Funny in Farsi Immigration

America has often been called â€Å"The Land of the Free†, where opportunities are like the bounteous fish caught at sea; the catch may be large or small, may come sooner or later. Just as the Gold Rush prompted for many miners to come about, the promising opportunities have prompted for immigrants to pour into in America. Although this chance for a new beginning has vastly beckoned immigrants, there are sacrifices immigrants must make along with newfound chances. Succumbing to social alienation is one of the sacrifices that immigrants must make. In the memoir, Funny in Farsi, by Firoozeh Dumas, and the studies of Djuro J. Vrga on Differential Associational Involvement of Successive Ethnic Immigrations: An Indicator of Ethno-Religious Factionalism and Alienation of Immigrants, the depths of social alienation and its influence on immigrants are reviewed. Dumas’ memoir describes the experience of an Iranian growing up in America, whilst Vrga’s study is applied to different sociocultural aspects of life immigrants may encounter. Cultural differences in morality, ethics, values and political standings all play an substantial role when discussing social alienation. However, more often than so, the Americans are the social alienators while the immigrants are the socially alienated. Though Americans were once so to speak—immigrants, as if Americans are rotten crops from the harvests of heritage, immigrants are the freshly picked fruits of culture and tradition, and a batch of flawless tomatoes obviously stand out amongst the rundown veggies. Firoozeh Dumas highlights the awkward feelings entailed with social alienation as a theme throughout the memoir. Dumas recalls on several occasions how uneasy and disturbing it is to be singled out, â€Å"I cringed. Mrs. Sandberg, using a combination of hand gestures, started pointing to the map and saying, â€Å"Iran? Iran? Iran? † Clearly, Mrs. Sandberg had planned on incorporating us into the day’s lesson. I only wished she had told us that earlier so we could have stayed home. † (Dumas 6). Merely because it was a tad unusual to have an Iranian family join the community, Dumas’ teacher decided it would be perfectly normal to use people of a unique heritage for the lesson as though they were show-and-tell puppets when they are after all, people. Daily ‘encounters’ with other Americans through Dumas’ experiences epict how the lack of geographic knowledge has further contributed to alienation and its bond with immigrants, â€Å" Inevitably, people would ask us where we were from, but our answer didn’t really matter. One mention of our homeland and people would get that uncomfortable smile on their face that says, â€Å" How nice. Where the heck is that? † (Dumas 37). Despite the seemingly minor extent of social alienation found in Dumas’ more humorous examples, the isolation of cultures does occasionally meet with a rather unreasonable but inevitable high tide. As the Iranian Revolution took place, the media fed its always starving Americans with the news that Iranians had violently taken a group of Americans hostage, â€Å" For some reason, many Americans began to think that all Iranians, despite outward appearances to the contrary, could at any given moment get angry and take prisoners. (Dumas 39. ) This kind of media induced prejudice created an unsafe social environment for Iranians, ultimately forcing them to lie about their ethnicities, â€Å" My mother solved the problem by claiming to be from Russia or â€Å"Torekey. † (Dumas 39. Other than lying about one’s ethnicity, finding and keeping a job was nearly impossible during these sorts of times, â€Å" Even worse, with the turmoil in Iran, the value of my father’s pension dropped to the point of worthlessness. At fifty-eight, my father found himself unemployed and with no prospects. Nobody wanted to hire an Iranian. †(Dumas 117. ) Coinciding with the urgency of unemployment due to societal prejudices, Djuro J. Vrga’s views on the matter are quite blunt, â€Å" An immigrant must make two kinds of adjustments: (1) to his own ethnic group, and (2) to the larger ociety. † (Vrga 239. ) Without restriction to the Iranian Revolution, Dumas’ experience and Vrga’s analogy reveal a now unearthed concept that social alienation is composed of both a minority and a versing majority. All throughout her life, Firoozeh Dumas was forced to contend to a traditional upbringing contrary to the contemporary surroundings she lived in. These two opposing factors were the necessary ingredients creating the recipe for social alienation, whereas if Dumas were not Iranian and born purely American there would be a missing ingredient. Even in marital matters, Dumas faced the same kind of discouraging social issues, â€Å" Francois and I had agreed that we would be married both in the Catholic Church and in a traditional Persian ceremony. The tough part was finding a Catholic priest who would be willing to officiate at a mixed marriage. † (Dumas 145-146. ) The interracial circumstances binding the wedding like a serpent does its prey, Firoozeh Dumas consistently meets with American shortcomings. In 1977, Washington, D. C. , Iranians were invited to welcome the Shah, or Iranian leader, who was cheduled to meet Jimmy Carter, a newly elected president. Unfortunately, anti-Shah demonstrators interfered with the event, â€Å"The demonstrators had crossed the road. They were stampeding toward us waving sticks with nails driven into them. People were screaming and running. Instead of Iranian flags, the lawn was covered with bloody and injured Iranians. My parents and I ran and ran and ran. † (Dumas 113. ) The segregation of Iranians uprooted into a violent and gruesome scene, agreeable with Djuro J. Vrga’s perspective on such issues, â€Å"The ethnic group is a social system through which its members atisfy many of their social needs and express frustration resulting from unsatisfied expectations and aspirations in the larger society. (Vrga 239. ) The larger society in Dumas’ case was composed of the anti-Shah demonstrators, whom successfully destroyed a political event with their distaste for Iranians. Regardless of the many stages social alienation has set, it appears that time has an influential hand when it comes to deciding whether the stage will be a dandy garden, or a gloomy swamp. Funny in Farsi is a memoir that not only shows how growing up an immigrant can be, but how t affects one’s social standings in society. Djuro J.  Vrga’s Differential Associational Involvement of Successive Ethnic Immigrations: An Indicator of Ethno-Religious Factionalism and Alienation of Immigrants serves only further in accentuating the conditional aspects an immigrant must face. Though social alienation may be a recurring theme in Dumas’ memoir, it is truthful and consequently a recurring theme in possibly any immigrant’s life. Humorous indeed, it could be Funny in Any Language; there are no restrictions on where social alienation might pop up, but Dumas provides a great example nonetheless.

Nonverbal, Interpersonal, and Textual Communication Worksheet Essay

Nonverbal communication plays an essential role in any conversation. Individuals who are aware of nonverbal actions during conversations can more effectively interpret what is being communicated. Part 1 Look at the interactions between the individuals in the following photos and interpret what you think is being expressed through nonverbal communication. Please describe the nonverbal cues that lead you to these interpretations. What is being said nonverbally by each person? In this non-verbal communication scenario, both individuals are showing emotion. The communication appears to be a disagreement. The woman appears to be trying to hold the conversation together, but the man looks annoyed and ready to leave the conversation. Both individuals are showing gestures through body movement. In this situation the man looks as if he is saying â€Å"I do not want to hear it†. Both facial expressions are cues describing the non-verbal communication. The argument or issues tends to not result in a resolution. The conflict seems to still be apparent in the conversation. This appears to be a relationship that needs work. By the woman holding his arm, I would assume the individuals have a close relationship. The man could be hurt by a certain situation that he is just now learning more about. If he is waiting for a job interview, what impression do you think he is going to make? If this individual is waiting for a job interview, he is giving the impression of not caring about receiving the job at all. I would assume he is only there, because he has to be. The person given the interview could  assume he is hung-over and not professional. This individual is slouching in his chair, which gives off the impression of being lazy. If this individual is preparing for an interview he should have his shirt tucked in and sitting up straight in the chair. If I was the person giving the interview and walked out to him presenting himself in this manner I would not give him the time of day. I would instantly judge the individuals character as not being a hard-worker. I would assume he would expect everyone else to do the work for him instead of taking responsibility for his actions. The individual also is wearing jeans with holes. This is another cue of unprofessionalism. What is the interviewer (the woman on the right) communicating with her nonverbal positioning? The woman giving the interview looks like she is intrigued and fully involved in the interview process. The woman also has her arms crossed, as if she could not be completely happy about giving the interview. She is also appearing to not care what the interviewee is communicating to her. Her arms being crossed are showing signs of attitude. I think her non-verbal positioning and facial expression is more negative than positive. If I were the interviewee, I would think the interviewer already had her mind decided about the interview. Part 2 Compose responses to each of the following questions. 1. Which of the images demonstrates an interpersonal communication exchange? How can you tell? Interpersonal communication is defined as communication that occurs between two people who simultaneously attempt to mutually influence each other, usually for the purpose of managing relationships. In image one, I think the interpersonal communication was engaged between the two individuals, but the communication is failing to stay engaged. In image one I do not see any mutual influence or quality in the conversation. I also think the third  image can be considered interpersonal communication, because this communication involves two individuals mutually engaged in the conversation. I think the interviewer is keeping the interview going by communicating questions and learning about past work history. The interviewee has to answer the interview questions, which is keeping the interview engaged. In the third image the interpersonal communication is contrasted with impersonal communication, because of the roles each individual holds in the conversation. 2. What types of interpersonal communication are being displayed in the images? Why? Interpersonal communication involves quality, which makes the difference in the conversation. Interpersonal communication also occurs when we treat the other as a unique human being, which is being shown in image three during the interview process. I think it is also showing impersonal communication because the image is refereeing to the roles of each individual. The interview process could also involve interpersonal communication that involves mutual influence. The influence could be the interviewer persuading the interviewee of the positive benefits of taking the job being interviewed for. Image one is interpersonal communication that helps manage relationships. This interpersonal communication is about the interaction and contribution to with stand a strong relationship. 3. Part 3 Textual communication, or content that is read or viewed, also plays a role in communicating with others. Textual information may gain deeper meaning when the text is spoken or viewed in a specific context versus when it is read. Read the following quotes and write a 50- to 100-word interpretation of what you think is being expressed. Support your responses. If you wish to include references, please format your responses consistent with APA guidelines. â€Å"Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets.† (The Ride  down Mount Morgan, Act I) — Arthur Miller In this quote, I think the author is trying to express life with no regrets. All any one can hope is to end up with all the right regrets. No one wants to live a life thinking what if or what could have happened in his or her life. Regrets are considered to be something that has be done that an individual is sad or disappointed over. I think individuals should not live with any regret, because at one time those regrets were something you wanted to experience. If people complete life with all the right regrets than there is nothing to actually regret. I really liked this quote, because when people think about their lives, every one wants to be happy in all the decisions that were made throughout life’s journey. â€Å"Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.† (The Outline of History, Ch. 41) —H. G. Wells Everyone tries to learn from mistakes. In history, the world has continued to be consistant in making mistakes and trying to resolve them. I think this quote presents that if people do not learn from mistakes that mistakes will continue to be made. I think the race for education such as advancement of technology could result in a postiive outcome for the human race or it could be catastrophic. It could mean that if we continue to educate ourselves then we can overcome anything destructive. â€Å"The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe—the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God. We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of  those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.† — John F. Kennedy (1961 Inaugural Address) After viewing this quote, I feel as though I should have a better understanding of what is being communicated. The United States has been through strong ups and weak hardships, but through everything we should still stay committed and dedicated to our nation. I think the last sentence expresses the main point that is trying to be achieved, that even if nations do not show us kindness at times that we will also present success of freedom and will be at aid for all nations. I think this is directed to show that every one during this time has experienced hard ship of war and struggles, but as a nation we will come together and over come any boundaries in the way of achieving greatness. â€Å"In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the ‘unalienable Rights’ of ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’ It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’ But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.† — Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963 â€Å"I have a dream† speech) During this time in history, the speech was presented to give awareness to all Americans about the way race was being held over opportunity. After the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were signed every American were held to live by these guidelines and laws. America failed in abiding by these rights in America’s history. America considered races other than white to be negative instead of positive. In a sense the awareness of these rights were considered to be a check to the world to present the security of justice and freedom once again to everyone no matter race. Resources Kennedy, J. F. (1961, January 20). Inaugural address. Presidential inauguration, Washington, DC. Retrieved from: http://www.historystudycenter.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/search/displaySuitemAsciiItemById.do?QueryName=suitem&fromPage=studyunit&ItemID=28545&resource=prd. King, M. L., Jr. (1963, August 28). â€Å"I have a dream† speech. Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://www.historystudycenter.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/search/displayReferenceItemById.do?QueryName=reference&fromPage=studyunit&ItemID=phs00159&fromPage=studyunit&resource=ref WikiQuote. Retrieved from http://www.wikiquote.org.

