Friday, December 27, 2019

The Gatby And The Setting Of The Great Gatsby - 887 Words

The setting of the Great Gatsby takes place during the summer of 1922, in The Roaring Twenties in West and East Egg of Long Island. At this time the world has just came out of a period of chaos, which leads to a time of a new society. America was going through an era of industrialism. This resulted in division among classes possessing different amounts of wealth. America entered the era of Prohibition creating a rise in the black market. People ended up replacing social classes with the new belief of achieving equality with hard work which is The American Dream. The setting of the Great Gatsby, The Roaring Twenties impacts the characters. The setting of the Great Gatsby causes Nick to realise society’s lack morals. It†¦show more content†¦Another example of vampirism in this story is Daisy. This is because she had a lot of charm and she captured a lot of attention. The weather also relates to the theme. For example when rain was pouring when Daisy had not met or s poken to Gatsby, but the rain ended when they rekindled their relationship. There was a lot of political references that were mainly focused on social status between how the wealthy viewed and treated the poor. There was a giant difference between the wealthy lifestyle and the poor. There is lots of examples of symbolism in this story. One example was the green light. The green light represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future. Gatsby associates the green light with Daisy. The green light also symbolizes the American Dream. Nick compares the green light to how America, rising out of the ocean, must have looked to early settlers of the new nation. Another example of symbolism in the story is the Valley of the Ashes between West Egg and New York city.It represents the moral and social decay that results from the uninhibited pursuit of wealth. The rich only care about their own pleasures. The Valley of the Ashes also symbolizes the struggles of the poor like George Wi lson. The last example of symbolism in this story is the Eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburg. They may be a representation of God staring down upon and judging American society as a moral wasteland, though the novel never makes this point certain.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Betrayal In The Metamorphosis, By Franz Kafka - 1013 Words

The Metamorphosis, written by Franz Kafka, is a cultivating story about how the life of Gregor Samsa and his family drastically changes. This change causes Gregor’s father and sister to betray him and even Gregor to betray himself. This all starts when one morning Gregor wakes up as a giant bug. This occurrence does not allow Gregor to work anymore and provide for his family. As the novel goes on his sister is the only one to take care of him but this takes a toll on Gregor and the rest of his family. Soon his family is in a financial crisis causing each member of the family to start working. They even had to start renting out a room in their apartment just to make ends meet. With all of these events happening to the family it causes many†¦show more content†¦Both of these instances show that Gregor’s father has completely given up on his son to the extent that he would seriously injure him just to get this ugly creature out of his sight. By Gregor’s fat her never trying to help him from the beginning it shows that he has completely given up on, and ultimately betrayed, him. The second family member to betray Gregor is Grete, his sister. From the beginning Grete has been the only one to take care of Gregor. She has been the one feeding him and cleaning his room. Basically Grete has been the only person that Gregor has had any interaction with. This continues until the end of the novel when Grete says that, â€Å"things can’t go on like this. Maybe you don’t realize it, but I do. I won’t pronounce the name of my brother in front of this monster, and so all I say is: we have to try to get rid of it.† (Kafka 48). Whether that is killing him or kicking him out of the apartment and onto the streets, essentially does not matter because either one would be catastrophic to Gregor. Her betrayal is the most shocking to Gregor and even catches the family by surprise. What even makes her betrayal worse is once Gregor has died Grete does not mourn the loss of her once loved brother. The morning when Gregor died Grete and the family,  "decided to spend this day resting and going for a walk; they not only deserved a break in their work, they absolutely needed one.† (Kafka 54). This just emphasizes that Grete had no regret in betraying herShow MoreRelated Franz Kafkas Metamorphosis Essay779 Words   |  4 PagesFranz Kafkas Metamorphosis The play metamorphosis was written by Franz Kafka but Steven Berkoff produced a theatre adaptation of Metamorphosis in the late 1960’s. Kafka was born 1883, his childhood was most troubling and life hard, as he was a Jew growing up in German culture, also being ignored and alienated is why Kafka could relate to the character Gregor. Kafka had a hard relationship with his Father who would mistreat him and often tell Kafka he was a failure and a disappointmentRead MoreThe Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka864 Words   |  4 PagesWhat is betrayal actually? How do we visualize it? In what particular ways do we see it? A wide range of literature has been dedicated to the phenomenon of betrayal demonstrated in different ways. In the course of this essay two works of literature will be analyzed having regard to the issue of betrayal revealed therein. The work of art to be analyzed first will be The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. The Metamorphosis is a surreal story by Franz Kafka surrounding the tale of Gregor Samsa, who wakesRead MoreFranz Kafka s The Metamorphosis882 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Metamorphosis† is a surreal story by Franz Kafka surrounding the transformation and betrayal of Gregor Samsa, who wakes up one day, reborn into a large insect. Along with the bizarre and nightmarish appearance of his new hard back, brown segmented belly, and many legs, Gregor only desire is to live a normal life, unfortunately, this is impossible because he struggles to even get out of bed. Gregor transformation into an insect is a vivid metaphor for the alienation of humans from around theRead MoreThe Metamorphosis Character Analysis875 Words   |  4 PagesBetrayal is the one thing in which man and woman are all guilty of putting onto one another. â€Å"The Metamorphosis† by Franz Kafka is a book related to a boy, named Gregor, who wakes up from his bed and realizes he is transformed into a nasty vermin. His family is befuddled of this transformation Gregor is going through. As a result, betrayal is a vital theme in â€Å"The Metamorphosis† and clearly focuses on the downfall of the main character Gregor Samsa. The Samsa family shows treachery, disloyaltyRead MoreThe Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka656 Words   |  3 PagesMuch of Franz Kafkas story â€Å"The Metamorphosis† spends its time talking about Gregor as he struggles to live his new life as a b ug. Gregor tries to find a analytical reason as to why he has taken upon this form but later on finds on that he has to accept the truth. From being an ordinary travel salesman and provider for his family to a abomination, Gregor becomes hopeless as he cant work or provide for his family. His new life as an insect causes a hardship as he is faced with isolation from hisRead MoreComedy and Tragedy in Kafkas The Metamorphosis2608 Words   |  11 Pagesc The subtle yet powerful combination of comedy and tragedy in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis was not an accident. Kafka combined these genres in order to convey the mixture of emotions that accurately mirrors the cruelty of life. The main character, Gregor Samsa, is used to illustrate the betrayal that can exist in a family unit as well as a place of employment. Together, Kafka is making a strong commentary on life in order to express his own feelings of desolation and cynicism regarding societyRead More Comparison of Kafkas Metamorphosis and Dali’s Illumined Pleasures746 Words   |  3 PagesA Comparison of Franz Kafkas novel, Metamorphosis, and Salvador Dali’s Painting, â€Å"Illumined Pleasures† In Franz Kafka novel, Metamorphosis, we are introduced to the disappointment that Greg Samsa feels as a result of feeling inadequate through the middle class life he is leading. In this novel, Kafka uses a build up of emotion caused by his own internal struggle and expresses it through this rather perverse story. Like Kafka’s complex and daunting tale, many surrealist painters have used theRead More Gretes Transformation in The Metamorphosis by Kafka Essay example1729 Words   |  7 PagesKafka wrote The Metamorphosis in 1912, taking three weeks to compose the story. While he had expressed earlier satisfaction with the work, he later found it to be flawed, even calling the ending unreadable. Whatever his own opinion may have been, the short story has become one of the most popularly read and analyzed works of twentieth-century literature. Isolation and alienation are at the heart of this surreal story of a man transformed overnight into a kind of beetle. In contrast to muchRead MoreAlienation Of The Individual From Society955 Words   |  4 Pagesnot belong to the place or society where they are currently living in. It is seen as if a person cannot provide for another or does not appear as the rest, they do not have any value. The two main characters such as Gregor within â€Å"The Metamorphosis† by Franz Kafka and Tessie within â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson both demonstrate the issue of alienation of the individual from society. It is expressed within both readings that as individuals we are often aliened by others although influence of theRead MoreMetamorphosis Character Analysis985 Words   |  4 PagesBug Man â€Å"With a hostile expression his father clenched his fist, as if to drive Gregor back into his room† (Kafka, 14). In Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, Gregor Samsa’s family counts on him to pay off his parent’s substantial debts. One morning Gregor wakes up to find that he is a human sized bug. Surprisingly, he tried to live his everyday life and not panic, but when his family discovered that Gregor was a massive bug they were in terror. This led Gregor’s father to threaten to hit him to get

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Neoliberal Reform and Limitations Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Neoliberal Reform and Limitations. Answer: Introduction: After the effect of 25 years of radical neoliberal reform all over the World, the status of modern economic strength within country is raised drastically. As emphasized by Zenawi (2012), the concept of liberalism implies the legitimacy of the power and authority within a state that primarily focuses on the liberty as well as equity of an individual. The underlining term neo-liberalism is nothing but a policy model of social studies or economics that tends to transfer the entire economic control from public sector to the private sector. However, Zenawi (2012) opined that the two overarching concept neo-liberalism and globalization are inseparably related to each other. There is a basic difference between the two concepts. The notion of globalization has been emerged initially. The practice of neo-liberalism has been rendered on globalization in the late twentieth century capitalism. Governments by rendering liberalism on tax policies, trade regulations and fix exchange rate allowed the private sectors for expanding their business wings in the international market. After the rapid growth of private sectors, the scope of open market and trade liberalization has been increased innumerably. Discussion: Piketty in his book Capital in the Twenty-First Century has argued that inherited wealth always goes faster than the earned wealth. As a result, an unemployed rich person does not have to struggle in order to earn money due to the bank balance stability of father. On the other hand, poor unemployed person has to lead the entire life in Barista Uniform. As a result, the society is actually are returning to the patrimonial capitalism of the C19th with extremes of wealth inequality. Numerous eminent scholars have strongly differed the point of view of Piketty. Torres and Carte (2014) stated that the emergence of neo-liberalism has amplified the efficiency of market economy. The private sectors have gained immense opportunities in leading their organization on their own way instead of being entirely dependent on the government regulations and policies. The private sectors after the entrance of neo-liberalism within country gained the liberty of self-recruitment and self-management by sav ing their cost in order to improve the commoditization. As a result, the business organizations are expanding their entire process of business in the international market with limited government intervention. Bardsley and Pech (2012) commented that the range of target customers has been increased from regional boundary to multinational boundaries. Due to the rapid establishment of private sectors, the country is becoming economically enriched. The private organizations become free to maintain their self-recruitment process. Automatically countries belonging to different geographical boundaries would be able to develop their economic status. The rate of tax as well as public expenditure is getting reduced. As per the opinion of Vassallo (2013), the concept of implementing privatization within the organizational sector has ultimately enhanced the economic prospect of country. Fourcade and Healy (2013) has firmly differed the point of view of previous scholars. As per the opinion of this very specific scholar, neo-liberalism has rendered major negative effect on the country as well. After the emergence of this specific policy, the control of government on the private sector has become very much restricted. Duggan (2012) emphasized that private educational institutions by imposing high amount of money to the parents implement innovative learning process within the education system. As a result, the parents tend to show their reluctant attitude in admitting their children in a government school. Automatically, the public educational institutions are getting affected in getting economic strength. In the realm of globalization and trade liberalization, the rate of corruption has been highly increased highly. Large numbers of importers refuse to overview bill of origin while purchasing the material. As a result, the sellers can easily manipulate the purchasing in providing them duplicate material. This kind of unnecessary happening is occurring due to the liberal approach constituted by the government. Stanford and Taylor (2013) stated that neo-liberalism is the primary cause that increases the gap between haves and haves not. People belonging to high-class society are easily flexible to admit their children in private institution where they can get ample opportunities to groom them up. On the other hand, people having medium profile and economic backgrounds do not have enough scope to send their children in a private institution. At a certain point of time, a major gap has been created between rich and poor. Conclusion: As a whole, the overall concept of neo-liberalism implies the implementation of economic policy for the purpose of intensifying and expanding the market in order to minimize the intervention of government. Innumerable scholars have showed their own point of view regarding advantages and disadvantages of neo-liberalism. It is undeniable at the same time that the emergence of neo-liberalism is not beneficial for everyone in the realm of globalization. This particular policy is emerged in the society for keeping the promise that it would facilitate every individual of a society. In reality, the emergence of neo-liberalism has created a major gap between the rich and poor. In this kind of situation, inherited wealth always moves faster than earned wealth. As a result, people belonging to the poor society always struggle in establishing their name in the society. As a result, the gap between haves and haves not always becomes a major barrier within the society. References Bardsley, D.K. and Pech, P., 2012. Defining spaces of resilience within the neoliberal paradigm: could French land use classifications guide support for risk management within an Australian regional context?.Human ecology,40(1), pp.129-143. Duggan, L., 2012.The twilight of equality?: Neoliberalism, cultural politics, and the attack on democracy. Beacon Press. Eagleton-Pierce, M., 2016.Neoliberalism: the key concepts. Routledge. Fourcade, M. and Healy, K., 2013. Classification situations: Life-chances in the neoliberal era.Accounting, Organizations and Society,38(8), pp.559-572. Randolph, B. and Tice, A., 2014. Suburbanizing disadvantage in Australian cities: sociospatial change in an era of neoliberalism.Journal of urban affairs,36(s1), pp.384-399. Springer, S., 2012. Neoliberalism as discourse: between Foucauldian political economy and Marxian poststructuralism.Critical Discourse Studies,9(2), pp.133-147. Stanford, S. and Taylor, S., 2013. Welfare dependence or enforced deprivation? A critical examination of white neoliberal welfare and risk.Australian Social Work,66(4), pp.476-494. Torres, R.M. and Carte, L., 2014. Community participatory appraisal in migration research: connecting neoliberalism, rural restructuring and mobility.Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers,39(1), pp.140-154. Vassallo, S., 2013. Critical pedagogy and neoliberalism: Concerns with teaching self-regulated learning.Studies in Philosophy and Education,32(6), pp.563-580. Zenawi, M., 2012. States and markets: Neoliberal limitations and the case for a developmental state.Good growth and governance in Africa: Rethinking development strategies, pp.140-174.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Commonly Confused Words for ESL Students and Classes

