Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Privacy Right of Freedom of Information Research Paper

Privacy Right of Freedom of Information - Research Paper Example It goes without saying that the idea of a free and hassle free exchange of information does have its benefits and advantages. Yet, again, the notion of regarding the privacy of the individuals, groups and organizations to be protected and sanctimonious also sounds to be a valid and just proposal. Isn’t it considered to be a common ethical behavior on the part of doctors to maintain the confidentiality of the health records of their patients at all costs? A commonsensical approach towards life amply corroborates the fact that nobody in the right mind would ever like to put up with a society, where the details pertaining to one’s personal, professional and social life are unscrupulously open to public scrutiny and access. As is often said, the extreme of anything is bad. So it is human to expect the state and fellow citizens and the organizations managed by them to respect one’s personal life and privacy. However, an optimal level of efficiency and transparency in the society necessitates a level of free exchange of information and facts. ... nsidered to be a fundamental and innate need of humanity that is to a great extent is essential and a must for individual and social growth in an environment governed by a measure of dignity (Inness 3). However, this very concept of privacy could also be interpreted in a relativistic context, subject to individual preferences and views and the nature of the situations that breach privacy (Francis 91). In a psychological context, a sense of privacy is a necessary safety valve against any fear of losing control or context (Etzioni 187). Thus, it goes without saying that grappling with, limiting and defining the concept of privacy is utterly unwieldy and difficult, as the idea of privacy is subject to multiple dimensions and facets. In a simplistic attempt, privacy may be considered to be the right of the individuals, groups and institutions to control and determine as to what information about them is communicated to others, how and in what manner it is communicated and when and at wha t time it is communicated (Scoglio 24). In an individualistic context, privacy may be taken as the prerogative of an individual to determine as to what happens to the personal information associated with one (Scoglio 24). May sound surprising, but the concept of privacy could also be interpreted in the context of individual and collective freedom. In that context privacy could be taken to be a control over one’s interactions with the society that maximizes freedom and autonomy and minimizes vulnerability and possible threats to individual or group integrity. In other words (Boling 85). Privacy is an attempt on the part of individuals, groups and organizations to mark their respective boundaries (Boling 85). It goes without saying that the contemporary age of information has added many new

Monday, October 28, 2019

The Buck Stops (and Starts) at Business Schools Essay Example for Free

The Buck Stops (and Starts) at Business Schools Essay Case analysis on The buck stops (and starts) at business school It’s really strange that on one hand, most people who were laid off in 2009 after the crisis went into the business schools. On the other hand, medias were seriously criticizing the damage business school graduate brought to the financial crisis. Does business schools need to change? Or they’re just the scapegoats? In Joel Podolny’s view, business schools definitely should be blamed and should be reinvented. He believed that historically, business schools have largely ignored the teaching of values and ethics because those aren’t subjects of inquiry for traditional business school academic disciplines. Also, those leadership and ethics courses that are taught are flawed since attention to detail and taking responsibilities were not emphasized. Furthermore, case teaching method alone doesn’t enable students to learn that being consistent in various situations and continually paying the right amount of attention to detail are among the most challenging aspects of leadership. Podolny also put forward several suggestions about how business schools can change to win back the trust from the society. I think foster greater integration and encourage qualitative makes most sense among the five recommendations. I vote for these two because I simply think the other three just don’t work. In Fisher, we are doing â€Å"appointing teaching teams† right now. But as a student, or the subject of this way of teaching, my feeling is that we don’t like this way. When we see the ethics teachers come in, we naturally feel a kind of reluctance since no one subconsciously or consciously admits that their ethic need to be â€Å"taught†. We either think we’re really good people or we think it’s all BS and making money is always the most important thing. But I feel the most compelling lesson of ethics I learned was actually from an International Business class professor who almost â€Å"unwarily† lead the discussion about a manage r facing whether or not firing a disabled worker who has contributed a lot to the success of the company in one case. It’s so natural that the class did not even take it as an â€Å"ethics class† but really took a great lesson unguardedly through the extremely heated discussion and the concluding succinct but thought provoking words from the professor. That will be my own suggestion for teaching ethics. Stop competing on ranking is a dream. To me it’s just like asking companies to stop competing on net income and EPS. That will never happen though companies can pay more attention to social benefits. Similarly, we can expect business schools to pay more attention or at least act like they pay more attention to candidate’s moral aspect. Withdraw degrees for violating codes of conduct sounds powerful but it’s just so hard to really enforce. Just look at doctors and lawyers in our society now and one can see if it really works. Ethics is still a huge issue in many of the hospitals and courts. What’s more, withdraw the degree for lawyer and doctors can forbid them to continue work as a doctor or lawyer, but in the business world, as long as you have a pretty good experience in your resume, you can always find a job regardless of the degree. Business schools might really need to transform but another question is, should they be responsible for the recent financial crisis as all those business graduates are selling CDS and telling ignorant people to leverage more on mortgages? I don’t think Business schools are largely culpable for the global economic crisis of 2008-2012, at least not largely. First of all, my understanding of the 2008 financial crisis is that we call it sub-prime crisis but sub-prime is just the blasting fuse of it. On one hand, most people are so accustomed to living on credit with zero savings or little savings. On the other hand, Greenspan has planted the seed for all this in his monetary policy and the burst of the bubble is more of an inevitable result of the false prosperous real estate market than wicked business school students cheating people around. It’s very easy to treat innocent civilians as victims and find someone making money on that as chief criminals. But don’t forget that it’s the illusion that one can live a pretty good life without working hard and enjoy your life today as much as possible that really destroyed many of the families. The strong dollar and the world’s trust in dollar had brought US people so much benefits that most people just took that for granted and dreamed that could last forever. The repeated cycles of financial crisis or the ups and downs of economy itself is a manifestation of uncontrollable greed insides human beings that has nothing to do whether one has graduated from a business school or not. To put it another way, if Wall Street does not hire a single business school graduate, the situation will be roughly the same. So attributing the bane of financial crisis mostly to the business schools is more of finding a scapegoat in my view. That said, does that mean business schools had no wrong doings? Definitely no. The pressure from the job market really puts the business schools at a place that they have to pay much more attention to the placement after graduation. Rankings, whether you care about it or not, are out there closely starred at by most of the applicants. These seem to be perfect excuses why business schools pay extreme little attention to ethics and responsibilities. But as a school, it should always take the essence of education as the guideline, which is to teach people to become better people, not to become better financial modeling makers. We can have various training classes that teach the sophisticated technics of Excel but we can never learn about how to make the world better in business skill training classes. So business schools should be blamed for not having planted the seeds of ethics and responsibilities in students. Can business schools teach more about ethics and how to make a better world? Well, it depends. It depends not because the schools can or cannot set up more ethics course and have more ethics teachers. I say it depends because I believe ethics and responsibilities are not taught by ethics teachers but by every single teacher in the classroom even if he teaches financial modeling. I believe ethics are best taught and accepted when the students really feel the leadership inside the professor and genuinely want to follow him or her instead of through simulation case discussions. Do most of the professors in most schools have such leadership and such deep embedded understanding of ethics and responsibility? I seriously doubt about it.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

The Healthcare Industry of America; An investigative look at HMOs Essa

The Healthcare Industry of America: An investigative look at HMO's It's no secret that Health Maintenance Organizations, known as HMO's, have made healthcare affordable for many Americans, but at what risks? Most employers offer some type of health care plan that is an HMO. Let's face it, given the choice among insurance coverage through your employer, in which he pays half the costs, or acquiring private insurance coverage outside your employer, most Americans choose to go with employer-provided HMO's. Why then, has there been so much controversy with HMO's? An HMO is an organization whereby the subscriber, or patient, is allowed to choose a medical provider from a list of doctors within a certain medical group. Each physician has signed a contract to see patients at a reduced rate. This type of plan does not allow the patient freedom to see just any doctor. All referrals to a doctor, other than the patient's primary care physician, must be approved by both that physician, and the insurance company. Most physicians add HMO's as a supplement to their practices. With HMO's, the patient has little or no co-payment depending on how the plan is set up. Most HMO co-payments range between $5 to $15 dollars per office visit. The doctor, may receive half or less than half of his normal fee from the insurance companies. HMO's are characterized with the tendency to over or under treat patients. HMO's put limitations not only on the income of the provider, but also on the type of treatment that may be done. If a patient is in need of a specialist fo r a specific ailment, the insurance company has to review and approve a referral and deem it necessary. The process involves the patient going to his or her general practitioner, also re... ...he pros. It helps immensely if you have the support of your primary care physician. If you have a hearing, find out how many people will be there and make up a folder for each one. a). Contact local lawmakers, senators, representatives. b). Contact your State Insurance Commission in writing about your complaint. Send copies of correspondence between you and your HMO. Let the HMO know you are contacting your State Insurance Commission. Works Cited Evans, M. Stanton. "If you're in an HMO, here's why." Consumers' Research Magazine, Dec. 1997 p10(6). Sherrid, Pamela. "Mismanaged Care." U.S. News & World Report, Nov. 24, 1997 p57(3). Lowenberg, Stanley C. "Hard Path to HMO reform." Los Angeles Times, Feb. 2, 1998 pB(4) col. 1. Figueroa, Liz. "State Regulations of Healthcare Reform." Los Angeles Times, March 4, 1998 pB(6) col. 4. The Healthcare Industry of America; An investigative look at HMO's Essa The Healthcare Industry of America: An investigative look at HMO's It's no secret that Health Maintenance Organizations, known as HMO's, have made healthcare affordable for many Americans, but at what risks? Most employers offer some type of health care plan that is an HMO. Let's face it, given the choice among insurance coverage through your employer, in which he pays half the costs, or acquiring private insurance coverage outside your employer, most Americans choose to go with employer-provided HMO's. Why then, has there been so much controversy with HMO's? An HMO is an organization whereby the subscriber, or patient, is allowed to choose a medical provider from a list of doctors within a certain medical group. Each physician has signed a contract to see patients at a reduced rate. This type of plan does not allow the patient freedom to see just any doctor. All referrals to a doctor, other than the patient's primary care physician, must be approved by both that physician, and the insurance company. Most physicians add HMO's as a supplement to their practices. With HMO's, the patient has little or no co-payment depending on how the plan is set up. Most HMO co-payments range between $5 to $15 dollars per office visit. The doctor, may receive half or less than half of his normal fee from the insurance companies. HMO's are characterized with the tendency to over or under treat patients. HMO's put limitations not only on the income of the provider, but also on the type of treatment that may be done. If a patient is in need of a specialist fo r a specific ailment, the insurance company has to review and approve a referral and deem it necessary. The process involves the patient going to his or her general practitioner, also re... ...he pros. It helps immensely if you have the support of your primary care physician. If you have a hearing, find out how many people will be there and make up a folder for each one. a). Contact local lawmakers, senators, representatives. b). Contact your State Insurance Commission in writing about your complaint. Send copies of correspondence between you and your HMO. Let the HMO know you are contacting your State Insurance Commission. Works Cited Evans, M. Stanton. "If you're in an HMO, here's why." Consumers' Research Magazine, Dec. 1997 p10(6). Sherrid, Pamela. "Mismanaged Care." U.S. News & World Report, Nov. 24, 1997 p57(3). Lowenberg, Stanley C. "Hard Path to HMO reform." Los Angeles Times, Feb. 2, 1998 pB(4) col. 1. Figueroa, Liz. "State Regulations of Healthcare Reform." Los Angeles Times, March 4, 1998 pB(6) col. 4.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Raising the Driving Age

