Religious And Ethnic Groups Asians And Buddhism

Religious and Ethnic Groups: Asians and Buddhism in America Ladina K. Q. Pagud ETH/125 January 25, 2015 Robert Nobis Religious and Ethnic Groups: Asians and Buddhism in America Asian Americans are a distinctive ethnic group that has made up of 5% of the United States population. It is made of a variety of descendants, from a dozen countries in Far East and Southeastern Asia. Each of these countries have a unique culture, language, and history that has contribute to American culture today. Asia is the birthplace of the world’s major religions which includes Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. From the Civil War to Civil Rights the Asian culture has transformed America socially and culturally. Compared to other†¦show more content†¦In contrast to Americans, Asians have different languages, religious traditions, dialects, and history. Asians are known across the world for their strong cultural values, and intelligence. A traditional Asian family consist of males as dominant, and women as passive. Children are raised to respect those whom are in authority, and family is their primary focus. It is emphasized that loyalty, and honesty must be present to avoid shame or embarrassment to the family. Discipline is used to control and train children in order to succeed or obtain achievements. The core values of a traditional Asian home are similar to other ethnic backgrounds. In most cultures, family is the number one priority above any other values. Confucianism is a part of the Asian tradition, in which four basic virtues are derived from philosophy and focuses on loyalty, respect for those in authority with compassion and righteousness. Filipino sailors were the first to settle in the U.S. around 1750 in Louisiana, and were later accompanied by others with Asian descent to make up for the shortage of slaves. The first large settlement of Asians occurred in 1848, when gold was discovered in America. In addition to the Gold Rush prosper, many immigrants wanted to leave Asia because of the hardship of the war. The Gold Rush in California attracted many Chinese to come to the U.S. to find fortune, only to

A New Definition Of Happiness - 909 Words

A New Definition of Happiness By Alec Borenstein | Submitted On November 07, 2011 Recommend Article Article Comments Print Article Share this article on Facebook 1 Share this article on Twitter 1 Share this article on Google+ Share this article on Linkedin Share this article on StumbleUpon 1 Share this article on Delicious 1 Share this article on Digg 1 Share this article on Reddit Share this article on Pinterest Expert Author Alec Borenstein THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS Happiness. It s a word we hear about all the time. It s something that we work for, that we work to achieve. Yet day by day we seem no closer to attaining it. Happiness eludes us. Yes, we ve had moments when we felt happy. Perhaps it was a wedding. Or a birth of a child. Or it was that other night, when we were hanging out with friends, or spending time with family. In those moments, we felt happy, truly, deeply happy. Transcendent almost. And then it fades. Darkness ensues. The happiness is gone. In its place will often be a vacuum. We ask, What s the point? If we have the inalienable right to pursue happiness, then what is the point if we don t feel like we can ever reach it, or achieve it? That which we want more than anything, to be happy, seems to be something that we can t have. Maybe if we had more money! That s really all we need! Or maybe it s that brand spankin new 3D-LED HD TV. A new car? Yes, that s it! No, no it s not money or things we want, but we want a relationship. AShow MoreRelatedUnit 4 Happiness Assignment1205 Words   |  5 PagesUnit 4 Happiness Assignment Levi Wilson Kaplan University HU300-26 The first person I interviewed was my friend’s grandmother. Although I have not met her, I have heard many things about her. She is 85 years old and has a good perspective on life. The second person I interviewed was my friend’s daughter. I know her very well. We have spent a great deal of time together. Interview with Mrs. Sally Watson Question: What is your definition of happiness? Response: Being happy meansRead MoreHappiness And Happiness Essay799 Words   |  4 Pages Happiness and Honesty, two words that have very different meanings and ways to interpret them depending on our perspectives and experiences in life. Through the people we meet, the lessons we learn, and the things we see. . The definition of these two words can vary differently from person to person but when referring to the Oxford English Dictionary they both come with their own unique definitions. I chose to define these two words because even though they are some of the most misconceived wordsRead MoreThe Pursuit Of Happiness : Time, Money, And Social Connections1570 Words   |  7 Pagesis very debatable. Happiness can last anywhere from a fraction of a second to possibly a lifetime. 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The definitions about love have been altered through the process of capitalization which to someone like Hochschild is a great loss. Similarly, the technical advancement, which is another consequence of Modernization, also impacts people’s lives. â€Å"Alone Together†Read MoreHow College Student s Level Of Wellbeing And Happiness1340 Words   |  6 PagesWhy is it that some individuals are so high a bove the curve in terms happiness and optimism, even in the face of challenges and misfortunes? Whatever it is, there are individuals in psychology who wish to study and understand the science of happiness. These individuals specialize in the new field of psychology, positive psychology. Such researchers wish to gain insight on gaining happiness and building a resiliency to negative emotions. With an increasing emphasis on measuring college success, primarilyRead MoreEssay on Risk Taking975 Words   |  4 Pageswhich risks are acceptable. One could say, for example, that the only acceptable risk is one for which the odds of success are greater than the odds of failure. Another definition of acceptable risk might be a risk that does not harm ones future. We might also say that the only acceptable risk is one where the aggregate happiness is increased, thus increasing the moral good of the risk, an idea which is based on John Stuart Mills Utilitarianism. Finally, we might define a morally good risk inRead MoreHappiness - Synthesis Essay1281 Words   |  6 Pagesone defined happiness as â€Å"when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.† Barring any better definition of happiness from either positive psychologists, self-help gurus, or any other academic source, I tend to think this is a great summation of the definition of happiness. Gandhi doesn’t say anything about how these things make you feel, rather looks at it from a point of view of harmony between thoughts, expressions, and actions. Since one single accepted definition of happinessRead MoreWhy Am I Happy? Essay1551 Words   |  7 Pages Why am I happy? This is perhaps one of the most common questions that the average person asks themselves. Our society has become obsessed with happiness. Even in our very constitution it is written that citizens are entitled to â€Å"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness† (constitution). Advertisements abound that tell consumers how much more happy they will be if they were to buy a product. In this quest for positive well-being, people take many different paths. In this paper I shall be discussing

Darkness at Noon Free Essays

The author shares his experienced tales to grasp the concentration to the preconceived ideas and wrong conclusions of people like people believe that if someone is blind, he could not even hear, speak and hardest part he or she cannot work. The author has got very challenging education and employment despite these difficulties related to their backgrounds and the perception created by the society. The author in his story takes a simple format of telling the society about their society’s wrong conclusion about the disable people. We will write a custom essay sample on Darkness at Noon or any similar topic only for you Order Now But as other stories have some lessons, so this it has, the best lesson that delivers from this is the light of hope that author has in his heart, mind and soul. In this part, the author is very polite and kind and gives message to others that these hardships will not underestimate his hopes and courage. A fable for Tomorrow In the essay â€Å"A Fable for Tomorrow†, Rachel Carson Illustrates a small town in America that was once beautiful but then became devastated by exploitation of its resources. Carson states â€Å"this town does not actually exist, but it might easily have a thousand counterparts in America and elsewhere in the world. Carson is one of the pivotal people in the environmental movement of the 1 sass who emphasized that the art was a place to be respected, not destroyed by human greed and activities. This Is the thesis of her essay. The author uses very poetic language to describe the natural beauty of this small American town. She describes the farmland, the roadsides, the forest, and the rivers. Her language creates feelings of nostalgia and an appreciation for the natural world. The town feels like anyplace in the country that someone has visited or lived-the writing Is very personable to the reader. Carson Illustrates a place where all life seemed to live In harmony with Its surroundings. The second half of the essay has a very different tone and feeling about it. Suddenly, a mood of darkness creates a curtain around the town, masking the reader from the once natural beauty that was described before. Carson begins to illustrate how the town became devastated by the loss of its inhabitants to sudden sickness and disease. The farms suffered a loss of crops and animals, all the fish began to die In One of Carbon’s main mandates was to warn people against the use of harmful pesticides and the effects of pollution on the environment. The devastation in this essay alludes to the use of pesticides and the pollution that they caused in this small town in America. The deaths within the human, plant, and animal worlds in this small town are not an uncommon situation in many parts of America and the world. Although not all places experience the same amount of devastation as described in this essay, many small towns have been greatly affected by the harmful use of pesticides on their crops. This essay is a very powerful response to human irresponsibility within the environment. How to cite Darkness at Noon, Papers