Commonly Confused Words for ESL Students and Classes Here are some of the most commonly confused English word pairs. They have been chosen especially for ESL learners. beside / besides beside: preposition meaning next to, at the side of Examples: I sit beside John in class.Could you get me that book? Its beside the lamp. besides: adverb meaning also, as well; preposition meaning in addition to Examples: (adverb) Hes responsible for sales, and a lot more besides.(preposition) Besides tennis, I play soccer and basketball. clothes / cloths clothes: something you wear - jeans, shirts, blouses, etc. Examples: Just a moment, let me change my clothes.Tommy, get your clothes on! cloths: pieces of material used for cleaning or other purposes. Examples: There are some cloths in the closet. Use those to clean the kitchen.I have a few pieces of cloth that I use. dead / died dead: adjective meaning not alive Examples: Unfortunately, our dog has been dead for a few months.Dont touch that bird. Its dead. died: past tense and past participle of the verb to die Examples: His grandfather died two years ago.A number of people have died in the accident. experience / experiment experience: noun meaning something that a person lives through, i.e. something that someone experiences. - also used as an uncountable noun meaning knowledge gained by doing something Examples: (first meaning)His experiences in Germany were rather depressing.(second meaning) Im afraid I dont have much sales experience. experiment: noun meaning something that you do to see the result. Often used when speaking about scientists and their studies. Examples: They did a number of experiments last week.Dont worry its just an experiment. Im not going to keep my beard. felt / fell felt: past tense and past participle of the verb to feel Examples: I felt better after I had a good dinner.He hasnt felt this well for a long time. fell: past tense of the verb to fall Examples: He fell from a tree and broke his leg.Unfortunately, I fell down and hurt myself. female / feminine female: the sex of a woman or animal Examples: The female of the species is very aggressive.The question female or male means are you a woman or a man. feminine: adjective describing a quality or type of behavior that is considered typical for a woman Examples: Hes an excellent boss with a feminine intuition.The house was decorated in a very feminine manner. its / its its: possessive determiner similar to my or your Examples: Its color is red.The dog didnt eat all of its food. its: Short form of it is or it has Examples: (it is) Its difficult to understand him.(it has) Its been a long time since I had a beer. last / latest last: adjective usually meaning final Examples: I took the last train to Memphis.This is the last test of the semester! latest:  adjective  meaning most recent or new Examples: His latest book is excellent.Have you seen his latest painting? lay / lie lay: verb meaning to put down flat - past tense - laid, past participle - laid Examples: He laid his pencil down and listened to the teacher.I usually lay my pies on the shelf to cool. lie: verb meaning to be down - past tense -lay (be careful!), past participle - lain Examples: The girl lay on the bed asleep.At the moment, hes lying on the bed. lose / loose lose: verb meaning to misplace Examples: I lost my watch!Have you ever lost anything valuable? loose: adjective meaning the opposite of tight Examples: Your trousers are very loose!I need to tighten this screw. Its loose. male / masculine male: the sex of a man or animal Examples: The male of the species is very lazy.The question female or male means are you a woman or a man. masculine:  adjective  describing a quality or type of  behavior  that is considered typical for a man Examples: Shes a very masculine woman.His opinions are just too masculine for me. price / prize price: noun - what you pay for something. Examples: The price was very cheap.Whats the price of this book? prize: noun - an award Examples: He won a prize as best actor.Have you ever won a prize in a competition? principal / principle principal: adjective meaning the most important Examples: The principal reason for my decision was the money.What are the principal  irregular verbs? principle: a rule (usually in science but also concerning morals) Examples: Its the first principle of aerodynamics.He has very loose principles. quite / quiet quite:  adverb  of degree meaning very or rather Examples: This test is quite difficult.He was quite exhausted after the long journey. quiet:  adjective  meaning the opposite of loud or noisy Examples: Could you please be quiet?!Shes a very quiet girl. sensible / sensitive sensible: adjective meaning having common sense i.e. not stupid Examples: I wish you would be more sensible about things.Im afraid you arent being very sensible. sensitive: adjective meaning to feel very deeply or to hurt easily Examples: You should be careful with David. Hes very sensitive.Mary is a very sensitive woman. shade / shadow shade: protection from the sun, a dark area outside on a sunny day. Examples: You should sit in the shade for a while.Its too hot. Im going to find some shade. shadow: the dark area created by something else on a sunny day. Examples: That tree casts a large shadow.Have you  every  noticed your shadow getting longer as it gets later in the day? some time / sometimes some time: refers to an indefinite time in the future Examples: Lets meet for coffee some time.I dont know when Ill do it - but I will do it some time. sometimes:  adverb of frequency  meaning occasionally Examples: He sometimes works late.Sometimes, I like eating Chinese food.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

President Theodore Roosevelt Fast Facts

President Theodore Roosevelt Fast Facts Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) served as Americas 26th  president. Nicknamed the Trust Buster for fighting corruption in the industry, and more affectionately known as  Teddy, Roosevelt was a larger-than-life personality. He is remembered not only as a statesman but also as an author, soldier, naturalist, and reformer.  Roosevelt was Vice President of William McKinley  and became President after McKinley was assassinated in 1901. Fast Facts Birth: October 27, 1858 Death: January 6, 1919 Term of Office: September 14, 1901–March 3, 1909 Number of Terms Elected: 1 term First Lady: Edith Kermit Carow Theodore Roosevelt Quote The first requisite of a good citizen in this Republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his weight. Major Events While In Office Panama Canal Rights Acquired (1904): The U.S. earned the right to occupy the Canal Zone in Panama, leading the way to the construction of the Panama Canal, which it would control until 1979.  Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (1904-1905): The Monroe Doctrine declared that foreign encroachment into the Western Hemisphere would not be tolerated. As President, Roosevelt added that the U.S. was responsible for enforcing the Monroe Doctrine  in Latin America, with force if necessary.Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905): Japans campaign to claim Port Arthur on the coast of Manchuria from the Russians began a brief but devastating war. The heavy artillery and battle methods used foreshadowed the conditions of modern warfare that would come of age in World War I.  Nobel Peace Prize (1906): Roosevelt was one of a handful of presidents to win the Nobel Peace Prize. This award honored his efforts to resolve the Russo-Japanese War and his work for international arbitration.  Ã‚  San F rancisco Earthquake (1906): San Fransiscos massive earthquake destroyed almost 30,000 buildings and left many of the citizens homeless.   States Entering Union While in Office Oklahoma (1907) Related Theodore Roosevelt Resources These additional resources on Theodore Roosevelt can provide you with further information about the president and his times. Theodore Roosevelt Biography: An in-depth look at the 26th  president of the United States, including his childhood, family and early career, and the major events of his administration.Progressive Era: The Gilded Age, a term coined by Mark Twain, referred to the overt opulence exhibited by the wealthy in the industrial era. The Progressive Era was partly a response to the disparity between rich and poor. Individuals at this time were campaigning for economic, political, and social reform.Top 10 Influential Presidents: Theodore Roosevelt is considered one of the most influential presidents in American History.Bull Moose Party: When Theodore Roosevelt was not nominated by the Republican Party to run for president again in 1912, he broke away and created a new party which was nicknamed the Bull Moose Party. Other Presidential Fast Facts William McKinley: McKinley was assassinated shortly after winning re-election and beginning the second term of his presidency. During his time in office, American officially established itself as a world colonial power.  William Howard Taft: The president who succeeded Roosevelt may be best known for his policies of Dollar Diplomacy, aimed at promoting security and influence abroad in the interest of American commercial ventures.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Critically examine the claim that THE key to being an innovative Essay

Critically examine the claim that THE key to being an innovative organisation is R & D more expenditure equals more innovation - Essay Example e constantly engaging in research and development in order to come up with new approaches of doing things, design new products for the market, acquire new market for the products and expand business capacity to meet the current and future market demand (United Nations, 2012, p. 11). Innovation is a role of all workers in an organization. In order for an organization to be competitive in the market, it has to promote and nurture a culture of creativity among the workers and provide the necessary resources to support innovation. The organizations should have the capacity to recognize the need for innovation and support the ideas that can lead to competence of the organizations. The ideas could be small or big and they follow a particular process. Innovation requires resources including time and finances (Mazzucato, 2013, p. 84). Organizations must be willing to devote the required resources in order to achieve the expected goals. They should engage in research and development in order to explore various approaches to improving products, processes or market and implement the new ideas as their core competences for future growth. Innovation may imply the organization developed their knowledge or acquired the knowledge from another organization. Irrespective of the method, the business, used to innovate, the organization has to incur some cost in order to gain that knowledge. Innovation is an entrepreneurial role of creating a new product or processes for the market. Entrepreneurs earn profit from their innovations by establishing a monopoly (Unit 1: Lecture 1). They acquire patent rights to limit other competitors from producing and selling similar products in the same market. However, the entrepreneurs cannot prohibit the entry of competitors in the market for a long. Competitors start offering similar products with those of the entrepreneur thus limiting the potential for expansion of the business. The entrepreneurs should develop a culture of innovation in order to

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY AND BUYING BEHAVIOR Research Paper

CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY AND BUYING BEHAVIOR - Research Paper Example Research shows that the congruity between product image and self-image affects the product preference of a consumer and their intentions to buy an item. This congruence with self-image could also facilitate positive attitudes and behaviour towards products. The study conducted in â€Å"Consumers and brands a study of the impact of self-image congruence on brand preference and satisfaction†, was seeking to understand the consequences of congruity of self-image on brand preference and the consumer satisfaction in the UK’s precious jewellery sector. Results indicated that congruity of self-image acted as a vitally powerful predictor of brand preferences of consumers as well as acting as a suitable predictor for satisfaction of the consumer. The respondents with above average self-image, congruity levels were found to be more likely to enjoy higher satisfaction levels, as well as increased likelihood to buy the brand. This was when compared to those who had below average se lf-image congruity levels (Gordon, 2006 p140). For this case study, the consumers were found to be dissonance-reducing buyers (Gordon, 2006 p141). They were highly involved in the jewellery purchase since the product was expensive. There was minimal difference between the brands of jewelry that existed. The consumers were also found to be complex buyers as they were buying highly valued products, and they looked for detailed information before making the purchase.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Conscious Awareness and Brain Processes Essay Example for Free

Conscious Awareness and Brain Processes Essay A number of scholarly studies on human consciousness identify a close relationship between human consciousness and the brain processes of a human being. This study is an examination of the literature existing on these two areas with an aim of establishing whether there exists a relationship. To achieve this, the study will evaluate consciousness and its functions in a human being, evaluate brain processes and their functions and from the two analyses, make efforts at establishing either a similarity or a distinction exist between them. An evaluation of consciousness Questions about consciousness have been with humans for a long time. According to Pearson (1999), traces of the questioning on the nature of human consciousness were there as early as during the Neolithic period, when burial practices expressed some spiritual belief which had some connotations on some reflections or thought on the nature and existence of human consciousness. The earliest forms of cultures and intimation into human consciousness are therefore only available through historical connotations on the then existing people’s reflection on some aspects of human consciousness. There are those scholars who argue that consciousness, as it is known today’ is a phenomena that arose much later in the development of humans, as late as after the Homeric era as postulated by Jaynes (1974). In this view of the development of consciousness knowledge, earlier humans acted without necessarily correlating their actions and thoughts. As such, they were unconscious of their actions and acted primarily on a response to physical threats as opposed to awareness of need. Earlier scholars who attempted to define consciousness included Rene Descartes in the 17th century and John Locke, in the period of late 17th century (Stanford Encyclopedia, 2006). Their efforts to define consciousness have formed a basis upon which modern human consciousness is constructed from. In Descartes, ‘Principles of Philosophy’, written in 1640, he defined human consciousness as self-awareness. Locke, in 1988 correlated consciousness to both thought and personal identity (Stanford Encyclopedia, 2006). Modern attempts to define consciousness have been attempted by scholars (Gennaro, 1995 and Carruthers, 2000) who postulate that the word consciousness is a broad umbrella term covering a broad range of metal phenomena. In its wide range, consciousness can refer to a state of an organism in its wholeness, also referred to as creature consciousness or to a certain mental process or state also referred to as state consciousness. Since consciousness is a broad term, this section will highlight the meaning of consciousness in different contexts. A person, or a cognitive system, may can be said to be conscious in a number of ways; the first sense is what Armstrong (1981) referred to as sentience. A sentient creature is one that is able to sense its environment and respond to it. In this sense, the ability to sense and respond to an environmental stimulus is equivalent to being conscious. The challenge in this definition lies in making a distinction between the responsiveness portrayed by living and animate creatures such as animals and humans and the responsiveness inherent in inanimate objects such as flowers and trees. This is because a flower responds to physical environmental as evident in withering during the dry season. The other sense of defining consciousness is wakefulness (Cole, 2002). In this sense, an organism is considered conscious not only by possessing inherent ability to respond to the environment but by being in a state or a disposition to actually respond to it. Consciousness in this sense refers to being normally alert or awake. In this definition, an organism would be considered unconscious if it were in a deep state of comma or sleep. In this definition too, there also lies some blurred explanation since by defining consciousness as so, one may need to define it further in terms of levels of consciousness. For instance, it is possible for a creature to be half-asleep, implying that it requires a slight arousal for it to be conscious, as in the definition. Another form of consciousness, identified by Carruthers (2000) is self-consciousness. This is a high level order of consciousness in which the creature is not only aware but also having the correct understanding of the state of its awareness. Among humans, self-consciousness may denote ones ability to differentiate himself from others, in aspects such as language, hierarchy, status etc. One who is unable to make such a distinction would invariably be referred to as self-unconscious. In philosophy, self consciousness is equivalent to self-knowledge, which is used to commonly refer one’s knowledge of particular mental states including beliefs, sensations and desires (Stanford, 2003). A challenge that lies in this definition is that it disregards conscious forms of life, which may still be undergoing growth and development. For instance, a young child may be unaware of his status or privileges and as such, when consciousness is defined in this manner, it may assume that such is not conscious. Features of consciousness As mentioned earlier, consciousness is an umbrella term enveloping a broad range of issues. To distinguish consciousness, it becomes imperative to assess the features that combine to bring out the conscious phenomena. By analyzing these features and later analyzing the features of the brain processes, it will be possible to assess the existence of a relation between the two. The characters of consciousness as identified in literature include; A qualitative character- Siewert (1998) had suggested that there exist some experienced desires or thoughts in all forms of consciousness. These are the ones that form the qualitative character of consciousness but they do not necessarily refer to sensory states. In essence, consciousness embodies some kind of feelings, though it is itself higher than normal physical feeling. When an individual is conscious of something, there is a ‘feel’ attached to it, which happens beyond the physical human feelings. Phenomenal structure- phenomena as applied in both psychology and philosophy denotes how things in the world or the world in general appear to an individual. For consciousness to be complete, this feature ought to be present, that is, there should be an effort deep within oneself that attempts to interpret a certain event or knowledge of the world around an individual. The phenomenal structure of consciousness, as portrayed in theory shows that consciousness is made up not only of sensory ideas but also by complex representations of space, time, body, self and the world (Siewert, 1998). Representational theories of consciousness as published in the Stanford philosophy encyclopedia shows that representation of the world as it is has evolved slowly to become an important theme in the study of consciousness (Stanford Encyclopedia, 2006). Subjectivity- Consciousness is subjective in the sense that what is conscious can only be experienced by that creature in the prevailing condition. Creatures with similar capabilities are the only ones that can understand the’ what-it is like’, a common phrase used to define consciousness (Nagel, 1974). In this sense, consciousness is subjective, that is, it is understood from the creature’s point of view as opposed to being objective where facts would be understandable based on available evidence. Self perspective- According to Searle (1992), conscious experiences exist not as isolated events but as states or modes of a conscious subject to self. For instance, the consciousness of pain is a happening experienced by a conscious subject. The appearance of the sky as blue is a phenomena that appears as so to a subject. This implies that for consciousness to exist, the ‘self’ subject which can be identified by, ‘I think’ needs to be there. The self perspective is a crucial feature in consciousness since for any event to be reflected to the level of awareness; there is need for the intellectual participation of the self through past experience. The requirement for this intellectual part in the subject is an important aspect of this study since intelligence forms one of the brain processes and therefore serves to suggest that there is a close link between consciousness and brain processes. Unity- a conscious system involves some form of unity. Cleeremans (2003) postulate that consciousness has a unity characteristic; this unity is that which arises from the subject’s ability to connect varied information’s and representations and make a coherent judgment. It is this unity in consciousness that can enable an individual to make a relation between past and present interpretations and therefore direct consciousness in a focused direction. Other features that are associated with consciousness include intentionality and transparency, a feature that recognizes the arousal of consciousness about an event due to an individual’s intent to do so (Cole, 2002). For instance, one’s consciousness about the 9/11 attack comes to an individual through an intentional thought. Once the intention matures, the inner self becomes conscious of the event and the individual is said to be ‘aware’. There is also a dynamic flow of information in the conscious state. This dynamic flow is also referred to as a stream of consciousness in which the subject conscious state is active and visualizes events in a dynamic manner, just as in real live (Stanford Encyclopedia, 2003). Through these features, consciousness in a subject performs some functions/ processes, most of which may borrow from both sensory and cognitive aspects. Consciousness plays the first role of flexible control of the physical actions of a subject (Anderson, 1983). When consciousness is defined as self-awareness, it implies that an individual measures and weighs options concerning an issue and as such, all actions are controlled in a state of awareness. In addition, consciousness enhances capacity for social coordination. Humphreys (1982) argues that a subject that is conscious is not only aware of itself and therefore its immediate needs but is also able to extend the awareness to other similar creatures. In a human context, being conscious therefore enables an individual to be conscious of others surrounding him which results to responsiveness to the events occurring in the social arena. Participation and responsiveness to the social environment leads to an integration of the like-subjects so that the social system develops values, beliefs, structures, intentions and perceptions. In addition to social coordination, consciousness presents a subject with an integrated representation of reality. By combining experiential organization and dynamism inherent in consciousness, it presents the world in an easy to understand frame. According to Campbell (1994), the features of consciousness help to constitute a meaningful structure of the world. Additionally, consciousness plays the following functions, all of which are additions, either to physical or cognitive processes; it enhances informational access, enhances freedom of will and intrinsic motivation (Wegner, 2002). Going by these explanations, it is evident that the realm of consciousness is made up of both sensory functions and intellectual processes, implying that a significant part of consciousness is dependent on brain processes. In the section below, a brief outline will be made of what constitutes brain processes and make efforts to establish a correlation between them and the features and functions of consciousness discussed above.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Lsd And Mainstream 1960s Media :: essays research papers

Despite the negative portrayal in mainstream 1960s media, justifications expressed by counterculture activists for further investigation, education and experimentation under government control of LSD were rational and valid arguments. Sex, drugs, protests, war, political upheaval, cultural chaos, and social rebellion; the many comforts TV dinner eating, republican voting, church going, suburbia conformists tried to escape through conservative ideals, town meetings, and The Andy Williams Family Hour. National consciousness in 1960s United States was alive, but existed differently in every mind it dwelled, and stirred uninterrupted in every life to which it was introduced. A dream of money, success, and a house with a white picket fence still existed within the pandemonium of the nation and many still relished in the idea of â€Å"Americanism.† Television was a base for a magnitude of world news and national information. Television situation comedies created ideal families and c ontenting distractions from unsettling national realities. Mainstream media, both fact and fiction, influenced the nation’s minds resulting in the effect of political change and further media influence over the government. The new decade, along with the effects of the Vietnam War and the strong influence of television, began to leak from the cracks of the nation a new counterculture of rebellious teenagers, unfamiliar narcotics, and a wave of promiscuity. Among the many issues and events molding our nation into a new decade, came the question of government and mind control. For some it was the next step into human evolution, a potential tool for mind control, a liberator of human kind, but for most LSD helped define 1960s counterculture, in which it was deeply rooted.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  LSD has proved that the mind contains much higher powers and energies, beyond the average10% of the brain that a typical human uses. These powers and energies, under the right circumstances, can be taken advantage of to benefit human kind spiritually, creatively, therapeutically, and intellectually. LSD has given human kind the option to chemically trigger mental energies and powers. Arguments that LSD is potentially a dangerous discovery and mind control should be strictly prohibited by the government holds much validity, although there are benefits and arguments of personal freedom of neurology to consider. Whether LSD reflects negativity as a weapon and mind control drug, or radiates euphoria as a mind-expanding chemical and sacrament, the choice to engage in such an experience should be through personal reasoning. It is not the states and other bureaucracies’ duties to take control of the human brain and body.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Overcoming: Human and Fate Essay

