Sociological Concepts of Shutter Island Essay Example

Sociological Concepts of Shutter Island Essay Example Sociological Concepts of Shutter Island Paper Sociological Concepts of Shutter Island Paper Shutter Island is about a World War II veteran, Andrew Laeddis who believes he is a United States marshal. He believe he has been sent to Ashecliffe mental hospital in Shutter Island, Boston to investigate a missing patient. Along the way Andrew faces several hardships but those that are most pressing lie in the areas of deviance, illness, and intelligence. Andrew Laeddis is actually at Ashecliffe because he killed his wife after she drowned their three children in the lake behind their house. He knew he was mentally ill but did not find her appropriate help, therefore making him feel responsible for the death of his children. He created the alter ego of U. S. Marshal Teddy Daniels because he could not stand to be Andrew Laeddis knowing what he had done to contribute to his childrens death. Although it was not his own deviance that left him in Ashecliffe, it was his wives that did. No matter the circumstances, murder goes against social norms and most often entails some form of punishment. All of the people around him while at Ashecliffe were deviants, mostly murders and became a part of who he was as Teddy Daniels. Perhaps, Andrew Laeddis did not seek help for his wife Dolores because of the negative stigma that goes along with mental illness. She believed there was a bug in her brain, Andrew was aware of this and his ignorance may have ultimately lead to the death of his three children. Andrew created an alternate universe for himself where he did not have to feel guilt. He said he would rather die a good man, than live as a monster. Although it was ultimately mental illness, his knowledge helped him cope with the trauma he had faced. His doctors were able to create a role play that helped him realize the truth. Shortly after, he relapsed, likely because reality was too difficult for him to deal with. Many social issues are addressed in Shutter Island. Humans often face the issues of deviance, illness, and knowledge. Andrew Laeddis story was able to bring all of these issues to a whole new level.

Catfights and Dogfights

Catfights and Dogfights Catfights and Dogfights Catfights and Dogfights By Maeve Maddox The following headline on the editorial page of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette caught my eye: Catfight at pet clinic The first sentence of the editorial told me that whoever wrote the headline: 1. hadn’t read the editorial; 2. didn’t know the meaning of â€Å"catfight† How I know: 1. the editorial was about something that happened at an animal shelter, not a clinic. 2. the incident being commented on involved a worker who had threatened to kill his fellow workers. I don’t know of any definition of catfight that includes terroristic threatening. Here are two definitions of catfight as given in the OED: A fight between cats. A vicious fight or altercation, esp. between women. Merriam-Webster makes no reference to fighting women in its definition: catfight: a bitter and usually intensely personal dispute The definition at Answers.com also avoids any display of insensitivity towards women: A fight between or among cats. Informal. A vociferous dispute: a catfight between farmers and the government over subsidies. I suggest that what most people understand by catfight, when not used literally of felines, is a fight, verbal or physical, between or among women, as described here: Catfight is a term for an altercation between two women, typically involving scratching, slapping, hair-pulling, and shirt-shredding as opposed to punching or wrestling. Wikipedia The word dogfight, has different connotations. The OED hyphenates the word as dog-fight: A fight between dogs. transf. A general disturbance or mà ªlà ©e; spec. a ‘scrap’ between aircraft. Merriam-Webster spells it as one word, dogfight: 1 : a fight between or as if between dogs : MELEE; broadly : a fiercely disputed contest 2 : a fight in aerial warfare between two or more fighter planes usually maneuvering at close quarters Answers.com adds an addtional definition: An illegal, organized fight between dogs, arranged for spectator entertainment and betting. Political correctness aside, the words dog and cat carry gendered cultural connotations. For example, if someone describes a heterosexual married couple fighting â€Å"like cats and dogs,† which member of the couple do you think represents which animal in the mind of the hearer? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Punctuate References to Dates and TimesOne Fell SwoopEducational vs. Educative

What was is it Like to Participate in Civil War Essay

What was is it Like to Participate in Civil War - Essay Example What was is it Like to Participate in Civil War Slavery was not only the cause of the spark of combat, but also extended its roots into the soldier’s camps when the war began. For instance, black soldiers participated in the war at a significant threat to their lives especially from the confederate government who threatened to execute summarily or sell them to slavery. Some of the black union soldiers were captured and severely humiliated. One black soldier Aerambo Boyart in a letter to his wife reveals the harsh realities of the war as union armed forces attempted to triumph over Charleston. In the letter Boyart writes, â€Å"It is with great pleasure that I send a few lines to alert you that I am in the land of living and in the midst of death in every form and shape†. Participation in the civil required some sense of discipline, it is the universal aspect of nobility in the brigade or army to full execute the mission. Both units maintained a relatively standard discipline in obeying the orders of the camp commanders despite little different expression of opinions during the war period. For instance, when President Lincoln responded to attacks on fort Sumter and called 75000 militia volunteers. One individual Robert Lee of Virginia opposed the decision and even resigned; as a result. Another area where discipline is exhibit is on the slave’s role in the liberation. The slaves in confederacy deserted the plantations and fled to union lines. There also were few insurrections during the war as slave style began to disentangle.

