Thursday, October 31, 2019

CIS212 U3 Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CIS212 U3 Discussion - Essay Example t RBAC has ease of management while DAC is complicated since each new user has to go through all the details the user needs access to and add them to the list. Authentication provides a way of identifying a user by having them enter a valid username and password before access is granted. If the identifications do not match, authentication fails hence permission is denied to access the information. Its purpose is to prevent unauthorized users to access information that they are not entitled to access. Certificates provide secure communications across untrusted of vulnerable networks. They are important in securing wireless local area networks. One of the advantages of using certificates is that it ensures that any data sent online is read by only the intended recipients. This is because for that data to reach the recipients, it might have to pass through multiple computers. It also improves customer’s trust. One of the disadvantages of using certificates is that it makes the connections to slow down. Getting certificates for a business can be expensive since the service providers have to pay for its maintenances; therefore it might b e viable for small scale

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Product Costing - Traditional Methods and Activity Based Costing case Essay

Product Costing - Traditional Methods and Activity Based Costing case assignment 5 accounting - Essay Example The proposed solution will prove to be very useful for the agricultural enterprises which mainly aim at employing management accounting techniques (Hicks). Considering the fact that the total ownership is focused on a particular crop which grows for a certain amount of time in a year, it is essential that the cost and profit centres are set up as they would provide the couple with a chance to make more accurate costing as well as improved pricing. This will also help the couple improve the profitability of the farms as well as ensure better management and more informed decision making for the farm. On the whole this will lead to more effective and efficient management of the farm. It is also important to note that the schematic will provide a chance for the developer to all the activities and also recognise the drivers which can be used effectively as the input values for the activity based costing systems. It is also important to note that including the cost and profit centres solutions will prove to be very beneficial for the company and will also permit the company to very effectively and accurately conduct the costing for the produces. Also the financial statements that have been provided are very helpful and beneficial for the farm to develop and design the management accounting systems and all reports effectively and efficiently. Since the proposed scheme of the relationship between the profit and cost centres are complex, it is essential to note that the possible scheme will prove to be very effective and will also be more beneficial than the basic provides (Beaulieu and Lakra). The fact that the cost centres provide support and assistance to each other has not been considered in the scheme and this leads to unrealistic solution. In a real world scenario, the cost centres will provide support and back up to each other and also in some cases to the profit centres. According to Business Dictionary Activity Based Costing, â€Å"Cost accounting approach

Sunday, October 27, 2019

18th Century Spanish America and Race

18th Century Spanish America and Race Assess the role of the State of Spanish America in the formation of ideas about human differences prior to the 18th century. The formation of ideas about human difference has been contingent upon both fluid and persistent socio-political, historical and economic forces since globalisation arguably began with the age of discovery in the 1400’s, arguably spear-headed by the Spanish empire. This is perhaps most perceptible in the key signifiers of human social distinction. Concepts such as ‘race’ and ‘ethnicity’ appear to be static, objective human categorisations; yet, when subjected to a process of historical and geo-political scrutiny, each proves to be a subjective and poignant signifier, even a product of a process of social and historical construction and part of the production of knowledge.[1] The historical phenomenon of the Spanish State serves as an exemplar to demonstrate a convergence of ideological paradigms which shaped notions of human difference, underscoring this central contention that ideas of human difference are generated within a specific historical milie u, often involving the confrontation of two or more ethno-cultural groups. It is crucial to acknowledge that Spain’s dominance of Africa from the 15th century and parallel conquest of Latin America was enacted with the conscious and unconscious appropriation of Eurocentric ideals which emphasised European supremacy and assumed European cultural, theological and economic superiority over Amerindians. The seeds of such national superiority have been traced to Biblical delineations of difference,[2] with its demarcation of blessed and cursed progeny, reinforced historically by medieval theological thought which associated blackness with the devil and sin, while whiteness was aligned with purity and righteousness. The widely accepted European medieval theory of ‘monogenism’, derived from the Biblical teaching of a common ancestry and family tree concept of origins, gave impetus to the Spanish State’s self identity.[3] This widely accepted view within medieval Europe has been largely discredited in more recent centuries, dismissing the notion of a common human genesis.[4] The Iberian Peninsula had left a potent legacy and precedent at the conclusion of the medieval period, with Spain’s stark delineation and unyielding destruction of human difference. The pronounced ethnic diversity on the peninsula in the form of Jewish and Muslim migrants from throughout Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa, exacted a Spanish definition which underlined difference rather than similarity, and in fixating upon difference, brought the reflex action of the decimation of such diversity, through a systematic, historic and prolonged practice of massacre, segregation, conversion, inquisition and expulsion.[5] Such unenlightened, barbaric and medieval practices, one may argue, left their mark on the Spanish psyche, readily appropriated by the American Spanish state, as it imported and imposed its imperialistic, paternalistic and sanctimonious practices, upon a rich diversity of Amerindian ethnic societies. This precursor to the Spanish American state illuminates the historical consciousness of the earlier Spanish rule in Europe, revealing the cultural hegemonic assumptions and practices the Spanish state appropriated from its 14th and 15th century European roots.[6] The early 20th century pejorative branding of pre-eighteenth century Spain as the ‘black legend’ evokes â€Å"Spain’s colonial brutality in the Americas during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.† [7] Ironically, Spain drew condemnation from other European nations for such action, deemed to be an ignorant, superstitious and fanatical nation, incapable of entering modernity.[8] Spain’s European condemners had been equally culpable in sub-Saharan Africa, in stimulating the African slave trade. By casting Spain as the antithetical demon, England, France and northern Europe masked their own international sins in the process. This brief observation illustrates one process that shaped human ideas about human difference, namely, intra-cultural ignorance and an insular societal gaze which repeatedly reinforced the values, practices and beliefs of Spain’s own cultural epicentre, and in the process, defined other ethnicities by their differences an d their otherness. Moreover, the Spanish American state constructed a false social hierarchy based upon religious assumptions which condemned humans living a more unencumbered and simple existence initially beyond the grasp of modern commerce and technological innovation. Furthermore, Spain’s Eurocentrism was buttressed by the prevailing ‘Latinising’ philosophy of Emmanuel Kant, whose notions of human barbarism, cast Amerindians of the New World as intrinsically inferior beings, bereft of the light of civilised knowledge and cultural sensibilities. Kant allegedly appropriated the formative Spanish Catholic writer â€Å"Las Cassas (and his) sixteenth century prescriptions about barbarians.† [9] The black legend’s origins are attributed by Greer to the three events including â€Å"the expulsion of Jews and Moors from the Iberian Peninsula; the so called discovery of America and domination and exploitation of African and Indian slaves; and the privileged position in which Christianity found itself.†[10] Insight into the formulation of ideas concerning human difference derived from the American Spanish state are noted in revisionist views of the Black Legend, which credits Spain with the dubious honour of â€Å"commodifying labour needed for colonial expansion in the Americasinstead of (Spanish) capitalism receiving kudos for stimulating the industrial revolution.†[11] Greer’s assertion that the burgeoning concept of â€Å"race emerged in Spain from the opportunistic wealth seeker, (an individualistic cause not considered in eastern empires such as the Chinese of Ottomans), (inspiring) Spanish conquistadors and other northern European colonists,† [12] highlights the geo-political nature of constructions of human difference. Indeed, Las Cassas’s classifications of the barbarian (emanating from the sixteenth century) illustrate the artificial construction of otherness and human difference, informing the way the Spanish American state approached Amerindian et hnic groups and the African slaves. Politically motivated criteria to confer barbarian status and thereby remove human dignity, included a focus upon the absence of conventional religion, permitting a thrust of colonialism and imperialism to be sanitised as the Indians of the new World receiving civilisation, in fact a falsely ennobling enterprise. Scholars such as Greer have also drawn attention to the Spanish state’s conference of Las Cassas’ criterion of the Latinate requirement of a civilised society, a cultural construct which excluded the Americas from civility and vindicated Spain’s imposition, in effect a dangerous reinvigoration of the â€Å"humanist renaissance recovery of Roman Imperial power†. [13] Furthermore, Jesuit historian Juan de Mariana from the 1600’s drew attention to the concept of the diminution of cultural breeding through inter-racial breeding, another social construct in itself, with little basis in biological fact. ‘Inter-mixing and bastardisation†™ as it was pejoratively known, â€Å"register a religio-ethnic racism† when the assumed benefit of full assimilation to the pariah culture failed to occur. [14] This matter of the racial formulations has been extensively studied by Barth. [15] This scholar contends that ethnic identity is maintained by â€Å"repeatedly redefining social boundaries, which may or may not coincide with geographic boundaries†[16], and that by â€Å"dichotomising others as strangers or members of another ethnic group, a limitation of shared understandings (is imposed, nurturing) differences in criteria for judgement of value and performance.† [17] In relation to the American Spanish state, while the mindset instigating notions of human difference sprang from European ideologies of capitalism, conquest and misplaced notions of civilisation, the interface featuring Spanish ethnicities in the New World, allowed Spanish identity and membership, and its Amerindian corollary, to â€Å"not based upon a once off recruitment process†,[18] but rather find recurring validation and expression. As the politically and economically superior entity, the Span ish state’s view of itself was reinforced as a result of its confrontation with African and Amerindian ethnicities, while conversely, African or Amerindian ethnic groups’ sense of themselves was retained, yet their subjugation at the hand of the European Spanish super power state prior to the 18th century wars of independence, meant their ethnic expression was muted and their religious and social practices were sidelined by Spanish hegemonic insistence. Some have asserted that the Spanish state’s supremacy over the American Indians was due to â€Å"their own theory of the relativity of human social behaviour.† [19] Furthermore, the Spanish scholastics allegedly appropriated Aristotelian notions of the natural man, incapable of moral awareness and superimposed this paradigm upon the American Indian.[20] Aristotelian ideologies of the theory of natural slavery, conveniently served the imperial cause of sixteenth century Spain in the New World. The â€Å"concept of natural man – someone who had chosen to live outside the human community, thereby causing themselves to be less human and impoverished†¦Ã¢â‚¬ [21] certainly reveals a pre-existing cultural lens, which dictates what one observes while surrounded by a different culture to one’s own and what one identifies with. It is now quite self-evident that many aspects of another ethnic group and their culture remain unnoticed, as one is relatively bound by the parameters of one’s own cultural limitations and ways of understanding the world.[22] Recent scholars have helpfully turned their attention to the factors which cause new definitions of ethnicity to emerge, stabilise and be transformed.[23] The ultimate, yet hard won Amerindian independence from the dictates of the Spanish state was a signifier that inter-cultural confrontation clarified both geographic and ethnic boundaries, and in spite of the composite cultural identity nullification, the vestiges of ethnic memory were preserved, permitting a rebuilding of Amerindian cultural practices not derived from Europe. Bibliography Barth, F. (1969), Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organisation of Culture Difference, Scandinavian University Books, London. Greer, M.R.; Mignolo, W.D. and Quilligan, M. (2007) Race in the Middle Ages, chapter 4 in Rereading the Black Legend: The Discourses of Religious and Racial Difference in the Renaissance Empires University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Pagden, A. (1982), The Fall of Natural Man: The American Indian and the Origins of Comparative Ethnology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Wade, P. (1997) Race and Ethnicity in Latin America, Pluto Press, London. Wimmer, A. (2008), The Making and Unmaking of Ethnic Boundaries: A Multilevel Process Theory, AJS Volume 113 Number 4 (January 2008): 970–1022 Footnotes [1] Wade 1997:5 [2] Wade 1997:10 [3] Wade 1997: 7 [4] Ibid ,7 [5] Greer et al 2007: 75 [6] Ibid [7] Greer et al 2007:1 [8] Ibid [9] Greer 2007:1 [10] Greer 2007:2 [11] Greer 2007:3 [12] ibid [13] Greer 2007:7 [14] Greer 2007:13 [15] Barth 1969. [16] Barth 1969:15 [17] Ibid [18] Ibid 15 [19] Pagden 1982: 3 [20] Pagden 1982:3 [21] Pagden 1982: 6 [22] Ibid 4-5 [23] Wimmer :2008 1011