As human beings, we are made imperfect, and do not have total control over events that affect our lives, thoughts and emotions. We may be implied to feel anger and do things we never thought we were capable of. We may enter into sadness, and experience a kind of sadness that couldn’t be cured. The beauty of life is learning how to overcome these emotions, these thoughts, and emotions. To be able to pull through from the worst times is the most rewarding experience of life. Every day, we as human beings experience how life can easily be influenced by changes that cannot be controlled. The Assault and Paradise of the Blind are novels in which these changes or events can unleash the worst characteristics of people, and a battle for control ensues, between the mind and the forces of nature. Ultimately, all the realities of misfortune and tragedy combine with the emotions of inner will power to overcome everything and move on to the future and forget the past. In The Assault, Anton Steenwijk selfishly believes that it he can change what Fate has regrettably bestowed upon him. However, no matter how much he tries to forget the events of his past and move on fate will not allow it. He does not realize that the only way to ever rid himself of the past is to accept it what has happened. Try he does, but one thing fate does not allow is the truth. Not until Anton has lived a whole life does he ever really find the truth of how his whole family was mercilessly slaughtered. Fate is what the world has planned for you, fate is everything you can’t change, the actions of people around you, and the events that affect everything around you. For Anton fate was just an element of the past, to him nothing but Anton himself could affect the events of his future. The battle between Anton and the past, was eventually won by Anton as he stands in the crowd realizing, â€Å"Everything is forgotten in the end. (185)† Yet, the battle was lost easily. Fate never allows Anton to forget, when he runs into Fake Jr, unexpectedly meets Takes, and lastly bumps into Karin Korteweg. Fate will always come with unexpected events, â€Å"It’s no coincidence†¦ (89),† its fate. In the end Anton proves to be the larger power, with the help of the realization of the past and the ability to accept everything as it is Anton moves on from the fate of the past, Anton lives his own life. Paradise of the Blind is a tale about a young woman overwhelmed by her misfortune. The novel tells a story of Hang, who from the very beginning in plagued with bad luck, when she first receives news of her ill uncle. Hang’s fate was not written by herself, but by the hand of her parents, who first encountered the area of misfortune. Fate chose the ____ family to bestow so much misfortune upon. With the reoccurrence of parental losses, sickness and poverty, fate does its best to set up a eventual fail for Hang’s life. Throughout the novel Aunt Tam also is a target of fates’ misfortune, but she is also the only example for Hang of overcoming such bad luck. Aunt Tam has such natural will power; she is such a hard worker that luck no longer becomes an issue. Aunt Tam learns to make her own luck, she fights the hard times, and wrestles with failure to become a wealthy renowned woman of her village. In going against the status quo she becomes an example to Hang, an example of overcoming the bad, to take matters into your own hands when everything is lost. Hang’s last bit of misfortune occurs as Aunt Tam passes away. With the realization that Aunt Tam built a life up from the ground with nothing and from where she was to how she died, Hang realizes that she also has those same characteristics. The novel does not go into detail on how she reached her potential, but the reader is led to believe she overcame the bad to finally reach a life led by her own self, opposed to all of fates’ misfortune. In both novels the characters attempt to combat fate, emotions and destiny; ultimately overcoming them all too become someone far better than they thought they could be. Hang and Anton can very easily be compared, as both relive their past and do their best to change or forget it. Hang similarly to Anton loses her father, and this impacts her life almost as much as Anton’s life was affected by the loss of both his parents. An influential character takes the place of the lost parental, Anton his Uncle and Aunt, Hang her Aunt Tam. The fight for the win over destiny ensues throughout the novel and as both Hang and Anton fight to rid their past they find out more about themselves than they ever knew possible. The battle of emotions is finally won by the two unfortunate souls, and the journey to the finish proves to pay off. Anton gets to live free from the wonders of his past, and Hang begins her life as herself not being held back by anything or anyone. Mankind has tried to conquer its hidden demons because it is afraid of them. But despite all of the technological advances that have been made, they are still being undermined by fates emotions like jealousy, hatred, and arrogance. The human race fears fate for it unleashes the worst qualities in people, and can not be conquered by the machines that are revered so much. It is naà ¯ve of humans to believe that they can ever vanquish the bad events of time, but they are intent on driving out any memories of times of imperfect. Yet they do not realize that imperfection is humanity’s greatest trait and weakness at the same time, and that these fate exist to make this fact obvious to all.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

The sculpture Bodhisattva

The sculpture Bodhisattva had the strongest impact upon me for various reasons. This piece, found in the Silk Road Chicago collection at the Art Institute of Chicago, is a cross-cultural work with obvious Eastern and Western influences. This sculpture is a beautiful 2nd to 3rd century A. D. piece that depicts a man standing in obvious deep meditation. This model was created in the region of Gandhara, which is modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan. This early representation of a Buddha-like figure is a unique and powerful image. The title, Bodhisattva, can be directly translated from Sanskrit as meaning a â€Å"spiritual essence or being.†This figure is an interpretation of a sacred being that has delayed its own nirvana in order to help others reach the spiritual plane. The adornments that this figure wears are representative of its delay to the spiritual realm. Wearing material and worldly items means that it has not transcended yet. This type of commitment is impressive and th e figure is blessed with the incredible ability to be in a state between both worlds. The figure in the sculpture has an awe-like power over the viewer. It makes you feel as if you are looking at an object that attains holy attributes.Although, the sculpture has divine qualities, it also makes the viewer feel able to relate to it. It is humanized in a way that differs from other Buddha representations. This makes the impact of the work even stronger. An inner strength is portrayed that varies from the traditional at rest Buddha that is found in most artwork. This figure has power, but it is not menacing. It is serene and this serenity is transferred to the viewer of the piece. It is easy to see how these types of figures transcended into what is now modern-day Buddhism. The bodhisattvas were ancient spiritual beings that were worshipped.The collective group of these became the Buddha figure that is widely known today. The detail of this sculpture is incredible. Despite its age, the particulars of the piece have remained blissfully intact. The hands are missing, but it is possible to guess at how they were placed in the sculpture. The right hand was most likely raised and assuming a gesture of reassurance. An object found in the left hand would determine the type of bodhisattva. There is realism in the depiction that makes the viewer feel that they are gazing upon an actual interpretation. Unlike other bodhisattva pieces, this work feels more based on a real person.Despite the Eastern subject matter, there is little doubt that there is Western influence apparent in this piece. â€Å"The art of this region experienced a type of merger with Greek influences after Alexander the Great conquered the region in the 4th century B. C. † (Rowland, 1960, 8). An example of this found in the Bodhisattva is clear in the figure’s intricate robes. These types of folds are traditionally found in Greek and Roman artistic depictions. The drapery reminds the viewer o f the togas worn by the figures in the sculptures of Roman imperials. The chest of the figure is also reminiscent of the merger of these two cultures.It is a more realistic portrayal with the muscular indentations found upon the figure’s chest. Eastern portrayals had less defined bodies in their works. The Indian traditions of the sculpture are displayed in the figure’s mustache and the dhori that he wears. The dual influences of this work made the most significant impact upon me. It is rare to see a piece that has such obvious Eastern and Western elements found in the manifestation. This cross-cultural work is a harmonious interpretation of a strong spiritual figure. Additionally, it has a strong religious impact.It is a documentation of how Buddhism made it way from India into China. When looking at the sculpture, it is unavoidable that you are not moved at how this is exposing a historical occurrence. The stone material of the piece lends power to the idea that this is a strong figure that is tied to the material world, but has the ability to guide people to their own nirvana. The lasting material makes the viewer feel as though they are looking at a spiritual piece that has transcended through the ages. Buddha is an important figure in artwork and it is essential to know how this form came into being.

Friday, November 8, 2019

When It Was Legal to Mail a Baby

When It Was Legal to Mail a Baby Once-upon-a-time, it was legal to mail a baby in the United States. It happened more than once and by all accounts, the mailed tots arrived no worse for wear. Yes, baby mail was a real thing. On January 1, 1913, the then Cabinet-level U.S. Post Office Department - now the U.S. Postal Service  - first started delivering packages. Americans instantly fell in love with the new service and were soon mailing each other all sorts of items, like parasols, pitchforks and, yes, babies. Smithsonian Confirms Birth of Baby Mail As documented in the article, â€Å"Very Special Deliveries,† by curator of the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum Nancy Pope, several children, including one â€Å"14-pound baby† were stamped, mailed and dutifully delivered by the U.S. Post Office between 1914 and 1915. The practice, noted Pope, became affectionately known by letter carriers of the day as baby mail. According to Pope, with  postal regulations, being few and far between in 1913, they failed to specify exactly â€Å"what† could and could not be mailed via the still very new parcel post service. So in mid-January 1913, an unnamed baby boy in Batavia, Ohio was delivered by a Rural Free Delivery carrier to its grandmother about a mile away. â€Å"The boy’s parents paid 15-cents for the stamps and even insured their son for $50,† wrote Pope. Despite a â€Å"no humans† declaration by the Postmaster General, at least five more children were officially mailed and delivered between 1914 and 1915. Baby Mail Often Got Very Special Handling If the very idea of mailing babies sounds sort of reckless to you,  don’t worry. Long before the then-Post Office Department had created its â€Å"special handling† guidelines for packages, children delivered via â€Å"baby-mail† got it anyway. According to Pope, the children were â€Å"mailed† by traveling with trusted postal workers, often designated by the child’s parents. And fortunately, there are no heartbreaking cases of babies being lost in transit or stamped â€Å"Return to Sender† on record. The longest trip taken by a â€Å"mailed† child took place in 1915  when a six-year-old girl traveled from her mother’s home in Pensacola, Florida, to her father’s home in Christiansburg, Virginia. According to Pope, the nearly 50-pound little girl made the 721-mile trip on a mail train for just 15 cents in parcel post stamps. According to the Smithsonian, its â€Å"baby mail† episode pointed out Postal Service’s importance at a time when traveling long distances was becoming more important  but remained difficult and largely unaffordable for many Americans. Perhaps even more importantly, noted Ms. Pope, the practice indicated how the Postal Service in general, and especially its letter carriers had become â€Å"a touchstone with family and friends far away from each other, a bearer of important news and goods. In some ways, Americans trusted their postmen with their lives.† Certainly, mailing your baby took a lot of​ plain old  trust. The End of Baby Mail The Post Office Department officially put a stop to â€Å"baby mail† in 1915, after postal regulations barring the mailing of human beings enacted the year before were finally enforced. Even today, postal regulations allow the  mailing of live animals, including poultry, reptiles, and bees, under certain conditions. But no more babies, please. About the Photographs As you can imagine, the practice of â€Å"mailing† children, usually at costs far lower than regular train fare, drew considerable notoriety, leading to the taking of the two photographs shown here. According to Pope, both photos were staged for publicity purposes and there are no records of a child actually being delivered in a mail pouch. The photos are two of the most popular among the extensive Smithsonian Photographs on Flicker photo collection.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

