A view from the bridge †Arthur Miller Essay

When Marco and Rodolfo appear in Catherine’s life, she matures very quickly, perhaps making up for the time lost when Eddie kept her at home as a baby as Beatrice says: â€Å"Well, you kept her a baby, you wouldn’t let her go out†. Beatrice is urging Catherine to grow up and, as if she suspects some of Eddie’s feelings for her niece, points out to her the ways in which she should act around the house: â€Å"you still walk around in front of him in your slip †¦ or like you sit on the edge of the bathtub talkin’ to him when he’s shavin’ in his underwear †¦ if you act like a baby he be treatin’ you like a baby†. When Catherine falls in love with Rodolfo, her love for Eddie is split and she is confused. Eddie does not help his situation by being so stubborn about not allowing Catherine to grow up. She detaches herself from him and although she still loves him as a father figure, she does not seem to trust him anymore: she does not tell him about the wedding between her and Rodolfo – Beatrice does: â€Å"they’re going to get married next week, Eddie†. Beatrice is affected by the arrival of her cousins in her state of mind. The audience find out that she and Eddie are having marital problems: â€Å"It’s almost three months you don’t feel good; they’re only here a couple of weeks† and although they guess that it is to do with Catherine, they do not know whether of not Beatrice does. It is not until the end that the audience find out that Beatrice knows about Eddie’s feelings for Catherine although in hindsight, Beatrice could have been urging Catherine to grow up because she guessed Eddie’s flaw. It is at the end when it is finally said out loud â€Å"You want somethin’ else, Eddie, and you can’t have her! † when the audience finds out about Beatrice knowing and through this, she gains the audience’s sympathy because she has had to carry around this awful secret showing how loyal to her husband she has been by hardly mentioning it. Beatrice is also worn down by having to keep peace between her niece and husband. She desperately wants them to be friends and as happy as they were before with no secrets or lies â€Å"she wants to ask you. Come on, Katie, ask him. We’ll have a party! What’re we gonna do, hate each other? â€Å". Beatrice’s cousins end up wearing her out as she tries to hold her family together despite all of the hatred and love going on around her. When Marco and Rodolfo first arrive at the Carbone household, they are grateful to Eddie for letting them stay and they are willing to do as he tells them: â€Å"I want to tell you now Eddie – when you say go, we will go†. They greatly respect Eddie and are willing to do all he says like when Rodolfo’s singing is making Eddie uneasy, Marco tells Rodolfo firmly â€Å"You’ll be quiet Rodolfo† obeying Eddie’s commands. They are grateful towards Eddie because he is keeping them and hiding them as they are illegal immigrants into America. Eddie is very overprotective of Catherine and when she and Rodolfo start going out with each other, he is annoyed that firstly Rodolfo did not ask his permission to do so, as would have been the custom in Sicily, and secondly that they stayed out late which infuriated him † I don’t want you hangin’ around Times Square, see? â€Å". As her guardian, Eddie expects to oversee all of her movements. Marco is eager to please Eddie and tries to ensure that his brother does not overstep the mark in this new culture. When Eddie decides to teach Rodolfo to fight and hits him, Marco is keen to show that although his brother might not be very good at defending himself, the strength which Marco possesses is more than enough to beat Eddie. The audience learns this through actions which are dictated in the stage directions at the end of Act One: â€Å"He kneels, grasps, and with strain slowly raises the chair higher and higher †¦ a strained tension gripping his eyes and jaw, his neck stiff, the chair raised like a weapon over Eddie’s head†. Marco does not strike Eddie at this time because he still has respect for him. Despite this show of aggression, it does not stop Rodolfo continuing to go out with Catherine and pursuing the ‘American Dream’. Eddie does not believe that Rodolfo has genuine, sincere feelings for Catherine and just wants to marry her to obtain an American Passport. He counteracts this theory by saying to Catherine â€Å"You think I would carry on my back the rest of my life a woman I didn’t love just to be an American? â€Å". Eddie ends up betraying Rodolfo and Marco to the immigration office because of his jealousy and obsessiveness about Catherine. He does not realise these are the reasons though: he just wants to â€Å"protect† Catherine. His betrayal of Beatrice’s cousins is Eddie’s tragic downfall which links back to the classical tragedies. Eddie wants justice as he does not believe that Rodolfo is marrying Catherine for love but cannot prove it. It is because of this that he betrays Marco and Rodolfo in another way, he betrays their trust. The irony of the matter is that Eddie is not satisfied with the American way of justice: â€Å"you mean to tell me that there’s no law that a guy which he ain’t right can go to work and marry a girl and -â€Å". Marco does not believe in the American law either, he would rather get revenge himself than let the law do it or others for him as can be seen at the end of the play when Marco fights Eddie. In Marco’s eyes, by betraying him, Eddie has killed his family as their only source of income to buy food was through him. Eddie did not uphold the family loyalty and in that has broken the laws of family honour, a law stronger than the laws of the country in Marco’s eyes so therefore the punishment should be as heavy as the crime committed. Marco does not believe that American justice is forceful enough for the crimes committed, Miller has ironically made both Marco’s and Eddie’s view about American justice the same. Miller makes the audience have to think about which is the worse crime, being an illegal immigrant or cutting the lifeline of a whole family as Eddie did. The protagonist, Eddie, suffers a downfall at the end of the play: he is killed. This downfall is directly related to his flaw, his jealousy and love of Catherine, and, before he is killed, looses his reputation. As Marco and Rodolfo are taken away by the immigration officers, Marco spits in Eddie’s face and announces to the whole street what has been done and that he â€Å"stole the food from my children†. Eddie, although he does not deny it, he defies the claims saying â€Å"I gave them the blankets off my bed, six months I kept them as my brothers†: he is trying to prove to the crowd that he has no cause to betray the brothers and he is counting on his honest reputation to see him through and to have others believe him. When they don’t, he feels ruined and all he wants is his reputation back: the only way to do that is to â€Å"give it back to me in front of this neighbourhood, or we have it out†. Eddie has lost everything from this and just wants his dignity back but Marco does not give that to him either, he kills him and justice is done, the Sicilian way. Tragic climax in the play supported the themes raised throughout the play. There is a sense of climax at the point in the play where Eddie comes home drunk to find Catherine and Rodolfo in the bedroom together and he ends up kissing Rodolfo. This part of the play is following the theme of love, for Catherine, and jealousy on Eddie’s part of Rodolfo. The pace at this point of the play is fast and, although there is the sense of inevitability, the audience is taken by surprise by the twists and turns the play takes. The audience are shocked when Beatrice points out to Eddie and the audience his tragic flaw but because of the fast pace, there is no time for the audience or characters to dwell on the matter because then Marco arrives. With his arrival, anger flows freely between him and Eddie and neither tries to hide it. Eddie makes out how he has been victimised and asks the people in a sarcastic way â€Å"maybe he come to apologize to me†. The audience does not find out why Marco came back but at that time it is not really relevant. The focus is on Eddie and the audience realises that this is the climax the entire play has been building up to: the tragic end that has been inevitable since Alfieri’s first speech. The audience is tense and need the fast pace to feed their interest about what is going to happen next. The ironic death at the end: Eddie killed by his own hand and weapon makes the audience see that Eddie’s flaw has brought all this on himself. At the end of the play, there is a feeling of justice and revenge in the air, linking back to the tragic themes again, also, obviously, death. At the very end of the play, Alfieri makes a closing speech summarising and creating an affect of catharsis leaving the audience calm instead of tense, the effect of the ending if Alfieri had not concluded. The context of the play works as a tragedy because of the cultural backgrounds of the characters and their way of life. Alfieri has cleverly picked a culture that still runs as the Greeks did with high standards to live up to and strong family values. By using Alfieri as a modern day chorus, Miller mirrors a classical tragedy set-up keeping the audience informed and creating the element of predestination. By using a modern context, Miller has shown the audience that theories on honour and respect have not changed much since the Greeks. Alfieri’s message at the end of the play to the audience is that the truth should always be told. It shows that although Eddie did not know his feelings for Catherine, someone could have told him and the problem could have been sorted. If people had talked more to each other and instead of fighting about everything, just talked, maybe the whole thing could have been resolved.

