The informative speech. (Preparation Outline) Essay

The informative speech. (Preparation Outline) - Essay Example Have you ever know what are the psychological theories of aging process? II. I will inform you about the three major theories of aging process, their consequences on human mind. I have seen aged people around me with some problems. Some of them are expressive while some of them prefer to remain silent. III. I will inform you the different theories involved in aging process. There are biological as well as psychological theories. Basically I want to focus on the psychological theories of aging process. 2. Historically, the psychological study of human aging evolved in the twentieth century. Publications that mark this evolution are, for instance, Eisdorfer and Lawton (1973) and the first handbook on the psychology of aging edited by Birren and Schaie. 3.1. The Activity Theory: This theory is also known as implicit theory of aging or normal theory of aging. The theory was developed by Robert J. Havighurst in 1961. According to this theory, a successful aging takes place when older people remain active and maintain their social interactions. 3.2. Disangagement Theory: It is based on the observation in the USA study of Cumming and Henry (1979) According to this theory, â€Å"aging is an inevitable mutual withdrawal or disengagement, resulting in decreased interaction between aging person and others in the social systems he belongs to.† ii. Social activeness by encouraging them to stay in the company of same member group in our housing society such as senior citizens club. Taking proper and healthy diet and involve in some physical activities that will suit them. Aging is an inevitable process in everyones life. The information I provide you about aging will be useful to know scientifically and cognitively about aging process. I explain the major theories in which you can study human behaviour in aging period. Now be familiar with the aging

FUTURE CHALLENGES FOR VODAFONE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

FUTURE CHALLENGES FOR VODAFONE - Essay Example Vodafone will have to deal with increased completion in the near future as more telecommunication companies come up. To understand how this will affect the company in the next ten to fifteen years, it is important o look at the issues that have emerged in the last ten years. As William (2009) says, since the globalization of mobile networks ten years ago, it has become explicit that that every year that passes by the telecommunication industry is changing. Those companies that entered in to the industry in early 1990s no longer have the monopoly that they used to have in the past. In the earlier years, licensing for telecommunication companies was very expensive and prohibitive for new and small entrants. However, this has changed and it is now easier for such companies to come up with a way to enter the market with minimum cost. This has increased the risk for bigger and older firms such as Vodafone and they are at risk of being drowned by the new entrants. In this regard, the main issue that Vodafone will be facing in the near future (by the year 2020) is the problem of increased competition. This will be more so in the developing countries such as China and many African countries (McKenna, 2011). Vodafone has a number of networks in threes developing countries and these networks are becoming a major aspect of the Vodafone business and network. As these networks continue to be attacked by smaller newer networks, the firms will have a crisis by the time it reaches 2020. A good example is in Kenya where Vodafone owns forty percent of the largest telecommunication network called Safaricom. While this Safaricom has been the largest and the most profitable network in the east African region, it has become very clear that the network is losing its mighty and power to newer and upcoming network. The network was launched in Kenya in the year 2003 and by the year 2006, it had managed to scoop over 80% of the telecommunication market share. It also had a very fast grow ing network subscription over the last ten years. However, this has been seen to change over the last three years. Subscriber loyalty has decreased and now more subscribers are more willing to go to newer networks. This was not so in the past as more subscribers were loyal to the Safaricom network. The same is happening everywhere in places like China where the local telecommunication companies have grown very fast and are taking over the industry (Westen, 2009). As this continues, it will become very difficult for Vodafone to maintain its strategic leadership and this will become a very major issue for the firm. The other thing that has affected the firm is the reduction of licensing fees for telecommunication companies. Many governments have realized that licensing many firms is a benefit to the economy as it increases completion and reduces monopoly in the telecommunication industry. As a result, the hefty licensing amounts that were charged to telecommunication companies in the earlier days are no longer there. In this regard, it has been easier for new and smaller telecommunication companies to enter the market and thus bringing more competition for the older and bigger firms like Vodafone (McGreggor, 2010). Vodafone seems to be the most affected because it seems to not have prepared for such an eventuality. As Vodafone grapples with these issues in the short term, there are other problems looming in the long term. With the expectation that there will be a technological singularity by the end 2035, it is expected that the way people communicate will change over time. Personal computers are changing the way people co

Police Ethics and Deviance Essay Example for Free