Mission of University of San Francisco Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mission of University of San Francisco - Essay Example I believe that my personal beliefs and experiences have prepared me to continue my education at the University of San Francisco not only as means to greater academic knowledge, but also to contribute to campus life and learning during my enrollment. Much of my life has been centered on living and learning Christian values and principles. I attended a Christian high school and found it to be a wonderful experience. My high school experience was academically challenging. I enjoyed the secular learning and am well prepared for higher academic endeavors. I do feel, however, that the greatest learning I experienced in high school was the development of my own personal beliefs about and relationship with God. Through my time in high school, I have developed a set of beliefs that I feel matches the values and sensitivities the University of San Francisco tries to instill and develop in students. My first core belief that I developed in high school is the belief that all knowledge must be us ed to do good in the world. Knowledge is like the Pearl of Great Price mentioned by Jesus. Many have left all behind to follow after it. In my mind, this is only the first part of the righteous pursuit of knowledge. Knowledge that is not applied changes knowledge from a Pearl of Great Price into pearls before swine. I believe that my secular studies in math, science and the arts can be used to guide my life’s work. This work must be enlightening, engaging and uplifting for me and for those around me. By using all of my knowledge to uplift through my life’s work, I hope to add some much needed humanity to the world in which we live. Another core belief I developed in high school is the belief that a variety of skills are necessary in order to live a productive and happy life. Early on in my high school career, I was upset by the fact that cliques seemed to rule so much of student life. I could see from the start that groups, which exclude others, or try to enforce a fal se conformity upon the individuals within the group, are inherently unjust. Small things, such as the discouragement by school counselors for academically inclined students to take art classes, seemed so unfair to me. Why can’t a person be great at physics and portraiture? I learned that encouraging the development of talents and skills in others, even if they failed to fit into a particular mold, was a very liberating experience. The injustice in being forced to live a life that is not really yours is among the most pervasive yet preventable injustices in our world today. A value that was developed in me at an early age by my family, and continued to grow throughout my high school years is that of charity. When I say charity, I am referring to the pure love that we can have for one another as human beings. This feeling of charity that I have for others has lead me to some of my greatest experiences and my most unlikely friendships. For me, strangely enough, charity and food seem to go hand-in-hand. I have volunteered for Meals-on-Wheels throughout my high school career. I participated in preparing and delivering meals to individuals in my neighborhood. These were all older individuals. By giving a bit of time, I found that I was able to greatly bless some of these people that were so lonely. Listening to the stories of their lives and their opinions about current events has greatly enriched my life and broadened my understanding. May of these clients became friends in the truest sense of the word. What I learned from volunteering for Meals-on-Wheels is that we all need human contact and a humane disposition towards those in need. This lesson extended to other food related volunteer opportunities. I worked for an organization called Dream

Les Demoiselles D’avignon Essay Example for Free

Les Demoiselles D’avignon Essay My museum paper is on the Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, painted by Pablo Picasso in Paris, June-July 1907. Oil on canvas, 8’x7’ 8† (243.9233.7cm). He became one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century and the creator (with Georges Braque) of Cubism. A Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, Picasso was considered radical in his work. Born October 25, 1881, Malaga, Spain, and after a long prolific career, he died April 8, 1973 in Mougins, France. This was my first time at the Museum of Modern Art; I never went there because I never had everyone to go with me. I went with my cousin; she is an art teacher and who better to go to the Museum of Modern Art with then an art teacher. When we first got to the museum there wasn’t much to see in the lobby. We went on the escalator to the fifth floor were hundreds of people walking all thought-out the galleries. My cousin explained all the different types of art and artists to me as we were walking though the galleries. I ended up in the Alfred H. Barr Jr. Painting and Sculpture Galleries where I seen a painting from a French painter, Fernand Leger called â€Å"Women with a Book† I thought that was the painting that I wanted to do my report on, but when I seen art work from Pablo Picasso like, The Studio, Ma Jolie and The Three Musician I was speechless. Some of his work that I seen at the museum was breathtaking, but one in particular caught my eye; it was the Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. It is located in the Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller, Second Gallery. As you walk into the gallery, the â€Å"Les Demoiselles d’Avignon† is the first painting you see, because of how large it is, and all the bright colors in the art work. When I seen the Les Demoiselles d’Avignon in my art book I through that it was a nice painting, but when I stood right in-front of it I was astonish. The Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is not just a painting; it truly is a master piece. There had to be about thirty people standing around the Les Demoiselles d’Avignon and another twenty people looking at the other art work in the room. Some people were just standing looking at the painting, some taking pictures. As I, started taking pictures of Les Demoiselles d’Avignon I couldn’t help but notice the painting to the right, it was called â€Å"Repose† and to the left was another painting called the â€Å"Two Nudes† both are painted by Picasso. Les Demoiselles d’Avignon are the woman of Avignon, the term demoiselles (meaning â€Å"young ladies†), was a euphemism for prostitutes and â€Å"Avignon† refers not to the French town but to a street in the red-light district of the city of Barcelona where Picasso was a young artist. (Art A Brief History), pg 532. Print. The d’Avignon are actually five prostitutes, and these are five women naked. They’re looking at us, as much as we’re looking at them. The very early studies show a sailor walking into this curtained room where the ladies stand and the woman on the far left now has the traces of having been that man entering the room, and you can even feel a certain masculinity in the sort of sculptural carving of her body and the way that the very large foot is stepping toward the others. It almost seem like it’s a build-up of geometric forms, and if you look at the chest of the woman at the very top right, you can see one of these cubes making up the space underneath her chin, thus the name Cubism. One striking aspect of this painting is the way that it’s staged on which these women are painted, is almost looming out at the viewer. Rather than feeling like these woman are nice and safely set back in some kind of room, that you are peering into. I feel like the woman are almost piled on top of each other. Piled in such a way that the canvas is almost stepping out at the viewer. Its part of the desire of the painting to confront you, I think physically, psychologically, as well as intellectually with everything that’s going on in it. It’s painted in pinkish, peach flesh skin tones against a back drop of brown, white and blue curtains. The figures are very flat and theirs is little illusion that these are real bodies. Looking at the five figu res from left to right, the woman to the far left is standing in profile facing right with her left hand; she reaches up behind her head to hold an orange brown curtain back. She has long straight black hair falling down her back. Her head, from the neck up peers to be in shadow or sun-tan, it’s a darker brown than the pinkish flesh of her body. She stares straight ahead expressionless. Her right eye from the front view is large, simplified and out-lined in black with a black pupil surrounded by brown. Her right arm hangs stiffly by her side. Her breast jets forward in a ruff square shape. Beside this figure, in the center of this painting are two women looking directly forward, straight out of the canvas. Their black eyes are wide and uneven. Their left eye brows extend a sweeping line to form simplify noses. Their mouths are straight lines. The one on the left raises her bent right elbow and places her hand behind her head, as if posing seductively. Her black hair is pulled back and falls behind her left shoulder. Her breasts are half circles; none of the women’s breast has nipples. The women on the right, raises both arms and puts both hands behind her hand. Her dark brown hair is pulled into a high bun. The last two figures don’t fit in with the painting, they are unexpected. The one to the top right stands back, her raised arms parting the blue curtain on which she’s coming out from. Her black hair hangs down her back; one eye socket black and empty. Her nose, like her face is large and elongated, striped diagonally in green across her cheek, suggesting less the face of a human then the forms of an African mask. In front of her, is another woman she is sitting or squatting, elbow on one raised knee which jets forward at the center of the painting almost looks as if her back is facing the viewer, but that is not true because her dark tan face is turned towards the viewer. She raises her arm to her face and beneath her chin is a large ambiguous form recalling a boomerang, it might be her hand, or a piece of melon she’s eating. Her body is flat and her nose is also stripped. Her face looks like a mask, and she has one uneven eye completely white, the other completely blue. The drapery behind them doesn’t hang softly; it looks like shatter pieces of glass with blue and white tones. In the center at the bottom of the painting are assorted fruits on a wrinkle white cloth; a pear, an apple, grapes and a slice of melon. The pear and apple have shrieks of red in them, the melon is reddish too and the grapes are grayish white. In conclusion, my experience at the Museum of Modern Art was delightful. Walking through the museum and seeing ancient statues and painting from so many different decades was so fulfilling. I didn’t realize how much I enjoy looking at art work; I just wanted to see more and more. I kept asking myself, how did they do this? How did they do that? What were they thinking when they paint this? Even though I didn’t get all my answers I was like a sponge, soaking it all up. What a wonderful, amazing day. I will definitely go back. Bibliography: Cothren Michael W., and Marilyn Stokstad. Art: A Brief History 4th ed. Page.531, 19-7. Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest (333.1939) Laurence King Publishing Ltd, London. (2010-2007) Print. Museum of Modern Art 11 West 53 Street, New York, NY 10019. April 29, 2012 Pablo Picasso. Les Demoiselles dAvignon. 1907. Oil on canvas, 8 x 7 8 (243.9 x 233.7 cm). Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest.  © 2003 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. http://www.moma.org/ Web. (2012).