For at least the last ten years, the issue of whether or not to raise the driving age to 18 years old has been a touchy subject on every level of the spectrum; from State Highway Safety Association to teenagers and everybody in between. Although everyone has some degree of approval that raising the driving age would be a good idea no one has really put forth the effort to actually have it come to pass. This has lead to the ongoing debate of whether it should even be a consideration anymore.There are several reasons that establishing the driving age at 18 is a legitimate idea. First, by having the driving age moved to the minimum of 18 this can be both environmentally and economically commendable. Also, teenagers under the age of 18 are more mentally underdeveloped when it comes to making sound decisions on the road, which then leads teenagers to having one of the highest fatality rates involving automobiles. Global warming has become key issue all over the world, especially in more o ver-crowded counties and cities, due to higher volume of emissions being released into the air.In the year 2000, the Carbon Emissions that are released into the air by cars in the United States is 302 Million Metric tons (MMTc) (Environmental). In that same year, there were 190 million licensed drivers in the United States, and 9,743,000 were drivers under the age of 19 (U. S), that’s five percent of the population. I know it doesn’t seem like that much but when you take in consideration the total emissions being released into the air and multiply it by the number of teenage drivers, that will reduce the amount of emissions by 15. MMTc. People are desperate to help stop global warming; one way we can do this is to reduce the amount of drivers on the roads and create a more accessible public transportation in rural areas. Increasing the age for driving would also be beneficial to parents of teen drivers due to the fact that insuring a teen driver is very expensive. A re cent study, in 2009-2010 for a one-car family to insure their teen-driver would raise their premium 42 percent, 58 percent for a two-car family and 62 percent for a three-car family (Schultz).An average of $620 dollars a year is what parents pay to add their child to their insurance (Bradford). That is one child, I come from a family of five and eleven years ago, when I turned sixteen my parents already had two teen drivers on their auto insurance and we were living off two teacher salaries. By the year 2000 the average teacher in Texas was making 37,576 (IES); that would leave them with a combined income of just over 75 thousand a year.Paying an average of $620 dollars per teen driver wouldn’t have gone over well with living expenses, so needless to say, I got my divers license but I wasn’t able to drive until I was 18. There are always two sides to an argument, Parents grow weary of driving their kids for one place to the next; interrupting their own busy schedules t o drive their teen to their next social event. Bill Van Tassel, AAA’s National manager for driving training programs says â€Å"We have parents who are pretty much tired of chauffeuring their kids around, and just want them to be able to drive† (Davis).This is completely understandable, with today’s busy world no one has time for anything but does it really merit putting a population of underdeveloped minds behind the wheel for our own convenience? Which brings me to my next point; are teens mentally mature enough to be granted with the responsibility of driving a car? In 2005, new findings in brain research at the National Institutes of Health explain why efforts to protect teen drivers usually fail. The scientists at the NIH in Bethesda, Md. have found that a part of the brain that weighs risks, makes judgments and controls impulse behavior which is referred to as â€Å"the executive branch† is still developing in teenage years and isn’t fully ma tured until the age of 25 (Davis). These findings should be proof alone that teens are too immature to handle the responsibilities that come with driving a car. Teens are already emotional and compulsive more so then most adults, giving them keys to a vehicle could be potentially one of the worse ideas in history.Teens don’t process consequences the same way adults do, they rely more on the emotional part of their brains to make their decisions. Which is why when a teen is driving 15 to 20 miles over the speed limit the part of their brain that processes thrill is working brilliantly; But the part that cautions of negative consequences, is all but useless, explains Jay Giedd, chief of brain imaging in the child psychiatric unit at the National Institute of Mental Health (Davis). Parents see their newly licensed teen river as additional help for running errands and taking younger siblings to events and practices, but when it comes to handling issues that may arise on the road to and from their destination; teenagers just don’t have the mental maturity to consider the consequences of risky behavior. When I was still in high school two friends of mine were bragging one morning of their reckless and very dangerous excursion across town in the pouring rain without their windshield wipers on, just because they wanted to see how far they could go.I would advocate this as a true example, that teenagers are indeed too immature and reckless to be given the responsibilities of driving. Of course one would argue that not all teenagers are as immature and irresponsible as most, in fact there are some parents that would make their teen a poster-child for safe driving; but there are always exceptions to the rules. Adolescent drivers no matter how responsible they prove themselves to be don’t have the mental development to properly react to hazardous situations that arise on the road.The research above leads to my next topic, Due to their inability to ass es dangers that come up while driving, a teen driver is more likely to be involved in or the cause of an automobile accident. In 2009, about 3,000 teens in the United States aged 15–19 were killed and  more than 350,000 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor-vehicle crashes (CDC). With this information, one would wonder why the driving age has yet to be raised.Yet, despite the increasing number of teens dying in automotive accidents, there has yet to be a successful bill passed to raise the driving age. In September of 2008, lawmakers in Delaware, Florida, Georgia and Massachusetts introduced a bill to raise their driving age to 17; they all failed (Rubin). Some people are lead to believe that raising the driving age will not prevent teen deaths, rather just delay them, because maturity has no weight on teen driving, it’s all down to experience; It is this rational that is keeping teen drivers behind the wheel.Most states have a probatio nary period where teen must follow guidelines such as: * Night driving is prohibited for the first six months unless he/ she are accompanied by a licensed driver. * A passenger limitation of only one passenger under the age of 20 for the first six months unless a parent or guardian is present. * During the second six months only three passengers under 20 (Pabst) These restrictions have had only modest success, but with the judgment center of the teen brain not fully developed there remains a struggle to instill decision making skills in immature drivers (Davis).Most of these restrictions are left to the parents to enforce and these poorly enforced restrictions don’t seem to be helping stop the high volume of deaths due to irresponsible teenager’s being given the right to drive. In 2006, my father was killed in accident involving a teenage driver, who neglected to follow the speed limit, and disregarded the stopped school bus with its lights on, and plowed right into th e back of the vehicle behind my father causing it to hit my father on his motorcycle. I don’t know what she was doing to completely miss the big yellow stopped school bus, and the car right next to it, but it cost my father his life.The only argument against the high rate of death and injury cause by the sober mind of a teenager, are the high number of deaths caused by intoxicated driver. In 2003, 10 percent of the 16-year-old deaths in automobile accidents had a blood alcohol level of 0. 10 or higher compared to the 43 percent of 20- 49 year-olds drivers, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (Davis). The government has made it illegal to drive intoxicated to protect the lives of their people, so why can’t they raise the driving age to save even more lives?Raising the driving age is something that should be taken with the highest regard, but there are people who don’t quite understand the severity of this particular situation and would simply argue that driving there teen around is an inconvenience to them and a frustration for their teen. In actuality by having the driving age moved to the minimum for 18 can be both environmentally and economically commendable. Also, teenagers under the age of 18 are more mentally immature when it comes to making sound decisions on the road, which then leads teenagers to having one of the highest fatality rates involving automobiles.Having an understanding of the matter is very important; people shouldn’t ignore this topic just because it doesn’t fit into today’s busy and ever growing world.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