Friday, October 25, 2019

Analytical Chemistry :: essays research papers

Analytical Chemistry   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Analytical Chemistry is the branch of chemistry principally concerned with determining the chemical composition of materials, which may be solids, liquids, gases, pure elements, compounds, or complex mixtures. In addition, chemical analysis can characterize materials but determining their molecular structures and measuring such physical properties as pH, color, and solubility. Wet analysis involves the studying of substances that have been submerged in a solution and microanalysis uses substances in very small amounts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Qualitative chemical analysis is used to detect and identify one or more constituents of a sample. This process involves a wide variety of tests. Ideally, the tests should be simple, direct, and easily performed with available instruments and chemicals. Test results may be an instrument reading, and observation of a physical property, or a chemical reaction. Reactions used in qualitative analysis may attempt to cause a characteristic color, odor, precipitate, or gas appear. Identification of an unknown substance is accomplished when a known one is found with identical properties. If none is found, the uknown substance must be a newly identified chemical. Tests should not use up excessive amounts of a material to be identified. Most chemical methods of qualitative analysis require a very small amount of the sample. Advance instrumental techniques often use less than one millionth of a gram. An example of this is mass spectrometry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quantitative chemical analysis is used to determine the amounts of constituents. Most work in analytical chemistry is quantitative. It is also the most difficult. In principle the analysis is simple. One measures the amount of sample. In practice, however, the analysis is often complicated by interferences among sample constituents and chemical separations are necessary to isolate tthe analyte or remove interfering constituents.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The choice of method depends on a number of factors: Speed, Cost, Accuracy, Convenience, Available equipment, Number of samples, Size of sample, Nature of sample, and Expected concentration. Because these factors are interrelated any final choice of analytical method involves compromises and it is impossible to specify a single best method to carry out a given analysis in all laboratories under all conditions. Since analyses are carried out under small amounts one must be careful when dealing with heterogeneous materials. Carefullly designed sampling techniques must be used to obtan representative samples.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Preparing solid samples for analysis usually involves grinding to reduce particle size and ensure homogeneity and drying. Solid samples are weighed using an accurate analytical balance. Liquid or gaseous samples are measureed by volume using accurately calibrated glassware or flowmeters. Many, but not all, analyses are carried out on solutions of the sample. Solid samples that are insoluble in water must be treated chemically to dissolve them without any

Thursday, October 24, 2019

African Americans in the Reconstruction Era Essay

The Reconstruction era was put into effect by Congress in 1866 and lasted until 1877. Reconstruction was aimed at reorganizing the Southern states after the Civil War. The reconstruction plan granted the means for readmitting the southern states into the Union, and tried to come up with the methods by which whites and blacks could live together in a non-slave society. America’s position as a country was established on principles of freedom but those beliefs were weakened by slavery. At the end of the Civil War, many blacks felt that they were entitled to start collecting the benefits that had been denied for so many years. Being able to vote, own land and have a voice in political affairs were all goals that they believed were reachable. The white, however, saw reconstruction as an embarrassing, revengeful annoyance and did not welcome it. Reconstruction was meant to give the blacks a chance for a new and better life. Many of the African Americans stayed with their old masters after being freed, while others left in search of opportunities through education and land ownership. The Southern white conservatives did not want blacks to own property, have political power, or have the right to vote in elections. In addition, the whites strongly believed that they were superior, and they worked hard to make sure legal limitations were in place to prevent the blacks from gaining any type of equality or power. President Johnson’s reconstruction plan included the black codes, which stated that the African-Americans were required to have a curfew and carry identification on their persons at all time. These regulations also bound the ‘freedmen’ to their plantations. The freed slaves merely wanted the opportunity to continue the family-based shared work methods contrary to having to accept the individual piecework structure. Former slaves wanted to be able to continue to live on the land their ancestors had farmed. African american’s lives were improved in many ways during the era of Reconstruction; one way their lives were enhanced was the establishment of the Freedmen’s Bureau. The Freedmen’s Bureau was an organization developed by Congress that assisted African-Americans to acquire an education and provided necessities of life such as food and clothing. It was important for African-Americans to become educated, because it would prevent them from being dominated by white supremacists and helped them obtain well-suited jobs. During the years after the war, white teachers who were mostly from the North, missionary organizations, churches and schools worked hard to give the emancipated population the opportunity to learn. Former slaves of every age took advantage of the opportunity to become literate. Grandfathers and their grandchildren sat together in classrooms seeking to obtain the tools of k to gain their freedom. During Reconstruction, blacks were often seen not heard. It was usually the white man’s word over the black man’s word. Even if there was a crowd of people that saw what happened, unless they were black, the people sided with the white man. However, when the situation involved a white man getting hurt or killed for supporting the black community, that’s when the government stepped in to put an end to it thus leading to the Civil R A of 1875. Many regulations were passed to help blacks during this period. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 prohibited segregation in public facilities and various government amendments, which gave African-Americans even more guaranteed rights. With government guidelines, the newly dubbed freedmen were still discriminated against by most people and were soon to be segregated once again under government decisions. The Reconstruction, although short-lived, showed the first real attempts of inclusive freedom for African-Americans. Gains were taking place, for instance, in citizenship, voting, education and politics. Consequently, the failure of Johnson’s reconstruction caused the Congress to propose its own plan, the 14th Amendment. The Amendment was designed to prohibit state governments from restricting the rights of former slaves after the Civil War. However, it had been used to grant all the personal liberties and rights conveyed in the Bill of Rights. Among other things, this prohibited ex-Confederate leaders from holding political office, and also gave the freedmen their citizenship. The rejection of the 14th Amendment paved the way for the Reconstruction Act of 1867; this dismantled all Southern governments and launched military control over the South. The Reconstruction Act guaranteed freedmen the right to vote under new state constitutions and required the Southern states to approve the 14th A With the addition of African American votes in the southern elections and the help of â€Å"Carpet  Baggers† and â€Å"Scalawags,† the Republican Party gained almost complete control over the South. Throughout this time, the ranking of freedman was significantly increased, and by 1868; many state legislatures had African American delegates. All of America, as well as the South, had to be rebuilt, and, despite the South’s hostile resistance, African-Americans were slowly and gradually becoming part of this nation. The long-awaited citizenship for Blacks was confirmed in 1868, by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. By 1870, the 15th Amendment had been added to the Constitution, which gave blacks the right to vote. The 15th Amendment forbids the states from denying the right to vote to any person on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Whites both wealthy and poverty-stricken were ruthlessly and completely against the emancipation. The poor people feared the competition in the labor force, and the rich encouraged an attitude to keeping a strong separation in the blacks and the whites. In the early years after the Reconstruction started, there was some violence towards blacks. As the years went on the violence increased, and Terrorist groups were formed. One such group known as the Ku Klux Klan better known as the KKK, surfaced to torment and commit violent acts against blacks and strong white Republicans. Because of the ratification of the 13th Amendment ending slavery in the south, the KKK emerged with a cause that has yet to be put to rest†¦the rise of white power. The KKK was formed mostly to restore slavery to America and to reinstate the Caucasian race as the most superior race in the world. A former Confederate general and Freemason, Nathan Bedford Forrest, founded the KKK in 1866 because Negroes were being allowed to enter the brotherhood of freemasonry. He held this office while he was simultaneously Sovereign Grand Commander of Scottish rite, Freemasons, and Southern Jurisdiction. Members of the KKK were very violent and used harsh actions to get their point across, but their actions were supported by their strong belief in their religion and the culture in which they were brought up in. The KKK did things based on what they believed according to their culture and how they were raised; Which, at that period of time made them extremists. Although slavery was abolished, racism was not. Because the government started recognizing African-Americans as more than just slaves, the KKK decided they would have to take matters into their own hands. They began their protest by lynching, taring and feathering, whipping, beating, and killing African-Americans in the south. Since Blacks had been given rights, the KKK felt it was their duty to prevent the former slaves from using them. Racist Groups such as the KKK operated mainly in the South; however, discrimination against the African Americans was also an issue of a smaller degree in northern cities. The KKK would destroy any black polling booth and shoot, intimidate, and kill any black person trying to vote; especially in Mississippi. KKK members went on â€Å"night rides. † On â€Å"night rides,† the KKK members dressed in white robes and went to houses belonging to empowered blacks and used threats toward family and loved ones to instill fear into their hearts has a means of control. The KKK would threaten these blacks with what would happen if they voted or took positions of power. At the end of the 19th century and the Reconstruction era, many of the whites used violent behavior to scare the African-Americans from white neighborhoods. The Whites organized protective associations, so homes in white neighborhoods could never be sold to a black man. This was also very noticeable in the makeup of many of the northern cities; these cities had well-known residential neighborhoods for African Americans. In conclusion, during this time, a country that was so well-known for its freedom, opposed in large the very definition of the word. After the Civil War, America saw a great many changes regarding civil rights and black suffrage. Many laws were passed to give African Americans more rights. Since the Reconstruction era, we as a country have come a long way. With the utilization of great leadership like Lincoln, education and recognizing our shared humanity, we could decrease the gap of equality.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Is It Art Essay

