Free Essays on Americas Changing Families

America's Changing Families Time and time again, we hear people talking about the eroding American family. From politicians to religious leaders, we hear that we need to return to â€Å"Traditional Family Values.† So what are these â€Å"Traditional Family Values,† and what happened to them? The 1950s are quite frequently used as the perfect example of a time with these â€Å"Traditional Family Values,† but history tells us that is not the case. According to Stephanie Coontz (Post, Lawrence, & Weber, 2001), there are large numbers of people, who tell stories of tormented childhoods in alcoholic, abusive or conflict ridden families. These people can’t understand why anyone would regret the passing of the 1950s, while there are others who are grateful they were unaware of their parent’s problems. This latter sheltered group of people are grateful for whatever kept their family together, and they are also thankful the media did not expose them to many of the adult realities that today’s children see or read about. Stephanie suggests the way to get past these polarized viewpoints, is to put their strengths and weaknesses into historical perspective. I believe it is easy to look backwards in time, and to forget the bad things that occurred, and to remember the good things, possibly better than they were. Instead of saying we should go back to â€Å"Traditional Family Values†, I feel we should discuss how we can improve life for today’s busy and diverse families. The most often discussed value from the 1950s, has to be that some believe the woman’s place is in the home. A large percentage of households had a stay at home mom, with a dad as the breadwinner. This is where many people get the idea, that the lack of traditional values in modern society, is a result of women in the workforce. According to Stephanie Coontz (Post, Lawrence, & Weber, 2001), historically, productive work by mothers, fathers and by young people ha... Free Essays on Americas Changing Families Free Essays on Americas Changing Families America's Changing Families Time and time again, we hear people talking about the eroding American family. From politicians to religious leaders, we hear that we need to return to â€Å"Traditional Family Values.† So what are these â€Å"Traditional Family Values,† and what happened to them? The 1950s are quite frequently used as the perfect example of a time with these â€Å"Traditional Family Values,† but history tells us that is not the case. According to Stephanie Coontz (Post, Lawrence, & Weber, 2001), there are large numbers of people, who tell stories of tormented childhoods in alcoholic, abusive or conflict ridden families. These people can’t understand why anyone would regret the passing of the 1950s, while there are others who are grateful they were unaware of their parent’s problems. This latter sheltered group of people are grateful for whatever kept their family together, and they are also thankful the media did not expose them to many of the adult realities that today’s children see or read about. Stephanie suggests the way to get past these polarized viewpoints, is to put their strengths and weaknesses into historical perspective. I believe it is easy to look backwards in time, and to forget the bad things that occurred, and to remember the good things, possibly better than they were. Instead of saying we should go back to â€Å"Traditional Family Values†, I feel we should discuss how we can improve life for today’s busy and diverse families. The most often discussed value from the 1950s, has to be that some believe the woman’s place is in the home. A large percentage of households had a stay at home mom, with a dad as the breadwinner. This is where many people get the idea, that the lack of traditional values in modern society, is a result of women in the workforce. According to Stephanie Coontz (Post, Lawrence, & Weber, 2001), historically, productive work by mothers, fathers and by young people ha...

Noëls Vocabulary, Traditions and Decorations

Noà «ls Vocabulary, Traditions and Decorations Whether you are religious or not, Christmas, Noà «l (pronounced â€Å"no el†) is an important holiday in France. Since the French don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, Noà «l is really the traditional family gathering. Now, many things have been said about Christmas in France, and its particular traditions such as the thirteen desserts, but many of these traditions are regional, and unfortunately tend to disappear with time.   Right now, across France, here are seven traditions you could be expecting: 1. Le Sapin de Noà «l - The Christmas Tree For Christmas, traditions asks that you go get a Christmas Tree â€Å"un sapin de Noà «l†, decorate it and set it in your house. Some people would plant theirs back in their yard. Most will just get a cut tree and throw it away when it is dry. Nowadays, many people prefer to have a synthetic tree you can fold and reuse every year. â€Å"Les dà ©corations (f), les ornements (m)† are more or less precious but it is mostly in the US that I’ve heard the traditions of passing on ornements through generations. It is not a very common thing in France. Its not really clear when to set up the sapin de Noà «l. Some set it on Saint Nicks day (December 6th) and remove it on the 3 King Day (lEpiphanie, January 6th). Le sapin de Noà «l - Christmas treeLes aiguilles de pin - pine needlesUne branche - a brancheUne dà ©coration - a decorationUn ornement - an ornamentUne boule - a ball / an ornamentUne guirlande - a garlandUne guirlande à ©lectrique - an electrical garlandL’à ©toile - the star 2. La Couronne de Noà «l - Christmas Wreath Another Christmas Tradition is to use wreaths on your doors, or sometimes as a table centrepiece. This wreath may be done of twigs, or of a fir branch, may have glitter, feature fir cones and if placed on a table, often surrounds a candle. Un centre de table - a centrepieceUne couronne - a wreathUne brindille - a twigUne branche de sapin - a fir branchUne pomme de pin - a fir coneUne bougie - a candleUne paillette - a glitterDe la neige artificielle - artificial snow 3. Le Calendrier de l’Avent - Advent Calendar This is a special calendar for kids, to help them count the days before Christmas. Behind each number is a door, which reveals a drawing, or a nook with a treat or a little toy. This calendar is usually hung in a communal room as to remind everybody of the countdown before Christmas (and keep an eye on the â€Å"door† openings so that the kids won’t just eat all the chocolate before Christmas...) Un calendrier - a calendarL’Avent - AdventUne porte - a doorUne cachette - a hiding spotUne surprise - a surpriseUn bonbon - a candyUn chocolat - a chocolate 4. La Crà ¨che de Noà «l - The Christmas Manger Nativity Another important Christmas tradition in France is the nativity: a little house with Mary and Joseph, an ox and a donkey, the star and an angel, and eventually baby Jesus. The nativity set can be larger, with the 3 kings, many shepherds and sheep and other animals and village people. Some are very old and in the South of France, the little figurines are called â€Å"santons† and can be worth quite a lot of money. Some family make a paper crà ¨che as a project for Christmas, others have a tiny little one somewhere in their house, and some churches would have a live nativity scene during the Christmas mass. Traditionally, baby Jesus is added on December 25th in the morning, often by the youngest child of the household. La crà ¨che - the manger/ nativityLe petit Jà ©sus - baby JesusMarie - MaryJoseph - JosephUn ange - an angelUn boeuf - an oxUn à ¢ne - a donkeyUne mangeoire - a mangerLes rois mages - the 3 kings, the 3 wise menL’à ©toile du berger - the star of BethlehemUn mouton - a sheepUn berger - a shepherdUn santon - manger figurines made in the South of France 5. About Santa, Shoes, Stockings, Cookies and Milk In the old days, children would place their shoes next to the fireplace and hope to get a little present from Santa, such as an orange, a wooden toy, a little doll. Stockings are used instead in the Anglo-saxon countries.   In France, most new houses do not have a fireplace, and the tradition of placing your shoes by it has totally disappeared. Although he does bring the presents on his sleigh, in France what Santa does is not that clear: some think he comes down the chimney himself, some believe he sends a helper or just magically places the gifts on the shoes (if he is an old-fashioned Santa) or under the Christmas tree. In any case, there is no clear tradition of leaving cookies and milk for him†¦ Maybe a bottle of Bordeaux and a toast of foie gras? Just kidding†¦ Le Pà ¨re Noà «l - Santa (or Saint Nicolas in the North-East of France)Le traineau - the sleighLes rennes - reindeersLes elfes - elvesLe Pà ´le Nord - North Pole 6. Christmas Cards and Greetings It’s customary in France to send out Christmas/ Happy New Year cards to your friends and family, although this tradition is disappearing over time. If its better to send them before Christmas, you have until January 31st to do it. Popular Christmas greetings are: Joyeux Noà «l - Merry ChristmasJoyeuses fà ªtes de Noà «l - Merry ChristmasJoyeuses fà ªtes - Happy Holidays (more Politically Correct since not Religious) 7. Les Marchà ©s de Noà «l - Christmas Markets in France Christmas Markets are little villages made up of wooden stalls (called chà ¢lets) which pop up in the center of towns in December. They typically sell decorations, local products and vin chaud (mulled wine), cakes, biscuits and gingerbreads as well as many handcrafted items. Originally common in the North-East of France, they are now popular throughout France - there is a huge one on les Champs Elysà ©es in Paris.

