Iliad by Homer free essay sample

A discussion of the three primary themes of the epic Iliad. This paper outlines and discusses various themes pertinent to the epic. It establishes that the epic is primarily based on the following three concerns, the Trojan War, Achilles wrath, and the relationship of mortal people with the gods and goddesses of Mt. Olympus. This paper discusses in length the various ways by which the characters behaviors and actions and the storys plot are affected through the patterns used by the author in this epic. The war also brings about systems of immoral activities. In war, the warriors are not the only ones involved, but also the people, the women and their children. By bringing destruction to both sides of warring groups, the plight of the civil society worsens, and the warriors forget that what they are fighting for is the future of their civilization and society. However, this objective cannot be met because as long as war can bring strife and restlessness to the people, then these good intentions and objectives are not fulfilled. We will write a custom essay sample on Iliad by Homer or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Lastly, the war causes women and the riches of a city or an area to be corrupted and badly utilized, which is, looting becomes prevalent, and acquisition of women as captives (and later be made as wives of the warriors) becomes another social problem.

The Hitchickers Guide3 essays

The Hitchickers Guide3 essays The Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. Thought many of the concepts are slightly abstract and obscure, the book itself is a truly great work. The basic idea is that the day we meet our adventurous crew is the single worst Thursday of Arthur Dents life. Sadly, it is not just Arthur who will be having a bad day. You see, it is this Thursday when the earth gets destroyed. Of all the billions of people on the planet, there was only one who knew what was to take place, and he himself was not even from earth. Ford Prefect, best friend of Arthur is a smooth talking quick thinking person for the remote planet of Betelgeuse five. As you were probably able to infer, Ford Prefect was not the name given to him by his parents, but instead the name of a car that was never popular, which he chose as his moniker, as to better fit in with the humans of earth. Our story begins with Arthur waking up early at his London flat (it was a British book). This was just like any other Thursday, except that outside, a demolition crew was beginning to destroy his house so that they will be able to create a highway bypass. This was news to Arthur. He did not know how they could do this without even warning him first. Upon questioning the foreman of the job, he was informed that the plans had been on record in the planning office for months. Sadly, the plans had been kept in the cellar where there is no nights, or stairs for that matter, in a disused lavatory, in the bottom of a locked file cabinet, with a sign that says Beware of the leopard. Arthurs decision at this point was to lie in front of the bulldozer, so that, without killing him, it would be impossible to destroy the house. Just at this point, Ford Prefect enters the scene. He tells Arthur that it is imperative that he goes to the bar with him, because after he tells him the news, he will need a stiff drink. Arthur explains the si...

Typical developmental pathways of Speech Language and Communication Essay

Typical developmental pathways of Speech Language and Communication - Essay Example The developmental pathways of speech, communication, and language start from when the child is about three months to when he or she is about three years, that is thirty-six months. By this age, the child has developed the basic skills and can communicate and understand some words. During the development of these three skills, in case a certain developmental concern is observed, intervention is critical. This is because it is easier to resolve problems related to these skills at early ages, however if the concerns are left untreated, the child may suffer from language, and speech impairments that affect the childs ability to use language learned later. It also affects how they learn new things, and how they behave in their later childhood and adolescence The pathways to child development are in ten groups from when the child is three months to when he or she is thirty-six months. In the third month the child should be able to, maintain eye contact, coo, goo, and smile, and cry differently for different needs, for example, when tired or hungry.in the third to sixth month the child is able to smile and quiet when spoken to. From six to nine months, the child should begin bubbling, express feelings and vocalizes to gain attention, the child should also be able to turn the head in order to follow sound and notice toys. The third stage of typical developmental pathways falls from nine to twelve months, at this stage the child can consistently respond to the own name when called, looks at familiar people and objects when mentioned. At this stage, the child can also follow routine commands associated with gestures, from twelve to fifteen months the child imitates speech sounds and understands up to fifty words. From fifteen month to the twenty-fourth months, the child shows improved skills in speech language and communication. From the twenty-fourth month onwards the child