Famous Creative Thinkers Essay

In this assignment there are several great creative thinkers to choose from for completion. After reading through the list James Hal Cone and Grace Hopper became the choices. The reasoning was these individuals were so different in their paths of success, or for better word accomplishments. Both are extraordinary people; however their journeys are profoundly different, however both are instrumental in worthy contributions in society and the world. Throughout this paper we will uncover and discover Cone and Hopper purpose, passion, and for one even pain. James Hal Cone was born August 5, 1938 in Fordyce Arkansas, to Charles and Lucy Cone. Early in Cone childhood he was introduced to religion and had a strong spiritual guidance. James was an intelligent child who went on to graduate from high school at age 16, at which time he became a minister. Cone beginnings started with being brought up in a segregated part of Arkansas, where people of color were discriminated against and treated u nfairly. James early in life reflected upon the social injustices of the poor, blacks, and women. Cone took the treatment to heart early along with his religious background and became a minister at 16, starting to address the differences of treatment. During his early life at college he was a minister at several churches. However during his early period of college and ministry the civil rights movement started evolving and he noticed Martin Luther King. Through that introduction of Dr. King he realized his true direction was ministry and attended Theological Seminary getting a M.A. and Ph.D. James acquired four degrees in a seven year span, a man on a mission with an extraordinary mind. Two things directed Hal’s path pain of discrimination and coming to know Jesus. After graduation with his Ph.D. in theology, Hal went on to be a professor of religious studies, still believing in nonviolence. During this period changes came with Malcolm X, northern riots, and Stokely Carmichael’s   call to â€Å"Black Power† (This Far by Faith, 2015). The direction of society from two important men King and X, initiated Hal’s influence of empowering African Americans Christianity from slavery, segregation and justice in society. Hal knew through theology he could address the issue and started writing introducing black liberation theology. What Hal orchestrated was self-worth with assimilation of the black power movement, addressing social and racial justice for black people, freeing them from oppression economically and spiritually. Ideally Hal wanted to empower people through Christianity beliefs; however he addressed the separate treatment of the poor, oppressed and blacks in the Christian community. Hal eventually wrote many books that were supported and criticized because of his criticism of white theologians not addressing the struggle and differential treatment of the African American people as far back as slavery. Hal also went to speak in China and Latin America concerning the lack of address of people of color being oppressed, poor and oppression as Christians. He took a stand against segregation and mistreatment of all people on a theologian podium. James Hal took theology using it as a tool towards the individuality that contributed to the history, existence, and civilization of black people. Hal thinking really was devised from his thought of how can people be Christians, but be ok with the injustices of segregation. With Hal coming of age during the civil rights movement had a major effect on his social consciousness. This was a period (civil rights movement) where it was obvious that black people were being mistreated, even among white Christians. Hal took the stand against the treatment even though it was not a popular decision. For James it became unacceptable for Christians to treat people differently than what the bible taught, â€Å"Love your neighbor as you love yourself†. Even though it appeared Hal writings and views were racially motivated, by earlier content, Hal knew his sentiments was to empower Christian people to realize that in spite of their skin color they were of value and deserve to be treated accordingly. Through it all the process that Hal used to devise his plan of action came from evaluating and analyzing the information obtained from his personal experience, observation and communication. Armed with those factors of critical thinking he creatively started changing how people of color, women, oppressed, and poor people thought about themselves spiritually. Hal later realized that terms used to address white Christians was impropriate  and that he could have addressed the issue differently, still standing on his beliefs, that there should be no racism or segregation in the church. James Hal Cone the pioneer for making people aware of the segregation that should never be acceptable in the theologian Christian community, God created all people equal and God is in respect of no man. Grace Hopper computer scientist and that is speaking lightly of her accomplishments and creativity. Grace Hopper was born December 6, 1906, as Grace Brewster Murray in New York. Born during a period that girl were not normally educated, Grace parents believed just the opposite. Grace was not a traditional girl, on one account she was fascinated with the working of a clock, at seven she dismantled the clock. Her actions were based on how does the alarm clock work? As the story goes she dismantles all the clocks in her home, first sign of her tenacity, innovation and perseverance (Hopper Biography- Mac Tutor of Mathematics, 2015). Grace attended private school and went to earn a college degree in mathematics from Vassar College. From 1928 to 1931 she achieved marriage, along with a M.A. degree from Yale University. Three years later Grace was an associate professor with a Ph. D., however with all her accomplishments her real passion was to join the military. Opportunity presented itself when the United States entered the Second World War, unbeknownst to Grace she was too old and to slight in weight. However not one to take no for an answer she persuaded the Navy to enlist her at the old age of 37, unheard of especially for a woman. Mission accomplished she’s a Navy woman with her first orders to start working on the Harvard Mark I computer, she was elated. The computer took her back to childhood, now she really could dismantle the computer and make adjustments, becoming the first woman to program the Mark I. She is in her element and making strives, moving forward. Grace went on to play a significant role in the creation of the Mark II and III computer program. After retiring from the Navy she developed with a team the UNIVAC computer, along with an upgrade compiler. While still being employed at a computer corporation, Grace and team developed the first English – language data processing computer (Hopper Biography –Mac Tutor Mathematics, 2015). Grace was the pioneer behind the first English language computer being in existence. Before the team and Grace developed the language computer, computers were  only mathematically designed. There was only word numbers, no words had come into computer existence. Now computers with business language existed, which people in the computer world thought was not possible. The COBOL (common business – oriented language computer came into existence in 1959 changing the world. Grace had creative ideas before the time frame of computers starting with an alarm clock. With her ability for mathematics, brilliant mind, and education she was able to accomplish the beginning of the computer language, which have gone on to universal success. Grace had no restraints, what she set out to do she did. In spite of the times she had courage, direction, daring, and most important she did not have an established pattern for her creativity thinking. At all levels she challenged herself with a range of ideas; from discovery, defining, designing, and developing the computer with the English language. She was the lady behind the computer bug (Berni Dwan, Irish Times, 2001). Her biggest obstacle was being a female in an area of men and times when women were not so easily accepted in the corporate world, especially the unknown like computers. References Blake, John. â€Å"America’s ‘Angriest’ Theologian Faces Lynching Tree.† CNN Belief Blog. http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/21/americas-angriest-theologian-faces-lynching-tree/?hpt=hp_c1 (accessed April 23, 2012). â€Å"James H. Cone.† Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. http://www.utsnyc.edu//Page.aspx?pid=353 (accessed June 15, 2011). BLACK THEOLOGY AND IDEOLOGY: DEIDEOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS IN THE THEOLOGY OF JAMES H. CONE (Book). By: Hayes, Diana L., Theological Studies, 00405639, Dec2003, Vol. 64, Issue 4 http://www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/people/james_cone.html Grace Hopper. (2015). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 01:15, Mar 23, 2015, from http://www.biography.com/people/grace-hopper-21406809 http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Hopper.html Programming’s amazing grace she developed the first program to translate computer instructions from english into machine language and gave the world the computer `bug’. berni dwan looks back at the life and work of grace hopper. (2001, May 21). Irish Times Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/309366344?accountid=358 Famous Creative Thinkers

Which factors shaped and influenced Al-Jazeera Arabic and the Daily Dissertation

Which factors shaped and influenced Al-Jazeera Arabic and the Daily Mail Newspaper coverage of the Iraq war Shock and Awe 2003 Campaign - Dissertation Example The present study looks for investigating into the dynamics that paved the way towards influencing Al-Jazeera Television Network and Daily Mail newspaper for continuously observing the shock and awe strategy while making coverage of the events during the Gulf War of 2003. The media is aptly criticized for aggravating the situation before and during the course of war by creating unnecessary thrill and excitement just to capture the already shocked world by telecasting and printing sizzling news in such a manner that seldom come under the definition of responsible and professional journalism. Consequently, the media came under cloud for deviating from the established norms, values, customs and traditions that had been an essential part of its professional ethics for the last several decades. Somehow, the other school of thought declares shock and awe policy as a sign of benevolence on the part of media for saving the world from the possibility of war in the Gulf region. Thus, media rai sed strong voice against the war in order to prevent its obnoxious entry in the cultured and civilized world of 21st century. There is no suspicion in the very fact that the US invasion on Iraq served as an astounding event of the modern era, which startled the entire world at large by capturing even the remotest regions of the globe in its fold, the journalists belonging to every country reached in the war zone in order to make unprecedented coverage to the chronicle of events leading towards the horrors of war. Though an overwhelming majority of news channels pretended neutrality, few papers appeared to be supporting one side out of sheer prejudice they maintained for their nation and community. It was particularly the case with the famous Qatar based Arabic Al-Jazeera Television network and the UK based Daily Mail Newspaper, as both of them observed the shock and awe policy regarding the conflict between the forces of the USA and Iraq during the former’s war preparations a gainst the latter in the wake of 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre, New York. It was the era when the entire globe appeared to be undergoing the extreme state of polarization, and conflict between the civilizations appeared inevitable. The then US president George Bush had already declared the terrorists’ attacks on WTC as the beginning of the so called holy crusade to be launched against the Muslims, who had deliberately targeted the Christian territory. It is therefore, he entered into conversation with the western and Christian powers within a week from the destruction of World Trade Center, in which he reiterated his ambitions to launch crusade in order to fight against terrorism everywhere in the world. Such kind of emotions was not confined to George Bush only; rather, he transferred and projected the same extremist sentiments to the political and press allies all over the globe. The same feelings were patronized by the press in their campaign was actuall y the strife to nullify the shock and awe propaganda of each other both sides had launched before the US attack on Iraq. The main objective behind both these media forums was just to suppress and condemn the atrocities of the two for protecting the masses from the horrible affects of war. Shock and awe trembles the nerves of the rival forces and masses, and defeat them psychologically even before the beginning of the war. The US media had already launched campaign against the war provided the world had witnessed the sorry state of her forces in Afghanistan. Somehow, few channels aimed to create unabated harassment against the so called terrorist designs articulated by Saddam Hussein in such a way that the American subjects looked for the destruction of Saddam network for their own safety and protection. The Bush administration added fuel to fire by narrating false tales about the presence of still unexplored chemical