The Mouse and His Child :: American Literature

The Mouse and His Child, by Russell Hoban, is a melancholy fable about a wind-up pair of tin mice that explore various themes such as hope and perseverance. However, the prevailing lesson taken from this book can be found in the way that Hoban employs his cast of wind-up toys to advocate the importance of the family unit. The story begins with the family together, but it is divided and they go out in separate directions. The father mouse and his child have different views on what to do after the break up of the family. The father's goal of self-winding is a wish for independence, while his child only wishes to bring the family back together. In fact, when the child tells Frog, "I want to find the elephant, I want her to be my mama, and I want the seal to be my sister..." (35), the father is flabbergasted since he was not aware of his child's desire. However, since they are bound together with the father mouse pushing the child along, the father's dream of self-winding/independence takes priority. Hoban cleverly uses the dialogue of the father mouse to show that the family broke up because of differences between the father and mother. In reply to his child's desire to go look for the elephant/mama and the seal/sister, the father says, "I cannot imagine myself being cozy with that elephant." (46) Yet the father humors his child and goes in the direction that they believe may lead them to the seal/sister and elephant/mama saying, "Finding the elephant would be as pointless as looking for her, but since I cannot convince you of that, ... we shall (at least) see something of the world" (47). While the elephant/mama had grown accustom to her royal lifestyle at the dollhouse in the store, she began to be snooty to her family. In replying to why she had been at the store so long she stated, "I'm part of the establishment...and this is my house." (5). It is not until she has been separated from her possessions and the family that she realizes how well off she was when the family was together. When she sees the father and child cutting the tree, she is "completely overwhelmed" (127). Until then she had only thought of herself. She realizes the error of their split as "a world of love and pain was printed on her vision" (128).