Financial management of channel tunnel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial management of channel tunnel - Essay Example Eurotunnel was mainly financed by bank loans from a large consortium of over 100 European and Japanese banks. Eurotunnel also raised substantial amounts of equity in four public offerings during the construction of the Tunnel, mainly from small shareholders in France and the UK. The marketing of the shares was pitched towards small shareholders. In the end, the Channel Tunnel costs about 10 billion to build (compared with initial estimates 8 years earlier of about 5 billion). Of this 10 billion, 8 billion was raised in debt from banks and 2 billion in equity. The last fund-raising exercise took place in May 1994, just 2 months before the new services were to begin, when 800 million of new equity and 700 million of debt was raised to get the project finished and up and running. By then the banks and many shareholders were very nervous about the costs and delays to the project and the prospects of recouping their investment. Eurotunnel shareholders have seen their investment crumble by around 90% since the company went public in 1987. Construction costs spiralled and revenues fell short of forecasts, leaving the company struggling with debts of 9bn (6.4bn). Shareholders have never been paid a dividend. The UK government has already made it clear that there can be no question of any public money for Eurotunnel, and there is no change in that position. Eurotunnel shareholders are mostly French private investors. But it said it could not afford to do so without help in cutting the burden of repayments on debts which it ran up during vast cost over-runs on the tunnel's construction in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Euro tunnel begs for rescue plan (Clark, 2004)2. 2. Andrew, Clark, (2004) Guardian, retrieved from the website on 19th Feb' 06. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/) Financial Management of Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) is the largest civil engineering infrastructure project currently being constructed in the UK with a budget of 5.3 billion (S$14.8 billion). The Project is split into two sections. Section 1, 70 km long from the Channel Tunnel to Fawkham Junction in North Kent is scheduled for completion and operational running of Eurostar trains by September 2003. Section 2, 39 km long, completes the Link from North Kent to St Pancras in central London and is programmed to be operational in January 2007 (Davies and Joy, 2004)2. The London & Continental Railways Limited (LCR) was awarded the contract to build the CTRL in February 1996 and to run the British arm of the Eurostar International train service (Eurostar UK). Initially, LCR proposed to fund the construction of the link from private finance through debt and equity raised on the back of future revenue from Eurostar, UK and from direct government grants. This overtly optimistic plan backfired and LCR abandoned its plans to raise private finance and approached the Department for additional grants in return for a share of future profits. After reviewing the options, the department of transport decided to restructure the existing deal with LCR. In 1998, the government set out the principles of a negotiated restructuring which enhanced public

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Annotated Bibliography

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Annotated Bibliography Example in-reuptake inhibitors on (OCD) are adequate to deduce that a serotonin regulatory disorder is the most vital piece of the pathophysiology of OCD (2011). However, patients with OCD will require a high dosage of serotonin-reuptake inhibitor monotherapy. This may sometimes not be ample, and about half of patients are resistant to the treatment. The author states that previous studies indicate positive treatment reaction to dopaminergic antagonists. He infers that other neurotransmitter structures, like dopamine, are implicated in the pathophysiology of OCD. Evidence from Preclinical, neuroimaging and neurochemical researches demonstrates that the dopaminergic system is concerned in stirring up or infuriating indications pinpointing presence of OCD. The article reviews the dopaminergic system in OCD pathophysiology while reviewing the outcome of drugs that act on dopaminergic activity in OCD. Barrett PM, Farrell L, Pina AA, Peris TS, Piacentini J. (2008).Evidence-based psychosocial treatments for child and adolescent obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. 237:131–155. In this article, the authors state that the development of fear habituation and disappearance are thought to be related to the pathophysiology of anxiety disorders. This includes obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. The articles reports adjustments of auditory P50 suppression in human beings fear conditioning and extinction in fit control subjects. Furthermore, they report that P50 suppression in fear extinction is impaired in patients with OCD. The report explores investigations on the association between sensory gating and fear conditioning. Sensory gating mechanisms may be physiologically associated with fear conditioning, and OCD may involve abnormal sensory gating in fear extinction (Barret et al, 2008). Bloch, M. H., Williams, K and Pittenger, C. (2011). Glutamate abnormalities in obsessive

