate to be raised Christian with many family members who are regularly active within the church. We are members of the Fairland Brethren in Christ Church in Cleona. I have always felt very welcomed and loved by that Christian body, even during my younger years when I was dorky and rejected by many of my peers. I found comfort in the fact that God loved me and the congregation offered their care and support. Since then I have also realized that our congregation is one of the more open, outgoing, thoughtful, creative, and helpful in the area. Because our church is so ambitious and outgoing, I was given many opportunities to aid in events. God has given me great artistic and design talent. I have used this gift for years to give back to the church and across the community, through doing sets for church plays, decorations for banquets, signs for festivals, creating holiday displays, and designing and constructing scenery /decorations for main events, such as Vacation Bible School. I am extremely grateful to have been blessed with this wonderful background in religious beliefs. I will always continue to use them as guidance in my life and towards my path of spiritual growth. It was in sixth grade, with the onset of puberty and fluctuating hormones that I first realized I was attracted to the same sex, even then, I wasn't aware that it was an option. It simply wasn't discussed, beyond the yearly "it's-wrong/ gays go to Hell" speech given in church. I didn't choose to be gay, as a thief chooses to steal, I simply am gay, and have no ... ...Oct. 2004. <http://www.inthefaith.com/archives/00084.php> Johns, Loren L. Homosexuality and the Bible. 19 Oct. 2004. <http://hem.passagen.se/nicb/christ.htm> Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. Gentle Shepherd Metropolitan Community Church. 21 Oct. 2004. http://www.gentleshepherdmcc.com/bible/index.php Sklar, Bill. â€Å"1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 1 Timothy 1:10.† Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Catholic Handbook. 21 Oct. 2004. <http://www.otkenyer.hu/halsall/lgbh-cortim.html> The Random House Dictionary of the English Lanquage. New York: Random House, Inc. 1966. Robinson, B.A. What the Bible Says About Homosexuality. 19 Oct. 2004. <http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_bibh.htm> Wink, Rev. Dr. Walter. The Bible Should Not Be Used to Condemn Homosexuality. 19 Oct. 2004. <http://hem.passagen.se/nicb/christ.htm>

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Harvey Milk

Chloe Addison September 22, 2009 Harvey Milk As of 1977, no openly gay politician had ever held office in the United States. Homosexuality, at the time, was frowned upon and therefore the idea of a someone with â€Å"different† sexual preferences holding office was almost an impossibility. As our country was evolving during the 70’s, gays and lesbians began fighting for their rights. The voice of this phenomenal movement was that of Harvey Milk. In 1977, Milk would change American politics forever. Harvey Milk was born in Woodmere, New York in 1930. He went on to college at New York State College for Teachers and majored in mathematics. After graduating, Milk joined the U. S. Navy during the Korean War. During this time, he was very successful and was discharged in 1955 as a lieutenant, junior grade. Following his time of service, Milk began teaching at George W. Hewlett High School. While teaching, Joe Campbell would enter Milk’s life. The two fell in love and moved in together, but after six years of being together, the two separated. Harvey Milk went on to court another man by the name of Craig Rodwell. Rodwellwas part of a gay activist group which was known for agitating the police. Despite being very involved with him, Milk felt he could not continue to be with him. As the United States changed in the 1960’s, opportunities for gays and lesbians began to present themselves. One of these opportunities was Castro Street in San Francisco. By 1969, San Francisco had the largest number of homosexuals per capita than any other city in the United States. Harvey Milk quickly recognized the Bay Area as the place he would be able to make an immediate difference for the gay community. He and his love interest at the time Scott Smith,opened a film shop on Castro Street. After numerous incidents and problems with government policies, Milk decided to run for office. If elected, he realized that he would be able to make a difference for the gay community in ways that no one previously was able to do. Running for office would not be easy at all. After revealing he would be running for office, noted activist in gay politics Jim Foster did not back Milk. Despite his endorsement, many gay bar owners quickly supported his ambitions. The owners were tired of police brutality and intolerance of their establishments. Despite running on extremely low funds, Milk’s fiery speeches drew him much attention during the 1973 elections. Though he did not win, this allowed him to gain a great amount of press. Milk developed anorganization known as the Teamsters. As the Teamsters grew, Milk’s popularity grew as well. He would go on to become loving known as â€Å"the Mayor of Castro Street†. Harvey Milk would eventually win the 1977 election for the California State Assembly. His inauguration made national headlines since he was the first openly gay non-incumbent man to win an election for public office. During his time in office, Milk strived to help gays get their rights that they so desperately deserved. At the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day, Milk delivered his most memorable speech, the â€Å"Hope Speech†. Sadly Harvey Milk’s groundbreaking career was cut short after being shot and killed in 1978. Harvey Milk â€Å"My name is Harvey Milk, and I’m here to recruit you,† were the famous words of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He was elected after 3 times of losing the election because there weren’t enough people who support gay rights in San Francisco at the time. Although times have changes and many people are more open minded and are more supportive of LGBT communities, the LGBT communities still do not have the same human rights as any other America have. In present time only 10 states recognize gay marriage as a legal right. Numerous people believe that it is a sin for people of the same gender to get married. Many human right organization are advocating and protesting, that gay rights are human rights. Everyone should have the opportunity to equality in all aspects of life, such as equal marriage, medical benefits, adoption, and equal opportunities in the workforce. The Constitution it states, â€Å"†¦All men should be made equal. † This is the law. There is no way around the fact that every person deserves an equal opportunity in life regardless of what they do. People in society around the world face violence and inequality because of who they are and who they love. The fight for gay rights to become a human right has begun. But there are many people who feel as if this is a big mistake. Gay marriage has slowly become a social norm amongst individuals of today’s society. Initially, this leads to the discussion of homosexuals having the right to marry in society. Ultimately, conflict from the opposing position of ‘against’ gay marriage may arise that gay marriage can destroy the concept of marriage and mock the importance of the bible. In reference to this; everyone in society has the right to marry regardless of gender, thus it should be socially acceptable. However, this is why it is significant to discuss both sides of the argument, regardless homosexuals do not necessarily want to get marriage but may just want the justification of having equal rights. But there are people such as Jack Donnelley who commits to stating gay rights are not a human right. Donnelley explains how â€Å"homosexuality is widely considered immoral. He also states if human rights are paramount rights, not even all illegitimate discrimination falls under a human right to nondiscrimination. Donnelley explains how sexual minorities are merely people are all victims of racism, sexism, and religious persecution, they are human beings who identified by dominant social group as somehow less than a fully human and thus not entitle to the same rights as every â€Å"normal† human being would have. Marriage is a fundamental human right acco rding to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 16, and the United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Nevertheless, though not mentioned in the United States Constitution, it can be argued, as was the case in Iowa per the state’s own constitution, to be a matter of equal protection under the law. In the movie Milk, Harvey Milk was an advocate for gay rights. He believed that the more people who came out to their families the more people can relate having gay rights because they know someone who is gay and then society will become more acceptable to it. Regardless of the odds he keep fighting for the opportunity to become the first openly gay person to become elected into a political position. Harvey Milk influenced a lot of people during the time of his campaign, that gay rights were a human right. In the years since Milk’s assassination, public opinion has shifted on gay marriage, gays in the military, and other issues, and there have been hundreds of openly LGBT public officials in America, yet the work continues. As society begins to accept the LGBT community and homosexuals become openly about their relationships to one another, they become more valued members within their communities and the difference between living together or being married seems to disappear. As for homosexual couples who want to build and raise a family, adoption is the most popular action to partake in and socially this should be accepted within the rights of society. Allowing equal rights opportunities can also benefit the economy in several different ways. It can lower the unemployment rate, and also help the church communities who allow gay marriage. â€Å"Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,† was a law established by congress that allowed homosexual men and women to serve in the military as long as they kept their sexual orientation private. On September 20, 2011, congress made history by passing a law repealing the â€Å"Don’t ask don’t tell† legislation of 1993. Thousands of service men and women came out of there proverbial closets, where many had been hiding their entire careers, to celebrate their new right to express themselves freely. Some even celebrated by marrying their longtime mates, an act that only brought to light a new issue. The United States government will not recognize same sex marriage on a federal level. As a result, same-sex unions are not recognized in the military and these couples are not eligible for married benefits. Plainly put, it is not fair. All married persons serving in the military should be eligible to receive the same benefits, regardless of sexual orientation. There will always be people against any decision that will be made if they make gay rights as a human right. People will always claim gays rights are against the bible. But if homosexuals are allowed an equal opportunity in society, than not only are the people going to find this a social normal but this is a progress in society, where we can help other countries and other organization continue battling human rights equality for the entire world. Although times have changes and many people are more open minded and are more supportive of LGBT communities, the LGBT communities still do not have the same human rights as any other America have. But I believe with Harvey Milk, coming out to family and friends helps advocate equality for all people including homosexual. Harvey Milk â€Å"My name is Harvey Milk, and I’m here to recruit you,† were the famous words of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He was elected after 3 times of losing the election because there weren’t enough people who support gay rights in San Francisco at the time. Although times have changes and many people are more open minded and are more supportive of LGBT communities, the LGBT communities still do not have the same human rights as any other America have. In present time only 10 states recognize gay marriage as a legal right. Numerous people believe that it is a sin for people of the same gender to get married. Many human right organization are advocating and protesting, that gay rights are human rights. Everyone should have the opportunity to equality in all aspects of life, such as equal marriage, medical benefits, adoption, and equal opportunities in the workforce. The Constitution it states, â€Å"†¦All men should be made equal. † This is the law. There is no way around the fact that every person deserves an equal opportunity in life regardless of what they do. People in society around the world face violence and inequality because of who they are and who they love. The fight for gay rights to become a human right has begun. But there are many people who feel as if this is a big mistake. Gay marriage has slowly become a social norm amongst individuals of today’s society. Initially, this leads to the discussion of homosexuals having the right to marry in society. Ultimately, conflict from the opposing position of ‘against’ gay marriage may arise that gay marriage can destroy the concept of marriage and mock the importance of the bible. In reference to this; everyone in society has the right to marry regardless of gender, thus it should be socially acceptable. However, this is why it is significant to discuss both sides of the argument, regardless homosexuals do not necessarily want to get marriage but may just want the justification of having equal rights. But there are people such as Jack Donnelley who commits to stating gay rights are not a human right. Donnelley explains how â€Å"homosexuality is widely considered immoral. He also states if human rights are paramount rights, not even all illegitimate discrimination falls under a human right to nondiscrimination. Donnelley explains how sexual minorities are merely people are all victims of racism, sexism, and religious persecution, they are human beings who identified by dominant social group as somehow less than a fully human and thus not entitle to the same rights as every â€Å"normal† human being would have. Marriage is a fundamental human right acco rding to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 16, and the United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Nevertheless, though not mentioned in the United States Constitution, it can be argued, as was the case in Iowa per the state’s own constitution, to be a matter of equal protection under the law. In the movie Milk, Harvey Milk was an advocate for gay rights. He believed that the more people who came out to their families the more people can relate having gay rights because they know someone who is gay and then society will become more acceptable to it. Regardless of the odds he keep fighting for the opportunity to become the first openly gay person to become elected into a political position. Harvey Milk influenced a lot of people during the time of his campaign, that gay rights were a human right. In the years since Milk’s assassination, public opinion has shifted on gay marriage, gays in the military, and other issues, and there have been hundreds of openly LGBT public officials in America, yet the work continues. As society begins to accept the LGBT community and homosexuals become openly about their relationships to one another, they become more valued members within their communities and the difference between living together or being married seems to disappear. As for homosexual couples who want to build and raise a family, adoption is the most popular action to partake in and socially this should be accepted within the rights of society. Allowing equal rights opportunities can also benefit the economy in several different ways. It can lower the unemployment rate, and also help the church communities who allow gay marriage. â€Å"Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,† was a law established by congress that allowed homosexual men and women to serve in the military as long as they kept their sexual orientation private. On September 20, 2011, congress made history by passing a law repealing the â€Å"Don’t ask don’t tell† legislation of 1993. Thousands of service men and women came out of there proverbial closets, where many had been hiding their entire careers, to celebrate their new right to express themselves freely. Some even celebrated by marrying their longtime mates, an act that only brought to light a new issue. The United States government will not recognize same sex marriage on a federal level. As a result, same-sex unions are not recognized in the military and these couples are not eligible for married benefits. Plainly put, it is not fair. All married persons serving in the military should be eligible to receive the same benefits, regardless of sexual orientation. There will always be people against any decision that will be made if they make gay rights as a human right. People will always claim gays rights are against the bible. But if homosexuals are allowed an equal opportunity in society, than not only are the people going to find this a social normal but this is a progress in society, where we can help other countries and other organization continue battling human rights equality for the entire world. Although times have changes and many people are more open minded and are more supportive of LGBT communities, the LGBT communities still do not have the same human rights as any other America have. But I believe with Harvey Milk, coming out to family and friends helps advocate equality for all people including homosexual.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Cultural-Adaptation Essay