Safety Risks and Reliability Samples for Students †MyAssignmenthelp.c

Question: Discuss about the Safety Risks and Reliability. Answer: Introduction For any scrap metal recycling plant to be successful, the safety and reliability considerations in the design process have to be factored in from the very beginning of the process. A scrap metal recycling plant is involved in the purchase, processing and the selling of steel scrap metal products on a largescale level. The quality of the steel also has to be tested for mechanical properties before and after its processing, meaning that the facility also ought to have quality assessment facilities for the sake of this plant. The receiving bay also ought to have a weighing and sorting facilities. This is because the design and the layout of the facilities within the plant is done with the aim of optimizing both the efficiency of the processes and the safety and reliability of the different aspects of the plant. This scrap recycling plant site is for this reason occupies a 100 x 100m flat land area with access to facilities of infrastructure like road access and power and water supply. T he land should also have enough space for the different facilities to be well-zoned inside the site which should be easily approved by the planning authorities. The site selected for this recycling plant is a 100 x 100m area located in Humpty Doo near the Arnhem Highway, close to Darwin. Recommendations for Safety There are a number of hazards in the steel scrap recycling industry, which mainly entails the human hazard, environmental hazards, fire explosion, as well as physical hazards. The steel scrap recycling requires a number of processing techniques which pose great risks to safety as well as health and occupational hazards to the users of the facilities including the employees and the visitors to the facilities. The design of the recycling facilities is a process entailing many different steps including the collection, transportation, pretreatment, as well as the actual conversion processes which entail melting, refinement, forming the recycled scrap steel to obtain different products, polishing and finishing them so as to be ready for the market. Each of these stages presents its individual risks to safety and the occupational health of the stakeholders of that process. For example, the first stage of the recycling process entails the loading, sorting, collection and transportation of t he pieces of steel scrap. This stage presents serious risks such as pieces of metal flying around or even some pieces of scattered metals which tend to be sharp and extremely hazardous. In addition, the site also risks to, machinery with exposed moving parts during the collection, transportation, weighing or even sorting processes in the first stages of operation of the recycling plant(Sastry, Orlemann, Koval, 2009). The same stags could also pose the threats of noise hazards from the operational procedures within the plant which require application of force and sometime even falling or flying objects. Physical hazards in a steel scrap recycling plant include physical hazards. In this recycling plant, the site of the plan allows for the allocation of a sufficient amount of open space at the site to be the receiving bay where all the scrap steel pieces will be sorted from into different categories including household goods that require to be recycled, structural sections, sheet metal, and even car bodies. This poses a great risk to all of the stakeholders in the facility as a piece of the steel scrap metal pieces could just come of and fall down or even fly around in that open area, causing hazards due to the exposure of broken pieces of metal that are lying around which could severely cut the people using that area. The fact that this region is a an open space also poses the risk of noise hazards and even exposed moving parts. The exposed moving parts also pose the risk of severely cutting and injuring people, or even maiming and killing the victim in intense situation or hearing l oss and permanent ear damage in the case of noise hazards and risks. The machinery used in the loading and unloading space also presents serious risks during the material handling process from the equipment (Hathaway, Proctor, Hughes, Fischman, 2011). These equipment include the trucks involved in the collection and the transportation process, as well as moving machinery like cranes used in carrying the raw scrap as well as the conveyor belts used in sorting and weighing the scrap steel. The risks of these physical hazards could also be easily mitigated by ensuring that first and foremost, all the people using these facilities are observing the protective guidelines through wearing the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment and clothing to protect the individual workers and other stakeholders on site from this risk. This PPE and clothing include materials like boots, hats, gloves, thick clothes, eye goggles, and even ears protection against the noise to prevent the workers from the risk of being cut. The equipment also ought to be well maintained on a regular basis, to ensure that none of its parts becomes loose or exposed and thus pose a risk during the utilization of this machinery. In addition to regular maintenance, the facility should integrate a risk management and reliability guideline for that area prohibiting the movement of employees and other players near the area where the machinery is functioning. This will prevent them from putting themselves in harm s way and thus managing the risk associated with the open space for loading and unloading of the steel scrap material. The operators of the canes, lifts and even the trucks also ought to be sufficiently trained in using the material, and be present in the regular machine checks to that they are aware of any faults in these machines(Jones, 2004). This will also go a long way in preventing the use of faulty machinery which poses such great hazards. Risk Assessment and Mitigation Measures Some of the hazards that may be encountered when working or even vising a steel scrap recycling plant include: Physical hazards Fire and explosion hazards Environmental hazards Human hazards and even Operational hazards. This is because steel scrap passes through a number of processes that require the attention and close collaboration of human labor and machine dependent corporations between since they require being moved to a press, or even to a cutting machine like a guillotine so that the pieces of scrap steel can be reduced in size. This process entails manual labor such that the cut pieces are cut and stacked, and thus they can later be placed in a furnace where they are remodeled into new products. Physical Hazards The processing stage and the stacking stages expose the employees of this stage in the processing line to the risks of injury through carrying materials that have been broken down or even observing the machines cutting and pressing the steel scrap. There is also a great risk of noise hazards in this stage and it calls for the operator of the machines and their supervisors to wear personal protection equipment and clothing to prevent them from the risk of being injured by falling broken steel scrap pieces or even noise emanating from the crushing and cutting of steel using the different machinery. In addition, the management of the facility could also pass safety guidelines that ensure that the crushed and cut metals can be operated remotely to prevent the hazard of injury from flying metal pieces as a result of the impact of the cutting and crushing parts, working in isolation will ensure no one is in harms way during these very serious processes of the crushing and cutting processes . It would also be greatly beneficial to ensure that the area where this procedure will be performed is enclosed, to prevent cut up and crushed scrap steel pieces flying around due to impact or falling and landing in a different area thus risking the lives and health of other workers in a different environment. The noise emanating from the cutting and crushing processes can be reduced by ensuring that the workers have PPE like ear plugs and ear muffs to cover the years and implementing the right environmental controls against noise in the facility to ensure that noise is not a nuisance to those working and operating within the facility(Legare, 2011). Human Hazards Human and environmental risks also become more apparent in the next stage of processing in the recycling plant. With regard to storing materials within the recycling facilities, the cut and crushed steel is baled in bundles of up to 3 tons which are stacked and kept away waiting to be loaded and shipped in stacks and containers. The scrap steel pieces are baled using balers that utilize powerful hydraulic systems to compact these scrap steel pieces, thus posing the risks associated with exposed moving parts which come into contact with the moving parts of the chine. This risk poses the hazard of sharp and heavy metal pieces flying off from the machines control at a fast speed. The hazards can be managed by ensuring that there are no operators in the vicinity as the machine can be operated remotely to put workers and other stake holders out of harms way. In addition, the employees must be fully clad in PPE and clothing to ensure that they are well protected from the risks of any harm, while feeding the crushed and cut up pieces into the baling machine. The machinery involved in this baling stage including the conveyor belts and the hoppers of the machine must be regularly investigated in the presence of the operators of these machinery to ensure that they are all ware of the faulty machinery to prevent the risk of harm to other employees. Railing in baling areas must also be implemented to prevent the employees from falling during this time. The employees could also be given magnetic devices as PPE for safety purposes by ensuring they are linked to the interlock systems of these machines and thus preventing the risk of harm from flying or falling scrap metal pieces. Finally, it would also be extremely important to ensure that all people accessing this baling facility is aware of the safety procedures and how the machinery and equipment function. This will be effective in helping them to follow the set procedures to controlling hazardous steps specifically when c arrying out the procedures of maintenance on the equipment(Navas-Acien, Guallar, Silbergeld, Rothenberg, 2007). All employees must also be trained and informed about the risks and hazards in this area to ensure that they remain aware of how to protect themselves from such risks. Environmental hazards Other environmental hazards are seen during the pressing and baling stages which emit a lot of metal dust and small particles which when not properly mitigated could lead to inhalation and explosion hazards in the event that the dust interacts explosively with other components. The risk associated with this dust can be mitigated through the installation of systems to clean these machines of the dust to prevent it from reacting explosively with the smoke and fuel or electricity used to run the machines. Sensors could also be installed in such a manner that they trigger the injection of water or coolants that would prevent any hazards from such explosions. Machines could also be operated in low speed conditions to reduce the rate at which the dust is generated and thus reducing the amount of dust generated to prevent the chances of inhalation and explosion hazards. Other engineering solutions like the incorporation of inert gases in the hazard prevention systems and thus reducing explo sion risks, as well as incorporating proper ventilation to make the working conditions better for those who are exposed to inhalation hazards (Nijkerk Dalmijn, 2011). In the event that the materials being pressed also contain fluids that could pose environmental and inhalation hazards like refrigerators and cars, it would be necessary to implement specific guidelines of pressing these materials separately and in environments that have been proofed from spilling these harmful materials and gasses to the environment. Operational Hazards Operational hazards also present themselves with regard to the spacing allocated for the shipment equipment which include the trucks, and the cranes. The facilities will use road trains into the processing facilities which have been built following a queueing system, such that the road trains will enter the sheds at one end and leave through the other end. This will thus require that the entire rail for this road trains is well lit to ensure that their movement can be seen from a safe distance at all corners of the sheds to prevent the risks of accidents. The rail roads should also be adequately spaced to ensure that their turning and their operations has enough space to prevent the occurrence of hazards like accidents and knocking down people and machinery during operation. The risks of operations go slow due to the road trains breaking down within the line also ought to be factored in to ensure that the normal operational processes do not get interrupted. This requires ensuring tha t regular maintenance checks are conducted on the trains and their operators are made aware of the conditions of their machines. It could also be important that there are mechanics on site to help resolve any mechanical problems of the machinery so as to guarantee that the operations of the recycling plant are always running as normal as this is a business that risks counting losses if the operations of the site slowdown or stop. The cranes and forklifts on site which do most of the material handling works also ought to be regularly monitored and managed so as to ensure that operations within the facility are always underway and to prevent the hazards of injury and even death as a result of faulty cranes and fork lifts. First and foremost, the cranes and forklifts always ought to be handled by people who have been well trained to handle the equipment to prevent the hazards of dropping crushed, cut, shredded or baled scrap steel pieces which risk cutting its victims and seriously injuring them or maiming them, or even risking the loss of life in the workplace. The cranes are also used to carry important roles in the recycling plant, such as loading and unloading some of the machines on site such as the cutting machine and the pressing machine. Ensuring only trained personnel operate these machinery ensures that the cranes are also operated as they should and in the right speed, to promote business operations w ithin the recycling plant as well as keeping the risks of flying metals or even falling materials on the site which a hazard of injury and death. It also requires that at the site there are always trained personnel who would ensure that none of the operations in the facility remain stuck and thus promoting a safety risk management and reliability program that ensures that all the processing stages are functioning optimally and effectively for the business needs of the plant. The management and human resource facilities of the program could also be effective in promoting safety risk management and reliability in the running of the steel recycling plant as it can help in the management and distribution of works and supervisors within the different facilities on the site for hours that the recycling plant is operational. The recycling plant is aimed to operate in two shifts starting from 6:00 am to 12:00am between April and November. The management and human resource teams could ensure that the employees and maintenance supervisors in this time are all equipped and ready to ensure that operations within the site are running appropriately to prevent any hazards and still achieve optimal business needs of the recycling plant. This is achieved by ensuring that all machinery is being operated by personnel that are satisfactorily trained to handle the different equipment, and ensuring that the machinery always has special maintenance supervisors to ensure that t hey work appropriately to prevent any risks. The management offices could also implement safety guidelines that would ensure that all members of the staff are protected from the various risks in different departments within the recycling plant through the provision of PPE and training on why it is important to always observe safety. The storage sheds can also be locked and inventory kept to ensure that the pieces of scrap lying everywhere on the compound presents a serious risks of cutting those within the compound including the workers and other stakeholders(Bechtel, 2011). There also ought to be a service maintenance workshop that provides spare parts to the maintenance supervisors who ensure that all operations are running as is expected for the business properties. Fire and Explosion Hazards Fire explosion hazards that exist in the recycling plant can be mitigated by ensuring that a fire safety system is installed in the plant to prevent adverse effects from the fires. Risk Analysis A risk assessment allows the plant to establish what needs to be done to avoid the impact of the different risks and the associated hazards that the plant stands to face. Environmental hazards for instance, can be prevented by operating the machines at lower speeds ad ensuring that explosion risks are well under control. Physical hazards could be mitigated through ensuring that there are operational risk mitigation guidelines against negligence. This will ensure that all stakeholders play their role in maintaining the distance between the risks and their impacts. Considering human hazards, ensuring that all machinery and their different parts are functioning in accordance with the expected working conditions will ensure effectiveness and safety within the recycling plant. For this reason, it is important to regularly check the functionality of machinery together with its operators as well as ensuring that only those who have been satisfactorily trained can operate the machines. Fire explosion hazards that exist in the recycling plant can be mitigated by ensuring that a fire safety system is installed in the plant to prevent adverse effects from the fires. Conclusion The steel recycling industry exposes its stakeholders to a number of hazards during the operation of the different processes within the facility. The hazards in such facilities are mainly contributed to by the pieces of steel scrap and the impact of the processes they go through whether it is by machines or through the dust produces when the materials are taken through the different processes. This report establishes that the best way to manage risk in a metal recycling plant is to ensure that all stakeholders understand their role in causing risks and how they can prevent these risks and also ensure an optimal and effective business model of the recycling procedures. The management, employees, maintenance supervisors and the other stakeholders ought to participate in the establishment of working risk prevention guidelines and play their individual role to ensure that safety reliability is adequately matched to the achievement of the right business goals for the recycling plant. The safety hazard recommendations include the use of PPE in different working environments within the plant, and regular checks on the machines and also the implementation of a risk protection guide. References Bechtel, B. (2011). Environmental Health in Metal Forming. Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 50-62. Hathaway, G., Proctor, N. H., Hughes, J. P., Fischman, M. L. (2011). Recycling Scrap Steel . Hazards in the Workplace: , 41-44. Jones, R. (2004). Risks and Hazards of Recycling Scrap Metals. OSHA, 1-85. Legare, J. (2011). Environmental Regulation of Scrap Recycling of Steel. A guidance to metal management, 141-146. Navas-Acien, A., Guallar, E., Silbergeld, E. K., Rothenberg, S. J. (2007). Exposure in Steel Manufacturing- An Environmental Review. Environmental Health Perspectives, 115(3), 561-564. Nijkerk, A., Dalmijn, W. L. (2011). The Handbook of Recycling Techniques (Fifth, revised and expanded edition ed.). The Hague: Nijkerk Consultancy. Sastry, N., Orlemann, J., Koval, P. (2009). Risks from Metal Scrap Processing Facilities. Studies by EPA, 474-491.

