Facebook †Good or Bad? Essay

www.facebook.com is a very popular social network website. Facebook is so popular, that soon it will reach one billion members. There are many things said about Facebook, some good and some bad. The biggest question of all is how does it weigh out in your life. Actually, there are many advantages of using Facebook. The most common reason for people to use Facebook is to keep in contact with their friends and family. Since Facebook is free, it has become more useful than e-mails or telephones. Using the telephones can be costly especially when it comes to long-distance calls. As for e-mails, they seem to take longer for people to respond to. Therefore Facebook seems to be the best option for people to stay in touch with their friends and family, which is done by uploading pictures, posting status and comment, sending private message and so on. Facebook is best for finding old friends. When a friend goes away to another place we often do not get the chance to communicate with him or her. Now, thanks to Facebook, we are able to find and re-connect with our ex-classmates, schoolmates, former teachers, college friends etc. We can share our feelings and what is happening in and around our daily life through Facebook. We can also get feedback from our friends. It is the best medium to share your feelings and thoughts with others. However, Facebook also has its disadvantages. Some people get addicted and spend too much time on Facebook to update their status, comment on other people’s status, uploading pictures and chatting with their friends. Their time can be put to better use by pursuing other hobbies like sports and games, reading, outing with family and so on. Fake profile is another disadvantage of Facebook. Some people created fake profile and use it to insult and harass other people. The victim ended up having to lodge a police report. In some extreme cases, the victim committed  suicide. In conclusion, Facebook is good if it is used wisely. It helps us to meet many friends, old and new, but be careful not to trust all of them. One also needs to be careful on what he or she shares on Facebook to avoid possible blackmailing or sabotage in the future. Facebook – Good or Bad? www.facebook.com is a very popular social network website. Facebook is so popular, that soon it will reach one billion members. There are many things said about Facebook, some good and some bad. The biggest question of all is how does it weigh out in your life. Actually, there are many advantages of using Facebook. The most common reason for people to use Facebook is to keep in contact with their friends and family. Since Facebook is free, it has become more useful than e-mails or telephones. Using the telephones can be costly especially when it comes to long-distance calls. As for e-mails, they seem to take longer for people to respond to. Therefore Facebook seems to be the best option for people to stay in touch with their friends and family, which is done by uploading pictures, posting status and comment, sending private message and so on. Facebook is best for finding old friends. When a friend goes away to another place we often do not get the chance to communicate with him or her. Now, thanks to Facebook, we are able to find and re-connect with our ex-classmates, schoolmates, former teachers, college friends etc. We can share our feelings and what is happening in and around our daily life through Facebook. We can also get feedback from our friends. It is the best medium to share your feelings and thoughts with others. However, Facebook also has its disadvantages. Some people get addicted and spend too much time on Facebook to update their status, comment on other people’s status, uploading pictures and chatting with their friends. Their time can be put to better use by pursuing other hobbies like sports and  games, reading, outing with family and so on. Fake profile is another disadvantage of Facebook. Some people created fake profile and use it to insult and harass other people. The victim ended up having to lodge a police report. In some extreme cases, the victim committed suicide. In conclusion, Facebook is good if it is used wisely. It helps us to meet many friends, old and new, but be careful not to trust all of them. One also needs to be careful on what he or she shares on Facebook to avoid possible blackmailing or sabotage in the future.

Government control Essay

There are many challenges that have to be faced by humanity in the twenty first century. Some of these challenges are major that have to be addressed immediately while there are some challenges that do not require immediate action. The stronger nations are somehow able to tackle some issues but still there are some issues that are difficult to handle. However, the smaller and the weaker countries that lack finances find it difficult to come up with solutions to these 21st century problems. Diversity and unity Diversity is one of the major issues that need attention as people are moving from their native countries to other countries where they find better opportunities. Diversity means differences in cultures, beliefs and habits that create a mixture of cultures. Here, the issue is to maintain harmony amongst the people belonging to different cultures and so it is essential to ensure that harmony does not collapse. Besides diversity, unity is also one major challenges that have to be worked upon and since one country has many different cultures residing in it, maintaining unity is indeed something difficult to achieve. Today, there is an influx of people who have become selfish and they have opted for individualistic approach that has further spoilt the society. Other problems that can be seen are communalism, regionalism and the increase in the rate of violence that is directly and indirectly affecting the value system of the world. Technological advancements Technological advancements have greatly affected the world and are serving as a major challenge. Since these advancements are taking place at a very fast pace, all the nations are trying hard to keep pace with this and for the weaker nations, this serves as a Herculean task to achieve the goals. The first and the foremost thing that has to be done to cure this is to spread literacy and to make everyone educated. It should not be the aim to get degrees and diplomas but the real essence of education should be understood as this will further lead the people to expand their knowledge, wisdom and to develop positive attitudes. However, it is not just important to educate the people but it is also essential to provide with opportunities to the people so that they can use their talents but this is also serving as a major challenge as many people remain unemployed despite of being educated. Industrialization As progress is taking place, industrialization is increasing rapidly and the natural resources are being consumed at a very high rate. Moreover, increase in pollution is also evident and this can bring adverse affects on the people and the environment especially if no action is taken to cure this problem. There are many other strategic challenges that will be faced in the 21st century and most them are caused due to the changes in styles of businesses that have now introduced. Previously, the marketers used to sell one product to the entire market but today, the customers have become more intelligent and savvy and they seek for customer value and since all the companies are battling against each other to grab the share of their piece of cake, it is hard to achieve targets easily as it was done previously. Market volatility has increased and rate at which organizational change is taking place is high and all these changes have a dramatic affect on the business strategies that are made and implemented. When the business needs are changing, it is also a must that there are changes occurring in the requirement of human input too. Employing the right workforce One of the strategic challenges being faced by the companies is the employment of the human resources. The management has to ensure that it employs the workforce that is not only efficient but effective too. However, there are some factors that affect the global instability and there is a huge global impact and people are entering in high numbers in the market that makes it hard for the social arrangement to sustain. Other than this, there is a very vast pool of human resources that are being wasted and this means that the human beings who are being employed are not able to work at their full potential as they not employed in a productive manner. Moreover, more and more people are added to the entire human workforce each year because of which there is a high pressure on the institutions and on the resources. Wastage of resources The non-human resources that are available to the human beings are being wasted at a very high rate. Both the renewable and non-renewable resources are not being fully utilized and are exploited and if this continues, the people will not be left with anything in the future. The environment is having a very negative impact on it because of the human activities that are taking place. The technological explosions are one of the most dangerous as well as costly damage to the society. Other disruptions that are serving as 21st century challenges are air pollution, soil pollution as well as depletion and desertification. Besides this, deforestation and misuse of water are two other factors that are serving as great challenges and if they will not be controlled, this can lead to major problems in the future. Biospheric disruption is another major challenge that needs attention. Despite of the fact that these are unavoidable, we can at least lessen the destruction that can be caused by the natural disasters that includes the climatic, geological, meteorological and space-oriented disasters. Global warming and ozone loss are climatic, earthquakes and eruptions are geological, floods, storms and droughts are meteorological while asteroids are space-oriented. Human insecurity Human insecurity is also a major challenge and this also leading to global unrest due to the violence that is persisting in the world and inter-human combat is occurring due to the ethnic and religious differences. Moreover, hazardous frustration has to be reduced and since the weapons are being created, they are being used as well and since there is an increase in unemployment, terrorism is increasing in the society. People have to fulfill their basic needs without which survival is more than impossible because of which they are doing crime. Due to this, the crime rate is increasing and is leading to unrest in the society and also affecting world peace. The numbers of extremists are increasing day by day and drug dealers have also outnumbered because of which the youngsters are getting immune to drug usage and are doing crime. Medical challenges Countering the medical challenges also needs immediate action and there are two main trends that are causing increase in health concerns. Firstly, both the people and the things are moving and this has caused transfer of various kinds of diseases that the other people are getting from the humans and from the animals. Even the animals that have some kind of disease are a major threat of spreading diseases. Moreover, the animals that are consumed by the human beings are getting diseases such as bird fly and mad cow disease and if any animal suffering from any such disease is consumed by the human being, it will create serious problems for that individual. Secondly, people are using antibiotics at a very high rate and this has produced more resistant mutations. For this, tighter preventives and control measures are required to ensure human security. Rules and laws A global rule is lacking in the world and so it is serving as a challenge to the society as the world is lacking universal rules and these should be created so that global standards are formed. Today, the world has become a global village and for this it is essential for it to have some universal laws and regulations that must be followed by all the countries. However, the international law must keep pace with interdependence as well. Therefore, global rights must be developed and should also be accepted and implemented by the society. It is argued by some governments that human rights are based on the cultures but universally there should be one common ground or code on the basis of which a norm should be developed. Migration Compared to the previous years, the rate of migration has greatly increased and people are looking for more opportunities outside their home country. It has indeed become difficult to handle all these immigrations and to provide jobs to the people who are moving to the other countries such as United States, UK, Canada and Australia. There are refugees too, who are forced to move out of their own countries and these people have to be settled in other countries where they move. These people create problems when they move to other countries and this is resulting in increase in the global issues that have to be dealt on a global level only. Financial money transfers and trade It has also become difficult to maintain global financial checks and since the number of financial transfers is increasing day by day, the role the government plays and the government control is reduced. Moreover, it also threatens the stability of the currencies and so it is suggested to apply certain percentage of taxes on such transfers. International trade is also growing but it is creating new problems for which negotiation has to be done between the trading countries. Moreover, regulation and adjustment is also needed to keep things smooth. The World Trade Organization ensures that it deals with the rapidly growing trade in a proper manner; however there are still some challenges that have to be met. Trade of services is also growing and the world has to face chronic problems with agricultures and other issues such as problems related to international investment. Corruption has also increased at a major rate and this has also become a major challenge to the world trade. There are many economic agreements that are treated globally and they are becoming more and more complex with the increase in trade. Taxing of international trade has become an issue as well and negotiations have to be made to come up to a common stand. Conclusion Due to all the problems that are being faced by the human beings, the rate of global distress is accelerating day by day and this is leading to serious problems. People become frustrated and hopeless due to the current situation. Income divergence is also increasing between nations and this challenge must be addressed immediately. All the 21st century problems that have been talked about above are sociological, philosophical, economic, historical, and geological and they relate to the human activities in some or the other way. The goal of the human beings should always be to minimize the threat that they get from these challenges if they cannot fully be removed. Moreover, the people should be educated about these disasters and challenges and they should be told about the ways they can adopt to reduce any negative impact created by the human activities. Besides this, backup plans should be made to ensure that the destruction is dealt properly and results in least problems. Work Cited Ciulla, Joanne. B. The Working Life: The Promise and Betrayal of Modern Work. 1st Edn. Crown Business / Times Books, 2000. Colwin, Laurie. Goodbye Without Leaving. Harper Perennial, 2000. Hochschild, Arlie. R. The Commercialization of Intimate Life: Notes from Home and Work. University of California Press, 2003. IMF. (2006). Meeting the Challenges of 21st Century Globalization: The Medium-Term Strategy of the IMF. June 4th, 2010. Retrieved from:

A considerate of contemporary management function Essay Example for Free

A considerate of contemporary management function Essay ? A considerate of contemporary management function of the employer-employee relationship The six journal articles that have been looked at stem from the original Locke, (1982) article. Frederick W. Taylor popularised of scientific management. The essay will discuss 5 aspects of Taylor’s ideas about scientific management and show how understandings of contemporary management functions and the employer-employee relationship have been developed from Taylor’s ideas. What was Taylor’s idea about the management? Management involves coordinating and overseeing the work activities of others so that their activities are completed efficiently and effectively. The ideas about the relationship between employer and employee have been developed from a nother. Retain critical employees is important and necessary. According to the Fitz-enz(1997), the company average losses 1 million with every 10 people who is the managerial and professional employees. In addition, the total cost of least a former employee at least a year of wages and benefits, up to two years of unpaid salary and benefits. This is a huge economic loss with a company loses a number of critical employees. As a manager, we must give employees adequate physiological, safety, love, esteem. One of the advice is managers should look into a way to motivate employees to achieve a satisfactory and unmet needs through activities and exercises. Managers have a responsibility to create a suitable environment to inspire employees to their fullest potential. If no such right environment, will lead to a big difference such as lower job satisfaction, lower productivity, lower profit with a company. How to effectively improve the relationship between managers and employees? Taylor given 4 methods. (a) Scientific management: In Principles of Scientific Management (1911)Fredrick Winslow Taylor, the â€Å"Father† of scientific management utilises scientific methods to define th e â€Å"one best way† for a job to be done (b) Scientific selections. Taylor advocated selecting only â€Å"first class†(i.e., high aptitude) men for a given job because their productivity would be several times greater than that of the average man. (c) Money bonus. Taylor claimed that the money is what employees want most, he thinks employees should be paid from 30% to 100% higher wages for to do his job. (d) Management responsibility for training. Taylor thought that most contemporary managers should fully accept the notion that training new employees is their responsibility. My understanding about the  employer-employee relationship has also been shaped by these articles. I have learnt that (1) Scientific management can focus speed of production, low cost production and availability of an unskilled workforce. In addition, today’s use of scientific management can use time and motion studies to increase productivity, hire the best qualified employees and design incentive systems based on output. Equity theory is a theory of social comp arison effect on employees. This theory appears to be very common, but it is very important. Equity theory refers to the rate of employees with their work output and input compared with others. Time input includes the time of the work, work habits, work experience, work attitude, and so on. When they found unfair, they usually can’t change the rate of others, can’t change their input, so employees will find ways to change their output. This may mean that they will reduce their work time or effort to work. Then, the manager can use the equity theory to motivate employees. Managers can use a more open system of remuneration paid for employees to understand each position and every effort should position relative to how much salary can be get. (2) Scientific selections: Everybody have their own good aspects, based on each person strengths and rational allocation of work. As a result, not only can bring effectively produce but also can make person enjoy their work. According to the Wren (1979) notes that Taylor focuses on scientific selection can promote the develop ment of industrial psychology and personnel management and other areas. (3) Money bonus: How to influence people? The most common method is money bonus. Such as up wages, bonuses, benefits. These things are the most effective way to influence the work of passion and power of a work. Through the Vroom’s (1946) expectancy theory, we can find that an employee will play his better efforts when he is convinced that his efforts would be better evaluated. And these evaluations will bring him more rewards such as bonuses, salary increases. These rewards will meet staff personal goals. Individual employee attitudes and enthusiasm in their work will determine to a large extent a company’s performance. According to the Porter (1968) and Lawler’s expectancy model of motivation, this model proposes two factors that determine spending on a number of tasks energy. The first is the personal rewards from work to get. These returns will be the psychological perception of employees is their own work to be sure. The second is that these returns will be formed job satisfaction. (4) Management  responsibility for training: The staff training is an essential element of human resource management. Managers can’t ignore their training responsibilities. Understanding management system in staff training in this area can help you build an effective training system to help you prepare new employees for their work To sum up, from the six articles considered, scientific management can not only getting the most output from the least amount of inputs but also focus on those work activities that will help the company reach its goals. Taylor’s idea has shaped modern employer-employee relationships. Work is still specialised, personal are still trained. The quality of work is still rewarded in bonuses, as well as other. Reference: 1.Three chapters in The Ideas of Frederick W Taylor: An Evaluation’. 2.Wren, D. A. The evolution of management thought (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley, 1979. 3.Towards a unified model of employee motivation / Darren J. Elding, Andrew M. Tobias and David S. Walk [Chichester, West Sussex, England] : John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 2006 4.Kotter, John P. What effective general managers really do / John P. Kotter Boston [etc.] : Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University, 1982 5.Managing in the new millennium : understanding the manager’s motivational tool bag / Patricia M. Buhl Burlington, Iowa, etc., National Research Bureau, etc.], 2003 6.A review of employee motivation theories and their implications for employee retention within organiz Hollywood, FL : Journal of American Academy of Business, 2004 A considerate of contemporary management function. (2016, Mar 24).

Rhetorical Analyses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rhetorical Analyses - Essay Example To provide a balanced discourse, Featherstone eventually evaluated magazines such as Blue Jean, Teen Voices, Hues and Reluctant Hero that were certified to provide more substantial contents. The rhetorical analysis hereby aims to evaluate Featherstone’s effectiveness in evaluating the magazines using appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos. The author’s arguments clearly indicated her preferences for the teen girls’ reading materials through provision of examples and citing relevant support from identified slogans, celebrities, and choice of feature articles that were believed to evoke the readers’ emotional response. For example, Featherstone’s assessment of Teen People’s strategies of using celebrities such as Jennifer Love Hewitt by focusing on the actress’ clothes and love life, instead of providing positive information, aim to make readers realize the lack of credible and substantial content that could improve knowledge of girls on mo re crucial matters. Her choices of vocabularies, though, swerve from easy to read to confusing and almost defying logical order – which is contrary to using appeals to pathos.

Critical review on The Prophets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critical review on The Prophets - Essay Example The text of the article is highly exaggerated, the prophets have never reacted overwhelming about any unethical or immoral practices of the society, but yes there have been some instances where such practices had the potential to ruin the sanctity of human society, and for the sake of the protection of the sanctity achieved by the human society, through the services of the prophets, and the blessings of the God, the prophets were liable to react severely against the potential crimes and malpractices. The prophets have been descended not for the analysis of the human society; their responsibility is to ensure that the will of God is well maintained and practiced with true spirit and fervor. The prophet is sleepless and grave, the frankincense of charity fails to sweeten cruelties . The prophets were bestowed with the responsibility to criticize and rectify beyond analyze, the prophets on their part were justified to take serious notice of the corrupt and unethical practices which were commonly followed without any fear or despair. The religion of the God has focused upon peace, therefore every prophet has tired to communicate the significance of the peaceful live, and the factor of peace is strong due to the fact that it enlightens the human spiritually, morally and eternally. The factors which humans have ignored might have the potential to distract and demote the spiritual development achieved by the society of the time. The intellect of the human is far limited, whereas that of the prophet is manifold. The diversification of opinions, thoughts and objectives attained by the human is incomparable with the qualities possessed by the prophets. It is justified to regard the prophets as the enlightened creature, which is provided with spiritual authority and intellectual capabilities to handle, judge, practice and resolve the issue. It is untrue to regard that

Researching Information for Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Researching Information for Business - Essay Example The data that is well indicated on the excel sheet shows that on given average 23 percent of this house holds was from the name items above. Inconspicuous gadgets like the routers have not been mentioned and this paper will give weight where it matters. It is believed that electricity consumptions in United Kingdom have recently grown tremendously and the need to meet this gap still remains a nightmare. Focusing on increased consumer electronics has begged for a 25 percent of domestic electricity consumption, (Mintel, 2006). Television set has traditionally become a means of entertainment and has also been used by the media world to sell their adverts. The grid to catch the eyes of the consumer has made the television companies have a smile due to the high demand of this equipment’s. They have penetrated the recreation centers and as well as the bars, pubs, and the streets, (Coleman, Wright & Firth, 2012). Big advertising companies have taken the initiative to hit the road and meet the consumer at their work place, follow them to the streets and still meet them in the comforts of their homes. There has been a great increase in sales volumes from the year 2007 to the year 2011 showing a positive increase of 7 percent in the market response. These consumer able goods have been given other items that match the suit of entertainment. The video players have been on demands perhaps to catch the latest movies and series in the market, (Mintel, 2006). Parents have always been looking for ways and means to empty the high energy levels in their growing children. The have discovered that game consoles is another way to keep their children’s mind busy. The need for game consoles has given this parent a breathing space as the kids are now occupied with games during their leisure time, (Coleman, Wright & Firth, 2012). The parent can feel