The East African tribe ‘Maasai’ can be found in Kenya and certain parts of Tanzania. Their subsistence strategy has primarily been pastoral for several centuries. The Maasai herd cows, sheep and goats for a livelihood as they depend on the meat and milk for their survival. The Maasai are also semi-nomadic people, making them pastoral nomads (O’Neil 2). This helps them move from place to place, in search of better climatic and external conditions suitable for raising their herd animals. They constantly move to areas having greener pastures and adequate water to ensure that their livestock are healthier; it also facilitates grass growing back again in areas that have been grazed by cattle. Their choice of location would also depend upon other factors such as safety from predators such as lions. The Maasai do not construct permanent settlements as they are constantly on the move; they live in temporary dwellings that are simple to construct. The social structure of the Maasai has played a key role in preserving the tribe’s primary subsistence strategy as pastoral for centuries. The age-based social structure is quite fair and consistent as there is no discrimination based on caste or familial segregations. However, there are certain gender-based roles and customs within the tribe. The men are divided into the youths, the warriors also know as ‘moran’, and the elders. On the other hand, the young girls get married to warrior men, bear children and raise them; the women can also become elders after their bear four children. The youths become warriors around the â€Å"age of 13 to 17† and move to a different village, live in unsecure enclosures called ‘manyatta’ built by their mothers and eventually get married (Martin 7). It is the duty of the warriors to ensure that the tribe is safe and cattle are protected from predators. They are mentally conditioned as well as physically trained from a very young age to perform this duty. The Maasai women specialize in building houses from sticks, mud and cow dung. This helps the tribe to move from place to place easily and sustain their semi-nomadic way of life. The Maasai men also build thorn fences to keep their cattle safe in enclosures. The elders are supposed to impart wisdom and live passive lives, as the responsibilities and duties of the tribe pass over to the next generation of warriors. The authority figure in their social system is a person known as laibon, roughly translated as ’medicine man’; the ‘laibon’ also fills the religious needs of the tribe and practices shamanism for healing. This uniform socio-cultural structure lends stability and contributes to the subsistence of the Maasai way of life, as there is very little room for rebellion within the group. Many aboriginal cultures around the world are going through transition due to modernization and the Maasai are no exception to this rule. Urbanization had led to the Maasai being confined to smaller areas, thus threatening their way of life. To cope with these changes, a small segment of the tribe has recently changed its subsistence strategy to agriculture, fishing and taking menial jobs in urbanized areas. The tourism industry promoted by the government has compelled certain Maasai tribes to diverge away from their self-sufficient lifestyle and act as showpieces for tourists (Akama 717). However, the Maasai still retain certain aspects of their cultural identify such as speaking a language called ‘Maa’ and wearing a red cloth called the ‘shuka’; they also pierce their earlobes and adorn large metal earrings. Despite the influence of the modern world, a large segment of the Maasai tribe is still quite self-sufficient as they produce their own food from cattle and take care of other needs such as shelter and medicine. Works Cited Page Akama, John. Marginalization of the Maasai in Kenya. Annals of Tourism Research, Volume 26, Number 3, July 1999. Martin, Marlene. Society-MASAI. The Center for Social Anthropology and Computing. June 14, 2009, O’Neil, Dennis. (2007). Patterns of Subsistence: Pastoralism. Palomar College. June 14, 2009,