Life Span (Human Development)fe Span (Human Development) Essay

Life Span (Human Development)fe Span (Human Development) - Essay Example The basic theoretical issues in regard to this include: Issue 1: Is development active or reactive? Issue 2: Is development continuous or discontinuous? The mechanistic model believes that human development results from responses to stimuli, and the organismic model considers human development as a response that occurs from internal activeness. The five theoretical perspectives include psychoanalytic approach, learning theory, cognitive theory, contextual perspective, and evolutionary approach, which are further discussed in the following section (Chapter Two, n.d., pp.23-25). Cognitive developmental theories – This theory reflects on the development of reasoning and logical development of human beings from the time of their birth to infancy to the stage of adolescence. A key focus is concerned with the role that human culture and teaching processes have on human beings. Learning theories – This theory emphasizes on the theories that are learned by human beings over time, through observations and experiences clearing the understanding of individuals of values, expectancies, and goals. Cultural theory – This theory focuses on bringing out the culturally diverse world around human beings reflecting on the development of human beings that is based upon the guidance offered by the nature of culture. Social role theory – This theory emphasizes on the development of human beings in the context of social life. This determines the multiple social roles that human beings play in their lives over their development. Systems theory – This theory develops an understanding of the different elements in the system of human life that are interdependent on each other. Self-regulation and self-organization are guided by the behaviours of such elements. The debate of nature versus nature in relation to growth and development of human beings has been in

Macroeconomic Situation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Macroeconomic Situation - Essay Example make up for lowering tax revenues, US local government fired various workers and educators and payrolls were lowered which hampered consumer spending (Homan, 2010). Moreover, the value of dollar is declining against many other currencies and it is expected that Fed will pursue a new round of large-scale asset purchase. Felsenthal and Costa (2010) argues that decline in the value of Dollar is the result of Fed’s easy money policy because investors moved out of dollars and invested in other currencies to achieve higher returns. They also highlighted that Federal Open Market Committee (2010) has decided to employ its own policy tools because FOMC seems to have an explicit easing bias. The inflation expectations in US are increasing and investors are showing their concerns that Federal Reserve’s efforts to revive the economy will further drive up the inflation and it is expected that Fed is going to use tools like quantitative easing (Mackenzie, 2010). Developed nations usu ally use advanced tools of monetary policy like quantitative easing which is an asset purchase program (Rashid, 2010). Therefore, if expansionary policy is pursed then it is expected that tax cut would increase the household consumer spending and government spending would stimulate the economy by improving the demand and supply sides, thereby, helping the US economy to spur its recovery. In order to recover from recession, U.S. Congress has two fiscal policy tools including tax policy and government spending. Carreira (2010) argues that debates in Washington on fiscal policy have been always over the mix of government spending and tax cuts. He argues that US Congress should adopt the Keynes model and to stimulate the US economy, government spending should increase and taxes should be cut. Treasury Secretary, Geithner’s recommendation to US Congress to extend expiring tax cuts for the middle class (Smith, 2010) is another good recommendation. Actually by bringing back Americans to work will

Economical Impacts of Earthquakes on Society Annotated Bibliography

Economical Impacts of Earthquakes on Society - Annotated Bibliography Example By outlining the factors according to the importance, the authors have been able to discuss the involvement of community in the whole process of re-building and constructing the society in broader manner to tackle the issues like massive destruction that can be faced when an earthquake hit the country. This website discusses the Hazard US model for estimating the various impacts of earthquake including the economic impact of the same. This model is a unique model as it can allow to estimate the impact if earthquake happen in future including assessing the structural damage that can happen as a result of any earthquake. This book basically discusses the scientific analysis of the earthquakes from geological point of view and attempt to outline the various scientific tools and methods available that can be utilized to study the various impacts of earthquakes on the society. Discussing purely from the point of geology, this book also narrates the various economic implications of the earthquake on the society. This book also discusses the historical perspectives of the earthquakes and their overall impacts on the society as and when such large catastrophic events took place. This webpage discusses very thoroughly the various scientific basis of the earthquake, how happens and what are the different internal processes that actually happen within the crust of the earthquake to cause the damage. This webpage also discusses the societal impact of earthquakes including discussing as to how society and individual perceive the earthquakes and its dynamic impacts on the society. This study outlines the overall preparedness of the society in the wake of earthquake by studying the San Francisco earthquake. The results of this survey indicate that the overall preparedness of the individuals is at its minimum and authorities need to create a strong awareness regarding the potential impacts of the earthquake on the society and what should be the

Literature Review Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 2

Literature Review - Research Paper Example Baker (2011) asserted that the English immersion model avoids the dominant language of the learner while the transitional bilingual model focuses on English as a target language through integrating the limited level of support and instructions to the native language. Walker (1956) asserts that developmental bilingual model approach ensures teachers work with students at their current levels of native languages while at the same time providing the instructions in English so that students can finally attain fluency in English language. According to 2004 statistics, American public schools had 11 million immigrant children and about 5.5 million either did not speak English or had limited English proficiency (Baker, 2011). According to 2007 statistics by Education Weekly, more than 30 percent of English language learners in big states such as New York, Texas and California demonstrated slow progress in learning and this accounted for the high achievement gap (Garcia & Baker, 2007). Bilin gual education in the US focuses on the English language learners and it starts with enabling the students develop the native language literacy first and then transferring the skills to learning English (Baker, 2011). Some experts argue that monolingual and bilingual language acquisition is similar since children growing up in an environment where both languages are spoken will acquire the two languages simultaneously (Garcia & Baker, 2007). At the early stage of development, the children may mix words in a single sentence, but will begin to gradually distinguish words. Accordingly, sequential Bilingualism occurs when children utilize knowledge and experiences in their first language to acquire the second language. Bilingualism exhibits numerous advantages such as general reasoning, divergent thinking, concept formation, verbal and linguistic abilities and metalinguistic