Educational attainment Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Educational attainment - Article Example Current paper focuses on the effects of identity - as related with race, gender and social class - on the educational attainment; there is limitation in terms of geographic region or age of people involved - learners of all ages can suffer discrimination because of their race, gender and social class; this discrimination can affect their attainment in school or other educational institute; the specific problem can occur in both the developing and the developed countries as the findings of the studies developed below prove. Identity can refer not only to the personal data, i.e. name and address; it is more related with the person's social and educational background. It can also refer to other issues, like gender, race and financial status. In education, specific parts of identity, especially social class, race and gender are likely to influence educational attainment under the terms explained below. Theorists and researchers around the world have tried to identify the potential effects of social class, gender and race on educational attainment. In accordance with a research made across England it was proved that 'inequality was the highest where the proportions attaining a particular threshold were the highest-upper secondary school or higher in Scotland; country differences in educational policy have not yielded different changes over time in the association between origin and educational attainment' (Paterson et al., 2007, 330). In accordance with the above study, inequalities in education have to be expected - they are unavoidable; however, the standards/ patterns set within a specific educational environment are likely to influence the behaviour of learners towards their classmates. In other words, the issue of inequality appears in environments where the necessary requirements for such phenomena exist. The specific conditions are normally expected to affect the performance of learners that suffer the discriminative behaviour of their classmates because of their racial or social background or their gender. The specific issue is highlighted in other studies that have been developed on the particular problem. The effects of education on the life of individuals can be critical. In accordance with Huurre et al. (2006, 41) 'background Education fundamentally shapes an individual's life chances and social status; duration and level of education are associated with people's incomes, socio-economic status, living standard, lifestyle and the respect and esteem they enjoy'. Through the examination of the practical implications of the above assumption, it was revealed that 'low school achievement and manual class of origin were the strongest predictors of low educational level in adulthood' (Huurre et al., 2006, 41). In other words, low performance in school/ university can adversely affect an individual's l

Photograhy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Photograhy - Research Paper Example All 200 images could be viewed through 8 pages of accessible links. As indicated in the brochure, â€Å"this major photographic exhibition is an ideal forum for photographers to exhibit and sell their work, reaching our very large community of art collectors, luxury consumers, corporate heads, civic leaders and very influential people who make up the Art of Photography Show audience† (About the Art of Photography Show 4). From the 200 images that where presented, one personally favored the two works shown above (â€Å"Sky High† by Kevin Cosma, and â€Å"Light reflecting off two mirrors† by Alexander Harding) due to their simplicity and uniqueness in capturing the images. As shown in â€Å"Sky High† the image could have been taken from a vantage point where the photographer could be situated in a lying position looking up. As such, the image of a young girl was actually shown in an inverse position, in broad daylight to capture the appropriate lighting technique. The background representing the cherry blossomed filled trees and the blue skies effectively complemented the image to portray the message intended. The other image shot by Harding was likewise simple and yet elegant. It uses the effectively interplay of dark and light elements through strategically positioning two mirrors in exact juxtaposition to capture the light rays. The background of dark and brown table top or flooring was likewise instrumental in putting emphasis on lighting. The photographer was located at the front of the images in slightly higher angle to capture the required lighting effect. In its simplicity, the beauty of the images could only be appreciated through learning the technqiues of effective and strategic positioning to capture the most appropriate angle needed. Overall, it is fortunate that the Art of Photography Show 2012 was accessible online to provide aspiring photographers and art enthusiasts in the area of photography to appreciate the best

Survivor paper for CBS reality show(ONLY INTRO) Essay

Survivor paper for CBS reality show(ONLY INTRO) - Essay Example Those characters include; Sierra, Will, Rodney, and Shirin. The participants tried to explain some of the theories we learned in class from the reality show. The show is about teammates who have problems working together. For example, Will was willing to share with other mates, but they are suspecting him that he is hiding food. Rodney is a selfish character, and he is so convincing than any other character in the show Magder, 2004). The study further, explains the difference between emotions and personality. Emotion is a quick reaction towards someone or something. Emotion is, therefore, a behavior one develops due to a particular occurrence and is for a short period. Some of the emotions include; sadness, anger and surprise as will be discussed in the study. On the other hand, personality is a how a person reacts to and interact, other people. A personality is a behavior that develops in a person and is not easy to change as the show depicts (Magder,

International economics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International economics - Assignment Example Fagnusson says that once the product is acquired abroad, they are labeled by the apparel company to ensure that they command brand identification after which they are sold either in the domestic or foreign markets (103). This scenario attests to the fact that cost of production is important element in making strategic production choices. When Spain opens its borders to the large number of unskilled Africans seeking to immigrate, they gets access to cheap labor. Suppose Spain was to open its borders to the large number of unskilled Africans seeking to work there, it is likely to benefit from cheap labor. Unskilled labor is cheap because these people do not possess any skills; hence they lack the bargaining power in the market. When skilled labor is acquired cheaply, the implication is that the overall cost of production becomes cheaper (Salvatore 221). The fact that Spain allows influx of unskilled labor in the market implies that the country will enjoy a comparative advantage in its production. Comparative advantage refers to the ability of a country to produce goods or services at a lower marginal cost and opportunity cost over the other. Spain stands to benefit greatly in international trade because it enjoys absolute advantage in its production because of cheap labor. For instance, if Spain decides to import skilled labor for manufacturing sector, then it enjoys absolute advantage in production of manufacturing products. Spain, therefore, stands in a good platform to exploit its comparative advantage since it concentrates in the production of manufactured goods for export; and since it can import other goods or services, which it does not enjoy comparative advantage (Viner 125). The concept of comparative advantage has merit in many areas in the sense that it assists the country to earn foreign currency. The foreign earnings a re good since they can be used to finance various social and infrastructural programs in Spain. The foreign earnings are