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Cultural and language Essay Example

Cultural and language Essay Example Cultural and language Essay Cultural and language Essay The main hope of a nation lies in the proper education of its youth. This startlingly succinct quote by philosopher Erasmus exemplifies where to go next, or perhaps, first with emotional intelligence teachings. The fact that many parents can fill the role of emotional mentor to their children (as early as infancy) can be enormously beneficial was originally introduced by Harvard pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton. He adds, Parents need to understand how their actions can help generate the confidence, the curiosity, the pleasure in learning and the understanding of limits that help children succeed in life. Programs such as Head Start accentuate the acquisition of the social and emotional skills seemingly required for children to develop the readiness to learn. E. L. Schieffelin, author of Anger, Grief and Shame: Toward a Kaluli ethnopsychology, adds in regards to learning and emotional responses:  Children learn that how people feel in a particular situation is not only supposed to be natural, given the situation, but it is also socially expected, or even socially required. Thus in every society, the how and when to express feelings is taught by example, instruction, and the administration of reward and punishment from the time of infancy. Body language is clearly central to good communication and is particularly important when attempting to communicate across cultural and language barriers. In fact, body language is more important to people from other cultures than it is to most Americans. To native-born Americans, the spoken word is by far the most important communication tool. In other cultures, however, the way words are spoken (along with the gestures, posture and facial expressions that accompany those words) is of greater significance. Between 60-80% of our message is communicated through our Body Language, only 7-10% is attributable to the actual words of a conversation. Some psychologists claim that the impact you make on others depends on what you say (7%), how you say it (38%), and by your body language (55%). Since how you sound also conveys a message, 93% of emotion is communicated without actual words. Its often not what you say that influences others; its what you dont say. Its a given that, although there are some similarities, for the most part body language is culture specific. Fuad I. Khuri, a leading Middle East anthropologist, has observed that:  Body language is culture-bound, and therefore, the same gesture may convey different meanings in different cultures. Whereas kissing men signifies amity and friendship ties in Arab culture, in many western societies outside the Mediterranean it often indicates a homosexual commitment. The same goes for facial expressions. Psychologist Paul Eckman coined the term Display Rules (norms regarding the expected management of facial appearances), the expected facial expression varies culture to culture.  Anyone can become angry-that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way-this is not easy. Philosopher Aristotle sums up the concept of emotional intelligence perfectly. By blending the sociohistorical, the physiological, the educational, and the kinesthetic, you have all the components needed for attaining a high Emotional Intelligence Quotient that will benefit anyone in most any situation. : Beier, Earnest. People Reading. New York: Scarborough House, 1989  Brazelton, T. Berry. The Brazelton Institute. 2001. brazelton-institute.com/index.html  Cacioppo, John T. Social Psychology. 2002-2003.

Monday, October 21, 2019

10 Teaching Jobs You Can Get Outside the Classroom

10 Teaching Jobs You Can Get Outside the Classroom Just because you’ve decided to become a teacher does not mean you have to get stuck in a K-12 classroom. Maybe you’ve done that already and want to put your teaching skills to use in a different environment. Maybe there simply aren’t any traditional K-12 teaching jobs at the moment. No worries, because there are a number of teaching jobs you can pursue outside the traditional classroom. Here are 10 of them. 1. Daycare TeacherLearning begins before kids ever step foot in a public or private school. Very young children start to get how the world works by playing, socializing with other little ones, and understanding that rules exist even when mommy and daddy aren’t around. All of this kind of learning happens in daycare, and you can be a part of shaping young minds by doing things like organizing creative activities and planning basic lessons.2. At-Home TeacherSome kids are not able to make it into the classroom, as they may be ill, injured, or disabled. So if you want to escape the classroom and enjoy the satisfaction of helping in-need children and engaging in one-on-one learning, you should think about teaching children in their homes or hospitals. Bonus: if you enjoy one-on-one teaching, this is a great gig to explore.3. Homeschool TeacherPhysical issues are not the only reasons that some kids do not take part in a traditional classroom setting. Sometimes parents prefer to have their kids homeschooled but do not have the ability to do the job themselves. That’s where you come in, as a contract homeschool teacher. Again, here’s the chance to work one-on-one or with a small group in a cozy home setting.4. Online K-12 TeacherIf you don’t mind taking on a heavy workload and love the idea of teaching from the comfort of your own home, consider teaching an online K-12 course. K-12 teaching is very competitive, but it is also a growing industry, so you may find yourself increasingly in demand in the coming years.5. Co mmunity College TeacherOpportunities teaching outside the public school classroom do not have to be limited to K-12 students. Higher education may be your calling. If that sounds enticing, look into positions teaching undergraduate courses at a community college or even an online university.6. Private TutorKids who go the traditional school route often need a bit of extra help outside the classroom from private tutors. Tutoring companies don’t tend to pay very well, but you could actually do quite well if you establish your own business. In fact, some tutors actually earn more than public school teachers by charging high hourly rates and working nights and weekends.7. Museum EducatorAre you the creative type? Or maybe you have a love of history or science but can’t stand the thought of standing in front of rows of disinterested high schoolers. A museum would certainly be a more stimulating environment. Museums are often looking for trained teachers to work as on-site e ducators.8. Corporate TrainerChildren and college students are not the only ones who need an education. Adults who work for corporations also need to learn a variety of skills to perform their jobs effectively. If you have a master’s degree in teaching, that’s a very strong qualification for becoming a corporate teacher.9. Prison GED TeacherIf you’re open to unconventional opportunities, think about teaching a GED course to incarcerated adults. Helping prisoners earn their high school equivalency certificates can be an extremely rewarding alternative to traditional K-12 teaching.10. WriterIf you have a love for educating but shudder at the idea of teaching a class or even doing one-on-one educating, writing textbooks and other classroom materials is a great alternative option. Search for freelance writing gigs within your specialty to see if companies are looking to fill a specific niche.As you can see, if you want a break from the classroom but still want the s atisfaction of educating, you can take heart in the fact that there are plenty of options!

Sunday, October 20, 2019

How Physics Works and Why You We Study It

How Physics Works and Why You We Study It Physics is the scientific study of matter and energy and how they interact with each other.  This energy can take the form of motion, light, electricity, radiation, gravity - just about anything, honestly. Physics deals with matter on scales ranging from sub-atomic particles (i.e. the particles that make up the atom and the particles that make up those particles) to stars and even entire galaxies. How Physics Works As an experimental science, physics utilizes the scientific method to formulate and test hypotheses that are based on observation of the natural world. The goal of physics is to use the results of these experiments to formulate scientific laws, usually expressed in the language of mathematics, which can then be used to predict other phenomena. When you talk about theoretical physics, you are speaking of the area of physics that is focused on developing these laws and using them to extrapolate into new predictions. These predictions from theoretical physicists then create new questions that experimental physicists then develop experiments to test. In this way, the theoretical and experimental components of physics (and science in general) interact with each other and push each other forward to develop new areas of knowledge. The Role of Physics in Other Fields of Science In a broader sense, physics can be seen as the most fundamental of the natural sciences. Chemistry, for example, can be viewed as a complex application of physics, as it focuses on the interaction of energy and matter in chemical systems. We also know that biology is, at its heart, an application of chemical properties in living things, which means that it is also, ultimately, ruled by the physical laws. Of course, we dont think of these other fields as part of physics. When we investigate something scientifically, we look for patterns at the scale that is most appropriate. Though every living thing is acting in a way that is fundamentally driven by the particles of which it is composed, trying to explain an entire ecosystem in terms of the behavior of fundamental particles would be diving into an unhelpful level of detail. Even when looking at the behavior of a liquid, we look in general at the properties of the fluid as a whole through fluid dynamics, rather than paying particular attention to the behavior of the individual particles.   Major Concepts in Physics Because physics covers so much area, it is divided into several specific fields of study, such as electronics, quantum physics, astronomy, and biophysics. Why Is Physics (Or Any Science) Important? Physics includes the study of astronomy, and in many ways, astronomy was humanitys first organized field of science. Ancient peoples looked to the stars and recognized patterns there, then began using mathematical precision to make predictions about what would happen in the heavens based on those patterns. Whatever flaws there were in these specific predictions, the method of trying to understand the unknown was a worthy one. Trying to understand the unknown is still a central problem in human life. Despite all of our advancements in science and technology, being a human being means that you are able to understand some things and also that there are things you do not understand. Science teaches you a methodology for approaching the unknown and asking questions that get to the heart of what is unknown and how to make it known. Physics, in particular, focuses on some of the most fundamental of questions about our physical universe. Pretty much the only more fundamental questions that could be asked fall in the philosophical realm of metaphysics (named for being literally beyond physics), but the problem is that these questions are so fundamental that many of the questions in the metaphysical realm remain unresolved even after centuries or millennia of inquiry by most of historys greatest minds. Physics, on the other hand, has resolved many fundamental issues, even though those resolutions tend to open up whole new types of questions. For more on this subject, check out Why Study Physics? (adapted, with permission, from the book Why Science? by James Trefil).

