Journal 10 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Journal 10 - Essay Example However, Berniece had her reasons for opposing this sale, as the piano is the only piece of heirloom, which they both inherited. Piano was close to her heart because her great grandparents engraved their history on it, they were traded for it and also their father died over it (74-75, Bogumil). She declines Willie’s idea to sell it because piano was a reminder of their ancestors and especially of their father. And selling it would mean they would be selling their identity and heritage; this time by them self. Wilson weaved death and suffering with the piano and the siblings inherited both. Piano reminded them of their loss and deficient identity, but also was the only heirloom (though painful) left of the family. Boy Willie and Berniece’s great grandparents (slaves) engraved their history on it, but since it was not their property (Sutter’s) they were traded over it. Their father died after taking it from Sutter’s residence and piano was the last thing Berniece could relate to. However, she never played on it since it used to make her sad and Willie wanted to sell this heritage because it existed on the life (sacrifice) of his family and has been a reminder of slavery. Wilson has depicted music worth dying for and this is evident in the play. I would like to hire Will Smith as Boy Willie and Halle Berry as Berniece because both actors can convincingly transform them self into the assigned characters and can do justice with their characters. If it’s a theatrical play I would like to transform the stage into 1930 era, when the transition (from slavery to a free nation) was taking place for African Americans. My characters will dress up according to the 1930’s dressing criteria and the Piano will be staged in the front corner so its existence can be noticed. From time to time, I would like the piano to be played by the good