The eNotes Blog Ten Summer Reading Picks Whats On YOURList

Ten Summer Reading Picks Whats On YOURList We should read to give our souls a chance to luxuriate.   ~Henry Miller Ahhh†¦ summer. I do a lot of heavy reading during the year and I love it. But when summer comes and I spend hours and hours in the Texas heat at the local pools, I often want something lighter to read.   I still demand good writing, no matter what the topic, however.   Here are some of my favorite choices and a few from friends for you to stick in your beach bag. 10. Enslaved by Ducks by Bob Tarte I found this wry and touching book at a used bookstore a few years ago, and have bought it again for at least four people. Tarte’s true tale of moving from the city to the country and acquiring more and more animals is unforgettable, especially if you are an animal lover or have ever dreamed of living a quieter life.   Publisher’s Weekly says: â€Å"With dead-on character portraits, Tarte keeps readers laughing about unreliable pet store proprietors, a duck named Hector who doesn’t like water, an amorous dove named Howard, a foster-mother goose, patient veterinarians and increasingly bewildered friends. Tarte has an ordinary-Joe voice that makes each chapter a true pleasure, while revealing a sophisticated vision of animals and their relationship to humans.† 9.   Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris At first, I was disappointed that Sedaris’s new book would not be a collection of essays from his real life and family.   But the humor works here in this anthropomorphized series of human foibles and vanities. Remember, however, that despite the adorable illustration, this is in no way a children’s book. Some of the animal stories include a dying lab rat, a cat who goes to AA meetings, cheating dogs, and a mouse with a pet snake. Christopher Muther of the Boston Globe says Sedaris is a â€Å"connoisseur of human nature at its worst.† Enjoy! 8. Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell Going on a road trip? Take along Sarah Vowell’s delightfully funny and informative look at the places, people, and situations involved in the assassinations of three American presidents: Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley. Bruce Handy of the New York Times aptly notes that Vowell â€Å"made the commercially courageous decision to avoid the catnip that is the Kennedy name† and says Assassination Vacation is â€Å"a learned, engagingly discursive, funny, sometimes even jolly ramble - literally - through the landscape of American presidential assassinations.† 7.   Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs This is a recommendation from a friend who says, â€Å"The book series inspired the television series ‘Bones† but the books are different. The protagonist (like the author) is a forensic anthropologist who works between Montreal and North Carolina. I get murder, travel and fun filled macabre facts. 6.   American Gods by Neil Gaiman Another recommendation from a friend, who says, â€Å"I have read it several times, but the first time I read it I finished it on a trip to Orlando. Anything Gaiman is an excellent read.†Ã‚   Laura Miller of Salon.com praises American Gods, saying it   â€Å"is a juicily original melding of archaic myth with the slangy, gritty, melancholy voice of one of America’s great cultural inventions - the hard-boiled detective; call it Wagnerian noir. The melting pot has produced stranger cocktails, but few that are as tasty.† 5.   Life by Keith Richards Lots of rock musicians have gone on to that Great Gig in the Sky, many of them Richard’s contemporaries: Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and dozens of others. Betting people probably thought the odds of Richards being among their numbers a good pay off. But Richards has survived, and his tales of writing and working with the other members of the Rolling Stones is fascinating. Listen to his interview about the book with NPR’s Terry Gross on Fresh Air here.   Particularly interesting is the story of how both the music and lyrics to the classic song â€Å"Satisfaction† came to him in a dream. 4.   The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt Another recommendation from a friend who finds this novel engrossing. Michael Christy  reviewed the novel in his â€Å"Afterword† column in the National Post. He writes: This novel follows two brothers, Eli and Charlie Sisters, infamous assassins sent on an errand to kill Hermann Kermit Warm, an ingenious (and, as it turns out, extremely likable) man, who is accused of stealing from their boss, a fearsome figure named the Commodore. Luckily for us, the genre permits deWitt to turn his considerable powers loose, allowing him to rummage the treasure chest of English with much less constraint than a story staged in the contemporary world†¦ There is a delightful irony generated between this over-formal, old-timey way in which the characters speak, and the horrific subject matter they are often aiming to relate. 3.   The Silent Twins by Marjorie Wallace I read this book years and years ago (on a beach, in Jamaica†¦don’t hate).   The tale of these two twins who never spoke to anyone as children, not even their parents, but developed their own language, intelligible only to themselves, fascinated me as did their joint arson attacks in their later years. Library Journal says: This true story focuses on the young adult years of identical twin girls. June and Jennifer isolate themselves from family and society, sinking into a world of interdependency, fantasy, and obsessive game-playing, until an arson spree lands them in a hospital for the criminally insane. The fascination of this tale lies in the discrepancy between the twins’ silent, emotionless facade and the rich creativity and passion that spills out endlessly in their writing. The author has reconstructed their story from their extensive diaries, in which they compulsively explore their lives and the condition of the world as they perceive it. Again and again, they express both their love and hatred for each other and their desire yet inability to become separate individuals. This book is written by a sympathetic journalist for a general audience. 2.   The Colour of Magic (The First Discworld Novel) by Terry Pratchett Want to really lose yourself to a completely different world this summer? Get hooked on Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. If you are totally unfamiliar with the 26 novels, here is a brief overview and review of the first book from Fantasy Book Review: The Colour Of Magic is set on a world sitting on the backs of four elephants hurtling through space. Rincewind, the wizard and Twoflower, the Discworld’s first tourist encounter DEATH and Hrun the Barbarian on their journey through the Discworld. †¦ This novel is very different from most fantasy novels and a is breath of fresh air. A beautifully imagined world and wonderfully described characters, when added to the mix, make this a must read novel. This book can stop you from taking life too seriously. 1.   Bossypants by Tina Fey I don’t often recommend books by comedians. Too often, they are just re-hashed versions of their stage shows, television bits, or information you’ve heard in interviews a million times. You probably have heard the accolades about Fey’s book and they are deserved. Fey is funny and revealing, recounting stories about her life (yes, she tells about how she got that scar, something she is very reluctant to do) and her career (much harder and longer than most people think) and is honest about her relationships with fellow actors like Amy Poehler and Alec Baldwin and her former boss at Saturday Night Live, Loren Michaels. If you have been looking for something to read this summer, I hope these suggestions help. Please do leave your own suggestions for others to enjoy. Happy reading!

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Metabolite Processing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Metabolite Processing - Essay Example According to the paper the scientists have identified many metabolites related to cancer. Some of the most important molecules are phosphocholine, glycine, glutamate, aspartate and essential aminoacids. Metabolic reprogramming alters the nutrient intake and excretion. The study of the metabolic pathways involved in the transformed cells is required for the study and treatment of cancer. There are about 60 human cancer cell lines producing nine types of tumors. The metabolic pathways present in these cell lines must be studied for the treatment of cancer in the humans. The quantitative analysis of the metabolites in the given cancer cell line are done using different biotechnological techniques. Some of the analysis methods like gas chromatography time- of – flight mass spectrophotometry, orthogonal partial least squares discriminate analysis, and acquity ultra performance liquid chromatography – quadrupole time – of – flight mass spectrphotometry, Liquid c hromatography – tandem mass spectrometry and micro array data analysis. These methods are used for the analysis of the spent medium and the base line medium of the tissue. From this study it is clear that   219 metabolites were analyzed from the cancer cell lines. Out of them, 111 metabolites were found in the spent medium and baseline medium. The major metabolites that are utilized from the medium are analyzed and the data were compared with the existing microarray pooled data. The studies have found that the rapid proliferation requires rapid utilization and synthesis of the metabolites in the medium.   Glycine is a non-essential amino acid and they are not synthesized directly in the body. Glycine is produced by the conversion of L-serine into glycine by the mitochondrial serine hydroxymethyltransferase. The analysis of the glycine concentration for the rapid cell proliferation and the effect of glycine in cancer cell proliferation were analysed in this technique. The Gene silencing technique was used for the analysis of the enzyme mitochondrial serine hydroxymethyltransferase. It was observed that the glycine consumption was very less in the absence of this enzyme and the cell proliferation was very less in the glycine depriving medium. When glycine was supplied externally, the cell showed rapid cell

Friday, November 1, 2019

Apple vs. Samsung Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Apple vs. Samsung - Essay Example Apple and Samsung are world leaders in smartphones and tablets, the two fastest growing consumer electronics market across the globe. For this reason, the success of Apple’s law suit could potentially have global ramifications even though the ruling only applies to the American market. A possible scenario that could play out is for Apple to pursue other competitors in the US – with many analysts seeing the Android Operating System as the main target. However, given that we do not see Apple’s lawsuit succeeding in other jurisdictions, this would segment the global consumer electronics industry into the US and the rest of the world. This would isolate the US consumer electronics industry from global competition. This could be beneficial for the Apple in the short-run but in the long-run the lack of competition could eventually make the US consumer electronics industry to go the way of the US auto-industry. There are three questions that I see arising from this article. First, interaction design is a fundamental component of consumer electronics. Is it ethical to grant proprietary rights to fundamental components that advance the growth of the industry? Secondly, when looking at such patent-infringement battles is the effect on consumers weighed in or only the interests of corporations are taken into account? What is the greater good? Banks, T. (2012, August 28). Apple vs. Samsung - what does it mean for design? Design Week. Retrieved September 11, 2012, from

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Summary on Henry Ford Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summary on Henry Ford - Essay Example The real turning point for Ford’s career was joining the Edison Company in Detroit as an engineer in 1892. Here, he struggled with building a gasoline engine strong enough to power a motorcar, but in 1896 the first Ford motorcar was born, and it could reach 90 miles per hour. From here, Ford accumulated funding and released the Ford model T in 1908, hugely increasing growth with assembly line production. Having become reputedly the richest man who ever lived, Ford was in a position to publish his opinions and moral-code on a huge scale. Ford detested all that was un-American (in his eyes), strongly backing the pioneers and detesting the immigrant Jew. This eventually led to Ford financially backing the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a widely distributed anti-Semetic text favoured by Hitler. Ford is often mistakenly assumed to be anti-History, but he had a great passion for collecting and an admiration for the American past. He used this passion further in 1920 to restore his family home using real archaeological techniques. He then went on in 1926 to recreate a whole village as a tribute to village life and God’s nature, which he truly