The Impact Of Structural Adjustment Programmes In Africa Finance Essay

The Impact Of Structural Adjustment Programmes In Africa Finance Essay Illustrating your answer with specific examples, evaluate the impact of structural adjustment programmes on agriculture in southern Africa. Introduction The impact of Structural adjustment programs (SAPs) on the performance of Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) has been deeply investigated and, despite what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank claimed, adjustment policies have often had a negative impact on the poorest and most vulnerable sections of the regions population. In particular, The SAPs in Africa have certainly contributed to some changes in the agricultural sector: in a continent where more than 70 percent of the population is involved in agriculture, the last two decades have seen a relatively poor sectors performance, opposed to the post-independence condition of self-sufficiency of most of the regions countries (Mkandawire and Bourenane, 1987). This essay will look more deeply into some of the impacts of SAPs on agriculture, focusing on the experience of Zambia as an example of IMF adjustment programs which failed to fully address the nature of the countrys economic crisis, caused by both external causes and domestic policy shortcomings. After a brief introduction on the economic situation of the country and the factors that led to the adoption of SAPs, the essay will proceed by evaluating some of the main ways in which agriculture has been affected by structural adjustment programs, looking in particular at the consequences on production patterns as well as on the people involved in agriculture. The last section draws conclusions. I. During the last century, the role of agriculture in the Zambian economy and the policies associated to it have greatly varied. The country went from a flourishing self-sufficient agriculture of the pre-colonial period, to a neglected rural sector and a copper-dependent economy during the colonial period, to a return to agriculture as a way out of the economic crisis. During the colonial period (1890-1964), agricultural activity was divided among two classes of farmers: European settler farmers, supported by the state through advantageous policies, and African subsistence peasant farmers, used mainly as a labour reservoir, and to which access to good land was restricted (Mwanza, 1992). At this time, the role of agriculture was especially supportive to the provision of low priced food and cheap supplies of labour to the expanding industrial economy (ILO, 1987). Maize was the principal commodity constituting 90 percent of all marketed cereals, accompanied by secondary export commodities such as coffee, cotton, tobacco and groundnuts. At independence, the United National Independent Party (UNIP) attempted to diversify the economy by developing agriculture to secure food self-sufficiency and reduce the dependence on the copper industry. A single-channel marketing system, fixed agricultural producer prices, and subsidies in the maize area are examples of the policies put in place to offset the damage caused by an already declining mining industry (Mkandawire and Bourenane, 1987). However, such policy experiments did not reach their objectives, and Zambia went through economic deterioration in the 1970s due to both external shocks (oil crises and falling prices of copper), and inefficient domestic economic policies (e.g. a static and inflexible economic structure) (Seshamani, 1990). The government started to borrow in order to maintain the same levels of import, increasing the countrys indebtedness that reached unacceptable levels, for a total of almost $4.5 billion a t the end of 1982 (Jansen and Rukovo, 1992). With no significant recovery of the economy, the increasing budget deficit obliged the government to start getting conditional loans within the framework of the IMF/WB SAPs. II. A first series of SAPs was adopted in Zambia between 1983 and 1987, with the aim of restoring the countrys financial stability through trade liberalization, currency devaluation, and reduction of government spending, including the removal of food and input subsidies (Saasa, 1996). Preliminary liberalization took place in the years 1983-1985, when a foreign exchange auction system was introduced. The IMF/WB program collapsed in 1987, mainly due to the unsustainable depreciation of the domestic currency (the Kwacha) that fell from a pre-auction rate of K 2.20 per US$ to K 21 per US$ of the last auction (Wulf, 1988). After a brief attempt by the Kaunda government to put up its own New Economic Recovery Programme between 1987- 1989, Zambia went back to the IMF/WB SAP starting from 1989, and the reform periods went on with the following government. In agriculture, the SAP aimed at promoting agricultural exports, improving food production and limiting government intervention in the market (Simatele, 2006). Before the introduction of SAPs, the government put in place highly subsidized measures to assist agricultural production growth such as crop-marketing depots that reached the entire country, the introduction of fixed crop prices, and provision of tractor ploughing services, credit and fertilizer (Jansen and Rukovo, 1992). Such measures were replaced by agricultural adjustment policies that included the removal of subsidies, food prices decontrol, abolition of equity pricing, and liberalization of agricultural marketing (Mwanza, 1992). During the short period of the New Economic Recovery Programme, the Kaunda government failed to support agricultural development, and not surprisingly, given the fact that the same measures which undermined agricultural production and which led to foreign borrowings were re-adopted: revaluation of the kwacha, food subsidies, and price controls. But lets look at the consequences of reforms in more detail. The introduction of SAPs in Zambia affected agriculture in a number of ways. This essay will focus on the consequences on food production (in particular on changes in the cropping patterns), and on the people that practice agriculture, especially smallholders. The reforms had an impact on food production and cropping patterns due to two main factors: first, an increase in agricultural production costs, and second, a decrease in access to credit. Production costs rose in Zambia following a decrease in (i) the exchange rate, and (ii) agricultural subsidies. The countrys food production is dependent on the exchange rate