What is art? Every person has an individual response to an artwork which is determined through the collaboration between an individual and a specific artwork. If it contributes to your experience, as a consequence being symbolic of something, then it is probably art for you. It is therefore very problematic in order to supply a definition that comprises the whole world’s thoughts and feelings. Some believe that anything and everything in the world is art, while others believe that it takes aptitude, creativity, and an imagination to produce true art. Art can be a reflection of one’s idea brought into the world through painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, architecture, and many other ways. Artworks are determined and different according to an individual’s perceptions, beliefs, and ideas. To begin to decide what we like or dislike depends upon the subject matter of the work what it depicts and its contents, what the subject matter means, symbolizes, or radically opposes. Taking a trip in Washington, D. C. with my Uncle to Maya Lin’s Vietnam Memorial is an example of conflicting art. Many people viewed the monument as an insult to the memory of the very soldiers to whom it was supposed to pay honor. Depending upon an individual’s perspective, to be able to walk up out of the gentle slope out of the V, symbolizes for many the process of healing. The names chiseled in the wall, inflicts serious emotional feelings when you find the name of a loved one or a friend. Depending on how the light hits the polished granite it reflects first your own image back at you, as if to say that your life is what these names fought for. Just the sheer meaning of the fight for our freedom, lost lives there and psychologically even after returning state side, all for another’s life is symbolic art. Similarly is the lighted frog mosaic art lamp my mother purchased during a mother daughter scavenger hunt. At first sight it could be construed as the ugliest thing. Agreeing first glance or look it is ugly, does not fit, or have a particular purpose. Now, with second sight, added to the fact of mother passing, that same mosaic lighted lamp is the most beautiful piece of art. The symbolic emotional feelings of looking at the intertwined pieces of light blue pieces of glass at the base of the frog depict the water of its freedom. The different shades of green glass pieces of the frog make it representational. The black molding holding the glass pieces together give continuity, shape, and naturalistic features to the lamp, thus, creating the illusion that it is real. Lively color lastly conveyed to the interior of your home imparts the feeling of joy and love evoked with exceptional time spent between mother and child is symbolic of family love. Another art that is interpreted as representational would be tattoos. The shear pain from the needle into your body is permanent making it a work of art. The one drawn by their owner with underlying meaning can be the most symbolic than one drawn but the actual tattooist. To wear an angel on your skin can convey many underlying significances, yet to have a faceless angel portrays a deep meaning. Everyday millions of people come in contact with angels, whether it is a smile, kind word, motivation, helping hand, prayer, or assisting force in an individual’s daily life. Then to have the Chinese letters of eternal faith under that faceless angel can have various values. This is symbolic of having eternal faith that the world is surrounded by everyday angels forever. After all this said in conclusion I can say that art is surely not seen with open eyes, but with open minds. Minds open for absorption of painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, architecture, and many other ways. From the examples above, I can also say that art is also an act of giving a small part of you in order to express through the art piece. The portrait of Mona Lisa is not only a portrait of a woman is also a portrait of Leonardo’s need to express him through color, composition, and symbolic feelings of tranquility. When we are seeing the subject matter, we are not staring just a landscape, sculpture, or portrait; we are observing the artist’s needs and emotions reflected by the needs of society for art. Art can be symbolic whether it is representational, abstract, or nonobjective.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

KKK

KKK Piloted by the thoughts of a world with only one superior race, the KKK often uses violence and moves over the law to promote their cause. They have been in the darkness for over one hundred and thirty years and continue to increase in America's society today.The Klan began during the reform period after the civil war in the Southern United States. The southern people had suffered greatly from the effects of the war. Many of them lost their homes and plantations. The people needed a release from the sorrow of everyday life.In 1865, six men from a small town in Tennessee began what has grown to be the largest and most feared "hate group" in the country. The men decided to make a club to help release the stress of the times. The men were all poor and could not afford to make gowns or costumes for the group, so they decided to use linens.Cartoon from 1868 ("'Tis but a change of banners -...They wore the linens and put pillowcases on their heads. They also draped the linen over the horse s they rode. In the beginning, the men wanted to do nothing more than play pranks on people. The Klan members soon realized what they could do with the fear tactics they placed on the towns-people.Word spread across the South about these masked men. Many people loved the idea and wanted to be involved; the Klan quickly grew. A leader was soon needed to control the large group. Their first choice was Southern General Robert E. Lee; he became very ill and could not continue the position. Their next choice was a man named Nathan Bedford Forrest. (www. KuKluxKlan.org/history2.html) Forrest, although he was not as well known as General Lee, was seen as a good leader. He was born in Mississippi and...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Lexicology - Definition and Examples

Lexicology s Lexicology is the branch of linguistics that studies the stock of words (the lexicon) in a given language. Adjective: lexicological. Etymology From the Greek lexico- -logy, word study Lexicology and Syntax Lexicology deals not only with simple words in all their aspects but also with complex and compound words, the meaningful units of language. Since these units must be analyzed in respect of both their form and their meaning, lexicology relies on information derived from morphology, the study of the forms of words and their components, and semantics, the study of their meanings. A third field of particular interest in lexicological studies is etymology, the study of the origins of words. However, lexicology must not be confused with lexicography, the writing or compilation of dictionaries, which is a special technique rather than a level of language studies ...The essential difference between syntax and lexicology is that the former deals with the general facts of language and the latter with special aspects. . . . Syntax is general because it deals with rules and regularities that apply to classes of words as a whole, whereas lexicology is particular because it is concerned with the way individual words operate and affect other words in the same context. Although borderline cases do exist in both lexicology and syntax, e.g., in the case of grammatical or function words, the distinction between the two levels is fairly clear.  (Howard Jackson and Etienne Zà © Amvela, Words, Meaning, and Vocabulary: An Introduction to Modern English Lexicology. Continuum, 2007) Content Words and Function Words [T]eachers of English have customarily distinguished between content words, like snow and mountain, and function words, like it and on and of and the ...  Lexicology is the study of content words or lexical items.  (M.A.K. Halliday et al., Lexicology and Corpus Linguistics. Continuum, 2004) Lexicology and Grammar Both grammar and lexicology involve us in an indefinitely large number of superficially different units. In the case of grammar these are phrases, clauses, and sentences; in the case of lexicology the units are words, or more precisely . . . lexical items. It is typical of grammar to make general and abstract statements about the units concerned, showing a common construction despite formal differences. It is typical of lexicology to make specific statements about individual units. In consequence, while the grammar of a language is best handled in chapters devoted to different types of construction, it is normal to deal with the lexicon of a language in an alphabetical dictionary, each entry devoted to a different lexical item.  (Randolph Quirk et al., A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, 2nd ed. Longman, 1985) Lexicology and Phonology [I]t may be thought at first sight that phonology does not interact with lexicology in any significant manner. But a close analysis will reveal that, in many cases, the difference between two otherwise identical lexical items can be reduced to a difference at the level of phonology. Compare for example the pair of words toy and boy, feet and fit, pill and pin. They differ only in one sound unit (the position of which has been [italicized] in each word) and yet the difference has serious consequences at the level of lexicology.  (Etienne Zà © Amvela, Lexicography and Lexicology. Routledge Encyclopedia of Language Teaching and Learning, ed. by Michaà «l Byram. Routledge, 2000) Pronunciation: lek-se-KAH-le-gee