Canadian politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Canadian politics - Essay Example According to proponents of reforms, the way in which the system operates now. With twenty?four senators per region plus six assigned to Newfoundland and Labrador; does not reflect the political reality of contemporary Canadian federal relations. Of these one is for the Northwest Territories i.e. Yukon and Nunavut. These senators are appointed by the prime minister to serve until the age of seventy?five as per the current constitution. This arrangement of the upper house has never gone down well with Prime Minister Harper and together with the conservatives has always wanted to reform the senate in order to make it more efficient. These he advocates through the policy of the triple E that stands for equal, elected and effective. However, Harper keeps following the tradition of patronage that he so criticized while in the opposition. His government has tried severally to pass bills that do limit the tenure of senators to between 8 and 12 years through the introductions of bills that al so provide a legislative frame work for the election of senators. These efforts were to form the basis for the governor general appointment of new senators on the advice of the prime minister. These bills were unsuccessfully introduced by his government seven times in the 39th and 40th parliament but did not sail through as the conservatives were a minority in the house at the time. In the 41st parliament, Mr. Harper had a majority in the house hence the agenda to reform the senate was introduced through two previous bills that were now introduced as one i.e. Bill C-7, the senate reform act. This bill sort to reform the selection of senators and set there were term limits by amending of the constitutional act of 1867. The assumption was that since the conservative had now a majority in the house this bill will surely pass. Note that the Canadian parliament has powers bestowed to it to amend parts of the constitution that exclusively fall within its jurisdiction. The bill intended to achieve this through legislation and both parts of the bill were indeed inline with the Constitution Act of 1982. It was therefore constitutional in principle (Thompson 64). The bill however did not pass into law due to pertinent issues that were raised by the opposition and this goad the prime minister through the governor general to seek guidance from the court concerning the matter. There were two contentious issues, one relating to the framework to be used for electing nominees for senate appointments from the province. This concerned matters relating to recommendation for senate nominees to the governor general from a list from the provinces or territories. This list is for those who will have been elected through an election held inline with the provincial or territorial laws drawn in accordance with the framework. The second was the pertinent issue about the tenure of the senators to a one off nine year limit. The nature of the Canadian parliament from the past is that senat ors have generally been in office for an average period of between 9.7 years since 1975. Therefore, the provision in Bill C-7 was to limit the tenure of senators to a one term of 9 years would in a real sense have no political or constitutional effect per see (Thompson 96). Thus, the character of the parliament would roughly remain the same. However section 29A right up to 31 of the constitution states that a person referred to in subsection (1) whose term is interrupted may be summoned again to

The Poor and Vulnerable in the Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Poor and Vulnerable in the Society - Essay Example The above examples illustrate how much God cares for the poor. Christians have the responsibility to emulate these examples because they represent God on earth. Justice in the society is measured by how the poor and vulnerable are treated. If they are sidelined or treated as second citizens, it is because such a society lacks morals and the ethical responsibility needed for fairness to reign. However, when the poor are given a voice, justice flows. Therefore, Christians should be in the forefront defending the rights of the disadvantaged in society, as this is what is meant by true religion. People blame the poor and vulnerable for their states. These societies equate wealth with hard work. The affluent are praised for their possession. They are considered as superiors because of the material gains they have. On the other hand, the poor are treated as inferior because they do not have wealth acquisitions (Sellers 124-127). They are regarded as worthless or given difficult tasks to perform because they do not have any other option. However, with such treatment, the rich secure their future while worsening matters for the poor (Ark 55-59). It becomes difficult for the poor to break the cycle of poverty because they are overloaded with work for little pay. Their condition is prolonged not because they are lazy, but because they are not given equal opportunities as their fellow wealthy counterparts. They have to struggle to survive yet the rich glide through life. However, when chances are provided equally for all, the poor get the opportunity to improve their circumstances. The elite has the advantage to better education. Knowledge puts them ahead in life. It provides them the probability of securing a well-paying job. It puts them ahead in the corporate world. In third world countries, a good education is a huge privilege for many. Illiteracy has been a huge cause of poverty. However, there are countries that have abolished  school fees in public schools. In such institutions, the class turns up is high.  

MACROECONOMICS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MACROECONOMICS - Essay Example has an affect upon the macro economics as it is the tool to attract more consumers towards the banking instruments, not only from the domestic investors but also from the foreign investors. At interest rates r0 and r1, investment levels in (a) will be i0 and i1. To produce equilibrium in the item for consumption market, level of income must be at y0 and y1 respectively. Therefore, interest rate income combines r0, y0 and r1, y1, which are the equilibrium points along the IS schedule, slopes downward towards right. With investment being responsive to alterations in the interest rates, the investment plan i (r) on (a) is moderately flat. A decrease in interest rate will raise investment by a huge amount. Therefore, a large increase in income, y0y2, is necessary to re-establish the product market equilibrium. Consequently, the IS schedule in part (d) will be flat. The level of investments by firms is highly affected through the monetary policy of the government. The raise in the interest rate will force the investment level to increase by firms. To increase the investment level by different firms the monetary policy was implemented by the UK government. When the consumer confidence index falls, there is an increase in the level of savings and many firms decide to reschedule or push back the capital investment spending projects because of uncertainties over a shortcoming of demand and there is a fall in the expected rate of profit on investment. This affect is upturned down through the monetary policy of the government by implementation of the interest rate policy. The increase in the interest rate will increase the confidence index of investment and the expectation level of investing firms will be higher as there is more return through the financial instruments. This rise in the confidence index and investment increases the investment in capital projects that helps the economy to grow. In application with the Fisher’s equation it is know that, as the income

SAM 342 UNIT 4 Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

SAM 342 UNIT 4 - Annotated Bibliography Example Sir Alex Ferguson uses an amalgamation of task-oriented and transformational leadership. In his astute style, he has defined roles for his players and they are supposed to follow them. Ferguson’s famous tanning booths for increasing players Vitamin D level are one such example of his concern for players’ wellbeing and fitness. He has often mentioned his principles that govern his work ethics. According to him, player with lack of focus and commitment must not be tolerated on the field and even in the team. A simple example of this rule is a shoe thrown at David Beckham by him. However, it is the ability to own the mistakes of his team and praising them in public that has made his players loyal to him. Furthermore, he has always stood as an advocate of the owners of his club due to which he is perceived as the front person of his team. Sir Alex Ferguson is further known for his adherence to team work as for him no single player can rise above the organization and it is the team that makes the player. His devotion to this principle was well reflected when he said, â€Å"Sometimes we can get too emotional as a club with things that are happening. But were both of a common denominator - we dont want the club to be in anyone elses hands (Ferguson & Meek, 1997).† His determination of taking in fresh players, refining their skills by training them and making them learn the etiquettes of football world and especially Manchester United. This is precisely the reason why Manchester United’s players are seen to have an extraordinary humility in them. Sir Alex Ferguson is an ideal example of a transformational leader since he believes in grooming his players and bringing out the best in them on constant basis. He is often viewed as challenging the pre-established norms and going beyond the boundaries of professional horizon. In order to induce team work and individual excellence, he has often

Social Responsibility and Business Ethics Assignment

Social Responsibility and Business Ethics - Assignment Example Being the owner of a manufacturing company which is involved in the business of producing goods and selling it in the market, the primary goal or objective of the company is to earn profits out of the products sold. However, social responsibility and business ethics are two vital tasks which have to be undergone by the company to create a perfect balance between the profit making motive and being a good corporate citizen. Critical analysis of these two aspects has been discussed in this study. CSR can be defined as the means operating a business by an organization which meets or even exceeds the legal, ethical, public and commercial expectations which the society has from the organization. According to the requirements of CSR, every company is needed to have some obligations towards its society and environment at large (Kotler, & Lee, 2008, p.3). CSR serves several purposes. It helps to ensure that the business processes are conducted by the organizations in an ethical way in accordance with the interests of the community. It helps in responding in a positive way towards the emerging priorities in the society. It serves for the purpose of developing willingness amongst the organizations to act beyond the regulatory confrontation. It also helps in maintaining a balance between interests of the shareholders of the company and the wider community. CSR helps in the development of the corporate organizations into good corporate citizens in the society. Social responsibility of the corporate organizations can be considered to have four dimensions. One is the economic perspective which is the responsibility of the organizations to earn profits and generate wealth for the owners of the company. Legal is another aspect of CSR which implies that all the business organizations have the responsibility to act in accordance with the existing laws and are to comply with those laws.  

Genetics modification and domestications animals Essay

Genetics modification and domestications animals - Essay Example This experiment was later on repeated by Trut and his team and they found out that the hypothesis was true. However, these efforts at domestication were not without disadvantages. The changes that both Belyaev’s and the Farm Fox Experiment have brought about are very disadvantageous to the original wild fox species as well as to the tamed generations of foxes. One advantage of taming the fox species is that the physiological changes that generations of fox species undergo while being domesticated might lead to the extinction of the originally wild species of foxes. Domestication of the wild fox species does not only make the animal tamed but also causes various physiological changes in it like changes in body size, proportion, pigmentation, tail and ears (31). Although these may just seem to be minor changes as of this moment in history, such changes might prove to be less resistant to diseases and environmental conditions. Moreover, such efforts at domestication might eventua lly cause permanent changes in the fox species until such a point where all the original wild foxes were wiped out. This is not the same as evolution because there is human manipulation of the species. There must be a reason why some animals are wild and defying nature might result in the extinction of the original species. ... Moreover, new diseases might be brought along with the domesticated species as disease genes made dormant by a wild nature may eventually show up when the animal is tamed. Thus, the new domesticated species, although numerous, may not be able to survive very long. The idea that domestication brings along with it the fact that the fear response develops much later, which is 9 weeks or later instead of 6 weeks for the wild species, implies that there is a relatively longer time for the fox offspring to remain vulnerable to danger due to the absence of fear (33). The earlier fear develops in the fox species and in any other animal species, the earlier it may be able to learn to protect itself from danger. Thus, domesticated foxes tend to be more trusting of people and other animals that might cause them great harm or even death. Although the purpose of domestication is to delay the development of fear or even to get rid of it completely, fear has a great role in the survival of the anim al species. One final disadvantage of domestication of foxes is, as stated by Trut herself, â€Å"Anything that tampers with [polygenes] runs the risk of upsetting other parts of an organism’s genetic machinery† (35). As previously stated, the domestication experiment on foxes is not the same as natural evolution because there is deliberate human intervention in the manipulation of the polygenes. Any such manipulation may result in the alteration of what nature has intelligently created. The reverberations of such manipulation might result in destructive physiological changes in the fox species like immunity problems and thus eventually cause its extinction. The