especially in terms of input prices. The newly adopted foreign exchange auction system (1985) made it difficult for the government to plan a consistent pricing policy, and agriculture, as a priority sector for the economic restructuring, was uncompetitive in the foreign exchange auctions. As a consequence of the auctioning, the local currency (Kwacha) depreciated, increasing the prices of imported goods and inflation. Whereas a 50kg bag of fertilizer cost K26.75 during the 1984/5 season, it rose to K48 during the 1985/6 season (Sano, 1988). This had a strong impact on the very import sensitive Zambian farming. First, the production of the main crop, maize, is heavily dependent on imports of fertilizers and other items such as empty grain bags. Even though Zambia needs less fertilizer than other countries, as Mal awi, due to the abundance of good arable land, such input is by far the most important and most costly used, especially by small farmers. Second, petrol and trucks for the transport of agricultural produce must also be imported. These inputs are highly necessary in a country with a low level of population density and a skewed pattern of urbanization. As a consequence of exchange rate auctioning, production costs rose, and farm gate maize prices became less favourable, especially for small-scale maize producers in peripheral areas of the country (Jansen and Rukovo, 1992). With increasing input prices, the government, in order to maintain production, was obliged to augment producer prices correspondingly: maize reached K55 per bag in the1985/6 season (Sano, 1988). This, together with good weather conditions, contributed to the rise of agricultural output at a level of 9 percent of GDP in 1985 (Wulf, 1988). However, due to a higher rate of population growth, GDP was still declining. Th e rise of producer prices has been certainly beneficial, but the absence of infrastructural improvements and other consequences of liberalizations such as high inflation undermined output improvements. Before the reform period, the government both delivered inputs to, and collected outputs from farmers, even in the more remote areas. However, with the introduction of the SAPs in the 1980s, subsidies connected to agricultural production were severely reduced. Removal of food subsidies, previously put in place mainly to provide cheap food for urban residents, did not affect poor farmers (Sahn, 2004). However, the removal of other subsidies such as those on transport and on inputs did have an impact on agriculture, and especially on smallholders. The reduction of transport subsidies undermined farmers access to markets and increased the cost of production. Both small and large farmers were adversely affected by transport subsidy removals, but while large scale farmers suffered less from the price increase due to their closeness to markets and roads, the remoteness of many smallholders further increased their costs of production. Village processing was replaced by large-scale mills, ad ding extra transportation costs that, together with the absence of subsidies, made the food system highly inefficient, negatively affecting rural residents and their produce. Agricultural production was also affected. Being maize the major and most commercialized food crop in the country, its dependence on factors such as distance to markets and credit is higher than for other crops. As a study by the African Economic Research Consortium shows, maize has a negative response to distance from the market (Simatele, 2006). On the contrary, other crops such as cassava have mainly local basic markets, and their production is not as much affected by the removal of transport subsidies. The de-subsidization of agricultural inputs, as for example input credit or less costly fertilizer, also had an impact on agriculture. Their removal entailed a credit squeeze and caused an increase in production costs, negatively affecting especially small-scale food production. A second factor that had an impact on food production was the decline of access to credit. Before the introduction of SAPs, agricultural credit was provided by government-owned companies such as the Agricultural Finance company (AFC), and by commercial banks. Although commercial farmers have mainly financed their operations through private banks, smallholders have relied mostly on government loans, because of the low repayment rates connected to it. With the liberalization of the financial markets, credit and its pricing was no longer controlled, and farmers had to compete with other potential borrowers to get it. Credit provision was left mainly to the private sector, that failed in filling the gap. For smallholders it has been very difficult to obtain loans from financial institutions, both because of their exposition to high risks (i.e. physical conditions of the environment, health problems), and because of their isolation (poor transportation and communications). Because the pri vate sector often refused to serve the rural areas, the opportunity was left to local moneylenders, if present, to exploit their monopolistic positions and charge the small farmers high interest rates. In any case, interest rates escalated, causing a problem for loan repayment: from 43 percent in 1990, to 46 percent in 1991 (Geisler, 1992). In Solwezi District in the North Western Province, the progression of interest rates charged by Lima Bank during the 1993/94 cropping season reached 120% in September,1993 (Kajoba, et al,1995, p.9). Attempts to solve the problem of credit access, included those leaving smallholder credit provision to the private sector, most of the times resulted inefficient and failed. An example of such attempts is the launch of the Agricultural Credit Management Programme (ACMP) in 1994, which was meant to support the private sector in credit provision by giving fertilizers and seeds on credit through credit managers who would in turn provide these inputs to f armers through local credit coordinators (Pletcher, 2000). The ones that mostly benefited from this system have been the stockists and traders at the expense of smallholders. The problem of credit provision with liberalization continues to exist, and will probably persist as long as the private sector and the government do not reach an agreement on the development of efficient input supply networks. It is clear that SAPs in Zambia had a negative impact primarily on the smallholder subsector, that between 1980 and 1994 contributed about 40 percent of the agricultural output (Chiwele et al., 1998). The increase of production costs and the decrease in access to credit have introduced new difficulties for smallholders disposing of less means to overcome adverse conditions than commercial farmers. Moreover, while commercial farming systems are concentrated along the rail line, remote farmers, once relying on support of the state, have been cut off as the private sector was not able to fill the gap caused by liberalization. The new private sector-led marketing system initiated in 1992, in fact, has not so far been successful in carrying out its functions to the same extent as the cooperatives previously did. Most traders own very little transport and storage facilities and tend to depend on hired material. The bigger constraint, however, has been traders lack of access to capital. As a consequence of the marginalization of remote farmers, volatility and desperate selling right after the rains have increased, leading to a decrease of selling prices and a affecting of the market (Chiwele et al., 1998). Concerning cropping patterns, the adoption of SAPs and the cost increase have contributed to the rise in production of other crops as millet, sorghum, and cassava. In fact, even though today maize is still grown in large quantities in Zambia, from 1980 to 2005 Cassava production went from 360000 to 1056000 tons, while millet production from 20000 to 29583 tons (FAOSTAT, 2010). The area planted to maize declined 43 percent between 1989 and 1999. During the same period, the area planted to cotton increased by 65 percent, and the area for groundnuts grew by more than 100 percent (Mukherjee, 2002, p.27-28). Smallholders withdrawal from maize cultivation might be considered as a threat, in the sense that it would negatively affect the policy of self sufficiency in maize, leading to the need of importing the crop from the neighbouring countries (Sano, 1988). In mid-1987, only about 6.5 million bags of maize were expected from current harvest, necessitating large and costly imports of the s taple once again (Good, 1988, p.45). However, the introduction of maize as the main commercial crop was a post-independence policy that encouraged inefficiency and lack of differentiation by giving incentives to the farmers to move away from the production of other crops into maize. But the ecology of the country makes it more suited for certain crops than others, according to the area of cultivation. Maize is ecologically suited to less than half of the country, and requires new skills and large labour and capital inputs in comparison to other starch staples (Mkandawire and Bourenane, 1987, p. 292). The dominance on one crop partially explains why less than 20 percent of the countrys arable land was under cultivation (Saasa, 1996). In the period pre-SAPs, the government introduced rural development programs that promoted the cultivation of maize as a cash and food crop. Rising subsidies have coincided with the rapid advance of maize production, even in areas where it previously had a minor role (i.e. parts of the Northern Province). Such policy made small-scale farmers dependent on the government, on both subsidies provision (as those on fertilizers, transport, marketing and credit), and on a single cereal (Kajoba, 2009). Adjustment reforms have shifted the attention to competing grains and tubers i.e. millet, sorghum, and cassava for a number of reasons. First, these crops are generally cultivated with little or no chemical dressings, requiring much less inputs (Kydd, 1988). Second, they have mainly local basic markets, and their production is not so much dependent on transport services, and therefore subsidies. This also affects the issue of access to markets, which has been decreasing for smallholders with the liberalization reforms. Third, these crops are drought resistant and more traditional in some parts of the country than maize, and their production might contribute to an increased efficiency on the food system, as harvest fluctuations might be red uced and marketed food supply might be more regular. Also, alternative crops sometimes have non-monetary credit available, allowing easier forms of repayment by farmers. For these reasons, a gradual move away from maize might even be beneficial to agriculture to some extent, as it could contribute to an increased efficiency of the food system. Moreover, in the long term, an increase in the production of cheap un-subsidized food could provide a more sustainable solution. CONCLUSION This essay has looked at some of the main consequences on agriculture of policy reform measures undertaken through structural adjustment programmes in Zambia. Both production patterns and smallholder farmers were affected by the reforms. Production costs rose following a decrease in the exchange rate and in agricultural subsidies, and access to credit decreased following liberalization. These patterns negatively affected especially small-scale farmers, unable to cope with increasingly adverse production conditions, while left the bigger, commercial farmers closer to the market better off. Improvements in the small-scale sector have further been undermined by problems in the provision of agricultural support services by private actors. Alternative crops are increasingly grown as a consequence of rising production costs related to maize, and this pattern might provide a solution for a more sustainable and more efficient food system. Certainly, the countrys situation pre-SAPs and the in efficiency of its agricultural policies required some kind of reforms: a food system focused on maize, a structure of production and consumption along the line of rail and in the copperbelt, a transport system sustained by subsidies and an export agriculture affected by an overvaluation of the exchange rate (Sano, 1988). However, the enforcement of a standard package of policy measures has proven unsuccessful in addressing the nature of Zambias economic crisis. SAPs focused excessively on price policy reforms, that have been not able to induce agricultural growth alone. Price stabilisation programmes need to be carefully designed so as not to turn into a fiscal drain and an obstacle to production diversification. Reforms in agriculture are still taking place and policies are therefore still changing. Credit access, input markets design and the way through which institutions can enhance smallholder agriculture are areas that require a particular attention when formulating policies th at will enhance the countrys agricultural potential.