Value and Ethics in the workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Value and Ethics in the workplace - Essay Example In global environment, an individual reconciles persona;, organizational and cultural values from national and international traditions and unique personal vision of life and business practices. In the past few decades, global corporations have generated a significant number of economic, moral, and political questions. Far too often, discussions of these issues have been inappropriately separated from each other. The moral behavior of transnational corporations and the implications that transnationals have for the nation-state are two such discussions. There is the importance of the moral conditions within which institutions, such as corporations and the state, may act when we note, among other things, the special powers they have, the temptations to which they may be subjected, and the competitive pressures under which politicians and transnational corporations operate (Boatright, 1997). In short, both individuals and institutions are affected by the moral conditions which surround them. Within complex situations defined by the preceding conditions, we might expect that the behavior of individuals (natural or artificial) would tend to be moral. In short, under such conditions individuals may anticipate being held morally responsible for what they do (or bring about), either in the sense that they intentionally brought it about or were in a situation such that they could have effected certain actions and their consequences. Their behavior would also be that of moral citizens to the extent that an additional condition is also fulfilled (Beauchamp and Bowie 2003). Individuals derive personal values from personal vision of life and life experiences based on national and cultural moral values. In the global context, individuals view themselves as subject to a commitment or loyalty to the community or society of which they are members. This commitment is to certain values and principles shaped by the historical

PRACTISE STUDY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

PRACTISE STUDY - Essay Example These activities of Imagine Mental Health stem from its belief that by supporting people with mental health problems it is possible to enable them to do what they want to do, live their lives as they want to live and access those opportunities that are available to all citizens, in short to lead a full and independent life (Imagine). Governmental support for these activities is available through the government social exclusion action plan. This action plan became a reality in September 2006, when the department of health and the department of work and pension initiated it to encourage social activities and employment for those suffering from severe mental health. The social exclusion action plan is envisaged as a programme that will involve the participation of the public sector, the private sector and the voluntary organization. As a voluntary organization with similar objectives as the social exclusion plan, Imagine Mental Health is associated with this effort of the government (Re aching Out: An Action Plan on Social Exclusion). The company operates through the mainstream service by enabling clients who have been socially excluded to reclaim their place back in the mainstream of society. The company is staffed by bridge builders, who have a background, and specialist expertise, in a number of life domains that the clients can choose to access. These domains include employment, volunteering, education and training, sports and leisure, art, cultural communities, faith and spirituality, and homes, families, neighbourhoods and befriending (Life Opportunities). As a social work student undergoing placement with Imagine, I have been given the role of employment, education and training bridge builder and also to support other bridge builders to attain the primary objectives of the clients. I have to be creative and have good networking skills to fulfil my responsibilities. I also support clients as their first contact point at Imagine for assessment and

ICT in Manufacturing Essay Example for Free

ICT in Manufacturing Essay In the face of ever-increasing competition from international market, many labour-intensive manufacturing companies face a stark choice: automation, or evaporate. Here are some of the many ways in which computers are used in the manufacturing world. Order entry and processing systems accept and process customer orders. A fully integrated system will also calculate the quantity and cost of materials needed to make the items ordered, produce reports on any shortages of materials in stock that need to be ordered and raise the purchase order. It will then track the progress of the order through the manufacturing process so that customer queries can be answered. Project management software provides management with the information necessary to keep projects within budget and on time. Reports can be produced showing actual costs versus projected costs, and the number of days ahead or behind schedule. Expert systems can be used in a multitude of ways from calculating the cost of a new multi-storey office block to detecting when a batch of beer is ready for the next stage of the brewing process. Bass the brewers has built a machine that can perform the daunting task of smelling beer and deciding if its up to snuff. The technology that makes this possible is neural computing, the revolutionary process that mimics the way the human brain works. The artificial nose makes a complex series of judgements based on the electrochemical stimuli received by its gas sensors, and could save the brewers a fortune. By detecting an over-active yeast or a weak crop of hops at an early stage in the fermentation process, the nose could save us having to throw away a whole batch 345,600 pints of beer, explained Ian Morris of Bass. It is not just brewers who are interested in the artificial nose. Manufacturers of instant coffee, perfume and other aromatic products are spending huge sums, in co-operation with researchers at several universities, to build a better-than-human olfactory sensor. Source: Garth Alexander, The Sunday Times 19 September 1993. CAD systems allow designers and engineers to create designs on screen for thousands of products ranging from the tiniest computer chip to bridges, buildings and aeroplanes. The software allows users to create 3-dimensional solid models with physical characters like volume, weight and centre of gravity. The models can be rotated and viewed from any angle, edited and sorted. The computer can perform calculations to evaluate its performance under different stresses, or crash-test a new design of a car before it is even manufactured. Animation software can be used to enable a viewer to Walk through a 3-D model of say, a building that exists only in the computers memory. Precimax was founded in 1988 and has grown to a 30-employee company with an anticipated turnover in 1997 of i 1. 4 million. It offers a full manufacturing service from initial design through to supply of fully finished components and assembles. Production is predominantly on CNC (computer numeric control) turning and machining centres, and programs can be created from customers drawings or directly from CAD via modem or disk. Batches range from one-off up to 5,000, but are more typically in the 50 to 500 brackets. In size, turned components measure up to 250mm diameter. Precimax is a major supplier of components for train braking and door systems and is currently producing parts for use in the platform edge doors for London Undergrounds Jubilee Line extension. It also has a contract with a postal equipment manufacturer for monthly deliveries of rollers and other parts for letter-sorting machines. Precimax uses Datatrack for Windows for keeping track of its annual 3,000 orders. The system includes estimating and quoting sales order processing, purchasing, job costing and delivery. The commercial director commented, A system to handle this level of business is essential. Without it, we would be lost. It enables us to control cost and better understand our customers and manufacture. It gives us accurate information, so we can communicate with our customers on cost and deliveries quickly and with confidence.