Chemistry reasearch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Chemistry reasearch - Essay Example s likely to be incredibly small compared to the reality on the ground.   Still, a collection of examples that have surfaced in the English-language media will help to document the use of these atrocious weapons. Cluster bombs, dropped from the air, and cluster munitions, fired from the ground, are designated as such because they fragment into many smaller bombs.   When a cluster weapon is dropped or fired, it opens in the air and disperses hundreds of smaller explosives (submunitions, or bomblets) which scatter over an area of up to hundreds of thousands of feet.  Ã‚   Most of these submunitions explode upon impact, but between 5% and 30% fail to ignite.   These â€Å"duds† retain their deadly features, and typically will explode immediately when touched.   Herein lies the main threat to civilians, since dud bombs act as landmines across vast areas for many years. During the first Gulf War, the US and its allies dropped cluster bombs containing around 20 million bomblets.   In addition, cluster munitions spread more than 30 million bomblets.   In Kuwait, around 200 cluster duds are still being found and destroyed each month.  Ã‚   In Afghanistan, the United States dropped 1,228 CBU-87 cluster bombs containing 248,056 bomblets.  Ã‚   Assuming a 7% failure rate,   this would leave roughly 17,363 unexploded bomblets scattered across Afghanistan. The US and UK are quick to point out that cluster bombs and cluster munitions are not specifically banned under the 1997 Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty.  Ã‚   Still, the indiscriminate nature of scattered explosives and the lingering danger of unexploded bombs make these weapons nearly identical to landmines.   A strong case can also be made that cluster bombs and munitions are illegal under the Geneva Convention, which demands the protection of civilians even when intermingled with military personnel. The US and the UK both officially acknowledged on April 3 that their air forces have been dropping cluster bombs on Iraq.  Ã‚   Judging by

By outlining in some detail a piece of structural contingency Essay

By outlining in some detail a piece of structural contingency research, evaluate the contributions of this general approach to s - Essay Example The report will discuss the theory in detail and how it affects the performance of an organisation. The report will also discuss the change on the organisation due to the various contingency variables. The contingency cycle, which changes an organisation from fit to misfit, and then again brings it back to fit though organisation structuring, is explained with examples. Discussion Till the late 1950s, school of classical management dominated the organisational structure. According to this school of thought, one single organisational strategy was effective for all kinds of organisational structure. It was categorised by high degree of planning and decision making. There was a strict hierarchy in this structure and the job responsibilities were well detailed to the lower level staff in advance, by the senior management. From 1930 onwards, this school of thought was challenged extensively by the new school of thought, known as school of human relations. According to this approach, indiv idual employees possessed social and psychological needs. Bottom-up approach was followed here and the lower level departments were increasingly motivated to participate in the decision making processes of the organisation. Many researchers and theorists such as J. W. Lorsch and P.R. Lawrence, (1978) suggested that firms which operated in less stable environments were found to be operating more effectively. Less formalization of the organisation leads to more reliance on mutual agreement between the various departments of the organisation. On the other hand, in case of companies operating in a certain and more stable environment, effective functioning was recognised only when the firm was more formalized, decision making was centralised and there was less reliance on the mutual agreement between different departments. There are many theories of contingency approached. But the most accepted and popular ones are those which are related to leadership, management or organisational struc ture (Tuai, 2011). According to the overall approach of this, whatever happens in a firm depends upon particular circumstances or factors. In general, when whole or parts of an organisation fits together, they are referred to as organisational structure. More specifically, structures include factors such as complexity, formalization and centralisation (Martinez-Leon and Martinez-Garcia, 2011). The dimensions of complexity can be categorised as, spatial, vertical and horizontal. In case of formalisation, the options for individuals are little. There is a higher vertical differentiation where a manager’s work is defined by other senior manager and the senior manager’s work is defined by other managers. This results in division of labour and decrease in discretion. It is different than spatial differentiation because in spatial differentiation, there are organisation wide procedures that limit the discretion. Examples of higher formalisation are bank call centres, superma rkets. Examples for lower formalisation include lawyers, doctors, academics and that formalisation which are associated with skill. Centralisation refers to the extent of decision making, authority and power. Centralisation is inversely correlated with complexity because increase in complexity reduces the central power by distributing these powers through hierarchies and functions. Centralization is weakly correlated to

Social Organization and Kinship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Organization and Kinship - Essay Example As the paper discusses the social relationships are quite important in the society. Some of the social ends that are involved in the social set up of the society are socialization of the children and the constitution of the basic political, economic and religious groups. The kinship involves the people who are sharing the same lineage are in the categories of the descent group, affinity, cognate and the fictive kinship. The kinship associated with the marriage is referred to as the affinity related. Kinship is the centre of the social organization in various societies, and people understand that the kinship should be relevant to the social cognition. Kin is organized around binary distinctive features and is linguistically marked.This essay stresses that the type of the society where one is living influences the person’s interactions and the activities that the person can involve them. The type of the society has great influence on the different areas of the female’s eg os life as the society determines the amount of the social support they get.  In Native America, cultures allow the matrilineal approach where the family lineage is traced through the mothers and not the fathers. The women in the American culture they possess great power as they are treated as the center of the family and home.  In the communities that practice the matrilineal approach of the family make up the males would live with the women after marriage at woman's home.

Stereotypes and Prejudice Worksheet Essay Example for Free

Stereotypes and Prejudice Worksheet Essay Answer each question in 50 to 100 words related to those stereotypes. Provide citations for all the sources you use. What are the positive aspects of stereotypes, if any? I don’t feel there are positive aspects of stereotypes. Even in the rare cases of a â€Å"good† stereotype like â€Å"blondes are more fun†, to label someone before you’ve given them the chance to prove themselves is always a negative in my mind. While some people may not be offended by certain stereotypes, it is still unfair to give someone a label before gaining any knowledge of them personally. What are the negative aspects of stereotypes? The negative aspects are apparent in abundance. Some of the most obvious negative aspects are when minorities aren’t afforded the same opportunities that white Americans are given, due to racial stereotypes like â€Å"black people are lazy†. Stereotypes can also affect children. There is a common myth that some ignorant people believe in which gay parents will raise a gay child. Children can be very cruel at a young age and have stereotypes such as this passed down from their parents, which they then perpetuate against children of gay parents. Part III Answer each question in 50 to 150 words related to those stereotypes. Provide citations for all the sources you use. Define stereotypes and prejudice. What is the difference between stereotyping and prejudice? Use examples to illustrate the differences. Stereotypes involve generalizations about the typical characteristics of members of the groups. Prejudice is an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics. Stereotypes are different from prejudice because prejudice is to act on the stereotypes in your mind, as in to treat someone differently based on those stereotypes. An example would be for an older white woman to see a young black kid with baggy pants walking towards her and then switching the side of the street that she’s walking on. What is the relationship between stereotyping and prejudice? The relationship between stereotyping and prejudice is one of great significance. Without stereotypes there really wouldn’t be much reason for prejudice against another person, without first getting to know them. Stereotypes are so deeply embedded in our society that prejudice often happens in our country without people even recognizing that they are committing the act of prejudice. What can be done to prevent prejudice from occurring? The main thing that can be done to prevent prejudice would be for people to cast aside the stereotypes that they have been raised on. That is much easier said than done, but it is an absolute necessity in preventing prejudiced behaviors from occurring. As long as we stereotype one another, prejudices will always be around. References Schaefer, R.T. (2012). Racial and Ethnic Groups, Thirteenth edition