Relating Philosophy to Pedagogy Essay

Within any early childhood education (ECE) setting the pedagogy of the educators will have great impact on the programmes and philosophies which the children within that setting will be influenced by. Teachers have a responsibility to build and maintain authentic, open, reciprocal relationships with children, families and the community (Gailer, 2010). This is not only an integral part of the early childhood curriculum Te Whariki which has relationships as one of its four foundation principles (Ministry of Education [MoE], 1996) but also part of the teaching standards and ethics. As a teacher I relish in the chance to build relationships with many different children, all unique in their culture, strengths, ideas and way of being. The importance I place on relationships sits well with both Vygotsky’s and Bronfenbrenner’s sociocultural theories. Vygotsky emphasised the importance of the people surrounding a child, seeing them crucial for supporting and enhancing the child’s development. Bronfenbrenner extended this into a model of contextual factors, using ideas about five kinds of contexts surrounding the individual child including their micro- and meso-systems where the interactions of their day-to-day realities occur (Drewery & Bird, 2004). These theories have been vital in the development of New Zealand’s early childhood curriculum, Te Whariki, and so my understandings of these and with my personal philosophy I hope to have the skills to be able to build respectful reciprocal relationships with all learners. Building these relationships however is not as easy as people outside of the profession often assume. Appendix 2 shows Suzie Gailer’s (2010) article on being professional, the article discusses how professional integrity of practice is reliant on teachers having a particular set of values, respect, authenticity, empowerment and transparency. The image of the child is culturally constructed and linked to our time and place in history, the image I have as a teacher today of children is very different to that of which I was viewed as a child. My image of the child has altered as I have gained both practical and theoretical teaching experience. In my first practicums I did not necessarily know what to expect about building initial relationships with children but as I have gained knowledge I now know that children can be trusted to build these relationships in timeframes which are right for them. Te Whariki (MoE, 1996) presents the image of children as competent learners and communicators and I now uphold this image in my teaching practice and as a parent (Appendices 3, 4 & 5), along with the values of respect which I have articulated through the following of Magda Gerber’s work. From my own relatively limited practical experience and theoretical knowledge I can relate to the notion of Edwards & Nuttall (2005) where â€Å"the pedagogy, or ‘the act of teaching’, is not only mediated by educators’ understandings about the children, learning, and the curriculum; their understandings about the social settings in which they work, their personal experiences beyond the workplace and their engagement with the centre’s wider community all have a role in determining the educator’s actions† (p. 36). My own underlying beliefs, values and philosophies all impact on my teaching style and, although often unconsciously, on the way I relate to individuals. Commitment to reflective practice, the personal philosophy I have articulated and the desire for professional development will aid me in holding true to a pedagogy which is responsive in time as well as to individuals. This pedagogy with its identified aspects of assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation is influenced by my values and experiences and I attempt to explain and reflect upon these in this essay. The main assessment process I use is ‘Learning Stories’, an approach developed by Dr. Margaret Carr. Learning stories show a snapshot of a learning experience which has been shared with the child or children involved and are a record of the interests and strengths of the child. Research shows that learning is more effective when it is derived from interests, encouraging motivation and the sense of confidence that comes from working within one’s own strengths. The learning story framework is based on the belief that developing good learning dispositions is the most important skill in early childhood and this fits well with my values of respect and having the Te Whariki image of the child, a confident, competent learner and communicator. The foundations of learning stories are the dispositions found in Te Whariki and in my own learning stories these are highlighted, showing fellow educators, parents and whanau how I work to support children’s learning in all aspects of the programme and curriculum (Appendices 4, 6 & 7). Upholding this image of children in practice is however met with challenges. Woodrow (1999) describes how there are resulting constructions of childhood based on how individuals experienced childhood, on cultural artefacts and on professional knowledge, Ellen Pifer (2000) also describes these conflicting images in her book Demon or Doll (Appendix 8) which has truly opened my mind to ways of seeing individuals. Other teaching professionals may hold different images of children such as the child as innocent or as an embryo adult and this will impact on the way they act around and towards children. Having a commitment towards reflective practice and regularly evaluating my personal pedagogy will allow me to deal with these challenges, giving me the skills to explain my viewpoint and understand that of others so that the best possible outcome is achieved. To undertake such assessment it is important to build a relationship with the children and these reciprocal relationships are another key part of my philosophy. This value has changed with my experience and theoretical knowledge, in my initial practicum I was unsure about how to go about building relationships that are both respectful and reciprocal (Appendices 9 & 10) but my confidence in this has, and will continue, to grow (Appendix 11). I believe that building a reciprocal relationship means sharing aspects of my life with children and not expecting them to reveal themselves without the favour being returned. I have a huge passion towards animals and I have shared this with the children on my last two practicums by taking along my guinea pigs (Appendix 12). The children feel aspects of empowerment and trust as I allow them to be intimately involved with a very important part of my personal life. Building such relationships prior to undertaking assessment highlights the spiral nature of teaching and the aspects of pedagogies. Taking the guinea pigs to the centre required planning and careful implementation, including discussion with staff and families to ensure cultural needs were met. Some cultures do not agree with the keeping of animals as pets and in order to uphold the respectful image of the child and relationships with the family and community I needed to accept and respect this belief. The centre policies and legislation also play a role in planning and implementation, health and hygiene regulations needed to be considered for this activity and for others many different policies will come into play. For further assessment and planning the involvement of colleagues and whanau in the learning stories and other documentation would play a vital role in the continuation of the interest but unfortunately the short nature of the practicum did not allow for this. Cultural needs and matches weight heavily in the planning and implementation stages of my pedagogy. This is linked to all the values in my philosophy; relationships, respect and equity. These values mean that I believe in focussing on skills and talents rather than on deficiencies to create learning environments, for example respecting that crying is a valid attempt at communication and can be a qualified learning experience (Appendix 11). Nyland (2004) describes how the participation rights and contexts of infants’ knowledge can be overlooked in childcare settings. On-line discussions with fellow students regarding this reading give support to the idea that disrespectful environments adversely affect the identity and participation of children. What happens in an environment when an identity is missing altogether and children are faced with images of white middle class able bodied members of society? What message is that giving to these children and their families? You don’t belong? You are not a real member of our society? We don’t value you? The environments we plan for the children speak volumes about how we view society and the people we respect and value (Ellis, R. , Fuamatu, P. Perry Smith, A. M. Moodle; September 2011). During planning I therefore need to think ahead about resources which reflect the cultures within the setting and the community. This can be achieved through communication with other educators in the setting, parents, and other members of the community such as kaumatua or the local priest. Planning for social occasions is also important to me as I feel they link the ECE setting with the wider community and social values. This includes events such as Mother’s and Father’s day (Appendix 13) as well as cultural occasions such as the Lantern Festival, Diwali and Pasifika events. Although during such planning I am mindful of the goals and learning outcomes which Te Whariki and the teaching standards present I also constantly remind myself of the holistic nature in which the learning will occur. Lawrence (2004) describes the shift in thinking and programme planning in ECE settings over the past two decades, from keeping children busy to planning cycles and then Te Whariki. Lawrence clarifies that although the word planning is still used; it is not in the traditional sense of the word but rather can be seen as â€Å"reflectively responding to children’s thinking (p. 16). † An example in her rticle shows how the learning experience of children can be very different to that pre-planned or expected by the teacher (Appendix 14). A challenge presents itself where teachers have been trained and had experience in times where different planning programmes were utilised, disagreeing views and beliefs can lead to conflict within teaching teams and a dedicat ion to reflective practice is required by all parties if favourable outcomes are to be reached. This reflective practice is a vital part of the evaluation process of my pedagogy. What worked? What didn’t work? Where do I go from here? Schon (2002) described how the entire process of reflection-in-action, where our knowing is in our action, is central to the skill practitioners have in dealing with situations of uncertainty, instability and uniqueness as well as valuing conflict. Holding true to a value where children are respected as individuals and valued for their own unique set of skills, uncertain and unique situations are inevitable in the day-to-day practice of an ECE setting. With the set of reflective skills I now possess I hope to be able to turn these situations of uncertainty into ones of learning, for both myself and children involved. With continuing professional development and an ever increasing amount of practical experience I feel I am in good stead to continue my career as an early childhood educator and support the children within my influence to grow up in line with the aspirations of Te Whariki, â€Å"competent and confident learners and communicators †¦ a valued contribution to society†.