Monday, October 28, 2019

Choose the Right Path in Life Essay Example for Free

Choose the Right Path in Life Essay Damion Booker is a 6’5 point guard from Rialto, California that is supposedly the best point guard since Magic Johnson. Magic Johnson was an incredible athlete he was versatile, had basketball IQ, he averaged a double double, and most of all a leader on the court. Damion Booker followed those same exact aspects. Damion Booker was the first round draft pick and was drafted to Los Angles Hokies and previously went to Rialto State University (RSU). Damion Booker majored in Business and had a GPA of 3. 9. Not only did he have great athleticism and skill, he was intelligent. He made honor roll every year and challenged himself more and more. Every teacher loved him and was very popular around campus. He was also involved in many activities such as karate, played piano, and volunteered at a senior citizen home a couple of hours every summer break. While being involved in many activities he met a guy named Elijah Hearth. Elijah Hearth was a good friend, but also a troublemaker. In addition, while Damion Booker was hanging out with his friend Elijah Hearth he met a new agent and felt he was fit for the job. His first agent was unreliable and not trustworthy. A few days later Damion Booker got a call saying there was an NBA Lockout while at home. His agent said he didn’t have an idea when the new season was going to begin. He was very shocked and heartbroken, He couldn’t believe it. Damion Booker had to find some way to make money so he decided to own a business that he’s been attempting since he was a senior in college. Damion Booker was bored so he became more involved. A few weeks later his resteraunt opened it was named Damion Booker Palace. He made big bucks and had a lot of money. As a result, he became very cocky in everything he did. It took a lot of his time to owning that restaurant. He took time away from basketball to put in work to own the Palace. He had earned money twice as fast as regular people who started their business. For most people it takes years to own a business, but for Damion Booker it took him a month. The background behind that was that he made this special sauce that attracted people all over the world. Damion Booker made a tasty, scrumptious sauce that was called the Damion Cold Killer Pasta Sauce. It was supposedly the best sauce nationwide and it’s the bestseller at Damion Palace. It attracted wild, bizarre eaters like Andrew Zimmern. The pasta sauce was so good Andrew Zimmern said it was the best pasta he ever tasted. As a result, to the Cold Killer Pasta Sauce it did have a secret ingredient. The secret ingredient was this famous pepper that came from Peruvia. It was called the Peruvian Puff Pepper. The Puff Pepper had this special flavor that made ingredients spicier and more flavorful. The sauce also had extra amounts of salt and other excessive ingredient but the extra salt and the puff peppers are the ones that made the sauce taste better and more addicting. The sauce became so addicting that it made skinny people fat and the fat people become fatter. The sauce is sort of in comparison to a big mac from McDonald’s. Lots of people bought it and it was very addicting. The Puff Pepper had a special element that made you beg for more and more. Damions Palace put many businesses on bankrupt because of how good their specialty was. The only business that remained standing were McDonald’s, Jack in the Box, Carls Jr, Taco Bell, Applebee’s, Panda Express, and Denny’s but th ey were losing the average customers because Damion Palace was taking over because of their special pasta sauce. They were also losing money to in which that was a bad thing and tried putting more advertisements onto TV commercials, radios, billboards, and blimps. People didn’t care to much about the advertisement of TV commercials, blimps, billboards, and radios all the people cared about was Damions Palace and their special pasta sauce. Damion Booker came up with the idea on one boring weekend and decided to cook. All of a sudden, he came up with making pasta sauce because that was his mother’s favorite thing to eat while she was young and she would make it on special occasions. He went into his cabinet and pulled things such seasonings such as salt and pepper, and all kinds of sauces that his mom had stored. Then, Damion pulled out a bowl and started mixing a concoction. He tasted a couple of mixes and didn’t like them to well. After a couple of more mixes he tasted a delightful sauce that he believed tasted quite amusing. They didn’t have much because they Damion’s mom didn’t make much money. They weren’t poor but they weren’t fortunate. After tasting the sauce he knew he was going to become successful in the future. While doing this he realized he needed a backup plan for when the NBA comes out of its lockout. His backup was to have his brother take over Damion Palace when the NBA lockout ends. By the time Damion got settled to being a business owner the lockout had ended and it was time for Damion to start basketball again. The first couple of weeks the Palace ran very smoothly. At one point they had more customers than ever recorded. Damion was getting settled with basketball and his brother was taking over the best restaurant in the nation. Life couldn’t get any better for the Booker family! As life ran smoothly they became extremely arrogant until a fire burned down the Palace. Damion was gloomy and felt like a complete failure, but still confident. Although the palace burned down, Damion didn’t know the place was burned down until the all-star break he checked in and called his brother to ask how the restaurant was running. Damion brother told him the place got burned down. Damion was furious! Damion’s Brother didn’t want to interfere with Damion’s basketball career. Their relationship was corrupted and didn’t talk to one another for a long time. They constantly would argue and have many quarrelsome disagreements. When The Bookers lost their restaurant, they became unfortunate again and were very depressed. Their family began to go on corners and beg for money for a living but not for very long. They were going through some tough times but they always overcome the tough situations. By the time the Bookers started making more money Damion had started preseason basketball with the Los Angles Hokies. He was a star on his team like the whole world already suspected. To modern times Damion Booker came to the NBA similar to Kyrie Irving. Kyrie Irving was a first round draft pick and immediately became a star in the NBA. Life became good for Damion Booker again he was getting fame and publicity. He was getting so much fame and publicity that he acted as if he forgot that his own restaurant got burned down and started treating his family very well. He started to be in magazines, commercials, and on the internet. Damion Booker became the face of basketball and more importantly the face of Rookies. Overtime Damion Booker became cocky bad things begin to happened to him again. Damion booker was going for a slam dunk on a fast break and hurt his ankle. He was on the ground for 10 minutes and couldn’t get up. He felt paralyzed and the medical staff had to pick Damion up put him on a stretcher. The next day he went to the doctor and they told him he had a ruptured Achilles tendon and that he will never be able to play basketball again. Damion Booker was upset because basketball was his life and if you took basketball away from him it was like taking his life away. Basketball was his Life! He played it almost every day and whenever he had the time. On the offseason of when Damion was in college he would always go to the park and have pickup games. He would dominate and win almost every single game. Damion didn’t want to listen to the doctors. He refused to listen to anything they said. Damion was going to come back and play in the NBA regardless if they said he could or couldn’t. The network technician believed that he was going to be out for his career and so did the whole world. Unbelievably Two months later, Damion stepped on the court and the nation was shocked. It was a remarkable return and on his debut from returning he had twenty- two points, six assists, and five rebounds. People knew this kid was special because nobody had ever recovered from a ruptured Achilles tendon and also because of how fast he recovered from his injury. Later, he got rookie of the year and averaged 18 points a game and became cocky again. In Addition, to Damion getting cocky after he won rookie of the year he began to get caught and this time he was messed up for life. He started getting influenced by his friends and thinking he was better than everyone in the world. That same night he won rookie of the year Damion went out partying with his friend. There was drugs and alcohol that he got into that just completely messed up his mindset. He started missing several practices, get to the team room late, disrespect the coaches, and many other things that got him into some trouble. Also, his numbers dropped, and appeared always tired. Instead of Damion averaging 18 points a game coming from the injury he averaged about 8 points a game. As he kept doing these actions they noticed a drastic change and ordered Damion to take a drug test. A couple days later the team got the results and he failed the drug test. After they got the results the Hokies released him to free agency and no other team wanted him. He realized he made a mistake and started to feel depressed. As a result, he got kicked out of the NBA and felt so lost he committed suicide.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Exegesis on Request of James and John in The Bible :: essays research papers

Exegesis on the Request of James and John 10:35-45 The context call of Christian discipleship is from chapters 8:22 – 10:52 these chapters are devoted to informing us of the disciples following Jesus and includes to miracles. These miracles emphasize that the disciples at this stage have no real knowledge or belief of the mystery of the son of man or his destiny and theirs. This passage â€Å"the request of James and John† is placed after â€Å"a third time Jesus foretells his death and resurrection†, and before â€Å"the healing of the blind Bartimaeus.† â€Å"A third time Jesus foretells his death and resurrection.† This is third passion prediction of Jesus addressing to his disciples about his fate and destiny to die, it also happens to be the most graphic and vivid described than the other two. It opens with Jesus and his disciples on the road to Jerusalem, and his disciples following him were afraid. Jesus took them aside and begins describing his death and resurrection. The cause of the disciples fears it that they do not know Jesus’ destination or his predictions. The disciples are blind in their understanding of Jesus’ Messiahship, their interpretation of a messiah is typical in all the other Jews minds. That God promised a messiah in the line of David, and would lead the Jew’s to victory in every battle, and fight it for them. In this sense the disciples expect that Jesus is going to throw out the foreign aliens (Romans). However it is through suffering, dying and the resurrection that the real truth or message of Jesus is revealed. â€Å"The healing of Blind Bartimaeus† 10: 46-52 This is the last healing miracle on the gospel of Mark. The Blind beggar addresses the Jesus as the son of David recognizing him as the messiah, and as â€Å"Jesus† as well. Unlike all the other miracles in the gospel Jesus does not try to silence the man but has already accepted the fact that he will die. The disciples throughout the gospel have shown antagonistic traits such as, fear doubt and a displacement of trust in Jesus. They have come up with ideas that will assure their own advancement. Bartimaeus recognizes Jesus as the son of Man, God’s messiah and followed Jesus on the road. This passage is placed here to highlight the disciple’s failure of not knowing the true meaning of the kingdom of God. Jesus teachings are not laws but an invitation into the kingdom of God through suffering and serving.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Fight Against Death Essay

Dylan Thomas’s poem, â€Å"Do not go gentle into that good night†, is a poignant commentary on death, inspired in part by the impending death of his own father, who faced deteriorating health and frailty during the last few years of his life. After analyzing this poem it gave it more depth and me a better understanding of the poem. I will be covering the structure/form, theme, and symbolism. The first element I will use to analyze this poem is structure/form. This poem is a nineteen line poem with five tercets and a quatrain. This poem is written using the fixed poetry format of villanelle, in which there are only two rhyme sounds. The refrains are; â€Å"do not go gentle into that night† and â€Å"rage, rage against the dying of the light.† (Clugston, 2010, Ch. 12) Line one refrains on six, twelve, eighteen, while line three refrains on nine, fifteen, and nineteen. The rhyme scheme of this poem is ABA and is written in iambic pentameter. Thomas’s use of simple repetitive language keeps the iambic pentameter, which is ten syllables per line. The theme of â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night† is darkness, death, and aging. In every stanza the reader receives an image of death or darkness. An example of the theme is â€Å"Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, and learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, do not go gentle into that good night† (Clugston, 2010, Ch. 12) which represents the sun setting; in other words it is the dying of the day. Thomas tells readers to live strong lives and fight against death rather than accepting it. The whole poem speaks of fighting and raging against dying. Everyone knows that death will come to them in some way, whether that is today or tomorrow but the author wants us to not welcome it. He wants them to embrace life no matter how hard it gets and whenever death is near, to fight against it. Thomas Dylan uses different types of people to prove that his thoughts apply to all men. The wise men whose intelligent is not going to save him from dying, the good men whose good deeds won’t save him, the wild who learns too late and the grave men who sees with his blind sights. All these men lived a different life but in the end, they all reach the same conclusion which is struggling against death. The words that the author uses to illustrate these themes are â€Å"rage, rage against the dying of light and old age should burn and have rage at the close of the day†. His choice of words supports his attitude towards this theme because in these lines, he’s telling his readers to rage against dying which means to fight against death. As we grow old, life becomes a struggle for some people. Even though struggling is hard, the author believes that life is worth fighting for. The theme and symbolism in this poem kind of go hand in hand. Thomas explores the contrast between the natural symbols of light and dark. Light traditionally stands for â€Å"good† while dark traditionally stands for â€Å"bad†. In this poem the night is a symbol of death, signaling an end. â€Å"Sad heights† is also a symbolism of his father’s life. His father’s life was indeed sad because it did not amount to what the poet hoped it would. â€Å"Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray† (Clugston, 2010, Ch. 12) lets the reader know that he had more rage and strength in his dying hours than he did in life. One of the strongest images of darkness and death is shown in the last two lines of the poem, â€Å"Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.† (Clugston, 2010, Ch. 12) The death of the light here shows us blackness: the ultimate darkness. This one line brings to light all of the darkness, death, and evil that is in this poem. In conclusion, Thomas’ uses the literary elements, structure/form, theme, and symbolism to enhance the poem â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night.† The structure/form being that of a villanelle adds to the rhythm of the poem. The theme is darkness, death, and aging which is in evident in every stanza of this poem. There is a lot of symbolism in this poem and it adds to the theme. Without the structure and the symbolism Thomas uses it may have been a different poem. References: Clugston, R.W (2010) Retrieved from http://content.ashford.edu/books/AUENG125 http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5796

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Food for Education Improves Girls’ Education the Pakistan Essay