Police Scenario Communication Barrier to Encounter Essay

Police Scenario Communication Barrier to Encounter - Essay Example Visually -Shaken Man The visually shaken only heard the sound but didn't see the incident happening. The following barriers will be met. - He may not answer questions that require him to give information on what he saw - Undefined assumption -: He may make his own assumptions since he never saw the events. This may lead to wrong interpretation. Young Gang Members I will get the following communication barriers with these young gang members. Defensive behavior -: Since they were past of the gang, they may feel threatened to give true information. They may in the process fail to concentrate on the questions. Failure to listen-they may fail to listen to me making me not to get the information I wanted. I will overcome these communication barriers in the following ways. Give the child enough time to explain himself. Avoid asking children leading questions since children tend to agree with what has been said. Ensure that the surrounding environment is friendly and free of destruction for the child to concentrate. For the hearing impaired man, I can look for someone who understands sign language to interpret the sign language to me. For the visually shaken man, he ought to be given time to compose himself and gain courage. For the gang member who may be hesitant to give true information, I can issue threats of imprisonment if they're not willing to give me relevant information. The impact of non-verbal communication while interacting with other officers' witnesses and possible suspects is that I may not get reliable information for my investigation. Interviewing Process and How to Go About Speaking To Each Witness 1. Child I would put myself in the shoes of the child and approach him in a humble man. I will take time to listen to him and desist from... Selective perception -: Because of the difficulty of the sign language, I may tend to hear only what I want to hear and ignore other signs which would otherwise have produced more relevant information. I would put myself in the shoes of the child and approach him in a humble man. I will take time to listen to him and desist from interfering with him as this will lead to him bearing confused. I will be extremely attentive because the child may not exactly repeat what he has said. I will create a climate that will facilitate open honest communication to avoid defensive behavior. I will be pleasant and smile to them so that they cannot take me suspiciously. I will put the young gang members at ease and avoid being tempered over what has happened. Throughout the investigation I'll be equipped with a pocket radio to record all the conversations with the witnesses. I'll then collect the finger - prints of the gang members which will compare with the information present in the police station. This is what I'll show in the courtroom. A shot-out occurred in Monrovia Street on Saturday 2007-01-06 at 14.30 hours. A teenage male was killed. According to my investigations, a gun wielding gang attacked the teenage male who was in his car near a corner gas station. Some of the witnesses lamented that they had a loud bang followed by screams all over.

Analysis of Challenges in International Management Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Challenges in International Management Essay Analysis of Challenges in International Management† Abstract The following essay analysis the challenges in International Management with particular regard to the challenge of â€Å"culture† in international business as it is the must difficult to deal with and being essential for successful results in a wide range of global management tasks nowadays and in the future. Introduction Today successful international management requires more than a lot of frequent flyer miles or seasoned expatriate managers. But what are those exclusive challenges of international management in today’s world? The importance of international management is constantly increasing, as we exist in a world where globalisation is affecting the traditional borders in a broad range of areas. †¢Trade and investment, †¢Economic alliances, †¢The international stage players, and †¢The work environment are changing rapidly, being supported by the increasing sophistication and lower cost of information technology. World trade and investments are growing fast (the volume of world trade among countries has grown at an average rate over 8% since 2005 (WTO 2008)), linking the economies and creating opportunities and threats. New, strong and forced competitors are coming from developing nations in Asia and the transitioning economies of Eastern Europe. Furthermore, the constantly rising level of foreign direct investment also has a globalising effect (Thomas 2002). Moreover, the emergence of the free-trade areas drastically decreased traditional economic boundaries. So do the three largest groups, the EU, the NAFTA, and the APEC, account for nearly half of the world’s trade (Cullen 2002) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) now has 140 member-nations, aiming to reduce tariffs and liberalize trade. But globalization also affects the work environments within organizations. Changes involve cutbacks, team-based management movements and privatization. For instance, there can be factory closings, as Nokia closing their German plant in Bochum moving to Romania, because of cheaper labour. All in all, as one key consequence of globalisation, international managers nowadays have to face a more dynamic, complex, competitive and uncertain environment and need skills (as a global mindset or the ability to work with people from diverse background) not considered necessary for domestic-only managers. The environment of international management can be divided into †¢economic, †¢legal, †¢political, and †¢cultural factors (Thomas 2002). So for making decisions it is essential to understand the economic strategies of the countries in or with one wants to conduct business with, because level of economic development and quality of life differs extremely worldwide. Furthermore, there are various national sovereign laws and regulations existing in the world which have to be observed and made allowance for. And in addition, there are several varieties of political systems (e. g. , theocratic totalitarianism in Saudi Arabia), containing different levels of political risks which have to be managed. For instance, decision makers have to able to estimate the degree of risk associated with a government’s involvements in business affairs depending on characteristics of their company. All these factors present impressive challenges multinational management has to face. However, the management challenge of culture and its effects on business practices and organizations is one of the most difficult to deal with. As conducting business with people from other cultures will never be easy you have to understand how culture affects management and organizations. â€Å"Culture† is a concept borrowed from cultural anthropology and there are numerous and subtle different definitions. As each definition has limitations focussing on international management the following description of Geert Hofstede seems very helpful. He defines the culture of any society as comprising shared values, understandings, assumptions and goals learned from earlier generations, imposed by present members of a society and passed on to succeeding generations (Hofstede 2008). Culture is something shared by members of a particular group, differentiates humans from other groups, is transmitted through the process of learning and adapts to external and internal environments and relationships. The international businessperson needs to be aware of three levels of cultures that may influence multinational operations. These include national culture, business culture, and organisational cultures (Cullen 2002). National culture can be described as the dominant culture within the political borders of a nation-state. But one has to be aware that multiple cultures can exist within political boundaries and they do not necessarily reflect cultural borders. For instance, Canada being home to Anglophones and Francophones. Furthermore, even relatively homogenous cultures can have diverse subcultures, including cultural differences which are affecting the international business. Nevertheless, as most business is conducted within the political borders of a state and nations can be defined as political unities, varying in governmental, legal, educational, institutional and labour systems, influencing the way people interact with their environment (Thomas 2002), national culture has the greatest effect on international business being probably the most logic starting point trying to understand the cultural environment. Business culture, reflecting the national culture, influences all aspects of work and organizational life (e. g. , motivating staff, negotiating with business partners, etc. and knowing it’s basic requirements (e. g. , what to wear to business meetings, business etiquette is more formal in Germany than in the U. S. with conservative dark business suits, etc. ) is essential for the international manager. Moreover, especially in the last few years, people realized that the â€Å"culture†-concept