Pulling the Wool Essay Example for Free

Pulling the Wool Essay Abstract   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The sharp contrast between William Smith’s Lectures on the Philosophy and Practice of Slavery and Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave leads to important conclusions about the vast differences in perception between those who owned and those who were owned in the period of American slavery. Smith’s work implores his fellow White landowners to practice what he sees as a just treatment of African slaves. However, his contempt for abolitionists and belief that Northerners are off the mark in understanding the state of slavery in the South show his belief that the institution itself is appropriate, even God-driven, and that only a minority of slave owners may require correction. Moreover, what drives Smith’s philosophy—the very religion from which Douglass saw the greatest brutality spring forth—causes him to assert and reassert the necessity of slavery for both White landowner and African slave. One cannot help but be struck by the stark contrast Smith’s work shows to the real-life experiences of the ex-slave Frederick Douglass as he recounts a life in which all of Smith’s proposals are brutally and routinely disregarded.                  William Smith’s Lectures on the Philosophy and Practice of Slavery and Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave offer a stark contrast between the two men’s views on American slavery. Smith, a White proponent of slavery, outlines what he believes to be a proper and just relationship between master and slave, and disparages those slave owners who do not follow the tenets of this relationship. However, he never hesitates in stating his full support for the institution itself. Douglass, who bears the burden of slavery firsthand, reveals to the reader a world vastly different from the â€Å"fat, sleek, and cheerful, and long-lived† (Smith, 1856, p. 291) slaves of some of Smith’s observances. His own journey from slavery to freedom affords the reader a view into a brilliant mind in contrast to what Smith (1856) believes can only be the equivalent of â€Å"minors, imbeciles, and uncivilized persons† (p. 282). It is Douglass’s account of his awakening, from a young slave ignorant of the reasons for his bondage to a learned man of inalienable self-respect, which topples the entire premise of Smith’s philosophy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Smith believes the teachings of the Christian Bible dictate the proper relationship between master and servant. Smith (1856) also details what he sees as a moral imperative on the part of White landowners to have â€Å"guardianship† (p. 277) over â€Å"God’s poor, committed to [the benevolent White master]† (p. 309), believing that they must â€Å"control and protect them for their profit as well as work them for [the slave and slave owner’s] mutual profit.† (309). In Smith’s estimation, slavery is proper and just because he assumes White intellectual and moral superiority over the African slave. He never confuses his call for benevolent treatment of slaves with the idea that the institution itself may be unjust.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Smith lays out what he believes are the rights of slaves according to both Christian doctrine and the law of men in his society. He divides the duties of the master into 3 main categories: â€Å"the duty of masters to their slaves considered as ‘their money’, their duty to their slaves considered as social beings, and their duty to their slaves considered as religious beings† (Smith, 1856, p. 283). In the first part, concerning slaves considered as masters’ money, Smith includes all of the physical needs of the slave. Working conditions, food, clothing and bedding, sleep and rest, housing, and free time are all detailed according to what Smith sees as ideal treatment. Woven into the framework of these requirements is a Christian code that reminds the master that he, too, will have a master in heaven. (p. 277). Smith begins by discussing the rights of the slave in regard to labor. Interestingly, Smith (1856) first focuses on what he calls a known â€Å"idleness† (p. 284) among slaves and warns slave owners to be dutiful in making their slaves accountable for their labor. He weaves a pattern that not only offers a sense of Christian duty on the part of the slave owner, but of the slave as well. It is Smith’s insistence upon the righteousness of slavery as a Christian imperative that continues to inform and guide his philosophy. Likewise, in all of the other physical comforts he asks the slave owner to provide the slave, he asks the slave owner to â€Å"give unto your servant that which is just and equal, knowing that ye also have a master in heaven† (Smith, 1856, pp. 278-279). While Smith admonishes those he believes violate the Christian mandate, he shows some confidence that there is not a crisis in the treatment of slaves. In condemnation of the attitudes of Northern abolitionists, he says that â€Å"A most fanatical spirit is abroad in the land on the subject of domestic slavery. The inhumanity of masters at the South is greatly exaggerated† (Smith, 1856, p. 278). He goes on to compare the treatment of Southern slaves as equivalent to that of hired help in the North. Smith seems on one hand to implore the White master to better the circumstances of his slaves in order to save his very soul from damnation, while on the other to denounce the efforts of the Northern advocates of freedom. He truly believes in a system of slavery wherein the slave is completely satisfied with his lot in life, and the landowner finds himself a benevolent overseer who will profit in life and in heaven. The other two sections of Smith’s call to righteous treatment of slaves follow a vein similar to the first. He repeatedly denounces those masters who violate his ideal image of slavery while insisting on the justness and necessity of the institution itself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While Smith’s ideal slavery leads the reader to envision sunny pastures with young Black slave children frolicking and elders laughing and singing merrily, Douglass’s account of real slave life offers a startling contrast. All of the Christian mandates of Smith’s slavery are turned asunder, and, in fact, it is the very observance of the religion which causes some of the harshest abuses to occur. Born a slave on a Maryland plantation, Douglass witnesses repeated acts of brutality upon the adult slaves in his company. The rumored son of the master, Douglass is given some favor in his early years, although he is never fed or clothed enough. Held up to Smith’s view of slavery, Douglass’s constant hunger and discomfort seem all the more intolerable. If one compares the specifics, Smith’s work calls for slaves to be offered a variety of the plantation’s food, cooked well and prepared ahead of time so that slaves may enjoy good nutrition and take two-hour lunches to properly digest their meal. Douglass’s reality, a measly monthly supply of pork or fish and corn meal doled out uncooked, makes Smith’s (1856) vision of the â€Å"early roasting ear, the ripe fruit, the melons, the potatoes, the fat stock†(pp. 297-298) seem like paradise for a slave. In contrast, Douglass, in chapter 3, describes a large and plentiful garden that slaves were routinely whipped for stealing from. Later, living with another master, Edward Covey, Douglass and his fellow slaves are afforded 5 minutes to eat before returning to the field to work until midnight.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Douglass’s account of his years in bondage read like a response to Smith at every turn. Douglass recounts continual starvation and discomfort, a world wherein his only clothing as a child was a linen shirt. While Smith talks of coats, hats, and shoes, Douglass speaks of children from 7 to ten years old running naked in winter for lack of clothing. While Smith discusses the necessity for comfortable beds and encourages the master to set up separate quarters to encourage fidelity and morality among slaves he believes are less geared toward fidelity than Whites, Douglass speaks with disgust of unrelated groups of people huddled together on dirt floors sharing a blanket in winter. Douglass’s journey lands him in completely different circumstances when he is taken to live in Baltimore with family members of his master, and he shows a different side of slave life in the city. However, perhaps the greatest indictment against Smith’s Christian ideal comes when the mistress of the house changes her demeanor from warm, humane, and welcoming to harsh and cruel under the â€Å"fatal poison of irresponsible power† (Douglass, 1845, p 18). Douglass (1845) notes that â€Å"the cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage† (p. 18). Douglass shows how, no matter what steps one may take to set a proper course for slavery, to offer the best of worlds for all involved, the premise cannot but collapse under the weight of its injustice. Setting a proper course for slavery is suddenly seen as being as impossible as setting a proper and just course for murder or betrayal. In Douglass’s experience, the inhumanity of slavery leads to dead souls performing hideous acts upon their subjects. There is no room for benevolent treatment in a reality based on the subjugation and demoralization of others. Perhaps the most striking difference between the two men’s view comes in the story of Douglass’s outcast grandmother. He describes how, after raising generations of a plantation owner’s family as well as her own, she is left alone in the woods in a hovel to fend for herself, far from the care of her extended family. Smith asks the reader why it should be difficult to afford the elderly the soothing hand of relatives in his or her final days, and he implores the master to see that the older slaves are given the respect and care they have a right to. There is a grave sadness in the story of Douglass’s grandmother who, treated like chattel, is offered no such comfort.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If Douglass’s account leaves the reader with anything, it is the impression that religion and the benefit of being on the fortunate side of a brutal reality have pulled the wool over Smith’s eyes. It is hard to imagine that Smith’s reflections are a mere cover for his undying support for slavery; he truly seems to believe that Christian charity, manifest destiny, and the rights of everyone involved can merge to form an ideal state of slavery. It is his undying belief in the inferiority of the African slave that ultimately makes him comfortable with the situation. One sees, however, that it is no secret to even the least experienced master that â€Å"if you teach [a slave] how to read, there would be no keeping him† (Douglass, 1845, p. 20). That one fear alone—educating the slave—would not be a fear if the slave were truly the inferior creature described in Smith’s accounts. And Douglass, who eventually does just what the White master fears, provides evidence that there can exist no happy bondage, Christian or other, among human beings. References Douglass, Frederick (1845). Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Boston: The Antislavery Office. Smith, William A. (1856). Lectures on the Philosophy and Practice of Slavery. Nashville: Stevenson and Evans.

The balanced equation shows that two moles of silver nitrate react with one mole of copper Essay Example for Free

The balanced equation shows that two moles of silver nitrate react with one mole of copper Essay Qualitative Observations: * The copper was a orange/red colour before being submerged. * While the silver nitrate AgNO3 was a clear colourless liquid. * Immediately after the copper was submerged it turned black. * The copper wire was resting on the bottom of the beaker. * After prolonged submersion the wire became thicker as more precipitate was formed on the wire. * After prolonged submersion the solution became a clear light blue solution. * After 24 hours a silver/grey crystalline structure formed around the wire and on the bottom of the beaker. Processed data table: What I measured Value (unit) 3sf Uncertainty Mass of reacted Cu 0.332(g)  ±0.002g Number of reacted Cu 0.00522 mol % uncertainty =  ±0.605 Mass of reacted Ag 1.804(g)  ±0.002g Number of reacted Ag 0. 0167 mol % uncertainty =  ±0.166 Constants table: Constant Value Mr(Cu) 63.55 gmol-1 Mr (Ag) 107.87 gmol-1 Calculations Balanced chemical equation between copper and silver: Cu (s) + 2Ag+ (aq) → Cu2+ (aq) + 2Ag (s) Mass of reacted Cu: Uncertainty: m(Cu)= Original weight – final weight m(Cu)= 2.020 – 1.688 =  ±0.001 + 0.001 m(Cu)= 0.332 g =  ±0.002 Number of reacted Cu: Uncertainty: Mr(Cu)=63.55 gmol-1 n(Cu)= 0.00522 mol (3sf) n(Cu) % uncertainty =  ±0.605 Mass of reacted Ag: Uncertainty: m(Ag)= Original weight – final weight m(Ag) = 105.139– 103.335 = 0.001 + 0.001 = 1.804 g =  ±0.002 Number of reacted Ag: Uncertainty: Mr(Ag) = 107.87 gmol-1 n(Ag) = 0.0167 mol (3sf) n(Ag) % uncertainty =  ±0.111 Calculation of Ratio n(Cu) : n(Ag) 0.00522 : 0.0167 total % uncertainty =  ±0.111+0.605 1:3.20 % uncertainty =  ±0.716 1:3 % uncertainty =  ±0.7 Conclusion This reaction is an example of a single replacement redox reaction, as the copper element replaces an element in a compound, silver nitrate producing silver and copper nitrate. During the reaction the silver is reduced as it gains electrons and the copper is oxidized as it loses electrons. Cu (s) + 2AgNO3+ (aq) → Cu(NO3)2 (aq) + 2Ag (s) The balanced equation shows that two moles of silver nitrate react with one mole of copper to produce one mole of copper nitrate and two moles of silver. The molar ratio between Copper and Silver should be 1:2, which you can see by the coefficients in the balanced equation. Therefore my hypothesis is wrong as I have 1 more mole of silver than I should have, therefore my mass of silver was larger than expected or the moles of copper was lower than expected and my mass of copper was lower than expected. Yet our small precision error, or random error attributed to the precision of instruments is  ±0.716%, which indicates that our range excludes the accepted value of 2. Therefore our must have some experimental error. This experimental error can be determined as a percentage through the following formula: % This experimental error is incredibly large. As my systematic error is small, I can determine that experimental error is the cause of the deviation from the accepted value. Evaluation The random error in this experiment was due to the number of operations needed to determine the ratio therefore an increased level of accuracy in the equipment would have increased our ability to determine a more accurate result. Increasing accuracy in equipment would have aided the experiment although the accepted value was still outside the range of random error. There are several possible factors for the large experimental error. The first and most prominent of these reasons is the likelihood of the silver crystals still being saturated with water. Due to the time constraints on the experiment there was limited time to leave the crystals drying in the oven, indicating the possibility of there being water contamination with the silver. This would have increased the measured mass of the silver and therefore increased the value of n(Ag) increasing our ratio. This experiment could be improved if the crystals were left to dry in the oven for a longer time period, which would enable all of the water molecules to evaporate and not contaminate our sample. Another possibility as that during the decanting some crystals were removed from the beaker. This would have decreased the mass of silver, thus decreased the n(Ag) decreasing our ratio. As our ratio was larger than accepted value it is unlikely that this played a significant part in the experimental error of my experiment. To ensure that this would not effect a future experiment I would use a filtration system using filter paper instead of using a decanting method. Experimental error could also have been generated through having an incorrect copper measurement. An incorrect copper measurement could have been caused by copper flecks flaking off the wire into the solution and then being decanted out, though our method did try to remove this possibility by adding more silver nitrate it is still a possibility. This would have meant that we calculated less moles of copper than actually reacted. To ensure that this would not effect our results we should have left the extra silver nitrate for longer to allow it too react with any left over copper flecks.