Saturday, October 19, 2019

The Good and the Bad: How to Handle Early Decision News

As the fall semester of your senior year of high school comes to a close, colleges start to send out their initial round of admissions decisions. It is a bit early for regular admissions decisions, but colleges will definitely be sending out decisions to applicants who applied for Early Decision or Early Action. If you haven’t applied to a school under that option, take a breath. You won’t be hearing back for another few months. If you did, it’s time for your first round of admission decisions! By this point in the semester, you may be experiencing a great amount of stress and anxiety as you wait to hear back from the colleges you applied to as an ED/EA applicant while also juggling extracurriculars and heading towards final exams. We at recognize this and want to help you get through this trying time. Here is a helpful guide to help you deal with admissions anxiety and what to do if you’ve already heard from schools. We’ll take each possible scenario you could be going through right now as an Early Decision or Early Action applicant and give you our best advice on how to get through it. If you haven’t received your decision letter/email yet, that is perfectly normal. Sometimes, due to a high volume of applicants or other reasons that students cannot possibly predict, colleges wait until the end of a semester or even later to release their decisions to Early Decision applicants. Whether you receive your decision sooner or later has no indication of whether you have been accepted to the college or not. For some more reassurance, see Early Action: What to Do After the EA/ED Deadline? However, you ought to double check and make sure that you haven’t received the admissions letter or email already! Check your email junk folder, your mailbox, or the online application portal for the university you applied to in order to make sure that you haven’t accidentally missed the notification. The radio silence you are hearing from colleges right now is probably deafening. If the anxiety of not receiving a decision is really bugging you, try these things to calm yourself down: If your friends have already received their early decision letters from other colleges, congratulate them (or console them if they did not receive the news they were hoping for) and then tune them out. There is no need to stress yourself out further by comparing yourself to your friends. We at know it’s all too easy to stress yourself out by thinking, â€Å"My friend got their letter! How come I haven’t gotten mine?†, so try your best to avoid those thoughts. To help you interact with your peers during this time, read about How to Talk To Your Classmates About College. It’s your senior year of high school! You have far more fun things to do then sit around stressing about college applications. You should make an effort to participate in school activities and attend events like football games, dances and formals, and other fun activities. This will probably be your last chance to experience these things, and it’ll be a nice distraction from college applications. Interested in getting expert help in every part of the application process? Check out ’s College Application Guidance Program . We’ll pair you with your own personal admissions specialist that will guide you through a comprehensive step-by-step process that will help you craft applications that give you the best chance of getting accepted. We can help you find the right schools to apply to based on your profile, craft perfect college essays, and prepare extensively for your interviews.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Gender Roles Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gender Roles - Research Paper Example An important aspect of socialization is teaching children about the significance of gender roles and raising them in accordance with the acceptable norms and principles of a society. Gender roles have pivotal and ingrained importance in the structure of a society. For instance, in most societies, men are expected to acquire the role of a bread winner of the family and tackle tough household chores such as performing necessary yard work and tinkering cars. On the other hand, their female counterparts are expected to adopt the roles of being a mother, handle household chores, and look after their husbands. In accordance with Eagly’s social role theory, the occurrence of gender differences is a direct result of the fact that since childhood, men and women are guided by different role expectations. Gender roles are molded and influenced by a range of factors including social and biological factors. In simple terms, gender roles are a cumulative result of numerous factors (Weiten e t al. 2012). Environmental and Social Factors The social construction of gender roles is heavily guided by what a society considers as gender appropriate and inappropriate behavior. The appropriate behavioral characteristics are instilled in young individuals by a series of patient rewards and punishments. The power of reward and punishment shapes gender role and are considered as the key processes in operant conditioning. â€Å"Gender appropriate behavior† is reinforced by parents, teachers and peers while gender inappropriate behavior is eliminated by persistent punishments. In school and at home, boys are often told that â€Å"big boys don’t cry† whenever hurt themselves and if this inhibits their crying, they are rewarded with powerful reinforcements such as a pat on their backs or a smile. The tendency of boys to â€Å"act like a man† and suppress emotional displays is strengthened by a consistent pattern of similar reinforcements. Observational lear ning or imitation constitutes an important way for younger children to learn gender appropriate roles. Younger children imitate the behavior of an older sibling or parents to modify their own behavior accordingly. The social cognitive theory states that individuals who are powerful and nurturant are more likely to be imitated by younger children. During early childhood years, children imitate both genders but they are more likely to imitate individuals that are of the same sex. For this reason, girls are more likely to imitate their mothers and adopt feminine characteristics such as empathy, compassion, and nurturing. Furthermore, by imitating their mothers young girls start playing with toy stoves and doll houses. On the other hand, young boys follow in the footsteps of their fathers and by imitating masculine behavior, they prefer to play with miniature trucks and tool kits. In case of very young individuals, same gender peers serve as more influential models than parents. The ado ption of gender roles begins very early in the life of an individual. In a society, people are labeled and expected to have gender appropriate characteristics which plays an important role in the determination of appropriate gender roles. In accordance with a recent study, children start utilizing gender labels as soon they turn 19 months old. Therefore, the perception of gender labels coupled with the processes of reward and pun

What factors should be considered by researchers when defining the Essay

What factors should be considered by researchers when defining the data required for their research;using two empirical studies - Essay Example duct the research in the best way to ensure that the investigated research question leads to data findings that contribute to the knowledge in the investigated field. Basing on two empirical studies, this paper therefore, investigates various factors, which must be considered by researchers in their definition of data that is required for their research. The reference point in explaining the facts of this essay bases on two empirical studies conducted in different areas. One study was conducted in Vietnam among injection drug users in two districts, to compare the prevalence of HIV and other associated risks among the drug users in the two different districts (Bergenstrom et al, 2008). Another study was conducted in the USA, involving different HVC treatment programs for HVC positive clients. This study however, studied two categories of these treatment programs, including the HVC drug free programs and the HVC MMTPs programs (Astone-Twerell et al, 2006). The two studies were conducted for different reasons, thus, the difference in their objectives. The study among the injection drug users in Vietnam was conducted with the purpose of establishing the prevalence of drug overdose in the region, including the main reasons behind this phenomenon. The additional voluntary HIV testing was aimed at helping to get more information about the relationship between drug use, age, and HIV prevalence. Therefore, the study samples were studied differently to establish and assess the prevalence rate, as well as the characteristics that are associated with non-fatal drug overdose among the injection drug users in the two districts of North Vietnam (Bergenstrom et al, 2008). On the other hand, the second study aimed at establishing the range of Hepatitis C Virus services, which are provided to HVC positive clients by treatment programs. In both studies, the research was based on drug use and the relationship with a specific disease. While the Vietnam study compares the injection

Technology and Social Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Technology and Social Engineering - Essay Example The Roman empire in the ancient world built the highly sophisticated waterway system known as large aqueducts that carried water for hundreds of miles, introduced advanced sewer systems, invented durable cement, and constructed concrete structures. Other human problems related to improved communication, transportation, information transmission, mechanization, medicine, etc have been solved with the help of technology in the last two centuries through various inventions (Gupta, 2007). Technological innovations are related to philosophy’s aspects of values and ethics. Thus, planned and controlled technologies though regulated by laws are the worst offenders in creating environmental degradation. â€Å"A close survey of global problems indicates that neither science nor technology alone has the answer† (Gupta, 2007, p.383) to solve some major human problems. An example is that technology cannot create a species which has become extinct due to the decline in biodiversity. The main crises include destructive organizational, political and technological patterns; the breakdown in the human environment, the depletion of non-renewable resources such as fossil fuel, and other problems. Therefore, human behavior has to be improved, and relevant courts and controls should be applied to maintain checks and balances on the development of new technology and in its implementation (Chorafas, 2011). Social engineering is the organizing and â€Å"channelling of environmental and social forces to create a high probability that effective social action will occur† (Podgorecki, Alexander & Shields, 1996, p.1). It denotes the development of processes in which human beings serve as raw materials. In the twentieth century, grand plans of social engineering projects have proved to be costly and failures, as seen in the utopian experiments using violent measures to break the will of the people. On a smaller scale are interventions for