Police Ethics and Deviance Essay This paper intends to define ethics and briefly discuss its role in policing. It also aims to talk about the ethical standards in policing. Last but not least, it will also cover the deviant behaviors, as well as, its effects. Ethics Defined Ethics is technically defined as â€Å"the practical, normative study of the rightness and wrongness of human conduct† (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 292).   It is upon which conduct is based (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 292). It determines whether or not an act is morally correct (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 292). Nature of Ethics and Its Role in Policing Meanwhile, with regards to the nature of ethics being a standard of moral correctness, it contributes largely in policing (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 292).   Explaining further, without ethics, a police officer will not be able to carry out critical thinking; it is only through ethical decision-making that he will arrive with the best solutions to any issue he or she is faced with (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 292).   In addition to that, through ethics police officers tend to become honest and when they stay honest they are, as well as, their respected departments are respected which allow their team to â€Å"recognize their full potential† (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 292). See, ethics is really important to policing because it helps police officers do â€Å"good† and the carry out the â€Å"right acts† all the time (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 293). Ethical Standards in Policing In fact, to keep the police force doing good and the right thing, the department has come up with ethical standards in policing (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 293). These include the following: The first one is known as the â€Å"organizational value systems† (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 293). This has been produced so that police officers are taught the correct behaviors that they ought to instill in themselves (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 293). It serves as a guide as to what behaviors are correct and ethical (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 293). The second is technically referred to as the â€Å"oath of office† (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 293). This is like a promise made by the police officers that they will act according to the laws/rules/etcetera stipulated in the oath (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 293). The third is technically known as the â€Å"Law Enforcement Code of Ethics† (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 293). This one is disseminated by the â€Å"International Association of Chiefs of Police† (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 293). The last which the police force is obliged to follow also is the â€Å"US Constitution† (US Supreme Court, 2008, n.p.). Of course, the â€Å"Bill of Rights† go along with the aforementioned as well (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 293). Both are known to be the basis of police ethics because of its â€Å"lawful† character; lawful indeed, since it is a collection of the â€Å"US Supreme Court, Federal, State Criminal Laws, as well as, Codes of Criminal Procedure† (US Supreme Court, 2008, n.p.). Deviant Behaviors and Its Effects However, it cannot be denied that despite so many ethical standards utilized and implemented by the police force, there are still some who do not accept and follow it (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 293). Some of the deviant behaviors committed and its effects are the following: A) Police Corruption â€Å"Police corruption† is technically defined as â€Å"an act involving the misuse of authority by a police officer in a manner designed to produce personal gain for himself or others† (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 296). Examples of police corruption are the following: 1) receiving money from â€Å"loan sharks, hijackers, etc†; 2) receiving money, free food, free accommodations, etcetera in exchange for services rendered; 3) accepting money in exchange of classified information provided to â€Å"criminals or private investigation firms†; 4) accepting payment in exchange of not having parking and traffic violators summoned; 5) etcetera (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 295). As expected corruption brings about negative effects and these include the following: 1) it only motivates others to practice corruption also especially if police officers realize that there is a slight possibility of getting caught; 2) the police department is affected and the public’s respect for it is lost; and last but not least 3) people will no longer respect the police officers and will not follow the rules implemented by them eventually as well (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 300). B) Police Misconduct Police misconduct is also included in the list of deviant behaviors committed by some of the police officers (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 303). This entails: â€Å"the use of illegal drugs; alcohol abuse; abuse of authority; sexual violence; as well as, domestic violence† (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 303). The effect of this is just like in the first deviant behavior discussed wherein people tend to lose their trust on the police force and eventually carry out deviant behaviors as well (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 303). C) Police Brutality Police brutality is also one of the deviant behaviors committed by some of the police officers (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 308). This is defined as the unfair and extreme use of force on suspects and other criminals (Mangan, 2000, n.p.). The effects of such include: 1) psychological trauma for the victim; and 2) he or she will later turn out to be rebellious and revengeful (Dempsey et. al., 2005, p. 308).