Woolfs Vision in A Room of Ones Own Essay -- Room of Ones Own Essay

Woolf's Vision in A Room of One's Own      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many years have lapsed sinee Virginia Woolf spoke at Newnham and Girton colleges on the subject of women and fiction.   Her remarkable words are preserved for future generations of women in A Room of One's Own.   This essay is the "first manifesto of the modern feminist movement" (Samuelson), and has been called "a notable preamble to a kind of feminine Declaration of Independence" (Muller 34).   Woolf writes that her modest goal for this ground-breaking essay is to "encourage the young women--they seem to get fearfully depressed" (qtd. in Gordon xiv). This treatise on the history of women's writings, reasons for the scarcity of great women artists, and suggestions for future literary creators and creations accomplishes far more than simple inspiration and motivation for young writers. Woolf questions the "effect . . . poverty [has] on fiction" and the "conditions . . . necessary for the creation of works of art" (25), and she persuasively argues that economics are as important as talent and inspiration in the creative process.   She emphatically states and, with brilliant fiction, supports her thesis that every woman "must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction" (4). Woolf's witty and beautifully crafted essay has a practical message for aspiring women writers: as pioneers in the virtually unexplored frontier of women's literature, and to create timeless, powerful works of art, they must forsake the established mores of masculine creativity and forge their own traditions and styles.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Woolf introduces this new literary tradition through the structure of her lecture.   Rather than follow the traditional format established through centuries of male lect... ...vel: A Forum on Fiction 23 (1990): 229-46. Delony 10 Muller, Herbert J. "Virginia Woolf and Feminine Fiction." Beja 73-84. Paul, Janis M. The Victorian Heritage of Virqinia Woolf: The External World in Her Novels. Norman: Pilgrim,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1987. Rosenman, Ellen Bayuk. The Invisible Presence: Virginia Woolf and the Mother-Daughter Relationship.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1986. Schwartz, Beth C. "Thinking back Through our Mothers: Virginia Woolf Reads Shakespeare." SLA 58 (1991):   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   721-46. Samuelson, Joan.   Lecture.   English 2323.  Ã‚   Kingwood College.   Kingwood, 13 April 1993. Simpson, Catharine R.   Introduction.   Benstock 1-6. Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One's Own. 1929. New York: Harvest-Harcourt, 1989. Zwerdling, Alex. Virginia Woolf and the Real World. Los Angeles: U of California P, 1986.      

Admission Essay for Pace University

I am a Turkish, male, 20 yr-old junior student currently studying here in Pace University, and I am interest to apply for admission in your Pforzheimer Honors College to belong in the honor students’ society. I am a very hardworking person and very persistent in pursuit of my goals in life. I make sure that my present activities are in line with my short and long-term goals.I love learning something new everyday. I never considered myself a quitter because I love challenges that is why I give my best and quality performance in everything I do. Challenges for me are opportunities for developing one’s character and values in spite of distress and I consider this as part of human life.In believing so, I exert my full effort and study hard   because I value the education that my parents provide me; also, I struggle to meet my short term goal of being a successful graduate for I believe that my present attitude towards my studies will shape me and hone me as a responsible, diligent, and industrious person.In developing and honing this character and personality, I believe I would be able to direct my future career and I would use this positive outlook of success in my life for the attainment of my long term goals.I should say that I am confident enough having the adequate skills, talents, and knowledge that is required for me to pursue the Pforzheimer Honors College degree in your prestigious university. I could attest such remark with the comments that my previous professors gave me here in Pace during my freshmen up to the present, and even my grades during my past high school and elementary education.Way back in Instanbul, Turkey, I studied my elementary education at Etiler High School and I received a special honor award during my 9th grade. My instructors consistently gave me a positive feedback regarding my commendable academic performance and extra-curricular skills in theatre club.Pursuing my high school, I transferred to Long Island Universit y (LIU) and due to my dedication and perseverance in studying, I was rewarded with a GPA grade of 3.6 during the previous fall semester before I decided to pursue my dream school—Pace University. Being presently happy in studying here, I am looking forward to experience more growth and personal development here in Pace. I studied very well and strived to get a high GPA grade of 3.74; this increases my chance of being qualified for your program.Transferring from LIU to Pace University, I saw the major difference and made me more motivated to pursue my education in Pace. I am very happy to belong in this school community. This chance of being accepted in Honors College will really bring me one step closer to the opportunity of reaching my dreams.I am so inspired to share my knowledge even in the smallest possible way I can at my young age. I know that I have the quality in me that could bring about change even in my own simple ways and make a difference in the society.I believe that youth is the hope for advancement of any society and even though United States is very popular with regards to all areas of advancements in the whole world, I would like to play a part and contribute my knowledge for my society to have and live a life fully with meaning and serve a purpose in this world.I have always been inspired by my mother’s motivation in my studies. I always value her support which gives me more reason to strive hard to aim high and hit the mark. My mother played a very essential role with influencing me to do my best in studying. She always wanted me to have the best and quality education that I could ever have and I see it here—my future, in Pace.I would never let my mom down and I want her to be proud of me. I am hoping that Long Pace University could help me fully actualize or utilize my potentials for the purpose of serving my society and even the whole country and other countries at large, in the future. From my past academic and non-a cademic experience, I was honed as an individual with integral human values which allowed me to become more God-centered and inspired and deeply involved and interested with my studies, friends and other social networks, and other extra curricular activities.I should say that from those experiences, I have grown up to become a complete mature person who is ready to face the real challenges of life and face them with such fortitude and temperance. As a future honor college student of Pace University, I will play an active stance in participating with the school activities that aims to increase the students’ involvement with the school, social interest, and education.I will apply my knowledge and share what I know with my fellow students by writing or joining the student’s organization or campus newspaper. I will share my ideals, opinions, and viewpoints with the current issues or any relevant topic that I find significant and useful for influencing or persuading my fell ow students to make use of their creative minds and speak out their ideas as well. In this way, I could help make a difference and I could inspire others to read more and value their education and utilize it the same as I am enjoying and using mine.In the near future, I plan to even take further studies if ever I get accepted in this course. I will refresh all the knowledge that I have learned by taking the exams necessary for my certifications and license so that I may teach a professor if this is God’s will for me. If Pace University could support me to fulfill my dreams, I also plan to devote myself into teaching profession and serve the school even for two years or more.In order to make these all possible, I will try my best to succeed by maintaining my high grades and GPA. I see myself and my bright future at Pace University and I am really hoping to be given this once in a lifetime opportunity which would change my life and change the lives of my family, and others whom I am very willing to help. I will continue my positive attitude of persistence and hard work in my studies to help me achieve my objectives and aspirations.From all the detailed experience and interest I have related, I am really hoping to be given the chance to achieve my pursuit of taking college here at Pace University.If given the chance, I would very much appreciate if you would allow me to enroll in your Honors College program. Rest assured, I assure you that I will serve as an asset to your organization or school and I will perform my obligations as a productive and dynamic student.ReferencesPace University. (2008). An invitation to all Pace undergraduate students.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retrieved October 6, 2008, from  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.pace.edu/page.cfm?doc_id=13913