Althea Gibson - Biography of Tennis Pioneer

Althea Gibson - Biography of Tennis Pioneer Tennis, which first came to the United States in the late 19th century, by the middle of the 20th century had become part of a culture of health and fitness. Public programs brought tennis to children in poor neighborhoods, though those children couldnt dream of playing in the elite tennis clubs. Dates:  August 25, 1927 - September 28, 2003 Early Life One young girl named Althea Gibson lived in Harlem in the 1930s and 1940s. Her family was on welfare. She was a client of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children. She had trouble in school and was often truant. She ran away from home frequently. . She also played paddle tennis in public recreation programs. Her talent and interest in the game led her to win tournaments sponsored by the Police Athletic Leagues and the Parks Department. Musician Buddy Walker noticed her playing table tennis  and thought she might do well in tennis. He brought her to the Harlem River Tennis Courts, where she learned the game and began to excel. A Rising Star The young Althea Gibson became a member of the Harlem Cosmopolitan Tennis Club, a club for African American players, through donations raised for her membership and lessons. By 1942 Gibson had won the girls singles event at the American Tennis Associations New York State Tournament. The American Tennis Association - ATA - was an all-black organization, providing tournament opportunities not otherwise available to African American tennis players. In 1944 and 1945 she again won ATA tournaments. Then Gibson was offered an opportunity to develop her talents more fully: a wealthy South Carolina businessman opened his home to her and supported her in attending an industrial high school  while studying tennis privately. From 1950, she furthered her education, attending Florida AM University, where she graduated in 1953. Then, in 1953, she became an athletic instructor at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. Gibson won the ATA womens singles tournament ten years in a row, 1947 through 1956. But tennis tournaments outside the ATA remained closed to her, until 1950. In that year white tennis player Alice Marble wrote an article in American Lawn Tennis magazine, noting that this excellent player was not able to participate in the better-known championships, for no reason other than bigotry. And so later that year, Althea Gibson entered the Forest Hills, New York, national grass court championship, the first African-American player of either sex to be allowed to enter. Gibson Takes on Wimbledon Gibson then became the first African-American invited to enter the all-England tournament at Wimbledon, playing there in 1951. She entered other tournaments  though at first winning only minor titles outside the ATA. In 1956, she won the French Open. In the same year, she toured worldwide as a member of a national tennis team supported by the U.S. State Department. She began winning more tournaments, including at the Wimbledon womens doubles. In 1957, she won the womens singles and doubles at Wimbledon. In celebration of this American win and her achievement as an African American New York City greeted her with a ticker tape parade. Gibson followed up with a win at Forest Hills in the womens singles tournament. Turning Pro In 1958, she again won both Wimbledon titles and repeated the Forest Hills womens singles win. Her autobiography, I Always Wanted to Be Somebody, came out in 1958. In 1959 she turned pro, winning the womens professional singles title in 1960. She also began playing professional womens golf and she appeared in several films. Althea Gibson served from 1973 on in various national and New Jersey positions in tennis and recreation. Among her honors: 1971 - National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame1971 - International Tennis Hall of Fame1974 - Black Athletes Hall of Fame1983 - South Carolina Hall of Fame1984 - Florida Sports Hall of Fame In the mid-1990s, Althea Gibson suffered from serious health problems including a stroke, and also struggled financially though many efforts at fund-raising helped ease that burden. She died on Sunday, September 28, 2003, but not before she knew of the tennis victories of Serena and Venus Williams. A Lasting Legacy Other African American tennis players like Arthur Ashe and the Williams sisters followed Gibson, though not quickly. Althea Gibsons achievement was unique, as the first African American of either sex to break the color bar in national and international tournament tennis at a time when prejudice and racism were far more pervasive in society and sports.

Definitions Essays - Measurement, Epistemology, Knowledge

Definitions Essays - Measurement, Epistemology, Knowledge Definitions All experimental uncertainty is due to either random errors or systematic errors. Random errors are statistical fluctuations (in either direction) in the measured data due to the precision limitations of the measurement device. Random errors usually result from the experimenter's inability to take the same measurement in exactly the same way to get exactly the same number. Systematic errors, by contrast, are reproducible inaccuracies that are consistently in the same direction. Systematic errors are often due to a problem which persists throughout the entire experiment. Note that systematic and random errors refer to problems associated with making measurements. Mistakes made in the calculations or in reading the instrument are not considered in error analysis. It is assumed that the experimenters are careful and competent! [pic] How to minimize experimental error: some examples |Type of Error |Example |How to minimize it | |Random errors |You measure the mass of a ring three times|Take more data. Random errors can be | | |using the same balance and get slightly |evaluated through statistical analysis and| | |different values: 17.46 g, 17.42 g, 17.44 |can be reduced by averaging over a large | | |g |number of observations. | |Systematic errors |The cloth tape measure that you use to |Systematic errors are difficult to detect | | |measure the length of an object had been |and cannot be analyzed statistically, | | |stretched out from years of use. (As a |because all of the data is off in the same| | |result, all of your length measurements |direction (either to high or too low). | | |were too small.) |Spotting and correcting for systematic | | |The electronic scale you use reads 0.05 g |error takes a lot of care. | | |too high for all your mass measurements |How would you compensate for the incorrect| | |(because it is improperly tared throughout|results of using the stretched out tape | | |your experiment). |measure? | | | |How would you correct the measurements | | | |from improperly tared scale? |

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol's Role in Information Security Essay

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol's Role in Information Security - Essay Example   Since a long time the Congress has identified that there is a requirement of a border security system which would gather data regarding the overseas citizens coming in and out of the United States and which would also recognize the persons who are overstaying their visits. In 1996 there was the implementation of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) (Newton, 2008) in the United States which was one of the legislative attempts for the creation of an entry-exit control mechanism which were to be used for recording and matching entries and exits of the overseas citizens who travelled to the United States. One of the requirements of this act is to see that there is integration by the entry-exit system of the foreign entries and exit data that is recorded in the databases of the Department of Justice and State Department. Following the attacks of 9/11, there have been more laws addressing the use of biometric technology within a foreign arrival departure control mechanism. For instance, there is the USA Patriot Act (Scheppler, 2005) which authorizes that such a mechanism should have the ability of interfacing with other law enforcement associations, and also that the system makes use of biometric technology and files which are tamper-resistant. Other than this, there is a requirement by the Aviation and Transport Security Act for the airplanes to electronically transfer apparent data for each of the intercontinental flight passengers and the crew members to the Commissioner of Customs prior to the plane landing at an airport in the United States. Additionally, there is the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act which has the requirement of using biometrics in the files for traveling and this act expands the passenger entry apparent needs in the Aviation and Transportation Security Act to t he ships as well as to the air and sea exits.   