In the last decade, access to primary education has improved significantly in many parts of the world (World Bank, 2006). Yet, 77 million children of primary school-age, are not in school and 57 percent of them are girls. Despite overall advances in primary enrolment, significant gender disparities remain particularly in certain regions, notably the Arab States, South and West Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Beyond the primary level, the gender inequalities in education are even more significant. In secondary education, only one-third of countries have reached gender parity and women account for 64 percent of the world’s illiterate adults – a figure, which has not progressed during the last decade (UNESCO, 2007). Girls’ education is affected by a variety of factors relating both to the demand and supply side of schooling: gender-stereotyped curricula and teaching practices, school infrastructure not adapted to the needs of girls (lack of separate toilets, school fencing, girls boarding facilities, etc. ) risks for girls’ safety on the way to and at school (girls being abducted, at risk of rape at school) or negative socio-cultural practices (early marriage, low value given to education of girls). One of the most significant obstacles to girls’ education is the direct and opportunity cost of schooling, which affects girls disproportionately. Girls from poor households register very low levels of school completion in many countries (Bruns, Mingat, and Rakotomalala 2003). In India, for example, a study found that, amongst poor girls, less than 10 percent had completed elementary education (grade 8), compared to 85 percent of rich boys (15-19 years age group). Educational attainment of girls was consistently lower than for boys across all income groups (Filmer 1999). Research from Guinea concluded that â€Å"Family income or wealth is a key variable that explains differences in educational opportunities and attainment between families. †¦ Poverty in a family will have a more detrimental effect upon the decision to enrol a girl in school than boys (Tembon and Al-Samarrai 1997). This is linked to the fact that girls spend a significant amount of their time on work, particularly domestic chores and agricultural labour. Their ‘child work benefit’ for parents, and thus the opportunity costs of their schooling, are thus greater than for boys. A survey in northern India found that girls’ responsibility for domestic labour and for sibling care was by far the most important reason for not sending them to school or for their dropping out (The PROBE team 1999). A study from Bangladesh came to the following conclusion: â€Å"Normally, a rural Bangladeshi woman works 10-14 hours a day, though most of this work is not visible or reflected in national statistics. †¦ The need to perform domestic chores to help their mothers impedes girls’ participation in formal education, forcing them into irregular attendance and/or to leave school† (UNESCO 1998). In addition, there is evidence that direct educational costs are higher for girls than for boys, for example because girls need safe transport to school or better school clothing to â€Å"look decent† (Herz and Sperling 2004). Where women and girls have low societal status, poor parents are often more reluctant to invest their meagre resources into the education of girls rather than that of their sons. Food for Education (FFE) programmes – school feeding (school meals or snacks) and, particularly, the provision of take-home food rations (THRs) – have proven to be an effective means of addressing these obstacles, enrolling more girls in school, keeping them enrolled, and enhancing their adulthood wellbeing and productivity as a result. In this paper we review the rationale behind FFE, particularly of THRs in supporting access to education  for girls and summarise the findings on the effectiveness of THR programmes available in the published literature. We then complement the evidence with a case study on a FFE programme in Pakistan designed to support girls’ education. Cost-effectiveness is central to policy-making on achieving gender equality in education; to date, however, there are very few studies that assess the costs and cost-effectiveness of FFE programmes. The Pakistan case study attempts to fill this gap by analysing the costs and benefits of the girls’ education programme. 2 Programme Description FFE programmes are widespread in developing and higher income countries. In 2005 the UN World Food Programme supported FFE programmes in 74 countries, benefiting almost 22 million students of whom 48 percent girls. Some 3 million girls received dry, take-home food rations in support of their education. Take-home food rations typically consist of food commodities that are of high value to families and part of their standard food basket, such as cereals or vegetable oil. They are distributed monthly or quarterly; sometimes, the distribution time is also targeted to the agricultural lean season, when family food supplies are lowest and little food available on the local markets. Receipt of the food ration is conditional upon the student’s regular attendance; in the case of WFP-supported FFE programmes, for example, a minimum of 80 percent monthly attendance rate is required. This helps to ensure that students don’t just enrol but actually attend school regularly. FFE interventions are generally designed to improve school participation amongst poor, vulnerable, food insecure populations and target areas where access to school and school completion are weak, particularly for girls. The risk of not accessing and/or completing primary school, a form of â€Å"educational vulnerability† anchored within a context of poverty and food insecurity, may be used to describe the common characteristic shared by the children targeted by FFE. This idea reflects the reality that household choices regarding education are often a result of complex decision processes, where poverty and hunger play an important role in determining the schooling outcomes (Dreze and Kingdon, 2001). As we have seen above, these factors are particularly significant in the case of girls’ education.. In a general model of FFE (WFP, 2007), the initial outcome that drives increased school participation is the incentive to the household to send children to school. Generally, the incentive is achieved by way of an income transfer to the family of the student and also through an enhancement of the services provided at school (Bergeron & Del Rosso, 2001). FFE also has an incentive effect on pupils actually wanting to go to school to receive some food, rather than staying at home and missing out. Both of these effects will contribute to shift, in the short-term, a households’ decision towards increased schooling. The effects are most significant amongst poorest populations and where education, including girls’ education, is not well established. Figure 1 summarises the main impact theory for THRs and traces the causal links between inputs and the desired educational outcome of increased access, promotion and completion for primary school children, particularly girls. Food for Education (FFE) programmes providing take-home rations are more suitable to target individual students such as girls and less complex to implement than conventional school meal programmes that require substantial investments both in terms of infrastructure and community inputs. For instance, THRs in the form of 4 litre vegetable oil cans are fairly easy to store and distribute, and THR distributions take place only once per month or less. More important, however, take-home food rations provide a more direct, higher value income transfer to families than school meals, which in turn provide the incentive for increased school participation. From this perspective, THRs provide an immediate, income based benefit, and another long-term benefit stemming from the returns to increased education, serving as both protective and promotive social protection (Devereux and Sabates-Wheeler, 2004). On the other hand, THR are not suitable to address nutritional and health issues affecting school children and their education, particularly cognitive capacity, which is a well established outcome of school meals (Kristjansson et al. , 2007). 3 MDG 2&3 Improved attendance Food Take-home rations distributed on condition of pupils’ regular attendance Targeted HHs received THRs on condition of their children’s regular attendance Incentive for HHs reduced drop-out Increased enrolment Better academic performance Changing parents’ attitude regarding schooling. Figure 1: Food for Education impact theory for take-home rations Impact of FFE programmes on girls’ education Evaluations of FFE programmes (see Adelman et al. , 2006) have shown that FFE programmes lead to increased enrolment and attendance, of girls in particular, reduced dropout particularly in the lower primary school grades, and for on-site meals or snacks programmes improved student learning capacity. Literature databases were searched to identify relevant studies on the physical and social benefits of FFE programmes to girls. The educational outcomes considered included school participation (including enrolment, attendance and drop-out). Primary school age children were the primary subjects of all the studies considered. Only one study was found on the impact of THR programmes highlighting the gap in evidence on this topic. Another paper was found on the comparative effects of the different modalities of FFE including THRs. One field-oriented evaluation of a WFP FFE programme was also identified in Pakistan and this is included in the main body of this paper as a case study. In Bangladesh, IFPRI and the World Bank evaluated the impact of a Government FFE programme (Ahmed and Del Ninno, 2002) that covered over 2 million children in 2000. The enrolment in FFE programme schools was found to have increased by 35 percent over the two year period between the programme start and after its first year. This increase was driven by a remarkable 44 percent increase in girl’s enrolment and by a 28 percent increase for boys. In non-programme schools enrolment increased by 2. 5 percent (5. 4 for girls and 0. 1 for boys) during the same period. Attendance in FFE assisted schools was found to be 12 points higher than in non-assisted schools (70 percent compared to 58 percent respectively). Drop-out rates were also found to be 9 points lower in FFE assisted schools than in non-assisted schools (6 percent compared to 15 percent respectively). The overall programme costs were reported to be US$0. 10 per child per day, though no analysis of the costs was provided. Another study analysed the comparative effects of the different modalities of FFE, including onsite meals combined with THRs (Gelli, Meir and Espejo, 2007). The results of this study of WFP monitoring and evaluation data showed that the provision of the FFE programme contributed to increasing absolute enrollment in WFP-assisted schools by 28 percent for girls and 22 percent for boys in the first year. Enrollment patterns after the first year varied according to the type of FFE program. Where provision of take-home rations for girls was combined with on-site feeding for all pupils, the increase in girls’ absolute enrollment was Increased access, promotion & completion, particularly for girls 4 sustained at 30 percent after the first year. However, in schools providing on-site feeding alone, the rate of increase in absolute enrollment after the first year reverted to the rates of increase found in the year prior to FFE implementation. The provision of take-home rations also appeared to reduce the dropout rate of female students, particularly in the higher grades. In addition, an analysis of WFP project expenditures in 2005 (Gelli, Al-Shaiba and Espejo, 2007) showed that the average cost of WFP THR programmes was US$29. 94 per child per year, the most expensive of FFE modalities. However, the cost driver for THR was mostly the large volume of food provided (72 percent of total programme costs, compared to 58 percent for school meal programmes). A study by Dreze and Kingdon from 2001 examined the effects of a wide range of determinants of school participation in rural northern India, focusing on school participation as a household decision. Amongst the school quality determinants, it was found that female school participation was about 15 percentage points higher when the local school provided a mid-day meal (MDM). Mid-day meals also were found to have a major positive effect on girls’ grade attainment; chances of completing primary education were 30 percentage points higher for girls living in a village with MDM. However, the MDM did not affect the enrolment of boys. The study confirmed that female schooling is far more influenced by household economic status than boys’ schooling: â€Å"parents are not generally opposed to female education but they are reluctant to pay for it. School meals could make a big difference here by reducing the private costs of schooling. † An earlier study found that the noon meal programme in Tamil Nadu in India attracted more girls to attend school and improved the attendance of those already in school (Devadas, 1983). The Pakistan Girls’ Education Programme Data on women’s participation in education in Pakistan shows low girls’ primary school net enrolment (59 percent) and female adult literacy rates (35 percent). Although female enrolment is increasing rapidly in all regions, girls’ participation rates at all levels are lower than that of boys and gender gaps persist, particularly in rural areas (WFP Pakistan, 2005). Since 1995, WFP has been providing food assistance to support the efforts of the Government of Pakistan (GoP) to improve access, retention and completion of girls’ primary education in 28 selected food-insecure districts of Pakistan, including seven districts of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The seven districts within the NWFP of Pakistan were identified by a WFP vulnerability analysis and mapping (VAM) study as being amongst the most food insecure areas in the country. Women and girls in these areas face huge barriers in terms of access to education. At the time when the project started, female literacy in rural areas was only around 10 percent and the primary participation rate of girls less than 30 percent. As a result, a take-home rations programme was introduced within these seven districts with the objective of increasing enrolment, retention and completion at girls’ primary schools. In 2005, THRs were provided monthly to 326,784 girls in 2,697 schools in vulnerable areas within 28 districts in the 5 provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and NWFP. Ration distribution was condition to regular school attendance. The monthly THRs consisted of a 4 litre tin of vegetable oil fortified with vitamin-A, and had an estimated value on the local market of US$5. Implementation Process Under the Country Programme agreement signed by the GoP and WFP, WFP is responsible for providing the commodities for the FFE programme to the port of Karachi. The GoP is responsible for the food distribution to the 28 districts, as well as the management of the timely delivery of the food in good condition from all the district warehouses to the assisted schools. Project Implementation Units (PIUs) were set up by the GoP in each assisted province to run the FFE programme. WFP provided a small truck for each district at the beginning of the project to facilitate the logistics and implementation. However, because of the very difficult terrain in the targeted low profile districts of NWFP, ensuring a timely 5 supply of the THRS to the schools has been challenging. As a result, many schools received the oil supply every second month or even later. Only two oil tins at the most, are distributed to a student to cover the back-log of non-supply