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Architectural Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Architectural Design - Essay Example His designs, are Based on a predilection towards a polemical flow of opposition, interaction, and redefinition. The grid was the organizing principle of Eisenman's earlier work, a series of rectilinear box-like houses in which he investigated and articulated a variety of theoretical ideas, including the notion of deep structure, a proposition that there is a universal, underlying ordering device that is the natural and logical generator of a design. His theories on architecture pursue the emancipation and autonomy of the discipline and his work represents a continued attempt to liberate form from all meaning, a struggle that is at times difficult to understand. Eisenman focuses on liberating architectural form. The House II is a single family house with a flat roof and a having a form of a cube. House II of 10 numbered houses, designed for the family of Princeton professor Richard Falk, was constructed between 1960-1970 in Hardwick, Connecticut as the second house in a series of structures conceived on the basis of a square plan. For this house, Eisenman began to investigate a set of abstract formal propositions as a possible condition of an underlying structure and their initial transformations into a specific environment. Using all rectangular elements, a series of lines, planes, and volumes converge to create a complex spatial arrangement, resulting into a design proposal that exemplifies high amount of rectangularity. The term 'cardboard architecture' in relation to House II Around 1968, Peter Eisenman limited himself to a set of abstract formal propositions as a possible condition of an underlying structure and their initial transformation into a specific environment for the design of House II. The formal propositions are the line, the plane, and the volume. Whilst Eisenman uses a compositional diagonal, all the construction elements are rectangular. The house displays evocative, ambiguous and strongly formal language. Furthermore, the primarily orthogonal and rectangular language of the houses, suggest a welcome degree of complexity achieved through simple means. The house shows a simple geometry that extrudes the square to form a cube or rectangular box. The geometry of the house is made up of its stark horizontals and verticals and large expanses of glass. Every addition to the house after this will be inside this cube or box so that the form will always be the exterior skin of the house, decomposed or not. With the addition of an equal number of planes vertically and horizontally the house splits into sections. With the further addition of interior walls, varying in size, but with a distinct pattern and with the crossing of those planes with perpendicular planes to form a grid. Add a square grid of structural columns. Decompose the existing grid work and columns to form rooms with the addition of the interior walls, floors, and roofs. Punch out forms from exterior walls to make windows and punch out similar forms from interior and exterior walls to make doorways.This describes the simple design process followed by the designer which impart s the building a simple geometry which is made up of planes and lines converging at different points to form different geometries which essentially resemble the functions of a cardboard; not structurally but visibly. The works of these series of houses are hence

Economy of any country in the world Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economy of any country in the world - Term Paper Example The topic is of importance as it addresses serious concerns and a significant setback to the development and economic independence of Germany. The consistent rise in pension to the ageing population results in higher taxes affects the nation’s contribution to the European and NATO defense activities. As at 2013, Germany’s GDP reduced significantly (Federal Statistical Office, 2015). That represents an underperformance in the GDP of Germany compared to her trading partners in the EU such as Italy, France, and Spain. German’s membership in the European Economic and Monitory Union (EMU) leaves the German Bundesbank out of control of its monetary policy. Instead, it depends on the European Central Bank (ECB) for determination of the rate of interest and money supply in setting monetary policy (Forex Market Watch, 2015). Macroeconomic policies in the EU grant the ECB bank the authority to reduce interest rates. In 2012, the ECB reduced the rates only from 5.6% to 4.1% this it does in the favor of nations with higher GDP growth leaving Germany, the largest economy in the EU, adversely affected. In the 1960s, Germany’s unemployment rate was at 2.7%, the percentage reversed suddenly in the onset of the new millennium with the rate of unemployment rising to 10.4%, as at 2005. The unexpected increase in unemployment rate was an indication of low performance of Germany’s economy as compared to the rest of EU nations. Germany’s unemployed population often has little motivation to find jobs because of low wages. The unemployment rate is also propelled by lack of benefits to those earning average salaries (Ahearn & Belkin, 2010, p. 6). Germany’s low productivity experienced in the 90s and early 2000s led to the collapse of its major industries (OECD, 2011, p. 22). The output per hour per employee dropped at an annual rate of 4.7% between 1995 and 2007, and this was an acute decline compared to the

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Technology and Social Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Technology and Social Engineering - Essay Example The Roman empire in the ancient world built the highly sophisticated waterway system known as large aqueducts that carried water for hundreds of miles, introduced advanced sewer systems, invented durable cement, and constructed concrete structures. Other human problems related to improved communication, transportation, information transmission, mechanization, medicine, etc have been solved with the help of technology in the last two centuries through various inventions (Gupta, 2007). Technological innovations are related to philosophy’s aspects of values and ethics. Thus, planned and controlled technologies though regulated by laws are the worst offenders in creating environmental degradation. â€Å"A close survey of global problems indicates that neither science nor technology alone has the answer† (Gupta, 2007, p.383) to solve some major human problems. An example is that technology cannot create a species which has become extinct due to the decline in biodiversity. The main crises include destructive organizational, political and technological patterns; the breakdown in the human environment, the depletion of non-renewable resources such as fossil fuel, and other problems. Therefore, human behavior has to be improved, and relevant courts and controls should be applied to maintain checks and balances on the development of new technology and in its implementation (Chorafas, 2011). Social engineering is the organizing and â€Å"channelling of environmental and social forces to create a high probability that effective social action will occur† (Podgorecki, Alexander & Shields, 1996, p.1). It denotes the development of processes in which human beings serve as raw materials. In the twentieth century, grand plans of social engineering projects have proved to be costly and failures, as seen in the utopian experiments using violent measures to break the will of the people. On a smaller scale are interventions for

Economy of any country in the world Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economy of any country in the world - Term Paper Example The topic is of importance as it addresses serious concerns and a significant setback to the development and economic independence of Germany. The consistent rise in pension to the ageing population results in higher taxes affects the nation’s contribution to the European and NATO defense activities. As at 2013, Germany’s GDP reduced significantly (Federal Statistical Office, 2015). That represents an underperformance in the GDP of Germany compared to her trading partners in the EU such as Italy, France, and Spain. German’s membership in the European Economic and Monitory Union (EMU) leaves the German Bundesbank out of control of its monetary policy. Instead, it depends on the European Central Bank (ECB) for determination of the rate of interest and money supply in setting monetary policy (Forex Market Watch, 2015). Macroeconomic policies in the EU grant the ECB bank the authority to reduce interest rates. In 2012, the ECB reduced the rates only from 5.6% to 4.1% this it does in the favor of nations with higher GDP growth leaving Germany, the largest economy in the EU, adversely affected. In the 1960s, Germany’s unemployment rate was at 2.7%, the percentage reversed suddenly in the onset of the new millennium with the rate of unemployment rising to 10.4%, as at 2005. The unexpected increase in unemployment rate was an indication of low performance of Germany’s economy as compared to the rest of EU nations. Germany’s unemployed population often has little motivation to find jobs because of low wages. The unemployment rate is also propelled by lack of benefits to those earning average salaries (Ahearn & Belkin, 2010, p. 6). Germany’s low productivity experienced in the 90s and early 2000s led to the collapse of its major industries (OECD, 2011, p. 22). The output per hour per employee dropped at an annual rate of 4.7% between 1995 and 2007, and this was an acute decline compared to the

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Member of Parliament Essay Example for Free

Member of Parliament Essay Delegation is to give another person authority and responsibility of a certain task that you would normally do yourself but you still take accountability for the outcome. In order to delegate effectively you need to first decide what tasks to delegate. You need to track what you can delegate by making a list of tasks that you do and from this the things that you can give to others. It is a more cost effective way of giving others responsibility rather than hiring someone else to do the work. Planning is essential when you are delegating. You need to identify the individual’s knowledge on the task, the skills they have to do it efficiently. Give them control of the task completely but follow it up regularly by meetings and asking them how it is going, what is going good and what they need help on. Communication between the other person and you has to be very clear and precise. You should have their full attention. They need to have a clear understanding of what needs to be done and by when. SMART objectives need to be set for them and discuss the standard that you expect from them. Ask them how they will do it and what help you can give them in the task. Give them reassurance, confidence, offer them your support and appreciate them. Believe in them. When delegating tasks there are several levels of delegation to consider. Everyone is different, not everyone can handle or respond well to certain styles. A good manager knows which level to use with each member of staff when assigning a task. Level 1- this is when the manager asks the staff member to look into the situation, get all the facts needed and come back to him/her. The decision of what to do is made by the manager. This type of delegation is usually used for new employees who have no experience in the business. It is also used when you cannot physically do it yourself as you are handling quite a few other things at the same time. For example, at SS during a busy patch at lunch time, if there is a customer who comes in who has problems with his glasses. You cannot see him as you are already dealing with two other customers. You ask a member of staff to check the glasses thoroughly, find out what problem they are having by getting all the facts from the customer. You have delegated this task out to that member of staff but you make the final decision on what should be done. You control the delegation. Level 2- this is when the manager asks the member of staff to look into the situation but also come up with possible solutions to the problem. For example, in the above example, the manager  would have asked the member of staff to come up with reasons why the customer is having problems and ways to fix the problem. However, the final decision is still made by the manager. The manager still controls the delegation. This level offers opportunities for more instruction, coaching, and development of the employees. It is often used for employees who may be changing companies but staying in the same career, so they are familiar with the task but not with the new employer’s working style and requirements. Level 3 –this is when the manager asks the member of staff to look into the situation and come up with possible solutions. The staff member picks the best solution for the customer but gets the manager to approve before going ahead with it. For example the above mentioned member of staff would have the measurements rechecked by the manager before he remakes the customer’s glasses. The manager still controls the delegation but it conveys more trust and faith in the chosen employee, it also facilitates training, improves the overall experience and increases educational opportunities for the employee. This is a good happy medium for both new and experienced employees and works well in large workplaces where the tasks must be managed properly for structural purposes. Level 4 – this is when the manager asks the member of staff to look into the situation and carry on and finish it till the end of the solution unless he says not to. For example, in the above example, the member of staff would be able to finish it off unless the manager said not to. The staff member controls this type of delegation. It shows a lot of faith and pays a compliment to the staff as to their manager’s level of confidence in their ability to complete the task successfully. It is often left for experienced employees, particularly those who have performed the repeated task successfully in circumstances prior. One problem to this approach is it can also be a source of frustration for an employee who is told they have the expertise and capability to do what is requested the way their manager wants it done, but then if they lack the confidence in their manager to follow through or if something goes wrong, then it makes this person almost entirely accountable. This Level requires trust, rapport, confidence and understanding. Level 5 – this stage is when the managers asks the staff member to complete the task and to report back to him when it is done and what was done. For example in the above situation, the manager will want to know when the problem is sorted and what the member of staff  did to solve it. The manager doesn’t even require a heads-up or check-back before the staff member starts work on the task. Many companies who have experienced staff members use this type of delegation to accomplish more. It can also be beneficial for smaller companies who trust in their employees to help them perform at maximum potential. They control the delegation. Level 6 – this is when the manager tells the staff member to take action and follow it up if needed. For example in the above example, the manager gives full authority for that staff member to deal with the customer. He does not get involved at all. This is not only complete freedom, but also the ultimate compliment in terms of a manager’s confidence in the staff member’s ability to complete a task to the manager’s complete satisfaction. When it comes to effective delegation, you cannot just order people around. Each individual is different and responds differently to different styles of delegation, criticism and praise. This means in order to be most effective, and get the best results from staff chosen to have tasks and projects delegated to them, employers must be both creative and knowledgeable when it comes to picking the right person for the right kind of delegated assignment.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Drug Use And Social Control Criminology Essay