Methods of Engagement in Afghanistan Research Paper

Methods of Engagement in Afghanistan - Research Paper Example Hamid Karzai, who was elected at large as president in 2004 was again re-elected in 2009. Notwithstanding the political progress gained by that war-torn country since the toppling of the Taliban, there remain serious challenges to Afghanistan’s political and economic transition (The World Factbook: Afghanistan 2010). On the security front, the Taliban have risen again to mount what is called today a neo-Taliban insurgency, which is slowly spreading in the countryside especially in the south because of the weakening of Karzai’s support among the local tribal leaders there. Afghanistan’s economy is also one big factor that is holding back the success of the reconstruction process. The long years of conflict had taken a toll on its economy and the infusion of funds from international sources during the reconstruction is not enough to turn it around and lift the country from total poverty. Poverty has led not only to shortages in housing, food, medical care and other basic support for its population but it has also led to the difficulty in eradicating opium poppies cultivation. As a matter of fact, opium poppy cultivation increased rather than decreased after the toppling of the Taliban and during reconstruction period in 2004 (The World Factbook: Afghanistan 2010; Gootnick 55). Finall y, ethnic and religious undertones often underpin conflicts that are still raging in Afghanistan as can be evidenced from the Taliban-led insurgency in the countryside. In accomplishing a successful reconstruction in Afghanistan, the US and its Coalition must succeed in eradicating the three-pronged problem that plague and hamper it: insurgency; economic poverty, and; religious and ethnic fundamentalism. One way of affecting a solution with the least loss of lives and minimal resources is a method of engagement that has already been recently put into a test by the Coalition Forces and is known as tribal engagement. This is the most credible solution to

''The Cadbury Report on Corporate Governance(Cadbury Code 1992) had Essay

''The Cadbury Report on Corporate Governance(Cadbury Code 1992) had serious and significant flaws that rendered it incomplete as a tool to control certain types of unscrupulous economic behaviour'' - Essay Example As a result the investing public began to lose confidence (Colley, 2005). Apart from the loss of valuable investments such business failures also gave rise to the loss of jobs, shattered public confidence and the decline of the savings invested in the company stock along with the fear of future corporate failures. It was after these failures that the media and the governments made a combined effort to stress on the importance of corporate governance, not just b y highlighting what had gone wrong but also brought the board of directors of the functioning corporate into the public eyes(Colley, 2005). The Industrial Revolution was followed by a wave of capitalism. In capitalism the wealth was restricted to a particular class which continued to get wealthier whereas the remaining segment was poor. This wealth was acquired by those with flourishing businesses at the expense of their workers, customers and the public shareholders. At this point the government began to take notice of the situation and took steps to introduce measures to protected those affected in a negative way by such business practices. As capitalism developed it gave more people the opportunities to set up their businesses. Those with capital begin o to their money together to set up and sun businesses. This made them the shareholders of these businesses. As these businesses grew in size, governance became a challenge (Colley, 2005). In order to understand what corporate governance truly is we must first understand what governance in general terms means. Once we know what governance is we can look into the history of cooperates and why the need for corporate governance was felt. Governance generally refers to the art or the process of governing. This is a concept which in one form or the other has existed throughout the ages across all civilizations. Governance and its processes have changed over time to meet the changing environment. History has seen