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Structured English Immersion in ArizonaSschools Research Paper

Structured English Immersion in ArizonaSschools - Research Paper Example Then SEI has achieved a new status in 1991as a result of advanced studies conducted by David Ramirez and he coined two basic components like teachers maximize instruction in English and teachers use and teach English at a level appropriate to the abilities of the ELL in the class (Clark 2009). As a result of adopting Proposition203 (English Language For Children in Public Schools) in November 2000 Arizona State established English as the official language of Arizona and demanded all public school education in the state be practiced in English. Charlene Rivera, Eric Collum states that; â€Å"ELL students are to be placed in a structured English immersion program for not more than 1 year, at which point they are mainstreamed in to English classrooms† (Rivera & Collum 2006, p.212). The web article The Case for Structured English Immersion gives valuable information about the implementation of SEI Programs in Arizona State. Kevin Clark said that Arizona’s English Language L earner Task Force launched in late 2006. In its initial stage many teachers and academics have confused with ESI programs with submersion. Some of them believed that the implementation of ESI task force in regular classrooms have little or no instructional modification. In spite of the jumble definitions, messages and grass root level emotions, educators and academics in Arizona district have implemented SEI programs in both elementary and secondary level. It is significant for a reader to understand that all materials and instructions in SEI programs are practiced in English since the beginning. Other important characteristics of SEI program is that it calls for direct, active and explicit instructional methods and strategies for SEI... This essay approves that Arizona district have implemented SEI programs in both elementary and secondary level which, the government is planning to propose in other levels. The SEI programs have basically divided the strategies into three components: policy, structure, and classroom practices. These strategies also take into account certain other factors like the size of the school, the location of the school, the grade levels at the school, the number of English language learners and the percentage of English language learners, and so on. This report makes a conclusion that the proposed study leads one to the inference that the implementation of SEI in Arizona schools had a greater impact among the students and the teachers and as such, it exerted a decisive role in uplifting the educational standards of that country. The critical analysis of the research topic unveils the fact that the Structured English Immersion in Arizona schools could influence and attract many students to English language learning. The SEI programs are well structured and it can certainly make the students aware of the systematic study of English language. The program has been designed for the students of the school and secondary levels to help them improving their language skills; specifically focusing on reading, writing, speaking and listening. The classes are scheduled for one year, four hours per day with the support of a well structured lesson plan and materials. The students are grouped by considering their ability in language use.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Lesson 13 discussion and assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lesson 13 discussion and - Assignment Example Young minds often read too deep between the lines and might spoil their constructive thoughts on such material. Again I agree with Denver that the censors often misinterpret music and do not label them justifiably. Judging both the viewpoints, I believe that PMRC’s concern was not baseless but censors might discuss with the composers before labelling and perform a survey including young people as the sample set. Labelling and preventing access to children forcefully can do justice only when the children are not aware of the presence of such music. However advertisements and posters cannot always be hidden from their eye and in an age where access to drugs and other substance are common, access to music CDs etc are also not unimaginable. Also I believe there are serious problems to tackle among young people apart from music and videos. If the children should actually be stopped to access these products then they should be banned from stores altogether or kept in separate depart ment of a store marked only for adults. However this is often not possible. Hence labelling unnecessary keeps the lawyers busy and leads to unwanted expenses of the court at times instead of serving the intended

Dilemmas of Leadership in Business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dilemmas of Leadership in Business - Assignment Example J. et al. 2004:15) declares that leadership is the capability of any individual to marshal an organization’s members towards effectiveness and success by motivation and influence. It marks an influence relationship with the intention of attaining real outcomes and changes of mutual interest. In contemporary times, influential cross-border leadership is imperative, and this is measurable in terms of cultural adaptability, emotional and cultural intelligence as a factor of self-development in a leader, which impacts success through leadership at an extensive scale in the highly globalized world of modern times. Emotional intelligence (EI) pertains to the notion that the proficiency of leaders to comprehend their individual emotions, and the emotions of people in their working environment is an expedient tool to achieve better business performance. It is claimed that the core competencies of modern and historical leaders is not just a function of EI, but it also incorporates Cult ural Intelligence (CQ) into the equation. CQ is an individual’s ability to adapt to new cultural environment and forego any cultural shock attributable to unfamiliar settings in a cultural context. With regards to assessing the EI and CQ on the developmental scale, many tests have been developed: Cross-cultural adaptability inventory (Kelley C., and Meyers J., 1995), paper-and-pencil inventory, behavioral investment centres, intercultural communication inventory tests (Earley and Peterson 2004) etc. Goleman (2002) claims that four aspects of EI: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management, add to the critical set of skills required for profound leadership. He further asserts that self-awareness facilitates empathy and enables self-management. These two combined are a gateway to emotionally intelligent leadership built up on the foundation of self-awareness. The EI in itself is not a distinctive form of intelligence, but the application of int elligence to a certain domain of life- the emotions. The concept has an extensively wide base and therefore its measurement is not scientifically reliable, however its paramount significance can not be doubted with regards to leadership in the current era. Cultural Intelligence comprises of three rudimentary components: cognitive, motivational and behavioral. In light of these, authors of the subject suggest a CQ learning and educational model based on three subjects: meta-cognitive (learning different strategies to enable cultural sense making), motivation (cultural empathy and self efficacy, which is directly proportional to self-esteem of an individual), and behavior (approved behavior in a cultural setting and mimicry). The current issue of contemporary times is an ever increasing demand for global effective leaders, who when measured on the scale of effectiveness must possess the required combination of knowledge measured in terms of EI and CQ for it is necessary for any achiev ement oriented leader in the sphere of local or international relations. However, the supply of global leaders and managers today having adequate EI and CQ is critically very low. Globalization is regarded as the master concept of the modern times, because we live in an era which is marked by dramatic industrialization and interaction between nation states. Extensive globalization indicates that the success of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) and Small and Medium

Curriculum Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Curriculum - Term Paper Example To demonstrate its holistic nature, the FIU BSN curriculum framework has a concept of a â€Å"globe.† The â€Å"globe† is a demonstration of the cohesiveness of the curriculum, its goals and values. The global model is characterized by levels that run from bottom to top of the â€Å"globe†. It is also characterized by organizing threads (pervasive and vertical) that start from the base of the â€Å"globe† to the top. The base of the â€Å"globe†, which is the curriculum starting point, has the behavioral sciences, general education and biological sciences. From this point the students to the nursing knowledge foundation, basic knowledge in nursing specialty and nursing knowledge synthesis as they accomplish their study plans. The levels have seven pervasive threads of organization: cultural competence, Ethics, Process of Decision Making, Globalization, Genomics, Quality and Safety, Technology and Globalization. The vertical threads of organization a re four: Professional Nursing, Scholarship and Research, Practice that is Evidence Based, Systems of Global Health and Illness/ Health Management (FIU). The influences of the design of the curriculum are the factors that are pervasive in the thread. In broad these include communication and collaboration, Quality and Safety, the process of decision making, cultural competence, Genomics, Globalization and Ethics (FIU). The Commission for Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) gives the accreditation standards for the nursing programs. The standards are divided into four categories which include: the Governance and Mission; the Resources and institutional commitment, the Teaching and Learning processes and the curriculum; and the Program outcomes assessment and its achievement. Emphasis will be laid on the 3rd standard that deals with curriculum (CCNE, 2013). FIU nursing curriculum is developed according to the nursing program goals, mission and