Successful Enterprises as Means for Economic Growth

Successful Enterprises as Means for Economic Growth Comparative Study of Polish Regions Podkarpacie and Dolnoslaskie Research Question How can unsuccessful entrepreneurship of a region affect the economic growth of two Polish regions, Podkarpackie and Dolnoslaskie? State of the Art The aim of this research project is to find out how unsuccessful entrepreneurship of a region affects the economic growth of Polish provinces. In Polish language the word province is used interchangeably with the word region. In this proposal the word region refers to administrative unit, an entity of governance within a state (Van Langenhove, 2013). Poland is divided to 16 regions, some of which, for example the regions forming the Eastern wall are not as well of as the central region Mazowieckie, in which Warsaw, the capital is situated, or the other regions at the western border of Poland, such as Dolnoslaskie. According to analysis of Statistical Center in Rzeszow (2009), the synthetic measure defining the level of economic development of territorial governance units (regions) is gross domestic product per capita. The Raport Poland 2011 published by the Ministry of Regional Development (MRD) in Poland (2011) presents results gathered by Central Statistical Office (Glowny Urzad Statystyczny, GUS) which show that the real growth of Polish economy between years 2000 and 2010 was as large as 46 percent, making it one of the fastest growing economies in the European Union (MRD, 2011). However, the inequalities between the wealthiest and the poorest region have deepened as well. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the most active region was at the beginning of year 2000 more than 9 times higher than in the weakest region. After ten years this disparity grew up until almost 11 times higher (MRD, 2011). The disparities in GDP per capita, on the other hand were in year 2000, two times higher in the wealthiest region than in the poorest region and grew up to two and a half times higher by the year 2010 (MRD, 2011). Shares of individual provinces in GDP in 2012 varied significantly from 2.1% in Opole region to 22.7% in the region Mazowieckie (in 2011, from 2.1% to 22.4% in the same regions)(GUS, 2014). Studies of Statistical Centre in Rzeszow (2009) show that regional GDP and the amount of income attributable to the disposal of per capita situatePodkarpackie region on one of the last positions in the European Union, except for Bulgarian and Romanian regions. The regional GDP per capita in 2012 was at the level of 27 719 zÅ‚ in the province of Podkarpackie (67.0% of the average country) to 68299 zÅ‚ in Mazowieckie (165.0% of the national average) (GUS, 2014). These studies provide quantitative evidence on disparities in economic growth between Polish regions, however they are missing the reasons for these gaps in regional economic growth. According to measures by GUS (2014) Mazowieckie is clearly the wealthiest and most attractive region in terms of living, working or investing, thus the disparities in economic growth between this region and the regions in the East of Poland are much higher. Witold Czudec (2013) from Portal for Innovative Trasfre of Knowledge in Science (PITWIN) has conducted a comparative study of competiveness of regions of Eastern Poland and the central region Mazowieckie. However, Mazowickie is the region pulling most of the investors as well as wealthy residents which may be a cause of research bias. In order to avoid the bias in this study Mazowieckie is left out. Instead, the two regions that will be compared in this research are the region Podkarpackie, situated at the south-eastern border of the country and the region Dolnoslaskie, at the western border of Poland (see map). The GDP per capita of region Podkarpackie in years 2008-2010 amounted in approximately 24070PLN, which is equivalent to 5775 euros and GDP per capita, in the same period of time of region Dolnoslaskie was approximately 38708PLN, which is equivalent to 9318 euros (GUS, 2012). The regional economic development, can be defined as quantitative and structural development entities engaged in the economic activity of the region, which should be identified by the improvement and introduction of new products and services, expanding markets, upgrading of technology, investing , increasing employment and production efficiency , and the strengthening of the company’s financial actions (Sztando, 2000). According to Andrzej Sztando’s thoughts the area of economic growth is therefore based on individual entities and manifests itself in achieving a high level of efficiency and its constant increasing over time. While each company is an entity extracted from the environment in terms of legal, organizational and economic activities. However, isolation of an entity does not mean gaining independence from its surroundings. The survival and development of the individual entity depends on existing external conditions and those that will occur in the future. In t urn, by increasing the efficiency of individual companies, sectors, cities and regions, increase their efficiency and consequently the efficiency of the whole country (Sztando, 2000). Basing on the thoughts of Sztando, it has been concluded that at least one of the reasons for fast economic growth within a region is successful entrepreneurship. However, Sztando does not present concrete examples, for example by involving regional data in his study. Therefore this research will be concentrated on impact of entrepreneurship on regions, by focusing on two Polish regions as concrete examples. In the era of globalization, regionalization and departing from classical approach of degrading the role of industrial policy in favor of regional policy, the importance of research on