Galtung And Ruges News Values Model

Galtung And Ruges News Values Model It is an often asked question, how does a journalist prioritise the selection of news stories. An academic view to perceiving the process of how a news journalist prioritises the selection of contemporary news is Gaulten and Ruges study The structure of foreign news. This study can be found in the Journal of International Peace Research in 1965. I think overall that, Galtung and Ruges news values model needs to be adapted slightly in order to capture the priorities of contemporary news journalism. For the next part of my essay I will discuss the original 1960s model and identify its concepts. The pair conducted a study which looked at foreign newspapers and specifically at foreign news. According to Harcup and ONeill (2001) The central question at the heart of their paper was how do events (especially, foreign events in their case) become news? They researched what foreign newspapers featured on other world news and found the stories were more likely to be featured in the newspaper if they contained the news values of negativity, threshold, proximity, frequency, unambiguity, consonance, unexpectedness, continuity, meaningfulness, composition and reference to elite nations and elite persons. Generally speaking, news values of a story are based on what relevance and effect a story has on its audience, in other words its newsworthiness. The greater the relevance and effect on the audience, (the higher number of news values the story contains) makes the story more of a priority in the news journalism world. Palmer, cited in Harcup and ONeill (2001) stated that Galtung and Ruges study was the earliest attempt to provide a systematic definition of newsworthiness. The story could be based on absolutely anything, from focusing on an individual, to a running story or be totally unexpected etc. However, not all news stories are newsworthy. Stories that are seen as a priority in contemporary news journalism are usually those to do with politics, human interest and disasters etc. A story that is classed as newsworthy is often described as quick, negative and sustains drama etc. According to Mcnair (1999) news values act as a cue for the audience alerting them to the importance of the issue. News values can often overlap with newsroom observation studies, for example, both try to capture the unwritten rules of journalism. News values of a story are not written down in a book. A trainee journalist cannot be taught about what news values apply to each story. According to Lippman (1922) news values are an informal code. The journalist has to learn to consider what news values a story has and its news worthiness to its audience. So the reason behind why a certain story has been selected as a front page story for argument sake in a newspaper, is because the editor believes it has high news values and is very newsworthy to its audience, meaning people are going to read it because the story is relevant and/or affects them and, therefore, is a priority in the news journalism world. According to Lippman (1922) reporters are said to have a good nose or a gut feeling for a good story. For the benefit of this essay I will define just a few of Galtung and Ruges news values. Firstly, negativity, which refers to the old clichà © of the only good news is bad news. An example of a story that contains this news value is the recession and the continuing rise of the unemployed. Threshold, is another news value which is based on the size of the story for example how many people does it involve? E.g. The Jonathan Ross saga involved a number of people having their salaries cut. Proximity, is another news value this is based on whether the story is close to viewers economically or geographically. Unexpectedness of an event is a news value which is pretty much self explanatory an example of a story that contains this news value is 9/11. Another news value is what is known as a Continuation story, which is an established sequence, an example being the Madeline McCann story, as this has been an ongoing story since her disappearance in 2007. Galtung and Ruge believe that the more news values a story has, the more of a priority it has in contemporary news journalism. An example of this would be the 2004 Tsunami which included the news values of negativity as many lost their homes and lives. Unexpectedness, as there was no warning to the natural disaster. Threshold, as the story involved a huge number of people. It was eventually a continuation story where it was reported on for weeks after the event happened. For the benefit of this essay, I am going to compare the similarities and differences of what news stories were selected and seen as a priority to the news journalism world (as they were seen as the most newsworthy to their audience). I chose to look at BBC Wales Today and ITVS Wales Tonight. The programmes were aired on Monday 26h October at 6.00 p.m. ITV Wales stories were (in a three to four word sum up of each story) a car bomb in Pakistan which has the news values of negativity and threshold as it affects a large number of people. The second story is about 3 pilots dying in a plane crash which has the news values of negativity, proximity (geographically) as the location of the crash was close to viewers and one of the victims lived in Cardiff. The story also held the news value of unexpectedness of the crash. Finally the third story which was about a campaign to lift the spirits of the Welsh people living in the valleys. This story had the news value of proximity, as it is the location of where a large number of people from the target audience live and threshold as it affects a large number of people. The first BBC Wales Today story was about unpaid benefit, whereby people with disabilities are owed money by the Government. The story has the news values of negativity and threshold as it affects a large number of people. The story was a continuation story as this story has been running for a while. The second story was the valleys campaign to lift spirits, which had the same news values as previously mentioned. Finally the third story was the Teacher of the year award, which is about a secondary school head teacher in Worcestershire winning the award. The news values for this item are proximity, as it is close to where the target audience lives, and unexpectedness of who was the winner of the award. An interesting point to make is that the only story featured on both news programmes was the one about the valleys campaign even though the angle and where the story was placed in the news programme differed. It was placed third in ITVS running order and second in BBC Wales Today. This means that BBC Wales Today believes that the story is more news worthy to its audience and, therefore, more of a priority in news journalism to be shown in that particular order. Another factor to consider is why certain stories were chosen for ITV and not selected for BBC Wales? Why were certain stories seen as a priority in contemporary journalism and others were not? A highly criticised point made by Tunsall (1971) shows how the model definitely needs to be updated, as detailed and better photographs are used more frequently in contemporary news journalism, this may be due to a number of reasons such as the advance of technology. Also, there seems to be a growing number of citizen journalism, where non trained journalists take it upon themselves to take pictures, for example, send them to editors of newspapers and then make money out of them. I would definitely modify the model as I believe news values of a story can also be visual imperatives, as in a picture or video footage. We may consider that without such visual imperatives some news stories may not have been so newsworthy, for example, 9/11. The story had some amazing pictures taken of the event; of the Twin Towers actually collapsing (The pictures were taken by a citizen journalist which showed how quick, unexpected and shocking the event was). However, we have to consider without this footage would the story have been so big? Inevitably the story would have been front page news globally without the footage as it would have been a priority story in news journalism but the footage has a definite impact on the story. According to Tunsall as cited in Harcup and ONeill (2001) they state that Galtung and Ruge looked only at content that was explicitly concerned with the selected crises; and their list of factors made no reference to how visual elements, such as dramatic photographs, could affect the content of written material. Having visual imperatives makes the story have higher news values than if there was no pictures etc. at all and it was just a written article about the event. I think photographs for such a news story are necessary as it helps capture the priorities of contemporary news journalism. A criticism of Galtung and Ruges model is, how do journalists define their news values? This may be made clearer by Harcup and ONeills (2001) example. Using one of Galtung and Ruges news values called threshold. They state Isnt this still open to subjective interpretation? Which is bigger, twenty deaths in ten road accidents or five deaths in one rail crash? So it seems that maybe the model is unclear and that it should be updated to be clearer about their definitions of news values, in order to be able to capture the priorities of contemporary news journalism. Furthermore, Harcup and ONeill (2001) argue that A number of Galtung and Ruges factors appear to be problematic to identify while others may be identifiable but less in any intrinsic properties of a potential news story and more in the process of how a story has been constructed or written up. In other words they argue that Galtung and Ruges model is more to do with how a story has been told by the journalist. However, an alternative perspective to Galtung and Ruges propaganda news values model is the Herman and Chomskys propaganda model (1988) in Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. The pair (who are professors of communication), examine and analyse evidence of US news output and why it works in this way in capturing the priorities of contemporary journalism. This theory proposes a five filter theory which I will now go on to discuss. The five filters are size ownership, advertising, sources, flack and anti- communism. Basically the Herman and Chomsky theory (from a hand out given in lectures), is based on the organisation of news institutions, as they see the news journalism world, as being set in the market system. The five filters work through independent action and self-censorship instead of direct control. According to Herman (1996) They work as filters through which information must pass, and that individually and often in additive fashion they help shape media choices. I am going to discuss the five filters, the first being size/ownership which is becoming progressively more concentrated. The pair believes there are a smaller number of proprietors concerned and it seems the big fish at the top eat the little fish. They believe that the market (which is owned by a limited number of wealthy people), is entirely focused in the direction of profit and that there are certain barriers to entry in to the ownership market. They argue that restrictive practices are sometimes activated and that the news media has a built-in bias because of its common interests with other major corporations. The second filter is advertising; Chomsky and Herman claim that the news media is in the business of selling audiences to advertisers (especially affluent audiences). Corporate advertisers therefore work as an unofficial licensing authority. A large part of profit made by newspaper companies is from advertising revenue. According to Herman (1996) Newspapers are funded largely by advertisers who are also profit-seeking entities, and who want their ads to appear in a supportive selling environment. The third filter is primary sources, which the pair claim that journalists are obliged to view official sources (political, corporate, military) as essentially more reliable than others. Alternative sources of news and opinions are therefore marginalized or ignored. The next filter is flak. This can be negative responses from above to news reporting (phone calls, letters, threats, etc.) all of which constitute flak. It receives respectful attention (and is not denounced or ignored for what it is). Flak upsets advertisers so news media strive to avoid doing anything to aggravate it in other words they will not publish anything that will offend the advertiser. Finally the last filter I am going to describe is anti-communism (also referred to as the anti-ideology filter). It believes the US news media has an inherent bias against communism, in particular, but also against any form of socialism and it therefore tends to support the US in regards to right-wing regimes abroad. Many journalists argue there are many critiques of this model such as it doesnt match journalists own intuitions. They believe that the fifth filter is too restricted (in time and space). They argue that it is a conspiracy theory and it ignores objectivity as a main fear of the journalist. According to Klaehn (2002) Chomsky and Hermans theory is an overly deterministic view of media behaviour. I think some of the filters apply in the UK for capturing news journalism, for example, size and ownership, as Chomsky and Herman argue that the news media is increasingly concentrated into fewer businesses. My research (although it only talks about the news medium of newspapers), concurs that ownership is restricted. According to The House of Lords (2008) In the United Kingdom, the national newspaper industry is run by eight companies-one of which has over 35% of the national newspaper market. I think that second filter advertising if the most influential of all the filters, because without revenue from advertising, the revenue made from the sale of newspapers would not be enough to support the company financially and most likely shareholders of the company would view this as a huge problem as there would be no newspaper. This fact can be supported by the Chomsky and Herman theory mentioned in the first filter, who state The market is entirely focused in the direction of profit and they argue that restrictive practises are sometimes activated. For argument sake, if the Royal bank of Scotland were a major advertiser in the Daily Mail, and this newspaper ran a negative piece about how the Royal Bank of Scotland bonus payouts to senior executives were outrageously high, the newspaper risks future advertising revenue from the offence caused. So this shows how certain information is not always captured by newspapers in contemporary news journalism. To conclude, although I believe that this original 1960s model is suitable in some respects, it does need modifying as it is outdated. A remarkable point to make is that the model does not include anything about celebrities and this would definitely be a modification I would make. Britains contemporary news journalism now often features celebrity stories in their newspapers. It is often argued that British society has become extremely fascinated with the celebrity life and has developed into a celebrity culture where we want to find out what the celebrities have been up to, whos wearing what, who has just had a baby and who is splitting up etc. It has become very much apparent that celebrity stories have become part of todays news, although a point to think about is whether it is a major priority to contemporary news journalism to feature these types of stories in our news sources. Harcup and ONeills (2001) study states that when Galtung and Ruges news model mentions the news value, Reference to Elite People they stated that they were not necessarily the elite people that Galtung and Ruge had in mind. The UK press seems obsessed with celebrities such as TV soap stars, sports stars, film stars and, of course, royalty. In contrast, the elite people identified by Galtung and Ruges model were the politically powerful, people in positions of authority. With newspapers including more information about scandal and celebrities, there are concerns about the so called dumbing down of news and possible growth of a term called tabloidization. This is where political news is being replaced by celebrity news. So is this really what society wants to read about? Has contemporary journalism come to this?

Beloved by Toni Morrison (review) :: essays research papers

Cincinnati, Ohio, 183. 124 Bluestone Road. Only a mother, Sethe, and her daughter Denver, are living in a haunted house. They are African ex-slaves, survivors of a painful and traumatic life. It is Paul D, another slave from â€Å"Sweet Home†, that suddenly comes, who brings back memories of a past that has been long since buried. The more Sethe and Paul D talk about their past sufferings, the more they are healed. However, the ghost that haunts the house remains as a mystery. This book, â€Å"Beloved†, a touching and powerful social novel written by Toni Morrison, is a deeply profound reading experience. Morrison uses the same techniques as the most respectable and admirable authors. These include musical language, as she stated: â€Å"I wanted my language to be musical†. This technique gives the novel poetic lines, like: â€Å"Lay em down, Sethe. Sword and shield. Down. Down. Both of em down. Down by the riverside. Sword and shield.† (page 86). Also, she uses small precise images, that are described in detail. With this technique, the reader can feel as if he or she can contemplate the image and see the beauty in it. An example of this is: â€Å"She frowned and looked at her daughter-in-law bending toward the baby. Roses of blood blossomed in the blanket covering Sethe’s shoulders.† (page 93). As the story unfolds, the reader discovers the real human nature of the characters by Morrison’s excellent use of stream-of-consciousness. The rememory that takes place throughout the novel examines a cruel and obscene system of the not-so-old American society. Morrison presents some demonstrative examples of that last century America, that could be called â€Å"Hell on Earth†. Sethe and her family were all victims of slavery in a place called â€Å"Sweet Home†, where they worked at a plantation. Sethe was sexually abused while she was pregnant of a baby she later called Beloved. She was so terribly whipped by the white nephews of the owner that she carries permanent scars. After she gives birth, she cuts the baby’s throat. She could not bear to think of the child living slavery. The overall plot consists of sources of conflict that play an important role in this story. These are race, gender, family and supernatural issues (which is the presence of