Drug Use And Social Control Criminology Essay Drug use and addiction have been a long time burden for society. Over the years many programs have been developed to help curb illegal activity, however it still continues. While appropriate attempts to control drug abuse have surfaced, there have also been many that have proven counterproductive. There are a number of theories as to why these theories have developed, but one might speculate that it is because drug abuse has such a wide and varied effect on families, society as well as the criminal justice system. This creates many attempts at control and is possibly the biggest reason for the numerous factors that involve drug abuse and society. This paper will examine the reaction of society to drug abuse and the attempts that have been made to control such behavior. The Stigma Of Abuse There are many stigmas that surface in society, each ranging in severity and consequence. Society, as a whole is quick to judge others and make rash assumptions about the person, based on their actions or other limited information. Those that abuse illicit drugs are one of the most stigmatized groups in society today. There is a negative connotation at the mere speaking of drug abuse. Children are taught from an early age that drugs are bad and will lead them to a life full of crime and potentially even death. While these speculations are not inaccurate, it does send a message to youth that relays that people, who suffer from addiction, are bad and/or criminals (Ball, 2007). While these assumptions may be correct in some respects, it is inappropriate to generalize groups of people as a whole. There are a number of situations and circumstances that can cause addiction, not only poor personal choices. A stigma is defined as, an attribute that is deeply discrediting, occurs when an individual experiences social disqualification due to a specific attribute or flaw (Palamar, Kiang Halkitis, 2012). In lay terms, a stigma is a preconceived notion about an individual based on their actions or perceived actions. While most consider stigmas a negative concept, it appears to be engrained in human nature to engage in this type of behavior. According to Palamar, Kiang and Halkitis, stigmas are also based on the type of drug and method of use as well (2012 ). For example, some consider the harder drugs, such as heroin or amphetamines, to be the worst and those that use them as the worst addicts. The reason for the more negative assumptions may be based on the level of harm that the drug causes. Heroin and methamphetamine are known to cause severe health concerns and commonly lead to illegal behavior that has a negative effect on society. As harm comes to society, individuals quickly associat e the drug and caused actions, thereby creating animosity and fueling the stigma. In many cases, the stigma might be used as a form of punishment to the user that is hoped to curtail or prevent drug abuse. The theory being that if enough pressure is placed on the individual than they will stop using drugs however is rarely successful. Addiction is a disease and the mere words or negative attitudes of others are not sufficient in stopping the cycle of abuse (Tiger, 2011). Families, commonly put pressure on their loved ones, who are using drugs, possibly even not speaking to them, in hopes that they will wake up and cease their drug use. Even though stigmas are sometimes used to curb the problem, it oftentimes leads to additional problems. As these individuals attempt to mesh in society, by getting a job or attempting sobriety they are often frowned upon, which creates more distance. Many employers will not hire them, which facilitates unemployment, and continued drug abuse. Certainly, it is not the fault of the employer, but if the addict is not able to work and sustain a life by paycheck, they may return to stealing to support himself or family. The Criminal Justice System Legislation and laws are not new to the criminal justice system. There have been laws regarding illicit drug use for many years. What has changed in recent decades is the way that drug offenses are charged, handled and processed. There are approximately 2.3 billion offenders in jail or prison for drug offenses in the United States (Tiger, 2011). That is a significant increase over the past years and one might speculate that it is because of tougher laws, more enforcement and awareness about drug abuse than in past years. One of the most notable policy changes has come with the establishment of what is known as Drug Court. Originally introduced by the criminal court system, Drug Courts have been put in action to address drug offenses in a more efficient manner (Tiger, 2011). Before these specialty courts were established, an individual convicted of drug offenses, may be punished, fined or incarcerated and then returned to society. In addition to prison and jail overcrowding, society a lso noted that the system was not efficient and had poor results. Typically these individuals would be back in the court system very soon after their charge, for another drug offense. Not only does this place the individual at harm, it also creates a danger to society. An example of this harm is an individual convicted of driving while intoxicated and then has another accident that takes someones life. They were not helped by going to jail or having a court date, their alcoholism was never addressed, which meant that the legal system failed in many respects. In order to address these issues, the 1966 Narcotic Rehabilitation Act was established, which gave each state the right or ability to force an offender into treatment or rehabilitation (Tiger, 2011). This then gave way to court ordered treatment and thereby the drug court system. Drug court is meant to oversee the offender in many different aspects of their life. In addition to addressing their criminal behavior, they also oversee their addiction treatment while they are on probation per say. The individuals assigned to drug court are generally drug tested every month, required to pay a fine and also report for monthly appointments. By requiring drug treatment the individual is addressing their legal concerns, but also getting help for the root of the problem, which is addiction. Commonly, counseling and other therapeutic services are required of offenders to assist them in changing their life. Coerced Treatment As A Form Of Control Understandably, one of the first lines of defenses for families is coerced treatment. In most states there are laws and protections that allow a person, who is in danger of harm to be committed. In many cases, families are frustrated with their loved ones and fearful for their safety so they attempt to convince or force the person into treatment. Unfortunately, when an individual is an adult it is rather difficult to force them into treatment without legal action. This is generally only relevant to a person that is exhibiting suicidal or homicidal ideas and not a person using illicit drugs. Forcing treatment is mistakenly thought to be a line of defense, however rarely works because of the users rights and freedoms (Ball, 2007). While families or other loved ones cannot force their family member into treatment the court system does have the ability to require treatment. Most offenders take the offered help, however there are those that refuse treatment or counseling. Each individual is given the choice, granted it is either treatment or jail time, but they still have the choice. There are those that are in and out of the prison system, who never engage in treatment or accept help, thereby perpetuating the cycle of abuse. Prevention The War Against Drugs With the increase in the criminalization of drugs in the past 30 years there have also been numerous changes to prevention attempts (Ball, 2007). Almost every school and community proudly boosts the fact that they offer drug prevention and awareness education. There have been a number of programs that have been created based on educating the community about drugs, harms and fads that are present. The increased amount of drugs and detriment has caused an increase in media coverage and allowed people to become more aware of the prevalence of drug use. With that also came a demand for an increase in Federal funding for prevention measures, treatment and assistance for those of lower socio-economic status. One of the major themes of prevention is an attempt to learn more about the causes and risk factors of addiction. There has been a great deal of controversy over the years regarding the causes of addiction. The nature versus nurture argument suggests that individuals become who they are or engage in particular behavior based on either their genetics or influence of environment (Zimic Jukic, 2012). Some argue that individuals are born with the propensity to use drugs based on hereditary and genetic factors. This would mean that regardless of the type of parents or environment that a child grew up with that they would be genetically predisposed to use drugs. On the flip side of the argument, individuals are said to be shaped by their experiences throughout their lives. These experiences shape who they are and what types of behavior that they engage in. For example, a child that grows up in a home where drug abuse is prevalent would be more likely to follow in the same footsteps as their parents. Both theories make excellent points, and many choose to believe that individuals are influence by both genetics and their environment. Other factors that place individuals at a higher risk of drug abuse is lower socio-economic status, family problems, academic trouble, mental illness as well as a host of other factors (Zimic Jukic, 2012). In light of these factors being noted, programs have been established to combat the negative effects. Programs such as the girls and boys clubs and mentor groups are put into place to assist children that might be from broken homes, have poor parental support or be associating with the wrong crowd. These programs are aimed at prevention and cessation as a measure to reduce the amount of drug use as well as criminal behavior. These intervention programs are meant to assist parents in a better understanding of the needs of their children, the warning signs of drug abuse as well as the importance of the family role. For the child, the programs are meant for education, but also guidance and to learn improved coping skills or manners by which to deal with the stress or problems that ar e placing them at the greatest risk of abuse. Harm Reduction Theory The harm reduction theory is considered a method of control for both drug addicts and society in general. This thought process is based on the belief that certain types of treatment or prevention are less harmful than drug use or risky behavior (Ball, 2007). One of the best examples of this belief system is Methadone Maintenance Treatment. Methadone is a synthetic opiate that is used to keep heroin addicts from using illicit drugs (Zimic Jukic, 2012). Methadone blocks the opioid receptors in the brain, thereby preventing the addicts ability to get high from continued heroin abuse. Some suggest that the introduction of methadone is simply another drug, because it is addictive and the individual becomes physically dependent. Those that promote methadone treatment suggest that these individuals, even though they are addicted to methadone, can functionally normally within society. Rather than engaging in criminal activities for drug money, the individuals can work, engage in family activities and receive psychological counseling. Other forms of harm reduction programs and theories are centered on providing condoms or even clean needles for IV drug users. The theory behind this controversial practice is the hopes that there will be a decrease or reduction in the amount of communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and tuberculosis (Ball, 2007). Society and families have long stood against illegal drug use. There are a number of programs and prevention attempts that are currently used. While this assistance is used as a manner of control the negative stigma about drug users is still very prevalent in todays society. Drug users are frowned upon and typically have a difficult time in society because of their choices and actions. It is important that society continue educating about drugs, harms and how perceived attitudes can further the problems. Education and continued address are the best lines of defense for prevention. Additional research into addiction and better therapy or treatment could also assist society in gaining better control of the problems at hand.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Gender Roles in Medea by Euripides Essay -- Gender Roles in Greek Soci