An Assessment of the Impact of Mortgage and Non-Mortgage Loans

Toby Clark a senior financial analyst in MINTEL comments â€Å"There is a major need for financial education and for a drive to prompt borrowers to take a fresh look at their debts. Without a detailed understanding of exactly how much they owe and what rates they are paying, it is easy to see how the situation could spiral out of control†. This statement clearly highlights the position of the average British consumers as far as their mortgage and non-mortgage debts are concerned.It is observed by the report from MINTEL that the British consumers who have outstanding mortgage debts have a better control on the amount of their outstanding than the non-mortgage debt consumers. When the mortgage holders were asked to estimate the amount of the outstanding loan they could estimate the figure at ? 92,200 which matched with the estimation of ? 95,000 made by Bank of England and mortgage lenders. There are different purposes for which the consumers obtain mortgage and non-mortgage loa ns.The purposes also differ between different income earners. The high income earners borrow for paying a house, buying a second home or for paying the university or school fees of their children. Whereas the low income earners have totally different purposes of taking the loans like bringing up their children; paying their tax bills or meeting their regular commitments. Irrespective of the purpose for which the loans are taken the loans do have an impact on the financial soundness of the borrowers.On few occasions and for few consumers the loans become handy to take care of their financial struggle but in most of the cases the loans have had adverse impact only on the lives and finances of the consumers. Especially when the average consumer does not even know the extent of their debts the impact would be still worse. â€Å"Many debt problems are caused by poor decision making, with taking on more debt to pay back what debt you already have not always a wise move, according to the free and impartial debt advice organisation Debt Free Direct.† (Linkroll) In most of the cases the consumers get in to debt traps either due to poor decision making or not being accurately able to assess the impact the debts have on their financial capabilities and standing. This includes the decisions of debt consolidation. Quite often consumers think that debt consolidation is the best solution for solving their debt problems which will only aggravate the burden to the already debt trapped consumers. The loan burden on the borrowers is made to increase by the actions of the lenders also.Luring the customers in tot taking additional loans with the intention of just increasing their lending activities and without assessing the capabilities of the borrowers to pay back the loans often take the borrowers to a point of no return. â€Å"A number of Britons report that their debt problems are causing them difficulties in other areas of their life, according to a new study. In rese arch carried out by R3 – the Association of Business Recovery Professionals – one out of six consumers are said to be unable to manage with repayments on secured loans and credit cards†. (Loan Arrangers)With this background I intend to make an analytical study of the British Loan Market and its impact on the average British consumers. In the process I also intend to study the kinds of mortgage and non-mortgage loans available to the consumers in the UK. 1. 1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES This study has among other things the following central objectives: 1. Studying the psychological and economical reasons for the British consumers getting in to the debt trap. 2. Analytical study of the impact of the various loans on the lives and financial wellbeing of the average consumers – including mortgage and non-mortgage loans.3. Studying the role of the banks and other lending institutions on extending the debt burden of the average British consumer 1. 2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS This study by undertaking a detailed research in the subject tries to find plausible answers for the following research questions: 1. What are the prime reasons that make the British consumers to get into the debt trap? 2. What are the major impacts that the mortgage and non-mortgage loans have on the lives of the average British consumers? 3. What are the different ways that an average British consumer can manage the debts effectively? 1.3 STRUCTURE OF THE DISSERTATION In order to present a comprehensive paper I intend to divide the paper into the different chapters. While chapter 1 introduces the subject matter of the study to the readers along with stating the research objectives and questions, chapter 2 makes a detailed review of the available literature on the subject of the impact of debts on the British consumer. Chapter 3 makes a detailed presentation of the research methodology adopted by this study for conducting the research. In chapter 4 I have included the findings of t he research and a detailed discussion on the analysis of the findings.Concluding remarks recapitulating the issues discussed in the paper and few suggestions which will enable the British consumer to manage his debts are included in the chapter 5. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW CAPM, Bonds, Securities, Economics, Finance This chapter presents a detailed review of the available literature on the debt creation by the British consumers and the impact of such debt creation on the bond and securities market, on the finance and monetary policy and economic situation of the country apart from the life styles and financial status of the individual consumers. 2.1 IMPACT OF DEBT CREATION ON BOND AND SECURITIES MARKET: A latest report from Bloomberg. com says â€Å"European 10-year bond yields held near a three-month low as an Australian hedge fund filed for bankruptcy protection on losses related to a slump in U. S. home loans, prompting speculation global economic expansion will slow. † (Lukanyo Mnyanda, 2007) There has been a widespread skepticism about the future of the bond market because of the higher levels of failure in the sub prime mortgage repayments. This phenomenon has also been felt in the UK which is evident from the statement of the credit rating firm Standard & Poor.â€Å"Standard & Poor's said business conditions for securities firms are worse than in the second half of 1998 when trading revenue slumped 31 percent after Russia's debt default. Revenue from investment banking and trading could fall 47 percent in the final six months of this year, the ratings company said. † (Lukanyo Mnyanda, 2007) 2. 1. 1USE OF OPTIMIZING MODELS IN THE CONTEXT OF CONSUMER DEBT: On the basis of micro economic foundations there are certain models that analyse the likely economic consequences of structural changes in the economy.Though in general these models help the analysts to comment upon microeconomic foundations, sometimes these models are found inappropriat e for analyzing such consequences. â€Å"This is because their parameters are generally complicated functions of an economy’s technology, institutions and government policy, and the preferences of economic agents. Subsequent changes in any of these structural characteristics would mean that those parameters, and hence the relationships between key economic variables, would be expected to change. † (Bank of England)However the optimizing models enable the analysis of the deep structural relationship which is dependent upon the individual variables in relation to the economic shocks and their identification. The optimizing models â€Å"describe the intertemporal optimisation problems facing economic agents. They often try to capture the interactions between the different types of agent in the economy (consumers, firms, government, foreign sector), each of which is assumed to solve well-defined dynamic optimisation problems, subject to certain informational and technolog ical constraints.These models can be used to analyse how economic agents might optimally respond to various demand and supply shocks that have or might hit the economy, or to changes in the structure of the economy. Equally, they can be used to examine likely explanations for observed patterns of behaviour in the data. † (Bank of England) These models are useful in †¢ Modeling consumer behaviour including consumer spending †¢ Applications to financial markets †¢ Analysis of the labour market †¢ Analysis of the role of money One of such models being widely used is the CAPM which can provide useful insights into the reasons behind the financial market changes.However there is a serious limitation of this model is that it does not perform well in the empirical tests. 2. 