Development of Eco-Friendly Rice Farming

Development of Eco-Friendly Rice Farming Globally, agriculture has been considered as one of the major sources of greenhouse gases (GHG) (Chauhan et al., 2006; IPCC, 2007). In terms of anthropogenic GHG emissions, agriculture accounted 14%, which contributes 47% CH4 and 84% N2O emissions (IPCC, 2007; US-EPA, 2006). Rice is staple food in many countries and also an important part of the diet for a large portion of the world’s human population (Maraseni et al., 2009; Smith et al., 2008). Furthermore, the world’s annual rice production must be increased from 518 million tons in 1990 to 760 million tons in 2020 (International Rice Research Institute, 1989) to feed the growing population. The yield potential of rice largely depends upon the proper management of fertilizer and irrigation water, but farmers are using them extensively for increasing yields which incur cost and also has adverse effect on global climate. The cultivation of paddy rice contributes toward the emissions of the most important greenhouse gase s (GHGs) responsible for global warming viz; CO2, CH4 and N2O (Jacobson, 2005; Allen et al., 2009; Bhattacharyya et al., 2009). Mitigation of GHG emission from farming systems is the current hot issue and extensive research works are going on throughout the world for developing eco-friendly as well as cost-effective technologies to mitigate the emission of methane and other GHG from rice fields (Zschornack et al., 2011; Harada et al., 2007). Different mechanisms for mitigating methane emissions have been proposed by the researchers including fertilizer use, proper water management and altering magnitude of organic amendment dominate to enhance yield potential of rice, as well as reduce CH4 fluxes (Jane et al., 2007; Liou et al., 2003). Incorporation of rice residue into the soil is safe eco-friendly practice and it gradually improves soil organic carbon, phosphorus and potassium contents (Prasad et al., 1999) but it leads to increase methane emission due to flooding during rice growing season (Summer et al., 2003; Pathak, and Wassmann, 2007). The mechanisms behind CH4 emission thought to be considered as creating anaerobic condition that favor more emission (IPCC, 2006; Hardy, 2003; Wang et al., 2000; Yao et al., 1999). On the other hand, draining the wetlands during the rice growing season for once or several times, known as intermittent drainage or alternate wetting and drying (AWD) significantly lower CH4 emissions (Smith Conen, 2004; Yan et al., 2003). Continuous flood irrigation emits higher CH4 than intermittent irrigation (Towprayoon et al., 2005, Nagroho et al., 1994; Minamikawa and N. Sakai, 2006.) which tends to turn down near zero emission during drainage period but increase immediately after re-flooding. A single drainage reduces emissions by ≈40% (Yan et al., 2005, 2009) and found from a study in Orissa is that methane emissions of 16, 19, 27 and 36kg ha-1 per season from alternately flooded, continuously flooded, alternately flooded with 2t straw and continuously flooded with 2t straw, fields respectively (Adhya et al., 2000). Although straw addition increased the methane emissions but when combined with alternate irrigations systems, ultimate emissions was less than continuous flooding. Studies reported that AWD serve as mitigation potential of GHG by 35% accompanied and reduced rice yield 7%. So, short period drainage during rice flowering stage considered as compromise of decreasing GHG emissions and also compensate the yield penalty (Towprayoon et al., 2005; Ma et al., 2011; Maraseni et al., 2007). Improved water management can decrease methane emissions by avoiding waterlogging and keeping the soil as dry as possible (Xu et al., 2003; Cai et al., 2003; Kang et al., 2002) and adjusting organic material addition time (e.g. incorporating organic residue in the dry period instead of flooded periods; Cai Xu, 2004; Xu et al., 2000;), composting the residues before incorporation (Wang Shangguan, 1996; Wassmann et al., 2000). Therefore, the relationship between organic amendment and intermittent drainage systems should be investigated in order to find the best compromise for CH4 emission without affecting the yield potential. Worldwide 80% of rice is grown in developing countries mostly by the smallholder farmers in low income groups (Hardy, 2003). Therefore, motivation of small holder’s famers from traditional rice cultivation towards organic farming will reduce the GHG emission. As the traditional practices applied higher fertilizer, pesticide, water and others input which tends to release more GHG to the atmosphere. While the organic farming solely relies on organic amendment, discards chemical fertilizer and same the time builds up the soil organic matter status. The farming practices would be low GHG farming and also climate neutral (Niggli et al., 2009). Mitigation options for GHG emissions as stated by Smith et al. (2007) and Bellarby et al. (2008) and claim that both farmers and policymakers will face challenges from the GHG-related changes needed in agriculture. The main factors restrict farmers for adapting climate smart rice farming includes little information broadcast about climate change and less activity by agricultural extension service; high cost of farm inputs, limited irrigation facilities, labour and income constraints and government negligence towards risk management against climate change, (Ozor et al., 2010). Therefore, identification of innovative model farmer groups and adoption of climate smart rice farming techniques need to be explored. Climate change adaptation is an expensive practices and the cost mostly revealed via the necessity of intensive labor use. Thereby farmers always faced problem due to unavailability and higher cost of farm labor. But farmer only needs time to learn about new techniques, once when they gain experience and become familiar to adapt the processes, labour requirement will be less. Another aspect, as the most of small holder rice farmers are pro-poor, that’s why insufficient money liquidity hinders farmers to have access for necessary technologies and resources need for facilitating climate change adaptation strategy (Mishra and Salokhe, 2011. Hence, farmer cannot adapt the low GHG mitigation practices if they don’t have sufficient family labor or sufficient fund to hire the labor (Ozor et al., 2010). Thereby, financial support from governance level is crucial to overcome barriers of the local farmers in the form of subsidy. Electronic information technology is used to collect, process and analyze multisource data for decision-making (Sonka, Bauer and Cherry, 1997). Different extension methodologies can be used for the dissemination of information on climate sound rice farming by diffusion of innovation (Oladele, 2013). Smart phone apps and web-based decision-support tools has developed for providing stakeholders with ready access to data-intensive research results necessary for on-farm management by farmers and strategic decision-making by policymakers (Kruger et al., 2011). As for example- mobile or online access of IRRI knowledge bank, Radio drama in Nigeria (World Bank, 2012), community radio such as Climate Radio in Ghana, Krishi Radio and television programs in Bangladesh (ELDIS, 2013), cyber village project in Mannila, Philippines etc are recently applied technologies to reach the climate sound and site specific nutrient management at farm level (Oladele, 2013). Developing climate smart farming practices necessitate decision support from society to adopt at farm level. This approach depends upon decision criteria based on water management (wet and dry system) and addition of organic amendments. Organic manure incorporation is easier but for water management, farmers have to control the level and number of irrigation in the rice field, which may make it difficulties to follows. Low GHG emissions practices also involved hidden cost that is difficult to articulate in monetary term. At the beginning, farmer has to overcome the unexpected losses through trials and error as the processes are more detailed and complicated. At the same time, knowledge and skill needed by farmers to invest capital and time with regards to achieve success. The irrigation system in a particular area is based on a community or a group decision, which means that an individual farmer, who applies a different irrigating pattern will affect working schedule of the community or the group (Arayaphong, 2012). Existing electronic decision support system should be improved including above mentioned climate smart technique to adopt successfully at farm level. Smallholder’s innovative model farmers groups should need to motivate and address them about climate smart rice farming with less input and higher income by building linkage among extension officers, research institutes and recently developed electronic information devices for successful implementation at grass root level. Although low GHG rice farming practices are indispensable to cope up global warming and also need proper implementation at the farmer level, but little research work has done focusing decision support system and integration of climate sound information into the electronic data base. Therefore, the proposed study will be carried out to fulfill the following objectives: 5. METHODOLOGY This section will be addressed the above mentioned questions step by steps. Experiment I: GHG mitigation potential of water management, when utilizing complex organic manures in rice farming As we already know that rice field contributes a significant amount of GHG especially CH4. The emissions strongly correlated with the depth of water table and also type of organic manure used as well as their timing of applications. In this experiment I will apply various types of organic manures such as compost, rice straw and green manure at different rates (6 ton/ha and 12 ton/ha). Rice straw and green manure will be chopped properly into small pieces before applying into the fields. After that the application of organic manures in the fields will be done at different times such as before rice transplanting, at tillering stage and at flowering stage. Lastly the comparison will be drawn between the continuously flooded and intermittently flooded fields in terms of GHGs flux from these experimental plots. Measurements of methane emission Methane flux from the rice field plots will be monitored whole crop cycle. Emitted CH4 will be sampled by using the manual closed chamber technique (Datta et al., 2009; Rolston, 1986). To make the system airtight Plexiglas chambers (50 cm _ 40 cm _ 100 cm) will fix on the aluminum channels, inserted 10 cm inside the soil with the channels filled with water. The air inside the chamber will be mixed by a battery operated fan to get a homogenous composition (Ghosh et al., 2003). Methane concentration will be measured by flame ionization detection (FID) gas chromatography (Ramakrishnan et al., 1995). From the experiment we will be able to know which water management and organic matter application approach will provide lowest GHG emission from the rice farming and suitable time for incorporation of organic complex will be found from this experimental set up. Experiment II: Investigation of GHG mitigations approaches in a series of farm types and evaluation of their mitigation potential The main ambition of this experiment is to generate data from different farming system and what are the driving forces for GHG mitigation potential that could be included in a decision support system. I will use the lowest GHG emission technique that will come up from the first experiment. The practices will be applied in a series of farm types to quantify and compare costs, benefits, expected profits and risks between the conventional and organic farming with intermittent drainage by using CBA basis and Monte Carlo simulation. According to Broadman, et al. (2006), a few steps are taken in a CBA; specifying alternatives or scenarios of the project, identifying key players (who will be affected by the project), collecting, and measuring costs and benefits. To begin with standings identification, a farmer is the main actor who is affected directly from rice production through a profit and production cost. The second actor is the environment because nature and ecological system are impa cted by toxicity and exploitation of resources from rice production. Lastly, a society is regarded as third actor because an impact on a farmer and the environment also affects the society. Comparative analysis among different farm types will be done in respect to cost and benefits in terms of water, labor and nutrient efficiency and impact on yield and productivity. Finally, the society will make decision to accept farming typology based on higher farmers profit and lower environment damage. A structured set of questionnaire will be sent to the local farmers mentioning the constraints facing during cultivating low GHG emission rice practices in their own farm. Experiment III: Improvement of electronic decision support systems including elements of water use efficiency, organic fertilizers and greenhouse gas emissions This experiment will focus on the exploring the driving factors of different system and potential of implementing GHG mitigation practices. This should also include aspects of farmer awareness and priorities as well as knowledge systems, leading towards the decision support tool aspects. The data base will generate from experiment II about nutrient use efficiency of organic manure, low green house gas mitigation potential, irrigation scheduling for intermittent drainage from different farm types will be incorporated in the existing electronic information systems. After that a series of test will be conducted for farmer awareness rising on environmental impacts of farming. There are few electronic information system has been developed by IRRI for transferring updated news to the small holder farmers. In Philippines, NMRiceMobile (Nutrient Manager for RiceMobile) has provided the rice growing farmers and also the extension workers with free guidelines for fertilizer application by using mobile phones which has been widely used by local farmers since 2011. Through text messages (SMS), they can receive information on the amount, right time and the kind of fertilizer should be applied to maximize production and income from their rice cultivation. Method demonstration, result demonstration and field day will be conducted at the farm to inspire the farmers in a community. Statistical analysis Collected will be analyzed to compare the mean difference by using DMRT as outlined by Gomez and Gomez, (1984). Analysis of variance will be performed using the Proc Mixed procedure of Statistical Analysis System (SAS Inst., 1999). 6. RISK AND ETHICS OF PROPOSED RESEARCH The main aspect of this study is to propagate the climate smart rice farming to the farmers. Glass house experiments will be carried out to know the best combination of organic matter use and water application along with timing of organic complex incorporation. Methane and nitrous oxide flux need to be measured carefully. After that transfer of this knowledge to the farm community and their acceptance will may be one of the constraint. As the farmers in a particular locality cultivate rice by following their own traditional system, so motivate them to the new techniques arise the questions of acceptance. Generally local communities decide the irrigation system in a particular place. Therefore, new irrigation practices like alternate wetting or drying or intermittent drainage might interrupt the normal irrigation scheduling. This may create new conflicts among local farmers. Intermittent irrigation is difficult to manage especially for a farmer, who is lack of water resource accessibility. These production processes requires more time and labour use than conventional system. Time and labour constrains can be overcome by proficient management. Water control is also a serious constraint because the process is complicated and detailed, which is not suitable for a farmer who has difficulty in water resource accessibility. Besides, a farmer needs to be trained and educated about new innovative method, which is also a constraint and cost for a farmer as well. Further interesting point is risk-preference of a local farmer. As mentioned in the introduction, an agricultural yield gain depends on an uncontrollable factor, which means that a farmer has to take responsibility of riskiness by him- or herself. Therefore, risk analysis is also an important factor in decision making. Although climate smart rice technique will generates economic and sustainable benefits to a farmer’s household, but an investment in the technology is higher than the normal system. Variations in labour cost and interest rate are the main constraint obstructing a farmer to change water harvesting pattern. Therefore, government or policy maker should facilitate the credit system for farmer’s motivation. Inclusion of climate sound rice farming tactic into the electronic decision support might be another barriers. Sometime there is knowledge gap between research station and farmers level, so if the farmer not aware about this practice, successful implementation would be impossible. The main outcome of this study is to develop climate smart rice farming strategy. Rice cultivation responsible for significant GHGs emissions to the atmosphere and contributes greatly for global warming. On the other hand, fertilizer causes higher production costs which in turn emit CH4 and N2O after applying to the fields. While the use of organic manure build the soil nutrient pool and also reduce the dependency on fertilizer purchase but also contribute to a extent CH4 and N2O emission. Their emission strongly correlated with water management. Therefore, sound water management technique will be found from this experimental study. Various studies has already been conducted on rice straw incorporation in continuous flooding system and methane emission flux but intermittent drainage practices during the rice growth stages largely ignored in these study. Mechanism for methane emission from the flooded condition due to decomposition of organic matter enhances methanogenesis process by creating anaerobic conditions. Therefore, intermittent drainage can stop these processes as aerobic condition will develop by draining the excess water from the field for while. The main actor in this study is the small holder farmers. Newly developed method will need societal acceptance to adopt at farm level. Therefore, cost benefit analysis will be done to encourage them which techniques will provide higher return by utilizing limited resources of fertilizers and water use. Finally this newly innovative technique should be integrated in the existing electronic decision support system including the information of nutrient use efficiency of organic manure and low green house gas emission practices. This information base will help to disseminate the climate sound rice farming practices to the end users. Rice farmers must upgrade and well equip themselves with the scientific principles of rice paddy ecosystems management by applying sound rice cultivation techniques.

