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.