Pride and Prejudice- First Impressions - 1392 Words

The novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen was originally titled First Impressions. This is significant because it reflects the values and attitudes of 19th century England, and portrays the main themes of the novel. It is set in England during the 1800s and Austen focuses on a society whose opinions are based on first impressions. This is achieved through cultural context, characterisation, narratorial commentary, and methods/techniques. During the 19th Century, first impressions were very important. The reader is presented with Meryton, a highly structured class society which judges people on superficial qualities, such as physical appearance, social status, clothes, possessions, behaviour, dialogue. The message Austen positions†¦show more content†¦The technique of characterisation has a major effect throughout the novel. It helped represent 19th century values and attitudes, as well as portray the notion of first impressions, and demonstrate how they dominated peoples thoughts and minds during that particular time period. There were many incorrectShow MoreRelatedFirst Impressions: Pride and Prejudice750 Words   |  3 Pages There is great truth to the phrase, â€Å"You never get a second chance to make a first impression,† as they are said to be very important in the establishment of relationships. In Jane Austen’s renowned book, Pride and Prejudice, first impressions play a big role in the sequence of events that take place, as they form the fundamentals of the characters’ interactions with one another. This is a novel about overcoming obstacles and attaining sentimental prosperity. For the protagonists, Elizabeth andRead MoreEssay on Pride and Prejudice First Impressions1113 Words   |  5 PagesFirst Impressions Summary: The original title for Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen was First Impressions. Even though Pride and Prejudice is a well thought out title for the novel, First Impressions is what the novel really is about. The novel is based on Elizabeth and what her impressions are about the people she decided to associate herself with. First Impressions The original title for Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen was First Impressions. Even though Pride and Prejudice is a well thoughtRead More Pride and Prejudice Essay: First Impressions527 Words   |  3 PagesFirst Impressions in Pride and Prejudice      Ã‚  Ã‚   First impressions are very important in Jane Austins Pride and Prejudice. As the story develops, we discover how the prejudices and first impressions of each of the main characters change. The primary focus is on the character of Elizabeth Bennet.    Elizabeths judgments about other characters dispositions are accurate about half of the time.   While she is correct about Mr. Collins and how absurdly self-serving he is and about Lady CatherineRead More First Impressions in Pride and Prejudice Essay887 Words   |  4 PagesPride and Prejudice was originally and appropriately titled â€Å"First Impressions.† This romantic and philosophical novel demonstrates to its readers how first impressions can drastically get in the way of romantic relationships. First impressions are generally inaccurate, as in the case of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, and also the case of Jane Bennet and Charles Bingley. The first impressions can, however, be accurate, such as in the case of Elizabeth Bennet and William Collins. In thisRead MoreEssay on Pride And Prejudice: First Impressions803 Words   |  4 Pages First Impressions First impressions are very important. In the Victorian age, people based their whole opinion of someone o n first impressions. Most times the first impression of someone is not the way they truly are. Sometimes a first impression can cause you to think negative of someone but later you find out that they are very nice and a very positive person. One example is when Mr. Darcy meets Elizabeth in the book ,Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth thinks Mr.darcy is a cruel and arrogant personRead MoreThe Role of First Impressions in Pride and Prejudice Essay509 Words   |  3 PagesThe Role of First Impressions in Pride and Prejudice First impressions play a very important role in Pride and Prejudice. The narrative describes how the prejudices and first impressions (especially those dealing with pride) of the main characters change throughout the novel. From the beginning of the book in chapter 1, we see that Mrs. Bennet lives in a mercenary society where her whole life revolves around money. This shows in her eagerness to meet Bingley. She isRead MorePride And Prejudice By Jane Austen Essay1193 Words   |  5 Pages Half Half There is a second title to the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Jane Austen did not initially call the book title Pride and Prejudice but rather called it First Impressions. Although this book initially had a different title, they both have a significance at two different halves of the book.The initial title First Impressions that Austen gave to the book is dominantly reflected throughout the beginning. As the novel progressesRead MoreFirst Impressions Can Change It All Essay1036 Words   |  5 Pageshave already made a first impression of a person. The first impressions you get of a person might not always be who they turn out to be. It is about giving people a chance as shown in Pride and Prejudice. Pride and Prejudice is a book first titled First Impressions. Pride and Prejudice is a book where the characters make the plot and the novel itself. It is based upon the first impressions one character makes of another and the story revolv es around this. First Impressions embody the themes inRead MoreThe Ways the Theme of Pride and Prejudice is Revealed Through the Characters of Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy913 Words   |  4 PagesThe Ways the Theme of Pride and Prejudice is Revealed Through the Characters of Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy In Austens time it was typical of people of a higher status to look down on people below them; to be totally blinded by pride and to be prejudiced against those who have less wealth, connections and social status than them. People of a lower status also were prejudice against those higher than themselves. This is brilliantly portrayed in the characters of ElizabethRead MorePride and Prejudice by Jane Austen1193 Words   |  5 PagesIn the novel â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† by Jane Austen, the internal conflict of the main character- Elizabeth Bennet was used to explore the novels central theme of pride. Elizabeth faces an internal conflict between her poor first impression of Darcy and the virtuous traits Darcy exhibits later in the novel. Elizabeth Bennet is a character that takes pride on being an excellent judge of character. Her poor first impression of Darcy stems from his original insult to her and his snobbish demeanor. This

Paradise Beneath Her Feet and Women the State, and...

Paradise beneath Her Feet and Women the State, and Political Liberalization By: Zenebech Mesfin Paradise Beneath Her Feet by Isobel Coleman and Women, the State, and Political Liberalization by Laurie Brand are two very interesting books on women in the Middle East and North Africa that for the most part focus in on the roles and experiences women have in the economy, education and politics. Paradise Beneath Her Feet is truly a great find. Coleman touches base on many key issues that women in Islam experience. She brings some of these issues to a personal level, with antidotes of women she has met, some who have been the victims of crime in the name of Islam and others who have become respected in their communities for being†¦show more content†¦Muhammad Yunus, Founder of the Grameen Bank is often hailed as the architect of microfinance lending and has been praised around the world for his work and even awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 2006. The concept of microfinance is to lend small portions of money to poor people who could not have otherwise acquired a loan from a regular bank. Microfinance banks give the poor a small loan with incredibly high interest rates in the hope that the borrower will create a business or some form of income creating venture to sustain themselves and pay back their loans. Not only is that person left with a way to support themselves, but it also creates jobs in the community. These banks have noticed that when the money was lent to a family through the woman of the household, it went a longer way than if the man of the household received the loan. Yunus has noticed even within the Grameen Bank that â€Å"Poor women [have] an amazing skill, the skill of managing a scarce resource.† (12) Studies have shown that if a mother is receiving income the first beneficiaries are her children. The effects of this are amazing, many communities have seen a rise in school enrollment and improved child survival rates because women are more likely to spend money on food for their children and health care than are fathers. The re is a saying, â€Å"If you give a man a fish, he will eat