Periods Of English Literature :: essays research papers

Question: Show how the voices of writers through many centuries of literature have depicted a variety of mentalities and lifestyles. . Centuries could pass, and not many changes could be easily perceived by the common man, as those changes came gradually. Yet those changes can be readily discerned when looking at England as a whole, not looking at parts of history individually. The alterations of life, when looked at from a certain literary viewpoint, can be explained when one looks at the different periods in English literature, seeing the depictions of a certain era through writings that unintentionally convey great varieties in the mentality and lifestyles of the people who lived during that time. From war and violence to the more genteel inclinations of love and peace, English literature has evolved throughout the centuries, most especially if one considers the differences between the Old English, Renaissance and Romantic periods. The Anglo-Saxon history is undoubtedly very interesting to study, as the period spans several centuries and several different inhabitants of the land now known as England. The main characteristic of this time was the heroic ideal, which was the attempt by a hero to do things such as sailing a ship through a storm and taming a horse better than anyone else. The heroà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s first priority, however, was to always be ready to fight. The Angles were a heathen race, worshipping old Nordic gods and Wyrd (fate). It is very important to remember that it was the Anglo-Saxons who determined the basic language and culture of the English race, therefore it was them that were the foundation upon which literature would stand. The first literature found in the history of this period was during the reign of the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes. It was not really literature, in that it was written down by anybody, in mass-produced copies. The literature back then consisted of songs, sang b y bards, who embellished the story with every telling. It was only in later years that the tales were written down. This came about during the reign of Christianity, where the monks had tried to write down all of the tales that the bards sang, the ancient folk tales of the Anglo-Saxons. The monks also tried to infuse the Anglo-Saxons with a love for Christianity, where the heroes were Christ and his Apostles, by writing poetry such as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Cinewulfà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Dream of the Roodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?

Political Reform in the Schools of Latvia :: Religion in Education Soviet Union Essays

Political Reform in the Schools of Latvia Cataclysmic events sometimes spur educators to reconsider the role of schools in preparing children for citizenship. In the United States, the Great Depression of the 1930's prompted educators to address the appropriate place of the schools in developing citizens for an industrial democracy. In the tiny Baltic nation of Latvia, the sudden breakup of the Soviet Union caused educators to consider the same questions. A remarkable chain of events at the turn of the last decade raised the Iron Curtain and paved the way for a revival of liberal democracy throughout Eastern Europe after fifty years of dictatorial Soviet communism. In 1992, Latvia followed many of its neighbors in declaring its independence. It then turned to the creation of a new government and developing citizens to ensure its continuation. Religion was to play a prominent role. The Church had traditionally been a significant factor in Latvian political and social life, but the early 1990's saw a new religious force in Eastern Europe. Western missionary organizations were searching for footholds from which to evangelize the newly independent nations of Eastern Europe. Two conflicting goals of this evangelism rapidly surfaced. On the one hand, the Church certainly intended to gain converts to Christianity, but it had a political mission as well. Missionaries and their host governments envisioned Christianity as a vehicle to reinstitute a public morality lost under decades of communist rule. In the minds of many, Christian virtue spread throughout the populace would form a necessary foundation for the growth of liberal democracy. Both the Church and the State targeted the schools as the delivery system for moral instruction. However, this use of the schools put them in the untenable position of serving two masters-the Church and the state, two institut ions whose ideologies and goals are ever at odds. Marxist and Christian Worldviews and Education In "ten days that shook the world" in 1917, Lenin's Bolsheviks co-opted the Russian Revolution and ushered into existence a Marxist government. Fundamental to the implementation of communism in Lenin's view was control of the schools. He declared that "The school must become a weapon of the dictatorship of the proletariat" (in Counts, 1957). Under Lenin's successor, Joseph Stalin, the Soviet Union expanded its influence into Eastern Europe. In 1945, the Soviets annexed Latvia and restructured the schools in accordance with Stalin's view that education is ".

The Horse Dealer?s Daughter :: essays research papers

In D.H. Lawrence’s â€Å"The Horse Dealer’s Daughter,† Mabel â€Å"did not share the same life as her brothers †(195). Mabel Pervin was not close to her brothers, because there were personal and physical separations. Mabel was a plain, uninteresting woman. She seldom showed emotion on her face. In fact her face usually remained impassive and unchanged. Her brothers could be described as three handsome and well-spoken men. Mabel was independent, having taken care of the house for ten years without a servant. Even though they depended upon her, they seemed to have control over her. The Pervin brothers â€Å"did not care about anything† (195). They were poised and felt secure about themselves. Her brothers felt superior to her. â€Å"They had talked at her and round her for so many years, that she hardly heard them at all† (196). She would either give a neutral response to her brothers, or remain quiet when they talked to her. Instead of giving her encouragement, they teased her. This treatment could have led to her insecurity. They would tease her about becoming a maid or about her â€Å"bulldog† face. Her brothers were full of energy and very talkative. Mabel also seemed to be alone in the world. Unlike her brothers who had many companions, she had had no friends of her own sex. Sometimes it seemed that Mabel wanted to escape her life. One place Mabel felt secure and immune from the world was at her mother’s grave. â€Å"There she always felt secure, as if no one could see her† (200). Mabel was extremely devoted to her deceased parents, especially her mother. She was mindless and persistent. At the graveside, she had many different feelings. She seemed to be coming nearer to her own glorification. Also she would become remote and intent. She seemed to feel contact with the world that mother had lived.