My Family Essay

Ever heard the saying, â€Å"blood is thicker than water†? If yes, you know it means no bond is tighter than your family. In our families we love, serve, teach, and learn from each other. We share our joys and our sorrows. Family ties may bring us difficult challenges, but they also give us strength and some of our greatest happiness. Through my own personal perspective, if you don’t have family, you don’t have anything. Thinking to yourself, you have it all, each time you see them cross your path. Blood makes you related, loyalty makes you family. Families are so important because we are born into them, marry into them, and even create them among the people we love. They come large and extended or small and eventually grow out into a huge bunch. But whatever their size or wherever they live, strong families give us the nurturance and strength we need in order to survive. I cannot express how blessed to have been born into the family I have. Of course no Brady bunch is perfect but one thing is for sure, everything WE do, we try to do it right. Throughout our lives, most of us find ourselves living in two types of families, our family of orientation and our family of procreation. I bet your face expression is awkwardly confused, but let me break it down real simple for you. Our family of orientation is the family in which we were born into. We had no choice as to who our parents would be, and most definitely had no clue what genes we would inherit. We had no say in our early intellectual stimulation, or in how our emotional or survival needs would be met. I guess you can say, it is all a matter of destiny and who god imself wanted to place you with in regards to the life he has planned for you. Our family of orientation, however, is the institution that hopefully gave us the sense of stability and protection that we all need. We had to rely on our family of orientation to provide the nutrition, shelter, and assistance in learning how to walk, talk, and eat. When at our best, the family teaches the finest things human beings can learn from one another such as, generosity and love. But, it is all too often where we learn nasty things such as hate, rage and shame. My family falls deeply into the good traits, my parents are soft and gentle, but can also be cold as ice when it comes to messing with their kids and family members. One thing in my family that you simply do not do, is mess with myself or my younger siblings. I inherited both of their traits equally, I can be as sweet as a fine sliced piece of cake, or as cold as walking out on below 0? floor, barefoot. Moving on to your family of procreation, once you enter into adulthood, you then find yourself in your family of procreation. The difference between the two is important. The choices which led up to this family of procreation are only yours. When you marry, you have to choose the one you marry. Factors included with that individual’s looks, personality, abilities, knowledge and interests. Sometimes you even get what I call, a â€Å"combo deal†. Pretty self explanatory, your partner may bring along his relatives and sometimes even children. Into what you ask? Into your marriage, that’s what. Of course we always hope and pray, that individual did not bring with him baggage from his family of orientation or previous relationships, but rather positive experiences from one of the other or both. O ne important subject I’d love to get a little more in depth with is the true values of a happy family are. As I previously stated, my family is nowhere near perfect but we try to do whatever it takes to keep our heads held high. Although being Mexican-American can pretty much sum up to why we are stuck together like glue at all times. Our culture is really big on staying together, and doing whatever it takes to get to the top as a whole. Growing up my parents taught me a couple of unique values to always carry at hand. They mean a lot to me and as a whole, they are the foundation I grew up from into who I am today. In our home family values are rules or ideals that, as a family, we agree to live by and stay true to. Having strong well defined family values helps set the foundation for a strong, tight knit family. When educated long enough this closeness provides a soft place to fall when life doesn’t go according to plan. Strong and consistent family values are important in building trust and confidence in each family member. I just want to explain a couple that are important to me and my household, although I’m sure you will obviously relate. We are a very close family, one thing about us, we all want to feel wanted. Come on, who doesn’t want to feel like they belong? It is important that each member of my family feel that they are loved, that they belong and that they matter. Being a united family could mean that you spend every spare minute together doing family activities but keep in mind that everyone is different. Creating a strong family is great, but each person should be allowed the space and freedom to explore the activities they think they may enjoy. People are braver and more willing to take chances if they know they have a safe place to come back to when things don’t quite work out.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Family is not an important thing. It’s everything. † I’m all for order, schedules and structure in my family to help maintain some level of reason. But too much structure and the unwillingness to give a little can result in a lot of unhappiness and dislike. The more flexibility you have in decision making, for example, the happier your family will be for it. I know I personally love having a say in everything, sometimes even having the last word is all it takes for me to be happy. Imagine one member of the family always thinking they are right and enforcing their way of doing things. Flexibility in the family will certainly ease of a little less unhappiness off and bring out the happiness within. * 2 of my favorite and most important family values are respect and honesty. I swear I cannot stress enough how crazy important these factors are to my parents and although these two are a bit more difficult to define because they hit a ittle more into the heart than others. For my family, to respect each other is to take feelings, thoughts, needs, and preferences in to account when making decisions. It also means acknowledging and valuing everyone’s thoughts, feelings and contributions to the family as a whole. Respect is indeed earned and there is a very fine line between it and fear. The only way to earn and keep someone’s respect is to first show them respect yourself. That is the most important rule in our household. Respect is an important family value will extend out of the home and into school, work or other social settings. Honesty is something I learned the hard way, so many problems entered my life thanks to lack of honesty. This is the foundation of any relationships that are meant to last. Mother-daughter, husband-wife, sister-brother. You name it. Without honesty a deeper connection will not form and certainly won’t last. Encourage honesty by practicing understanding and respect when someone tells you of their wrong doings. If we lose it and get angry when we’re told what has happened the other person will be more likely to hide it from you next time simply to avoid the disrespect. * My parents always taught me to be humble no matter what. Giving without thinking â€Å"what’s in it for me† is an important value for anyone wanting to be a responsible, contributing member to society. Through generosity we build empathy since we tend to think more about what people want or need. Being generous doesn’t mean simply handing over money to someone in need. It can also include giving your time, love, attention or even some of your possessions. Being generous is the same as being humble with other people around you. Respect your elders, always forgive, take responsibility, and give! To gain respect, you must first earn it, in order to earn it, give it! Values are essential to living a happy and meaningful life. It is family members who come to your rescue in the need of hour and stand by you when you feel lonely. They give you mental as well as financial support. You can share your problems if you have any with your family members. So it is family which is more important than anything. So take care of your family, they are all you truly have. A close bond with your family now is a bond that will get stronger as you go. I would never trade my family for anything or anyone in the world. Where ever I go, I’ll make sure they tag along with me.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Cause Of Child Beggars Children And Young People Essay Essays

Cause Of Child Beggars Children And Young People Essay Essays Cause Of Child Beggars Children And Young People Essay Essay Cause Of Child Beggars Children And Young People Essay Essay Child development is defined as taking a kid s advantages in an unfairly mode. It is a job all of us know much of or hold heard much about. Sexual maltreatment, erotica, nobbling kids and selling kids into harlotry, kid mendicants are illustrations of child development ( Judy H. Wright, 2006 ) . Child mendicant is a monolithic job in all states of the universe. They frequently come shoeless, dressed in dirty, scruffy, smelly apparels. It is heart-rending to see small kids imploring on busy roads. They frequently scrounge for alms all over the metropolis. They are everyplace, at traffic signals, streets, dark markets, peering into vehicle Windowss, bedraggled, Haggard and interrupting into a sudden smiling when a few coins are dropped into their thenars. Sometimes they would narrate and state a hapless narrative to roll up more money. Child mendicants are swarmed around us, and frequently they bearing the Markss of maltreatment, these kids work all twenty-four hours, merely to gain hardly plenty to populate on. The net incomes that they make, child mendicants frequently forced to give up their rewards to the foreman who will take their money and rob them of their self-respect, jostling them right back into ceaseless rhythm of imploring. How much they earn will be the effects of their Markss of maltreatment. The job of kid mendicants is longstanding. What causes this issue? Poverty is the primary cause of this issue. It is claimed that it is poverty that makes parents direct their kids to prostitute, it is the poorness that make parents sell their kids for kid trafficking, it is the poorness that makes parents deny their kids instruction and do them work twenty-four hours and dark. All signifiers of child development linked to poorness ( xxx ) . Children from hapless households are populating in delicate environm ents, with no clean H2O supplies and no nutrient. They are forced to work or implore for money to supplement household income. If they did nt take to implore for money, for misss, they might fall victim to sexual and physical maltreatment by household members. Poverty consequences in a big figure of kids non acquiring the chance to fall in school. They missed the opportunities to being educated because of poorness. Many hapless states have over the old ages developed advanced and originative programmes to control poorness but the programmes ever failed. Some NGOs have proposed that the authorities should repair a monthly grant for the deserving mendicants so that the job could be solved for good. However, it ever failed ( xxx ) . Apart from that, parents are the secondary cause of child mendicants. They play a critical function in Numberss of child mendicants increasing quickly. Children brought out to crowded topographic points, but parents did non pay attending on their kid give human trafficking organisation good chance to take away their kids and sent to nowhere, do them as kid mendicants. Many of these kids are victimized by human trafficking organisation. Children and yearlings are besides used as mendicants to pull out money from pity-filled passersby. In order to arouse understanding to roll up more money, kids normally have one or more of their limbs cruelly amputated. Parents are no concern on their kid s attitude and action make the state of affairs worse. Child is easy to pull by something for illustration nutrient or plaything. If a kid is targeted by a trafficking organisation, the individual will pull the kid with nutrient, Sweets, or playthings. If every parents pay attending and keep their ki ds s custodies tight when they are in crowded topographic points, it will hold no opportunity for others to take away their kid. Furthermore, in hapless states, kids are sold by parents to the trade to achieve basic life necessities. Parents shows irresponsibleness attitude because they did nt trouble oneself what will go on to their kid after selling off to these organisation. Besides, in rural country, where many parents are illiterate, some organisation set the rubric of conveying their kid out from the town to metropolis to hold instruction, better cognition in order to populate better. But after the organisation took away their kid, parents did nt trouble oneself or care much what will go on to their kid or where are they being send. These happens because deficiency of protection of parents on their kids. In add-on, uncontrolled birth is besides the cause of child mendicants. Children from hapless household, that their parents have no income, they normally send their kids to implore or even sell them off. Children become profitable tool for back uping household life. Unplanned and uncontrolled birth brings problem to hapless household which they feel that they have excessively many kids, and it is all right for them to sell some of their kid to roll up money and have better life for the aged kids. It is surely unjust for these kids as it is non their mistake to be the load of the household members. It is the uncontrolled birth that causes parents selling off their kid, hence increase Numberss of child mendicants. Besides that, increasing Numberss of trafficking organisation causes increase Numberss of child mendicants. These human trafficking organisations are cold hearted. They organized offense mark kids result in kids become victims of kid trafficking and forced beggary. Some of the organisation even established working forms, sales schemes to makes child mendicants collects more money. Harmonizing to The Week Where are our childs? July 19th, 2009 ) , one kid goes losing every hr in Delhi while the constabulary avoid answerability by registering merely 20 % of losing instances. Most of the missing kids are from households without fiscal resources to follow-up on the instances ( thirty ) . Last but non least, another cause of child mendicants is the deficiency of free, mandatory instruction. Harmonizing to Elena Arnal, parental instruction plays an of import function. Educated parents are less likely to direct their kids off or selling them off than non-educated parents ( thirty ) . In hapless states, peoples largely are illiterate. Parents did nt cognize they should direct their kids to schools. Despite the fact that The Child Rights Act ( 2003: Section 1 ) that stated a kid must fall in schools when they are at suited age, in hapless household that has no income, they do nt hold adequate money to purchase nutrient and back up the lifes ; hence, they will merely disregard the Torahs and direct them kids to implore for money. Forced imploring brings uninterrupted derivation on the kids who do non see their households, do non travel to school and neer has the opportunity to rest. Sooner or subsequently, the kids are likely to go a machines and this is decidedly a really bad thing for kids themselves. In a nutshell, plentifulness of kids become mendicants because they are hapless. No alms will alter that ; they will merely do it worse. What we peoples can make is seek to alter the fortunes that cause their poorness ( xxx ) . Effective operations from clip to clip are underway to extinguish child mendicants all around the universe. Children welfare organisation should make something to relieve their predicament alternatively of merely giving money to child mendicants. Besides that, it is a must to describe to the governments when you see child mendicants hanging at the streets. Missing kids exploited as child mendicants or drug runners, these instances have been go oning in all states. To avoid unfortunate instances from go oning, everyone have great duty.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Master Management and Change Essay