Literature and Online College Newspaper

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is a graphic novel that depicts the life of a female coming to age during a time of war and violence in Iranian. The editor of The Ithacan, an online college newspaper, criticized this work of literature as being nothing more than an â€Å"advanced comic book† and â€Å"not too challenging. † He argues that Persepolis and similar literary works do not encourage intellectual advancement and does not benefit college freshmen. Despite the more basic vocabulary, the side narratives, unique dialogues, and use of illustrations evoke understanding and compassion for not only the narrator, but also the underlying themes.Generally speaking, a novel about Iranian politics and war is a topic that is hard for most young people to grasp or to find interesting because subjects such as these are very foreign to American readers. Persepolis assists in making this topic more relatable. By using graphics to depict the character’s expressions, settings and actions it is easier for the reader to connect. For example, on page 53, Satrapi illustrates the many ways in which Iranian young people express their feelings about the violent atmosphere.They cope with this situation by turning to family, friends and God. In addition, the author shows the children creating games and a fantasy world that compares their lives to the lives of the tortured. An example of the effectiveness of the illustrations and narrative is shown on page 116. The frame depicts soldiers amidst bombs, gunshots and smoke with multiple soldiers lying on the ground, dead. Marjane, the narrator, is standing in the upper left corner appearing helpless. Marjane is then shown exiting the frame stating that the situation could have been avoided.This is a powerful message because it relates to the current situation in the Middle East where American soldiers and innocent civilians are killed everyday. The value of Satrapi’s use of dialogue to enrich the narrative is evident on page 197. In response to overhearing her collogues prejudiced comments, she angrily retorts â€Å"I am Iranian and proud of it! † (197). This simple statement shows that proud of her nationality and will not tolerate negative statements applied to it. On this page she then states her comprehension of her grandmother’s advice. If [she] wasn’t comfortable with [herself], [she] would never be comfortable† (197). This is indicative of her self-growth and acceptance of her ethnicity. Literature comes in many forms and styles. These include novels, memoirs, plays, poetry and non-fiction. Graphic novels are just another medium in which authors can express their viewpoint and influence readers. One type of literature is not better than another; the vocabulary, sentence structure and degree of difficulty does not correlate to the books worth.What is more important is how it influences a reader and the thought process and intellectual stimulation that co mes about. Therefore, Persepolis is more than an â€Å"advanced comic book†. It is an engaging, enlightening piece of literature that portrays a violent time period in the Middle East that can be universally applied to other situations in the world today. Works Cited Satrapi, Marjane. The Complete Persepolis. Illus. Marjan Satrapi. New York: Pantheon Books, 2007. Print. â€Å"Taking Initiative: Graphic novel reading selection furthers declined reading comprehension. † The Ithacan 6 Mar. 2008: 1. The Ithacan. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. .

Differences Between Spanish and English Verb Tenses

Differences Between Spanish and English Verb Tenses Spanish speakers and English speakers think of their verb tenses in much the same way: The present tense of English functions much like the present tense of Spanish, and the same can be said of other tenses. But there are some differences youll come across as you get past the beginners level of Spanish. Here are some of the most significant ones: Using the Present Tense to Discuss the Future It is possible in both languages to discuss the future while using a present tense, but you can do so more flexibly in English. In English, you can use either the simple present or the present progressive to refer to the future. For example, you could say either The bus arrives at 2 or The bus is arriving at 2. In Spanish, however, you must use the simple present: El bus llega a las dos. (The bus arrives at 2)La pelà ­cula comienza a las 8:45. (The film begins at 8:45.) The present progressive in Spanish suggests that something is happening now. El bus est llegando means something like The bus is in the process of arriving, so it doesnt make sense to add a future time element. You could also use the future tense in either language for these situations. Using the Present Tense for What Is Happening Now In both languages, the simple present is used to refer to something that happens continuously, regularly, or repeatedly. Thus Los elefantes comen raà ­ces can mean Elephants eat roots, and Hago muchos errores can mean I make many mistakes. In Spanish but not English, however, the simple present can also be used to refer to something that is happening now, a concept that in English is expressed using the present progressive. Thus Los elefantes comen raà ­ces can also mean The elephants are eating roots, and Hago muchos errores can also mean I am making many mistakes. To determine what the Spanish means, you need to look at the context. You could also use the present progressive in Spanish to indicate that something is happening now (such as Los elefantes estn comiendo raà ­ces), but that verb form isnt used nearly as much in Spanish as in English. Tense for Activities That Continue The idiom in Spanish for indicating when an activity began is hace time period, the equivalent of ago in English. If the event is completed, both languages use the preterite: Comimos hace dos horas. (We ate two hours ago.)Viajaron a Madrid. (They traveled to Madrid.) If the action is still continuing, however, Spanish typically uses the phrase hace time period que followed by a simple present-tense verb, while English usually uses a have or has verb form followed by for and the time period: Hace dos aà ±os que vivo con à ©l. (I have been living with him for two years.)Hace 36 horas que Roberta est aquà ­. (Roberta has been here for 36 hours.) Using the Future Tense for Likelihood Although the future tense in both languages is mostly used to indicate what will happen, in Spanish it can also be used to indicate that something seems probable. There is no English equivalent to this suppositional future based on verb tense: Guillermo estar en casa. (Guillermo is probably at home.) ¡Ser la verdad! (It must be true!) In a question, the suppositional future is often used to express lack of knowledge or wondering:  ¿Dà ³nde estar Catalina? (Where could Catalina be?) ¿Quà © ser eso? (What could that be?) Tense and the Beginning of Actions In Spanish, use of the preterite tense rather than the imperfect tense can indicate when the verbs action began. English may use a different word or sentence structure rather than tense to convey the same thing. For example, conocer often refers to knowing someone. To say you knew someone, youd use the imperfect in Spanish but the preterite in English: Yo conocà ­a a Gabriela. (I knew Gabriela). Using the preterite in Spanish would usually be understood as referring to when the knowing began: Conocà ­ a Gabriela. (I met Gabriela.) In this way, the choice of verb tense can affect how a Spanish verb is translated to English: Sabà ­a nadar. (I knew how to swim.)Supe nadar. (I knew I had to swim.) Regional Differences for the Present Perfect In both languages, the present perfect can refer to events that happened at some unspecified time in the past: Hemos identificado los problemas. (We have identified the problems.)Ha estudiado para ser actriz. (She has studied to be an actress.) But in some areas, especially Spain, the Spanish present perfect is used primarily to refer to events that occurred in the very recent past. Hace un minuto he llamado a mi madre. (A minute ago I called my mother.) ¡Mi perro se ha comido el collar antiparasitario! (My dog just hate his antiparasite collar!) But in other areas, the preterite or some construction other than the present perfect would be preferred: Hace un minuto llamà © a mi madre. (A minute ago I called my mother.) ¡Mi perro se acaba de comer el collar antiparasitario! (My dog just hate his antiparasite collar!)

Feminism and Pornography essays

Feminism and Pornography essays Certainly is it is a fact that both male and female gender roles are largely defined by norms within our societies. The disparity then lies on the fact that both gender roles are defined by the males, and women may either chose to endorse or contest these norms. Feminism as a whole has historically both attempted to equate the societal value of women to that of men and empower women to self-authorize this very equality. The unarguable fact that women with in this society are oppressed dude to there sex is not at issue. What is of concern however, are both what norms contribute to this devaluing as well as how women themselves endorse these norms in turn proliferating the ideals of this patriarchic society. As a result one must question whether the decisions made by women within this society are rational and autonomous in their nature since arguably much of the oppression women suffer is the result of their adherence to these same male designed norms. Women with in this society endorse norms that palace them in various traditional roles, like that of a housewife or a mother. However one of the most unconventional of all female roles is that of a sex object. Prostitution as one of the oldest professions has for centuries been the job of women and arguably contributed to the dissemination of the norms that support the notion that women equate sex. Feminist movements throughout history have focused much of their attention and force on the attempt to dismantle this sexual role, they have constantly failed to overturn the notion that women and especially beautiful women are sexual objects and are to be used by men for their own sexual gratification. In recent history however a more negative and public form of this norm has become possible through both a sexual revolution and the invention of a film camera. Pornography has then arguably placed a form of prostitution on the main stream, and has made it not only acceptable to vi...

Simone DeBeauvoir Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Simone DeBeauvoir - Essay Example In fact, "a man never begins by presenting himself as an individual of a certain sex; it goes without saying that he is man "(De Beauvoir 1986, p. 15). Opposite to the men, women are forced to constantly justify their social status as women in which femininity is particularly important. De Beauvoir points to three main arguments in favor of the idea of the existence of gender discrimination against women. Firstly, De Beauvoir regards the stereotypes in relation to biological differences between men and women: a womans body is considered as defective and limited, while the male body is characterized positively. The second argument in favor of this idea lies in the fact that, as part of the opposition "the Self – the Other" men treat women as an object for manipulation and the overwhelming impact, while the women allow such stereotypes in their address. Consideration of a woman as the Other leads to the third argument in favor of the authors idea. It consists in the fact that gender inequality is determined by social norms with respect to the distribution of various resources and social rights. In practice, women have far fewer rights than men, and this injustice is manifested in all areas of their lives. In general, the idea of discrimination against women is confirmed by the disproportion in the significance of masculinity and femininity in society. Their status is determined by the opposition "the Self – the Other" where the role of the Self is given to the man as an active and free subject, while the role of the Other belongs to the woman as a dependent object. As mentioned above, the first factor in favor of discrimination against women is associated with stereotypes about male and female bodies. In fact, men see their bodies as having a perfect set of features for a happy life. In contrast to the man, "woman has ovaries, a uterus: these peculiarities imprison her in her

Britain Fights EU's 'Big Brother' Bid Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Britain Fights EU's 'Big Brother' Bid - Article Example The aim of the Intelligent Speed Adaptation technology (ISA) is reducing accident death tolls by a third but according to Mr. McLoughlin, UK Transport Secretary, comparing UK road deaths of 1754 deaths to 3,645, and 3,657 deaths in France and Germany respectively, UK has lowest death rates from road carnage in Europe. After being briefed that newly, designed vehicles will have camera and satellite systems allowing for the easy and cheap addition of speed limiters, Mr. McLoughlin instructed his officials to block the move terming it as a violation of British motorist’s freedom. According to AA, the new technology is poised to create dangers at lower speeds especially when there is a requirement to accelerate and the speed is limited resulting in an avoidable collision but believes audible speed alerts would work (Owen, 31 August 2013). EC reports that ISA and other issues will be published by the commission in a document in the autumn according to its mandate by member states and that there is ongoing consultation on the speed limiters. The research in the article is exemplary done owing to the reporting of the views of the different stakeholders on the introduction of ISA and this has a relation to the course material since it deals with a transportation policy issue aimed at implementation in the UK and Europe limiting driving beyond set speeds. The exemplary sections in the article are the workings of the Intelligent Speed Adaptation technology (ISA) that is well explained in the article allowing for a clear concise understanding by the reader.  