Data Analysis for Decision Makers

Question: Discuss about the inferential statistics of continuous random variables. Answer: Introduction The price of any house is an important factor in the daily life. Every people have a desire to purchase his or her own house at a certain point of time. This purchase of the house mainly depends on the price of the house (Gelman et al. 2014). The price of the house is influenced by various factors. Data had been collected on surveying the houses of Singapore. Data for 50 samples were collected. Various factors of the house were also surveyed. These data would be subjected to various statistical methods. Discrete variables, continuous variables and categorical variables have been used in this data set (Ott and Longnecker 2015). Explanations of various statistical terms would be given in this assignment with the help of the given data set. Graphs and charts would represent the data more precisely. Discussion Descriptive statistics The data consist of both discrete and continuous variables. The price of the house, the distance from the house from its nearest railway station, the distance of the house from the nearest bus stop and the distance of the house from the nearest shop are all continuous variables. It was seen that the average price of the selected houses was $788580. This is calculated by dividing the total price of all the houses with the number of houses chosen for the experiment. The median of the price of the house was $778000 (Thomson and Emery 2014). The minimum value of the chosen houses found to be $310000 while the maximum price was $1354000. The range of the price of the chosen houses was $104400. The standard deviation of the price of house is $280708 while the variance was found to be $78797064.9 (Menke 2012). The standard deviation is calculated by the square root of the sum of the deviation of the prices from the mean divided by number of samples chosen. The variance is calculated by squa ring the standard deviation. Variance gives the amount of deviation of the samples from its mean value. The average of other continuous variables is given as follows. The average distance of the houses from the nearest railway station is 1.086 kilometres while the average distance from the nearest bus stop is 1.186 kilometres and the average distance from the nearest shop is 0.99 kilometres (Bazeley and Jackson 2013). The median of the distance from nearest railway station is 1.1kilometres, from the nearest bus stop is 1.25 kilometres and from the nearest shop is 1.1 kilometres. The minimum distance of the houses from all the three cases was 0.1 kilometres while the maximum distance of the houses from the nearest railway station is 2.100 kilometres, from the nearest bus stop is 2.700 kilometres and from the nearest shop is 1.900 kilometres. The range of the distance from the nearest railway station, nearest bus stop and nearest shop is 2 kilometres, 2.6 kilometres and 1.8 kilometres respectively (Dimaggio 2013). The standard deviation of the distance from the nearest railway station, n earest bus stop and nearest shop is 0.58554 kilometres, 0.76798 kilometres and 0.54332 kilometres respectively. The variance of the distance of the nearest railway station from the houses was found to be 0.3428 kilometres, the variance of the distance of the nearest bus stop from the houses was found to be 0.5898 kilometres and the variance of the distance of the nearest shop from the houses was found to be 0.2952 kilometres (Twisk 2013). Figure 1: Graph of price distribution of the houses (Source: created by author) Figure 2: Graph of the distribution of distance of house from station in kilometres (Source: created by author) Figure 3: Graph of the distribution of distance of house from bus stop in kilometres (Source: created by author) Figure 4: Graph of the distribution of distance of house from shops in kilometres (Source: created by author) Discrete random variables and its probability distributions The discrete random variables for the data set are number of rooms, age of the house, area of the house in square metre, and number of bedrooms. These variables give the details of each of the randomly selected houses. The Poisson distribution can be used to describe these variables (Miles et al. 2013). Poisson distribution and the interpretation of the data set Poisson distribution gives the probability of the occurrence of a number of independent events in a fixed period. In this data set, considering the intervals of distances of the house from nearest railway station, bus stop and shops, the probability of the prices to be high in the intervals could be predicted. Prices are said to be high if they are beyond $1000000 (Woodward 2013). The probability of occurrence of such prices within the intervals of distances could be found from the data set. This would give an idea about how the distance of the house from its nearest railway station; nearest bus stop and nearest shop affect the price of the houses. The probability of occurrence of the high priced house in the distance intervals would give an idea whether factors other than influences the price of the house or not. Inferential statistics Inferential statistics is defined as the collection of data from its population and its measures. The collected data is used to find various measures of statistics. These measures include descriptive statistics, correlation, regression and hypothesis testing. When the sample size is greater than thirty, Normal distribution Normal distribution is a common continuous probability distribution in the theory of probability. Normal distribution is mainly used in natural and social science in order to represent the random variables whose distribution was unknown. Central limit theorem makes the use of normal distribution an important one. Central limit theorem states that when a large number of samples are drawn independently from independent distributions, the average of these random variables converges to normal distribution (Balakrishnan 2013). The curve of the normal distribution is a bell shaped curve and the probability density of the normal distribution is given as follows: f (x/ , 2) = (1/ sqrt(2 2)) e (x- )^2/ 2 2 ; where is the mean value of the distribution and 2 is the variance of the distribution. Reasons for normal distribution used in sampling distribution The commonly used probability distribution for continuous distribution is the normal distribution. According to the central limit theorem, it was seen that the distribution of large samples tend to normal distribution. This tendency of every variable to follow the normal distributions leads to the concept of using normal distribution for sampling distribution (Kleinbaum et al. 2013). Moreover, using normal distribution in sampling distribution helps in easy calculations of sampling distributions and this distribution is usually considered as the standard distribution for sampling distributions (Balakrishnan 2013). The basis for Inferential Statistics The basis of inferential statistics is the Central Limit theorem. The samples drawn from large population are used to estimate the characteristics of the population. The probable value of mean of the population can be guessed from the mean of the samples drawn from the population. The standard deviation and variance of the sample gives the probable value of the standard deviation and variance of the population (Boy-Roura et al. 2015). Inferential statistics helps to infer about the population using one or more samples from the population. Inferential statistics gives an idea about whether the difference between the groups of variables occurs by chance or they are real. The basis of inferential statistics is the assumptions that could be made about the populations from the selected samples. Inference could be drawn about the larger groups on studying the variables of the smaller groups (Ciarleglio et al. 2016). It is not possible to study the whole population, as it would be logistically impossible, too much expensive and time consuming. The method of sampling and inferences drawn from the statistics, helps to infer about the population in reduced cost, with great accuracy and more scope to yield information (Pineda et al. 2015). More attention can be given to each of the samples and the results could be more accurate for the sample statistics. The sample statistics would infer a better result about the population from which the sample is selected. Confidence interval Explanation of continuous random variable Continuous random variables are those variables who take all the values in a given interval. These random variables are defined as the possible outcomes of the random variables in a definite interval of real numbers (Zhai et al. 2013). Continuous random variables are uncountably infinite; i.e. they have too many possible values to list out as the possible outcome of any problem. Measuring of continuous random variable can be done with high level of precession than the discrete random variables. Explanation of a confidence interval The range of values that describe uncertainty by surrounding an estimate is called confidence interval of the values. A confidence interval is indicated by the endpoints of the intervals. Lower limit and upper limit of the interval gives the value of the confidence interval. Confidence interval also defines the range of values that most probably encompass the true value (Altman et al. 2013). Confidence interval of the statistic is computed in such a way that the interval have a specific chance of containing the value of the corresponding parameter of the population. Construction of the confidence interval Confidence interval of any set of data is constructed by first choosing its level of significance. The level of significance is indicates the true probable value of the data to lie in the given confidence interval. Confidence interval is calculated by determining the lower limit and upper limit of the data set. The z value of the test is found by using the level of significance of the test. This value is used to calculate the lower limit and upper limit of the confidence interval. The lower limit is computed by subtracting the product of z value and standard deviation from the mean value of the data set. The upper limit is computed by adding the product of z value and standard deviation to the mean of the data set. Thus, the confidence interval is constructed using the lower limit and upper limit of the test. From the result of the data set, it was seen that the upper limit of the prices of the houses of Singapore is 1707.2 and the lower limit of the prices of the houses of Singapore is 186.97. The interval (186.97, 1701.2) gives the confidence interval of the price of the houses of Singapore at 95% level of significance. Interpretation of the confidence interval Confidence interval helps to determine the probable range of values between which the values of the data set would lie. In the given data set, the confidence interval of the given data set is given as (186.97, 1701.2) at 95% level of significance (Siegmund 2013). This indicates that there is a probability of 95% for the values of the data set to lie within the interval of (186.97, 1701.2). This helps to determine the expected value of the population and the interval in which they would lie. Regression method The method of regression is used to estimate the relationships between the variables. There are two types of variables in a data set; dependent variable and independent variables. Regression methods help to determine the relationship between the dependent variable and independent variables (Cumming 2013). The independent variables do not posses any multi co linearity. The method of regression helps to understand the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. It also denotes how the value of the dependent variable changes with the change in the values of the independent variable. From the values of the data set, it was seen that the dependent variable is the price of the houses and the independent variables are the other factors. The regression equation is given as follows: Y = 1751.3982 86.5995x1 4.42955x2 + 0.099x3 119.1857x4+27.601 x5 79.134 x6 2.073 x7 34.833x8 + 3.1486 x9 This shows that the price of the houses is negatively correlated with number of rooms, age of the house, distance of house from station (km), distance of house from shops (in km), number of bedrooms and number of storeys (Altman et al. 2013). The slopes of these variables are negative and this indicates that the increase in the values of these variables leads to decrease in the price of the houses of Singapore. The variables Area of house (in sq m) distance of house from bus stop (km) and type of Kitchen has a positive slope and the value of the price of the house of Singapore would increase with the increase in the values of these variables (Ciarleglio et al. 2016). The regression equation is used to interpolate the values of the dependent variables using the values of the independent variables. Conclusion The values of the price of houses of Singapore had been subjected to various statistical methods. The factors that influence the prices of the houses of Singapore were also subjected to statistical methods of measures of central tendency and methods of variations. Confidence interval of the prices of the houses of Singapore had been calculated, which gave the 95% probability of the values to lie in the interval of (186.97, 1701.2). Regression analysis was done to understand the method of interpolation of the value of dependent variable with the help of independent variables. The assignment also gave an idea about the inferential statistics of continuous random variables. References Altman, D., Machin, D., Bryant, T. and Gardner, M. eds., 2013.Statistics with confidence: confidence intervals and statistical guidelines. John Wiley Sons. Balakrishnan, N., 2013.Handbook of the logistic distribution. CRC Press. Bazeley, P. and Jackson, K. eds., 2013.Qualitative data analysis with NVivo. Sage Publications Limited. Boy-Roura, M., Cameron, K.C. and Di, H.J., 2015. Identification of nitrate leaching loss indicators through regression methods based on a meta-analysis of lysimeter studies.Environmental Science and Pollution Research, pp.1-10. Ciarleglio, A., Petkova, E., Tarpey, T. and Ogden, R.T., 2016. Flexible functional regression methods for estimating individualized treatment rules.Stat,5(1), pp.185-199. Cumming, G., 2013.Understanding the new statistics: Effect sizes, confidence intervals, and meta-analysis. Routledge. Dimaggio, C., 2013.Introduction(pp. 1-5). Springer New York. Gelman, A., Carlin, J.B., Stern, H.S. and Rubin, D.B., 2014.Bayesian data analysis(Vol. 2). Boca Raton, FL, USA: Chapman Hall/CRC. Kleinbaum, D., Kupper, L., Nizam, A. and Rosenberg, E., 2013.Applied regression analysis and other multivariable methods. Nelson Education. Menke, W., 2012.Geophysical data analysis: discrete inverse theory. Academic press. Miles, M.B., Huberman, A.M. and Saldana, J., 2013.Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook. SAGE Publications, Incorporated. Ott, R.L. and Longnecker, M., 2015.An introduction to statistical methods and data analysis. Nelson Education. Pineda, S., Real, F.X., Kogevinas, M., Carrato, A., Chanock, S.J., Malats, N. and Van Steen, K., 2015. Integration analysis of three omics data using penalized regression methods: An application to bladder cancer.PLoS Genet,11(12), p.e1005689. Siegmund, D., 2013.Sequential analysis: tests and confidence intervals. Springer Science Business Media. Thomson, R.E. and Emery, W.J., 2014.Data analysis methods in physical oceanography. Newnes. Twisk, J.W., 2013.Applied longitudinal data analysis for epidemiology: a practical guide. Cambridge University Press. Woodward, M., 2013.Epidemiology: study design and data analysis. CRC Press. Zhai, Y., Cui, L., Zhou, X., Gao, Y., Fei, T. and Gao, W., 2013. Estimation of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium contents in the leaves of different plants using laboratory-based visible and near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy: comparison of partial least-square regression and support vector machine regression methods.International journal of remote sensing,34(7), pp.2502-2518.