entrepreneurship in regions and cities increases. Increasing number of research institutes and academic centers dealing with regional development is a proof of interest in this field. Studies conducted by them focus primarily on those aspects of the development of entrepreneurship (competitiveness, accumulation of wealth which is seen as indicator of economic development), which are stimulated by appropriate regulation of regional policy and socio-economic policy of the country, for example, tax policy, regulation of labour code, etc. (Platonoff et al., 2001). A research project conducted at University of Szczecin (Platonoff et al., 2001) analyzes and evaluates the economy of the city Szczecin and looks at the condition of entrepreneurial entities in the city and their impact on city’s economy. The study and its results are attention-grabbing and give a great insight to the economy of Szczecin and impact of entrepreneurship, however it is focused only on one city in the West of Poland. Thus basing on this research, it is interesting to conduct a similar kind of study in regions with one of the slowest growing economies in Poland, Podkarpackie region, and in one with fastest growing economy (right after Mazowieckie), which is Dolnoslaskie, in order to find out how unsuccessful entrepreneurship of a region affects the economic growth of Polish provinces. Objectives The current situation of Poland is quite difficult. On the one hand, the businesses are not liquid enough, they do not expand and go bankrupt more often. On the other hand, the Polish government does not have sufficient financial resources to cover basic needs for health, education, construction roads, etc. and many others. Businesses pay attention to too high taxes, and officials are looking for ways to enlarge their meet increasing social needs (Platanoff et al, 2001). Moreover, it has been observed that in bad times weak regions become worse. Weak regions do not have any mechanisms for immunizing: they are not competitive, they are not productive, they do not operate on a global market , they have diversified economy that would facilitate a soft landing (Maciejewicz, 2013). This perpetuates the division between the less prosperous Poland B, covering the eastern regions of the country and better developed Poland A, with the western and central regions. The latest GUS findings show that the gap between Poland A and Poland B deepened , even though the weaker regions received a remarkable sum of EU funds worth millions of Euros in order to help them to mobilize the regional operational programs . The per capita payments to the eastern provinces in 2007-2012 were significantly higher than those of Western . In addition, five provinces of the eastern wall had to use an additional pool of 2.4 billion euro allocated for the equal opportunities of developm ent (Tomaszkiewicz Kowalski, 2014). Regions of Eastern Wall of Poland are in the circle of slow economic development and one of the main reasons for that is inhibiting the development of entrepreneurship. For example, low income and high costs result in no or a low gross profit, and this in turn, lead to lack or low amount of money obtainable from taxes. Low budget revenues from taxes impede the development of infrastructure which would support entrepreneurship within the regions (for example: highways, health, education , promotion of the region in the world and other procedures established by the local and national authorities ). This leads to decreasing profits of individual companies which in turn restrain their development (lack of sufficient funds for investment, training staff, finding new customers, research and marketing , etc.), resulting in lower quality of the offered products or services and a decrease in their domestic and international competitiveness. In addition, low salaries of employees reduce their purchasing power by limiting the demand. Consequently, the reduction in the number of transactions has a negative effect on the revenues of companies causing depletion of other actors in the economic chain. This results in low competitiveness, thus slow economic growth of a region (Platonoff et al, 2001). Composition of Economy of Podkarpacie The gross value added (GVA) in Podkarpacie is composed of following shares: trade (29.46 %), followed by industry (27.02 %) and services (25.8 %). Construction (8.28 %) is also of a great importance in the economy of the region , which is traditionally considered one of the major sectors of the economy of the region. Slightly more than 7 % of GVA generates financial and insurance activities . Agriculture, forestry , hunting and fishing occupy the last place among the sections that shapes the GVA of Podkarpacie (Marshal Office of Podkarpacie (MOP), 2011). In the region of Podkarpacie at the end of 2012, there were just over 155 thousand registered entrepreneurial entities (including more than 148 thousand in the privte sector) , which accounted for 3.9 % of entities registered in the whole country. In spite of being close to reaching the national average of small and medium-sized enterprises ( SMEs) in the total number of enterprises , the companies of the Podkarpackie region absorb a much smaller share of labour force than any other Polish regions. While in Poland this percentage is 50 % it is only 40 % in Podkarpackie. In the case of micro-enterprises , this percentage is only 37 %. These proportions indicate the weakness of the SME sector in the region (MOP, 2011). Composition of Economy in Dolnoslaskie The GVA of Dolnoslaskie is generated mainly by the service sector (60%) , including 45.7% of market services, this is followed by industry (32%), and agriculture (2.2%) (GUS, 2014) . In the region of Dolnoslaskie in 2008, the average employment in the enterprise sector amounted up to 