also holds for individual organizations. So may differences in organizational culture may be one reason why the merger of two otherwise successful companies failed. It is important to evaluate the influence of organizational rules, norms and procedures to understand the causes of behaviour in organizations. With shared behaviours, conditional relationship, being socialized into and partly involved in it, etc. organizational culture differs in construction and elements of national culture. Even so understanding these cultural factors is fundamental for international managers conducting international business, they have to be aware that â€Å"cultures† can just offer wide guidelines for behaviour, as for instance organizational cultures differ within any national context and individuals vary in each culture level. One cannot predict exactly how each person acts, feels, thinks, etc. Nonetheless, broad generalization about a culture provides a level of analysis from which to begin to understand the cultural environment and the complexities of cultural differences, because management functions such as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling in a global economy have to account for them. As international managers have to face various cultural challenges testing their management abilities they must be able to unpack the culture concept. Therefore the basic concepts of cultural dimensions can help them understand how two or more cultures might be different. An essential implication of these frameworks referring to international management and culture is that cultural interpretation and adaptation are a prerequisite to the comparative understanding of international management practice (Morden 1995). The following sections describe two popular models. Hofstede’s Culture Model This Framework, created by dutch scientist Geert Hofstede and based on a research over 11600 people in 50 countries (starting with 39 IBM subsiadiaries worldwide), tries to evaluate how basic values underlay organizational behaviour. National differences are investigated by five dimensions of basic cultural values: 1. Power distance 2. Uncertainty avoidance 3. Individualism 4. Masculinity and 5. Long-term orientation (Hofstede 2008). 1. This first value dimension refers to how cultures deal with inequality and tries to postion the inequality acceptance level by unequal power distribution society members. In countries with a high power distance acceptance (e. g. , such as Mexico), people respect and hardly ever bypass formal hierarchy positions (Elizabeth M. Christopher 2008). 2. The second value dimension concerns about the degree humans in a society are threatened by uncertain situations. The social system of a higher uncertainty avoidance society is dominated by regulations and rules, predictabilties and orders and people tend to be suspicious of change, whereas people from lower levels of uncertainty avoidance societies (for instance, countries such as Denmark). tend to be less formal, take higher business risks and plan and structure less 3. Individualism refers to the affinity to primarily take care of oneself and one’s direct family, and then to the rest of society (with the U. S. being a good example) (Elizabeth M. Christopher 2008). 4. The fourth dimension of â€Å"masculinity† concerns about the ranking of tradionally â€Å"masculine† values in a society, such as less concerning for others, materialism and assertiveness, whereas â€Å"feminity† on the other side emphasises the quality of life and relationships. 5. Long-term orientation cultures are insistent and saving (e. g. the culture of China) and short-term orientation is more self-centered, money-oriented and more social. All these factors are inter-reliant and interactive in their effects. So shows the Anglo-Dutch example Unilever the practicability of multinational enterprises where the power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and individualism values are similar; and where the masculine achievement orientation of the British complements the people orientation of the Dutch (Morden 1995). All in all, so there is a lot of criticism (for instance, the time-dependence of the results, the non-exhaustive investigation of only one multinational US company, etc. to these findings and the model of Hofstede, it is still a very valuable and useful â€Å"gift† for understanding culture and culture-based behavior. Trompenaars’ Culture Model The model created by Fons Trompenaars its also based on the researched of value dimensions. He studied the behavoiur of 15000 managers, representing 47 national cultures (Hampden-Turner 2008). Five of the seven dimensions of his model deal with the challenges of h ow people relate to each other: 1. Universalism versus particularism 2. Neutral versus affective 3. Specific versus diffuse . Achievement versus ascription 5. Time as sequence versus synchronisation The two final dimensions deal with how a culture manages time and how it deals with nature. They include: 6. The society-orientation to the past, present, or future and 7. â€Å"Control of† versus â€Å"accommodation with† nature 1. The value of univerlism refers to the application to systems and rules objectively, without taking consideration to personal circumstances, whereas the particularism culture (e. g. in countries as Spain) is more subjective and focusses more on relationships. 2. The second, the neutral-versus-affective, value dimension refers on the emotional orientation of relationships (such as expressing your feelings and emotions more like, for example, the Portugese). 3. In Addition the specific-versus-diffus dimension investigates if people from a special culture tend to be more or less specific or diffuse in their relationships (for example, Germans try to separate work and personal issues). 4. In the achievement-versus-ascription dimension, it is asked: †What is the source of power and status in society? † (Elizabeth M. Christopher 2008) So is for instance, in an achievement refering culture, the â€Å"status† of a person mainly based on it’s individual achievement (such as job performance, etc. ). 5. â€Å"Time as sequence† orientated cultures separate events in time (â€Å"step-by-step†), whereas â€Å"time as synchronisation†-orientated indiviuals manage events in parallel. (For example, if their business partners are not sharp on time, Germans, coming from a â€Å"time-as-sequence† orientated culture, may consider it an insultation). 6. This value dimension is about past versus future orientations. 7. Moreover, this dimension refers to the extent to which individuals feel that they themselves are the primary influence on their lives. Using this framework trying to understand some culture-basics some interesting patterns may emerge. Altough, being recognised for their validity (the results of these both major studies have some significant parallels, even so they were carried out in different times using different methods and examples), these concepts of cultural value orientation proposed by Hofstede and Tropmenaar can only give a basic framework for the analysis of cultural differences. They are utensils to help understand a culture and adjusting business practices to diverse cultural environments. They are for instance, a prerequisite to the successful new-market country entry, whether by setting up licensing or new subsidiaries, joint ventures, mergers or for the establishment of efficient programmes of international HR development (Kay 1993). But international managers have to realise that the understanding of another culture is a inexhaustible learning process. They will have to practice for their international work with or in other countries by studiying all that they can about the country, including more than just the business etiquette. Understanding the national culture builds just the foundation. As you seldom can get behind the front stage of culture without speaking the national language onother basic instrument is learning the language. But the challenge of â€Å"culture† in international management takes such much more than this. International managers have to broaden their understanding of cultural differences and to learn to seek advantage in differences. Understanding the culture is just a basis for the diverse international management tasks, as appropriate cross-cultural communication (using appropiate communication styles), effective and positive motivating and leadership in international organisations and across cultures, successful negotiation with international business partners and making ethically and socially responsible decisions. Conclusion The environment of international management can be divided into economic, legal, political, and cultural factors, with â€Å"culture† being the most challenging and most difficult to deal with, influencing a broad range of management tasks. Providing oneself with the necessary knowlegde and understanding of the national culture of the country or the people one is conducting business with is essential and builds just the foundation for the successful complementation of global management tasks, such as for instance leadership in multinational organisations (where you have to have understanding of all three levels of culture; national, business and organisational culture, being different and influencing each other).