Water Advertisement

Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Water Advertisement specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The advertisement will focus on water and its necessity, as well as the want for water. It is needed by the human body to carryout life processes but it is also psychologically refreshing and pleasurable. After any physical activity or long presence in the sun, water is used to hydrate the organism. Any additions to water in a form of lime, cucumber and a number of any other flavors can enrich the taste or even add vitamins and minerals. Water is often used for diets and has a number of other health benefits (Chang, 2012). In the advertisement, a glass or a bottle will be pictured with a waterfall. The first perspective represents a hedonic need. It can serve two purposes, as in being needed because of its necessity and for the pleasures associated when quenching thirst. When seeing a glass or a bottle of water, the consume r will associate the advertisement with the need for water in a purely physical aspect. Hedonic approach makes the use of the senses and appeals to the person’s natural need for something. In this case, everyone knows that life without water is impossible, so people understand that one way or another they will have to get water. Because in the cities there are rarely rivers or bodies of water or if they are present, drinking that water is rather unsafe due to pollution, people will purchase water. The advertisement plays a great role in how refreshing the water is imagined by the potential customer (Crowley, 1992). This marketing strategy is potentially successful, as it relates to everyday life and pleasure of satisfying thirst. The waterfall in the background reinforces the psychological need for water and adds to the freshness of the advertisement and water itself. The glass of water in the front catches the viewer’s attention and the clarity and transparency create a sense of clean and fresh water. This sort of representation is very universal over cultures and nations, as all people in the world require water and are familiar with waterfalls. The target audience is all people, especially children, as the background and scenery is very natural and appealing to the eye. Even if people will not notice the glass at first, they will be drawn by the large natural scene and the view of the waterfall. After seeing the glass, the association will be almost immediate, as psychologically people are inclined to link things together (Stading, 2007). For a business or a corporation that gets involved with this sort of advertisement, there are many possibilities in what to present the audience with. The brand’s name could be written on the bottom, so that it is unnoticeable at first, and the potential customer will be forced to look at the advertisement for some time, before figuring out what it advertises. Or it could have a big bottle in the front with the company’s name, so that right away people know the product.Advertising Looking for assessment on advertising? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The most important point is that people feel the need for the product and realize that without it they will be worse off. The marketing technique and presentation are extremely important, as well as the placement and display of the advertisement. It is crucial that the advertisement is legible and easy to comprehend, so that people know what is being offered and if they need it or not (Kraus, 2007). References Chang, H. (2012). Is Water H2O?: Evidence, Realism and Pluralism. Cambridge, England: Springer, 2012. Crowley, A. (1992). Measuring the Hedonic and Utilitarian Dimensions of Attitudes toward Product Categories Marketing Letters, 3(3), 239-249. Kraus, S. (2007). Marketing in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Review of Business Research, 7(3), 1-3. Stading, G. (2007 ). Delineating the â€Å"Ease of Doing Business† Construct within the Supplier-Customer Interface Journal of Supply Chain Management, 43(2), 1. This assessment on Water Advertisement was written and submitted by user Randall Mccray to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

buy custom Irish History essay

buy custom Irish History essay This essay will be organized into three main parts: Introduction, body and the conclusion. The Introduction is a brief cross sectional look into the history of Britishs invasion of Ireland. It is in the main body that the essay captures the works of Theobald in relation to Ireland republicanism, his life and his works in politics. In the conclusion, the relevance of relevance of Wolfe Tone will be clearly illustrated. Introduction The Great hunger of Ireland was the turning point of Irish history. It was caused by the continual failure of the potato which was the staple food and the crop on which the entire population relied upon which was risky at the time. It is estimated that at least one million people died of starvation and disease in the late 1840s and another one million from the famine that followed. This hardened the resentment that already existed against the British, The death of so many of their own made the nationalist party gains a lot of sympathy from the Irish immigrants who had immigrated to America. The anger from the death of so many people under British rule be can be said to be the birth of nationalism. It was shown by secret societies groups of farmers and workers who secretly gathered to implement their ideas on justice against land owners who were settlers. These groups had existed before but they were now more aggressive now since it was now clear that the British government was only i nterested in its own interests and not those of the Irish people. The domination of Ireland by England started in the twelfth century through King Henry II securing Lordship over some part of the country and later designating the Lordship to his son. Only part of the country was under the British that is the Dublin and its environs however this changed with the onset of the Tudor monarchs, namely King Henry VII and Elizabeth l who took control over the entire country. The British governed the legal, administrative, civil service and the military, which reduced the Irish to subjects in their own country. The Tudor monarch plantation policy led to dispossession of land from the Irish, to the investors who had supported the invasion, and they also made attempts to Anglicanise the locals which was composed largely of a Catholic society . As a result, parliament became biased due to the low number of Catholic members despite having a predominantly Catholic population and was mainly composed of nominees by the settlers. This sparked the activities of var ious nationalist who sought after the reestablishment of an Irish parliament and some self autonomy through peaceful means. With the threat of invasion of Ireland by France the British, not knowing they will be cooking themselves in their own fat so to speak, asked for volunteers to defend against the French, thousands joined and formed the Irish Volunteers who then used their newly acquired position to force the hand of the British crown into granting them permission to vote. The Irish patriot party under the leadership of Henry Grattan was in the forefront to push for greater enfranchisement for the people which saw some laws passed in which Catholics were allowed to vote. However others such as Theobald Wolfe did not see this feat as one that could be achieved through peaceful means but through the use of physical force. The political turmoil in Ireland that would mark the 19th century actually began in the 1790s, when a revolutionary organization, the United Irishmen, began to take shape. Leaders of the organization, most notably Theobald Wolfe Tone, met with Napoleon Bonaparte who was well known for his military tactics against his enemies in revolutionary France, seeking help in overthrowing British rule in Ireland. This did not go unpunished as the British took action against the rebels and anybody thought to be affiliated to then several Irishmen were captured tortured and killed, including Wolf who was captured and while in captivity gave an articulate speech on the need to continue with his work he was sentenced to hang although he requested to be shot and die like a soldier, his petition was denied and was sentenced to hang. He later died of wounds after an attempted suicide to avoid being branded a traitor for his involvement in the 1798 Irish rebellion. This made him a martyr and hero in th e eyes of the Irish people. The Works of Theobald Wolfe Tone Since the end of the 15th century, Ireland was chiefly governed by the Anglican protestant though the group was a minority which constituted members of the established church loyal to the British crown. The discrimination faced by the majority Irish Catholics and the non Anglican Protestants as well as the success of the American Revolution inspired the liberal elements among the ruling class to achieve some reforms that would make Ireland autonomous. Some of the grievances were the that the Irish Catholics as well as the non Anglican protestants were barred from voting as they did not possess a property threshold which was as a result of dispossession of land during the invasion by British in earlier centuries when the Tudor monarchs were in power. In addition to that, the fact that Ireland was sovereign kingdom governed by the monarch and a parliament on the island was a mere mirage. In reality, the English had veto power over the Irish law through the Poyings law of 1491 and the B ritish was given the right to legislate for the kingdom by the Declaratory act of 1720, these acts acting together reduced Ireland to nothing but a colony with even less autonomy than Britishs North American colonies. The Irish were forced from their lands and acted as a source of labour for the up and coming industries. England still had mercantilist practices and despite all, they still regulated the ability of Ireland to turn into a competitive commerce industry. This made the members of the Ulstrs nascent bourgeoisie to immigrate to America. With the success they saw of the American Revolution this helped them to fuel their own anti colonial revolution. This birthed the beginning of capitalism and subsequently two classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The advance of capitalism changed the temperament of Irish resistance of British rule giving rise to Irish republicanism. The ground breaking organization of Irish republicanism was the Irishmen Society led by an Ulster protestant Theobald Wolfe Tone who was from the capitalist class and had ties with the Ulster proletariat as well as the Irish peasants these went a long way in gaining support from both sides as the British were heavily r elying on the differences that existed between the Catholics and the a protestants of Ireland. Theobald therefore acted as the needed missing link to start an insurrection Theobald was born in Dublin 20th of June 1963. He studied law at Trinity College and qualified as a barrister at the age of 26. He came into the limelight in 1790 when he wrote a pamphlet attacking the Marquees of Buckingham followed by an essay titled the A Northern Whig in which differed with the elements constitution that Henry Grant had shaken down from the British, Grants constitution did not address the continued differences among Catholics and the Protestants . He wanted the union of all religions in Ireland and total emancipation from the British, a country cannot be granted independence when it is still ravaged by sectarian divisions. In his bid to put his ideas into practice Theobald in conjunction with others such as Thomas Russell and Nappy Tandy formed the Society of United Irish Men. It is impossible to talk of this society without mentioning the French revolution. This society came into being in the backdrop of the French revolution, whose effects were being felt all o ver Europe in the 1700s, and whose views challenged the traditional way of thinking by using scientific rationale it was championed by Rousseau. It saw everyone as being equal. The United Irishmen fashioned relations with the Jacobean regime and sought for help from the directory government of France where they borrowed ideas from the French who had dissociated themselves with the followers of Babeuf which at the time was opposing the French directory government, this gave them perspective on how to deal with the British government which was determined to continue its hold on Ireland. The recollections of the events of the crush of the Gaellic civilization; which was the way of life of the Irish people before the invasion of the British, by the British, the confiscation of land and the exile of native rulers remained to the Irish descendants of the eighteenth century. The descendants of the Irish Catholics suffered under the penal laws which were meant to maintain powers in the hands of the settlers, by excluding the Catholics from seats of power such as parliament. Despite owning large tracts of land many of the settlers lived in England and only visited Ireland, mean while the Irish Catholics lived as peasants in abject poverty. The Protestants also faced grievances though not as severe as those faced by the Irish Catholics. They (Protestants) suffered legal from legal handicaps and showed antipathy towards the fact that the British used Ireland as a colony to further its interests and the Irish wanted to be an independent country with its own government. The Irish Volunteers attempted to address these injustices but failed due to sectarian divisions. Naturally, the British thrived on this and saw it as an opportunity to continue with its rule using the divide and rule policy that was very common in British colonies, as now the British regarded it as a colony. They incited the Protestants by telling them that they would lose their lands and suffer religious persecution if the Catholics were to gain equal rights, this caused sectarian violence between the Catholics and the Protestants. This is where the Society of United Irishmen came in order to try and unite the different sects to from a sovereign but unified Ireland that was divided along sectarian lines. Many young nationalist attributed all the strife facing Ireland to British occupation. The Society of United Irish men was the brainchild of Theobald and to be able to adequately see the relevance of his work on Ireland, one has to look at it achievements and failures in depth as is common with any organization, union or political party that plays a major role in the attainment on independence of any country but in this case the development and growth of nationalism and republicanism in Ireland today. The United Irish men wanted to abolish the penal laws and the system of government that allowed for the landed English aristocrats to have their own appointees to the Irish parliament, they wanted to see reduced interference in Irish affairs by the English parliament as well as changes in the ownership of land to bridge the gap that was so clearly evident in the ownership of land. This societys vision would culminate to a country as that outlined in Tom Paines book The Right of man. Obviously these activities would not go down well with the British as the democracy of Ireland could spread over to Britain and an Irish only Parliament would reduce British interest in Ireland therefore after only three years of existence they outlawed the group and the Society of United Irish Men. This did not dampen the efforts of Theobald. The first attempt by Wolfe tone was in 1776 when he went to France to seek help to overthrow the British as it had become evident that constitutional efforts and diplomacy were not going to succeed in his efforts to liberate Ireland. However, this attempt was thwarted by bad weather where the French troops only got as far as the shore with no real physical confrontation taking place. Secret societties continued to emerge throughout Ireland made up of both Protestants and the Catholics. Wolfe and his group distributed pamphlets as well as copieis rights of man as a way of informing the people. These efforts went a long way as peasants now started to push for the freeing of Catholics, abolition of tithes and the redistribution of land as well as lower rents and an end to evictions these was the very outcome that the British did not want to happen because in Ireland Sectarian rows had always led to the downfall of the up risings. With a Unifi ed Ireland, British rule was threatened. The British realized this and retaliated with brutal force and the country was placed in the hands of the military. Troops were brought in from England and a crusade of terror was launched: towns were raided, men were whipped and tortured, men were half hanged this was done so that they could censure anyone involved in the societies activities, in short they tried to instill fear so as to reduce the involvement in the activities of the Irish society. Despite all this the Society remained strong especially in areas of Leignster and Connaught and culminated in a rebellion in 1798. It resulted in the following: the in 1801 the Act of Union was forced upon Ireland which crushed the efforts of the rebellion and religious sectarianism was established. The United Irishmen did not swayed but continued to flourish and brought together native Ulster settlers in a national rebellion, the colonialists tried to crush it again by claiming religious narrow-mindedness. The Orange order was founded to as a response to the United Irishmen and to date has continued to propagate sectarian violence by calling for holy wars against the Catholics as well as to encourage the domination of Ireland by England at the time it also provided the English Government with the necessary information on the activities of its enemies. Theobald was unshaken by the Orange boys and he only viewed them as a puppet of the British and believed that with proper organization of government their propaganda would easily be ended. In any case, this was not to be as ever since the orange boys have managed to shatter all hopes to end sectarian rows this was important to the British as continued sectarian divisions and the continued oppression of the Irish Catholics would ensure their continued rule. The bashing of Catholics led to Catholicism being the face of Irish nationalism which went ahead to bear fruit that saw the repeal of the penal code, it turned Catholicism into a force to be reckoned with in the Irish society. Conclusion The efforts of Theobald tend to orient towards Republican ideologies. Republicanism form of government may ideally mean a government in which power rests with the people as opposed to the monarch but it goes beyond this to mean a way of life in which people have an interdependence whose success or failure depends on the social framework they inhabit. It is not a perfect way of life. Therefore the questions posed to republicans in general are how to attain this freedom? And what constitutes this freedom that is how to define it? However, all republicans agree that this freedom is fragile and must be jealously guarded by those that the people themselves elect into power. For this freedom to be achieved it requires political equality through active citizenship and self governing citizens who have some control over the direction of their lives rather than complete self sufficiency. With this in mind the relevance of Theobald Wolfe Tone is obvious. By asking the French for assistance he s aw the French not as an enemy which was in contrast to how the Britain viewed the French. He viewed as an ally from whom he could not only borrow ideas but a military which was renown throughout Europe. At the time the French would help the people of Ireland become free of English rule. Though his efforts did not succeed he had made attempts that continued to instill a sense of nationalism in the people which was important for any country that hoped to be free from the reigns of colonialism. Theobald, wanted to see a society without preference and an end to ascendancy as well as the end of the connection between the church and the state, there was need for a society where those who came to power were competent persons who could run a country. Through the Society of Irishmen he campaigned for protection of personal property for all citizens and condemned anybody who would support continued British rule. It was important that Irish people saw the need for independence as opposed to forcing the idea of sovereignty down their throats. He recommended that it is the people who should suggest those they want to see in the legislature, people who would represent their needs not those who used the seats in power to further their own interests as was the case with the settler appointed nominees where corruption was rampant. These very persons should be elected in the basis of courage zeal and ability as opposed to wealth, accordingly, the people should organize themselves in order to form a Government to administer the affairs of Ireland and seek to further the interests of the state. This was not going to be achieved when Ireland was still under the rule of the British Monarch. It was the efforts of the united Irishmen that brought to the forefront the grievances of the Irish people. Theobald Wolfe Tone can therefore be credited with being the father of Irish Republicanism. His effort enabled the ordinary people of Ireland to realize they had rights and Ireland should be a democratic, egalitarian society devoid of interference from the British and sectarian divisions. The work of the United Irish men did not continue long after the death of Thobald, and after the Act of union of 1802 where the Irish parliament was abolished and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formed. 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How Decision to Rewrite My Paper Became the Best Ive Made in College