418.8 thousand people, and was higher than in the corresponding period of the previous year by 6.4%. At the same time, in terms of national employment in the enterprise sector increased by 4.8 percent. According to the data from the Central Statistical Office in 2008, on average 89,7% of labour force involved in enterprise sector was employed by the private sector in Dolnoslaskie. Employment in the private sector increased by 7.4 percent compared to the previous year (amounting to 375.6 thousand . Persons), public sector employment fell by 1.4 percent (amounting to 43.2 thousand persons). Average number of employees compared to the previous year increased by 5 percent (GUS, 2008). The Main Objectives of the Project The cognitive goal of the project is to: Make the diagnosis of effectiveness of management processes in business entities in context of their entrepreneurial potential in Podkarpackie and Dolnoslaskie. Develop proposals for rationalization of these processes and consequently, to stimulate the entrepreneurship in Podkarpackie. The scientific goal of the project is to: Develop model assumptions in order rationalize the management process in business entities Finally, the practical goals of the project are mainly to: Prepare reliable information on the economic condition of Podkarpackie and Dolnoslaskie on micro and macro scale Shape effective policy instruments and strategies for the support of regional business entities (mainly in Polkarpackie) Methodology: Possibilities for the development of entrepreneurship, and thus sources of wealth of region’s economy, should not only be looked at in macroeconomic parameters (cost of labour, the level of interest rates, the value of the national currency, etc.), but also in regional settings (resourceful and effective use of different opportunities, predisposition for progress and collaboration between different actors) and microeconomic parameters (differences in management of companies) (Platonoff et al, 2001). The starting point for establishment of a regional development program is to understand the economic potential rooted in economic operators and analyzing the main problems that hinder their functioning and growth. The potential of entrepreneurship lies in the individual business entities. First, a researching team has to be recruited. The research team will be composed of academic staff and students from two major universities in studied regions, Rzeszow University in Podkarpackie and University of Wroclaw in Dolnoslaskie. In the first phase of the research a representative sample of entrepreneurial entities in the region has to be collected, since studying the whole population entails high costs related to large amount of staff members and a long period of time in order to collect the data. Since the whole population is not studied, a proper sample size needs to be decided upon in order to assure a representative sample. 1550 enterprises from Podkarpackie region and 4188 enterprises from Dolnoslaskie region are to be selected, representing 1% of the entire population of each of the regions. By random selection of the sample it is meant that in the collection process each unit has the same probability of getting into the sample. After conducting randomized sampling, the business entities must be divided into categories by sizes of enterprises, that is micro, small, medium and large sized enterprises, as well as, into and profile of activity (construction, trade, manufacturing, agriculture and services) Bibliography Beata Tomaszkiewicz, Janusz K. Kowalski (2014) Bogate region uciekaja biednym, Forsal, Retrieved on 30.3.2014 from: http://m.forsal.pl/makroekonomia/bogate-regiony-uciekaja-biednym-polska-wschodnia-rozwija-sie-coraz-wolniej Macjejewicz, P. (2013), PogÅ‚Äâ„ ¢biajƦ siÄâ„ ¢ rà ³Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚ ¼nice pomiÄâ„ ¢dzy najbogatszym a najbiedniejszym regionem w Polsce, Gazeta Wyborcza. Retrieved on 30.3.2014 from: http://wyborcza.pl/1,75248,13101621,Poglebiaja_sie_roznice_pomiedzy_najbogatszym_a_najbiedniejszym.html#ixzz2xeeEaLzh Platonoff, A.L.,Sysko-RomaÅ„czuk, S., Burlita, A., CypryjaÅ„sk, J., Dobrodziej, B., Gos, W., Iwin, J., Markowicz, I., MiÅ‚aszewicz, D., NarÄâ„ ¢kiewicz, J., Gadomska, K., Putek, E., Ruta, M., Siwy, A., UrbaÅ„ski, P., Wizner, A., Zobel, A. (2001). Research report: Ogà ³lna diagnoza szczeciÅ„skich przedsiÄâ„ ¢biorstw, University of Szczecin Czudec, W. (2013), Konkurencyjnosc regionow Polski Wschodniej, Pitwin Retrieved on 30.3.2014 from: http://www.pitwin.edu.pl/attachments/1053_019%20czudec.pdf Statistical Center in Rzeszow (2009), ANALIZA ROZWOJU SPOÃ…Â ECZNO—GOSPODARCZEGO WOJEWÓDZTWA PODKARPACKIEGO W LATACH 1999—2008, Analizy statystyczne Marshal Office of Podkarpackie – Departament of Strategy and Planning (2011) ‘’Monitoruj Podkarpackie†, retrieved on April 1st 2014, from http://monitoruj.podkarpackie.pl/gospodarka-regionu/ http://monitoruj.podkarpackie.pl/przedsiÄâ„ ¢biorczoņºÃƒâ€žÃ¢â‚¬ ¡/

Richard Rodriguezs Hunger of Memory Essay -- Hunger Memory Rodriguez