Master Management and Change Essay Master: Management and Change Essay Creating Sustainable Change: A new paradigm in Project Management Ron Schipper Senior Consultant, Van Aetsveld Project and Change management, Amersfoort, the Netherlands Harry Rorije Principal Consultant, Van Aetsveld Project and Change management, Amersfoort, the Netherlands Gilbert Silvius 1 Professor of Business, ICT and Innovation, University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht, the Netherlands Principal Consultant, Van Aetsveld Project and Change management, Amersfoort, the Netherlands Abstract Projects can be seen as a system to realize change in organizations. This change can involve new work processes, new policies, new resources, new products or services, etc. Sustainable change in these policies, processes, products, etc, requires different behavior of the workers or employees of the organization. It is, however, this aspect of change that most projects seem to oversee. In this paper, we will argue that changing or influencing the behavior of an organization’s employees is a crucial element in realizing change. The contemporary insights in human behavior and behavioral change, however, seem to contradict the more mechanical approach to projects that most project management methodologies prescribe. Controlling behavioral change, if possible, may require a different paradigm to projects and organizational change. Our paper will shed some light on this contradictory topic and will provide practical suggestions for the integration of behavioral change aspec ts in project management. Keywords Project management, Sustainable Change, Management of Change Introduction Projects can be considered as temporary organizations (Turner and Mà ¼ller, 2003) that deliver (any kind of) change to organizations, products, services, policies or assets (Gareis, 2010). Successful change most often requires a change of human behavior and therefore is influenced by the motivation to overcome resistance to change (Kotter, 1996). Gareis (2010), however, concludes that this kind of change is not adequately recognized in project management and that â€Å"specific change methods are to be applied according to the specific change requirements†. This paper provides an overview and practical suggestions for the integration of behavioral change aspects in both portfolio and project management. The question asked is how to realize sustainable behavioral change (when that is intended with the project)? Many publications (e.g. Boonstra, 2004; Cummings and Worley, 1996) show a managerial perspective on change: behavioral change is something that can be plan ned and managed top-down. However, this perspective is increasingly being questioned. People are free individuals who decide for themselves to show certain behavior. All attempts made in the past to force members of the organization to behave differently and the rewarding or punishing act on it has never led to sustainable behavioral change. It led to short-term changes with fall-back (Anderson, 2002; Beer 1990; Homan, 2005). This perspective creates this paper’s main question: which circumstances need to be created by project in order to make sustainable behavioral change occur? In this paper we focus on how the ‘forgotten group’ in organizations, the employees, experience change in projects. In the next paragraph will elaborate on what is meant with this ‘forgotten group’. We will then look at change from the perspective of this group. How do employees experience changes? How do they handle changes? When are they effected by change? When do they ch ange their behavior permanently? By practicing this perspective we will gained interesting insights, for example that managing for shorter lead times for projects actually hinders sustainable behavioral change. The paper will be concluded with some recommendations on how to connect with employees and integrate behavioral change into projects and project portfolios. 1 Corresponding author: Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, Padualaan 101, 3584 CH Utrecht,

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Making Essay Writing for High School Students Tolerable

Making Essay Writing for High School Students Tolerable Making Essay Writing for High School Students Tolerable If you want to make essay writing for high school students tolerable, it is important to understand how to write your essays better and faster. Knowing how to make essay writing go by faster, you can make completing academic assignments less painful. Making essay writing tolerable is easily done if you follow three simple steps and start reducing the amount of time it takes to finish your work. Rather than worrying about your writing assignment for weeks on end, get in some early preparation and maintain self-belief that you really can do it: Understand Your Task You want to read over your prompt first and foremost because nothing is worse than starting on an assignment only to find after a great deal of effort that you were traveling down the wrong path. As you are reading over your prompt highlight any keywords. If you need to use a dictionary to look up the meaning of words that are unfamiliar to you, try to search out the task words which are included in your prompt to indicate what things you actually need to do. Some examples of task words include compare, contrast, discuss. You want to identify the topic words which also indicate the subject such as the character of Romeo or the causes of WWII†. Finally, you want to look out for limiting words which restrict your discussion to a specific area such as during the 18th century, or chapters 1-4†. Research in a Smart Way When you are preparing, you want to be selective about the reading you complete as a part of your background research. Use sources that are accessible and relevant. As you are completing your research, you want to write down notes copiously. But as you take notes, make sure you include the information in your own words. This is particularly important. If you write down any quotes or any statistics you want to make sure you acknowledge the source; and keep track of the bibliographic information. Remember that no final product should have more than 10% direct quotes, so you need to be selective about the quotes that you use. Consider Many Ideas You want to brainstorm different ideas in response to your prompt. Write down any relevant points you can think of and make notes of quotations which come to mind as you are completing your research. Use brainstorming techniques such as mind mapping to help stimulate any lateral thinking that might jog any ideas in the back of your mind. Overall, when you have learned how to improve your writing skills and make your essay writing go by faster. Crafting papers can be much less painful when you use the skills above. As a high school student, the more tricks you have in order to expedite the writing process, the easier it will be for you to get through any writing task.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

What do managers do Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What do managers do - Essay Example They have many duties and some can be detailed as below. For a company to be successful, the manager needs to set many goals and objective which it needs to achieve during a period of time. Setting objectives is an important duty of a manager. From the top level management to the lower level management setting objectives is an important task of manager. It is not a simple task and need lot of thinking, analysis, experience of business and knowledge. The objective is set to describe the desired outcome of a business activity. A manager as a part of setting objective outlines the goals and tasks to his subordinates. The objectives need to be set after considering many factors related to business. A manager need to consider the resources, capital and manpower of the company to set objective. As per Riley( 2012) â€Å"A popular way to look at objectives is to see them as part of a hierarchy of forward-looking terms which help set and shape the strategy of a business†. Organizing the business activities of a company is a significant part of manager’s job. The manager divides the activities in to manageable manner and selects people which suit each task. A manager must make efficient use to time to achieve goals as per set objective. In order to organize activities, the manager has to plan in ahead of time. Breaking down major task in to smaller activities and assigning them to right employees organizes the work of a business. As per Matista( 2013) â€Å"While getting organized requires some diligence, your company will benefit significantly in the long run†. A manager has the responsibility of motivating his employees. Employees need motivation and encouragement from time to time and it is the duty of the manager to do so. Manager can motivate an employee in many ways like promotions; increase in salary and by awarding certificates. According to Alexander (2013) â€Å"One of the best ways to lay the groundwork for future motivation is to acknowledge

Listening Log Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Listening Log - Essay Example Title: I’m Gonna Be Album: Sunshine on Leith Artist: The Proclaimers Year of Release: 1988 Rock Style: Pop Rock or Celtic Rock Musical Characteristics: Proving that pop music can be defined by a broad spectrum of sounds and experiences, this piece of music has the sound of an Scottish drinking song, the lyrics of a sentimental ballad, and a hard driving beat that pushes the listener to embrace the hook in such a way that it will either pleasantly or irritatingly hang on long after the song has ended. Finding fame in the film Benny & Joon starring Johnny Depp, the song picked up fame in the United States, even while experiencing continuing fame in its originating country, Scotland, as it is often heard and sung during football games. Comparison The two pieces are similar, first, in that they both have an unusual sound that was picked up due to a specific hook that caught the attention of the listening public. These songs represent the kind of music that, once heard, do not easi ly leave the mind of the listener. The construction of the music in both works is simple and straight forward, the music developed through a limited instrumentation and a heavy emphasis on the beat of the drum.