African Socialism: Analysis of Ujamaa

African Socialism: Analysis of Ujamaa MAJOR THEMES IN AFRICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT LECTURER: FRED OTIENO STUDENT: CHRIS MUGO NDIRANGU QUESTION What is African Socialism (Ujamaa)? Citing concrete examples from around Africa, examine why this ideology has faced immense opposition. INTRODUCTION African Socialism is an ideology that can be traced to the 1950s and 1960s when most African countries were attaining their independence. The ideology was propounded by African leaders in independent Africa who sought to ground their states in this ideology they believed would achieve the goals and aspirations of independence. The proponents of the ideology sought to differentiate it from other forms of socialism that existed across the world at the time, particularly Marxist-Leninist strands of socialism. African socialism can therefore be defined as a belief in sharing of economic resources in a traditional African way. It is however prudent to accept that the interpretations and definitions of African socialism differ as it is not the brainchild of a single thinker. According to Freidland (1964) : African Socialism differs in that no single leader has been distinctively and uniquely associated with the ideology. Rather the ideology of African Socialism has been the product of diverse leaders operating within the variety of exigencies in their own countries, which helps to account for the lack of development of a unified theory. (p. 2) African socialism can be said to be an indigenous attempt by various African leaders to develop a distinctive â€Å"African† path of economic and political development. It advocates for a return to traditional African values practiced before colonization. As mentioned above African socialism is a product of different leaders. Therefore to understand African socialism we must study the leaders and their works which collectively contributed to this ideology. These leaders implemented this ideology in their respective countries. Some were successful while others were not. The ideology as will be explained in this paper faced immense opposition hindering its full adoption. CHARACTERISTICS OF AFRICAN SOCIALISM Though the African Socialist leaders had their own distinct views on African socialism various characteristics of African socialism can be drawn. According to Martin (19) the socialist leaders’ conception of African socialism had the following common characteristics: Ideology and practice are inextricably linked Politics has supremacy over the economy Socialism is not a sacred dogma but a guide to action African socialism is a socialism building on and adapted to African indigenous values, culture, traditions and society The people are the main agents and ultimate beneficiaries of socialist development African socialism aims at creating ‘a new man’ The single party operates according to the Marxist-Leninist principle of Democratic Centralism, which institutionalizes communication between the leadership and the rank-and-file of the party, with ultimate decision-making power resting with the highest executive organ of the party. Collective decision making is based on collective deliberation and consensus State has control over the economy Furthermore (Batsa, 1965) has summarised some six basic characteristics of African Socialism: It ignores the power of monopoly capital. It accepts the mixed economy as a permanent feature of socialism. It denies the existence of classes in Africa and advances the idea of the neutral state. It advocates a multi-party system where possible, or a single party open to all, irrespective of beliefs, with a specific denial of any vanguard role The African element of the theory consists of a romantic interpretation of our traditional morals and culture Positive non-alignment is treated as neutrality Several African countries on attaining independence sought to establish declarations or policy documents that sought to clearly stipulate the ideology they adopted. In the context of African socialism, very few countries had clear and concrete policy documents on African socialism. Notable among these countries is Kenya and Tanzania that formulated policies or declarations with regards to African Socialism. Tanzania in 1967 formulated the Arusha Declaration a document written by socialist leader Julius Nyerere for the ruling party the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU). In this declaration it is clearly stated that ‘The policy of TANU is to build a socialist state’. It further goes on to lay down certain socialist principles it seeks to implement in Tanganyika. In Part two of the document lay The Policy of Socialism. The fist element in this policy is absence of exploitation. The declaration states that in a socialist state all people are workers and in which neither capitalism nor feudalism exists. It believes in a classless society where there is no one exploits another. Every worker receives a just return for their labour. However the declaration points out the fact that Tanzania still has elements of feudalism and capitalism that are remnants of colonialism. The second element is that the major means of production and exchange are under the control of the peasants and workers. The declaration stipulates that this should be done through the machinery of their Government and their co-operatives. The third element is the existence of democracy. This element requires that the government should be chosen and led by the peasants and workers themselves. Finally is that socialism is a belief. The declaration states that socialism is a way of life. A socialist society can only come into existence if i t is built by those who believe in and practice the principles of socialism. The declaration believes that the successful implementation of socialist objectives depends very much up to the leaders. On the other hand Kenya in 1965 produced a sessional paper which outlines in detail both the theory of democratic African Socialism and its practical application in Kenya. The president in introducing this paper states that, ‘we rejected both Western Capitalism and Eastern Communism and chose for ourselves a policy of positive non-alignment.’’ Thus the Kenyan government fully adopted the African socialism philosophy. The sessional paper goes on to outline the operating characteristics of African socialism. They are: Political democracy Mutual social economic responsibility Various forms of ownership A range of controls to ensure that property is used in the mutual interests of society and its members Diffusion of ownership to avoid concentration of economic power Progressive taxes to ensure an equitable distribution of wealth and income The above characteristics are evident in the various works of the African Socialist leaders. The understanding of their concept of African socialism is enhanced by looking critically at the individual African socialist leaders and their ideas and perception of African socialism. AFRICAN SOCIALIST LEADERS JULIUS NYERERE Julius Nyerere was the founding father of Tanganyika and later on Tanzania. He comes up with his own form of socialism known as Ujamaa a Swahili term for family hood and brotherhood. Ujamaa become the official policy of Tanzania in 1967 following the Arusha Declaration. According to Nyerere socialism is an attitude of mind and not strict compliance to a standard or set political pattern (Nyerere, 1977) . Nyerere emphasised on brotherhood or family hood where people view each other as brothers and sisters or as members of one family. Nyerere argues that social institutions and organisations cannot by themselves achieve the purpose of socialism. These institutions can only do so if they are infused with the spirit of brotherhood and care for one another. Nyerere believed that Ujamaa differed from other strands of socialism in that the foundation of the philosophy was to be found in African culture and traditions. Furthermore Ujamaa was opposed to capitalism and scientific socialism or Marxism which legitimizes class conflicts. Nyerere went further to elaborate on the practices of Ujamaa. The first is love where an African doesn’t regard his brethren as another enemy. An African regards all men as his brethren as members of his extended family. People in African Societies cared for one another. Secondly, Nyerere argues that their existed a classless society in Africa. Classes were only brought as a result of the agrarian and industrial revolution. These events produced conditions that brought about a class system. Since these revolutions did not occur in Africa, therefore no classes existed in Africa. Thirdly Nyerere believed that in traditional Africa everyone was a worker. Everyone contributed his or her fair share of efforts towards the production of societal wealth. There was no place for laxity or laziness. Finally Nyerere maintained that wealth was shared in traditional Africa. No one could hide wealth or amass it for personal selfish reasons. The riches or the poverty of an individual or famil y were the wealth or poverty of the whole community at large. KWAME NKRUMAH Kwame Nkrumah’s ideas on African socialism were different from those of Julius Nyerere. Indeed the two showed criticised each other on their perceptions of African socialism. Nkrumah in his own admission subscribed to scientific socialism and described it as the only true socialism. According to (Martin, 2012) Nkrumah viewed African socialism as a means of not only liberating the people from the shackles of imperialism but also empowering the people politically, economically, socially and culturally after independence. Nkrumah believed that the following were the tenents of African socialism; Common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange Planned methods of production by the state, based on modern industry and agriculture Political power in the hands of the people in keeping with the humanist and egalitarian spirit which characterized African traditional society Application of scientific methods in all spheres of thought and production AHMED SEKOU TOURE Toure’s concept and ideas on African socialism was similar to that of Nkrumah. The two had a strong friendship that was evident when he granted Nkrumah asylum when he was overthrown by a military coup in 1966. Toure led an authoritarian regime in Guinea that was strongly oppressive. He arrested over a thousand people who simply opposed his regime. Prominent intellectuals and cadres were jailed, tortured and executed. Sekou Toure’s was more grounded in the Marxist-Leninist education as compared to Nkrumah. He had a great interest in the writings of Mao Tse-tung as well as other Marxist philosophers. Initially during the first decade of his rule, he refused to launch the country into clear path to socialism. He downplayed the role of ideology in the construction of a new society. He adamantly refused to choose between capitalism and socialism. He argued that certain strange theories had little to do with the crucial tasks facing the country. However during the Eighth National Congress of the PDG (the ruling party of Guinea) in 1967, Sekou Toure officially launched Guinea on to a path to socialism. Sekou Toure prescribed to scientific socialism from which he derives the meaning of socialism from. That is socialism is expressed by the effective exercise of political, economic and cultural power by the working people. Toure however was for a socialist ideology adapted to African realities. He preferred the term â€Å"communaucratic’’ instead of African socialism. He believed that African life is communal characterized by collective life and social solidarity. An Afric an cannot organize his life outside that of his social group-family, village or clan. Finally Toure believes in the supremacy of politics over the economy. In this regard he was heavily influenced by the Marxist-Leninist ideology on the roles of the state and the party in the creation of institutions designed to translate socialist ideas into practice (Martin, 2012). Toure believed that the ruling party was the definer of the general interest, the custodian of the popular will and the incarnation of the collective thought of the whole Guinean people. The basic aim of Toure’s socialism is alter the relationship between human beings. This is done by decolonizing their viewpoints and attitudes and by creating a new man freed from a system of capitalistic exploitation and participating with all his strength in the development of his nation. MODIBO KEITA He was the first president of Mali. He led the Nation on a path to socialism, both politically and economically. In 1960 the countries single party, the Union Soudanaise RDA (US-RDA) decided to set the country on a socialist path to development. Keita’s priority was to build a new society aimed at the political, economic, social and cultural empowerment of Mali’s popular masses. Keita firmly believed that a type of socialism adapted to the conditions of Mali would be the best tool to achieve this goal. Mali’s socialism was characterized by the following features; A socialism based on agricultural workers and peasants rather than on a nonexistent proletariat A vibrant private sector encouraged to contribute to national development Respect of the Malian spiritual and religious values Modibo Keita argued that socialism cannot be adopted wholesale; it must be adapted to the specific socio-cultural context of Mali. Keita elaborated that Africa has its own values, its own history. Africa thus can solve its own problems within the African context using African methods. Malian socialism was also grounded in universal human values. Keita argued that socialism cannot be reduced to purely economic or social concerns. Its goal is man itself in its material, moral, spiritual and cultural dimensions. The African man must be open to all kinds of experiments. Keita considered socialist planning necessary to achieve the primary goal of improving the living conditions of the majority of the people, which in Mali were the peasants. He focused on the development of agriculture through an elaborate network of rural cooperatives, down to the village level. Keita also embarked on the complete overhaul of Mali’s educational system to be consistent with Mali’s rich cultural heritage. The above leaders contributed significantly to African socialism. They sought to implement their socialist ideas and concepts in their countries. Some were successful to some extent while others failed. Case in point is Kwame Nkrumah who was overthrown in a military coup. OPPOSITION TO AFRICAN SOCIALISM African socialism as an ideology faced immense opposition as an ideology. This is because of the various cons associated with the ideology. These disadvantages or flaws in the ideology brew dislike for the ideology preventing its adoption or implementation. African socialism faced opposition due to the following. First it is an unreal theory which cannot be implemented as it is. Most of the socialist principles were borrowed from the Marxist-Leninist school of thought. The socialist ideology is not adopted in the same way it was advocated by Marx and other socialist thinkers. Secondly and closely related to the first is improper implementation. African socialism faced rejection due to improper implementation. Few people were in charge of wealth distribution and formulation of policies such as taxation. Thus the notion that the masses or the people have control over the nation’s wealth is a fallacy. Thirdly is that African socialism is economically inefficient. The lack of a self regulating labour market, private ownership of capital and a free financial market affects the economy negatively. Entrepreneurs and foreign investors are discouraged from investing in the economy. This leaves a country economically underdeveloped. This is the case with most socialist countries. Another pitfall of African socialism is no real increase in standard of living. African socialism does not raise the standards of living but lowers it instead. This is because the income of the rich is reduced making them fall closer to the level of the poor. It only reduces the gap between the rich and the poor but does not improve the standards of living in the society. Lastly is that socialism promotes laziness and incompetence among members of society. This is because of the social security system in socialist states that takes care of those with no income. Such provisions by the government deter people from working hard to earn their livelihood. This equally affects the hard working members who feel dissatisfied as they are not rewarded for their toil. Their toil goes to taking care of those who don’t work. Such a system impacts productivity and hence economic growth negatively. REFERENCES Batsa, K. (1965). African Socialism. The Labour Monthly , 514-517. Martin, G. (2012). African Political Thought. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Nyerere, J. K. (1977). Ujamaa-Essays on Socialism. USA: Oxford University Press. William H. Friedland, C. G. (1964). African Socialism. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. Page | 1