Concept of Consent :: Health Care, Nursing

Recent developments in standard of care and professional relationship with patients have made law fundamental to the study and practice of nursing. At every stage of patients care, law helps bring up to date nursing practice and it is essential that nurses understand the legal and ethical implications of law in their nursing profession (Griffith and Tengrah, 2011). The purpose of this essay is to discuss the concept of consent in relation to the role of the nurse. This will aim at demonstrate ethical and legal implication of consent on nursing practice and professional working. In the Code (2008, cited in Griffith and Tengrah, 2011) the Nursing and Midwifery Council set standards for nursing professional to follow. Among the rules is the requirement of nurses to obtain consent before care is given. Consent is an issue of concern for all healthcare professional when coming in contact with patients either in a care environment or at their home. Consent must be given voluntary or freely, informed and the individual has the capacity to give or make decisions without fear or fraud (Mental Capacity Act, 2005 cited in NHS choice, 2010). The Mental Capacity Act perceives every adult competent unless proven otherwise as in the case of Freeman V Home Office, a prisoner who was injected by a doctor without consent because of behavioural disorder (Dimond, 2011). Consent serves as an agreement between the nurse and the patient, and allows any examination or treatment to be administered. Nevertheless, consent must be obtained in every occurrence of care as in the case of Mohr V William 1905 (Griffith and Tengrah, 2011), where a surgeon obtain consent to perform a procedure on a patient right ear. The surgeon found defect in the left ear of the patient and repaired it assuming he had obtained consent for both ear. The patient sued him and the court found the surgeon guilty of trespassing. Although there is no legal requirement that states how consent should be given, however, there are various ways a person in care of a nurse may give consent. This could be formal (written) form of consent or implied (oral or gesture) consent. An implied consent may be sufficient for taking observation or examination of patient, while written is more suitable for invasive procedure such as surgical operation (Dimond, 2011). Furthermore, in nursing, professional may have to decide on a course of action that is ethically, legally and morally correct or acceptable by their society.

Eco-feminism & political and social movement Essay

Eco-feminism can be defined a political and social movement which aims at combining feminism with environmentalism or, in other words, to unite deep ecology with feminist concepts. Actually, I have chosen eco-feminism as it draws relations between women oppression and degradation of nature. Environmental problems are of great concern now along with women equality. Nature is degrading and women’s rights are still discriminating. Therefore, eco-feminism argues that there is a strong link between degradation of women and oppression of women. Eco-feminism also explores the relations between sexism, racism, domination of nature and social inequality. It is known that eco-feminism originates from union of ecological thinkers and feminist which believe that social mentality is to blame for oppression of women and domination of men. It is directly related to abuse of environment. Eco-feminism is claimed to combine bioregional democracy with eco-anarchism. Eco-feminism strongly proclaims the importance of interrelations between humans and animals, human and insects, and the earth. Central idea of the feminism is that men ownership has resulted in dominator culture promoting food export, tragedy of the commons, abusive land ethics, exploitation of people and over-gazing. Land and animals are viewed only as economic resources and eco-feminism aims at fighting such positioning. The primary goal of eco-feminism is to re-define the views on productivity, attitudes of males and females towards nature and animals, as well as to prevent ill-using of animals and insects. The key figures in the development of eco-feminism are Carol Adams, Helene Aylon, Judi Bari, Mary Daly, Monica Sjoo, etc. For example, Carol Adams is interested in relations between feminism and vegetarianism. In her works she wrote that women ahs to abuse their rights to provide men with the best food. Summing up, the primary goal of eco-feminism is to explain associations between degradation of women and degradation of nature. Works Cited Eco-feminism. Available at http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Ecofeminism. Accessed April 20, 2008 List of Feminists. Available at http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/List_of_feminists. Accessed April 20, 2008