2 IMPLICATION OF THE RISE ON THE HOUSEHOLD DEBT ON THE MONETARY POLICY: It is observed that the increase in the household debt in the UK over the last three decades was the result of the contin ued increase in the owner-occupied buildings and the number of mortgages created as a proportion of the total households. The rise in the prices till the time of the sub prime mortgage issue was also because of this increased private ownership of the houses.However it is interesting to note that the increase in the household debt didn’t have much impact on the consumption growth. This was due to the fact that the households were focused on the accumulation of financial assets during the recent past. â€Å"Finally, while it is possible that higher levels of debt may make household consumption more sensitive to interest rate changes, this may easily be offset simply by moderating these same changes. † (Stephen Nickell) While there was some contraction in the economies of US and Germany, the UK economy remained strong during the year 2001.There was a significant relaxation in the monetary policies of the country during this period and hence the UK economy witnessed an inc rease in the domestic demand though the situation was different with the world economy which was weak and was suffering a fall in investments. The increase in the domestic demand made the overall growth rate of the economy positive. However some of the economists were of the view that such a growth in the UK GDP as against the widespread recession in other developed countries was possible only at certain implied costs.For Example in an article in ‘The Observer’ dated 27th March 2005 Fred Harrison noted that â€Å"Encouraged by low interest rates, people went on a spending spree. They reduced savings and extracted equity from their homes to fuel a consumption boom† A similar view was expressed by Hamish McRae in his article in the ‘The Independent’ stated â€Å"What is, however, clear is that the credit-fuelled spending boom is, one way or another, coming to an end†. (The Independent dated 16th March 2005). Hence it was observed that booming co nsumption resulted in a rapid expansion of debt.Thus there has been a significant increase in the debt to income ratio which was a matter of serious concern to the analysts and the financial economists. In this context Philip Thornton made the following remark in the ‘The Independent’ issue dated 30th July 2003 â€Å"Britons piled on an all-time record amount of debt last month, triggering fears that consumers have embarked on an unsustainable borrowing binge that will end in a crash reminiscent of the early 1990s† 2. 2. 1 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INCOME, CONSUMPTION AND HOUSEHOLD DEBTS:Generally it is assumed that the macroeconomic policies of the UK government had resulted in a house price bubble coupled with a boom of the consumer spending. Thus the economy got missed out from the impact of the global recessionary trends. However Stephen Nickell argues that over the period 2000 to 2003 which was supposed to be the consumption boom the average quarterly consumption growth was only 0. 77 percent very similar to the average consumption rate of 0. 72 percent that was existed over the last twenty five years.The consumption rate was also below the average consumption rate in the previous period 0f 1996 to 1999. â€Å"From 1998 to the end of 2003, the proportion of post-tax income that was consumed was relatively flat, hardly evidence of a debt fuelled consumption boom. Nevertheless, mortgage equity withdrawal (MEW) plus unsecured credit growth rose from around 2% of post-tax household income in 1998 to over 10% in 2003. So there was indeed a significant rise in the rate of household debt accumulation from 1998 to 2003 despite the fact that the ratio of consumption to post-tax income remained stable throughout.† (Stephen Nickell) With this argument the author proceeds to state the majority of mortgage equity withdrawal leads to increased financial assets accumulation and not to increased consumption. Further it is also argued that there is a strong relationship between the aggregate secured debt accumulation and aggregate financial asset accumulation especially in a period of rapidly spiraling house prices. Similarly there is no strong relationship between the factors of aggregate consumption growth and debt accumulation. In that case the following will be the effect of the household debt on the monetary policy.2. 2. 2 HIGHER LEVELS OF DEBT AND MONETARY POLICY: May et al (2004) observed â€Å"In 1975, household debt was around 38% of household post-tax income. By 2004, this had risen to around 125%. Currently, over four-fifths of household debt is secured on property, ie. consists of mortgages, and around 95% of all household debt is held by mortgagors. † As already stated the important factor causing the rise in the household debt was the increase in the number of owner-occupied buildings and the proportion of the houses carrying a mortgage.Another factor that contributed the increase in secured debts is the ch ange in the mode of financing by leaving the front end loading of the repayment of mortgages. Such a method of financing has lead to higher loan to income ratios. It also resulted in higher mortgages relative to income. Based on these basic premise there are three arguments that can be support the view that the household debt is a predominant factor in the determination of the monetary policies. 1. The first argument is based on the concept that the there will be significant impact on the bahaviour of the economy due to shocks if there is a high level of household debts.As observed by Griffiths commission â€Å"Debt is a time-bomb which could be triggered by any number of shocks to the economy at any time† (The Griffiths’ Commission, 2005, Executive Summary). Though any adverse economic shock will have the impact on the employment and the consumption levels, higher levels of debts will make the conditions worse. â€Å"The excessive debt may still induce greater precau tionary saving and a larger drop in consumption. Overall, it is hard to tell whether higher debt levels will generate a significant additional cut back in consumption which cannot be modified by easier monetary policy†2. The second argument is based on the possibility that the there may be a cut in the consumption due to the sudden realization of the debtors about the real interest on the debts and their extent of exposure to the debts in spite of their efforts to reduce the level of debts. This will create severe macro economic problems leading to large scale adjustments in the monetary policies. However this argument is countered by indicating that the inexperience of the secured debt holders being young and there may be occasions that these people may behave in an irrational way to reduce the consumption.But such phenomenon can not be identified with a majority of debts. 3. The third argument was based on the fear that with more number of people the more will be the trouble when there is a collapse in the housing market. This fear has become true presently with housing boom bubble exploding. â€Å"If house prices fall by 30 or 40 per cent, more people with mortgages means more people in negative equity. Of course, the consequences of this depend to some extent on the behaviour of lenders.If the mortgage debt continues to be treated as secured, even though some is not, then debt service costs remain unchanged. So a lot will then depend on the collateral damage associated with the collapse in the housing market and what caused it in the first place. The issue is, if some disaster happens in the housing market, does the fact that more people have mortgages make the consequences very much worse? So much worse, indeed, that monetary policy should be used to discourage individuals from taking out mortgages. † 2. 3 DIFFICULTIES OF CONSUMERS BECAUSE OF DEBT CREATION – AN OVERVIEWAccording to a research conducted by R3 – the Association of Business Recovery Professionals one out of six consumers find it difficult to manage the repayment of their secured loans and credit card payments. â€Å"Of those struggling the most with their day-to-day finances, 21 per cent of respondents were reported to have encountered debt problems as a result of becoming ill, with a third (33 per cent) highlighting redundancy as the source of their monetary difficulties. † (Secured Loan News) Educational loans taken for higher studies form a major proportion of debts to be repaid by the 50 percent people in the age group of 18 – 24 years.The same is the case with one third of the people in the age group of 25 – 34 years still struggling to settle the loans taken for their educational purposes. A study carried out by Abbey in early 2007 showed that the British consumers had to pay ? 48. 7 billion by way of unexpected bills and charges over the previous year. On an average 79 percent of the British people have spent money on unbudgeted things and the average cost of such spending is estimated at ? 1375. Some of the issues identified with the debt creation in the UK are:? The personal lending figures stood at ? 1,318 billion as of July 2007 signifying that the British consumers are indebted on an average twice as the citizens of other European Countries. The people with serious debt management problem are estimated at 7 to 9 million Britons. ? A majority of the people have no savings or definite plans for savings to meet any unexpected future expenditure. A proportion of less than 50 percent of the people only have made adequate provisions for meeting the exigencies of a drop in their income level or other serious financial difficulties.? Some important statistics indicate that a substantial proportion of the population suffer from serious financial worries and resultant stress due to the increase of their debt burden. These statistics show that â€Å"74% of British couples find money the most diffi cult subject to talk about; 32% lie to their partners about how much they spend on credit cards; 35% are kept awake at night worrying about their finances†. ? According to the estimate from Bank of England around 50 percent of the people who have identified their debts as a serious burden on them belong to the lower income groups.It is the case with those people who live in the housing provided by the loca authorities are likely to live in debt burden at two times the average person has. ? Debts being burdensome on their own are also responsible for several other social problems and debt and these problems are interdependent on each other in terms of their cause and effect. Groups of people like those out of work, school dropouts, people from single parent families or unemployed parents are more likely to have serious debt management problems. 