How Decision to Rewrite My Paper Became the Best Ive Made in College All through high school, I wrote essays and papers. I wrote them in a lot of my classes – history, biology, health, art, and, of course English. In most of those classes, I got very average grades on these pieces. In English, I sometimes got lower than average grades. My English teachers would use a lot of red ink to point my egregious errors of sentence structure, awkward composition, agreement mistakes, etc., and I pretty much ignored them. Never was I asked to rewrite an essay or paper that was poorly written or included some types of plagiarism which was also often pointed out. Editing and rewriting were just not in my experience. College quickly changed all of that. Bad Grades Woke Me Up The first thing that hit me between the eyes in college was that I would be writing a lot of essays and papers – in almost every class, actually. When I submitted the same quality that was my â€Å"trademark† in high school, I didn’t receive average to just below average grades. I received â€Å"F’s.† There were no errors pointed out, only terse phrases at the top – phrases like â€Å"Proofread your work!† or â€Å"Edit before you submit!† That pretty much did it. I decided that every time I wrote a paper, I would have to review it, find the errors, and rewrite my paper before turning it in. I had the best of intentions from that point forward. Good Intentions – Not So Good Results I began to work very hard to edit and rewrite my essay and paper assignments. I also put them all through a plagiarism checker, because some of my high school teachers had found some of this. A big issue was that I was not citing sources correctly. But my grades still didn’t improve that much even after I fixed that problem. What I came to realize was that I had structural errors, grammatical errors and usage error that I was not catching. In short, I didn’t have a clue about how to really review, edit and rewrite a rough draft to make it suitable for submission. I had lots of work to do. Learning How to Revise and Rewrite I began by reading some sources on learning to revise your writing and did pick up a lot of pointers. There really are several areas of review that all should be done separately. These include such things as: Reading the entire piece of writing without any concern for grammar or punctuation, but for the confirmation of a good thesis statement and a logical flow of the ideas I wanted to present. The second reading was one I read out loud. This was a pretty good activity, because I was able to find sentence fragments and run-ons and even see where maybe some commas should be placed. Another piece of advice I got from reading some of the articles about reviewing and editing my writing was this whole thing about transitions between paragraphs. This was something I never had much instruction on in high school, and it was really an important feature for college level writing. I needed some more professional help so began to look at a rewriting tool another student recommended. A Great Editing Service At first, I felt a little strange using an essay editing service. It almost felt like I was cheating. On the other hand, I knew there were other students using writing services for all sorts of help – researching and writing their essays and papers, and, yes, even having them edited the way I was. Here’s the thing about using a solid, reputable writing and editing service: Everyone has academic strengths and weaknesses. And getting help is nothing to be ashamed about. When students know that they have issues, and they get help, especially with editing college papers and essays, they can then study how that editing process works; they can see their errors and how they have been corrected by a professional. These become learning experiences. With every essay or paper I send over for editing, I get back a corrected copy, with simple explanations about why the changes were made – each time I learn something that I will be able to use the next time I write. The other nice thing about this professional editing service is that they check my writing for plagiarism. And they have provided explanations about how to avoid it. They also educated me about self-plagiarism, something that college students don’t even think about, but I will in the future. Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism Most students understand plagiarism and the disastrous consequences if they do it. With the sophisticated software out there today, any plagiarism can be discovered. Sometimes we plagiarize and don’t even realize it. I was famous for taking notes, using an author’s exact words and then not giving credit where I should have. Now I run a plagiarism scan on everything I write. And if I send it over to my writing service for editing, they do this too. Self-plagiarism occurs when a student (or anyone for that matter) writes a piece and it is published somewhere online. And that student likes the piece so much, he decides to turn it in as an essay assignment to a professor. If a plagiarism scan is run, it will pop up. Why? Because it’s out there – in a blog, in the e-version of the student newspaper, in some forum, etc. This is especially important for grad students who may be contributing to online publications in order to enhance their resumes and CV’s. In these cases, it is far better to be up front and ask permission, before you have to ask for forgiveness. Not All College Writing is formal Academic writing is formal. The rules of proper English must be followed, especially for essays and papers. But a lot of college coursework will require a more casual style. Students of journalism or who are enrolled in courses such as content marketing, will find that there will be a major shift in style requirements. Good grammar and spelling is not thrown out the window, but this type of writing is very different. If you are enrolled in such courses, here are a few tips: Brevity of words is important. Say what you have to say as succinctly as possible. Sentences are short and simple. Example: There are many good authors who started out as journalists (windy   Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many good authors started out as journalists. (short and sweet.) Use action/strong verbs as opposed to weak ones.   Ã‚     Example: She is now running every day (weak)   Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She runs every day (stronger, shorter) Cut the Use of Adverbs Example: Really great = Amazing If you take a course that requires this kind of writing, you will discover that your academic writing will improve too. Take Your Editing Seriously – Your Grades Will Thank You College is not the place to turn in your first draft and hope for the best. Expectations are high, and you will be expected to write well, no matter what the course. If you are not practiced in editing, get the help you need, learn from that help, and over time, you will be able to do this yourself.