Free Essays on Racism All Grown Up

I swear to the Lord I still can’t see Why Democracy means Everyone but me. -Langston Hughes, The Black Man Speaks When my father was younger, handlebar moustaches and bellbottoms were in style. In fact, he was wearing an all-white, bellbottomed tuxedo with a gigantic gold chain slung across it on the day he married my mother. This was top-notch attire then. When my mother was younger, hot pants and mood rings were in style. She refuses to show me any photos from these days, but I know they happened. When Racism was younger, outright bigotry was in style. Complexion-based hate was just another one of those things. Since then all three have grown up, and since then it is no longer fashionable to dress one’s self in a bellbottomed tux, or hot pants, or bigotry. Racism is certainly still around however, it has simply taken on a more socially and politically acceptable form. In â€Å"The Possessive Investment of Whiteness,† George Lipsitz lays out, in a series of statistics quoted from numerous social studies and surveys, what modern-day racism looks like. Modern-day racism, what the b igots of the past might have referred to as â€Å"the racism of tomorrow,† lies in a hypocritical acceptance of freedom-loving whites that patriotically pride themselves on their melting pot of a country, all the while indifferently condoning a system that relies on the neglect and exploitation of its non-white citizenship. Very chic. In a lot of obvious ways this new fact of Racist America is for the better. There’s less outright hate speech. There are less proactive attempts by individuals to quash any sign of racial progress. The flipside of that, however, is that there doesn’t really have to be. An undercurrent of fear and greed alongside of warped and misleading policies and fund allocations has replaced the red-faced, raving white supremacist as American minorities’ newest and fanciest hurdle. In many ways this can be more dangerous, be... Free Essays on Racism All Grown Up Free Essays on Racism All Grown Up I swear to the Lord I still can’t see Why Democracy means Everyone but me. -Langston Hughes, The Black Man Speaks When my father was younger, handlebar moustaches and bellbottoms were in style. In fact, he was wearing an all-white, bellbottomed tuxedo with a gigantic gold chain slung across it on the day he married my mother. This was top-notch attire then. When my mother was younger, hot pants and mood rings were in style. She refuses to show me any photos from these days, but I know they happened. When Racism was younger, outright bigotry was in style. Complexion-based hate was just another one of those things. Since then all three have grown up, and since then it is no longer fashionable to dress one’s self in a bellbottomed tux, or hot pants, or bigotry. Racism is certainly still around however, it has simply taken on a more socially and politically acceptable form. In â€Å"The Possessive Investment of Whiteness,† George Lipsitz lays out, in a series of statistics quoted from numerous social studies and surveys, what modern-day racism looks like. Modern-day racism, what the b igots of the past might have referred to as â€Å"the racism of tomorrow,† lies in a hypocritical acceptance of freedom-loving whites that patriotically pride themselves on their melting pot of a country, all the while indifferently condoning a system that relies on the neglect and exploitation of its non-white citizenship. Very chic. In a lot of obvious ways this new fact of Racist America is for the better. There’s less outright hate speech. There are less proactive attempts by individuals to quash any sign of racial progress. The flipside of that, however, is that there doesn’t really have to be. An undercurrent of fear and greed alongside of warped and misleading policies and fund allocations has replaced the red-faced, raving white supremacist as American minorities’ newest and fanciest hurdle. In many ways this can be more dangerous, be...

Wallstreet movie critisim essays

Wallstreet movie critisim essays It is difficult to discern whether the movie Wall Street is intended to be a scathing critique of modern bureaucracies in general or the men and women who work within them. Oliver Stone uses the traditional American coming of age story to attack modern perceptions of success and power in the corporation. Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) is a small town guy whose father worked his whole life at a blue collar job to provide him with all the opportunities his limited income could provide. Empowered by his fathers drive and an NYU degree in finance Bud sets his sights on striking it rich on the New York stock exchange. But Buds unbridled ambition combined with his resistance to advice of those around him eventually lead him into the shady world of big business fraud and insider trading. It is within this context that Oliver Stone uses Michael Douglas character Gordon Gecko to show what it takes to be successful in business as an individual and a corporation. Gordon Gecko (Michael Douglas) is smart, driven, powerful, incredibly wealthy and everything the Bud aspires to be. He proudly espouses, in true merchant fashion, fact that he produces nothing whatsoever but only uses money to produce the illusion of power. At one point while arguing the merits of his plans to liquidate the company Buds father has worked for twenty-four years Gordon argues that 90 percent of the public has little or no net worth and that the richest 1 percent own half of the countries wealth, and so if Bud wants to be successful he is going to have to decided who he is with. Is he with the 99 percent of hard working laborers who are being robed of the production of their efforts or the 1 percent that lives the life of luxury those efforts provide. As time progresses Geckos unyielding drive for more comes to symbolize not only his own unscrupulous methods for personal advancement but for all major corporat...