What is the Impact of HIV/AIDS on Women?

What is the Impact of HIV/AIDS on Women? ABSTRACT This dissertation will outline the major issues surrounding HIV/AIDS infection as it relates to women, with specific reference to women in Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom (UK). It will explore the reasons why women are increasingly at greater risk of infection than males. Underpinned by a feminist analysis of womens oppression, it will include a discussion of how biological, social, sexual, economic and cultural inequalities contribute to womens vulnerability. It will also look at the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and how these factors can influence them to seek services. The differences in what is deemed â€Å"social work† in terms of both definition and practice as well as the differences in the health systems and the healthcare workers involved in delivering services in both countries will also be explored. INTRODUCTION AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, a disease that makes it difficult for the body to fight off infectious diseases. The human immunodeficiency virus known as HIV causes AIDS by infecting and damaging part of the bodys defences its lymphocytes against infection. Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell in the bodys immune system and are supposed to fight off invading germs. People may be infected (HIV positive) for many years before full AIDS develops, and they may be unaware of their status. HIV can only be passed on if infected blood, semen, vaginal fluids or breast milk gets inside another persons body. HIV and AIDS can be treated, but there are no vaccines or cures for them (WHO, 2003). HIV/AIDS PREVALENCE IN WOMEN IN ZIMBABWE AND THE UK Increasingly, â€Å"the face of HIV/AIDS is a womans face† (UNAIDS, 2004). AIDS is now the leading cause of death in Sub-Saharan Africa and the fourth-highest cause of death globally (UNAIDS, 2002). AIDS is a profound human tragedy and has been referred to as the â€Å"worlds most deadly undeclared war† (Richardson, 1987). Women and girls are especially vulnerable to HIV infection due to a host of biological, social, cultural and economic factors, including womens entrenched social and economic inequality within sexual relationships and marriage. HIV/AIDS continue their devastating spread, affecting the lives of 16,000 people each day, with women, babies and young people being increasingly affected. The number of people living with HIV/AIDS has now reached almost 40 million globally (UNAIDS and WHO, 2006), and of these an estimated two-thirds live in Sub-Saharan Africa, Zimbabwe included. Zimbabwe is experiencing one of the harshest AIDS epidemics in the world. The HIV prevalence rate in Zimbabwe is among the highest in the world, although recent evidence suggests that prevalence may be starting to decline. In Zimbabwe 1.8 million adults and children are living with HIV/AIDS, with 24.6% of adults infected: women represent 58% of those infected among the 20- to 49-year-old age range. (Consortium on AIDS and International Development, 2006) In a country with such a tense political and social climate, it has been difficult to respond to the crisis. President Robert Mugabe and his government have been widely criticised by the international community, and Zimbabwe has become increasingly isolated, both politically and economically. The country has had to confront a number of severe crises in the past few years, including an unprecedented rise in inflation (in January 2008 it reached 100,000%), a severe cholera epidemic, high rates of unemployment, political violence, and a near-total collapse of the health system (AIDS and HIV Information, 2009). In Britain, HIV prevalence is relatively low and currently stands at 0.2% of the population. Statistics show that at the end of 2008 there were an estimated 88,300 people living with HIV, of whom over a quarter (22,400, or 27%) were unaware of their infection. This compares to the 77,000 people estimated to be living with HIV in 2007, of whom 28% were estimated to be unaware of their HIV infection. Of all diagnoses to the end of 2008, 45% resulted from sex between men and 42% from heterosexual sex, with black Africans representing 35% of newly diagnosed infections (HPA, 2009). According to the Health Protection Agency (2009), there has also been a dramatic increase in the number of women diagnosed with HIV. In the years up to and including 1992, females accounted for 12% of HIV diagnoses, but in 2008 that was 37%. Therefore, as HIV/AIDS is a global pandemic, the eradication of this health issue represents one of humanitys greatest challenges one that requires co-operation and comprehensive collaboration between scientific disciplines, governments, social institutions, the media, social work and healthcare professionals, and the general public (IFSW, 2009). Social workers, by virtue of their training, their commitment to human rights, and the fact that they are uniquely placed within a wide variety of health and welfare settings, can play a very effective role in the global effort to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic (IFSW, 2009). 1. CHAPTER 1 1.1 OVERVIEW OF GENDER AND VULNERABILITY TO HIV/AIDS While women are battling for equal rights throughout the international community, the existing power imbalance between men and women renders women particularly vulnerable to contracting HIV. Womens subordinate position places them at a considerable disadvantage with respect to their fundamental human right to control their own sexuality, and to access prevention, care, treatment, and support services and information. This subordination of women is mainly caused by the socially-constructed relations between men and women or, in other words, the patriarchal structure which is oppressive to women. (Walby, 1990, cited in Richardson, 2000) defines patriarchy as the â€Å"system of social structures and practices that men use to dominate, oppress and exploit women†, thus giving them greater opportunities to access services compared to females. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) and many governments are implementing educational programmes to teach women about protecting th eir health, traditional and cultural practices continue to perpetuate discrimination against women, in turn forcing women into high-risk situations. Unless proactive human-rights policies are enacted to empower, educate, and protect women with regard to their sexual autonomy, HIV/AIDS will continue to spread at an alarming rate and will have a devastating impact on all aspects of society. Even though the root of womens vulnerability lies in the imbalance in power between men and women, biological and sexual practices have an important role to play and mean that HIV transmission is unfortunately more efficient in women than in men. 1.2 WOMENS BIOLOGICAL VULNERABILITY TO HIV/AIDS Women are more biologically vulnerable to HIV than men; research has shown that women are at greater risk than men of contracting HIV both from an individual act of intercourse and from each sexual partnership. This â€Å"biological sexism† applies not only to HIV but to most other sexually transmitted diseases (Hatcher, et al, 1989). A woman has a 50 per cent chance of acquiring gonorrhoea from an infected male partner while a man has a 25 per cent chance if he has sex with an infected woman (Doyal et al., 1994). This is because the vaginal tissue absorbs fluids more easily, including the sperm, which has a higher concentration of the HIV virus than female vaginal secretions and may remain in the vagina for hours following intercourse, thus increasing womens vulnerability to infection. Not only are women more vulnerable to STIs than men, but â€Å"untreated genital infections, especially genital ulcer disease, syphilis and genital herpes, all predispose to HIV infection† (Doyal, 1994). While STDs are not necessarily gender specific, it is likely that women with STDs will remain undiagnosed and untreated for longer, increasing their risk of infection (Finnegan, et al, 1993). This is largely because women tend to remain symptomless for longer than men (Doyal, 1994). Even though much is known about the transmission of HIV to women through unprotected sex with men, less is known about the manifestations, progression, treatment and care of HIV/AIDS in women. Due to the lack of research we can at best speculate on the reasons for this. One reason may be the failure of medical professionals to pick up on possible symptoms which are often present in women: â€Å"existing diagnostic guidelines pay little attention to symptoms such as thrush, herpes, menstrual problems and cervical cell abnormalities that seem to characterise the early stages of the disease process in many women. Indeed a significant number are diagnosed only during pregnancy or when their child is found to be HIV positive†. (Doyal, 1994, p13) Therefore, if researchers persist in ignoring the biological differences, then the realities of the risks of infection and the disease progression in women will remain unacknowledged. As a consequence of this, women will continue to be diagnosed later than men, which ultimately leads to an earlier death. (Gorst, 2001,) Further research into biological differences and the effects of HIV on womens bodies is urgently needed. 1.3 TRADITIONAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS Traditional and customary practices play a part in the vulnerability of women to HIV infection. Practices such as early marriage and the payment of lobola in marriages make women and girls more vulnerable to HIV infection. Marriages among black women in Zimbabwe include bride wealth â€Å"lobola† if the couple is to be socially approved. Bride wealth is increasingly becoming big business in Zimbabwe, with some parents charging as much as US$2,500 plus five or more cattle for an educated girl. (IRIN NEWS, 2009) The insistence on bride wealth as the basis of validating a marriage makes female sexuality a commodity and reduces women to sexual objects, with limited rights and privileges compared to their husbands, who pay in order to marry them, thus leaving them without a say in their relationship. Patriarchal attitudes are also found in Christianity and these have strengthened the traditional customs that men use to control womens sexuality. (Human Rights Monitor, 2001) For example, Eves alleged creation from Adams rib has made women occupy a subordinate position in the Church as well as in the family. Women are therefore viewed merely as second-class citizens who were created as an afterthought. This is to say that if God had seen it fit for Adam to stay alone, then Eve would never have been created and hence women would not exist in this world. Such patriarchal attitudes have seen women being forced to be submissive to males. To make matters worse, once Eve was created she wreaked havoc by giving in to the Devils temptation and pulling Adam into sin. This portrayal of women as the weaker sex has made men treat women as people who have to be kept under constant supervision. St Pauls letter to the Colossians is one example of the letters which Zimbabwean men quote as a justifi cation of their control over women. The woman is expected â€Å"to submit to her husband† (Colossians 3:18) whilst the husband has to love his wife (Colossians 3:19). Therefore, because of these beliefs, women will remain passive and powerless in relation to sexual health, making them more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. 1.4 CONFLICT AND CIVIL UNREST Migration or displacement as a result of civil strife, natural disasters, drought, famine and political oppression has a greater impact on womens vulnerability to HIV infection compared to men. About 75 per cent of all refugees and displaced people are women and children. The political and economic crisis in many African and Asian countries has caused many women to come to the UK in search of safer lives and employment (Freedman, 2003). The World Health Organization (WHO, 2003) states that female immigrant workers are more vulnerable to sexual barter as they try to negotiate for necessary documentation, employment and housing, which further increases their risk of HIV/AIDS infection. In addition, because of the lack of legal documentation these women will experience limited options, receive low status, receive low pay and are often isolated in their work, including marriage, domestic, factory and sex work. These situations place women in vulnerable and powerless positions, with little ability to refuse or negotiate safe sex, thereby increasing their risk to HIV/AIDS. Despite the risks associated with the migration process it is important to recognise the right to ‘freedom of movement and travel irrespective of HIV status (ICW 12 Statement and the Barcelona Bill of Rights, 2002). This was a focal point during the Barcelona HIV/AIDS conference in 2002, because the Spanish authorities denied visas to numerous people from the South many of whom were open about their HIV status. Some countries do have discriminatory policies regarding travel of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) and others are instituting stricter controls. For example, Canada has recently introduced the need for an HIV test for people emigrating to Canada and Australia. Whilst they say it will not affect the final decision it is not clear why they need the information (Tallis, 2002). 