Richard Rodriguez's Hunger of Memory The universal "growing pains" that all children experience in one form or another are easily recognized in Richard Rodriguez’s autobiographical excerpt from Hunger of Memory. Rodriguez’s childhood was particularly unique given the fact that while he was born and raised in the United States, he was strongly influenced in the ethnic environment of a Spanish family. Although the reader is introduced to only a short excerpt from the autobiography, he learns a great deal about Rodriguez’s family and his relationship to it, his conflict of speaking English versus Spanish, and the paradox that became evident as he used English as his primary language. Furthermore, the reader learns that Rodriguez’s experiences have contributed to his beliefs that a bilingual education is harmful. First of all, Richard Rodriguez came from a family where his parents had been born and raised in Mexico. After moving and settling in America, Rodriguez’s parents gave birth to him and his siblings. Rodriguez refers many times to "los gringos" , a colloquial, derogatory name charged with "bitterness and distrust" with which his father described English speaking Americans. This evidence made it apparent to the reader that definite animosity existed between his parents and the society around them. Resultingly, assimilation into the American culture was not a very comfortable process for his parents. Despite this, the authors parents created a comfortable haven for him and his siblings in their adopted country. The author shares with the reader how close and tightly-knit his family was. He describes in numerous instances the "special feeling of closeness" that he shared with his family. He also mentions the fact that he used to feel a "desperate, urgent, intense" feeling of wanting to be home. Spending time at home, speaking his "personal" language of Spanish, and being with his family gave Rodriguez comfort and a feeling of safety that was not felt outside of his home. Rodriguez was forced to leave that comfort and safety every morning though once he began attending school. The author describes hearing the cold, harsh sounds of the English language and wishing that... ...ory and viewpoints, allowing the reader to make his or her own personal judgment regarding the issue. Rodriguez explains that "While one suffers a diminished sense of private individualism by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individualism" (39). Finally, it was the contrast between the home and the school settings that gave the reader a very clear understanding of the author’s life experience. Through the technique of flashback, the author describes how the dichotomy that existed between his home identity and his social identity shaped the "public" individual that he had become. While the reader is subjected to only a short excerpt from Richard Rodriguez’s autobiography, he recognizes, specifically, that it was this inner core of the family setting that Rodriguez struggled with the trial of growing up as an American citizen. Without this family setting, he would not have confronted the same obstacles that influenced who he became; without the school setting he would never have grown beyond the sheltered life from which he came. Richard Rodriguez's Hunger of Memory Essay -- Hunger Memory Rodriguez Richard Rodriguez's Hunger of Memory The universal "growing pains" that all children experience in one form or another are easily recognized in Richard Rodriguez’s autobiographical excerpt from Hunger of Memory. Rodriguez’s childhood was particularly unique given the fact that while he was born and raised in the United States, he was strongly influenced in the ethnic environment of a Spanish family. Although the reader is introduced to only a short excerpt from the autobiography, he learns a great deal about Rodriguez’s family and his relationship to it, his conflict of speaking English versus Spanish, and the paradox that became evident as he used English as his primary language. Furthermore, the reader learns that Rodriguez’s experiences have contributed to his beliefs that a bilingual education is harmful. First of all, Richard Rodriguez came from a family where his parents had been born and raised in Mexico. After moving and settling in America, Rodriguez’s parents gave birth to him and his siblings. Rodriguez refers many times to "los gringos" , a colloquial, derogatory name charged with "bitterness and distrust" with which his father described English speaking Americans. This evidence made it apparent to the reader that definite animosity existed between his parents and the society around them. Resultingly, assimilation into the American culture was not a very comfortable process for his parents. Despite this, the authors parents created a comfortable haven for him and his siblings in their adopted country. The author shares with the reader how close and tightly-knit his family was. He describes in numerous instances the "special feeling of closeness" that he shared with his family. He also mentions the fact that he used to feel a "desperate, urgent, intense" feeling of wanting to be home. Spending time at home, speaking his "personal" language of Spanish, and being with his family gave Rodriguez comfort and a feeling of safety that was not felt outside of his home. Rodriguez was forced to leave that comfort and safety every morning though once he began attending school. The author describes hearing the cold, harsh sounds of the English language and wishing that... ...ory and viewpoints, allowing the reader to make his or her own personal judgment regarding the issue. Rodriguez explains that "While one suffers a diminished sense of private individualism by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individualism" (39). Finally, it was the contrast between the home and the school settings that gave the reader a very clear understanding of the author’s life experience. Through the technique of flashback, the author describes how the dichotomy that existed between his home identity and his social identity shaped the "public" individual that he had become. While the reader is subjected to only a short excerpt from Richard Rodriguez’s autobiography, he recognizes, specifically, that it was this inner core of the family setting that Rodriguez struggled with the trial of growing up as an American citizen. Without this family setting, he would not have confronted the same obstacles that influenced who he became; without the school setting he would never have grown beyond the sheltered life from which he came.