King Leopold’s Ghost

The subtitle of King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild reads more like an ad for a current spy movie than a history occurring in the Congo in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa. Hochschild writes about the conditions in the Belgian Congo, approximately modern day Zaire, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.This is the story of the transformation of a country from a colony greatly abused and used by the policies of King Leopold II of Belgium. Forced labor, stripping of natural resources were common. King Leopold's Ghost is the story of the terror that occurred because of King Leopold's greed and of the affects felt many years after his death. It is the story of honorable men such as, Edmund Dene Morel, an English business man from Liverpool and George Washington Williams, an American African American who had served the Union during the Civil war and had fought against Emperor Maximilian (brother-in-law of Leopold II) before beginning work in journalism. It is the story of these men and others and their efforts to mobilize the world against the abuses in the Belgian Congo (Hochschild 1-5, 101-103).Adam Hochschild has a long distinguished career as a journalist and writer. He has published a wide variety of books and articles, some also dealing with social political history in Africa such as King Leopold's Ghost and The Mirror at Midnight that deals with apartheid in South Africa in the mid-1800s. In Bury the Chains Hochschild writes of the attempts to bring slavery to an end in eighteenth century throughout Europe and the Americas.According to his publisher, Houghton Mifflin, King Leopold's Ghost was a finalist for the 1998 National Book Critics Circle Awards. He has written for a variety of magazines Ramparts, The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, and The New Yorker Magazine among others. Currently he teaches narrative writing at University of California at Berkeley gradua te school. Hochschild's writing style is a combination of journalism, historical, and at times travel writing. It fits nicely into the niche commonly called new journalism or creative non-fiction. His work reads well and, although disturbing, is engaging and important to read.Hochschild begins his book with a brief history of the development of the slave trade beginning in the mid to late fifteenth century. Portuguese exploration led to the discovery of the Congo River in 1482. This marked the first sustained contact between Europeans and the African nation the Kingdom of the Kongo.Hochschild points out that slavery had been practiced within the African Continent before but when the Europeans arrived the â€Å"institution† dramatically changed, â€Å". . . when Europeans showed up ready to buy endless shiploads of slaves, they found African chiefs willing to sell† (Hochschild 10). As exploration of the Western Hemisphere grew and more land came under European dominance a need for a large market for laborers in mining, on sugar and coffee plantations. Consequently the slave trade flourished (Hochschild 6-16).Hochschild presents an interesting account of the relationship between Leopold II and Henry Morton Stanley. Stanley was a Welshman, masquerading as an American, journalist working throughout the United States. Stanley had served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil war. On the second day of the Battle of Shiloh Stanley was captured by Union soldiers and sent to what later became known as a notorious Union POW camp just outside of Chicago. Stanley showed his ability to land on his feet and make the best of any situation by enlisting in the Union army to obtain his freedom. His army career was short-lived when he received a medical discharge because he suffered from dysentery (pun enjoyed, but unintended).After working at sea, Stanley enlisted in the Union Navy where he worked as a clerk on the Minnesota. In early 1865 Stanley deser ts the navy and begins writing journalism about the American West. Soon he was hired by the New York Herald and sent to Africa to cover the war in Suez. From there he joined a variety of journalists writing dispatches from Africa. He traveled the Nile, found international fame when he found Dr. Livingstone and came under the influence of Leopold II (Hochschild 21-60). Leopold contracted with Stanley for five years at the rate of 25,000 francs per year for time and 50,000 francs for time spent in Africa (each franc is about $5 in current funds). Stanley was to head expeditionary forces that would look for resources such as ivory that could be sold in Europe.From this point Hochschild writes about the increase of Belgian influence in the Congo along with increased funneling of Congolese natural resources into Leopold's treasury and increased violence. At the same time Morel and Williams increased their efforts to inform the world of conditions in the Congo. Their efforts were successf ul as organizations throughout the western world began to lend their support to the effort. As the story of events in the Congo became better known, people such as Stanley tried to distance themselves from Leopold II and his past.In chapter 15 â€Å"A Reckoning† Hochschild summarizes the horror under Leopold's reign. Although not technically â€Å"genocide† as it was not a deliberate, sanctioned attempt to eliminate a particular ethnic group, the effects were of such proportion. Hochschild attributes the large number of deaths to four sources: murder, starvation, disease, and a â€Å"plummeting† birth rate† (226). Force Publique soldiers were known to kill everyone they could find when a district failed to produce its quota of rubber. According to Hochschild â€Å"the list of specific massacres on record goes on and on† (226-228).As the terror increased thousands of people fled from their villages. The French government estimated that at least 30,00 0 entered French controlled countries. Others fled to the English controlled Northern Rhodesia. Along the way many died due to starvation and exposure. According to one Presbyterian missionary, there were at least 40,000 refugees living in the forests without shelter within a seventy-five mile radius of Luebo (Hochschild 229-230). Hochschild points out the far more people died of disease in the area during this period than by being shot. Smallpox was endemic; sleeping sickness (caused by the bite of the pink-striped tse-tse fly) killed an estimated 500,000 in 1900 alone (Hochschild 230-231).Due to the forced labor where men were sent to work camps for weeks at a time the number of children born decreased alarmingly. A visitor in 1910 reported a distinct absence of children between the ages of seven and fourteen; this corresponds exactly with the height of the rubber harvesting.   According to estimates Hochschild writes that the population of the Congo had decreased by half betwee n 1880 and 1920. A 1924 estimate of the population was ten million. This indicates ten million people died or fled the country during this period without being replaced by new births or immigration (Hochschild 231-233).Unfortunately, as history expands its areas of specialization from the traditional all-white, male dominated governmental emphasis into the more marginalized people it becomes apparent that throughout world history genocide has been a much more common phenomenon than previously believed. This is a very good book that should be read by more people. The number of people killed is shocking. It would be nice to think such things only happened in the past; unfortunately events in Somalia, Rwanda and throughout the Middle East indicate this is not the case. It is to be hoped that such events are never forgotten nor repeated.Works CitedHochschild, Adam. King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, A Mariner Book, 1999. â€Å"Adam Hochschild.† 2007. Houghton Mifflin Company. 27 Feb. 2007 ;http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/catalog/authordetail.cfm?authorID=2188;.