Friday, October 18, 2019

History of Blacks in the Diaspora Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

History of Blacks in the Diaspora - Essay Example The coast was the focal point of trade for both goods from Europe as well as their slaves. Ultimately, the people were dumped in one of the ships meant for the slaves and deported on a transatlantic journey unaware that they will be traded and locked up as laborers. In terms of numbers the African Diaspora is unbelievable. Close to 12 million people were coerced out of Africa and deported to the New World. The key to the African Diaspora was propelled by a thriving economy. The slave trade drew investors from a host of nations such as Portugal, Spain, Brazil, England, the United States, Holland, France, Sweden and Denmark which kept the slave trade alive for a more than hundred years. (The African Diaspora: Melfisher.org) The concept of the African Diaspora considers the worldwide dispersion of Africans throughout history; the surfacing of the cultural identity abroad based on origin and social condition; and the physiological return to their own homeland i.e. Africa. Thus the African presence in Asia, Europe, and the Americas is not a recent occurrence. It had happened in ancient Greece and Rome, and it subsisted in Arabia and also in other parts of Asia prior to the rise of Islam. The growth of the global trade in African slaves by the Arabs for more than a century and half years back and the much more severe business by the Europeans and Americas from the fifteen century made that presence basically global. (Harris 27) Background & History of Blacks in the Diaspora: Spanning a period of nearly four hundred years, more than 4 million Africans were deported to N. America and also to the Caribbean Islands in the Atlantic slave trade. They were imprisoned from their motherland and estranged from the members of their groups and families and they were led to lead lives of slaves in New World where the customs and traditions in the midst they spent their lives were completely absent. The African Diaspora is the account of the manner in which Africans even through scattered and isolated were able to retain their traditions, undergo changes in their identities in a New World. Essentials of African culture such as the religion, language, and folklore lasted and also the links to their previous lives. In the course of Americanization, Africans developed yet another culture that is known as African-Americans or Creolos. The forced migration leading to the transatlantic slave trade is considered to be the largest one in the world. In its effort, it created l asting permanent linkages between Africa and N. America. (African Diaspora: Colorado College) The African populations were transported from a lot of areas of Africa, however mainly from those areas along the coast. The Bantu, lined on the Guinea coast, had the biggest uniform culture after which comes Mande, hence the culture of African-Americans was impacted in a major part by the people of these areas. In these colonies, the demand of the slaves mainly for economic factors and the demographics of the slaves left a huge impact on the development of the Afro-American culture. There was a presence of more than one Afro-American cu

Behavior Management Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Behavior Management Plan - Essay Example The main features or basic strategy of a behavior management plan may not always remain the same it can be altered and changed as per circumstances as every children has different behavioral requirements. Behavior plans are basically formulated to help the child in getting rid of certain attributes that can have unfavorable effects on his/her personality. Moreover these plans also work on the traits that act as a hindrance blocks in a child’s way when he\she is trying to learn new skills. While composing a behavior management plan, a fundamental behavior analysis should be carried out. Fundamental Behavior Analysis (FBA) is an appraisal or consideration that points out or estimates the basic behavioral traits that should be eliminated from a child’s personality. Behavior management plan has five basic steps through which it is constructed. These steps are: (1) analysis or estimation of the behavior that needs to be changed (2) Information assembling that is when, where and how does the inappropriate behavior arise and how often does it occur. This information is important because it helps one to take suitable and appropriate steps and decisions. (3) Analysis and Interpretation of gathered information that is go through the information thoroughly and keep each minute point in your concern.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Economic100 Article Analysis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Economic100 Analysis - Article Example Broccoli, which was yesterday priced at $6.99/kg in store, could drop down to as low as $2.99/kg. Other winter vegetables, such as cauliflower and cabbage, will see similar reductions. Fruit would eventually follow, but would not drop as much, he said. Banana lovers will be the hardest hit however. â€Å"They will stay up for at least six months,† he said. Ausveg, the national peak industry body representing the interests of Australian vegetable and potato growers, has also predicted the drop in vegetable prices. â€Å"We’ve predicted a price drop in the coming months. We will see a return to normal pricing,† Ausveg spokesman Hugh Tobin said. â€Å"Areas devastated by the floods like the Lockyer Valley are getting back on track.† Ausveg had estimated national losses in vegetable and fruit production was at approximately $225 million. Price drop Winter vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage are expected to drop in price by almost 50% in the ne xt two to three months. Fruit will slowly follow, depending on the weather, but bananas will not return to normal prices for at least six months.1 Report Introduction The price level of food products influences majority of each household’s expenditure, therefore changes in prices draw people’s attention. ... It also mentions fruits following sometime later, without being exact. It is expressing pessimistic predictions about banana’s specifically, affected by Yasi cyclone, estimating the recovery process to last at least 6 months. The national wealth suffered a terrible loss due to the flooding, and the article estimates $225 million loss in production. However, these estimates do not take into account the future consequences of losing the foreign market share. The reasons for prices being up for a long period of time and their estimated changes are hidden within laws of demand and supply. The elasticity of demand also influences the situation, and the purpose of the report is to give reasons for this thesis. There’s a high possibility of inflation affecting the situation further, and that will be also discussed. Analysis The law of supply and demand states that all other things constant, there exists an equilibrium point on the intersection of supply and demand curves, wher e the needs of customers and suppliers are met - optimal resource allocation, and that markets naturally strive for it (graph 1).4 Graph 1. Supply and demand equilibrium. Source: Investopedia. â€Å"The floods have damaged crops and caused disruption to supply.†5 What happened in Australia, with natural disasters – flood and cyclone – affecting available sources of goods, is called a supply shock. As the amount of fruits and vegetables supplied decreased, the supply curve shifted left, and the corresponding equilibrium price increased (graphs 2 and 3). â€Å"Growers whose crops have not been destroyed have had difficulty transporting their products to market

Marketing Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Marketing Report - Assignment Example McDonalds is one of the leading fast food producing organizations across the globe. The organization is quite popular in Bahrain due to its products of high quality and introduction of differentiated fast food products. Beef Burger has been produced by McDonalds in Bahrain. The organization has gained huge popularity among the people of Bahrain due to the high quality aspect of Beef burger. This assignment will discuss about several marketing and branding aspects of McDonalds regarding its mentioned Beef burger. McDonald’s is one of the largest and leading fast food producing organizations across the globe. The organization has effectively implemented global business expansion strategy in business operation process. Bahrain is another country in which McDonalds has successfully adopted and implemented global expansion strategy. McDonalds has implemented the combination of cost leadership and product differentiation strategy in business operation process. It is true that, each and every leading multinational organization has implemented unique business level strategies in business operation process in order to gain potential competitive advantages. Similarly, the management of McDonalds has adopted and implemented the combination of product differentiation and cost leadership strategy in Bahrain in order to gain potential competitive advantages over its competitors in Bahrain fast food market. Implementation of cost leadership business level strategy has helped McDonalds in Bahrain to reduce the business operation cost in order to offer products in economic price level. It is true that recent financial crisis and economic slowdown has affected the purchasing power of people. Therefore, the cost leadership strategy has helped the organization to support the purchasing power of people in Bahrain (Parameswaram , 2006, p.95). On the other hand, demand for differentiated fast food products among the people of Bahrain is increasing significantly. Introduction of Beef

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Economic100 Article Analysis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Economic100 Analysis - Article Example Broccoli, which was yesterday priced at $6.99/kg in store, could drop down to as low as $2.99/kg. Other winter vegetables, such as cauliflower and cabbage, will see similar reductions. Fruit would eventually follow, but would not drop as much, he said. Banana lovers will be the hardest hit however. â€Å"They will stay up for at least six months,† he said. Ausveg, the national peak industry body representing the interests of Australian vegetable and potato growers, has also predicted the drop in vegetable prices. â€Å"We’ve predicted a price drop in the coming months. We will see a return to normal pricing,† Ausveg spokesman Hugh Tobin said. â€Å"Areas devastated by the floods like the Lockyer Valley are getting back on track.† Ausveg had estimated national losses in vegetable and fruit production was at approximately $225 million. Price drop Winter vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage are expected to drop in price by almost 50% in the ne xt two to three months. Fruit will slowly follow, depending on the weather, but bananas will not return to normal prices for at least six months.1 Report Introduction The price level of food products influences majority of each household’s expenditure, therefore changes in prices draw people’s attention. ... It also mentions fruits following sometime later, without being exact. It is expressing pessimistic predictions about banana’s specifically, affected by Yasi cyclone, estimating the recovery process to last at least 6 months. The national wealth suffered a terrible loss due to the flooding, and the article estimates $225 million loss in production. However, these estimates do not take into account the future consequences of losing the foreign market share. The reasons for prices being up for a long period of time and their estimated changes are hidden within laws of demand and supply. The elasticity of demand also influences the situation, and the purpose of the report is to give reasons for this thesis. There’s a high possibility of inflation affecting the situation further, and that will be also discussed. Analysis The law of supply and demand states that all other things constant, there exists an equilibrium point on the intersection of supply and demand curves, wher e the needs of customers and suppliers are met - optimal resource allocation, and that markets naturally strive for it (graph 1).4 Graph 1. Supply and demand equilibrium. Source: Investopedia. â€Å"The floods have damaged crops and caused disruption to supply.†5 What happened in Australia, with natural disasters – flood and cyclone – affecting available sources of goods, is called a supply shock. As the amount of fruits and vegetables supplied decreased, the supply curve shifted left, and the corresponding equilibrium price increased (graphs 2 and 3). â€Å"Growers whose crops have not been destroyed have had difficulty transporting their products to market