2. 4 REASONS FOR DEBT CREATION Consumers obtain loans for different purposes.Similarly people in different income groups and different strata of life opt for secured and unsecured loans for various purposes depending on their life styles and needs for different purposes. The main reasons cited for increase in the debts of the consumers is the increased availability of the loans, overspending and the desire to ‘buy instantly’ doing major purchases like purchase of cars or spending on a foreign vacation. The debt management problems of majority of the British consumers have arisen due to these and other reasons most of which are emotional spending.However why people get into serious debt problem is a very complicated question to find the answers there for. Though there are several factors responsible for leading the consumers to severe debt problems the following are some of the major causes that create a ‘debt trap’ for the British consumers: 2. 4. 1EASY AVAILABILITY OF DEBT: In recent years the economy of the country was doing extremely well resulting in lower rates of inflation, low inter est rates and low levels of unemployment.This economic buoyancy there had been an increased demand for the credit and the cost of such credit was low. The highly competitive financial services industry had been innovative to find many a number of products to suit the needs of various strata of people. â€Å"Today over 400 mainstream financial institutions compete fiercely to satisfy consumer demand. † (Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach) In this background it can be said that the easy availability of credit was the main reason for the creation of more debts by the average consumer.2. 4. 2 DIFFERENT TACTICS OF THE LENDERS TO ATTRACT THE PEOPLE Although the banks do not explicitly solicit or lure the vulnerable people to sell their financial services products, the products themselves have been so designed in addition to the lending practices of the banks to target the vulnerable people. Such practices include â€Å"aggressive marketing; a lack of transparency in calculating the cos t of borrowing; undue care in lending and a lack of data-sharing. † (Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach)Though it cannot be said that the banks and other lending institutions purposely target the vulnerable people â€Å"customers are often enticed into over-borrowing with disastrous consequences; research evidence suggests there is a strong correlation between serious indebtedness, drug and alcohol addictions and family breakdown. † (Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach) This often leads to a situation where the vulnerable people stand the chances of more likely to get into serious debt problems. 2. 2. 3 LOW FINANCIAL CAPABILITIESIt is observed out of a poll conducted in the year 2004 that 33 percent of the people in the UK are not confident enough to handle money issues and only 30 percent of them even knew the basic interest calculations which forms the basis financial intelligence. If this is kind of financial knowledge that an average British consumer has then there is no doubt that such people may not be in a position to make sound financial decisions concerning their personal finances including availing of secured and unsecured loans.Such lack of financial knowledge will make them drown in serious financial struggle as a result of unmanageable debts they have contracted. 2. 4. 4 LACK OF SAVING CULTURE: The trend of today’s Britain is ‘buy now and pay later’ as against the traditional way of living of saving money to buy assets. This has seriously disturbed the saving habit of the people over the period of time. In the current scenario more than 50 percent of the British pensioners make a cut on their other needs to settle their annual fuel bills.The decline in the habit of saving is one of the main reasons for the increased debt problems. Unless the saving habit of the people change drastically the situation of debt problems is likely to grow into greater magnitude. 2. 4. 5 MATERIALISTIC ATTITUDE OF THE MODERN SOCIETY The attitude of the society towards borrowing and its effects on life has considerably changed over the last few decades. Credit is no more considered as dangerous as it was perceived once upon a time. Now it is considered as more neutral and beneficial to the society.With this change in the attitude people have become more materialistic to obtain loans to buy the things irrespective of the need for such things in their lives. This is evident from the buying habits of British consumers exhibited in the following section. In one of the surveys conducted by Abbey, the financial service provider, it is learnt that â€Å"Britons have spent more than ? 169 billion on items that they rarely, if at all, use. Overall the average consumer has paid out some ? 3,685 through unnecessary objects, which could consequently impact upon their ability to handle their day-to-day finances.† (Secured Loan News) The survey also revealed that half of all consumers own an expensive clothing item which they wear on ly occasionally and over 35 percent of them have unworn shoes. â€Å"However, women were reported to be driving pointless fashion spending. Some 58 per cent of females were said to have unused garments, with this figure falling to 45 per cent for footwear. Meanwhile, spending on such products accounted for 45 and 23 per cent respectively among men. † (Secured Loan News)Electronic items, computer game console or video cameras and cooking equipments, repeated purchase of fine china items, exercise equipments, beauty gadgets that are not frequently used are some of the other items on which the British consumers spend their money and create debts for themselves. â€Å"However, financial problems could be particularly increased for those 288,000 people who have bought a second home in Britain which they claim to make little use of, which as a result may see them to struggle to make secured loan repayments. † (Secured Loan News) 2. 5 LEVEL OF CONSUMER CREDITThere has been a steady growth in the consumer lending in the period during the 1990s to early 2000s. But the growth has been sluggish after the climb in the last decade. According to the statistics released by Datamonitor â€Å"unsecured Loans and borrowing via other forms of consumer credit fell by 4. 5 per cent over the course of last year (2006) to ? 207. 8 billion†. (Secured Loan News) Maya Imberg the financial service analyst from Datamonitor says â€Å"A weaker labour market, combined with high consumer debts and weakened consumer confidence, meant that consumers cut down considerably on spending and aimed to repay more of their debts over 2006.† The study also indicated that the debt outstanding for an average customer stood at ? 4,522 in Consumer credit debt for the year 2006, which is against the ? 4,510 recorded for the year 2005. This outstanding debt figure was corroborated by the statistics released by the financial charity Credit Action which estimated the debt due by an average Briton at ? 4,550 by way of debts obtained on unsecured personal loans, credit cards, overdrafts and other forms of borrowing. This amount was estimated as at the end of March 2007.Credit Action has compiled the following statistics on the UK personal debt as on 1st of September 2007 which is alarming: ? â€Å"Total UK personal debt at the end of July 2007 stood at ? 1,355bn. The growth rate increased to 10. 1% for the previous 12 months which equates to an increase of ? 117bn. ? Total secured lending on homes at the end of July 2007 stood at ? 1,140bn. This has increased 11. 0% in the last 12 months. ? Total consumer credit lending to individuals in July 2007 was ? 214bn. This has increased 5. 3% in the last 12 months.? Total lending in July 2007 grew by ? 10. 3bn. Secured lending grew by ? 9. 2bn in the month. Consumer credit lending grew by ? 1. 1bn. ? Average household debt in the UK is ? 8,856 (excluding mortgages). This figure increases to ? 20,600 if the average is based on the number of households who actually have some form of unsecured loan. ? Average household debt in the UK is ? 56,000 (including mortgages). ? Average owed by every UK adult is ? 28,550 (including mortgages). This grew by ? 210 last month. ? Average outstanding mortgage for the 11.8m households who currently have mortgages is ? 96,560 ? Average interest paid by each household on their total debt is approximately ? 3,700 each year (this equates to 9% of take home pay). ? Average consumer borrowing via credit cards, motor and retail finance deals, overdrafts and unsecured personal loans has risen to ? 4,515 per average UK adult at the end of July 2007. ? Britain's personal debt is increasing by ? 1 million every 4 minutes. † (Credit Action) A pictorial representation of the growth in the UK personal debt is depicted below