Failures: Failure and Entire Network Shutdown

Companies and businesses communicate with one another internally and with customer externally each day using different methods of technology but at the basis of this is the network, which makes it all possible to interact with one another. Companies and businesses have two types of systems they can set up to carry this out. They can design and set up a centralized system or a distributed system. The important factor no matter what the system is they have to be prepared for failures, which may occur in either system and have procedures in place to identify and isolate these failures to prevent an entire network shutdown and implement a solution for their network.Failures can occur at any level of a network and the network admin must be prepared in the wake of these occurrences. There are varying types of centralized systems that businesses can implement.The types of failures that can occur in centralized systems are; network failures, omission failures and halting failures. These type s of failures occur when a process crashes due to communication link failures that are detected during timeouts or in the process of sending messages.These failures typically only occur in the centralized system if it is connected via a general purpose or multi-user network setup.A distributed system simply is a group of â€Å"dummy† devices or computer that are connected to one network of distributed hardware which allows the devices to talk or communicate to one another and share other network assets and resources.This type of network is susceptible to four types of failures once they are set up. A fail stop occurs with some kind of notification to other components. A network file server telling its clients it is about to go down  is a fail-stop. Halting failures occur when a component just simply stops. The only way to detect this type of failure is by a timeout an example of which is when you computer freezes. The device stops responding to requests.A network failure al so can occur when network links break at some part of the process of traffic flow. Finally mission failures occur when there is a fault in the sending and receiving of messages due to lack of buffering space. This can lead to a device such as a router becoming overloading due to discarding of messages without notification to either the sender/receiver.Once these failures have been detected utilizing network research methods the next step in the process is to repair or fix the occurrence. These fixes can range from quick to time consuming, as each failure requires a different set of troubleshooting techniques. The simplest failure to repair is the network line break. The network admin would need to try and reach another device from the broken PC or device by utilizing the ping command to verify if the request was fulfilled which receiving a successful reply back from the device does. If the device fails to respond the admin would check other steps such as changing the network cable, configuration of the IP address or the network interface card.We typically solve the halting failure daily on our personal computer or our work device when it freezes. We typically use the ESC function or the Task Manager in Windows or the â€Å"kill† function in Linux to end an unresponsive process or we restart the device.Although we can’t always predict when a network failure will occur we can be ready to repair it in a timey manner by having diagnostic steps readily available when a failure is detected to prevent network assets being down for long periods of time.

A World Class E-Government: Singapore

E-government refers to the transformation of the business of the government such as processes, operations and transactions that is driven by the information technology. This can happen both internally (streamlined government administration procedures for greater efficiency and effectiveness) and externally (simplified, enhanced government-client interaction via online connections) (Tan, Pan & Lim, 2007). Singapore is a small country with a population of about four million with a small market and limited natural resources. Although Singapore’s position as an information gateway in the region has lead it to become a global hub which is attractive to many Multinational National Companies (MNC) (Chan & Al-Hawamdeh, 2002). Singapore is a leader in the electronic governance that has invited worldwide recognition. Singapore’s e-government offers 98% of all government services are provided online for businesses and the community. It is one of the first countries to have the Civil Service Computerization Program (CSCP). The above mechanism was followed by the e-Government Action Plans. These involved implementing as many public services online as possible, adding value to the e-services and providing a one stop service via the internet. Singapore has launched a iGov2010 plan in the aim of bringing the government a greater efficiency by integrating the back end processes of the government ministries and organisations. As per Tan, Pan & Lim (2007) it improves efficiency in terms of utilizing less time, effort and material resources while maintaining a constant level of output. There are two portals offered by the government of Singapore which are namely for the citizens and the businesses. The portal offered for the citizens is known as the eCitizen Portal which is the single entry point for the community to access the services provided by the government and private corporations. The portal is to be accessed by the SingPass which is given to the citizens and permanent residents of Singapore. It is the single online user identification called the Singapore Personal Access. Through this system they can access their own confidential information. Also through the e-portal the community can post any thoughts on issues they are currently facing. For example the extensions of the smoking ban or the country’s national climate change strategy. The portal offered for businesses involves the Online Business Licensing Service (OBLS). This is an one stop portal for government registrations and licenses required to conduct business in Singapore. Through this portal the applicant needs to complete only one integrated form for multiple licenses. The system provides consolidated online payment mechanisms for one-time payments for multiple license fees. This system has lead the processing time a business license to reduce from 21 days to 8 days saving businesses more than $2. million annually. Therefore the implementation of IT in the government has lead to an increase in effectiveness and efficiency in providing services to businesses. Another example of such is provided by Tan, Pan & Lim (2007) where the unprocessed tax returns accumulated in the Singapore income tax department resulted in administrative backlogs and dissatisfaction among taxpayers. The e-filing system in the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has lead to greater efficiency in the department and the use of back-end infrastructure to incorporate taxation calculations and regulations has improved its effectiveness. Question 1: Explore the two portals. What are the benefits to both the community and businesses? In Singapore, citizens have quickly warmed up to the e-Government services. Activities such as renewing road taxes and e-filing of income tax returns over the internet are now common among the community (n. a. , 2006). The main benefit for the community is the lessened administrative burdens they have to go through for payments, renewals and other services. The e-Government would lead to an improved quality of information with a reduction in the process time. It would also result in cost reduction for both the community and the ministries. These improved service levels would lead to efficiency where the community operating with the e-Government would be satisfied (Corsi, Gumina & Ciriaci, 2006). Another benefit that is enjoyed is the ability for the citizens to use their mobile phones to interact with the government services. There are many services offered by the e-Government in Singapore that is compatible with the hand held device. For example Housing Development Board and IRAS. Another benefit provided is the use of SingPass to access the individuals own MyeCitizen account. Having this unique SingPass would enable the privacy and confidentiality of the citizens. The users can personalise the portal and they have a variety of channels to choose from such as MyTravel, MyKids and MyCareer. Lastly the ability of the citizens to voice out their opinions is a great benefit for both the government and the citizens. Businesses have also benefited by the services provided by the e-Government. It is an increased efficiency and convenience to deal through the online platform. The offering of the Online Business Licensing Service (OBLS) allows the applicant to complete one integrated form for multiple licenses. The website provides the applicants with step by step guide which makes it trouble-free for the business to apply for licenses. By the OBLS the processing time of applications were reduced from 21days to 8days. This would be an efficient approach for the business where they can concentrate on other parts of starting up the business without a delay from the government authorities. Question 2: According to the chapter, there are six stages in the transformation to e-government. Which do you think Singapore is in? Why? In order for a transformation of a traditional government to an fully functional online government, there are six stages that are to be completed. These factors are explained in Wong (2000). Stage one is information publishing/dissemination which involves providing information on individual govermental departments by seting up their own website. It allows the community and businesses to choose from a range of services and contact for further assistance. By this activity the, the government departments would be able to reduce the number of phone calls customers need to make in order to clarify requests. Stage two is the â€Å"official†two-way transactions where the customers are able to submit personal information and conduct monetory transactions with individual departments through secure websites. At this stage customers should be convinced about the departments ability to keep the information private. Stage three is the multi-purpose portals. It involves integrating different departments. A portal allows the customers use a single point of entry to send and receive information and to process monetory transactions across many departments. Stage four is the portal personalisation where the customers can customise portals with their desired features. The goverment needs a much more sophisticated web programming that allows the interfaces to be user-manipulated. By the personalisation activity, the government can have a clearer read on the customer preference for electronic versus non-electronic service options. Stage fiveinvolves the clustering of common services where the customers now view the once-diparate services as a unified package through the portal. They tend to recognise group of transactions rather than than the group of agencies. Therefore the government will cluster the services along common lines to accelerate the delivery of shared services. Stage six involves the full integration and enterprise transformation. This is the stage where all departments across the government is integrated with technology. It would bridge a shortened gap between the front and back offices. Singapore’s e-government is in stage six in the Deloitte’s transformation model. E-government in Singapore has carried out Action plans since year 2000 regarding the accessibility, integration and providing value added services with one-stop service via the internet. There iGov2010 plan was launched in 2006 which involves bringing the e-government to a greater level of efficiency. This is to accomplished by back end processes across the entire government’s ministries. Question 3: What could other governments learn from the example of Singapore?  Despite the differences in Singapore and other styles of governments, there are things a country can learn from Singapore’s e-government experiences. Singapore has enjoyed political stability since independence in 1965 and the People’s Action Party (PAP) has been in government throughout that period. Due to the one party government system, there has been little or no disruption of policy implementation, which has enhanced the effectiveness of the delivery mechanism of public services. This stability has created well-organized institutions that help all stakeholders to adopt e-Services. Investments and master plans have leaded the success story of Singapore. For an instance in 2005,, the Singaporean government introduced a master plan to tackle security issues. S$38m (? 12. 3 million) will be invested in this plan to ensure a secure online environment. Incentives for tax-payers who submit tax declarations electronically, extensions of deadlines for those who are willing to declare their incomes electronically and lower fees for people who apply for their passports online are some incentives given by the government to promote e services and thereby an e governance. The social strengths of Singapore have been demonstrated by an educational system that produces a well-educated workforce to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). Not only developing its own pool of local talents, Singapore also recruits foreign talents to work in both the public and private sectors. Time saving, convenience and actual monetary savings are the main drives to pull e-Users to e-Services. In conclusion, one country cannot be a model of another country. But any country can be inspired by another. Singapore is a good example for other countries to open doors toward the success.