Henry Clay's views of slavery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Henry Clay's views of slavery - Essay Example To put action to words, he, of his own free will, freed his slaves, many years before the Civil War and the emancipation (NPR para 4). Clay was one of the people who President Lincoln admired a lot, and his drive for the emancipation must have emanated from this. In fact, Clay and Lincoln seem to have shared the same socio-political philosophy when it came to leadership. For instance, Clay is quoted as having said that he would rather be right than president. This was indication of how his view on slavery was hindering his political career. There have been conflicting arguments on how the abolition of slavery affected the economy of the United States. Some feel that the abolition was a big loss to the economy, especially the southern parts of America which were too dependent on slave labour for their extensive agricultural activities. Slave labour was fundamental in allowing the southern farmers to be able to continue being large-scale producers. In fact, although the southern parts constituted only about thirty percent of the population at the time, it was able to produce a majority of the agricultural products such as cotton which was in great demand, and other food crops. With the abolition of the slaves, these farmers could not access the cheap and affordable labour the farmers were getting from the slaves. The economic impact of the abolition of slavery can also be considered in terms of the productivity of an individual. The question in this case would be, were slaves more productive while in slavery than they were while free? In one way, it can be argued that slaves, due to the fact that they were to work constantly, were more productive. A free person on the other hand, can do work in one day which will give him enough income to help his family for three days. In this regard, such a person may end up being idle for the rest of the days. This argument has however been countered, especially by modern research on human motivation. For instance, Abraham Mas low, a psychologist, established that human motivation changes from time to time in a hierarchical manner depending on the various levels of human needs. These conflicting issues of slavery can be best seen in Henry Clay’s attitude towards slavery. Henry was a representative who influenced a lot of issues in USA politics and economics and at one time was openly opposed to slavery. Yet, in spite of his stand on slavery, he himself owned slaves (NPR, 2010). This is an indication that although opposed slavery on moral grounds, he still could appreciate the economic importance of slavery. The other way in which the impact of emancipation can be considered is by looking at the value of a slave. Although the actual value of a slave could not have been calculated accurately, it can be estimated. A slave was bought at about $200 and was estimated to have a value of $800 to $100 when future value of his work is considered. It is estimated that there were four million slaves, giving a value of $400 of the slaves who lived during the time of emancipation. This would mean that this value of the economy was destroyed just by freeing the slaves. However, this argument is valid only in theory but falls short in practice. Freeing a slave did not nullify his or her economic value but only shifted the value from one owner to another (from the slave master to the slave). In this regard, it cannot be said that freeing the slaves nullified their

Good sameritan essay Essay Example for Free

Good sameritan essay Essay Should being a Good Samaritan be a law? This is a question that many people do not think about everyday. In my opinion, I believe that there should not be a law on being a Good Samaritan. I believe this because; there should not be a law that causes human beings to put their lives at risk, only to save another’s. This may sound selfish but it is also the truth. Do you think its right for human beings to put their livea at risk to save anothers? The Good Samaritans USA are afraid to Act article states â€Å"They are imposing on us a duty to assist, provided we don’t put ourselves at risk. † (Sjoerdsma Paragraph 4) This means that if we have to be Good Samaritans then there is a chance that we are putting ourselves at risk. There is a chance that we could die. Therefore, there is a chance that there would be many deaths at a cause of this law. If you have a special relationship between the victims, then of course it would only be logical for you to help the person in need. For example, â€Å"certain people have a duty to take care of others†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Sjoerdsma Paragraph 9) This would be like between a doctor and a patient. Then it would be the doctor’s duty to make sure that the patient is taken care of. Also the article states â€Å"instead of compelling reluctant incompetent people to intervene, we should concentrate in protecting Good Samaritans who act now without force of law.† (Sjoerdsma Paragraph 6) Here we can clearly see that humans can be good people without law forcing them to do so. It would be better for all of the US to feel like they are doing a good deed by being a Good Samaritan rather than a requirement. Therefore, it shouldn’t be a requirement for US citizens to always be a hero and do an act of kindness. This law would put not only one life at risk but the lives of many others at risk.