A history of American sexuality Essay Example for Free

A history of American sexuality Essay There is little to dispute the notion that rebellious movements only originate as a need, not as a result of human nature. It would indeed be appropriate to view the various cultures of resistance that have developed over the ages in light of this ideology; every era saw a different need and hence developed and shaped itself through their individual’s sexual meaning (Demilio and Freedman 228). They embody a change in attitude of youngsters regarding suppressed sexual inclinations considered inappropriate by the general public or believed to be counterproductive. Stemming from as early as the 17th century, the progress of freedom of sexuality has mostly been a mosaic, finding roots in differences of race gender and class. However, recent times have allowed that progress to be catalogued in discernable text which can be reviewed to gain insight into the perception of sexuality as has been generally associated with the past; historians such as Jeffrey Weeks, D’emilio and Freedman provide some valuable control points to make those judgments. First era: 1600 to 1780 The institution of marriage, the historical perspective of which was recently been subjected to criticism, has been under scrutiny lately simply because historical data does not correspond with the stereotypes of a traditional marriage (Coontz 13). In simple words, people who believed that the sanctity of marriage centuries ago was protected because of love between partners have lately been disproven. From 1600 to 1780, marriage was vastly regarded as a tool designed squarely as a reproductive mechanism and for the promotion of labor sources, increasing the family ties and the creation of a new generation (Demilio and Freedman 14). Since work was primarily agricultural back in those days, there was a need to increase labor within the family which was directly reflected in sexuality being confined to the institution of marriage, which in turn was designated for procreation (Demilio and Freedman 16-17). Such was the kinship and family system. During this era, there was a distinct lack of the element of love and social stigma prohibited acts of premarital intercourse and even falling in love as a pretext for marriage. Amongst the general society though, there were mixed thoughts within Protestants and Native American Indians (Demilio and Freedman 108). They formulated resistant sexualities to the norms. While the Protestants encouraged sexual pleasures within the marriage and allowed public, though limited, displays of affection, anything outside this institution was invalidated and scorned upon (Demilio and Freedman 4). There are evidences of regulation in the many punishments awarded to those who breached these standardized concepts of sexualities, and acts of adultery, premarital intercourse, homosexuality, and fornication were considered crimes, commission of which not only resulted in penalties but drew contempt at the hands of the public at large. These were very evidently governed by legal implications, enforced not only by the church (Demilio and Freedman 51) but also the state and society in unison. Such sexual criminals thus became outcast, leading to non-uniformity of sexualities. Amongst these, the prime suspects were Native American Indians, who allowed pre-marital intercourse and considered homosexuality acceptable. Moreover, marriage was not restricted to just one partner. Polygamy became just as common, suggesting that the sexual behavior was more a matter of the culture and social acceptance than human nature. As D’emilio and Freedman point out, the Chesapeake colonies where men outnumbered women due to the presence of a big number of migrants, men could choose to have sex with women simply to derive pleasure and not as instigation to marriage (Demilio and Freedman 14-17). The political system in the middle of the 17th century harbored the use of slaves, and those created their own sexual regimes. The southern areas saw a rise in inter-racial sexual ordeals, giving presence to another distinct system of regulating sexualities. The forms of political control that dominated throughout the 17th century, namely the church, state and the local community began losing their footing by the middle of the 18th century to late 18th century. This was partly due to the rise in commercialization and trade, since community presence was losing ground to a larger form of individualism, which institutionalized marriage as an expression of romance. Thus, the original sexual meanings relating to family ties and procreation governed by the sexual politics of the church, state and the local community were being superseded by the culture of resistance that encouraged romance as the central focus of marriage (Demilio and Freedman 95). Second era: 1870-1980 A new era of sexual preferences was emerging in the late 19th century. The prevailing mood was that of a heightened sense of pre-marital and within-marriage sexual intimacy, defined as â€Å"Victorian† (Peiss 206), with individuality as the central focus, allowing for sexual endeavors to extend beyond marriage and include previously scorned ideologies such as same sex sexualities. The aura was becoming increasingly liberal, as the presence of seemingly immoral exercises such as pornography, and brothel management undermined the societal values (Peiss 238). Attention was drawn towards them by a new breed of post 1880 conservatives. This movement concentrated squarely on declaring every form of seemingly impure sexuality such as adultery, commercialization of sex in terms of pornography, fornication and even eroticization within marriage as immoral and as plagues to society. Sexual meaning, while decidedly liberal in those days, employing extensive use of contraception and experimental living with partners, was met with sexual regulation tactics by the state, governed by the enforcement of legislations. The sexual politics included the passing of Anti-prostitution (Demilio and Freedman 150, 209, 213) and anti-pornography laws facilitating the resistance that Protestants had also partnered in. This, while curbing public vulgarities to some extent, could not come in the way of the growing consumerism that the industrial wave brought with it. With concentration on individual choice, commercial sex grew, in sync with the empowerment of women both at the workplace and within the family, leading to even more equality amongst the sexes (Coontz 208). In the culture that ensued, the sexual meaning took a very liberal turn with empowerment of the individual being the centerpiece, thus enabling homosexual tendencies to thrive, along with the encouragement of romance and eroticism becoming increasingly desirable. The post 1920s was regarded as an era of sexual reform, post Victorian sexual era so to speak, a time when the concept of marriage was drifting from the originally conceived â€Å"traditional† meanings to those based on deriving sexual pleasures simultaneously with the need to reproduce. The sexual meaning, thus, in the context of D’emilio’s and Freedman’s philosophies (1997), combined those two to place emphasis on the fulfillment and satisfaction of one’s self with respect to the institution of marriage, rather than be forced to adhere to it in order to meet social demands of labor and reproduction. The freedom of choice was highlighted amongst the youth and non-heterosexual endeavors as well as pre-marital sexualities became gradually acceptable. The depiction of sex for commercial use picked up pace as well (Demilio and Freedman 327), and liberalism both within marriage and outside it grew. The routine depiction of sexual images to the public became frequent, suggesting that sexual choice and independence was what the society wanted. It was in these times that strides were made for gender equality as well, as men slowly edged towards ceasing to become the dominant sexual partners and women began sharing high posts with men in the workplace. Third Era: Post 1980 to present day The major cultural resistance shift was next experienced in the 1970s, with the advent of the liberal homosexual regimes and the urge to pursue sexual freedom by the likes of Hugh Hefner, bringing to light demands to acknowledge premarital sexual endeavors as a right. This, of course, was contrary to the norm of the day, which was still largely heterosexual. More sexual politics brought Left-wing views to the forefront, arguing especially in favor of the gay liberation movement and feminism (Demilio and Freedman 322-323). During the 70s and 80s, this phenomenon gripped the economically thriving youth of the day, affecting the counterculture in so much as shredding the traditional norms associated with marriage and family in favor of a single sexual life. The right-wings continued to advocate against the sexual deviancies of pre-marital intimacy, commercial utilities of sex, eroticism, etc and much of the debate in the 80s thus surrounded the use of contraceptives, illegitimacy, the spread of HIV and Herpes, rising divorce rates etc. This state of moral panic was superseded by the feminist culture of resistance, which in turn strengthened the position of women who placed emphasis on choice. Employing Margaret Sanger’s voice of reason (Demilio and Freedman 243-244), the phenomena of birth control enabled women to pursue sexualities undisturbed, serving to ultimately enable gays and lesbians to exchange vows and raise children (Peiss 484). Conclusion To the present day, sexual meanings have been age dependant and cultures of resistance have shaped the way sexual regulations were governed by sexual politics. As stipulated by Weeks, D’emilio and Freedman, all three need to be considered in unison to understand the changing mechanisms of sexualities over a given period (Demilio and Freedman 377), but it can easily be inferred that those cultures had a strong part to play in the liberation of sexualities and the deviation of the essence of the institution of marriage, from its traditional stance as a means of reproduction to one purely used to attain sexual fulfillment through love . Works Cited Coontz, Stephanie. Marriage, A history: How Love Conquered Marriage . Penguin Books, 2005. Demilio, John and Estelle B. Freedman. Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America, 2nd Edition. University of Chicago Press , 1997. Peiss, Kathy. Major Problems in the History of American Sexuality: Documents and Essays . Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.