Competition in Health Care Essay Essay Example

Competition in Health Care Essay Essay Example Competition in Health Care Essay Essay Competition in Health Care Essay Essay Essay Topic: Competition For this assignment the category was instructed to depict the different signifiers of competition that take topographic point among assorted types of wellness attention organisations. measure the benefits and booby traps of competition in wellness attention and suggest options if competition was non the primary driver of operations in the U. S. wellness attention system. explicate the elements of successful competition and the usage of competitory intelligence. depict the influence competition has on the services offered by wellness attention organisations and the picks patients have. Health attention as in all industries. competition among concerns has long been encouraged as a mechanism to increase value for patients. In the overpowering bulk of industries. houses compete with each other to sell more merchandises or services to clients. their purpose being to capture more of the customer’s dollar ( Spath A ; Abraham. 2014 ) . Many companies are free at any clip to offer wha tever merchandises they think people need at any monetary value they believe people are willing to pay. If clients will purchase their merchandise they will win ; if non. they fail. This considered the nature of competition. Competition creates victors and also-rans inspires houses to invariably better. Competition in many sectors of the health care industry maps otherwise. The usual free market rules of supply and demand are distorted by an extended regulative model at both the federal and province degrees of authorities. State regulators may non let all HSOs in one geographical market country to offer peculiar services. Price caps may forestall HSOs from bear downing whatever monetary value people are willing to pay for health care services. Pharmaceutical companies are free to develop any new medicine they want but must acquire blessing from the Food and Drug Administration before it can be sold in the United States. Insurance plans may direct people to have services from certain HSOs and non others. Hospital exigency sections must supply health care services to people even if they can non pay for those services ( Spath A ; Abraham. 2014 ) . In the wellness attention industry. competition has an impact on many relational positions. There have been several surveies analyzing the relationships between competition and quality of wellness attention. competition and wellness attention system costs. and competition and patient satisfaction. Some elements of competition in wellness attention are monetary value. quality. convenience. and superior merchandises and services. One type of competition that takes topographic point in wellness attention amongst the assorted types of wellness attention organisations is the business’s bing rivals. The bing rivals are the 1s that the concern has been covering with for many old ages. There are besides possible rivals. which are companies that are presently runing in another industry or market. but show involvement in come ining the business’s industry or market. Some illustrations are ; houses runing in other geographic parts seeking to spread out their markets. houses offering similar and related. but non straight viing. merchandises that wish to spread out their merchandise lines. client houses that decide to incorporate backward in the industrial value concatenation. providers attracted by borders may take to incorporate forward in the concatenation. a little. strategically weak house becomes a serious menace of entry when it is acquired by a company that can cut down or extinguish the failings. houses that feel threatened by a move into their markets might revenge by traveling in the opposite way. and houses that have a possible tantrum or synergism with the critical success factors in the industry ( Moseley. 2009 ) . Attention must besides be paid to indirect competition. those entities offering merchandises or services that may function as replacements to the business’s merchandises or services in the eyes of its clients ( Moseley. 2009 ) . Hospitals besides compete for doctors by offering more extremely trained supportive staff and/or better equipment. Hospitals are more likely to vie for patients by supplying more services. better comfortss. or discounted monetary values. There is a strong competition for cutting border engineering and medical endowment locally and globally. Hospitals besides have to vie for inclusion in insurer’s supplier webs. Insurance programs compete for cost to remunerators. quality of supplier webs. credentialing testing. and choice appraisal processs. Competition has played a critical function in determining the bringing of health care in the United States. Competition drives invention and finally leads to the bringing of better health care. Competition consequences in lower monetary values and broader entree to wellness attention and wellness insurance. Competition among and between infirmaries and doctors intensified with the development of managed attention organisations. In add-on to seting force per unit area on costs. managed attention programs have pressured suppliers to utilize shorter infirmary corsets and to offer alternate outpatient interventions ( Macfarlane. 2014 ) . This led to take down costs and an addition in pick without giving quality. Lower costs and improved efficiency has made wellness insurance more low-cost and available. Another benefit of competition in wellness attention is the invention in health care engineering ( endoscopic surgery. anaesthetic agents available in ambulatory surgery centres ) . There are many competitory success narratives in health care in the country of pharmaceuticals. pressing attention centres. and elected surgeries. Competition has some booby traps in health care that includes the clip and costs that it takes for health care organisations to vie against others. Other common booby traps are unexpected troubles when spread outing into new geographicss. over-optimistic projections in patient Numberss. grosss. and profitableness. misjudging local income degrees and ability to pay. and underestimating local competition. Another booby trap may be over puting in equipment. Competition has badly restricted coaction among service suppliers. An alternate to competition would be coaction between suppliers or fixed monetary values. Success is non achieved by disregarding your competition but instead by expecting competitory issues and influences so you can ever hold a proactive program and scheme for remaining in front of your competition. As in all industries including wellness attention the competition among concerns has long been encouraged as a mechanism to increase value for patients. There are many signifiers of competition that have an influence on services offered by wellness attention organisations. The competition comes from non merely other patterns. but can include anyone or anything that may act upon a prospective patient to non go a patient of an organisation. Organizations that fail to present merchandises that satisfy customers’ demands will shortly travel out of concern. Strategic thought and planning enables organisation to remain in front of the competition. MentionsMacfarlane. M. ( 2014 ) . Sustainable Competitive Advantage for Accountable Care Organizations. Journal of Healthcare Management. 59 ( 4 ) . 263-271. Retrieval from EBSCOhost. World Wide Web. ashford. edu/libraryMoseley. G ( 2009 ) . Health Care Competition. Strategic Mission. and Patient Satisfaction: Research Modeland Propositions. Retrieved from World Wide Web. ncbi. nln. nhi. gov/ . Spath. P. . Abraham. S. ( 2014 ) . Strategic Management for Healthcare Organizations. Bridgepoint Education. Inc. World Wide Web. ashford. edu/books.