Free Essays on Away With The Insanity Defense

Away With The Insanity Defense The insanity defense is a rare and very controversial subject. It is basically a defense used in court, by psychotics, to get off free with a crime they committed. In order to be found innocent using the insanity defense one must prove that he was unable to notice that his actions were wrong. The most recent case that used the insanity defense was the case of Andrea Yates trial. She drowned her five children in a bathtub and said that voices told her to do it. How can a person get off free for something as heinous as this? The insanity defense should not be used in courts today and all people should pay for the crimes that they commit. Andrea Yates drowned her five kids in a bathtub because she was afraid of the evil that might get to them in the world today. She also said that voices told her to kill her children. There is no doubt that this woman is insane. In fact, she was diagnosed as being psychotic, but there should be a line where people can not plea insanity. If she was really afraid of what the world might do to her children she should have took it upon herself to better prepare her children for the real world instead of taking them from it. Yates lost her first child at a young age and wasn’t the same from that moment on, but there should be a point where she realizes her lost, puts it into the past, and look toward the future. No one should ever know how it feels to lose their first born, but it happens everyday and it is a part of life. As for her being depressed, that is a very common reaction to losing a loved one and that is why she went to therapy. The thing that is baffling is that the woman tried to commit suicide twice and no one had paid any attention to her at all. When she was diagnosed as a psychotic, doctors should have started acting then to try and help her. When she tried to commit suicide, doctors should has shipped her ass to a mental hospital. She said ... Free Essays on Away With The Insanity Defense Free Essays on Away With The Insanity Defense Away With The Insanity Defense The insanity defense is a rare and very controversial subject. It is basically a defense used in court, by psychotics, to get off free with a crime they committed. In order to be found innocent using the insanity defense one must prove that he was unable to notice that his actions were wrong. The most recent case that used the insanity defense was the case of Andrea Yates trial. She drowned her five children in a bathtub and said that voices told her to do it. How can a person get off free for something as heinous as this? The insanity defense should not be used in courts today and all people should pay for the crimes that they commit. Andrea Yates drowned her five kids in a bathtub because she was afraid of the evil that might get to them in the world today. She also said that voices told her to kill her children. There is no doubt that this woman is insane. In fact, she was diagnosed as being psychotic, but there should be a line where people can not plea insanity. If she was really afraid of what the world might do to her children she should have took it upon herself to better prepare her children for the real world instead of taking them from it. Yates lost her first child at a young age and wasn’t the same from that moment on, but there should be a point where she realizes her lost, puts it into the past, and look toward the future. No one should ever know how it feels to lose their first born, but it happens everyday and it is a part of life. As for her being depressed, that is a very common reaction to losing a loved one and that is why she went to therapy. The thing that is baffling is that the woman tried to commit suicide twice and no one had paid any attention to her at all. When she was diagnosed as a psychotic, doctors should have started acting then to try and help her. When she tried to commit suicide, doctors should has shipped her ass to a mental hospital. She said ...