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Lack of Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lack of Control - Essay Example Faulkner, as usual, plays with his narrative style to reveal the story of a woman representing the victimized generation in South America after the civil war. This paper looks at how lack of control on the part of these characters led to their tragedy, and also tries to see how they could have avoided their misfortunes. â€Å"The Story of an Hour† is full of irony. This one hour story is capable of revealing events stretching to many years. Mrs. Mallard is a heart patient. Richard, her husband’s friend, brings the news of Mr. Mallard’s death, but he and Josephine, her sister, hesitate to reveal the tragic news, thinking that Louise’s weak heart may not be capable of receiving such shocking news. When it is finally revealed, Mrs. Mallard shuts herself in a room and she communicates herself only with nature outside. It is from this correspondence with nature that the readers have to surmise what happened in her married life. Mrs. Mallard at last feels â€Å"free, free, free†, but Brently, her husband, returns and at the sight of him she dies. Louise is a victim of the male dominated society. There was nothing which she could control in her life to achieve happiness. â€Å"THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge†, says the narrator (Poe). How the revenge is carried out is the actual story. Poe does not reveal the injuries. The sense of urgency to be avenged is all that he indicates at the beginning of the story. The drunken Fortunato is led through a series of chambers beneath Montresor’s palazzo. â€Å"Its walls had been lined with human remains, piled to the vault overhead, in the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris† (Poe). He is then tied to a wall and a new wall is plastered on him, thus burying him alive. Fortunao could have controlled himself, but no man can anticipate such cruel revenge. The chronology of the events given in the story, â€Å"A

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Arms and International Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Arms and International Relations - Essay Example There had been considerable unrest and tension between the countries of Eastern and Western Europe. As such, the West European Arms Industry suffered a serious setback due to European integration. There have been rapid developments to address the disruption of the relations between the military and the industry. These changes in the production of arms resulted in several issues, relating to employment, technology, national security and foreign policy. It was perceived that the European nations would find a solution for these challenging tasks. The decisions taken by these countries will invariably affect the employment of a large number of workers in the arms production industry. Furthermore, these decisions could also affect national and international policies, in the areas of technology, economics, arms procurement and international integration (Brzoska & Lock, 1992. Page 4 – 5). The annual toll in human life, exacted by small arms, all over the world comes to nearly half a million. Furthermore, the number of people who succumb to small arms is more than the number of people who are slain by missiles or weapons of mass destruction. The international arms control agreements are deeply concerned about this extremely distressing situation; and almost a hundred companies are lobbying to suitably change arms regulations, so as to address this alarming phenomenon. These companies want to form a new treaty that will be aimed at regulating the trade in small arms. The United Kingdom, Japan and several other nations are forging ahead to create such a new treaty. This new treaty would prohibit the sale and purchase of small but lethal weapons, like hand guns and grenade launchers (Falby, October 15, 2007). In the earlier stages this prohibition will be implemented on the rogue states that have a dismal record, regarding human rights. It would also be applied to countries, which employ these

Lack of Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lack of Control - Essay Example Faulkner, as usual, plays with his narrative style to reveal the story of a woman representing the victimized generation in South America after the civil war. This paper looks at how lack of control on the part of these characters led to their tragedy, and also tries to see how they could have avoided their misfortunes. â€Å"The Story of an Hour† is full of irony. This one hour story is capable of revealing events stretching to many years. Mrs. Mallard is a heart patient. Richard, her husband’s friend, brings the news of Mr. Mallard’s death, but he and Josephine, her sister, hesitate to reveal the tragic news, thinking that Louise’s weak heart may not be capable of receiving such shocking news. When it is finally revealed, Mrs. Mallard shuts herself in a room and she communicates herself only with nature outside. It is from this correspondence with nature that the readers have to surmise what happened in her married life. Mrs. Mallard at last feels â€Å"free, free, free†, but Brently, her husband, returns and at the sight of him she dies. Louise is a victim of the male dominated society. There was nothing which she could control in her life to achieve happiness. â€Å"THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge†, says the narrator (Poe). How the revenge is carried out is the actual story. Poe does not reveal the injuries. The sense of urgency to be avenged is all that he indicates at the beginning of the story. The drunken Fortunato is led through a series of chambers beneath Montresor’s palazzo. â€Å"Its walls had been lined with human remains, piled to the vault overhead, in the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris† (Poe). He is then tied to a wall and a new wall is plastered on him, thus burying him alive. Fortunao could have controlled himself, but no man can anticipate such cruel revenge. The chronology of the events given in the story, â€Å"A

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

The Debate Concerning The Age Of Sexual Consent Essay Example for Free

The Debate Concerning The Age Of Sexual Consent Essay This essay will illustrate the current laws regarding the age of sexual consent and will highlight the future plans, which the government are hoping to enforce and argument for and against these suggested laws. The current laws, which are enforced regarding the age of consent, are that boys have no age of consent and can therefore have sex at any age when they feel ready. But only if the girl is over 16 or else they will be breaking the law as girls and gay couples cannot have sex until they are 16 years old. Although many people feel that these laws are fine as they are and there is no need for change, the government believe that there are far to many people breaking these laws and that there is to many men/boys having sex with under 16 girls. The hopes to change this by tightening the current laws and introducing a male sexual age of consent of 16 and to include an extension of the laws to include more sex acts in public which is most likely to include including kissing. If these laws were to be broken the government are planning to put the offender on to the sex offenders list, which include rapists and pedos. The offender could also face which I think is a very harsh five-year prison sentence and all for what could have been an innocent kiss with your partner. A recent national survey Shows the while the current laws arent perfect they arent doing a bad job as it showed us that 33% of boys have had sex under the age of 16 and that only 25% of girl have, and this shows that the current laws are keeping at least two-thirds of boys from having illegal sex and three-quarters of girls and means that a larger percentage of teenagers are obeying the current laws and waiting until they have sex. Another survey was carried out by Bliss Magazine on its readers and showed that 32% of 12 to 17 year olds have had sex and that 83% of those reader were under 16 years old when they had sex, and that a what I though was an astonishing 12% of those readers were under 12 years old when the had sex. This survey completed by Bliss Magazine also tell us that 50% of it readers think that the current sexual consent laws are correct, but this is most properly sex mad teenagers who want the consent aged to be lowered not for the laws to be tightened. Although these figures do shows a slightly worrying percentage of under 16s having sex, and of course we would all like this figure to be lower; this amount of under 16s having sex isnt wholly due to kids and their choice to have sex as it is also undoubtedly fuelled by television and magazines. It has become more and more obvious that teenagers and now even younger kids are becoming sexualised and introduced to sexual idea a lot younger these days. This is best shown when we look in magazines, watch television and new fashions and we see idols such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera half naked or often dressed in way which gives their teenage fans the wrong impression of dress and act. A current argument which is a main point of the governments reasons for wanting to tighten the sexual consent laws is that they believe children need more protect than they are presently getting. This sudden desire to increase the protection of children is partly due to the increasing amount of pedos and rapist around but I think mainly because of the increase in popularity of the Internet and especially due to the increase in the amount of people using chat rooms. These concerns about using chat rooms is because of what some people call grooming often pedos pretend they are kids and gain trust of children and often arrange to meet up with them. Another argument is the amount of people who are having sex before they are 16, and also because a survey reveal that over 50% of girl regret having sex before they were legally allowed. The UKs current laws sit some roughly in the middle compared to other places, such as places like LA where the consent age is higher and places like Spain where the age is lower. At the moment LAs sexual consent age is 18 but people are still having sex a 17, and in Mali the sexual consent age is 16 and as in LA people are having sex when they are 17, Spains laws states that you have to be 13 to have sex and the average age for a person in Spain to have sex is strangely 19 years old for girls and 18 for boys. And finally in Chile the sexual consent age is 12 and the average person is having sex at around 14 or 15years old. The figures show that countries with a lower sexual consent age actually have a higher difference in the age you can have sex legally and the age people actually do. Arguments against the tightening of the sexual consent laws include the argument that the current laws doesnt stop people from having sex under the age of 16 so tightening the laws will most likely force little or no change and people will still break the law. As well as this point there is an argument that the current laws are thought to be fine as they stand, and that current laws offer a suffiencent amount of protection to children. Even now family planning centres, sex education teacher (school nurses) and any other authorities to do with sexual aspects in life tell us that alt of kids already find it hard to speak to parents or anyone about sex, and we are constantly hearing about pregnant teenagers leaving it to late before they told someone and ending up with no choice but to have a baby. This point, which is already at a bad enough state, is thought to become worse if the suggested laws pass and many fear that kids will become more detached and feel even less able to seek help of advise. This final point against the change is that the suggested laws are a muddle and all the law will do is criminalize younger people for doing something as unsubstantial as kissing. My view on this argument is that although teenagers I thin do need more protection from people like rapists and pedos the suggested rules are not the answer and are just punishing kids for what adults do. I believe the current laws provide a good template of which to follow by and the sexual consent age of 16 is accurate, as at this age the decision to have sex or not is up to you and you have reached an age and maturity where you can make the choice. I think that the suggested laws obviously have higher risks is broken and may have a little impact but there will still be teenagers who want to have sex and kiss etc and will, and all introducing these laws will do is criminalize young peoples for something a sinister as kissing. Away in which I think the current situation could be improved with out changing the laws is to improve sex education; by educating children at an earlier age, and making sex education lessons more frequent and more relevant to the students.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Battle Of Sources: Newspaper Vs Internet