Shone vs. Shined, Lit vs. Lighted

Shone vs. Shined, Lit vs. Lighted Shone vs. Shined, Lit vs. Lighted Shone vs. Shined, Lit vs. Lighted By Maeve Maddox A Canadian reader asks, Has it become okay to change irregular past verbs like lit and shone to lighted and shined? The answer to the first part of the question is that irregular verbs have been in a state of flux for centuries, so I suppose that it’s always â€Å"okay† to change them. The dominant tendency in English has been for irregular past tense forms to be replaced by the â€Å"regular† -ed past tense ending. For example, the past participle of help used to be holpen: Now, when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help KJV, Daniel 11:34 As only about 300 strong verbs (what we call â€Å"irregular† verbs) existed in the Old English spoken and written a thousand years ago, I think it’s amazing that any of them have survived into modern English. The reader who posed the question implied that writing lighted and shined for lit and shone must have something to do with American spelling habits: I’m from Canada and we often struggle between American and British rules. A persistent misconception is that when American usage differs from British usage, the American version must be a corruption. I’ve received many a comment comparing American English to â€Å"real English,† as if Standard American English (SAE) were a usurper of the â€Å"real thing.† The fact is, King Alfred would have as much difficulty in understanding Queen Elizabeth II as he would President Obama. Both SAE and BrE flow from the same source, but both have traveled a long way from it. Generally speaking, shone and lit are preferred in British English and shined and lighted in American English. Both the OED and Merriam-Webster show the inflected forms lighted/lit and alighted/alit. In both dictionaries, the -ed form is listed first. Generalities aside, both weak (regular) and strong (irregular) past tense forms are in use on both sides of the Atlantic. I grew up in the American South and was quite comfortable saying â€Å"Mother lit the birthday candles,† and â€Å"The sun shone all day long.† The verb shine is used with two meanings: shine: of a heavenly body or an object that is alight; to shed beams of bright light shine: to cause to shine, put a polish on According to some authorities, context determines whether an American speaker will use shone or shined when speaking of the sun or some other object that emits light: The transitive form of the verb â€Å"shine† is †shined.† If the context describes something shining on something else, use â€Å"shined†: â€Å"He shined his flashlight on the skunk eating from the dog dish.† You can remember this because another sense of the word meaning â€Å"polished† obviously requires â€Å"shined†: â€Å"I shined your shoes for you.† –Paul Brians, professor emeritus, Washington State University. As for shine in the sense of â€Å"to polish,† British speakers would say neither â€Å"I shined your shoes for you,† nor â€Å"I shone your shoes for you.† For a statement in the past, they would probably use the verb polish: â€Å"I polished your shoes for you.† Now for the really interesting bit: The OED tells us that irregular shone is unrecorded in Old English and appears only once in Middle English. The form shined was in common use from 1300-1800. The form shone first appeared as a past participle in the second half of the 16th century. As for the forms lighted and alighted (to descend from a horse or conveyance), these -ed forms were in use before the 16th century. Shakespeare uses lighted in the â€Å"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow† soliloquy in Macbeth: And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. My conclusion is that shined and lighted are no less â€Å"okay† than shone or lit. But then, my dialect is American English. Note: British speakers pronounce shone to rhyme with gone; for Americans, shone rhymes with bone. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Types and Forms of Humor75 Idioms and Expressions That Include â€Å"Break†Preposition Mistakes #1: Accused and Excited