The connection between women inequality and child poverty

The connection between women inequality and child poverty Since the end of 19th century, women have been fighting for equality and justice.   Unfortunately, until now, there are still disputes about women inequality in the world because of the resulting factors, such as child poverty. There has been changes to laws, such as the federal Divorce Act in 1986, to promote women equality, but the law still fails to protect women from becoming impoverished.   According to CRIAW, women earn less than men even if they work in the same sectors or in the same jobs. From that fact, it is obvious that women are still not equal to men in society; therefore, it does make a difference whether your male or female. The stereotype that may explain womens inequality, in the job force is theyre supposed to be homemakers and dependent on men.   According to CRIAW, Fifty-six percent of lone parent families headed by women are low-income, compared with 23% of those headed by lone parent men.  One reason for this gap would be because women typically earn less money than men. Sixty-seven percent of minimum wage earners in Canada are women.I will be arguing how child poverty is an outcome of womens inequality using a feminist perspective. I will do so by comparing the implications from neo-liberalism and the law which contributes to feminization of poverty.   Ã‚        The first point I will be discussing, is the restrictions that neo-liberals enforced enabling restrictions on social assistance. Women are at a disadvantage, regarding, jobs and salaries compared to men that is why there are more women in poverty than men. As I stated earlier, 56% of families which are headed by women are low income. In other words, its a known fact that women do struggle with poverty. With that said, a reform that neo-liberalist proposed, that would benefit women and children, was to deduct money from social assistant payments from women who got other sources of income such as child support payments and the child tax benefit (p 256 LL). If women or children needed some sort of dental aid while on social assistance they were denied because it was considered not essential to live. In other words, the social assistance plan was just enough for food and shelter, if you needed more assistance such as dental or eye care, you were denied. Welfare rates ar e not exactly enough, it is literally enough for food and shelter. All welfare rates in Canada have always been low, ranging between 20%-70% below poverty line.In other words, women are guaranteed to struggle even with welfare payments since they are just enough to keep you alive.The Conservative government is putting mothers in a position where they are literally counting each penny. Children need clothes, medical care, etc. How would social assistance cover children needs and day-to day expenses such as rent and bills? How is the percentage of women in poverty supposed to decrease if the government are restricting resources for women? In 1995, the government decided to cut more than 10,000 people off welfare 89 percent of them women and 76 percent single mothers.   The reason for this cut was because they wanted women to go back to relying on men for economic support, causing women that are abused by their spouse leaving them no options, but to stay in the relationship.   If a woman were to get a divorce in the 1900s, under the unity doctrine, she would have to give absolutely everything she owned to the husband; leaving her in a bad financial state.  After a divorce, studies have shown women are actually 76 percent poorer, whereas a man becomes 42 percent richer.   After a divorce, what are women suppose to do? Finding a job is difficult because of   inequality and the government doesnt provide much aid. Women felt powerless in society because the stereotypes that they should be home makers while depending on their spouses, contribute to societys view. Women are looked at without any importance in society. This is clear when, in 2006, the conservative government cut the federal Status of Women Canada funding by 40%, then he also eliminated a program that funded legal challenges to equality rights for women and other groups. (p 152-153) The government not only cuts back in providing assistance to women that are struggling in poverty, but eliminating women support groups is absurd. This just shows that women have no priority or equality in society. Through their actions, neo-liberals do not find women inequality and women poverty to be much importance in society. Women are susceptible of poverty through the limited resources that are availa ble to them i.e-social assistance. She would be poor because social assistance wasnt a reliable, source of income. Feminization of poverty is a well known fact. Poverty doesnt just occur to single mothers, it also occurs with women who are: elderly, immigrants,lesbians,women of colour and migrant women. My focus will be on factors that cause feminization of poverty happens. Labour market conditions, equalization, and social welfare are all factors which contribute to feminization of poverty.   In labour markets precarious employment, was the new role which women obtained, along with remaining responsibilities at home such as child care.     Why were these precarious jobs singled out to women only? Women were the target for these jobs because as it stands, women live in poverty, and when depending on social assistance fails, they get to the point where they will take any job that will keep them and there children alive. In Canada, women can be working the same jobs with the same education and still get paid less; reason being, because of their gender. In other words, women automatically have a disadvantage in the job force just for being a female. In 1999, women earned $18 000 less than men in a full time job over a course of a year. In 2008, almost 9 years after, women still make less than men in a full time position, $17 900 less to make it exact.     Social welfare is a source which some women and mothers rely on when all else fails because of the inequality in Canada. Unfortunately, even social welfare is not always a reliable source because of the lack of aid they give. Over the years, social policy has changed in a few countries, as a result, there main objective is to get single mothers to get a source of income by obtaining a job     To put it bluntly, the government wants to get mothers out of poverty but not by helping them financially; instead wanting mothers to obtain a job moreover take care of her children. Raising children is a full time job which often doesnt get recognized because of the stereo types that women are supposed to be homemakers. Men, on average, put in 4.1 hours of paid and 3.4 hours of unpaid labour; women put in 2.5 hours of paid and 5.2 hours of unpaid labour (Clark 2001: 4). Since women are seen in society as homemakers, it is expected and known that they do more unpaid work then men, so why doesnt the government focus on helping them by increasing their social assistance or decreasing women inequality in order for women to obtain a job that is fair and not precarious?   Therefore, labour market conditions, equalization, and social welfare is a result of feminization of poverty.   Ã‚   Feminization of poverty is an ongoing issue so what is the law doing about it?There has been laws passed to achieve equality for women before the law. On August 10,1960, The Canadian Bill of Rights included section 1(b) the right of the individual to equality before the law and the protection of the law.  On December 15,1995, the employment equality act was implemented and the purpose of this act was to correct the disadvantage that women, aboriginal people and people with disabilities had experienced in the workforce . In other words, employers could no longer deny employment because of your gender, race, or disability. Although, the employment equality act was implemented, Why even after 13 years in 2008, women made less than men in full time positions? If the employment equality act was supposed to correct the disadvantage women experienced, then why hasnt it been corrected? Women are still getting paid less then men. When even the law fails what are women supposed to do, especially single mothers? In 1989, when The Divorce Act was passed, section 15.2 regarding spousal support states,   Promote the economic self-sufficiency of each spouse within reasonable period. This is a big change for women because as I explained, before The Divorce Act women had no spousal support implemented, instead women were the ones that had to give everything they own to men, after a divorce. For single mothers, 15.1 of The Divorce Act was introduced to enforce a fathers responsibility to pay child support for all his children.     If the father is willing to pay, it wont be that hard to get the support, but if the father is not willing to pay, how far will the justice system go to make sure he pays up to his responsibilities? In 1992, 75 percent of the 91,650 support orders in Ontario were arrears .In other words, through the law, 75 percent of men owed there ex-wifes child support. From my experience with the law, I took my dad to court for child support, the next week he went to Russia and my case was basically closed. My lawyer told me there is nothing she can do if he is in another country. Although, there has been great changes in the law to achieve equality in society, how reliable is it? How far will the justice system go to enforce these laws?   Ã‚     Ã‚  As I have pointed out, women suffer in poverty because of inequality and neo-liberalism resulting in feminization of poverty. Feminization of poverty effects children eventually leading to child poverty. When women are treated inequality in society through welfare, work force and society, it doesnt only effect them but also their children both physically and mentally.  

Essay on the Ibos Sacred Relationship in Chinua Achebes Things Fall A

The Ibo's Sacred Relationship in Things Fall Apart The Ibo people had a very sacred relationship with their landscape. Their entire existence depended on their environment and nature was sacred to them. This is unlike the English who came to the lower Niger with imperialistic goals of "civilizing" these "primitive" people. The Europeans were more technologically advanced, but in this progression they lost touch with nature and the spiritual connection with this significant aspect of the world. The Ibo on the other hand personified nature and turned to deities as well as ancestral spirits for guidance in their survival against unexplainable and often uncontrollable forces. When hardships arise they attempt to appease their gods and their spirits through sacrifice and ritual. Nature is a major theme of the religion of the Ibo and spirituality is very closely associated with the earth. Nature was also consulted in times of conflict between tribesmen. When Uzowulu was accused of beating his wife excessively her family took the case to the egwugwu, or the spirits of the nine sons, of the original father of the clan, which gave rise to the nine villages in the clan. These spirits were in reality men in the tribe wearing masks, but all of the villagers put their faith in the idea that these bodies are in fact occupied by spirits of ancestors who will offer advise in a time of hardship. With the commencement of the hearing of Uzowulu before these masked spirits he touches the ground as a sign of submission to the higher powers. While Uzowulu will only listen to the decision of the egwugwu because they are beyond any mortal, he overlooks the fact that these decision-makers are really his fellow villagers. This fai... ...landscape in which these people live. To kill a royal python is such an unfathomable crime, that there is not even a punishment prescribed for the act, and when the convert kills the python the people do not even think that it could have possible been done intentionally. This reveals the significance of nature as sacred. All aspects of the landscape were made sacred because these people greatly depended on nature for survival and many aspects were inexplicable, so they were given supernatural explanations to aid in an otherwise unattainable resolution. This people were greatly misunderstood by colonialists who sought to "civilize" them and attempted to thrust Christianity upon an uninterested audience to aid in the control and "pacification" of a people that apparently already had a worthy explanation and understanding of the world in which they lived.

Gell Cell Essay -- essays research papers

Introduction: The new Gel Cell by Alcatel is a mobile phone for specified markets. It is very small, the gel is the actual battery, it comes in many colours, and the most important factor is that it is disposable. It has been developed because of the large demand to produce new products in the over saturated mobile phone market. It is a new product with an unfamiliar concept; therefore the advertising campaign is key to the success of the Gel Cell. This part of the plan is the creative brief. The extensive advertising campaign will include these markets: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Senior citizens 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Youth age 6-17 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  People in an emergency The forms of media used to advertise the Gel Cell are: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Television 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Newspapers 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Radio 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Magazines 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Internet 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cinema 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Outdoor advertising 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Transit advertising Campaign 1: â€Å"Have you got your Gel?† Target: Youth age 6-17, parents, people in an emergency   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Youth are the perfect target for the Gel Cell. They like to talk on the phone, because they think it is cool. Parents do not want to trust their children with a  £150 mobile phone that will most likely be lost or stolen. So parents will also be targets in this campaign. With the help of this campaign, kids will think it is so cool to have a Gel Cell and parents will be more than happy to buy them for their kids because it is economical and keeps their kids safe. Television:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Set in a mall. A fast speed pan of kids hanging out, boys skateboarding in the entranceway, girls talking in a group, and boys throwing something colourful around. The colour of everything in the commercial is not very bright, but the phones that they will all be carrying and throwing around are all very bright. There will be upbeat music playing and there will be sounds of laughter. Then the screen will go to black and in bright colours it will say: This will arouse interest about what they all have and are using in the mall. Kids will talk about it and guess what they all have. This will be shown during popular times on TV where most... ...ds, then hear a car putter out, the music screeches to a stop. Only birds can be heard in the distance. An ominous voice says, â€Å"Stranded? Lost? Confused? Do you have a phone?† Then another voice says, â€Å" Gel Cell: In a pinch you’re covered for pence.† Newspaper: This would be a good form of media for senior citizens, as they are avid readers of the paper. This is a way to show them what the phone is about. There could be ads right next to each other. One would be of a scenario where they really need a phone, like being lost, stranded, or hurt with a Gel Cell in reaching distance. With the line, â€Å"Gel Cell: In a pinch, your covered for pence.† Then next to that ad there would be a picture of the phone. There will be a picture of the phone; there will be arrows pointing to the on button. Brochures:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This would be placed in doctor’s offices, and at chemists. It would be with the brochures on different diseases and treatments. It would be something to read while they waited for the doctor or the prescription. It would describe exactly what the phone does and how it can be used. It will emphasize that it is inexpensive and necessary for safety.