HRM - exam preparation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

HRM - exam preparation - Essay Example How much of remuneration is to be paid (the absolute level) is important to the extent that it takes care of a person’s minimum needs. Fixing of a minimum wage by an employer or company, or legislating on minimum wages by the Government, therefore focuses on ‘how much’. This ‘how much’ depends on physical variables (what is needed to keep body and soul together) and cultural variables (what is perceived as ‘necessary’) (Here we may refer to the first two levels of Maslow’s Theory of the Hierarchy of Needs — taking care of the physiological and safety needs. Beyond the level of the minimum wage to be paid, equity and fairness should play an important part in determining wages (the relative levels). Further, equity should be ensured without having to sacrifice the other objectives mentioned. Equity and fairness considerations in pay fixation take care of the social and esteem needs (Maslow) of an employee. Both internal and external equity principles (relative fairness of wages of workers in the same organisation, and outside the organisation) should be kept in mind while fixing pay. Rewards (compensation) are of two kinds — direct and indirect. The direct reward is the salary; and indirect rewards are the benefits or perquisites (perks) that an employee gets. Benefits include company provided house, car, medical facilities, company paid holidays, company sponsored study courses and training and so on. Equity or fairness between one employee and another can be maintained by adjusting both the direct or indirect benefits. 1- Modification of input or output to match pay. A person who is underpaid would reduce work effort; a person who is overpaid may work more sincerely and for longer hours without further compensation. A worker may attempt to change the input/ output of others, by asking them to work/not work harder. 2- Workers may adjust

Aspects of Cultural and Racial Differences Annotated Bibliography

Aspects of Cultural and Racial Differences - Annotated Bibliography Example The paper "Aspects of Cultural and Racial Differences" talks about the realism as a unique approach in addressing the characters in Jean Rhy’s wide Sargasso Sea. The aspects of cultural and racial differences as displayed in the main book are discussed in this paper. â€Å"Empty spaces† is a term used to show the themes of racial prejudice.Winterhalter is credited for having intelligent views on many topics that touch on gender aspects in the society. In this article, she provides an analysis of the stylistic devices that Jean Rhy uses in her novel. Unlike many of the articles that concentrate on themes and characters in their analysis, she presents her thought from a third-party point of view. This creates an alternative view of the book and readers can develop an independent analysis of the books in question. Her technique of narration and explanation of major themes as viewed by independent thinkers is admirable. Among her articles that discuss these themes, this is the best explained and objective according to many pundits.By choosing this article as a reference point of Wide Sargasso Sea essay, one can borrow a lot of aspects from the writer's view. It is qualified because it demonstrates the essence of discussing various social issues such as racism and gender prejudice. She succeeds in narrating various strong points which form the basis of the novel. The article too can be criticized because of its strong views which at some point, discredit and portrays the weakness of the novel.

Studies Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Essay Example for Free

Studies Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Essay Introduction Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has long been considered a disorder which principally affects men in our society; consideration of the occurrence of heart attacks in females, for example, has been largely an afterthought. In the past few years, however, it has become increasingly obvious that this is not a problem limited to males, but that it occurs with great frequency in women. We now know that CVD is the cause of death more than any condition in women over the age of 50, including cancer (1) and in fact is responsible for more than a third of all deaths in women (2). It is estimated that 370,000 women in the United States die from heart disease each year. However, our knowledge base regarding CVD in African American (AA) women has not kept pace with the accumulation of data on white females. Thus, there is a deficit of information about this subgroup and the prevalence of CVD despite the fact that black women have more risk factors for CVD than do white women (3). The purpose of this paper is to review the subject of CVD in African American women and to focus upon four principal CVD categories: Coronary artery disease (CAD), hypertension, stroke, and congestive heart failure (CHF).The impact of gender and race on each of these entities will be examined in comparison to white women, and a determination will be made as to whether a different approach to the management of these disorders should be made based on ethnicity and sex. Coronary Artery Disease It has long been held that men have much more of a problem with CAD than women do; the belief has been that men are more susceptible to the disease, whereas women enjoy the benefits of hormonal protection. Gender differences in the occurrence of heart attacks have been noted, especially in the younger years of adult life. However, as each decade passes, the gap between prevalence rates for males and females progressively narrows to the point where there is essentially no difference by the seventh and eighth decades (4). Thus, although heart attack rates in women lag behind that for men by approximately ten years in the early years of adult life, equivalency is achieved later. Clinical features of CAD have also been shown to differ  substantially between men and women. The Framingham Study (5) demonstrated that CAD presented much more frequently as myocardial infarction in men than in women (49 vs. 29 percent), but women developed angina pectoris more frequently than men (47 vs. 26 percent). Risk factors for CAD such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, cigarette smoking, diabetes mellitus, family history, obesity, and sedentary lifestyle have about the same incidence in men and women. However, the effect that certain risk factors have is more adverse in women. For instance, the risk of developing CAD is much greater in diabetic women. Another risk factor with substantially greater impact on females is hypertriglyceridemia (6). African American women are especially affected by CAD in a negative manner. They have a higher mortality and morbidity than African American men and white women under the age of 55. In the age group 25-44, African American women have 2.5 times the coronary heart disease mortality risk of white women. The mortality rate from CAD for black women is about 69 percent higher than that for white women (7). Overall, in 1995, the CAD death rate for African American males was 133.1 per 1000 compared to 124.4 per 1000 for white males, or 7 percent higher for black males. Comparative rates for black and white women were 81.6 and 60.3 per 1000, respectively, indicating a 35 percent higher mortality rate for black women over white women. A study at West Virginia University stated that, compared to the overall national death rate from CVD in women of 401 per 100,000, the rate for black women in New York City was the highest among all major racial groups at 587 per 100,000. Rates for white and Hispanic women were 559 and 320 per 100,000, respectively. Mississippi had the h ighest black female CVD death rate in the nation at 686 per 100,000. The heart attack event rate is more than twice as high for black women than for white women in the age group 65-74 years (8), indicating that the impact of having a higher number of risk factors over time is more deleterious in black women. Despite a lower coronary artery disease prevalence in black women based on angiographic studies, mortality rates are higher in this group than in white women. This inverse relationship between angiographic evidence of CAD and CAD mortality represents what may be termed the paradox of CAD in African American women (9). Post-infarction mortality is also higher than that for black men and white men and women (10). It should be emphasized that first myocardial infarction occurs at an earlier age with an  earlier death in African American women. Certain risk factors are indeed more frequently seen in African American as compared to white women. There is a significantly higher incidence of hypertension and stroke in black women with myocardial infarct ion (11), and other risk factors which occur more frequently in this group include physical inactivity, higher mean body mass index (BMI) (12), and greater consumption of cholesterol and saturated fat (13). Cigarette smoking and obesity represent risks which have been documented to increase cardiovascular disease in black women. Smoking negates the advantage against CAD induced by estrogen in pre-menopausal women (14). Diabetes mellitus is of particular concern in black women as a risk factor; the death rate among diabetic blacks is 2.5 times higher than in diabetic whites (15), and black women have a higher prevalence of this disease. Diabetes completely eliminates the pre-menopausal protection that women have against CAD, and this would appear to be more of a problem for African American women. Access to preventive medical attention for CAD has been noted to be deficient for African American women. A classic example is the study performed by Schulman et al (16). Eight actors were used, of whom 4 were black, 4 were white, 4 were male, 4 were female, and the age range was from younger to older. All had videotaped interviews which were presented to more than 700 predominately white male primary care physicians attending a medical conference. The doctors were asked which patients they would be likely to refer for cardiac catheterization, based on a suggestive CAD profile which all of the patients possessed. Univariate analysis of the physicians’ responses revealed that both men (90.6 percent) and whites (90.6 percent) were more likely to be referred for cardiac catheterization than women (84.7 percent) and blacks (84.7 percent). A race-gender analysis also showed that black women in particular were referred for this diagnostic procedure 40 percent less often than white men. This study has been interpreted as demonstrating racial and gender bias against African American women by white male physicians regarding referral for a critical cardiovascular procedure designed to detect CAD. The use of hormone or estrogen replacement therapy (HRT or ERT) has been investigated intensively in the past several years regarding their possible reduction of CVD risk in post-menopausal women. Several clinical trials including PEPI, ERA, and HERS have been performed, producing results which do not show a clear CAD  mortality benefit derived from hormone use in post-menopausal women with CAD. There is still a possibility that they may be advantageous for primary prevention, and the ongoing Women’s Health Initiative should provide useful information when it is concluded. There is no indication that black women respond differently than white women to HRT/ERT regarding the impact on CVD risk. Hypertension Pre-menopausal women who are hypertensive have a CAD mortality risk which is ten times greater than normal (17). In the United States there are more hypertensive women than there are men with high blood pressure (18), and the prevalence of hypertension is greater among African American women than among white women. Specifically, the prevalence of hypertension in blacks twenty years of age or older is in excess of that for the population of the nation as a whole. The percentages are 35 for black males and 34.2 for black females, compared to 24.4 for white males and 19.3 for white females (19). Hypertension is the most important risk factor for stroke and is easily the most modifiable one. In addition, it is the largest contributor to CVD morbidity and mortality in blacks. Comparative death rates for hypertension per 100,000 population are 29.6 for black males (355 percent higher than for white males), and 21.7 for black females (352 percent higher than for white females). The third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) also found that blacks have a higher prevalence of severe or stage III hypertension compared to non-blacks (20). Several differences in the pathogenesis of hypertension have been documented to exist between blacks and whites (21). African Americans are characterized by low-renin hypertension accompanied by salt sensitivity, e.g., poor toleration of salt-loading, and greater volume expansion as a consequence. These characteristics tend to make blacks less responsive to drugs which impact on the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) such as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and beta-blockers in the treatment of hypertension, and relatively more responsive to medications which decrease plasma volume, such as diuretics. Their salt sensitivity also renders them more susceptible to the hypertensive effects of a high-salt diet. It is estimated that over 70 percent of African Americans have low-renin h ypertension as compared to about half of whites. Although more  than 90 percent of blacks have essential, or primary, hypertension, the discovery of a high renin level in a black patient, for instance, an elderly African American female, is so unusual that it strongly suggests a secondary cause for the blood pressure elevation. Black patients also tend to be more responsive to dihydropyridine calcium-channel blockers (CCBs) and alpha-1 blockers. However, there are some mitigating factors. For instance, although ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers may not be as effective as other drugs when used as monotherapy in blacks, they do have an antihypertensive result similar to that seen in whites when these drugs are administered in combination with diuretics. In addition, many black patients who do not respond to monotherapy treatment with these drugs used in conventional doses may respond to higher doses, although there is a risk of more side-effects. ACE inhibitors are also indicated in the treatment of congestive heart failure and for the deadly combination of hypertension and diabetes, especially if proteinuria is present. Other pathophysiological characteristics which are different between hypertensive blacks and whites are altered vascular reactivity, increased sodium retention, increased potassium excretion, and decreased kallikrein excretion seen in blacks, as well as more nephrosclerosis. Decreases in vasodilatory substances in blacks such as kinins, prostaglandins, and dopamine are also seen. Black hypertensives have also been noted to have increased intracellular sodium and calcium concentration, decreased membrane sodium transport, and decreased red-cell sodium-potassium transport activity. These changes are believed to render the African American patient more prone to vascular, renal and circulatory alterations which result in elevated blood pressure. Complications of hypertension have an earlier age of onset and a later age of detection in blacks than in their white counterparts. The principal complications are CAD, stroke, left ventricular hypertrophy, end-stage renal disease, and congestive heart failure. Because of these facts, it is important to treat hypertension in blacks more aggressively, e.g., early, thoroughly, and with multiple drugs as necessary. In addition, non-pharmacological measures such as diet, attention to obesity, increased physical exercise, and avoidance of excess alcohol intake are essential components of a well-rounded therapeutic approach to the black hypertensive. Stroke Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States after coronary heart disease and cancer. There are about 500,000 strokes each year of which 150,000 are fatal. Stroke is also a major cause of physical impairment and the cost of acute and chronic care exceeds $30 billion a year in this country. A so-called â€Å"stroke belt† exists in the Southeastern part of the country, where almost 60 percent of the African American population resides (22). Although stroke is generally thought of as a disorder primarily affecting the elderly, it should be recognized that 28 percent of the victims are under age 65. African Americans have a stroke mortality which is twice that of whites (23). Age-adjusted stroke mortality rates are 76 percent higher among African American than among white men, and 54 percent higher among African American than white women (24). Although the rate of decline for stroke mortality has increased since the 1970s, there has been a recent slowdown in thi s decline. This has been especially true for African Americans, in whom stroke mortality is actually increasing. Since it is very difficult to treat stroke once the process is initiated, much of the focus has been on primary prevention. Hypertension is the most powerful predictor of stroke and is found to be a factor in 70 percent of cases (25). Control of hypertension therefore represents the best strategy to prevent stroke, and in fact a meta-analysis showed that when all studies of the association between treatment to lower blood pressure and stroke were reviewed, there was a 42 percent reduction in the incidence of stroke and a 45 percent reduction in fatal stroke when the diastolic blood pressure was reduced by 5-6 mmHg (26). In addition, the Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program (SHEP) demonstrated that a 36 percent decrease in stroke risk resulted from mean blood pressure reduction of 11/3.4 mmHg. This benefit was seen in all ages, races, and genders. These data and other information support the need for vigorous drug therapy of hypertension for the primary prevention of stroke. This is especially important for African American patients, particularly women. Congestive Heart Failure Congestive heart failure (CHF) is the only cardiovascular disease whose incidence is increasing. There are great differences between blacks and whites in the etiology of CHF. Hypertension is the principal precursor of  CHF in African Americans, whereas ischemic heart disease more commonly precedes CHF in whites. Mortality due to heart failure is about 2.5 times higher in blacks than in whites less than 65 years of age. Additionally, in 1990 the age-adjusted death rate for CHF among patients older than 65 years of age was 143.9 for black men compared with 117.8 for white men, and 113.4 for black women compared with 97.5 for white women (27). In a study of racial differences in heart failure, Afzal et al (28) prospectively analyzed 163 consecutive patients admitted to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan with a diagnosis of CHF. They found that compared with whites, blacks were younger in age (mean age 63.8 vs. 70.8, p=0.0003), and had a higher prevalence of hypertension (86 vs. 66 percent, p=0.0004), left ventricular hypertrophy (24 vs. 8 percent, p=0.02), ejection fraction