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

United states v. ziegler Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

United states v. ziegler - Essay Example However, his plea for suppression of his case was thrown out after it was argued that the office and an office computer does not belong to a person but it is an entity for the employer. The appellate argued that the employer pays the rent for the office and supply computer to his employee (Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Montana). Nevertheless, after Ziegler was convicted he appealed the ruling in the Ninth Circuit court. The court overturned the decision of the lower court by arguing that Ziegler right were contravened when his office machine was searched without his notice or a search warrant. The judge said that Ziegler office attracted privacy as he did not share it with other employees. The court argued â€Å"Because Ziegler had a reasonable expectation of privacy in his office, any search of that space and the items located therein must comply with the Fourth Amendment† (Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Montana). In conclusion, I do agree with the decision of the Ninth Circuit court that privacy in the office also is protected in the Fourth

Monday, October 14, 2019

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Essay Example for Free

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Essay Superstition, for the Ibo people provides explanations to unexplained phenomena. For example, their idea of the obanje explains a woman who has the misfortune of many children repeatedly dying as infants. The Oracle gives the Ibo people a way to feel connected with the gods. For the Ibo, the Oracle functions as a way to explain events, as well as a way to predict the future. The Ibo people go to the Oracle for advice. In some other cultures, people pray to their deity to be guided in the right direction or to understand why things happen the way that they do. When the Ibo people want to know what they must do, in an unclear situation (such as how to handle Ikemefuna), they consult the oracle. Most superstitions in the Ibo society are based on lack of knowledge about something. Superstition, in most societies, functions as an explanation for that which we cannot explain with science or logic. It also functions, sometimes, as a form of entertainment and as a way of promoting cultural unity. For example, the ritual involving ancestral spirits coming out to scare the women serves to promote togetherness in the community, to entertain, and to maintain religious and spiritual worship. Another superstition that the Ibo hold is that if you answer, yes? to a call from outside, it could be an evil spirit tricking you. It seems to be that this superstition serves a main purpose of making the people wary. Superstitions evolve from unanswered questions. In Ibo culture, things happened that the people did not understand. A woman would bear two children who looked alike. Perhaps the Ibo people were afraid of this occurrence and gradually began to believe that twins were evil. There is also the Ibo concept of the obanje, a wicked child who dies as an infant, only to reenter the mothers womb repeatedly, causing the parents pain and strife. Without modern medical technology, how would people explain a particular womans children always dying as infants? The Ibo people turned to superstition and folklore. It is not clear from where belief in the Oracle evolved. It seems, however, that this has been a tradition that has been passed on from many generations. A possible explanation would be that long ago one priest or  priestess was receiving many questions from villagers. Unsure of what to do, this priest may have gone into a dark cave to be alone and to try to find the answers from the gods. Perhaps the priest felt a special spiritual energy while inside of the cave, and determined that this must have been a place where he could communicate with the gods. Although the actual origin may be different, many superstitions evolve from this similar type of curiosity and searching for truth.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Autism Essay -- Health, Diseases

Autism first appeared as an identified disorder of children in the 1930s and has been increasing in incidence ever since, to the point that in 2002, nearly 120,000 children with autism were being served under the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)—an increase of 500 percent over the previous decade. In the United States as a whole, it is believed that 1.5 million Americans are living with one form or another of autism (www.healthinschools.org/focus/2005/no2.htm). In his classic paper Kanner (1943) identified three essential features of infantile autism (i.e., social isolation, need for sameness and mutism or non-communicative speech). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM IV TR – APA, 2000) summarizes the current view of the basic diagnostic features of autism as â€Å"Qualitative impairment in social interaction and communication and restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities† (pp. ). One recent study, conducted by Suhail and Zafar (2008), shown that the prevalence of autism in Lahore, Pakistan, is 6.31%. Results further elaborated that the equally more common characteristics of autism in these children were â€Å"relating to people†, â€Å"emotional responses† and â€Å"visual responses’, followed by â€Å"general impression†, â€Å"imitation†, â€Å"taste†, â€Å"smell† and â€Å"touch response and use† and â€Å"verbal communication†. The least commonly observed area was â€Å"level and consistency of intellectual response†. Autism is quite prevalent in Pakistan but there is a huge gap of research in this field. The statistics about its prevalence is almost non-existent. According to Azeem (2009) the number of people falling in autism spectrum disorders is a minimum of 3,45,600 out of 172,800,048 population of... ... vision and Dailiness. This study is a very good example of developing theory out of the action research. Relevant methodology have been employed in the present research in which action research has been conducted to evaluate the efficacy of multi-pronged interventions with an autistic child and a grounded theory has been developed out of the therapist’s reflections of that whole action research process. In the end, after reviewing the literature available about the use and efficacy of intensive humanistic approach and expressive therapies in working with autism, we can clearly see that this could turn out to be a very good combination of multi-pronged intervention plan with autistic children if implemented at early age. Furthermore, it is a novel but fruitful idea to extract theory out of the reflections reporting the action research process in psychology.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

EC Law :: essays research papers fc

EC LAW ASSIGNMENT Gary Slapper states  ¡Ã‚ °that ever since the UK joined the European Community it has progressively, but effectively passed the the power to create laws which have effect in this country to the wider European institutions such ¡Ã‚ ±(Slapper`99 P.33) So in all practical terms the UK`s legislative, executive and judiciary ¡Ã‚ ¯s powers are in the main controlled by and operated within the framework of the European community laws. The increasing importance of Uk judges to consider the issues and principles of EC Law is clearly evident now as regards such issues as human rights and employment rights. National Judges must consider the practical realities that they must abide by EC rules regarding four areas of 1. Direct Applicability,2.Direct Effect and that3.EC Law following the case of Costa v Enel (1964) prevails over the national laws of each member state. Lastly 4. that in coming to a decision the National judge has the option to request a preliminary hearing under Art.177 from the European judiciary on a national legal dispute. It is these four areas that must be looked at in by the national judge when they are considering a case. With the fact that regulations are directly applicable under Art.189EC to all member states and that the UK has adopted the Monist stance (i.e. Community Law automatically becomes UK law) then judges have little option in some areas of law, but to follow Ec laws/Treaties. This comes via the European Communities Act 1972(S.2) and is affirmed in Ec case law 34/73 Variola 1973.National judges must also consider that Ec directives are part of domestic law and thus have legal existence even before their confirmation into national law. National judges must also consider that Ec Law regarding matters that come before the domestic courts is also Directly Effective (involving treaties) and it enforces rights and duties for Ec nationals, which can be enforced in domestic courts. This was established in the landmark case of Van Gend en Loos 1963.The National judge  ¡Ã‚ °has to apply community law in the absence or in place of national law then a provision of such community law must to all intents and purposes be unconditional, clear and precise to form part of Uk law ¡Ã‚ ±. Kaczorowaska`98 P275 .The National judge has the ability to use discretion in the form and implementation procedure. Indeed with the concept of indirect horizontal direct then domestic judges are required to interpret their law in line with that of the community which basically emphasises the supremacy of Ec law as seen in Von Colson and Kaman 1984.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Stereotyping in the Film the Birdcage (1996)