1.5 POVERTY AND INEQUALITY Women and men experience poverty differently because of gender inequality: The causes and outcomes of poverty are heavily engendered and yet traditional conceptualisations consistently fail to delineate povertys gender dimensions resulting in policies and programmes which fail to improve the lives of poor women and their families (Beneria and Bisnath, 1998). Despite worldwide attention to existing inequalities and the way these violate a socially-just society, there is no society in the world in which women are treated as equals with men (Doyal, 2001). Major inequalities between men and women still exist in many places from opportunities in education and employment to choices in relationships. Gender and social inequalities make women more vulnerable to HIV infection, especially in societies which afford women a lower status than men. Worldwide, women and girls are disproportionately impacted by poverty, representing 70 per cent of the 1.2 billion people who live in poverty worldwide (Amnesty International, 2005), a phenomenon commonly referred to as the â€Å"feminisation of poverty†. Worldwide, women receive an average of 30-40 per cent less pay than men for the same work (Card et al, 2007). This economic inequality may influence womens ability to control the timing and safety of sexual intercourse. Specifically, economic dependence on men, especially those who are not educated and do not have good jobs, forces women to remain silent about HIV risk issues and to stay with partners who refuse to engage in safe-sex practices. Poverty also leads to greater HIV risk among women by leading them to barter sex for economic gain or survival (Weiss et al, 1996). Commercial sex work is the most well-known way for women to exchange sex for money, food, shelter or other necessities. Most of this sex will be unsafe as women will be at risk of losing economic support from men by insisting on safer sex. Where substance abuse is a factor, the means for obtaining clean needles may be traded for other essentials. Trading or sharing needles is a way to reduce drug-addiction costs. Risk behaviours and disease potential are predictable under such compromised circumstances (Albertyn, 2000, cited in Card, 2007). Educational inequality also contributes to a womans HIV risk directly, by making information on HIV/AIDS less accessible to her, and indirectly, by increasing her economic dependence on a male partner. In particular, studies show that more-educated women are more likely to know how to prevent HIV transmission, delay sexual activity, use healthcare services, and take other steps to prevent the spread of HIV (UNIFEM, 2004). Because many cultures value ignorance about sex as a feature of femininity, many young women are prevented by husbands, fathers, or other family members from obtaining information about HIV/AIDS. Others decline to seek such information out of fear for their reputations. Lack of education about the causes, prevention, and treatment of HIV/AIDS will increase these womens vulnerability to infection. Legal systems and cultural norms in many countries reinforce gender inequality by giving men control over productive resources such as land, through marriage laws that subordinate wives to their husbands and inheritance customs that make males the principal beneficiaries of family property (Baylies, 2000). For example, Zimbabwe has a dual legal system, recognising both common and customary law in marriage. This creates inequalities for many women upon divorce or their husbands death. Women in customary marriages, especially those who are not educated and who live in rural areas, make up approximately 80% of marriages in Zimbabwe, and are not entitled to the same rights as those married under common law; this means that they are often barred from inheriting property and land, or getting custody of their children, thus making them more vulnerable to male dominance and increasing their risk of getting infected with STIs (Womankind, 2002). 1.6 CONCLUSION Power inequalities at social, economic, biological, political and cultural levels mean that women continue to be increasingly more at risk from HIV infection. It is therefore critical that social workers and other healthcare professionals make sure that HIV/AIDS prevention and care programmes address the most immediate perceived barriers to accessing HIV/AIDS prevention and care services. Measures could include vocational training, employment, micro-finance programmes, legal support, safe housing and childcare services. Such measures would empower these women to have options and to take voluntary and informed decisions regarding the adoption of safer practices to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS (UNODC, 2006). There is also the need for a female-controlled form of protection which women can use to protect themselves, for example microbicides, which women can use without the consent or even the knowledge of their partner, thus enabling them to protect themselves if they are forced to engage in unprotected sex. 2. CHAPTER 2 2.1 HIGH-RISK GROUPS OF WOMEN Although there is a vast literature on HIV/AIDS, relatively little has been written about how HIV/AIDS affects women, and what constitutes a high-risk group. In part, this reflects the way AIDS was initially perceived in the West as a â€Å"mens disease†, so much so that until a few years ago a common response to the topic of women and AIDS was â€Å"Do women get AIDS?†, the assumption being that women were at little or no risk (Doyal, et al, 1994). This has never been true of Africa, where the appallingly pervasive epidemic has always been a heterosexual disease and where 55 per cent of those who have been infected were women. In recent years it has become increasingly clear that women can both become infected with HIV and transmit the virus. A study conducted by AWARE (Association for Womens AIDS Research and Education) in America found that women who inject and share needles, have sexual contact with or are artificially inseminated by a man, lesbians, sex workers and those from an ethnic minority, especially black women, were at increased risk of HIV infection (Richardson, 1987). The study also found that most people in these groups are underrepresented in prevention or treatment interventions, and often suffer social stigma, isolation, poverty and marginalisation, which place them at higher risk. Therefore, in this chapter I am going to discuss how some of these groups are vulnerable to infection, and what can be done to prevent and treat infection in these vulnerable groups without inadvertently increasing their stigmatisation. 2.2 PROSTITUTES There is a substantial body of research on the correlation between HIV/AIDS infection and female prostitution. Studies worldwide have revealed cause-and-effect relationships between AIDS and prostitution in a number of areas, including the use of alcohol and/or psychoactive drugs, and have revealed variance in the rate and circumstance of infection from one country to another (OLeary et al, 1996). For example, researchers have found the high rate of AIDS in Africa to be largely a reflection of exposure through sexual activity only, while in the US and Europe, transmission of the AIDS virus is more likely to come from prostitutes or customers who are also IV drug users. Many writers have pointed out that real social concern about HIV infection did not materialise until its potential â€Å"spread to heterosexuals† was recognised. What is less often pointed out is that concern for the â€Å"spread to heterosexuals† has mostly been manifest in concern for the spread to heterosexual men, not heterosexual women (Flowers, 1998). The expressed fear is that HIV will spread from women to men, allegedly through prostitution. In the press and the international scientific literature on AIDS, often the light cast upon Women in Prostitution (WIP) has been a harsh one. WIP have been identified as a â€Å"risk group†, a â€Å"reservoir of infection†, and a â€Å"bridge† for the HIV epidemic. Such technical, epidemiological language has depicted WIP as vectors of HIV infection (Scharf and Toole, 1992). Rather than presenting WIP as links in broader networks of heterosexual HIV transmission, women categorised as prostitutes have bee n described as â€Å"infecting† their unborn infants, their clients and indirectly their clients other female sexual partners, as though HIV originated among WIP (Scharf and Toole, 1992). Like posters from WWI and WWII which aimed to warn armed servicemen in Europe of the danger of contracting gonorrhoea and syphilis (Brandt, 1985, cited in Flowers et al, 1998), some AIDS-prevention posters have caricatured WIP as evil sirens ready to entice men to their deaths (New African, 1987, cited in Larson, 1988). Interestingly, there is evidence that some HIV-positive men may be inclined to claim that their infection came from a female prostitute, in order to cover up its real origins: sex with a man, or IV drug use. 2.3 PROSTITUTION IN ZIMBABWE There are many reasons why women engage in prostitution in Zimbabwe. Studies show that poverty and deviance are the main causes. Other studies have shown that many women engage themselves in prostitution by their own choice and see it as a career path whilst others might be forced into it (Chudakov, 1995). In Zimbabwe prostitution is illegal, and many women and young girls, especially orphans who engage in prostitution, are driven to it by poverty and economic dislocation, which is being caused by the current economic and political crisis the country is experiencing. According to the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), the hunger and disease-ridden conditions in much of Zimbabwe have forced many children into prostitution in order to feed themselves (UNICEF, 2008). Save the Children, a non-governmental organisation working to create positive changes for disadvantaged children in the country, estimate that girls as young as 12 are now selling their bodies for even the most meagr e of meals, such as biscuits and chips. They also state that the issue is further complicated by the growing presence of child traffickers in the region, looking for young girls to abduct and take to South Africa for the use of potential clients at the 2010 World Cup (Mediaglobal, 2009). Combating child prostitution and trafficking is complicated, but prioritising the alleviation of poverty with particular emphasis on fighting poverty from a childs perspective; prioritising education for all, with emphasis on improving access for girls; and provision of information to victims and survivors of child prostitution and/or trafficking, including information about available counselling and legislative services would be helpful (WHO, 2003). 2.4 PROSTITUTION IN THE UK Prostitution in the UK is different from that in Zimbabwe. The laws around prostitution in England and Wales are far from straight-forward. The act of prostitution is not in itself illegal but a string of laws criminalises activities around it. Under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, it is an offence to cause or incite prostitution or control it for personal gain. The 1956 Sexual Offences Act bans running a brothel and its against the law to loiter or solicit sex on the street. Kerb-crawling is also banned, providing it can be shown that the individual was causing a persistent annoyance (BBC NEWS, 2008). Though actual s are scarce, it has been estimated that at least 2 million women are selling sexual favours in Britain. The bulk of these are brothel prostitutes working in parlours, saunas or private health clubs. According to The First Post published on 18/08/08, prostitution was viewed as â€Å"the new profession†. The article stated that prostitution in Britain is booming, and that thousands of young women have chosen prostitution for independence and financial security. The key factor which has led to a huge rise in this kind of prostitution is the influx of girls from Poland and other Eastern European countries which acceded to the EU in 2000. A strong relationship also exists between UK prostitutes and substance abuse, which drives many into the sex business. Intravenous-drug-using prostitutes are particularly prominent in Scottish cities such as Glasgow (OLeary et al, 1996). According to researchers, 70 per cent of the citys streetwalkers are IV drug addicts, injecting heroin, temazepam and tengesic. In Edinburgh, which has the highest rate of HIV-seropositive IV drug addicts of all cities in Britain, a significant number of those addicts testing HIV positive have been identified as prostitutes. Even though sex workers can transmit HIV/AIDS, blaming them encourages stigma and discrimination against all women. It allows the men who infect sex workers and their own wives to deny that they are infecting others. Wives too can infect their husbands, who can in turn infect sex workers. It is therefore important to note that sex workers and their clients are not serving as a â€Å"bridge† for HIV transmission into the rest of the population. 