Victims of Society in The Outsider and Antigone Essay -- Meursault Ant

Victims of Society in The Outsider and Antigone Both Meursault and Antigone are the protagonists in their stories. They have much in common, such as the fact that they explain their impending deaths as decided by fate, even though each seems to have an easy way of surviving. Both are willing to die for what they believe is right. The concept of fate is quite different between the texts. In Antigone, a Chorus tells you at the beginning of the play that Antigone will die. Antigone uses the excuse of fate to explain her own death to Creon, where as in The Outsider fate is much more subtle. First I will look at The Outsider and Meursault. Albert Camus wrote this novel as a challenge against the death penalty and the society that imposes it. It reflects his existential philosophy including how we do not trust people that are different, that society would rather hear lies then the truth if the truth makes them uncomfortable, and that people with different views to the majority are persecuted. Camus' choice of Meursault, an unusual person, who does not 'play the game', enables him to demonstrate this argument. Meursault's first words are 'Mother died today.' He is very quiet and detached and likes to observe events around him like a spectator, regardless of their importance to him. At his mother's funeral, he does not cry, he smokes and drinks coffee, and this turns out to be the reason for his execution. It may appear that the fact that Meursault is killed because of the way he acts at his mother's funeral is a sign of hubris, much like Creon's in Antigone, who does not respect Polynices' death properly. Camus shows us Meursault's philosophy is a hedonistic one; he acts like each day is his last. His bo... ...ne's destiny is argued by all the individual characters, each arguing only for the side that benefits themselves. The Chorus argues for fate to justify it's existence, Creon argues for it to justify his decision to have Antigone executed, Heamon argues against it because he wants Antigone to live on. These two stories rely on inevitability to draw attention away from the storyline, and bring the focus onto the issues they raise. Camus wished to persuade people that the death penalty was unjust and wrong, while Anouilh wanted to encourage a sense of rebellion among the people of occupied France during World War 2. In The Outsider and in Antigone both of the main characters believe that they are destined to die, becoming martyrs for their author's causes. Bibliography ============ Anouilh, Jean - Antigone, 1944 Camus, Albert - The Outsider, 1942