ESL Conversation Lesson Points of View

ESL Conversation Lesson Points of View Points of view is an intermediate to advanced level discussion lesson that asks students to rate their opinions from one to ten (1 - strongly agree/10 - strongly disagree) on a number of controversial issues. The worksheet can be used in a number of ways, and for a number of purposes during any course. Below is a suggestion for integrating this discussion plan into your lesson. Aim: Helping students express their opinions and explain their reasoningActivity: A classroom survey on a number of controversial subjects.Level: Intermediate to advanced Outline Points of View Discussion Distribute Points of View sheet. Ask students to rate their opinions from one to ten: 1 - strongly agree/10 - strongly disagree.Divide students into small groups and ask them to discuss their responses to the statements.Listen in on the various groups and take notes on common language mistakes while students are presenting their various points of view.At the end of the group discussions, write a number of the most common mistakes on the board and ask other students to correct the mistakes.Make sure to suggest standard formulas for stating ones opinion if these formulas do not come up during the correction process (i.e. in my opinion, Do you really think that, As far as Im concerned, etc.)As a class, go through each point asking for someone who (relatively) strongly agrees to explain his or her point of view. Do the same for someone who (relatively) strongly disagrees with the statement.As a follow-up activity, ask students to write a short composition on one of the statements. Points of View Worksheet Rate your opinion from one to ten on the following statements. 1 strongly agree/10 strongly disagree Making mistakes in English is OK as long as people understand you.My friends should come from the same social background as I do.It is impossible to have a happy family life and a successful career.War is not an option for solving international disputes.Multinational global corporations are to blame for most problems in the world today.Women will never be equal to men in the workplace.Marriage is outdated. There is no need for state or church approval or recognition of a partnership.Gay marriage is wrong.The death penalty is acceptable in some cases.Celebrities earn too much money.Foreigners should not be allowed to vote.The government is responsible for making sure that all citizens of a country have at least a minimum living wage job.Quality of life will greatly improve in the future.Teachers give too much homework.Military service should be obligatory.

Reaction Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reaction Paper - Essay Example Throughout the film, there are several events where the characters are shown to suffer or endure discrimination. The author uses multiple strategies to show and influence the viewers that prejudice should have no place in the society. These strategies, on a personal note, are effective in conveying the message about prejudice and racism. The story is a product of three different periods in the history of African Americans. In the short film, Mildred Taylor talks about her family’s own experiences during the era of slavery, and gives background information regarding the basis of her characters in the story. Taylor’s own family members were slaves in Mississippi. Interestingly, the main protagonist in her story, Cassie Logan, is also born from a family of former slaves. It can be said that the stories Taylor present in the film have a solid and first-hand basis because of her personal experiences during the era of slavery. Going through the experiences Taylor relays throu gh the characters’ stories, one can say that she is an admirably strong woman, and it makes me wonder how many more like Mildred Taylors suffered the same racism and discrimination without having the chance of being heard or recognized. Despite the sad outcome of the story, one can see a glimmer of hope in the ending. T.J.’s sentencing actually is not so harsh because of the many betrayals he earlier did. It is still wrong, however, because we know that he is sentenced not due to what he did, but due to his skin color. Personally, though, the outcome of this story also leaves people with a sense of cautious optimism that it is possible for whites and blacks to work together, as shown in their act to put out the fire in the cotton farm. The story can serve as a tool in teaching children of any race and ethnicity a significant part of history: that the generation of â€Å"Cassie Logan† served as a great influence in furthering the Civil Rights movements of the 50s and 60s. Booker T. Washington: The Life and the Legacy Booker T. Washington is a very famous personality particularly of the African American history. He is known to have risen from the bondage of slavery and gone through emancipation and became the most powerful African American during his time. His life and legacy are clearly shown in this film with its dramatic and realistic reenactments coupled by original photos taken during Mr. Washington’s time. Aside from learning the intricate details of this phenomenal man’s life, it is also interesting to learn more about the controversy surrounding his methods and strategies in dealing with the problems and issues due to racism. In the film, Mr. Washington encounters people who are not so much into his way of emancipating the African Americans. One good example of this is W.E.B. Dubios. Mr. Dubois opposes Mr. Washington’s idea of progress for the blacks. For Dubois, he believes that confrontational means are necessa ry, and ultimately more effective. Washington believes otherwise. I believe that this is primarily due to his Southern upbringing, which is circled around the dominant religion of Baptism. His ideas are gentler perhaps, and his thoughts could even be more forgiving of the whites. This is most probably why his methods and strategies are towards giving blacks education and career. Washington’s other opponent, William Monroe Trotter, has ideas similar to that of Dubois. The way the controversies surrounding

Banquo and King Hamlet the friendly ghosts Essay

Banquo and King Hamlet the friendly ghosts - Essay Example In both Hamlet and Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the supernatural element of ghosts to build his plot by making it more dramatic, and to resolve the play’s central conflict. In Hamlet the ghost is first seen by Horatio who interprets its appearance as a warning to Denmark of an impending threat. When it appears again, Horatio confronts it but it vanishes without uttering a word. When Hamlet is informed of visitations by a ghost that looks like his father he vows to confront it. When the ghost reappears, Hamlet calls out asking what its purpose is but it only beckons him to follow which he does despite Horatio and Marcello’s efforts to stop him. It identifies itself as the spirit of Hamlet’s father: The ghost informs Hamlet that Claudius, who is his uncle and currently his stepfather, is the murderer. This infuriates hamlet significantly enough to desire for vengeance. However, the ghost reminds him to be gentle with his mother and leave her judgment to God. The ghost commands Hamlet to avenge his father’s death which Hamlet is at first unable to do prompting the ghost to appear to him again in his mother’s boudoir. The ghost reproaches Hamlet for not carrying out its orders about avenging his father’s murder stating, â€Å"Do not forget. This visitation, Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose† (3.4.101). Scared of the witches’ prophesy about one of Banquo’s sons becoming king, Macbeth sends killers to murder Banquo in the play Macbeth. The witches had prophesied to Banquo that, â€Å"Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none† (1.3.67). Banquo is murdered but his ghost later appears while Macbeth is hosting a banquet and quietly sits next to him without uttering a word. The ghost’s face is drenched in blood and covered with cuts all over. It is a terrifying sight only visible to Macbeth. It is invisible to other people in the feast. It has been argued that the since the ghost was only visible to