Centuries of traditions has enabled men and women to define gender roles in society. Although some critics declare gender roles do not exist today, others believe they do. In society, men and women are defined by gender roles throughout their activities and emotions. A doctor is typically portrayed by a male while women rear the children and cook for the men. However, although still in existence, today these roles are less obvious but tend to have similar meaning when compared to the past. In ancient Greece, women suffered great hardships. Currently, females work, vote, and run for office. In comparison to ancient Greece, these activities are a phenomenal leap from being under the direct supervision of a male husband. In Greek society, the role of women was considered to be insignificant compared to the Greek men. The women had very few rights, no room to voice personal opinions, and a very bleak future with few options for a better life. According to Moses Hades, professor of Greek studies, women in ancient Greek plays are known to be the main characters and take the role of the villain, victim, or the heroine. In Euripides’ play Medea, Medea, the main character, plays all these roles. She represents the heroine by helping her husband secure the Golden Fleece prior to their marriage, and then portrays the victim by being betrayed by her husband, and finally the villain by murdering her loved ones. Therefore, Euripides follows the standard format for a Greek tragedy. Ironically, Medea’s actions are similar to a man when she takes charge of her marriage, living situation, and family life when she devices a plan to engulf her husband with grief. With this in mind, Medea had accepts her place in a man’s world unti... ...leaving moves Medea into a beggar status. She understands that she does not have authority, money, or power over anyone in the land. This leaves her powerless and desperate. Thereofore, she forms a crafty plan that revolves around herself and reestablishes power and authority. Even in today’s society, gender roles play a part in how people view the world. Although more important than the gender roles are the emotions that antagonize the psyche of the human. Medea shows how jealousy can lead to revenge and influence bad decisions and ruin or even end lives. Ironically, the decisions she makes to kill her children, leaves Jason helpless much like a Greek wife during this time. She removes the opportunity for him to voice his opinions, needs, and desires. This flip of traditional gender roles shows how gender roles are not a reliable way to view a society.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

A Comparison of A Streetcar Named Desire and The Master Builder Essay

The Comedy and Tragedy of A Streetcar Named Desire and The Master Builder It has been said that the world is a comedy to those that think, and a tragedy to those who feel. This philosophy is supported by two important literary works, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen. In each piece, the sensitive and emotional characters experience tremendous pain, while the cold and unfeeling characters are simply amused by the pain of others. In A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams shows two characters who have very different experiences of the world. For Stanley Kowalski, the world is a comedy. He constantly causes pain to others, especially Blanche, and then laughs at her pain. For example, he hands Blanche a ticket to Laurel as a birthday present, kicking her out of the house. To Stanley this very cruel and insensitive gesture is amusing, but to Blanche it is a hurtful token of rejection. Blanche is a character who experiences the tragedy of the world, as events affect her deeply. For instance, she can not understand how her sister, Stella, can put up with the abuse that Stanley inflicts upon her. Blanche is very concerned about her sister and becomes extremely dismayed when Stanley hits her. This shows the sensitivity of Blanche's character that leads to her tragedy. Tennessee Williams uses several literary elements to reveal how characters respond differently to the world. The characterization of Blanche and Stanley is essential, as Stanley is depicted as an insensitive, brutal creature who has no regard for others' emotions. Therefore, he feels no regret as he destroys the relationship between Blanche and Mitch.&n... ...ive without a conscience-- allows her to gain control of Solness, playing on his weaknesses. The irony of this situation is that the "great master builder" is actually a sensitive man who experiences his demise at the hands of a young girl. The tragedy that occurs in the final scene when Solness falls from the tower is seen as a comedy for Hilda, who continues to cheer for her own success. These two works, A Streetcar Named Desire and The Master Builder, illustrate how life can be looked upon differently by characters who possess a deep and sensitive heart and those who lack human feelings. As revealed in the two plays, those who feel things deeply tend to be affected by pain and tragedy in their lives, while those who do not possess sympathetic emotions tend to be amused by the pain of others, often contributing to the tragedy experienced by those who feel.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Characteristics of Internet delivery services Essay

What are the characteristics of services that will be most appropriate for internet delivery? Internet service can be provided through telephone lines .Internet connection speed can generally be divided into two categories: dialup and broadband Characteristics of the Internet: The characteristics of the Internet that affect its usefulness in service can be divided broadly into Information and Connectivity. â€Å"The advantages arise from the Internet’s enormous capacity to link participants with information and with each other. The Information and Connectivity of the Internet have unique characteristics: Information: †¢Information on the Internet is multimedia–capable of having coloured images, sound and video. These can be expensive to produce, but increasingly there are open sources of these types of content that are free of charge. Once produced, the price of distribution of the information is nominal compared to that of producing hard-copy books, CDs and films. †¢Information on the Internet can be hyperlinked. This permits both tutors and learners to assemble large bodies of information from a wide variety of sources without actually having to store the information in one place; e.g., on paper or a hard disk. Hyperlinks within information on the Internet enables users to find or cite additional sources of pertinent information. †¢Information on the Internet is searchable. Search engines such as Google enable users to find information on every imaginable topic. †¢Intelligent agents can be programmed to search the Internet for particular information and inform the user of the existence and location of that information. In fact, these agents can harvest pertinent information and deliver it to the user’s desktop. †¢Information on the Internet originates from world-wide sources. Users are no longer limited to the library, gallery, museum or video or record store in their locale. Connectivity: †¢Probably the most powerful characteristic.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

How to Become a Better Student

To become successful in life, we all need to learn to become a good student in every aspect of life. Becoming a good student is not an easy task. Most would agree that in order to be a good student it takes a great deal of hard work, time and self-discipline. A student who possess these strong characteristics will often times stand out from the rest of their classmates. In order to become a strong student, one must have motivation, positive self-esteem, positive self-talk, commitment and good study habits.It has been said that to get the required performance out of an individual, you just first find what motivates them. There are many ways for a student to become motivated. These include settings goals, creating a dream career, and having good values. If a student makes an effort to try and discover these traits about themselves they will most likely find the motivation they need in their life. Setting goals is the first step a person can take in order to gain the motivation they nee d to become a better student. A goal is something a person is wishing accomplish in their life.There are two types of goals, short term and long term. Short-term goals are usually less than six months. A student should always set short- term goals for themselves in the beginning of a semester so they can work hard for the next couple of months to achieve them. A long-term goal is what a student is strives for in their more distant future, for example a career path. Setting short-term and long-term goals early on in life is positive tool in order for a student to be successful in their future. Another method to gain motivation is to create a dream career.A student attends college with hopes of receiving a degree that will allow them to specialize in a future job market. A student's major should be their passion. If an individual majors in something they despise, they will eventually loose their motivation to perform well in their studies. Striving for a career that you love is a grea t motivation tool that will inspire students to do well in school. Working for a dream career also allows a student to major in something they are passionate about and keeps them motivated throughout their college career.An additional technique to expand student's motivation is by having good values. A value is a principle that an individual considers important. Students must realize what things in life are of high importance and which things are not. For example a student's schoolwork should come first and fun should be performed second. If a student considers having fun more important than their schoolwork, then their motivation will be severely lost. In order to balance motivation an individual must set good values for himself or herself to become stronger student.Students not only need to remain motivated but also need to have high amounts of positive self-esteem to stay on top of their studies. Positive self-esteem is defined as â€Å"belief in oneself. † It is also a st udent's awareness that he or she is a person of Roth or values simply because he or she is a human being. If students constantly tell themselves that they are not worthy and gives up hope on their studies, they will deteriorate their ability to be a good student. If an individual feels as if they have lost their self-esteem, there are many ways for them to gain it back.To raise self-esteem a student can, pay close attention to their needs, take care of themselves, carry out positive self-talk, and perform in activities that make will make them feel good about themselves. Students that act upon these activities daily will maintain high self-esteem in their lives. It is important to maintain high levels of positive self-esteem because students should not only do well in the classes they are taking, but also feel good about themselves while doing so. Paying attention to one's own wants and needs is a good first step to take when attempting to gain self-esteem.A good student should alwa ys be listening to what their bodies, mind, and heart are telling them. For example, if an individual has been studying for a long period of time, their body is probably telling them to stand up and take a break. People's heart speak to them about for instances the individuals in heir life who they long to spend more time with. If a student's mind is telling them to clean their room, they should act upon these thoughts, and clean their room. Acting on these bodily instincts are good ways for students to recognize their needs and to retain back positive self-esteem.Students should also heavily focus on their diets. Individuals who make healthy choices with their fitness and diet will find that they feel better about themselves. To keep a strong mind people need to consume the right foods and always make time in their busy schedules for exercise. Completing these simple tasks can boost a dent's self-esteem and make sure they are performing at optimal level. In our society today, more students are daily telling themselves that they are not worthy or not smart enough. These negative thoughts people tell themselves are the number one force that can destroy one's self-esteem.Students should really attempt to use positive self-talk as much as possible. Positive self-talk is defined as any time in which individuals think or talk to themselves in a beneficial manner. Students should start off everyday on a positive note. Simply waking up and starting mornings on a high note can make the day run much more smoothly. Students should not only use positive self-talk in the mornings but should also continue throughout the day. Thinking positive thoughts before a test will in a way make the stress go away and a student will perform better.Positive self-talk is extremely important in a student's everyday routine because it will give them the confidence they need in their school careers. Another method to keep self-esteem high is for students to carry out the activities that th ey perform well in. If a student ever becomes frustrated with their schoolwork, they should always take a break and do the activities they love to bring up their self esteem. When a person performs something they love to do it helps them escape from their stress and worries.These are great tools to use while studying because once an individual finishes these special activities and continues with their schoolwork, they will feel refreshed. To perform well in school a student's self-esteem needs to be high and also their commitment to their studies needs to be a number one priority. Commitment is defined as means to show loyalty, duty, or pledge to someone or something. Staying committed to schoolwork is not an easy task. Students can be distracted by so many efferent outlets today, which make it so easy to break their commitment to their studies.However, these distractions can be avoided by setting out time every day to look over notes from class. Making time everyday for your school work is beneficial because it is keeping the material fresh in your mind and keeps your commitment with school strong. Good study habits follow closely behind a student's commitment. Study habits are extremely important because it is the fuel for a student to perform well on quizzes and tests. A habit is a preference too particular action that you do a certain way on regular basis.Students should get into the habit of committing to a study schedule everyday. They should routinely take breaks and stay healthy in order to stay focused their studies. To keep their schedule in order students should also use a planner. It is difficult to organize tests and schoolwork without a planner. A Student can become easily confused and should incorporate using a planner everyday in their study habits. Overall, carrying out good study habits everyday will pave the road for students to perform well in their schoolwork. In conclusion, becoming a master student takes time and patience.It is not an eas y task to be successful in school but with a lot of hard work it can be accomplished. There are many rewards for becoming a successful student. One of the greatest rewards is graduating from high school, college, or even graduate school. Students must always remember to be successful in school they need to have motivation, positive self-esteem, positive self-talk, commitment and good study habits. If an individual can master using these tools in their everyday routines, they will see the positive results in their schoolwork and in the long run become a stronger student.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Characterization of Macoute in The Dew Breaker