The symbolism of rain in literature

The symbolism of rain in literature It has been seen that almost all authors use symbol within their works of literature in order to pull the attention of their readers. Using such symbolic concept it helps the poets in creating a secondary meaning. It also helps in connecting the gaps. Symbols need a careful analysis while in some circumstance it is quite clear. Water can be seen in many forms in literature including waterfalls, lakes, rivers, streams, or rain. The meaning of water symbol in literature can be taken in many ways. The most obvious are life, being born, purity, cleansing, or the washing away of sins. Water is very important to life and growth and it mainly appears as a birth and rebirth symbol. It is used in the baptism service which solemnizes spiritual births. Even the appearance of rain in the work of literature it suggests a spiritual birth. April is the cruellest month for the denizens of the modern wasteland, for it signifies rebirth and they prefer winter or spiritual death, for rebirth implies some efforts on their part and any spiritual effort is hateful to them. The spring rain brings new life to the landscape but all it manages to do is stirring/ dull roots. It suggests that nothing new will grow out of the symbolic wasteland. Through a protagonist named Tiresias, Eliot gives his impressions about the modern people. Tiresias has come across a German princess. She is fond of travel. She is an example of a rootless modern person. She has no connection with her family, community and nation. She is a kind of international globetrotter, fond of the physical comforts of life. Eliot considers such ties necessary for culture, for real life- spiritual and moral. The modern humanity, like German princess, lives entirely on the physical plane, and is entirely forgetful of religious and moral values. In winter, as they go through Munich they are overtaken by a shower of rain. They do not realize the purifying power of rain but rather seek shelter from it, as she is ignorant of its purifying and fertilizing significance. Shelly’s poem Cloud has treated rain in totally different manner. Rain which comes from cloud and it is supplied to the soil so that it regernate. Cloud become a gardener through rain it brings water to thirsty flowers as well as to the birds through the dew on the buds. It helps in harvesting the crops. Here rain is very significant while in the Eliot’s Wasteland people are unaware to the fertilizing power of rain. They try to save themselves with the showers of rain. In this lines the protagonist, Tiresias, then surveys the panorama of modern civilization and finds it spiritually barren and dead. The stones, dead trees, dry stones without any sound of water, all symbolize spiritual desolation. In the book 4 Paradise Lost by Milton Eve tells Adam about her first awakening and how she wondered when she come to know about her who she is and from where she came to life. She sees her image in to the lake through which she discovers herself as well as also aware that she is relative to Adam. Through the voice which she hears she come to know that she is the mother of the human race. Here Eve recognition looking in to the water symbolizes that Eve consciousness about her existence, the awareness of being born. We notice that when Tiresias surveys he finds nothing. But when Eve sees her image into the water she comes to know about her existence. The Tarot Pack of 78 cards, originally used in Egypt to foretell the rise of the Nile waters, and the return of fertility. But now the function of the pack has degenerated. It is used merely for fake fortune telling, an illegal activity. The Madame Sosostris is telling the fortunes of some client, who might be the protagonist himself. The drowned phoenician sailor is the symbol of the fertility god whose effigy was thrown into the river to symbolize the death of the summer. The drowned Phoenician sailor is related to the English myth of the Fisher King, whose wound causes the land to stop impregnate or regenerate. In this case he might represent the terrible curse that has fallen over Europe in the 20th century. The warning ‘fear death by water’ suggest that you need to avoid dying like the Phoenician sailor but it also true that fortune tellers are full of tricks you need to remember there is other way to â€Å"die by water.† So this warning refers to the spiritual drought which has fallen on the wasteland. In the poem of William Wordsworth The Prelude he describes water in the form of a lake, remembering a time when he was a young boy here it symbolize freedom and entrapment. Wordsworth recalls his time when he was a curious boy. In order to take a ride he borrows the boat of a shepherd one night. However, when he starts to row out into the lake he believes that he sees a cliff in the distance rise up in front of him, which petrifies him. Before this incident lake is described as a shining clear among the hoary mountains. A young boy slips his oars in the lake. The water seems peaceful and serene, begging to be rowed upon. Wordsworth enables to quell his desire to take the boat out for a ride. When Wordsworth witnesses the supernatural event into the lake he finds this place is no longer safe but rather fearful and wretched. His pleasurable ride becomes a panic stricken and he tries hard to make it back to land. The lake still peaceful and quite but a change has come in the attitude of Wordsworth. He tries to escape the water. The lake and ocean symbolize both freedom and entrapment. Wordsworth cannot row fast enough to escape the one peaceful lake. In the cases of both poem water is giving a kind of horrid experience. In one poem they are warning to fear from death by water while in other water is very calm and it is begging to be rowed upon by Wordsworth. But while rowing poet is full of fear which he experiences in the expedition on the lake. The lady asks the lover whether he knows anything, whether he sees anything, whether he remembers anything. The reply of the lover is that he remembers one line which is a quotation from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. This line is: â€Å"those are pearls, that were his eyes,† this line is reproduced mechanically by the lover. It has no spiritual significance for him. It does not give an idea of the transformation of man through death to something higher and nobler. This lines is taken from the William Shakespeare The Tempest,it refers to a person who drowned and has been underwater so long, his eyes has turned into pearls. It reminds the warning to avoid Death by water. Turning of eye symbolizes how the modern souls have become hard and lifeless. The hot water at ten. And if it rains, a closed car at four. And we shall play a game of chess, Pressing lidless eyes and waiting for a knock upon the door. (Eliot 134-137) It is a brief summary of the dull, meaningless routine of life in the wasteland. Waiting for some excitement, for something to happen, this will enliven for a moment the dull routine of their life. While in the poetry of John Donne we see how a poet is very sad when he has to leave his beloved. He shows much concern for his beloved. In the poem A valediction: of weeping by John Donne image of water is shown with the use of tear. In the beginning of the poem when he is departing from his beloved he does not embrace her before going. Instead of it he finds his beloved reflection in his tears. Their separation cannot separate them it is undeniable separation. Next he takes tears of his beloved both â€Å"fruit† and â€Å"emblem†. It is fruit of his pain because which he is enduring in his present time while it is an emblem of his future grief because he will be away. Further he says that as his tears falls his reflection will also fall. He and she will become nothing. When her reflection falls thus she vanishes as he departs for his sea voyage. Then the tears of the lovers are endlessly generative and endlessly decay. When we both cry our eyes will fill with tears, and we won’t be able to see each other anymore. It has been noticed that people of wasteland is also waiting for any kind amusement in their dull routine of life whereas in Donne poetry instead of waiting he is departing leaving behind his beloved. ‘If it rain’ symbolizes that waiting for spiritual birth or reborn while fading of reflection in tears symbolizes to lose spirituality. The section ‘The Fire Sermon’ opens with Tiresias surveying the Thames scene in the autumn. The leaves have fallen down and the wind moves without any rustle. The Thames is deserted. In the summer, it had been the haunt of nameless ladies in search of momentary pleasure, and the rich sons of business directors equally in need of pleasure. After having their round of pleasure, they have all left. The river is strewn all over with empty bottles, cigarette cases, papers, handkerchiefs, etc, the reminders of the orgy of pleasure on its banks. The protagonist mourns the pollution of the river water. As he sits on its banks fishing in the dull canal near the gas house, a cold wind blows. It brings to him the sound of the senseless laughter of London crowds who move about rattling like dried bones. Memories crowd in upon him, and he is reminded of bonnnivard in the prison of chillon in Byron’s famous poem, lamenting the loss of freedom on the banks of lakes leman; or the captive jews in the bible weeping by the river Babylon. Since he is the spokesman of humanity, one who has suffered all, one whose memories go to the remote past, the scene also reminds him of the brother of the fisher king, fishing for the regeneration of his brother and of Ferdinand, mourning the death of his father, the king. In the past water and fishing were the symbol of regeneration and transformation but today they have lost their spiritual significance. The poet now refers to another scene: fishing near the river. The poet tries to fish in the canal behind the gas house, where a rat creep near him. Instead of finding a fish, he comes across an ugly rat. This reminds him of the story of Ferdinand where the king was exiled by his brother who usurped his throne. The real king may be compared to a fish while the usurping king may be compared to a rat. Today the scene of the river bank is very depressing. White naked bodies can be seen on the buildings of the bank. They are disturbed by the rats to be found on the bank. Today the roads along the bank are full of motor cars; the hooting of the horns is a signal for Mrs. Porter to meet her lover Sweeney. The face of Mrs. Porter shines under the moon-light. She is accompanied by her daughter. They wash their feet not in the river water but in soda water. They are doing so not for their self purification but to make their flesh fairer to attract males. We find such is the degeneracy in the modern wasteland. If we read the poetry snake by D.H Lawrence we find water is essential for drinking purpose without it nobody can think of leave. Everyone in the past or in the present always talks about the preserving of water but in the modern wasteland it is used for making their skin fairer. They are wasting water. People do not bother about its purification. A snake came to my water-trough on a hot, hot day, I in pyjamas for the heat, to drink there. (Lawrence, 1) In the beginning lines of DH Lawrence poem, the water symbolizes as a drinking water. As we know that when water come into the mouth of snake it transforms in a poison. A snake comes to water trough in order to drink water. The poet finds himself in a queu in which he has second number before him a snake which come as guest. The poet watches the yellow brown soft bellied snake at his water trough. It is drinking softly through its gums silently. While the poet is watching the snake drinking water snake lifts his head and looks at the poet vaguely, flickers his two forked tongue from his lips, take pause a moment and then drink a little more. With the sound of music in his ears, Tiresias goes along the strand and queen Victoria Street, and reaches the lower end of Thames Street. This is the part of the city where the poor live. There he hears, coming out of a tavern, the sweet music of a mandolin, and the chanter of fishermen and sailors who are resting in the tavern. There stands the church of St. Magus Martyr, the interior decoration of which is highly praised by Eliot. However, this haunt of the poor is also not pure from sexual perversion and sin as is brought out by the songs of the three Thames daughters, i.e., these poor girls living on the banks of the river. First the three sing together and then separately. They bemoan the polluting of river water symbolized by the oozing out of oil and tar. The river which is river Thames, sweating oil and tar, symbolizes the modern commercial pollution of the waters of the river. In Mattew Arnold poem Dover Beach, he is obsessed with water. It is constantly referred throughout the poem. Water symbolism has been treated like a sadness, misery and tears. It is clear to the very outset of the poem when he says the sea is calm; the tide is full; the straits of Dover look bright in the light of the moon; the cliffs loom large in the bay; the sand seems white because of moonlight. The poet draws the attention of his beloved to the sound of waves which alternatively advance and withdraw, carrying away pebbles from the beach each time they withdraw and throwing them up against the beach each time they advance. The poet finds a note of sadness in this sound. He recalls that of the Greek dramatist Sophocles also interpreted the sound of sea waves as sad. Sophocles, on hearing it, was reminded of tragedy of human life. The poet then points out that once upon a time the sea of religious faith was full, but now doubt and disbelief have combined to throw back the waves of faith from the world, leaving the world barren and cheerless. He means that religion has lost its hold upon the minds of people who have now become skeptical. The world has now become barren and men live in the darkness of ignorance, carrying on aimless struggle. The sea is everywhere in the poem Dover beach. It shows in different places and in different forms, but we feel its power all over the place. In the section ‘Death by water’ we see symbol in title. Water is the traditional symbol of purification and regeneration, but in the modern land of desolation it has lost its functions and has become a source of destruction. This is so because man has become beastly, given to the pursuit of wealth and sensuous pleasures. It is very similar to the poetry of The River by A.K Ramanujan. He is not praising river like the other poet mostly do instead of it he shows the flood which kills the inhabitant of the villagers like one pregnant women, Gopi and Brinda etc. The poet much concerns about the damage which the flood annually does to the people. The phoenician sailor; phlebas was young, tall and handsome, but he was drowned because his life was a sordid round of business activity and pleasure without any spiritual motivation. He was caught in a whirlpool and passed the various stages of his age and youth. The reference is to the ritual immersion of the effigy of the vegetation god, orisis, who was supposed to pass the various stages of life in the reverse order. He is old when he is immersed in water, he is young as rises and falls on the waves, then a boy, and is finally reborn. But there is no rebirth for the Phoenician sailor or modern humanity because of their moral degradation. The remedy lies in their being guided by moral and spiritual principles. At present they turn the wheel of life themselves, i.e, lead a life uncontrolled by spiritual considerations. Complete secularization and rejection of the supernal is at the root of the contemporary decay and disintegration. The influence of symbols in Indian literature als o A.K Ramanujan is a very famous poet of modern era. He has written a poem A River in which he has discussed about the flood which destroys everything. Through the symbol of river he describes about the havoc which is spread by flood. Here, in this poem water is a symbol of disaster and destruction. Madurai is a city of temples and poets. The poets living in this city write poems about cities and temples. Their poems also contain accounts of how every summer a river flowing through Madurai is reduced to a narrow stream and how; soon afterwards, it is flooded with the water of rains. When it is reduced to a narrow stream, its water cannot pass through the Watergates because of the piles of straw and women’s hair which obstruct its flow. The bridges over the river are marked with many patches of repair. Those stones of the bridges, which become wet, begin glisten, while the dry stones retain their original dull colour. The poets merely write poems about the floods in this river. A visitor once happened to spend one day in Madurai when a flood in the river was imminent. He heard people everywhere talking about the level of the water rising quickly. The people talked about the water rising over the steps leading to the river, and the water rising on the bathing places. He also heard people talking about the flood waters sweeping away three village homes, one pregnant woman, and a couple of cows, almost every year. Sailors himself cannot save from drowning in to the water as same to the villagers of Madurai. Both the poets at some extent have similar thought in order to show the destructive power of water. Last section ‘what the thunder said’â€Å"Here is no water, but only rock†, the reference is to the journey of sir Percival or Parsifal, the quester, to the kingdom of the fisher king in search of the holy grail. The knight and his followers reach the mountain on the top of which is the chapel perilous in which is kept the lost grail. There have been no rains for a long time, and it is a scene of desolation and barrenness which meets their eyes. There is no water at all and the rocks are cracked. There are gaps as in the in the mouth of an old man. There is not even silence, for there is the unpleasant noise of the wind passing through dried grass, the desert insects singing with a jarring sound, and the sound of thunder without rain. As the searchers climb the hill and near the chapel, they have hallucinations. Red ghostly figures seem to look out at them from mud cracked houses and mock and jeer at them. Such has been the experience of all those who have searche d for truth and spiritual salvation. The path of spiritualism is difficult and those who follow it often have such hallucinations. The repeated cry of â€Å"water, water† brings out vivdly the intensity of the suffering they have to undergo. The poet turns his back on the dead land and sits fishing on the shore of the river, i.e. he makes efforts at his spiritual re-generation.