2.4 LESBIANS Can women transmit the disease to other women through sexual activity? The answer to this question is crucial for a community that knows that HIV is within it even though the question might be difficult to answer as there is â€Å"very little† information on this subject (Richardson, 1987). Lesbians were seen as least likely to be infected, as there was an understanding of HIV as a disease which existed in specific groups of people, for example gay males and intravenous-drug users. Because of these biased attitudes toward people, rather than risk behaviours, no data was systematically gathered. This understanding prevented the healthcare system from defining sexual risk behaviours: it stressed people, not sexual behaviours. It has therefore been noted that most lesbians have been in â€Å"risk situations† or engaged in what would be considered as â€Å"risky behaviour† at some stage. Some lesbians inject drugs and may share needles. Also, a significant number of lesbians have had sex with men before coming out, and many will have had unprotected vaginal or anal intercourse Some may still have sex with men for reproductive purposes (Gorna, 1996). Some may be prostitutes who, for economic reasons or through pressure from a pimp, may have had unprotected sex with clients (Richardson, 1989). According to records from a London sexual health clinic for lesbians, 35 per cent of the lesbians who attended had had sex with a man in the previous six months (Gorna, 1996). As Gorna puts it, this emphasises the fact that â€Å"activity is not always consistent with identity†. In other words, â€Å"we are put at risk by what we do, not by how we define ourselves or who we are† (Bury, 1994, p32). Although the risk of HIV infection from sex between women is very small, it is important for lesbians to look at what they do, how they do it and with whom they do it, just like everyone else, as, â€Å"Low risk isnt no risk† (Richardson, D, 2004). However, they may find it difficult to access services and, if they become ill, they may experience special problems, given that the healthcare system is designed for and administered by a predominantly heterosexual population. There may be a lack of recognition of their relationships, which could lead to isolation and depression. For example in Zimbabwe homosexuality is illegal and punishable by imprisonment of up to 10 years. The President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, views lesbians and gays as â€Å"sexual perverts† who are â€Å"lower than dogs and pigs† (BBC NEWS, 1998). In 1995 he ordered the Zimbabwe International Book Fair to ban an exhibit by the civil-rights group Gays and Lesbians in Zimbabwe (GALZ). He follo wed this ban with warnings that homosexuals should leave the country â€Å"voluntarily† or face â€Å"dire consequences†. Soon afterwards Mugabe urged the public to track down and arrest lesbians and gays. Since these incitements, homosexuals have been fire-bombed, arrested, interrogated and threatened with death (Tatchell, 2001). This makes it difficult for lesbians in Zimbabwe to access information and other services, thus increasing their vulnerability to HIV infection. 2.5 ELDERLY WOMEN The number of older people (older than 50 years) with HIV/AIDS is growing fast. Older adults are infected through the same high-risk behaviours as young adults, though they may be unaware that they are at risk of HIV/AIDS. However, when assessing the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic upon the worlds population, older people are often overlooked. HIV-prevention measures rarely target the older generation, despite the fact that many older people are sexually active and therefore still at risk of being exposed to HIV. The older population is steadily growing larger with the maturing of the â€Å"baby-boomer† generation as well as the availability of antiretroviral drugs which extend peoples life expectancy. Social norms about divorce, sex, and dating are changing, and drugs such as Viagra are facilitating a more active sex life for older adults (NAHOF, 2007, cited in Lundy et al, 2009). Heterosexual women aged 50 and older are most in need of the HIV-prevention message. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS, 2006) estimates that around 2.8 million adults aged 50 years and over are living with HIV, representing 7 per cent of all cases. In the UK, the Health Protection Agency reported that almost 4,000 HIV-infected people who were accessing care in 2006 were aged 55 years or over. Data on this subject from low-income countries like Zimbabwe is fairly patchy. This is because HIV/AIDS surveillance is commonly conducted in antenatal clinics, as many people have little other direct contact with medical services. Data from antenatal clinics does not provide information about people who are above child-bearing age, thus making it difficult for healthcare and service providers to make policies that will impact on the elderly who are infected. Firstly, it has been noted that elderly women can be exposed to HIV via non-consensual sexual contact or rape. Research has shown that some criminals appear to target older women for sexual crimes because they appear to be, and often are, vulnerable to attack (Muram et al, 1992). Elderly women in institutional settings such as nursing homes may also be at greater risk. Some estimates suggest that up to 15 per cent of elderly nursing-home residents have been victims of either sexual or physical abuse, thus increasing their vulnerability to HIV infection (Collins, 2002). Exposure to blood tainted with HIV may also occur when an older woman provides care to adult children who may be suffering from AIDS (Levine-Perkell, 1996). Allers (1990) revealed that more than one-third of all adults who contract A Organisational Flexibility: Definition and Benefits Organisational Flexibility: Definition and Benefits How can we define organizational flexibility? There are many definitions for flexibility. In the sense of managing human resources, flexibility can be defined as the organisation adapting to size, composition, responsiveness and the people . their inputs and costs required to achieved organisational objectives and goals. Organisational flexibility can also be defined when work gets done, where it gets done and how work gets done. Organisational Flexibility includes: Having flex time, so the employee chooses the start of their day and the end of their day, Being able to take off time through the day to take care of family issues, for example an employee being able to go everyday to fetch their children from school and take them home then returning to work, Taking a few days off in order to take care of family matters and not losing any leave days or pay. So an example would be taking days off in order to go look after a sick family member or to go to a funeral or something, An employee working some of their daily work hours at home, so an employee either coming into work late due working at home in the morning, or leaving work early and working at home a few hours, Working shifts, this means employees working different times. Maybe working day shift one week and night shift the other week. Some people might prefer this as it would be more predictable. Therefore they can plan lives, When people choose when they want to work, the hours they want to work, knowing when they can take time off each day. Employees will generally have control over their work day or schedule, Employees can sometimes work longer hours during some days of the week in order to get some days off; they have compressed their work week. Which allows them to have more time for themselves, In some cases employees can advance, go up in their jobs even of they choose their work hours or compress their weeks The need for flexibility in the workplace The need for organisational flexibility is very important. When looking at why there is a need a for flexibility there are factors that are creating the need for flexibility in the workplace. Things are changing all the time, which means an organisation, must be able to take on these changes. Aspects such as social, technological, economical, legal, political and other global factors in which a business operate within are changing all the time, so organisations should be able to adapt when these changes happen. So in other words they need to be flexible. As it says there is a need for flexibility in the workplace, but there is also a need for flexibility in the workforce, meaning the staff. As change happens, how work gets done too changes therefore the workforce should also be flexible. Those aspects I mentioned above, I find is not the factor of change that requires the workplace to be flexible. Another factor I find to be important is the employees. People are changing. Their needs and wants are changing, their ways are changing, how they live is changing and how they work is changing too. Therefore some people are not wanting to work normally, having a Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 job. People are wanting to be more flexible with their time, therefore wanting to work less hours, certain days of the week, have time off or whatever it may be. Therefore some of the workplaces might benefit if they make themselves flexible in the sense of offering these things to employees. So the workplace should be flexible with that factor too. There are some aspects that have allowed flexibility to be put in place in the workplace: * The biggest asset to an organisation is the people who work there, therefore this can create competitive advantage through people. Its best if the organisation is flexible in the number of people and the skills in the workplace * Organisation are becoming more flexible in specialization production, so making specialized goods. And shifting from mass productions. Making goods of the same in bulk * There are changes in life-style, private and work life balance and social changes * There are constant technological changes. Therefore HR services are becoming wider; organisations are doing things differently in the sense of technology. E working and so on I suppose in the past organisations were very structured, rigid. And today there still has to be structure in the workplace, as an organisation wont work if there wasnt some form of structure. In todays workplace, heavily structured organisations, with rigid job specifications, with strict management styles wont work. The workplace is changing due the ever changing and not predictable environments. Therefore that is why there is a need for organisational flexibility. Types of Organisational Flexibility There are a number of different types of organisational flexibility. They are: Functional Flexibility- Functional flexibility basically states that employees will do jobs that go beyond what they are actually there to do. So they will perform jobs that they werent originally specified to do. So employees should be able to do different jobs but still do their own. So the organisation will require multi-skilled employees. So for example would be in an organisation, a debtors clerk doing their own job, which is debtors, but also being able to do creditors when required. Numerical Flexibility- This basically involves an organisation bring labour in or taking labour out in accordance service or product demand. The state of the economy can also be a factor for the organisation to bring in or go without labour. They can control this by the number of employees they need at the time. Therefore they will hire as they need. They can do this by hiring casuals or part time workers. Financial Flexibility- Procedural Flexibility- Skills Flexibility- Attitudinal Flexibility- Structural Flexibility-