Athenians and Spartans :: essays research papers

The Spartan and Athenian civilizations carried on conflict from 431 to 404 B.C. (Bunson 195). Twenty seven years of blood shed and fighting was carried on between these peoples and their allies that were involved. The first ten years of the war was fighting and often called the Archidamian War after the Spartan king Archidamus II, following the fighting was the Peace of Nicias in 421 B.C., after this was eight unstable years of peace and more fighting, followed by the Ionian War (Bunson1277). These two civilizations were nothing like each other however some of their warfare techniques must have been similar to have fought for so long. The Spartan civilization was one that focused on physical and military power rather than academics (Jones 153). While men were still young they were taken from their families and went to a school that taught military training. If any men didn’t participate in this training their citizenship was denied to them. By the 6th century B.C. the Spartan army was known as the most efficient fighting force in Greece, the army consisted of 5000 people which were all citizens (Jones 154). Sparta was able to do this because their farming was done by subservient workers known as â€Å"captives† who were forced to do work on the land (Jones 154). By doing this the citizens were able to be fully devoted to their military. Unlike the Spartan civilization that was so focused on the military the Athenians were more involved with bringing culture and art into their lives. They were famous for their pottery with geometric designs, they also created the first outlines of the human body which would later bring them artistic achievement (Meiggs 193). During the 7th century B.C. there was much emphasis put on the craftsmanship and handicraft work that was being developed (Meiggs 193). One known figure in Athens that increased the culture was Pisistratus an able politician, he was responsible for opening up the city to Ionian philosophical and artistic influences. Also he made the first recording of the Panathenaea, a major collection of religious worship. Also because of other abled politicians and generals such as Aristides, Cimon, and Pericles Athens prospered for 50 years in political, artistic, philosophical and financial spheres (Meiggs 192). However this changed when in 431 the Peloponnesian War began because of Sparta’s uneasiness with the expansion on Athens ( Meiggs 195). The Athenians and

Effect of Art Essay

Traditionally, we have believed that art imitates life. The painter represents what he or she sees by producing a scene on a canvas. The sculptor does the same with bronze or stone. A photographer or film maker does it even more directly. A writer describes life in his or her books. This simple concept is known as mimesis. But some have questioned the one-way nature of mimesis by arguing that art also changes the way we view the world, and in fact, life sometimes imitates art rather than the other way around. The person who first articulated this belief effectively was Oscar Wilde. Speaking about the foggy conditions in London in the late 19th century, he wrote that the way we perceive them changed because of art. Referring to the â€Å"wonderful brown fogs that come creeping down our streets, blurring the gas lamps and turning houses into shadows† he argued that â€Å"poets and painters have taught [people] the loveliness of such effects†. According to Wilde, â€Å"They did not exist till Art had invented them.† And you don’t have to look too far to see anti-mimesis in our lives. To what extent is our outlook on life altered by ideas we read in books? The portrayal of people in films? The styles we see in fashion photography? One great example of this is the TV series The Sopranos, and how it affected both the Mafia in the USA and the FBI. Art’s influence on society: propaganda and censorship Throughout history, it has always been the case that art has the power to change society, especially when new media are used to express an idea. During the First World War, for example, movie cameras were used for the first time to record trench warfare – when the film was shown in cinemas in Britain, audiences ran out screaming. This led to the government censoring further such use of such a powerful medium. And in government censorship, and use of art as propaganda, we see how seriously governments take the effect of art. All of the major dictators of the C20th understood the power of art to influence the population. In Nazi Germany, Hitler set up the Ministry of Propaganda and National Enlightenment. It was headed by Goebbels, who made sure that nothing was published, performed, or exhibited without his approval. When this happens, you know there isn’t going to be a happy ending. And what Goebbels approved, of course, only fit in with Nazi ideology and ideas. In terms of art, this meant no modern and abstract art, certainly nothing hostile to the regime, and nothing that featured images other than the stereotypical blonde-haired, blue eyed set in idyllic pastoral scenes of blissful happiness. In Stalinist Russia, there was also a keen understanding of the power of art. Art portrayed contented