Battle Of Sources: Newspaper Vs Internet For years, it started the day for millions: the thump of the newspaper hitting the door, or the window, or the neighbors dog. Along with a cup of coffee, maybe breakfast, the arrival of the morning paper meant the beginning of the daily grind. Fast-forward to present day. The evening paper, long extinct in cities with larger circulations, is still alive in smaller towns that have no morning edition. The argument is, with the internet so available to the masses, and, for the most part, providing free news, what is the future of the newspaper? Can it continue under these circumstances, or is it doomed to extinction? The first know form of distributed written information began approximately five centuries ago in Europe. Merchants distributed newsletters written by hand containing information regarding the weather, economic conditions, wars and human-interest stories. In the late fifteenth century, brochures and pamphlets was distributed among the people, the material containing highly sensationalized stories and the current news events. (Newspaper: The History) In the early 1800s the development of continuous rolls of paper enhanced the original Gutenberg Press. This added efficiency of printing made the prices of printed goods more reasonable hence the term penny press. This phrase originated when newspaperman Benjamin Day dropped the price of his New York Sun to a penny a copy in 1833. Historians have accredited the penny press as the first true mass medium. (The Early History of Newspaper Publishing in New York State ) The internet was originally built for the U.S. military to allow a community of computers to share information over distance. Its generally accepted that the goal of the internet in its later development was as much for research purposes as for military applications. (Internet Society (ISOC) All About The Internet: History of the Internet) On October 29, 1969, at 10:30 p.m., UCLA engineering professor Leonard Kleinrock and student Charley Kline attempted to send a message from one Honeywell computer to another computer unit 600 kilometers away at Stanford Research Institute in Palo Alto. The connection speed was 50 kb/s. (Internet Society (ISOC) All About The Internet: History of the Internet) The first message was supposed to be the word login, but the system crashed as they typed in the letter g. The first message, then, was lo. The researchers were able to complete the message one hour later. And so the ARPANET, the original name of the internet, was born. The term internet was not created until 1982. Rupert Murdoch CEO of The News Corporation into one of the largest and most influential media groups in the world described the revenue from his stable of newspapers as rivers of gold. But, said Murdoch several years later, sometimes rivers dry up. He also added if cable and satellite broadcasting, as well as the internet, had come along first, newspapers as we know them probably would never have existed. (Plunkett) The increasing use of the internets search function, through search engines such as Google, has also changed the habits of readers. Instead of looking for general news events, much like how newspapers present the news, readers are seeking particular writers, blogs or sources of information for specific news, making the agglomeration of newspapers irrelevant. Power is shifting to the individual journalist from the news outlet with more people seeking out names through search, e-mail, blogs and social media, the industry publication Editor HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editor__PublisherHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editor__Publisher Publisher noted in summarizing a recent study from the Project for Excellence in Journalism foundation. (Internet Overtakes Newspapers As News Outlet) In early days, the ability to distribute information was sorely restricted to big company with printing presses or broadcast mechanisms. With the internet, thousands of people are able to communicate directly with others through blogs or instant message services. But the search engine experience has left some newspaper proprietors cold. The aggregators and plagiarists will soon have to pay a price for the co-opting of our content, Rupert Murdoch told the World Media Summit in Beijing, China. If we do not take advantage of the current movement toward paid content, it will be the content creators the people in this hall who will pay the ultimate price and the content kleptomaniacs who triumph. (Internet Overtakes Newspapers As News Outlet) Critics of the newspaper as a news source argue that todays newspapers may be visually different from their predecessors a century ago, but they have made little change to adapt to social changes. The technology revolution has meant that readers accustomed to waiting for a daily newspaper can now receive up-to-the-minute updates from web portals, bloggers and new services such as Twitter. The expanding reach of broadband internet access means such updates have become the standard for many users. (Kamiya) The fall of the newspaper industry is not global. In some countries, such as India, the newspaper is still more popular than internet and broadcast media. Even where the industry is failing, in North America and Europe, there have been recent success stories, such as the rise of free newspapers, like papers targeted towards the Hispanic market, local weekly shoppers. But these new ways of making profit, such as that from newspapers web sites, are often a fraction of the revenue generated by the previous advertisement- and circulation-driven revenue streams, and so newspapers have been forced to cut their expenses while simultaneously trying to reach new users. With revenues plummeting, many newspapers have forced to lay off employees, slashed news bureaus and journalists, while still trying to publish compelling content. (Kamiya)

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Matrix †Over-Zealous Fans and Hero Worship :: Movie Film Essays

The Matrix – Over-Zealous Fans and Hero Worship There are too many zealous fanzines on the web devoted to The Matrix and its sequels, and these are not fan sites that dissect CGI or allow you to download doctored photos of Keanu Reeves. Such obvious surface obsessions are no longer the norm. Instead, these new sites cater to a much more frightening fantasy. They foretell of the "depth" within The Matrix: the great religious teachings, the deep philosophies, the hidden Christ elements. And, it is true that The Matrix essentially scraped the loose and pliant first layer of skin from Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism to create the aura of mystic machinery in the film. However, let's face it, all resemblances to Christ figures---living or dead---is purely incidental. But, such easy-to-digest philosophy allows the average film viewer to feel that he "gets" what he considers a "deep" philosophy. Let's just avoid the whole joke about packaging "deep" philosophy in two-hour chunks of shiny latex-laden kung fu. It's been done. But, essentially, I don't believe that the "deep" religiosity of the flick is the true motivation of most devotees. Such vapidity is merely a convenient cover for something much more selfish: The idea that any typical American slacker will be plucked free from his lackluster, lazy existence and converted into the Messiah without any real effort----just a few kick-ass computer games shoved into the back of his head and he's all set to save the world. It's the ultimate fantasy for our couch potato hordes. Even I comprehend the adrenaline rush that half-ass Messiahness can create: All power, no effort. Additionally, maybe there are other factors that contribute to our American slacker relating to the major characters of The Matrix. Besides the nice no-step route to simple saviorness, there are other bonuses to this job. Maybe those who find The Matrix deep and philosophical are really just interested in the strange fact that the "enlightened" get to wear sexy, perfectly tailored black clothing and sunglasses that would cost more than my Ford Ranger if they weren't blipped from the nothingness of a "loading" program. That's really the only reason I can personally see for converting an entertaining, but plot-flawed, flick like The Matrix into a set of life philosophies: When you're enlightened, baby, you look good. Neither Buddha nor Christ ever had the duds to compete with Neo. So, we've got an easy route to Messiahness and a kick-ass wardrobe.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Public Education: Funding based Upon Race Essay examples -- Teaching E