Eulogy for my Loving Mother :: essays research papers

Good afternoon, let me just start by saying that the kindness, support, friendship, and love extended to me and my family during this difficult time has really touched my heart- we are sincerely appreciative! During the last moments of my mother’s life she was surrounded by loved ones, as she slowly slipped away into the morning with grace and peace. I can’t begin to express how hard it is for me to stand here before you and give my last respects to my loving mother - name here. From the biography that was handed out you can recall that during the her early years in the united states she studied and worked in New York where she met and married my dad, the love of her life. They spent the rest of their days loyal and in love with one another. Unfortunately, one day my father passed away with cancer at a young age. My dad was the one who suffered the most, but my mom suffered right along with him. She felt powerless, and for my mom- powerlessness turned in to guilt and grief, a painful distress she lived with on a daily basis for the next six years. When he died part of her died! Life for her was never the same again. I was not able to completely understand her loss- until now†¦ Throughout my life my mom has always been selfless and generous- especially when it came to her children and grandchildren†¦ ever putting her self last! SHE WAS MY EVERYTHING†¦ Unlike my sister, I was the one that gave my parents their grey hair†¦ It took me longer than most to mature, and the truth is- that’s putting it mildly. Yet through all the ups and downs, and all the times I would end up disappointing her expectations of me, one thing NEVER changed and that was her belief in me†¦ because of her unconditional love I am the person that I am today†¦ her reassurance and patience made all the difference. Because of her active involvement in my life and Eileen’s she became known to our friends as â€Å"Mama†. Where ever we would go- she would go with us, that’s just the way it was†¦ she got so close to our friends that they formed their own friendship with her.

The Reality of War in John Knowles A Separate Peace Essay -- Separate

The Reality of War in John Knowles' A Separate Peace In his book A Separate Peace John Knowles communicates what war really is. He uses a number of complex characters in a very complicated plot in order to convey the harsh, sad, cruel, destructive forces of war. The Characters Gene and Finny are used as opposing forces in a struggle between that cold reality of war-that is World War II in this story-and a separate peace. A peace away from the real war and all of the terrible things that come with it. Through their relationship, that is a struggle on both sides from the beginning, Knowles establishes the reality of war in all of its essence. Gene Forrester is established as the force of reality which is the war. This idea is established clearly in a lengthy speech Gene gives as the narrator of the story in Chapter Three: Everyone has a moment in history which belongs particularly to him. It is the moment when his emotions achieve their most powerful sway over him, and afterward when you say to this person "the world today" or "life" or "reality" he will assume that you mean this moment, even if it is fifty years past. The world, through his unleashed emotions, imprinted itself upon him, and he carries the stamp of that passing moment forever. (32) This statement explains that Gene must have something that is his "stamp." This stamp appears to define an individual-exemplifying what he stands for. It is found that this is true in the next paragraph where Gene continues, "For me, this moment-four years is a moment in history-war the war. The war was and is reality for me. I still live and think in its atmosphere" (32). Later in the same paragraph he goes on to say: America is not, never has been, and never will be wha... ...ovels." Studies in Short Fiction (Newberry College), vol. 1, no. 2, Winter 1964, pp. 107-112. McDonald, James L. "The Novels of John Knowles." Arizona Quarterly, vol. 23, no. 4, Winter1967, pp. 335-342. Raven, Simon. "No Time for War." The Spectator, vol. 212, no. 6827, May 1, 1959. p. 630. Weber, Ronald. "Narrative Method in A Separate Peace." Studies in Short Fiction (Newberry College), vol. 3, no. 1, Fall 1965, pp. 63-72. Witherington, Paul. "A Separate Peace: A Study in Structural Ambiguity." English Journal (NCTE), vol. 54, no. 9, December 1965, pp. 795-800. Wolfe, Peter. "The Impact of Knowles's A Separate Peace." University of Missouri Review, vol. 36, no. 3, March 1970, pp. 189-198. "School Reports." Times Literary Supplement, no. 2983, May 1, 1959, p. 262. "The Leap." Time, vol. 75, no. 14, April 4, 1960, pp. 96, 98.

Tuesdays with Morrie :: Free Essay Writer

Tuesdays with Morrie At the conclusion of the story there is Morrie slowly but surely deteriorating. At this point, he has finally â€Å"gotten† to Mitch and now Mitch is starting to show some emotions. One section in this portion of the book that really made me happy when reading it was the fact that Mitch was able to get in touch with his brother, tell him how he truly feels and how much he values their relationship and so they develop another one between the two before it’s too late. Morrie’s lessons are extremely important to everyone that he comes into contact with; he even brought out the best in Mitch’s wife Janine when she came to see him. The relationship that Morrie and Ted Koppel had developed in the three visits shows that anyone that he comes into contact with has no choice but to become attached to him. Morrie’s help became so bad in the last 3 sections or so to the point that he could not get out of the bed, Mitch had never seen him like this becaus e he was not one to lay around in the bed all day. His worse nightmare had happened, the disease had attacked his lungs and there was nothing else that could be done, a treatment had been developed but it didn’t cure the disease only prolonged it and Morrie was too far along for that. When Morrie died at the end of the story he was in the room by himself, he took his last breath when the family member that was holding vigil at his bedside walked to the kitchen. He had a private funeral for just close family and friends and Mitch vowed to keep their traditions of Tuesdays going but instead he would do all the talking and Morrie just listen. This has been the best book that I have read in a long time. It was filled with so many lessons that we as a society ignore.

Shakespeare’s Henry V Minor Characters

Christina Priester Amy Smith Eng 205 10/15/12 The main characters in Shakespeare's Henry V are extraordinarily compelling. From the beginning of the play, most of the focus is directed to interactions between King Henry and other royalty or people of status and significance. Very little attention is focused on the minor characters, the peasants- the Hostess, the Boy, and the soldiers- Bardolf, Nym, and Pistol. Although these characters have only small parts in the play, they are essential. They take the spotlight for a moment, temporarily diverting our attention from the King and his political responsibilities.Each of them contribute necessary background information, their opinion of King Henry, and the soldier's perspective of the upcoming battle, The first act of the play is focused on the conspiracy between the leaders of the Church and King Henry making the decision to go to war with France. While all of the political information is needed for the plot, it is quite dense, and som e of it is hard to get through. There is some relief in Act II of the play, when the Hostess, the Boy, Bardolf, Nym, and Pistol are introduced.There is some humor in the exchanges between the soldiers. For example, Bardolph to Nym: â€Å"What, are Ancient Pistol and you friends yet? † Nym answers, and Bardolph to Nym: â€Å"I will bestow a breakfast to make you friends and we'll all three be sworn brothers to France. † This is clearly a sarcastic teasing remark to Nym, with the suggestion these two situations will never happen. The scene becomes grim when the Boy enters, informing them of Falstaff's illness. Falstaff is seriously ill, and in scene three of Act II, we learn that Falstaff has passed on.The soldiers grieve for their lost friend, but the Hostess has the strongest emotional reaction. She was caring for him at his bedside when he passed away. Falstaff was an integral character in the preceding play, King Henry IV. He and the other soldiers were friends of He nry before he became King. The friendship between Henry and Falstaff ended harshly. The Hostess, along with the soldiers think Falstaff's illness is in part caused by Henry's harsh treatment of Falstaff. In the passage by the Hostess, just after the Boy enters, she makes a statement â€Å"The King has killed his heart. After Nym and Pistol settle their quarrel, the Hostess tells the men to visit Falstaff, and Nym comments â€Å"The King hath run bad rumors on the knight, that's the even of it. † Although they hold the King partially to blame for Falstaff falling ill, they still seem to hold King Henry in high regard. Nym makes a statement to Pistol â€Å"The King is a good King, but it must be as it may, he passes some humors and careers. † The interpretation of this phrase is that although the King is good, he still has quirks and faults of his own.Pistol expresses his opinion of King Henry in Act IV, on the eve of battle when Henry, disguised as a volunteer soldier engages Pistol in a conversation. He tells Henry he thinks the King is a fine fellow, with a heart of gold, was raised well by his parents. He goes on to proclaim he love and loyalty to King Henry. Pistol is unaware he is speaking to the King himself. He shows contempt for the disguised King when he finds out about Henry's relation to Fluellen, the Captain that ordered the execution of Bardolph.King Henry is very adamant about the execution of Bardolph in Act III when he is caught stealing a holy relic from a French church. Henry gives his reasoning that Bardolph should be so punished â€Å"We would have all such offenders cut off. And we give express charge that, in our marches through the country, there be nothing compelled from the villages, nothing taken, but paid for, none of the French upbraided or abused in disdainful language; for when lenity and cruelty play for a kingdom, the gentler gamester is the soonest winner. This passage is basically saying he wants to make an exam ple of Bardolph as a warning to his soldiers to be respectful and not have the villages in France pillaged or the citizens terrorized, or they will have to face the consequences of their actions. He also feels that the French prisoners should face the consequences for the slaying of the Boys, and orders their throats to be cut. His anger fuels this decision because he wants justice for the boys that were slaughtered.At the end of battle, Henry carries the Boy, showing his sorrow for the loss of these young men. Overall, King Henry is seen by his soldiers as good and just, yet firm with his punishment of his subjects. Without the minor characters, our judgment of the King may be harshly skewed. They are also the only link in this play between the King and Falstaff. The minor characters enlighten our understanding of the King, give us some background information, and serve their purpose well.