Involvement of USA in Korean War Essay

Different from its involvement in the Vietnam War? In the 40à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s onwards USA got interested in Asian affairs. Taking into account the fact that they were not defending themselves or any other American ally, they had to further extend territorial boundaries to fall on political-ideological frontiers. Indeed, they were defending its territory from enemies in a new scale: the fear against the developing communism over the world. In these lines, Korea and Vietnam portrayed two international hotspots now focused on Asia, as the stage within the fight of the two global powers: USA and the Soviet Union. Anyways, were the circumstances by which USA faced communism in both countries different? First of all, the background in South-East Asia determined in great scale American intervention in the area, since either country were occupied by other foreign powers: while Korea was under Japanese domination, Vietnam still remained part of the French empire (later becoming member of the French Union). The first case of Korea was already been the stage of the war between democracy and communism. USA was quite anxious since the conflict that had already happened in Germany and the one that was going on in Turkey and Greece, both cases falling under soviet beliefs. After the defeat of the Chinese Kuomintang in 1949, by communist Mao, American leaders began fearing that the rapid spread of the system around the world would be successful one more time in Asia. Thus, USA decided to risk and try obtaining new territory that would give them an ally in East Asia, which, in turn, would give it time to plan more attempts and new victory against communism. Thus, they fought against the Japanese settlement as an excuse to free the territory in the name of democracy. However, the Soviet Union was also very interested in the area for the same reasons: a new ally and victory against capitalism. Anyways, the whole territory was firstly freed under the name of United Nations, towards democracy, for â€Å"support free peoples who are resenting attempt subjugation†. However both powers claimed their part very soon. Both powers set up a divisor line along the 38th parallel, where the North would be under Soviet aim and the South by American intervention. Then, although elections were held in South Korea (August 1938) supported by UN, Russia rejected to do so in the North. The South became the independent Republic of Korea and the North adopted the name of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, very much in the lines of Chinese system. The tension now remained very high at either sides of the line. Since the president of North Korea by the time, Kin IL Sung might have been encouraged by the Chinese government and Russia with military supplies to test USA President, Truman’s determination, showing him that communism was the dominant power in Pacific Asia, also with the promise of spreading further very soon. At that stage, ‘the domino theory’ was beginning in American minds. This concept applies to the idea that the fall of one state to a common system would lead inexorably to a series of the same. Therefore, if communism triumphed in China and Korea was already under its influence, the wave could have an unlimited repercussion in the entire area of South-East Asia. Thus, behind these ideas, American troops were ordered to Korea to withdraw North Korean’s troops after their invasion in the south republic, together with forces from another 14 countries all under the command of General McArthur. However, afterwards, South Korea was almost taken by North Korea troops but American troops regained control in the territory later and also two thirds of North Korea, in its advance northwards. With this movement, they eventually placed a fleet between Taiwan and China mainland. Thus, China now feared them to help Chiang Kai-Shek troops from the island to come again and conquer the region of Manchuria as the most important industrial and strategic area. This attempt, if successful, would cut off the problem of communism in Asia, since China would turn back to democracy and therefore either North Korea would remain isolated or without Chinese help, she would not be able to survive in the area for long. These reasons made the Chinese government launch a massive counter offensive in 1951 that captured South Korea capital again. Now McArthur was afraid of Chinese power and thought that the best strategy to defeat communism in the area was only possible with atomic bombs. With this new horizon within the fight, president Truman feared a large-scale war that would provoke a nuclear war, which USA did not want. It pointed out the American limitations that would enclose them within the fight: they feared communism because the nuclear power that could destroy them, but the only force capable to defeat it was their nuclear power, something that, however, they could not use since it would drag them into a fatal war. Thus, now, the only American possibility focused to settle in East Asia to contain communism there: in January 1951 UN troops expelled the North Koreans troops from South Korea and fortified the frontier, until in July 1953, both countries firmed a peace agreement that stated the limit at the 38th parallel. After American impossibility for annexation of territories in East Asia, the new step had to be focused in the South, due to the independence of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from the French Union (Geneva Agreement, 1954). Then, Vietnam was temporarily divided into two countries, and analogously as Korea, the frontier was established at another parallel, in this case the 17th one. In 1956, elections were to be held in the whole country, but they never were and only in South Vietnam a referendum was held in 1955, which gave Ngo Dinh Diem as the president. He did not want to hold elections for the whole country and USA, with Eisenhower as the new president feared much more intensely the ‘domino effect’. Moreover, Diem was unable to rule the country, mainly because he was very unpopular among the peasants, which furthover, in the future encouraged unwilling towards American presence in the south and appetence for communism. At this stage the Vietcong (the guerrillas) in the south were receiving supplies, equipment and troops from North Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh, who was leader of the resistance against French Union and who wanted communism to rule the country, thought that giving aid to South Vietnam against Diem, national elections would not be held and to unify the countries forces would be necessary. Thus, the next American presidencies had to launch a very strong campaign to stop the communism wave in Vietnam: -Kennedy (1961-3) tried to keep American involvement against the guerrilla, by sending ‘advisors’, military equipment and enclosing local peasants into fortified villages to isolate the Vietcong outside. However, this failed since most of the peasants were members of the Vietcong. -Johnson (1963-9) decided to bomb North Vietnam (1965), as he thought that Ho Chi Minh controlled directly the Vietcong. He also sent half million troops in the south. However, due to the great pressure of American public against the war, since they saw the conflict as a total failure, Johnson stopped the bombing in March 1968, although he did not want to withdraw. -Nixon (1969-74) based his plan in the new concept of ‘Vietnamization’: As public opinion did not allow him to send more troops to Vietnam, he would use the ones that were already there to re-army the Vietnamese army keep their own defence. That would allow gradually American troops to withdraw. However, he began a new wave of bombing in the north, but this time including Cambodia and Laos, as they were receiving supplies and troops from North Vietnam. Despite all the measures and policies, at the end of 1972, the Vietcong controlled almost the entire territory and several factors obligated the American intervention to reach the end. Eventually a ceasefire was agreed in January 1973. Then, American troops were withdrawn and in 1975 the Vietcong unified the whole country under a communism government by occupying Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. Also in Laos and Cambodia the system was established the same year. Taking all these explanations into account, I can state that there were slight differences between the American policies in both the Korean and the Vietnamese wars. The main reason was the potential force used in each one, and China played an important part. It applies to the fact that the attack against them was not as ruthless as in Vietnam, mainly due to Chinese power. While in Vietnam neither China nor Russia supported the army as directly as in Vietnam, in Korea China was directly involved since the problem was slighted related with the relationship between USA and Chiang Kai-Shek troops. For China, American troops recovered Manchuria, they would give back China mainland to them. Communist China was not willing to accept that, and USA knew that she was capable of fighting bravely to an extent that USA did not want to test, since the split of the Sino-Soviet agreement left China in an uncertain situation from the international point of view: â€Å"We do not want the fighting in Korea to expand into a general war†. Therefore, American government did not risk indeed and the only price was to lose North Korea. Nevertheless, in Vietnam they could use a more violent system as they communist China was already established and did not fear USA any more. Moreover, the conflict was seen under UN eyes: â€Å"solely for the purpose of restoring the Republic to its status prior to the invasion†. For international support, it was a fight towards the human rights, since North Korea under communism did not want to hold elections. However, UN never supported the war in Vietnam and the international view of the war and American methods to be victorious pressed the government to reach the end of the conflict. Therefore, differences between the both wars was mainly due to internal factors of each country, but especially the foreign intervention that encouraged or restrained American actions to act in one way or another.

Interoperability Paper Essay

Health information systems having the power to work together within and across organizational boundaries in order to advance the effective delivery of health care of individuals and communities is called Interoperability. Interoperability enhances the significance for information technology to make the networks and integrations work. It also affects care delivery, continuity of care, and the ability to share information with patients for patient engagement. The term is most widely used in product enhancement and marketing. In human services different providers employ interoperability to communicate with other systems and services for better results. (Margaret Rouse, 2006) ACF Interoperability Initiative The Administration for Children & Families or the ACF is known as an important Department of Health & Human Services America. ACF supports the economic and social well-being of children, families, communities, and individuals through offering many state of the art programs. ACF’s human services provide a vast range of groups consisting of individuals and families earning low income, Native Americans, refugees, and many others. (ACF, 2013) ACF has a mission to fulfill, and is also struggling to do so. They want to be able to provide grants to non-profit groups, state and local governments, faith and community-based organizations, Native American communities, and American Indian tribes. ACF also provides technical assistance, supervision, and administration to fund beneficiaries that, in turn, are responsible for direct delivery of services. (ACF, 2013) There are many barriers and issues in providing the grants to the end recipients for which the initiative is taken to implement the interoperability. â€Å"Interoperability† is acknowledged as a national effort of technological and programmatic coordination to mitigate and even diminish those barriers. Today, the emergence of â€Å"interoperable technology† provides the opportunity  to unite systems cross wide traditional boundaries in exciting and rewarding ways. This integration through interoperability corresponds to the need for expansion of new service models and techniques to make best use of constructive outcomes for children, families and communities (ACF, 2013). Models of Interoperability There are different ways and methods to implement interoperability. Almost every organization creates its own interoperability models and methods. The three models of interoperability are information interoperability, business interoperability, and technical interoperability. Information interoperability allows the separate systems to understand the format, meaning and also the quality of the information being exchange, and it includes knowledge management, business intelligence, information management, and trusted identity. Business interoperability is an interface that enables business interoperability between organizational systems. It includes delivery network, e-Democracy, e-Business, enterprise resource management, and relationship and case management. Lastly technical interoperability means the ability of two or more information and communication technology applications, to accept data from each other and perform a given task in an appropriate and satisfactory manner without the need for extra operator intervention and this includes IT infrastructure ( Togaf, 2013) Advantages and Disadvantages There are many benefits of interoperability. Interoperability is significant in linking health and human services. It improves the client’s experience by caring for the whole person with enhanced and advanced care coordination, enhanced timely contact to getting critical information for decision making, prevent illness, reduce exacerbating conditions, decrease hospital reentries and help build individuals self-sufficiency. Interoperability helps in providing the ACF timely and accurate information to provide a more compatible enrollment process. The system will also enhance the access of information. The system helps access a wide range of data from every human service organization to link the clients to. The transparency through interoperability across programs will also enhance the ability of systems to reduce fraud, waste and abuse. I don’t think there are any disadvantages. Back-up It is very important for you to protect the data because it is the heart of the organization. And to protect your organization’s data, you need to implement a data backup and recovery plan. Backing up files can protect against accidental loss of user data, database corruption, hardware failures, and even natural disasters (Microsoft, 2013).The way the files are backed up vary according to the data that is required to be back up and also the convenience regarding the recovery process. Normal/full backups: In this method every file that is selected is backed up, apart from the setting of the attributes of archive. If there is modification required in a file, this attribute is set, which shows the requirement for file back up. Listed below is the backup plan concerning the interoperability. * Copy backups: Every file selected for back up is backed up fully, without the consideration of the setting of the archive attribute. Contrasting a normal backup, the modification does not occur to the archive attribute on files. It gives rise to opportunity to create other backups in future. * Differential backups: Invented in order save the changes to files since the last backup of the system. Only files with the archive attribute are backed up. The files with the archive attribute aren’t modified. This lets you perform other kinds of backups on the files at a later date. * Incremental backups: This is designed to generate backups of files that have changed since the most recent normal or incremental backup. The existence of the archive attribute indicates that the file has been modified. Only files with this attribute are backed up. The archive attribute is cleared when a file is backed up. If the file is modified later this attribute is set. When the attribute is set it indicates that the file needs to be backed up. * Daily backups: Designed to create backup files on the date the file was created. The file will also be backed up if the file has been changed on the same day as the backup. Daily backups do not change the archive attributes of files (Microsoft, 2013). The ACF is hoping to accomplish full backups on a weekly basis and complement this with daily, differential, or incremental backups. The organization also wants to generate an extended backup set for quarterly and monthly backups. This can include files that aren’t being backed up on a regular basis. References ACF, (2013), â€Å"ACF Interoperability Initiative†. Retrieved from: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/initiatives-priorities/interoperability Margaret Rouse, (2006), â€Å"Interoperability†. Retrieved from: http://searchsoa.techtarget.com/definition/interoperability Microsoft, (2013), â€Å"Data Back Up and Recovery†. Retrieved from: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb727010.aspx Togaf, (2013), â€Å"Interoperability Requirements†. Retrieved from: http://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf9-doc/arch/chap29.html