Public Education: Funding based Upon Race Education†¦beyond all other devices of human origin, is a great equalizer of the conditions of men—the balance wheel of the social machinery. I do not here mean that it so elevates the moral nature as to make men disdain and abhor the oppression of their fellow men†¦But I mean that it gives each man the independence and the means by which he can resist the selfishness of other men. It does better than to disarm the poor of their hostility toward the rich: it prevents being poor. –Horace Mann, 1848 Public education in the United States is exalted as the â€Å"great equalizer.† This utopian concept would be true if the education provided to all citizens was equal. Unfortunately, the dueling principles upon which the American nation was founded— freedom to accumulate wealth and equality for all—inhibit the establishment and maintenance of equal education. Funding inequities within the United States public education system embody the tension between one’s right to accumulate capital and one’s duty to guarantee equality for all. As the current system stands, the right to accumulate and utilize financial resources prevails. Thus, an educational system that perpetuates the economic inequality of America’s racial groups endures. In the 1954 United States Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, school segregation was found to be unconstitutional. On behalf of the Court, Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote, â€Å"We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.† The reasoning behind the unanimous decision diverged from the line of argumentation that had been used by civil rig... ...ll Curve: How Education Matters† in Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 64, No. 3 (1995). Kozol, Jonathan, Savage Inequalities (New York: Harper Perennial, 1991). MacPhail-Wilcox, B. and R.A. King, â€Å"Resource allocation studies: Implications for school improvement and school finance research† in Journal of Education Finance, vol. 11 (1986). Massey, Douglas S. and Nancy A. Denton, American Apartheid (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993). Murray, Charles, Lossing Ground (New York: Basic Books, 1984). Taylor, W.L., and D.M. Piche A report on shortchanging children: The impact of fiscal inequity on the education of students at risk (1991). Wilson, William Julius, The Truly Disadvantaged (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1987). Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, (1954). Campaign for Fiscal Equity, et al v. the State of New York (2000).

Friday, October 11, 2019

Help Stop Bullying Essay

An 11 year old Massachusetts boy, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, hung himself April 6, 2009 because he was being taunted daily for being gay. The mother begged the school to address the problem, but nothing was ever done about it and now a woman is left son less. That was at least the fourth suicide of a middle-school aged child linked to bullying that year. Most harassment and bullying go unreported. Children are being bullied each and every day, but the question is what should be done to stop it? Each and every day a child is being teased or picked on because of the way they look, act, dress, or because of what they believe in. Children should not have to be tortured just because they are not like everyone else. Children should be able to come to school and enjoy themselves and not worry about being picked on. A child that is being bullied can have many problems such as low self esteem and low self confidence which could lead them to suicide. Also, children that are bullied may start doing poorly in school or maybe even drop out because they do not feel safe at school. Bullying really needs to be stooped because it can leave a child physically, emotionally, and mentally scarred for the rest of their lives. Some schools say that there is very little that they can do about bullying because a lot of bullying starts off of school property. â€Å"Much of today’s bullying originates online, school officials said, with the growing use of social networking websites and cell phones has led to new ways to intimidate and tease. But because cyber bullying usually happens off-campus school administrators have little recourse† (Nissley 2010). I do not agree with the school district when they say that there is little they can do. Even though, it may start online, it continues or become worse at the school. With that being said, they need to try and do more so it can stop all together no matter where it starts. The solution that they think will help stop bullying is if the educate student about it more. Like Nissley (2010) stated, â€Å"In a model that has been mirrored by other school districts across the state, Abington Heights has been working on educating students as early as kindergarten about bullying and their responsibility to report it when they see it (p. 1). I think that it is good to educate the students about bullying and reporting it, but what is that really going to do? As we all know a lot of students will not tell because they will be too afraid. Or if they do tell they will be little done about it and they will continue to get bullied. So, their solution would not be effective at all. â€Å"Safe to learn: Embedding anti-bullying work in schools is the overarching anti-bullying guidance for schools and was launched in 2007† (teacherNet, 2009, p. 2). It seems that everyone thinks that the solution to stop bullying is just to educate students about it. I think that it is good that they are trying to educate students about the issue, but we all know that it is going to take more than that to stop bullying. It does not matter how much information you provide the students with about bullying, it still is not going to do anything. People have been trying to stop bullying by just telling students it is not the right thing to do for years and nothing has changed. As you see, they tried this solution in 2007 and now in 2010 the same problem is still going on. You can make students take classes every day about bullying and there will still be children getting bullied. Principals and administrators need to punish students by making use of more suspensions and require mandatory parent meetings for those who are bullying others. If the bullying continues, it must be dealt with strongly. And, both the child and parent should be held responsible for it. Until people start taking actions of this nature, bullying will forever be a problem. I think that the only way to stop bullying is to actually make a law against it. In Massachusetts, they have passed a bill for anti-bullying. I think that is wonderful because now that the law is involved I am sure bullying will be cut down because the kids would not to have to deal with the harsh consequences. â€Å"The bill would prohibit bullying at schools and clamp down on so-called cyber bullying by prohibiting the use of e-mails, text messages, internet postings, and other electronic means to create hostile school environment† (Gay & Lesbians, 2010, p. 16). I also believe that it is good that they are requiring the school principals to report to the bullying to the police, if they believe criminal charges should be pursued. Maybe now if the students know that they could possibly go to jail they would stop bullying. It is great that somebody has passed a bill and takes this issue seriously because this has been going on for too long and it is time for it to stop. Lately there have been many other cities discussing and making laws about bullying. In New Jersey, they have also passed a bill regarding bullying. â€Å"A law against bullying in schools which advocates call the nation’s toughest because it requires schools to develop anti-harassment programs, was approved Monday in New Jersey† (Mulvihill, 2010, pg. ). I believe that this is what the schools need in order for bullying to stop. It may take a while for the schools to get all the policies and programs in the public schools, but it will be worth it. This law will hopefully prevent any more suicides from happening due to children being bullied. Maybe it should have been stricter laws a long time ago and a lot of bullying could have bee n stopped. The state of New Jersey has already passed the law for anti-bullying shows how it will cut down on a lot of bullying. There was already an anti-bullying law in 2002, but it was not required that schools set up anti-bullying programs. The new bill is claimed to be one of the toughest anti-bullying bill that there is. They are going all out the way to make sure students will not get bullied. They are even making teachers get training to help to bulling. Like Julie Bolcer (2010) stated, ‘’ The measure would required training for most public school employees on how to spot bulling and mandate that all districts from ‘school safety teams’ review complaints, reported The Star – Ledger . Superintendent would have to report incidents of buying to the state board of education, which would grade schools and districts on their efforts to combat it ‘’ (pg. 1). I think that it is to stop bulling because this is a very serious problem. But now that there are such harsh laws against it, I know the rates will go down a lot. Bullying is something that has been around for ages, but no one has ever seemed to find the right solution for it. Many say there is not a lot that can be done to stop bulling because it starts off school property; I totally isagree with that. While you have others that think that just by telling students about will stop it, which we all know will not. I feel that the only way bulling will ever stop is if they give harsh punishments and let the bullies know that is not a joke. Even though, there have been many attempts to stop bulling, I think that they have finally found a solution which is by making a tough anti-bulling law. If a child wants to bully someone then they should deal with the law and suffer the consequences.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Great Expectation Essay

Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round[1] from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times. [2] Great Expectations is written in the style of bildungsroman, which follows the story of a man or woman in their quest for maturity, usually starting from childhood and ending in the main character’s eventual adulthood. Great Expectations is the story of the orphan Pip, writing about his life and attempting to become a gentleman along the way. The novel can also be considered semi-autobiographical of Dickens, like much of his work, drawing on his experiences of life and people. The main plot of Great Expectations takes place between Christmas Eve 1812, when the protagonist is about seven years old (and which happens to be the year of Dickens’ birth), and the winter of 1840. [3] On Christmas Eve of 1812, Pip,a boy aged 7, encounters an escaped convict in the village churchyard while visiting his mother and father’s graves. The convict scares Pip into stealing food for him and a file to grind away his leg shackles. He threatens Pip not to tell anyone and do as he says or his friend will cut out Pip’s heart. Pip returns home, where he lives with Mrs. Joe, his older sister, and her husband Joe Gargery. His sister is very cruel and beats him and Joe regularly, while Joe is much more kind to Pip. Early the next morning, Pip steals food and drink from the Gargery pantry (including a pie for their Christmas feast) and sneaks out to the graveyard. It is the first time in Pip’s life he’s felt truly guilty. This is an important event in the book because the convict will never forget the kindness (albeit forced) that Pip showed to him. The convict, however, waits many years to fully show his gratitude. During Christmas dinner with the minister, Mr. Wopsle, Mr. and Mrs. Hubble, and Uncle Pumblechook, Pip and Mrs. Joe’s moderately wealthy uncle, no one notices the missing food or brandy until Uncle Pumblechook drinks some brandy and spits it out. Pip realizes that he filled the brandy jug not with water, but with tar water. Pip sits at the table being told how lucky he is by all the relatives and holds on to the dining table leg for dear life, scared that someone will notice the missing pie. When Mrs. Joe gets up and goes to the kitchen for the pie, Pip bolts to the door. However, his way is blocked by police officers. They ask Joe to repair their handcuffs and invite Joe, Pip and Mr. Wopsle to come with them to hunt for some escaped prisoners from the local jail. As they hunt through the marshes outside the village, they accost the two convicts while engaged in a fight. One of them is the convict helped by Pip; however, when questioned about where he got the food and file, he claims he stole the items himself in order to shield Pip. The police take the two to the Hulk, a giant prison ship, and Pip is carried home by Joe, where they finish Christmas dinner. A while after Pip’s encounter with the convict, Pip’s life returns to normal. He goes to school, run by Mr. Wopsle’s great-aunt, and becomes friends with Biddy, an orphan who was adopted by the Wopsles. He still feels guilty for the theft. Pip’s Uncle Pumblechook gets Pip invited to the house of a rich old woman named Miss Havisham, who lives in the village in Satis House. Miss Havisham is a spinster who wears an old wedding dress with one shoe on and has all the house clocks stopped at 20 minutes to nine. She hasn’t seen sunlight in years and claims to have a broken heart and just wants to see Pip play cards with Estella, a young girl she has adopted. After this first meeting, Pip frequently visits Miss Havisham and Estella, for whom he harbours a feeling of obsessive attraction. He begins to tenaciously learn everything he can from Biddy in school, in an effort to impress Estella who called him a common labouring boy. One day, when Pip goes to the town pub to pick up Joe, they are approached by a messenger sent by Pip’s convict. He mixes his drink with the stolen file and gives Pip two pounds before leaving. Pip visits Miss Havisham on her birthday where she shows him her wedding cake, which is being eaten by mice, and where she will be laid out when she is dead, a death she looks forward to. He also meets the Pockets. Pip works with Joe for a few years in the forge, doing work that he hates. In an agreement with Joe, he visits Miss Havisham only on his birthday, when he receives a half-holiday. He and Joe work with a journeyman named Orlick. When he returns home, he discovers that Mrs. Joe had been attacked. She becomes a horribly brain-damaged invalid. Pip feels guilty again when the police believe escaped criminals attacked Mrs. Joe. The detectives from London are inexperienced and do not discover anything. Mrs. Joe spends her days calling for Orlick and draws a capital â€Å"T† on a slate. Biddy thinks that the â€Å"T† represents a hammer and that Orlick is the attacker. When Orlick arrives, Mrs. Joe tries to please him and shows him the slate. Biddy moves in with the Gargerys and Pip confides in her about his feelings for Estella. When Pip and Joe are listening to Mr. Wopsle read a murder trial from a newspaper, a London lawyer, Jaggers, approaches Pip, revealing very startling news: Pip has inherited a large sum of money from an anonymous benefactor. The conditions of the receipt of said money require him to leave for London immediately, buy some clothes and become a gentleman. Pip behaves badly in society (mostly over jealousy of Estella) and squanders his allowance, running into debt. He is rescued on his 21st birthday, when he is notified by Jaggars that he is awarded 500 pounds and an increased steady allowance, until such a time as his benefactor will appear. Pip originally believes Miss Havisham is his benefactress (and so the reader is led to believe, as well) for several years as he begins to learn to be a gentleman, helped by the now grown Herbert Pocket, who is assigned as his companion. During this time, Mrs. Joe dies. However, in one of Dickens’ patented plot twists, Pip’s benefactor turns out to be instead Magwitch, the convict whom Pip helped, who had been transported to New South Wales, where he had eventually prospered and become wealthy. Magwitch left all his money to Pip in gratitude for that kindness and also because Pip reminded him of his own child, whom he thinks is dead. The revelation of his true benefactor crushes Pip. He’s ashamed of Magwitch’s criminal past, however, Magwitch now expects to spend the rest of his life living with Pip. Pip, very reluctantly, lets Magwitch stay with him. There is a warrant out for Magwitch’s arrest in England and he’ll be hanged if he’s caught. Eventually, because Magwitch is on the run from the law, a plan is hatched by Herbert and Pip which involves fleeing the country by boat. During these events, it is revealed to Pip that Estella is the daughter of Jaggers’ housemaid, Molly, whom he defended in a murder charge and who gave up her daughter to be adopted by another of his clients, Miss Havisham, in return for his service in allowing her to be acquitted of the charge. Pip later realizes Magwitch is Estella’s father. Pip has an encounter with Orlick, who admits he was the one who attacked Pip’s sister. Meanwhile, Estella has married Bentley Drummle, a marriage that will be an unhappy one. Before Pip flees with Magwitch, he makes one last visit to Miss Havisham. Miss Havisham realizes that she created a monster out of Estella, who broke Pip’s heart, and asks him for forgiveness. Pip confronts Miss Havisham with Estella’s history and present circumstance in an unhappy marriage, blaming Miss Havisham for teaching Estella to be cold and unloving. In the heat of the confrontation, Miss Havisham stands too close to the fire and ignites her dress. Pip heroically saves her, but she later dies from her burn injuries. Pip, Herbert and another friend, Startop, make a gallant attempt to help Magwitch escape, but instead he is captured and sent to jail. Pip is devoted to Magwitch by now and recognizes in him a good and noble man. Pip tries to have Magwitch released but Magwitch dies shortly before his execution. Under English law Magwitch’s wealth forfeits to the Crown, thus extinguishing Pip’s â€Å"Great Expectations†. After an extended period of sickness during which he is looked after by Joe, he returns to good health and returns home to ask Biddy for forgiveness and for her love. However, when he arrives, he finds that it is Biddy and Joe’s wedding day. Thankful for not mentioning his interest in Biddy to Joe while he was sick, Pip congratulates the happy couple. Afterwards, Pip goes into business overseas with Herbert. After eleven relatively successful years abroad, Pip goes back to visit Joe and the rest of his family out in the marshes. Finally, Pip makes one last visit to the ruins of Miss Havisham’s house, where he finds Estella wandering. Her marriage is over, and she seems to have children and wants Pip to accept her as a friend. In the book Dickens says â€Å"There was no shadow of them parting† which is led the public to believe that Estella and Pip ended up together. ‘After over 50 chapters of Pip longing for her, they ended up together in the end of the book’ is the basic logical explanation for why people believe the book was ended as them being â€Å"more than friends†