Marketing, education, suggestion and propaganda all subtly influence the opinions and values a society’s members hold. All too often, we have no clear idea how we came to hold the opinions we develop over the course of our lifetimes. From the earliest days of the film industry’s rise at the beginning of the twentieth century, film has had an enormous impact in shaping public views and ideas about everything from what it means to be a â€Å"good citizen† to what roles are acceptable and proper in a â€Å"civilized† society.With the exception of academics and serious students in film or cultural studies, most movie-goers regard the viewing of films (with the exception – sometimes – of documentaries) as simply an entertainment activity when, very often, central to the experience is the swallowing of messages that the creators of the film wish to advance. Since films are often very expensive to produce, the films that find financial backing must also meet with the approval of a society’s elite, moneyed class.It is most often the case, then, that subtle messages and affirmations about the political, social and personal norms the dominant class wishes to endorse and inculcate are embedded in films that reach a wide segment of the population. Richard Dyer, Professor of Film Studies at King's College London, in his essay Stereotyping (1), argues that one of the most common methods by which the dominant economic class attempts to reinforce the worldview it wishes to have embraced by the people, is the employment of stereotypes, which are often one-dimensional, static characterizations of people in various social roles or members of classes of people.These stereotypes range from the flattering depiction of Hero or Faithful Servant, for example, to the cartoonish, demonic or depraved portraits of a â€Å"typical† member of a group of people whose behavior or values the dominant class finds antithetical to their inter ests. Dyer argues that learning to recognize the use of stereotypes in films is provides some self-defense against being oblivious to the attempt to influence one’s thinking and opinions.One such group which has long been the target of such propaganda via stereotyping in films is the homosexual community. It was with the rise of capitalism that homosexuality began to be seen as leading to lifestyles that were not conducive to the provision of good, stable, obedient workers.One of the most influential frameworks for analysis of human relations and the evolution of social norms and political structures from the late 19th century through the present has been Marxist analysis, based on the works of Karl Marx (1818-1883). Dyer employs Marxist analysis, with a nod to sociological terminology (role, individual, type, member) to illustrate that stereotyping in film can occur through the use of iconography â€Å"Iconography is a kind of short-hand—it places a character quickly and economically.P. 32), structurally (â€Å"†¦. by the function of the character in the film’s structure {whether these be static structures, such as the way the film’s world is shown to be organized, materially and ideologically, or dynamic ones, such as plot. P. 33}, and through typing – the opposite of individuation of characters, instead ascribing of attributes to a person based on the idea they are a certain â€Å"type,† and we can understand all we need to know about them by being familiar with that type.While we, generally, think of stereotyping in a negative light, one consideration clearly of great importance to Dyer is the idea that some aspect of typing –insofar as the typing reflects the positive attributes of gay people – should not be discarded entirely, since the recognition for the audience, of some level of commonality in the experience of being gay will serve to illuminate for viewers the struggles faced and the opp ression experienced, hopefully leading to more support in the larger society for improved status and equal civil rights for gay people.In analyzing the use of stereotypes in The Birdcage (Mike Nichols, 1996), I will argue that, while the use of stereotypes by the filmmakers was clearly done with the intention of exposing the stupidity of so many of society’s prejudices, the film does not entirely succeed in leaving the audience with anything close to real motivation for re-thinking approval for the established social idea that gays are somehow â€Å"other† and, at best, sympathetic clowns. The audience simply gets its laughs and goes home.A remake of the French film La Cage aux Folles (Jean Poiret and Francis Veber, 1978), Birdcage is set in drag club called The Birdcage in South Beach, Florida. We learn very early in the movie that Armand Goldman, played by Robin Williams, owns the club and his partner, Albert, played by Nathan Lane, appears regularly as â€Å"Starin a†, the show's star drag queen. The plot of the movie develops when Armand’s son Val becomes engaged to Barbara Keeley, the daughter of the hypocritical, ultraconservative Republican Ohio Senator Kevin Keeley, who is seeking re-election as the co-founder of the â€Å"Coalition for Moral Order. In light of the engagement, the young couple decides that it is finally time for the two families to meet. However, Val requests that Armand and Albert must conceal their homosexuality for this meeting. Stereotyping is not just employed in presenting the characters in Birdcage; the sets also are highly stereotyped and function almost as additional characters. The film opens with the camera panning around from the outside the club, and the viewer gets a quick look at the outside environment.They see bright lights in the night, palm trees, and pedestrians milling about the streets or waiting in line, all in scantily clad outfits and bathing suits. Sequences similar to this occur nu merous times throughout the movie when showing the outside environment. Whether they’re at the beach or in the streets, day or night, the surrounding people are dressed in skimpy clothing, small bikinis, or Speedos. This aspect of the environment is emphasized when the senator and his family are stuck in traffic right outside of the club, approximately seventy-five minutes into the film.While all the cars are stuck in traffic, people are chaotically climbing in and out of open-roofed cars or roller-skating by. Women and men in skimpy and brightly colored bikinis, thongs, and Speedos continuously pass the senator’s idled car while the family stares, aghast, and Mrs. Keely states, â€Å"This is less like Palm Beach than I imagined. † Despite the fact that no indication is given that there is any special occasion being celebrated in South Beach, the carnival-like atmosphere and setting depicts the gay generated environment in a one-dimensional, stereotyped manner.W hile the sexual orientations of the pedestrians is not defined, these sequences are stereotypical cues that the sultry, brightly colored, free-wheeling Florida locale surrounding the drag club, an environment where all the citizens present themselves flamboyantly and provocatively through their dress is to be seen as the typical environment for such a club, a â€Å"gay paradise. † The home of Armand and Albert, located above The Birdcage, is abundantly decorated with stereotypically gay ornamentation. Every available surface is purposefully adorned with lit candles, decadent glass sculptures, flouncy lamps, poufed pillows and homoerotic artwork.The walls are either bright yellow or covered in obnoxious, loud, jungle-themed wallpaper. The significance of the iconographically gay character of the setting is emphasized when Val makes clear that the decor poses as big a pitfall for the senator’s visit, as does the presence of drag queen, Albert. Approximately thirty-six mi nutes into the film, Val insists that they redecorate prior to the Keeley’s arrival. Armand does not understand what is wrong with the decor, and Val points out to a nude sculpture of Neptune, a portrait of a man in drag without his wig, numerous primitive sculptures depicting exaggerated male erections.At first, an offended Armand replies â€Å"But this is art! † and casually turns the erect sculptures around to face the wall, but eventually, out of love for his son, he gives in and clears his home of the many â€Å"gay signaling† items he possesses, completely redesigning it into a setting similar to a Catholic monastery (Armand is Jewish. ). The most ridiculously, screamingly stereotyped character in Birdcage of Armand’s spouse, the drag queen star, Albert.It is no accident that the character, Albert, is the embodiment, not only of the drag queen type, but also of the worst stereotyped version of a woman: shrill, melodramatic, self-absorbed, vain, over ly emotional, and prone to hysterics, suspicion and jealousy. The viewer is introduced to him five minutes into the film while he is in a fit of hysterics. Albert, suddenly devastated by the recognition that he is no longer young and beautiful, and convinced Armand is losing interest in him, is extremely upset and refuses to prepare for his nightly stage performance.The audience immediately sees that Albert is overreacting by the melodramatic way he behaves in this scene. As Armand attempts to enter the dressing room, Albert, who was previously hiding under some sheets, wailing and lamenting his sorrows to the couple’s housekeeper Agador, squeals and barricades the door because he doesn’t want Armand to see him in his â€Å"hideous, hideous, fat and hideous† state. Even in the chaos of Armand trying to break into the room, Albert’s shrieks are completely audible over the ruckus. Once Armand enters the room, Albert begins to make melodramatic claim after m elodramatic claim: â€Å"I’m in such pain!It’ll never pass! I hate my life. † â€Å"Never mind about me feelings. † â€Å"Don’t use that tone to me†¦that sarcastic, contemptuous tone that means you know everything because you are a man, and I know nothing because I was a woman†, â€Å"I was adorable once, young and full of hope and now look at me! I’m this short, fat, insecure middle-aged little thing! † Such behavior and sentiments are typically attributed to the stereotypical, emotionally unstable and utterly dependent woman, Albert’s character embodies the classically drawn stereotype of a melodramatic, overly emotional, ridiculous gay man who might as well be considered a woman.While Albert’s raging hysterics, melodramatic behavior and â€Å"prissiness† was on full display in this particular scene, his diva-like self-absorption and hysterical reactions are carried throughout the entire film, with t he exceptional surprise when he rises to the occasion and â€Å"saves the day,† later in the film Fifty minutes into the film, in an attempt to win the favor of Barbara’s parents, Armand tries to teach Albert how to portray himself as a straight man. This attempt, however, is completely unsuccessful.No matter how hard he tries, Albert cannot walk without swishing his hips while holding out the palms of his hands, his posture is too upright, and the register of his voice is too high. The fact that Albert is incapable of pretending not to be a flamboyant, over-the-top, and extremely feminine person tells the viewer that his â€Å"gay-ness† is what completely defines his entire personality and every aspect of his behavior, and further sets the stereotype in stone.Structurally, the characterization of the relationship between Armand and Albert is reduced by its definition as reflecting a cartoonish parody of the stereotypical traditionally defined roles played by â €Å"husband and wife. † While it is clear that the Albert has a more feminine personality than Armand, the film also depicts Albert as the â€Å"mother† and caretaker of the household.For example, twenty minutes into the film, Armand is silently reading the newspaper and drinking coffee in the kitchen, Albert is feverishly folding the laundry, babbling about matters such as how ratty Val’s shirt is and how he got a pork roast for dinner instead of fillet minion. This scene and many others show how this movie depicts the roles of a gay relationship as being identical to the stereotypical gender roles of a heterosexual couple. There is no question that the creators of this film intentionally employed thoroughly stereotyped characters.There is little to no individual character development whatsoever. However, since these stereotypes are so over-the-top and blatant, there must have been a conscious effort on the part of the filmmakers to feed into such stereotypes. This film is merely a lighthearted nod towards the ridiculous stereotypes that much of society today believes to be completely realistic depictions of homosexuals. Therefore, such obvious stereotyping does not outweigh the comedy or the quality of the film, but rather define it.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Film & Ideology †Milk Essay