Nokia’s Luxury Mobile Phone for the Urban Rich Case Study Analysis Essay

Introduction Nokia, which is known to be a luxury cellular phone, is located in Finland and is a manufacturer of telecommunication equipment, including an extravagant mobile device. It is apparent that the cellular phone, which was originated and presented by Frank Nuovo in 1997. It appears that this luxury mobile device was directed mainly for the rich, and not the normal, everyday mobile phone user. The device is appealing to many, but is not realistically priced for the everyday individual. The manufacture of this luxury phone is Vertu, a manufacturer who aims toward luxury services, including the finest designs, engineering and manufacturing. They have put together this luxury mobile phone using innovations in the making and the technology of mobile phones, along with the normal workmanship, but at high-end prices. Vertu’s headquarters are located in England and their products are in over 500 stores, across 66 countries. Synopsis of the Situation Nokia’s CEO, Stephen Elop joined the company and within 5 months, on February 11, 2011, Stephen Elop proclaimed that Nokia was implementing a new mobile phone with Microsoft’s new Windows program, which was unconfirmed as Nokia’s main smart phone. After making this announcement on February 11, 2011, the stock dropped and the share price went down by 14 cents, because the market was not interested in a smart phone that had not proved itself. With the stock dropping, Elop went full force to save Nokia and partnered up with Microsoft to manufacture and introduce a new global ecosystem in a mobile phone. The partnership led Nokia to producing the Vertu Luxury cell phone. This luxury mobile device was created by Frank Nuovo. Key Issues Because of the 14 cent share drop in stock, Nokia had to implement a plan to better their company. Nokia’s market was decreasing and this is when Stephen Elop was hired, in order to make the changes to allow the company and the product to improve. Elop decided to utilize the newer Window’s technology in connection with the mobile device. This was something that was new to the market, and the market was not familiar with this sort of mobile device technology. The problems that Nokia was facing were explained in a memo as there being an absence of leadership, along with accountability and  collaboration internally, leading to the inability of Nokia to sufficiently, effectively and timely provide innovative products to the people. Define the Problem The problem that is at hand is that Nokia had decided to take on a new technology and operating system, allowing the possibility of things going negatively and the company’s shares dropping even more, because new technology and operating systems is what caused the shares to drop, to begin with. With Nokia operating with the Symbian operating system, it left it outdated because the software was one that was definitely outdated. Apple came in with a high technology and highly updated operating system, leaving Nokia in a position where they were not keeping up with the competition and having difficulty delivering innovative products quickly enough. Selected Solution to the Problem With this new luxury mobile device that Nokia was producing, it was rapidly growing and spreading around in the luxury mobile device market. This made the device look promising along with attracting new customers. Other brands joined the growing new market, such as Gresso and GoldVish and Mobiado. Elop knew he had to do something and he solved this problem by choosing Vertu Luxury Mobile Phone. Since both Nokia and Microsoft have been popular and present for a long period of time, they were able to join forces and develop a product which was an outstanding one. Although the cost is high and the product tends to serve just the rich, this was the plan that was put into place from the start, working and operating in an ever changing area. Apple’s phones are able to be affordable and dominate its area of services, and with Nokia joining forces with Microsoft, they were able to create their luxury line for the rich. Implementation There was originally an entry level luxury mobile device, which Nokia had propelled, before the subsidiary of Nokia, Vertu, was released. This luxury mobile device was the Nokia branded 8800 Series which sold for $1,300. The Nokia 8800 series special edition was announced in 2006, with Aston Martin and then the 24 karat gold plated device came along, the Nokia 8800 Sirocco Gold, in 2007. Nokia continued to move forward and in 2008 they presented  the Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte. As long as Nokia was able to continue to enable Vertu to lead in the high-end luxury mobile device, they were able to empower Vertu.

Informative Synthesis: Environmentalism

Creating a Sustainable Environment Every day our environment is ravaged by emissions, littered on by billions of people, and carelessly treated with unlimited sources. Environmentalists like Bill Mckibben, scholar at Middle berry College and author of the article â€Å"The Challenge to Environmentalism,† believe that â€Å"the relationship between people and the natural world has been largely taken for granted for most of human history† (500).Although environmentalism to some people mean driving less, establishing solar panels, recycling and more; Kate Zernike, reporter for the New York Times and author of â€Å"Green, Greener, Greenest,† informs us about college campus’s taking shortcuts in claiming they’re â€Å"environmentally friendly. † There are environmentalists and deans attempting to make a difference in our environment, but Michael Pollan – a professor of science and environmental journalism at the University of California â €“ asks the question, why bother with trying to cure climate change?Our Environment is an important aspect of human lives, and should be taken care of like our own children. Our concepts of environmentalism, the way we conduct ourselves in everyday life, and our battle with climate change and environmentalism economically are all factors of a hazardous home we will soon live in. Environmentalism is considered â€Å"a hollow concept,† argues Zernike, through the purchasing of offsets she believes it’s â€Å"the environmental equivalent of paying someone to eat broccoli so you can keep eating ice cream† (505).Offsets are credits sold by companies, specifically green companies to invest in planting trees or renewable energy. What Zernike means by this is it’s not ethically permissible to give someone money to help the environment while you personally continue to pollute it, especially when that money given to the company doesn’t always go towards funding the struggle for carbon neutrality. Pollan agrees with Zernike’s argument, the infinite cycle of repairing what we’re damaging, keeping us at a standstill for carbon neutrality and climate change for years to come.Pollan knows that â€Å"halfway around the world their lives my evil twin . . . who’s itching to replace every last pound of CO2 I’m trying not to emit† (509). Although Pollan doesn’t argue about offsets, he provides an example of double effect environmentally; that if walking to work increases your appetite and causes you to consume more meat or milk as a result, walking might actually emit more carbon than driving Mckibben on the other hand looks at the more general picture of environmentalism, how humans have had effected the environment we currently live within and around.Mckibben doesn’t disagree with Zernike and Pollan on environmentalism, he believes the relations we have with nature have been taken for grante d. Mckibben doesn’t even call environmentalism in that name itself, instead personally renaming as the Global Warming Movement. Mckibben argues that people believe wildness is less important than community. Environmentalists today prioritize building windmills over protecting our wildlife from their blades.These small choices we make will be the difference in how our world will be perceived in the future. After taking into consideration of the billions of people on our planet, we come to realize how large of an impact the way we live has on our world. Our daily life too many environmentalists are considered a virus to earth as a whole. Mckibben argues that â€Å"we had a great effect on particular places around us [such as] our fields and forests† (500). Cutting down forests changes hydrological cycles, environmental patterns, and habitat patterns.Although deforestation is a priority to prevent, Zernike is focusing on changing the concepts of our lives to improve our e nvironment. After claiming that going green is good for a college campus’s public image, Zernike tells us about the efforts students make in revolutionizing the way students learn, consume, and sleep. Although changes such as installing windmills, evolving trash bins to composts, and using biodegradable eating utensils are significant efforts to change the way we live, Michael Pollan argues that this all doesn’t matter.Pollan continues to assess his argument that attempting to cure climate change is irrational, he tells us that â€Å"the ‘big problem’ is nothing more or less than the sum total of countless everyday choices, most made by us, most made by desires, needs, and preferences† (510). Everyone making these innumerable amount of choices against our environment suddenly expects laws and money to take action to fix it, Pollan argues that â€Å"it is no less accurate to say that laws and money cannot do enough, it will also take profound change s in the way we live,† changes that cannot be made by legislation or technology (510).Our economy cannot support replacing our carbon footprint. Pollan argues that we look to our leaders and money to save us from the situation we’ve gotten ourselves into. Cheap energy, which Pollan argues made specialization possible, gave us climate change, The mentality of specialization is causing people to believe and wait for a new technology to emerge and solve our problem of climate change. Kate Zernike explains to us college campuses have begun hiring specialized sustainability coordinators to increase their green rating and environmental efficiency.Although sustainability coordinators have a â€Å"timetable for becoming carbon neutral . . . 12. 5 million was spent to make the buildings within the campus more efficient† (506). Bill Mckibben believes that â€Å"the economy can’t do the job anymore, in part because the excessive consumption is precisely what drives the environmental crisis we find ourselves in† (502). Mckibben also argues that the farmers market is the fastest growing part of the food economy in America, because it provides more economically sensible and healthy food.Whether environmentalists like Bill Mckibben think the concepts of the environmental movement should be changed to the global warming movement, revolutionizing our concepts of living and daily life by going green and making our buildings more efficient like Kate Zernike, and explaining to us how all these attempts to save the world from global warming doesn’t matter like Michael Pollan. In order to combat our problem with climate change we need the cooperation of the billions of people that inhabit our world.Works Cited Mckibben, Bill. â€Å"The Challenge to Environmentalism. †Ã‚  The Blair Reader: Exploring Issues and Ideas. 7th ed. New York City: Pearson Education, 2011. 500-02. Print. Pollan, Micheal. â€Å"Why Bother? †Ã‚  The Blair Reader: Exploring Issues and Ideas. 7th ed. New York City: Pearson Education, 2011. 508-14. Print. Zernike, Kate. â€Å"Green, Greener, Greenest. †Ã‚  The Blair Reader: Exploring Issues and Ideas. 7th ed. New York City: Pearson Education, 2011. 503-07. Print

Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Strategy - Essay Example Waterstones’ current market position faces huge challenges from various external and internal elements. Indeed, the way it responds to the adverse market conditions becomes the key enabling factor of the firm to gain competitive advantage. The recent changes in trading environment with increasing popularity of e-commerce and online shopping, Waterstones needs to evolve and compete on new dimensions. Advent of computers and internet has considerably widened the area of business. While it has provided the firms with huge opportunities worldwide, the new cyber platform has also made it hugely competitive. The companies must evolve and develop strategic initiatives to compete on unique capabilities that meet the challenges of time. Waterstones has already introduced online shopping and provide online customers with huge choice of books. At the same time, its various outlets across the globe have facilitating environment that encourages reading. Porter (1996) believes that leadership initiatives are major facilitators that help sustain a firm’s success through hard times. Through strong leadership, Waterstones was quick to embrace technology and make its online presence. The technology has helped it to expand its customer base across wider geographical areas and at the same time, facilitated easier access to books to its customers. Strategic action plans need to be dynamic to encompass micro and macro environment changes to maintain competitive advantage (Montgomery, 2008). They not only encourage speed and flexibility but also ensure that customers’ requirements are met timely and efficiently through evolving process of developing effective linkages. Indeed, on an average, Waterstones bookshops keeps a minimum of 30,000 individual books and help the customer to get his/her preferred product through online search and ensure availability of the same within defined time limit. This is key element of the firm’s value proposition that has enabled it to

Fire Fighting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fire Fighting - Essay Example Thirdly, Madrzykowski explores fire dynamics and discusses different case studies on fire dynamics. He brings forth different fire scenarios and how development and progression of fire are influenced by different factors. For instance, ventilation influences the progression of the fire. In a closed compartment, heated gases mix with oxygen resulting in a flaming combustion. However, as the oxygen gets depleted, the fire decays. The heat emitted from the fire decreases and consequently the temperature decreases. When oxygen is introduced into the compartment, either through the opening of a window or a door, the heated gases mix with the oxygen and as a result, the energy levels begin to rise. Such a change in ventilation can lead to a flashover. Lastly, Alkonis and Madrzykowski discuss training on fire behavior and organizational change in the management of fires. To enhance safety and survivability, they recommend the application of water as soon as possible, limiting the opening of doors and windows, closing all doors and windows, identification of fire location, extent and characteristics of the smoke as well as identifying and interrupting the flow path. Importantly, the process of firefighting needs to be a well-coordinated effort with proper communication among team members (Kerber, Madrzykowski, & Alkonis, 2015). In summary, NIST and UL’s research has revolutionized firefighting and introduced change in modern day fire service. Undoubtedly, the changes are likely to stay for generations to come.

Financial analysis of BMW and Kraft Foods Essay

Financial analysis of BMW and Kraft Foods - Essay Example The researcher states that the profitability ratios of both the companies depict that Kraft Foods has higher profitability in terms of high operating margin, net profit margin and return on equity. Besides, both the firms had maintained their current ratio above 1. With respect to interest coverage ratio, BMW had higher rank than Kraft Foods which indicates that it has strong financial strength in the industry. The current economic crisis of 2008 had impacted on the financial performance of BMW Group. Due to bad financial condition, the spending of customers had reduced considerably which impacted on the expenditure on vehicles. As a result, the automobile industry had faced drop in sales volume. BMW Group was also unable to evade the impact of financial crisis and therefore the group income had reduced by 5% in the year 2008 to 53,197 million Euros. As the international economy was recovering from the clutches of economic crisis by the end of the year 2010, BMW Group was able to rec over its financial position in the automobile market. The global automobile industry has also become stabilised to certain degree. In 2010, BMW Group had experienced severe increase in sales revenue by 19.3% than 2009 to 60,477 million Euros. Kraft Foods is a financially stable company with revenues of 40.4 billion USD in the year 2009. In the year 2009, the total value of net assets of the company was 25.9 billion USD. Despite bad economic conditions, the revenue of Kraft Foods was slightly affected. In 2007, the net revenue was 35,858 million USD which had increased to 41,932 million USD in 2008 (Kraft Foods Inc, 2010). Ratio Analysis Valuation Ratio Price-Earnings (P/E) Ratio Price-Earnings or P/E Ratio is the ratio of organisation’s share price with earning per share. From the analysis of BMW, it can be observed that the earnings per share of BMW Group had decreased considerably in the time of 2008 to 2009 to 0.49 Euro and 0.31 Euro and increased in 2010 to 4.91 Euro. His torically, the P/E ratio of BMW Group was strong and was always more than the industry average which is around 15-25. In the year 2007, the P/E ratio was below average i.e. 8.5 which had increased to 11.98 in 2010 (BMW Group, 2008; 2010). The price earnings ratio of Kraft Foods was

Discussion Board Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion Board - Case Study Example As a reader, the immediate question that comes to mind seeking clarification from Driscoll is why he characterizes as feminine all the things he identifies as evil, dirty or weak. The book makes apparently misguided and poorly translated references to the biblical book of first Timothy about the role of senior pastors not belonging to women. The actual writings simply state that women can only ask questions after the church service is over but does not explicitly bar them from taking on leadership roles. Agreeably, the teachings of the bible should guide the activities of the church and more so, the leadership style. But, on the other hand, Driscoll must understand that times are changing and including women in leadership positions is inevitable. From the context of his book, he needs to clarify to the reader that he is actually not objectifying women. He clearly acknowledges that the head of the Church is Jesus and elders are made up of human leaders who follow in his footsteps and get others to do the same (Driscoll, 2008). Then, with such understanding that leaders are humans, why exclude women? Why would he go further to claim that he was specifically called by God to train men and not women? It is ironical for Driscoll to say that it is a sin for any Christian not to actively love their Christian brothers and sisters as faithful church members, yet segregate them on gender basis. Why would he say that human leadership in the church is about qualified Christians that follow Jesus and encourage others to do the same but still believe that women do not have the qualification? When he likens leaders to good sheep that follow their shepherd Jesus Christ, what rationale informs him that women are incapable of following the teachings of Jesus? When he talks of Paul teaching Christians to be imitators of him as he was of Christ, does he not realize that Paul was addressing

Lighting for households Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lighting for households - Essay Example Some like the roof windows act as a means of ventilation, these are relatively cheap to buy and easy to install. Electrical fittings can also be used to provide additional light at night. Instead of using bulbs with a high watt, more bulbs should be used to give an even spread of light. It would be better if the bulbs were changed from a single pendant to fitting one with multiple arms. Table and wall lights should also be installed to provide light and illuminate dark areas. Table, wall and floor should also be installed to improve the quality of light at night. The houses should have white ceilings and light or white walls as this will make the room appear brighter due to reflection of light around the room (Trade Lighting Company, 2014). Illuminating the ceiling and the top half of the room will make the room appear brighter. The fireplace can be used at night to provide additional light as well as heat. Quality of light that gets into households can be improved by doing the simplest and most inexpensive of things, therefore, it is recommended that; curtains should be secured and tied back from the windows to prevent obstruction of the sunlight (Almeida, Bertoldi, and Ricci, 87). Secondly, curtains that blocks light should be avoided since that translates to less light in the room and thus poor lighting. Net curtains should also be avoided since they block the light instead, shades should be fitted The shades and fittings used on the windows greatly influence the amount of light that goes into the house, therefore, they ought to use shades and fitting that will allow and direct light into the house. Ultimate concern should be considered to ensure that the shades do not shield light, but they prevent glare (Almeida, Bertoldi, and Ricci, 90). In addition to this, the windowsills should be white rather than using dark colors since white reflects the light unlike other darker

All My Sons by Arthur Miller Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

All My Sons by Arthur Miller - Essay Example This essay will describe how issues of morality and politics affected the main characters, how Miller employed the fundamental elements of drama to create a modern play on par with older Greek tragedies, and some personal observations. As an initial matter, it is important to note that competing political and moral belief systems were instrumental in the development of the main characters. An examination of the father and sons is useful. The father, Joe Keller, was by all accounts a family-oriented man. He loved and provided for his sons. Indeed, as the play demonstrates, Joe believed it to be his highest moral responsibility to take care of and provide material support for his family. Money was important according to his realistic view of the world and of his own role in the world. His sons, Chris and Larry, provide a sharp contrast to the father's philosophical underpinnings. Both are of an idealistic bent. Family, to be sure, is important, but both have deeply ingrained notions of a deeper social obligation to their country and to other individuals in their country. In this case, involving the sale of damaged airplane parts to the United States government, the play was set from the beginning to elicit different and competing responses from the main characters. Joe, as the practical family ma... His sons were Chris and Larry. Other fathers had to worry about their own sons. Chris and Larry, on the other hand, because of their different notions of social obligation and honor, could never accept such a narrowly tailored and self-serving justification. For them, both veterans of WW II, social obligation was a more comprehensive duty which transcended temporary financial windfalls or the isolated survival of an individual family. Sons, from their point of view, might have been defined as American soldiers, as American citizens, or as allies more generally around the world. Because of these broader beliefs in social duty, both were unable to accept their father's complicity in the sale of the damaged parts. Larry committed suicide by crashing his airplane and Chris threatened to abandon his heritage by leaving the factory and his father. In the final analysis, these characters were defined by their views of the world. Their actions and their decisions adhered to these philosophical characterizations and the reader cannot imagine that they could have behaved much differently than Miller scripted them to act. These three are philosophies as much as they are people. 1.2 How Miller Used the Elements of Drama to Effectively Emphasize his Themes This play is nothing if not a tragedy. It is tragic because well-intentioned people suffered tragic fates. Miller highlighted this feeling of tragedy by creating and adhering to a dramatic structure which created both a feeling of empathy and a feeling of disgust. There was empathy for individuals and disgust for certain actions; more particularly, the dramatic structure employed by Miller vested the main characters with believable motivations and their consequent actions with realistic results. The