The Simpsons :: essays research papers

The Simpsons This cartoon for grown-ups takes place in a fictional town called Springfield in the 1990's. The main character in the show is Homer Simpsons, a father of three and a husband. Homer works at the Springfield nuclear power plant. He is portrayed as a slacker who is completely unqualified for his job. He's also shown as a lazy couch potato and a little bit of an alcoholic. He's also shown as a "pig" when it comes to food. His wife, Marge, is a good parent who has to keep an eye on Homer and the rest of the family most of the time. Bart, their oldest son, is a poor student who enjoys comic books and television and hates girls. Lisa, the middle child of the family, is an excellent student and a nice person. She is almost the complete opposite of Bart except they both enjoy the violent cartoons of "Itchy and Scratchy". Maggie, the baby of the family, is known for constantly smacking her pacifier. She is portrayed as being smarter than Homer. Almost every little thing in the show is intended tobe humorous. In general the show is very funny but has some bad language and other offensive material. The fact that the show is a cartoon may be what has kept some people from watching. The cartoon though is what helps achieve many of the humorous aspects. For example a spill of nuclear waste would not be very amusing in a show with real people. The show has the assumption that it is OK if your family argues all the time. It shows this by the little arguments that the family constantly gets into. It also shows that it's pointless to try to be good all the time.

Comparsion and Contrast Essay the Welcome Story and What Its Like to Be a Black Girl Essay

Trying to Fit What do you do when you feel like you just don’t fit in with the society you live in? Since the beginning of time blacks women, have been recognized as women who don’t fit the traditional ideal of beauty. A woman of color comes in all different shades of skin tones Caramel, Golden bronze, Cocoa brown and Dark brown. Their hair comes in a quite few different textures, from tight as a thick rubber band, to curls about thick as your pinky finger. Most people describe black women natural afro textured hair as kinky, spiraled, fizzy or nappy. During the slavery-era to the early 1900’s black women in America, went from cornrows, braids and other natural styles. Some reasons for this as I grow up getting perms known as straight hair was a sign of class and Nappy hair was a sign that you were poor. With segregation no longer being an issue, blacks were now free to work their way up in American society, but they still faced white racism. Whites’ people saw black pe ople skin features as a sign that one is given to being sexual active, violence and lacking in intelligence. Many blacks lightened their skin and straightened their hair to appear more acceptable to whites in order to get ahead. When it comes to black women television shows, show how society should be in the eyes of T.V. and its monkey see monkey do from there. Black women have been villianized on television. They are portrayed as home wreakers and baby momma with several different dads or the lowest standard. If you ever see a successful man on television he is not allowed to be portrayed with a black woman. If you watch a music video, the star of the video will not be shown with a black woman with clothes covering her body. The media would not like to high light the qualities of black women because the executives behind the scenes aren’t black men. The goal is to make white women appear to be the best and highest quality of woman that Barbie. For this reason you will see interracial relationships between every celebrity athlete and the not a black woman of their choice. At this point a white woman on your arm represents she is super smart and very successful. Some people won’t fall absolutely for the trap and be with a white woman, but they still won’t marry a black woman. Black woman is demanding a new set of female definitions and a recognition of herself of a citizen, companion and confidant, not a matriarchal villian or a step stool baby-maker. Role integration advocates the complementary recognition of man and woman, not the competitive recognition of same.(duke.edu) The strangest thing about this stereotype situation is that many white women go to tanning booths often to get a caramel complexion of an African descent skin. Who created the monster of discrimination and Why? A question we will never know. Discrimination based on skin color, or colorism, is a form of prejudice or discrimination in which human beings are treated differently based on the social meanings attached to skin color. (Wikipedia.com) The â€Å"Welcome Table† is a story that is filled with religious symbolism. Religion is the theme of this story. This story is enduring in the sense that it shows the strength and belief an old black woman had to face during her trials and tribulations. â€Å"What it’s like to Be a Black Girl† is a poem that gives the reader an inside view into a young black girl’s transition into black woman-hood at a time where being a black girl and being a black woman was not as welcomed. In these two literary works, although the similarities aren’t quite the same they still have the same concept. In the short story The Welcome table you have a narrator’s point of view and ‘What It’s Like To Be A Black Girl’, you have the actual author of the poem giving her point of view from experiencing how things where . Although there is a cultural difference it still involves race and how it affects a one individual’s way of feeling and the outlook from someone else’s appearance. â€Å"The Welcome Table† was a short story whom was written by Alice Walker. She was born on February 9, 1944, in Eatonton, Georgia . Alice Walker is one of the most admired African American writers working today. She studied at Spelman College, Atlanta, and Sarah Lawrence College, New York, then worked as a social worker, teacher, and lecturer. She has taught gender studies courses at Wellesley College and  began one of the first gender Studies programs in the United States. Her publications include poems, short stories, and novels. She continues to write, exploring life situations through the eyes of African American women and advocating ways to approach challenges of sexism, racism, and poverty in American life. She took a brief break from her writing in the 1960s to live in Mississippi and work in the civil rights movement, returning to New York to write for Ms. Magazine. Alice Walker won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her 1982 novel, The Color Purple, and is also an acclaimed poet and essayist. This short story had a very compelling plot which is described in our text book as â€Å" A dynamic element in fiction, sequence of interrelated conflicting actions and event typically build to a climax and bring a resolution.† (Clugston, 2010) The first part The Welcome Table is told in the third person and shifts the point of view from which the story is told. The beginning of the story is told from the white people’s perspectives as they see an old black woman. The author goes on to describe the look of the old spiritual woman who eyes were blue –brown in color and where nearly blind. The old woman’s Sunday clothes high polished shoes, rusty mildew dress, and an elegant silk scarf stained with grease from her pig-tails. (Clugston, 2010) She walked many miles, alone in freezing cold until she came upon a church all sweaty and clammy. It was a church only for white people. She stopped on the steps of the church to rest before going inside. When she went into the chu rch, the reverend stopped her by saying â€Å"Auntie, you know this is not your church?† The white people are at a loss when they see her near the entrance of the church and do not know what to do. Some would have taken her in from the cold. But other judge her appearance makes some of the white people think of black workers, maids, cooks; others think of black mistresses or jungle orgies. Still others think that she is a foreshadow of what is to come – black people invading the one place that it still considered the white person’s sanctuary, their private church. As the old lady sat down on the church prewe chairs the old lady was sing in her head. The white women inside the church, who take it as a personal insult and feel the most threatened about the old black lady being at their church, they rouse their husbands to throw the old lady out. Still sing in her head now a sad song,  the old lady looked down the road and seen Jesus and died on the side of the road. (Clugston, 2010) Visualize anything other than that of an old poor lady being mistreated by racism. After reading and experience feelings of compassion when the author describes the unnamed old woman’s appearance and hygiene as she tried to enter the church. From the depiction expressed throughout the narration of this story, one could sense that this short story was created from the personal experiences or from seeing others who went through. The strangest part of the story is when the pastor call her auntie, either she was the nanny child who grow up with the pastorâ€℠¢s mother or father? Who they must had consider her as family without people knowing. â€Å"What it like to be a black girl† is a poem that was written by Patricia Smith. She was born in Chicago in 1955 currently lives in Howell, NJ. She is a four-time individual National Poetry Slam champion and appeared in the 1996 documentary SlamNation. an American poet, former journalist , playwright, author, writing teacher, and spoken-word performer. She has published poems in literary magazines and journals including TriQuarterly, Poetry, The Paris Review, Tin House, and in anthologies including American Voices and The Oxford Anthology of African-American Poetry. She is on the faculties of the Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing and the Low-Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing at Sierra Nevada College.(Wikipedia.com) In this poem the author is telling this story in third person omniscient the poem tells the story of a young black girl exploring and experiencing the changes to of her body. Now starting to develop in many areas to become a black woman she feels like something is wrong with the way she looks. The author uses jagged sentence structure and strong language to also show the reader the importance of this poem. The writer gives the audience an insider’s view into a young black girl world who is feeling like she is one of the most ugliest person on earth. â€Å"It’s dropping food coloring in your eyes to make them blue and suffering their burn in silence. (Clugston, 2010) This poem speaks of the young girl changing her image by placing blue contacts in her eyes. It’s popping a  bleached white mophead over the kinks of your hair. The writer is speaking of the young girl putting a perm on her hair to straight out her hair. I respect the author’s reflection of the nine years old girl feeling and trying to fix everything about herself that the world tells her is wrong. The straightening out her hair because being black left you with kinky, curly, frizzy hair., the contacts you wear, the things you do to make yourself look more like the beautiful, blonde-haired, blue-eyed â€Å"white girl.† the television have protrude as beauty. When you’re nine, you shouldn’t feel these things are necessary because you haven’t fully developed yet. â€Å"Primping in front of the mirrors that deny your reflection† (Clugston, 2010) Is something many poor women did, but for the black woman in the 1950s it was about using press combs and making outfits to fit in and not being some â€Å"negro woman,† drawing attention to herself. I feel for the author wrote this poem in seeking acceptance from others. In my conclusion, the main character in each of the stories is a protagonist black female who both struggle with trying to be accepted in society due to the color of their skin. Being different is all about how you handle the situation. When one thinks their better than one race that’s when being different is a problem. Comparing these two stories there is racism and discrimination they had to face. Both stories express the determination of one woman and one young girl who survive through all adversity. The authors speak of the hardship one woman and one young girl had to face and suffer. Understanding the fear, struggle and those women of color went through during this time and now. Being different is what god made us. No one person is exactly the same even if the world was one color. Reference 1. Clugston, 2010 2. Wikipedia.com 3. duke.edu 4. poet.org 5. wordwoman. Ws 6. ehow.com 7. Literary Cavalcade;Feb2003, Vol. 55 Issue 5, p32