Characterization of Macoute in The Dew Breaker The Dew Breaker, a novel by Edwidge Danticat that tells of Jean-Claude Duvalier’s inherited dictatorship in Haiti, appears to be a novel about two things. On the one hand, it documents the life and trials of a Tonton Macoute, a government sanctioned torturer; on the other hand, it also tells of the cowardice of weak men with great power. The ‘dew breaker’ that is the eponym for the book is constantly characterized by his cowardice, his desire for forgiveness but his inability to ask for it. This conflict that the ‘dew breaker’ has within himself also tends to inspire conflict within the reader. Should one hate him or pity him? Is he unforgivable because of what he has done or is his own fear, coupled with circumstance, truly to blame? After examining the characterization of the ‘dew breaker’ and the situations in which he was placed, it can be inferred that while he may not deserve forgiveness, this man’s obvious pusillanimity make s him pitiable. The novel begins with the story of Ka, an aspiring young artist and the daughter of the ‘dew breaker’. The ‘dew breaker’ is presented as a simple Haitian barber, an escaped military prisoner with a devotedly Catholic wife and loving daughter. The reader easily falls into step with Ka and her father as they travel to Florida to sell one of Ka’s sculptures. This sculpture is inspired by the bent and broken prisoner Ka believed her father to be. Besides relating parts of her father’s â€Å"past† in Haiti, Ka also tells of a jagged, horrifying scar that has nearly ruined her father’s face. She easily recounts the story he told her as a child: that a guard working for the regime of Jean-Claude Duvalier sliced open her father’s face in a random act of cruelty. It later becomes apparent that this tale is indeed a lie told to Ka for over thirty years. Towards the middle of the chapter, Ka’s father finally opens up with the t ruth after destroying his daughter’s sculpture, saying, â€Å"†¦ Ka, your father was the hunter, he was not the prey†¦ I was never in prison† (21). In one instant, everything that Danticat has told the reader about Ka’s father seems to be untrue. This man, who was known in Haiti as a Tonton Macoute, an infamous ‘dew breaker’, finally speaks the truth to his daughter and in the process destroys the innate trust Ka has in him. The idea that he kept such a secret from her for so long is surely an example of his infinite cowardice. However, it also proves he wants nothing more than love for the man he is, not hate for the man he had been. Another point of interest in The Dew Breaker is the main character’s demand that he be allowed to wear civilian clothes. In the last chapter, â€Å"The Dew Breaker†, the protagonist simply states that â€Å"he didn’t like the uniform† (196). The idea that he feels he is above other Macoutes and has the right to make demands is perfectly absurd and also cowardly. A Macoute walking home alone in standard denim runs the risk of being attacked and possibly killed; the ‘dew breaker’s’ refusal to wear the uniform proves he is a coward, a man who cannot stand the idea of imminent physical harm. This basic denial of Macoute custom sets the main character apart from all others: he is not in imminent danger because he is allowed to dress normally, he can avoid unwanted attention, and his lack of uniform saves him later when he runs into Anne outside Casernes. Had he been wearing the denim of his station, I doubt Anne would have reacted so charita bly. Incidentally, â€Å"The Dew Breaker† also presents the same conflict as seen in the beginning of the book. It offers no real resolution as the last chapter but it does leave the reader with a feeling of modern day catharsis. This chapter flashes back to the ‘dew breaker’, an active and senior member of Duvalier’s Macoutes while in Haiti. Danticat opens by describing the main character in a soft but insistent way. He is an important and self-indulgent man in the Tonton Macoutes who has been sent to kill an outspoken preacher. The ‘dew breaker’ voices a disdain of this job in the beginning of the chapter, saying that, â€Å"He wanted a perfect view of the church entrance in case the opportunity came to do the job from inside his car†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (183). This obvious lack of courage produces a key moment in the novel: the Macoute is afraid to take a chance with the preacher’s unrestrained congregation. It is doubtless that, if the ‘d ew breaker’ was alone during the public assassination of the preacher, the entire situation would have resulted in his own death. To protect himself, the ‘dew breaker’ chooses to bring along a group of other Macoutes. The preacher is roughly but quietly taken away, giving the illusion that he has â€Å"disappeared† like all the rest. The quiet, subtle way in which the preacher was taken to Casernes helps to exemplify the main character’s inflated concern for himself. He is not willing risk his life in any way, even to execute a duty given to him by the faction he so loves. The concern mentioned above is also present pages later, after the preacher has been taken to Casernes for questioning. Though it is surprising that the preacher was not restrained during interrogation, this small oversight by both the main character and Danticat serves a great purpose. In a marvelous last act of heroism, the preacher reaches for a splintered piece of wood from his broken chair and stabs ‘dew breaker’ â€Å"in [his] right cheek and [sinks] it in an inch or so† (226). Danticat goes on to further wound the ‘dew breaker’, saying that, â€Å"The fat man’s shock worked in [the preacher’s] favor, for it allowed him a few seconds to slide the piece of wood down the fat man’s face, tearing the skin down his jawline† (226). The action itself earns the preacher the quick death he so desires: he is immediately shot in the chest by the ‘dew breaker’, a man who cannot stand the idea of bruised pride. This m agnificent show of valor on the preacher’s part forever damages the ‘dew breaker’; it also contributes greatly to a weakness in character that will be present for the rest of his life. With the blood of the preacher on his hands, the ‘dew breaker’ becomes completely terrified. A huge gash in his face and dripping with blood, he stumbles out of Casernes, pushing aside his superior’s assurance of asylum. The fact that he did not stay to face the consequences of his actions shows his cowardice yet again. He cannot bear the thought of punishment or reprimand even from an institution he has devoted his life to. Whenever there is a chance he might endure harm, the ‘dew breaker’ is quick to withdraw from the situation, either by blaming it on others or by running away. The constant theme of cowardice and fear in The Dew Breaker is important to the story’s plot and also to the characterizations within. The ‘dew breaker’ as presented by Danticat is a man who evoked terror in the people; there mere mention of his name could send a Haitian into a fit of shivers or a bout of unwanted memories. It is ironic, then, that he should ultimately be the one who is most afraid and the one who would have to flee for his life. The ‘dew breaker’ was such a contradictory mess of both fear and courage, weakness and power, that one could not help but feel sorry for him. It is heart wrenching to think that a human being could do such terrible things and then struggle so completely with those facts afterwards. It’s the story every person wants to hear: the story of a man battling his inner demons and his past to become more than he ever was before. While the ‘dew breaker’ does fall short of forgiveness and absolution, he also doe manage to achieve a kind of pitiable half-life, his attempt to be a good man despite his history of bad deeds. Ultimately, it is the ‘dew breaker’s’ cowardice and lack of strength that makes him so close to the reader’s own heart. After all, we are all vulnerable in our own way.