Beka Lamb Essays

Beka Lamb Essays Beka Lamb Essay Beka Lamb Essay Independent study Project| ENG 3UI| | Beka lamb by Zee Edgell and The hummingbird tree| | Taneese Jones| 6/12/2011| | Introduction Summary of the novel: In the novel Beka Lamb by Zee Edgell, Beka experiences various events that contribute to her sense of responsibility and maturity. Beka Lamb is the debut novel of Belizean author Zee Edgell. It is the story of both Beka and Belize, an adolescent girl and an adolescent country. Set in Belize in the 1950s, fourteen-year-old Beka struggles with growing pains complicated by the society in which she lives while her country struggles to move from colonialism to independence. Among these is her parents growing disappointment over her habit of lying as Beka has  a tendency to tell tales in order to get out of trouble. Beka lies about passing her final exams and after being found out and witnessing the sheer sorrow in her fathers face, she recognizes that this must be a turning point for her. She vows to turn over a new leaf and thereafter stop telling lies. In addition, Beka receives a valuable life lesson as her best friend Toycie finds herself intertwined in a tragic dilemma. Beka learns about the pitfalls of infatuation, the pangs of betrayal and the stigma of an unwanted pregnancy. Death also plays a significant role in the novel as Toycies  horrific end sends shock waves throughout the small community. While the death of Toycie causes great grief and sorrow, it also serves to remind the villagers of the fragility of life and the secrets that can torment and consume an individual. On the other hand, death serves as an escape from all the problems   of life and it appears that Toycies death in some respects appears more favourable than the option of being forfeited out of an education and having to live with the stigma of an unwanted child. The aspect of change will be focused on in this presentation. Thesis statement- change in society can influence an individual’s character * Change begins its development when the main character beka lamb recognizes that a change began politically and how women were viewed in society. * Change develops as Beka has matured an developed as an individual * Change is developed into the issue of success and failure Sub-topic one Change begins its development when the main character beka lamb recognizes that a â€Å"change† began politically and how women are viewed in that society. A) Change is also associated with politics as we see that there is a symbiotic transformation as Bekas change is compared to political change and reform. It was implied by the researcher that Bekas internal change occurred simultaneously with the political amendment. She developed an interest in the political situation in her country. Her interest in the politics of her country and her attempt to understand and prove to her father that he was contradicting what he said about the political situation showed that she was on the verge of maturity. Her influence to notice the political change is due to the constant discussion from her grandmother miss ivy and her friend miss Eila. † An long befo’ time , you wouldn’t be at convent school. †The politics affected the economy as there was a lot poverty due to devaluation. The description of the houses as weathered wooden houses and rusty zinc rooftops further develops this theme and gives the reader a clearer image of what the situation was like in Belize. Also, the flashback that Beka had about the walk she and her friend had in Fort George shows that the girls preferred the wealthier areas and that the walk was a sort of escape from the town which seemed staler, dirtier and altogether less pleasant that the lovely areas they had left. B) The social insecurity that Edgell dramatizes involves the ethnic threat that Creoles feel from the rising Hispanic population and the socioeconomic frustrations that Creoles undergo as they try to rise from lower to middle class statusall in the larger context of Belize moving from colony to independent state. Zee Edgell seems hopeful that, through proper discipline, Creoles can both regain their status in the Belizean ethnic hierarchy and also move from menial to more professional occupationsand without compromising too much their rich cultural heritage. In Beka Lamb women are the ones who are seen as the care givers and the ones to take care of the home. The majority of them do not work and even having an education for the lower class is untold or unheard of. The Belizean society sets trends that as she is black she is looked down upon her to be another statistic as many of the other women in society have become. Beka decides to be different and as society tries to shape her destiny she pushes herself to be an example for younger children after she had realised that the way society view women had great impact on her and that she settled for what society viewed her to be. The story illustrates the reality of the Belize culture. Male characters work or become educated while the women maintain the homes and earn what income they can. In the novel, the few male characters have at least one fault that turns the reader away. Emilio impregnates Toycie, but then will not marry her. Bill fails to show consistent affection to his family; he often seems uninterested or too busy. The women who surround Beka influence her thinking and judgments. Interestingly, the women are politically well-informed. One would not expect the simple women to have interest in politics. While Beka respects her father, she does so partially out of fear and partially because she is supposed to. Bekas respect for Granny is different. Granny knows more about life and about Belize than either Beka or her father. Bekas ability to recognize this demonstrates not only Bekas maturity, but also her curiosity about and reverence toward the Belize culture. Subtopic two Change developes an individual. A) As the novel begins, Beka has just won an essay-writing contest at her school. That night, as she sits in her grandmother’s chair, she begins to reminisce about the long, uphill battle she fought to reach this point in her life. Seven months earlier, Beka was having trouble with telling the truth. She lied about small things, such as saying she swept the attic when she really did not. Her most recent lie, however, is the worst of all. She told her father that she passed first form when she really failed. Not only does Beka lie, but she neglects her school work as well. Characterized by her Aunt as a Queen, Toycie is almost the complete opposite of Beka. She is beautiful and studious. The quality that links them together is their ability to find themselves in bad situations. Their friendship had developed at a young age and has grown into a sisterhood. As a job, Toycie took care of Beka and her brothers. From there, the two shared many secrets. Being each others confidant, they spent a lot of time together. They would go on walks and share their thoughts or ambitions with one another. They also had a system of checks and balances. When Beka was in trouble at school, Toycie offered to help her with her studies. She also urged Beka to be truthful with her parents. In return, Beka tried to persuade Toycie to find help when she became pregnant. Beka was also there for her when her boyfriend refused to accept the baby as his own. In Toycies hardest times, Beka was always around, trying to help. Because of their strong friendship, Beka wanted to be her shoulder to lean on. B) When Toycie asks Beka why she failed first form she replies, â€Å"I fooled around instead of doing my work† (Edgell 35). Beka realizes that she does not focus on her schoolwork the way she should. When Beka does her chores, she skips parts of the floor while sweeping, she pushes old newspapers and dirty clothes under the beds while cleaning, and on her way to the market she lingers at Toycie’s house. However, once Beka tells her father the truth about failing first form, she realizes that she will have to act more responsibly in order to return to school. She begins by cleaning the attic: â€Å"Beka cleaned the attic with feverish energy; here was a way to start, a way to show her family that she could be different† (Edgell 26). Beka does not skip over parts of the floor and hide the trash like usual. She cleans with all the energy she has. After Toycies accident, Beka realizes that she wants better for herself. She begins to concentrate more on her studies. Mr. Lamb compared Beka to a Bougainvillea plant with all flash and no substance as well as phoneyness and having airs. It started to get bushy and wild and out of control just like beka and her lies. When he cut down the plant, it served as a symbol that Beka was changing. Sub-topic three Change developes the issue of success and failure Success and Failure is also a major issue in the novel. Zee Edgell uses the dream, in chapter two, as a technique to symbolise Bekas transition from childhood to young adulthood. The dream shows what is going on in Bekas life. In the dream, Beka is crying out for help yet no one comes to her aid. In reality it shows that Beka is voiceless. In the dream, Beka is on a bridge and the bridge is moving. the bridge stands as a symbol of change and transformation. It shows that Beka is on a journey but she is still not quite there yet. However Beka is looking down at the filthy creek which represents failure. There are people urging her to jump but if she falls off, she will fail. Ultimately Beka is afraid of failure. Her fear is that when she makes this jump (transition), she will fail. The researcher sees that seven months before Beka won the competition she failed first form and she knew it would disappoint her parents so she resorted to lying. By contrast, when she won the competition her parents, even her grandmother was proud of her and had high expectations of her. The dream in chapter two was a symbol of change, success and maturity. It is a technique used by the author to show what was going on in Bekas life. In her dream Beka was crying out for help but no one heard her, she was voiceless. The bridge was a symbol of change and maturity. It reflects that she was going through a transformation. The people were telling her to jump which is risky. Perhaps this is to infer that there were factors trying to hinder her progress. Also as she was looking down at the creek, there was filth and excrement which infers that if she doesnt get the help, shell f Beka returns to school after Toycies expulsion and wins an essay contest. The self-doubts Beka faced her whole life start to recede. As a freshman, Beka wins an essay contest that she thought she had no chance of winning. By winning the contest, Beka realizes that change is possible. She will not be stuck in the same poverty stricken cycle that Toycie fell victim to, but she will never forget the culture that moulded her into the person she will become. Conclusion Beka Lamb is the debut novel of Belizean author Zee Edgell. Change in society can influence an individual’s character. It is the story of both Beka and Belize, an adolescent girl and an adolescent country. Set in Belize in the 1950s, fourteen-year-old Beka struggles with growing pains complicated by the society in which she lives while her country struggles to move from colonialism to independence. The basic theme is the struggle of the Creole population of Belize to hold on to their ethnic heritage and assert their civil rights while faced with opposition from the Hispanic community. Beka experiences various events that contribute to her sense of responsibility and maturity. Although Toycie is constantly on her mind, Beka takes a large step for herself when she enters the essay contest. Being a repeater, Beka doubts her ability to win the essay contest. To her surprise, Beka wins. This accomplishment brings her closer to her parents because they strive for her excellence in school . In today’s society they are people just like beka who dare to change and eventually does change. It proves that society can shape an individuals destiny but it’s up to that person to decide their own future. Now in society people still has the mentality that men are above women in status and power. For example a woman president has never been elected in the United States because people trust men to be leaders of their lives and country. It shows how societies view women.