during the previous period. At the school level, the head teacher generally receives the oil rations and supervises the distribution to the pupils, conditional to monthly attendance rates of at least 80 percent. The entitlement of each student is checked against the school monthly attendance registers before the THR is distributed. The District Officers Education & Deputy or Assistant District Officers also pay monitoring visits to the schools and verify this aspect. Programme costs Project expenditure data was reviewed in order to estimate the costs of the FFE programme. WFP reports annually on project expenditures, alongside other project statistics, in its standard project reports (SPRs). Expenditures are broken down into commodity, transport, landside transport shipping and handling (LTSH), other direct operational costs (ODOC), direct support costs (DSC) – which added together form the direct project costs (DPC). A percentage of the DPC is then factored in as indirect support costs (ISC) to support WFP Headquarters. Table 1 presents a breakdown of total WFP expenditures in the country in 2005 alongside an estimate of the expenditure on the FFE programme, broken down by WFP cost category. Table 1: 2005 WFP total and estimated FFE expenditures in Pakistan Country Programme Total WFP Country Programme expenditures (USD) 11,667,043 970,358 0 90,856 621,934 874,879 14,225,070 Estimated school feeding expenditure (USD) 6,133,819 510,155 0 47,767 326,975 459,958 7,478,673 % FFE over total expenditures 82% 7% 0% 1% 4% 6% 100%. Commodities Transport LTSH ODOC DSC ISC Total Regarding the government contributions to the programme, the 2005 expenditures for each of the PIUs, divided into direct and indirect expenditures, are shown in Table 2Table 1. Direct expenditures have been divided into two parts i. e. (i) PIUs expenses which include staff salaries, renting of stores/warehouses, and other running expenses and (ii) the Transportation Cost incurred on the transportation of oil from Karachi to respective districts/tehsils/schools. Indirect expenditures include the expenditures (adjusted by proportion of time spent on programme activities) of other staff members of government who manage the FFE programme i. e. distribute oil, monitor its distribution and send reports to PIUs from Districts / tehsils / schools level whose salaries are not charged to PIUs. These staff members include the Executive District Officers, District Education Officers (Female), Deputy District Education Officers, Assistant Education Officers, Store keepers, School Teachers and Peons etc. These expenditures have been calculated by WFP Pakistan based on estimates following discussions with each respective PIU. As the entire FFE programme is managed by the provincial governments, PIU expenditures include all cost items required to deliver and manage the FFE programme. In 2005, school feeding activities accounted for 53 percent of food distributed in the whole WFP Country Programme. There were no further expenses incurred by the community in the running of the FFE programme. 6. Table 2: A breakdown of GoP budgeted expenses in 2004/2005 for FFE (THR) activities PIU Provinces Punjab Sindh Balochistan AJK* NWFP Total PKR 328,568 6,444,556 7,612,000 1,162,000 3,306,300 18,853,424 Direct Expenditures Transportation US$ PKR US$ 5,569 109,230 129,017 19,695 56,039 319,550 9,004,158 2,490,927 1,778,225 6,678,000 3,495,000 23,446,310 152,613 42,219 30,139 113,186 59,237 397,395 Indirect Expenditures PKR 22,984,227 23,795,400 20,183,829 25,194,939 92,158,395 US$ 389,563 403,312 342,099 427,033 1,562,007 PKR 32,316,953 32,730,883 29,574,054 7,840,000 31,996,239 134,458,129 Total US$ 547,745 554,761 501,255 132,881 542,309 2,278,951. Having collected estimates for the different costs that are associated with the FFE programme, from the procurement of food down to the distribution of the THRs to the school girls, we estimated the total cost of FFE in Pakistan for 2005. WFP and GoP contributions for 2005 total $9,757,624 USD, and dividing this by the number of beneficiaries resulted in $29. 85 USD per school-girl per year. In 2005 in Pakistan, food costs accounted for approximately 63 percent of the total cost. The share of WFP expenses over the total cost was 77 percent, with the remaining share covered by the GoP. The cost per beneficiary increases to $63 USD per child per year if we adjust for full food distribution to all the planned beneficiaries, and assume perfect attendance. Key outcomes and Impact. In 2004-2005, a set of surveys were carried out to assess educational and other socioeconomic programme outcomes (WFP Pakistan, 2005). The evaluation included the collection and analysis of detailed school-level records from all the 826 WFP-assisted schools and a set of 79 randomly selected non-assisted schools (control) in the region. A secondary study of the available literature (GoP, WFP, and other partners) and data was also undertaken, including an analysis of data from the Education Management Information System (EMIS) and in-depth interviews with various partners involved such as government, WFP officials, community members, parents, teachers and students. The evaluation showed that the programme had multiple benefits for girls’ education: †¢ The overall enrolment at sampled schools increased by 135 percent between 1998/99 and 2003/04, whereas during the same period enrolment at control school increased by only 29 percent. There was a particularly strong increase in enrolment in the first grade of primary school (Kachi class): 211 percent at programme schools, compared to 5 percent in control school. This indicates that the programme was particularly successful in stimulating enrolment of girls who, until then, had never entered a school. On average, 88 percent of students attended school for twenty or more days per month (and were thus eligible for the take-home ration). Despite the positive effects on enrolment and attendance, completion of primary school remains a problem. Out of every 100 female students enrolling in 1998/99, only 44 percent reached grade 5. Although the primary school completion rate improved to 47 percent for the cohort starting school in 1999/2000, this only reflected a national trend, and programme schools actually showed worse results than control schools. This shows that the effect of the food incentive is not sufficiently strong to ensure that girls stay in school as they get older, and older girls of the family might be replaced by their younger siblings. †¢ †¢ †¢ 7 †¢ †¢ The programme also broke new ground and increased awareness of girls’ education. Before the programme started, 48 percent of households did not send any of their daughters to school; now all parents educate at least one daughter. While 38 percent of respondents said that the food incentive was the only reason for sending their daughter to school, 29 percent they would continue educating their daughters even if the programme stopped. 27 percent said that general hostility to girls’ education in the community was no longer an issue. The food incentive was much appreciated by the families and provided them with tangible benefits. 32 percent of community members interviewed said that their income had increased, generating savings in the family budget and that they had more free time for agricultural activities or business. Costs and benefits of the FFE programme A basic framework was developed by WFP in order to evaluate the cost and benefits of the FFE intervention designed to support girls’ education (Espejo et al. , 2006). In this model, the benefits from FFE are assumed to consist of two components; the first is the monetary value of expected lifetime additional earnings after successful completion of primary school, whilst the second is the market value of a monthly take-home ration, provided on condition to a girls’ school attendance throughout the programme duration. If we apply this cost-benefit framework to the FFE programme in Pakistan the results show that every USD spent on the FFE yields approximately 1. 68 USD in benefits. An alternative to estimating the benefits of education through the monetary value of expected lifetime additional earnings after successful completion of primary school is to estimate the extra school days gained through the effect of a particular intervention aimed at increasing school participation. Comparisons of actual pupil attendance days to the perfect attendance day total can provide a single measure of school participation that encompasses enrolment, drop-out and absenteeism, the three main educational outcomes linked to FFE. A simple model developed to estimate the gain in pupil attendance days in FFE schools using averages for attendance, drop-out and enrolment resulted in an estimated 25 extra school days per child per year (WFP, 2007). This translates into approximately $240 USD per additional year of schooling for girls in Pakistan. The cost and effects of the THR programme are summarised in Table 3. Table 3: Estimated measures of cost-effectiveness of THRs in Pakistan (Source WFP Pakistan 2005, WFP SSFS 2003). Enrolment Effect (per year) Cost 22% increase Education Attendance 10% increase Drop-out 5% decrease 25 extra school days per year per pupil 30-60 USD per child per year Lessons learnt â€Å"Of all the programmes initiated in NWFP, this one has made the most visible impact. It has contributed a lot in this province† Fazle Manan, Director of Schools and Literacy from the Ministry of Education, when asked of WFP’s assistance to girls’ primary education. The FFE programme triggered a marked increase in enrolment of girls in assisted schools in Pakistan. The enrolment more than doubled during the first three years of intervention. These types of incentives and awareness campaigns are imperative to boost girls’ education, to improve female literacy and reduce the gender gap, especially in remote rural areas. However, the retention of girl students in the school system and further improvement of the participation rate is essential to achieve universal primary education. 8 As a result of the increased enrolment, the nearly empty school buildings have become more used, providing a better return of investment to the community and the government. However, the quality of education, itself a major incentive for sending children to school, has been constrained by the lack of teachers. Moreover, many of the assisted schools suffer from a want of adequate facilities, including furniture, water, sanitation, and boundary walls. This issue highlights the need to ensure that once children are in school, efforts are made to enhance the learning environment, as well as to support pupil attendance and retention. The involvement of the community and the local government has been essential to mobilise the resources necessary for improving the school infrastructure. The FFE project has raised the awareness among the assisted communities about the importance of educating girls. Even the most reluctant parents are now sending their daughters to school. This change in attitude is a remarkable achievement against the backdrop of the social and cultural taboos that had prohibited the education of girls in the past. The mothers of the girl students now get out of their homes and visit schools to enquire about the progress of their daughters. Most of the females in far-flung rural areas were previously not allowed to step outside their homes; now girls are going to schools and their elderly female relatives visit schools to enquire about the attendance, progress in studies and probable dates of supply of oil. This change in social attitude and behaviour is an important achievement of the programme. Future plans The impact of the THR programme in supporting access to education for girls in rural, food insecure areas of Pakistan has been remarkable. Though WFP was involved in the design, management and implementation the FFE intervention, the ownership of the overall programme was, through the course of the programme, handed over to the Government of Pakistan. As of 2005, project implementation units staffed with senior level Government officials took-over the full responsibility of the programme in terms of food delivery to schools, programme monitoring and reporting. Financial contributions from the Government of Pakistan have also been essential to the success of the programme to date. The successful hand-over of the programme management will be critical to ensure the sustainability of the FFE programme in the future. 9 References Adelman S, Gilligan DO, Lehrer K. (2006). A review of the economics of Food for Education programs. International Food Policy Research Institute. Ahmed AU, Del Ninno C. (2002) Food for Education program in Bangladesh: an evaluation of its impact on educational attainment and food security. Food Consumption and Nutrition Division, Discussion Paper 138. International Food Policy Research Institute Bruns B, Mingat A, Rakotomalala R. (2003) Achieving Universal Primary Education by 2015: A Chance for Every Child. Washington, D. C, World Bank. Del Rosso J. (1999) School Feeding Programmes: Improving Effectiveness and Increasing the Benefit to Education. A Guide for Programme Managers. Devadas RP. (1983). The Honorable Chief Minister’s Nutritious Meal Programme for Children of Tamil Nadu. Coimbatore, India: Sri Arinashilingam Home Service College Devereux S, Sabates-Wheeler R. (2004) Transformative Social Protection’, Working Paper 232, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies. Dreze J, Kingdon G. (2001) School Participation in Rural India. Review of Development Economics. 2001; 5 (1), 1-24. Espejo F, Gabriele A, Gelli A. and Knips V. (2006) Submitted. Evaluating Food for Education Programmes: A Pragmatic Approach. International Journal of Educational Development. Gelli A, Al-Shaiba N, Espejo F. Estimating the cost of Food for Education Interventions. 2007. Filmer D. (1999) Educational attainment and enrolment profiles: A resource book based on analysis of demographic and health survey data; Development Research Group; Washington DC, World Bank Herz B, Sperling G. (2004) What works in girls’ education: Evidence and policies from the developing world. New York, Council on Foreign Relations Kristjansson EA, Robinson M, Petticrew B, MacDonald J, Krasevec L, Janzen T, Greenhalgh G, Wells J, MacGowan A, Farmer A, Shea BJ, Mayhew A and Tugwell P (2007) School feeding for improving the physical and psychosocial health of disadvantaged elementary school children. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Issue 1. Tembon M, Al-Samarrai S. (1997) Who gets primary schooling and why? Evidence of gender inequalities within families in Guinea; IDS Working Paper 85; Brighton, Institute of Development Studies The PROBE Team (1999) Public Report on Basic Education in India; New Delhi, Oxford University Press United Nations Children’s Fund, World Food Programme. The Essential Package. Twelve interventions to improve the health and nutrition of school-age children. WFP, 2005. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation. Education For All Global Monitoring Report. Strong Foundations. UNESCO, 2007. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation. Education for All Global Monitoring Report. The Leap to Equality. UNESCO, 2004. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation Bridging the gap between intention and action: Girls’ and women’s education in South-Asia. Bangkok, UNESCO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 1998. World Bank. From Schooling Access to Learning Outcomes: An Unfinished Agenda: World Bank, 2006 World Food Programme Pakistan. Situation Analysis: WFP’s Assistance to Girl’s Primary Education in selected districts of NWFP. WFP Pakistan, 2005. World Food Programme. Food for Education works: a review of WFP FFE monitoring and evaluation 2002-2006. WFP 2007. 10.