peasants, industrious workers, and Stalin himself. In fact, Stalin was shown god-like in many paintings, a phenomenon known as the Cult of Stalin. Just as in Germany, gigantic architectural projects expressed the power of the state. However, there is no doubt that in Russia there were greater artistic achievements than in Nazi Germany. Composers worked with fewer hindrances – as seen in the works by Prokoviev and Shostakovich, and film-makers such as Eisenstein emerged. Art’s influence on society: the trial of Lady Chatterley’s Lover But even under less oppressive governments, the artistic expression of certain ideas can be subject to control. One great example is the book ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ by DH Lawrence, which was deemed offensive on many levels. In this book, Constance Reid, a woman from a progressive liberal middle class family marries a minor member of the aristocracy, Lord Clifford Chatterley, and takes the title ‘Lady Chatterley’. But her husband is injured in the First World War, confined to a wheelchair, and left impotent. Despite this, he becomes a successful writer and businessman. It is more his obsession with financial success and fame rather than any physical difficulties which come between him and his wife, and she begins an affair with their gamekeeper, Oliver Mellors. The largely aristocratic ‘establishment’ of Britain at the time – the book was published in Italy in 1928 – were shocked by many aspects of the book. First, there was the fact that the book was ‘obscene’, in the way it went into explicit detail the affair that took place (see below). Second, there was the fact that a women was breaking her marriage vows, something considered far worse than a man behaving in the same way. Finally, it represented an intimate relationship between a member of the ‘lower’ classes (although it emerges during the story that Mellors is actually well-educated, and became an officer in the army during the First World War) and the ‘upper’ classes, a concept that was totally taboo in Britain at that time. The book was duly banned. But the book was republished by Penguin books in 1960. The attorney general, Reginald Manningham-Buller (dubbed ‘Bullying-Manners’ by the journalist and author Bernard Levin) had to read only four chapters to decide to prosecute Penguin books for publishing it. What annoyed him was not just the content, but the fact that the price of the book meant it was affordable to women and members of the lower classes (remember that only few women worked at this time, and husbands were generally in charge of family finances). The trial was a disaster for Manningham-Buller and the prosecution. They had failed to find any experts to support their case, in stark contrast to Penguin’s defence team, which had brought in authors, journalists, academics, and even members of the clergy to defend the book. Manningham-Buller and his team had very little idea of what Lawrence had been trying to express in his book, regularly being caught out by the superior insight of the witnesses they were trying to catch out. And although they tried to shock the jury – in his opening speech, Manningham-Buller announced: â€Å"The word ‘fuck’ or ‘fucking’ appears no less than 30 times . . . ‘Cunt’ 14 times; ‘balls’ 13 times; ‘shit’ and ‘arse’ six times apiece; ‘cock’ four times; ‘piss’ three times, and so on.† – they were unable to prove that the book would have a negative influence on the readers it was aimed at. According to the Guardian: No other jury verdict in British history has had such a deep social impact. Over the next three months Penguin sold 3m copies of the book – an example of what many years later was described as â€Å"the Spycatcher effect†, by which the attempt to suppress a book through unsuccessful litigation serves only to promote huge sales. The jury – that iconic representative of democratic society – had given its imprimatur to ending the taboo on sexual discussion in art and entertainment. Within a few years the stifling censorship of the theatre by the lord chamberlain had been abolished, and a gritty realism emerged in British cinema and drama. (Saturday Night and Sunday Morning came out at the same time as the unexpurgated Lady Chatterley, and very soon Peter Finch was commenting on Glenda Jackson’s â€Å"tired old tits† in Sunday Bloody Sunday and Ken Tynan said the first â€Å"fuck† on the BBC.) Homosexuality was decriminalised, abortions were available on reasonable demand, and in order to obtain a divorce it was unnecessary to prove that a spouse had committed the â€Å"matrimonial crime† of adultery. Judges no longer put on black caps to sentence prisoners to hang by the neck until dead. Can we say, though, that it was art in this case that changed society, or was it an interaction between human sciences (ie, the law) and the arts (the book) that led to change? This is from the same Guardian article: †¦the message of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, half a century after the trial, is that literature in itself does no harm at all. The damage that gets attributed to books – and to plays and movies and cartoons – is caused by the actions of people who try to suppress them.