Pro-Choice Versus Pro-Life Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pro-Choice Versus Pro-Life - Research Paper Example There is no end in sight to the pro-life versus pro-choice argument. The pro-life argument is against the practice of abortion and the legalizing of abortion. In the pro-life argument, the main point of view is surprisingly supported both by religion and science. The religious perspective is that life begins at conception. It is a gift of God and human beings do not have the right to deny this life from seeing the light of day. This makes abortion tantamount to murder. Science supports this argument through its findings that the fetus starts to display several determinants of life at a very early stage. Thus the main basis of the argument against abortion is based on the fetus as an individual life separated from that of the mother, and that it is wrong to destroy such life. It also goes on to argue that abortion is the denial of the right to life of the fetus, and by abetting abortion, society would be guilty of denial of the rights of the fetus The other perspectives against abortion include the harm that abortions cause the mother and the impact of abortions on society. Abortions are unsafe and can lead to severe complications for the woman immediately after the abortion, or in terms of long term complications, including the dreaded breast cancer. Other complications could be demonstrated at the time of delivery of a child, should the woman choose to have a baby later. The impact on society lies in two arguments. The first is the economic costs to society as a result of abortion. The second argument is that if the fetus is morally expendable, child abuse is bound to arise. Instead of abortion, avoidance of unnecessary pregnancies could be brought about through the use of contraceptives or abstinence from sexual activity. (2) Â  

The Role of Women as Patrons during the Renaissance Essay

The Role of Women as Patrons during the Renaissance - Essay Example The Renaissance humanists embraced Christianity and, therefore, the church was at the forefront in patronizing many artistic works of Renaissance (Conelli 2004). The Renaissance was largely marked by the return to classical ideas that brought about the age of awakening in Italy and northern Europe between 1400AD and 1600AD (Thomson 1984). During Renaissance, or born anew in French, artist were exploring new ideas and, this lead to a wide discovery of talent and innovation. During and before Renaissance, men ruled over everything from political to social. A woman at these times was supposed to get married, give birth to boys and stay loyal to her husband (Trager 1994). A Renaissance man was expected to be well educated in a way that he understood proficiently art and science and have cultural grace. Women of all classes were expected to perform the duties of a housewife, or work in the fields if they were peasantry women. For middle-class women, they helped run their husbands business es while women of the noble class engaged in sewing, cooking, and entertainment. However, since the explosion of art and architecture presented opportunities individual’s growth, there were wealthy women who broke the mold of subjugation and achieved fame and independence (Chambers 1970). Most of these women learned how to paint in their father’s workshops while women of the high class had the opportunity to learn the art and practice architecture. Against this background, this essay examines the role of women as patrons of art and architecture during the Renaissance. Artistic Patronage Patrons of art had a significant role in the development of art in the Renaissance Europe. Patrons were not only customers of art but were also initiators of the same, and they often dictated on the art form and content (Chambers 1970). In most cases, art patronage was carried out by wealthy families of status, and it acted as a show of power. Art patronage was relevant for religious pu rposes, entertainment and as a source of political propaganda. As a result, the influence of the art was essential to the wellbeing of any artist. Artistic patronage was a formal undertaking with contracts defining the cost materials and dimensions of the project (Chambers 1970). For architectural works, the sketch of the project and the timeline, as well as the content of the piece, was contained in the contact form. A Patron of art or architecture offered a lot of support that placed him or her beyond the position of a mere customer. Art patronage originated from religious practices as noted by Tuscan merchant Francesco di Marco Datini of the 14th century that pictures moved ones spirit to devotion (Ciletti 1984). Therefore, the intention of any patron to any painting or curving was to devote such an art for religious purposes. Most portraits, placed at altering for a chapel, were meant to earn grace for the patron in redeeming her souls from the torments of purgatory (Ciletti 198 4). This was the theme and the form that Medici family in the early Florence artistic and architectural patronage undertook. Moreover, patrons were portrayed in paintings of religious subjects like in the work of Jan Van Eyck’s Madonna of the Canon van der Paele (Chambers 1970).