The definition of the word ideology can be represented in many ways. Today’s basic understanding of the word can be defined as â€Å"the body of ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an individual, group, class, or culture† (Farlex, 2009). Gus Van Sant’s exceptional biopic Milk (Gus Van Sant, 2008) depicts the story of Harvey Milk, the slain gay-rights activist who became the first openly gay man elected to any substantial political office in the history of the planet. Harvey Milk’s life changed history – his courage still motivates people today, his ideals still teach people today and his hope still inspire people today. The release of Milk in 2008 has helped to bring back a new sense of appreciation for the hope and passion that Harvey Milk died for. Milk beautifully shows the fights and struggles Harvey Milk had to go through to gain the trust of the people and in order for his ideologies of a brighter tomorrow for all queer people to be fully appreciated by everyone. Harvey Milk was an individual who did not die in vain; his efforts in fighting for gay rights left a lasting impact on the people of this planet and his hope still lives on to this day. Simply put Harvey Milk’s ideology of fighting on and instilling hope in the fight for gay rights when no one else would, immortalized him – â€Å"Without hope, life’s not worth living† (Milk, 2008) It is now June 7th 1977, the sun has set on the Castro district of San Francisco, and the crowd that has gathered in the street outside Harvey Milk’s camera shop is becoming more and more, impatient and angry. We know watching that the reason that everyone is angry is due to the reports about voters in Dade County, Florida, having voted to overturn a local gay-rights ordinance, giving momentum to a backlash whose most visible public face belongs to Anita Bryant. We know we have reached the climax of the movie. So much is happening all at once in the life of Harvey Milk that you wonder how he has not yet lost his head. His impish upbeat attitude and overly positive optimism in the face of multiplying frustrations makes you look up in awe at the wonderment that is Harvey Milk. The gay residents of the Castro are angry and looking to Harvey for leadership. Though not yet elected to office and having lost 3 years consecutively, Harvey rises to the occasion and leads the angry crowd to city hall where he picks up a bullhorn and address the crowd in a way only Harvey Milk can – turning an angry mob on the verge of a violent riot to a enthusiastic mass willing to fight for their rights the proper way. In the space of a few minutes Harvey goes from a whisper to a shout, from an intimate message of consolation and support to a defiant public speech. Milk shows us that it is these moments, these distinct modes of address, are connected, and that the link between them is what defines Harvey Milk’s aspirations and ideals. According to Dr. Harry M. Benshoff, an associate professor of Radio, Television, and Film at the University of North Texas, queer theorist focus on how sexuality was and is a product of culture, not some sort of biological given. In Milk it is clearly stressed that Harvey too did not believe that homosexuality was a genetic disease. In the scene of the 1977 June 7th march, just before he leaves the store to lead the mob to city hall, Harvey answers the telephone only to be greeted by a scared and confused teenager whose parents believe him to be ill because he is gay. Harvey’s disregard of homosexuality as a genetic disorder is abundantly clear in this scene when he reassures the teenage boy that he isn’t ill and that being gay is perfectly normal. Dr. Benshoff goes on to day that following the work of Alfred Kinsey and Sigmund Freud, queer theorists argue that human sexuality—or indeed, race, gender, class, etc. —are not either/or propositions, but are rather fluid and dynamic socially-defined positions. To suggest that there is one norm (straight white man on top sex for procreation and nothing else) is grossly misleading and only serves to foster rule by the same and persecution of everything else. Throughout Milk we can see that Harvey, though a very passionate gay-rights activist, is not only looking out for the queer folk. He holds dear to the ideal that everyone is equal. In a way he embodies what Kinsey and Freud say. He did not believe in just one norm. In his fight for gay-rights he isn’t trying to one-up the vast heterosexual majority by over throwing them and getting homosexuals to run the world, he is merely trying to get them to see that homosexuals are no different from any other person. Harvey Milk was trying to break down the social barriers that led to narrow minded thinking of just one social norm. In Milk during one of the public rally’s he had, Harvey said that â€Å"all men are created equal. No matter how hard you try, you can never erase those words† – he believed these words with all his heart. To Harvey Milk, he wasn’t just fighting for gay-rights; he was fighting for a way of life that did not constrict its citizens to conform to just one social norm. Milk, Gus Van Sant’s film project that was close to two decades in the making, was released on the 26th of November 2008 and marks the 30th anniversary of Harvey Milk’s death and the brief but brilliant political career he led. Harvey Milk was unfortunately gunned down on November 27th 1978, three weeks after his biggest political victory. The San Francisco city supervisor had been in office less than a year when he spearheaded a statewide campaign to defeat Proposition 6, a ballot initiative that called for the mandatory firing of gay teachers in California. Milk however arrived in theaters three weeks after the biggest political setback the American gay rights movement has suffered in years: the passage of Proposition 8, which reversed the California Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage. As untimely as the events that unfolded prior to the theatrical release of Milk, it begs the question on how did Proposition 8 change the meaning—the symbolic and ideological significance as well as the real-world function—of Gus Van Sant’s Milk. The passing of proposition 8 transformed Milk from a delicate, serious-minded period biopic that was directed by the brilliant Gus Van Sant into something much more urgent. Milk was suddenly this shinning beacon of hope that reinstated the hope and passion that was Harvey Milk into today’s gay-rights activist. There are some moments in the film that in retrospect seem as though it is speaking directly to the audience of the present. As the Proposition 6 results start to roll in, Harvey tells his followers: â€Å"If this thing passes, fight the hell back. † Those eight words speak volumes to the people who are fighting against the proposition 6 of today, proposition 8. â€Å"Somehow, when 8 passed, something else happened that was even more intense than the campaign, which is good. It was an inspiring reaction that showed strength to the people who were against Prop 8. So yeah, it seems to have an effect on something that’s similar to it: Prop. 6, that appears in our movie†, Milk director Gus Van Sant was quoted during an interview with IFC. com. The activist understood the message Harvey Milk stood for in the day, and opted not to let his valiant efforts go to waste. To judge from the numerous rallies that have sprung up across the country since Prop 8 passed, many gays and lesbians are doing just that, refusing to go down without a fight. Gay rights advocates have been quoted saying that they hope to capitalize on Milk’s fortuitous topicality. The film’s Oscar winning screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black, and veteran activist Cleve Jones published a manifesto for equality in the San Francisco Chronicle on November 14th 2008 and launched a nationwide campaign of mass protests and civil disobedience. The endnote of their manifesto read, â€Å"Remember always, and reflect in all your actions, that we are not fighting against anyone, or anything. We are struggling for equality†. Harvey Milk was the one that picked up the flag when no one else would. He was the one that led the suppressed minority on to recognition and acceptance. All who wear his badge, or speak his words, or hold strong to his ideals, keep him alive. Milk managed to revitalize Harvey and in a strange twilight zone sort of way enlisted today’s newly radicalized generation to find their figurehead in the movie-hero version of a long-dead hero. In Milk we see that Harvey’s main arsenal in his fight for equality was that he rejected secrecy and shame in favor of openness and visibility. He insisted that the fight against homophobia begins with the act of coming out – â€Å"If they know us, they don’t vote against us†. Harvey Milk realized this earlier than many of his contemporaries. He understood that in order to gain true equality gays and lesbians should serve as their own civil advocated instead of merely relying on pacts and promises made with their straight allies in high and powerful places. Though he was seen as a radical at the time, in retrospect Harvey Milk is an optimist, an idealist, a true believer in the possibilities of American democracy. Gus Van Sant understood where Harvey was coming from with his ‘come out of the closet ideology’. In the interview with IFC. com Gus Van Sant sheds some light on the ideology and how it affected him. â€Å"It was Harvey’s one idea that would have worked and probably did help the â€Å"No on Proposition 6† campaign†¦ultimately, it’s an interesting concept, and that was the way he thought had a huge effect on Proposition 6. If it’s not an unknown, it’s not scary. If it’s a known, it’s friendly and you understand, ‘Oh that person that I know is gay, and this other person I know is gay’. That’s partly how it works†. The openly gay Hollywood director went on to say, â€Å"But people did come out. It was his drive to just come out of the closet, lock the closet, and stay out, which was followed by many people. And really, it was his death request. If a bullet should enter his brain, may it knock down every closet door — that was his last request, his will, which probably extended to many people, including me, because I came out after he was killed†. This is just one of the millions of example on how Harvey Milk’s ideals and aspiration for equality for homosexuals touched and affected the lives of many closeted ones. Milk’s screenwriter Dustin Lance Black was quick to praise Harvey Milk’s ‘come out of the closet’ ideal a really good solution to a problem that tons of people had diagnosed but had yet to offer any answers to in an interview with ABC Radio. In the same interview he said, â€Å"In the years that Harvey put that into place, that sort of philosophy into the campaign, he won an election and a month later he was able to defeat one of the biggest, most popular anti-gay pieces of legislation in our country. He was able to defeat it, very unexpectedly, with that philosophy†. The recent anti-Prop 8 movement however seemed to embrace the opposite tactic. It was a closeted campaign, devoid of a public face, largely dependent on straight spokespeople, and run with a wary defensiveness that would have driven Harvey Milk mad. The story and context of Milk, and of the times in which Harvey Milk lived and led, make clear the continuation of this struggle we still find ourselves in. As soon as you lose a battle, another one looms before, giving you another opportunity to try to win. You win a battle, and before you can catch your breath, another struggle is on the horizon. We fall down only to pick ourselves back up again. Nothing about progress allows for much in the way of rest, but nor does it allow for much to remain stagnant. Harvey Milk’s thoughts were ones that changed the world. His thoughts turned into full out ideologies and his ideologies in turn morphed into a revolution. The ever brilliant Gus Van Sant who has a certain knack for merging the lines between now and then delivers to us a biopic that brings back to life its subject. In the post-proposition 8 viewing of this film, we can now see the rise of a new generation of activist – ones that have been instilled with a new sense of hope. Just as Harvey Milk’s assassination, which he repeatedly foretold, has meant that he remains frozen in time as a martyr, the Proposition 8 result has, for now, has redefined Milk as a cause. Gus Van Sant’s 20 year long journey of bringing to life this culturally epic subject has cemented Harvey Milk’s position as an ideological leader. â€Å"Lives of great men all remind us; we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time† (Longfellow, 1838). Harvey Milk’s footprints would have never been forgotten, but Milk has in a way reaffirmed this stand. Gus Van Sant brought about a hero that was long gone and risen him from six feet under to be celebrated again as if he was never gone. Harvey Milk believed in one thing above all else and that was hope, Gus Van Sant brought back that hope. â€Å"I ask this†¦ If there should be an assassination, I would hope that five, ten, one hundred, a thousand would rise. I would like to see every gay lawyer, every gay architect ‘come out’ – If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door†¦ And that’s all. I ask for the movement to continue. Because it’s not about personal gain, not about ego, not about power†¦ it’s about the â€Å"us’s† out there. Not only gays, but the Blacks, the Asians, the disabled, the seniors, the us’s. Without hope, the us’s give up – I know you cannot live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. So you, and you, and you†¦ You gotta give em’ hope†¦ you gotta give em’ hope. †, were the last lines of Milk. (2435 words). References: 1. Black, D. L. (2008) Interview with Dustin Lance Black, writer, ‘Milk’, viewed May 2009, 2. Doty, A. (1998) The Oxford Guide To Film Studies: Queer Theory, Oxford University Press Inc, New York 3. Dr. Benshoff, H. M. (2006) Notes on Gay History/Queer Theory/Queer Film, viewed May 2009, < http://www. unt. edu/ally/queerfilm. html> 4. Milk, 2008. Film. Directed by Gus Van SANT. USA: Focus Features 5. Sant, G. V. (2008) Interview: Gus Van Sant on â€Å"Milk†, viewed May 2009, < http://www. ifc. com/news/2008/11/gus-van-sant-on-milk. php> 6. TheFreeOnlineDictionary. Com By Farlex (2000) The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.