Issues that affect human rights of a group of Indigenous people Essay

Issues that affect human rights of a group of Indigenous people - Essay Example The position, land and demographics of any particular state decide the spectrum of rights for the people of that particular region (Council of Europe, 2011). From past studies, it can be said that human rights are those associated with people living in a cross-cultural or multi-cultural spectrum. A cross cultural spectrum is the one which could comprise people of different identities like indigenous people. Category of indigenous people is one major category within a multi-cultural system, in which human rights fall at the highest human distinction (An-Na'im, 1995). Talking about Australia, a country of 22 million human population holds a diversified multi cultural system. People who belong to different cultures, casts or identities reside in such cross-cultural country. There are partially several indigenous groups that dwell in different districts of the country. Human rights of indigenous people in Australia are always under the question. This is because of avoidance and negligenc e given by the government officials in the indigenous section. Concerning Australia, there are mainly two indigenous communities (aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) which are always on the discussion (Kinley, 1998). This is because of their consistent proclaims that government ignores their fundamental native rights in the region (Eniar, 1999). From historical evidences, it can be said that indigenous Australians are truly identical to the continent, as they fall in the geography since 40,000 years ago. Due to a couple of reasons the native Australians often fall behind the human rights appearance, as majority claims them to be a minority within the region. There are couples of issues that relate to native Australians, which would be part of the discussion of this study. Here is a brief introduction of two major communities who became the victims of human right violence in the country: Aboriginals Aboriginal is a name used for native Australians. The word became popular for indi genous Australians who migrated from Southern routes of India to nearby islands of the country. Aboriginals migrated to Australia 50,000 years ago, a time when their forefathers adjusted them to different regions of the continent. For such reason, aboriginals are truly to be called Australians holding original identification and by birth distinction of the place. Their presence can also be found on parallel geographies of the country like in Tasmania or in other adjacent islands (Aboriginal affairs, 2003). Aboriginals face a lot of problems in the continent in which the major problems are about the deprivation of land, social injustice, minority treatment or cultural discrimination. Since the last couple of decades their problems have been increased instead of decreasing which is because of big racist presence within the country region (Aboriginal affairs, 2003). Torres Strait Islanders Torres Strait Islander is another big indigenous community which resides in the northern side of the state of Queensland. Natively they belong to Torres Strait Islands which are places of their ancestors’ origination. It was 40,000 years ago when Torres Strait Indigenous arrived at the continent. It was their expected best place of reside, holding a natural identify of their forefathers’ attribution (Heritage Division, 2010). Torres Strait Islanders are natively true Australians, which according to racist’s communities is not a sufficient factor that can give them their

Development Of The New England Colonies - Colonial America Research Paper

Development Of The New England Colonies - Colonial America - Research Paper Example This third revolution was built on the fertile ground laid during the colonial period. Colonial economic development of the New England colonies, beginning in 1620, profoundly transformed the existing indigenous economy of gathering, hunting, fishing, and long fallow/polyculture farming (Merchant 1989). Europeans had already established a presence in the region for over a century as fur traders, essentially building upon the existing native economy. The trade did transform the economy by introducing new goods, new diseases, new religion, and intensifying the hunt for beaver and other small mammals. The New England colonists, however, introduced revolutionary change in the ecological and economic environment by introducing notions of private property, displacing the Native Americans, establishing farms and populous villages with a full rounded life, fully intending to make the land their new homes (unlike the transient fur trading posts largely made up of men), and engaging in several wars. However, the New England colonists were distinct not only from the Native Americans, but from the fur traders and their own countrymen to the South in the Chesapeake Bay colonies which, like the fur traders, were also largely skewed toward male settlement rather than families (cf. Merchant, 1989; Heyrman, 1991). The New England territories were rich in forests and fur trapping, with many harbors, but not in good farmland. Farms, accordingly, were small, mainly to provide food for individual families, with the inventories of most farmers showing five or six sheep and hogs, one or two horses, a few cattle, and several bushels of grain. The farmers were able to overcome the odds and create â€Å"comfortable abundance† for themselves (Merchant, 1989, p. 99). In whatever trade that existed, however, no particular cash crop, livestock, or commodity dominated. This caused the New England colonies to be perceived as less valuable to England, compared to Virginia or the West In dies (Newell, 1998). Much has been written about the settlers’ Puritan faith, their Calvinist work ethic, their moral discipline, their patriarchal nuclear family structure, and so forth, so that it has become part of the American foundation myth. By this foundation, it has been argued, New England avoided the kind of social disruption that unfettered commercial expansion and avarice had brought to plantation colonies in the Chesapeake and Caribbean (cf. Innes, 1995; Main, 2001). The New England economy during this period was relatively egalitarian, with each family being allotted an average of 150 acres. Spectacular wealth could not be created in these communities, which also meant that the economy did not produce the extreme inequalities found elsewhere (Heyrman, 1991). The Puritan settlers, however, lived on average nearly twice as long as Virginians and about ten years longer than men and women in England. New England also had relatively low rates of infant mortality. Whi le the people of Europe and the Chesapeake colonies barely reproduced themselves, the number of New Englanders doubled about every 27 years; a typical family raised seven or eight children to maturity (Bremer, 1995). While some products of the inland towns such as potash made market journeys profitable and others such as cattle could be driven to market, most products were too heavy and bulky