Functions of Management | Reflective Essay

Functions of Management | Reflective Essay About Management Processes From the Business Strategy Game, I learned that first important process for a company to determine its future business path was to set a strategic and realistic planning about what is the company goal, how long the goal will be achieved and how to achieve the goal among the competition. In setting the plan, company should define first what is their mission statement or strategic vision. This mission statement is a statement which indicates the purposes and activities of the companys business/goals in brief, clear and focus words. Along with mission statement, company must clearly define its objectives quantitatively within certain period. From these quantitative objectives, company could set a realistic and attainable long term strategic planning to allocate budget and resources in the company. In strategic planning, company should define clearly its target market, financial objective and competitive position among the industry. This strategic planning will be the direction of the co mpany in running its business. After setting the strategic planning, company should design an organization structure to manage the company effectively, by designating persons who will in charge in each roles and held responsibility in each area of the business in the company (marketing, finance, operation, sales and so on), especially the person who will be responsible as the leader of the company (as CEO). The role of CEO is very essential because he/she must lead company to the right direction in implementing company strategy to achieve companys objectives. From the clear and effective organization structure, CEO and management will have clear legitimation and authority in directing all resources in the company to implement the companys strategy. Finally, the company should closely and intensively controlling and monitoring the performance of the strategy during implementation to assess its progress against the pre-defined targets and ensure that all the company elements were doing their parts and responsibility in the right track. About Management Functions In a company, management should establish the right and important functions which will run the company operational activities, define what are the responsibilities of each functions and ensure that each functions performed in accordance with the company objectives. In order to give more value to the company in terms of profitability, management should work together to set a strategy in making companys output (product or services) more competitive in the market by considering all aspects involved. As an example, to gain more profitability company could set pricing strategy to be higher or lower compare to market but before decided the price, company should consider other aspects such as costs, quality and resources needed in creation of the product or services. About Working in Teams In working as a team member in the company, it is very important to determine a clear designation about who will act as the leader and the follower. Because if theres no clear designation, potentially will cause the resources in the company to move to the wrong direction and this will destruct company effort in achieving its objectives. As a leader, a person should show the ability to manage and to coach the entire team member to do their tasks properly, and he/she should has willingness to listen and appreciation to his/her followers insights at the same time. And as a follower, one should give respect to the leader and obey the leader decisions. But it is important too for the company to define what is the follower assignment and designation, because if it is not clearly defined, the follower couldnt perform nor contributed optimally in attaining companys objective process. What I plan to do in my work place from the experience and lessons I took from the BSG are : As the leader of my unit I will put more effort to be an effective and efficient leader of my unit and will put more awareness to all my team member that our jobs especially in designing the most efficient operational work flow in my company has essential impact in saving the company budget and optimizing company resources which will contributed in achieving the companys objective especially in financial aspect and giving more value to the customer and shareholder. And furthermore I will spend more time and effort to evaluate designation and job description for each member of my team, to put the right person to the right job and responsibility. If the designation and job description were not fit or not clear to the team member, it will impact to the performance of the working unit itself because each team member do not know exactly what is their role in their working unit. As a member of my management team I will put more consideration and attention about financial impact of any decision that my management made. From the BSG, I see that all activities in each working unit must be contributed and affected to the company strategic planning especially in achieving financial goals. And I will put more respect to any member and any decision of my management team made, even though sometimes the decision seems to be hard to be implement, I will try to see it from wider perspective that the decision must be made deliberately and considered many important aspects which ending is to give more value for the company.

Caring for An Angina Patient Essay -- Nursing Essays

Nurses play a very important role in managing a patient from the moment of his admission up to making a discharge plan. Each part of the nursing process is vital to the wellbeing of the person he is taking care of. Clinical reasoning is always essential in each part of the nursing process from assessment, setting up goals and intervention. Effective nursing management is done when a nurse looks for the early and right cues at the right patient and implementing it at the right time. This essay will delve deeper into the case of Rob Geis, a patient who was suffering from angina, given his history and the signs and symptoms he experienced up to the time when his condition worsened to Myocardial Infarction. This essay will also look into how the nurse should provide effective nursing care to the patient with this condition. Etiology and Pathophysiology of Angina Angina is pain felt in the chest area as a result of lack of inadequate supply to the myocardium (Better Health Channel, 2013) Atherosclerosis or the hardening and narrowing of arteries caused by the build-up of plaques, the insufficient supply of oxygen and its increasing demand are some of the factors that can cause ischemia in the myocardium (Lewis et al., 2012). When there is a total blockage of the coronary arteries for a few minutes, the myocardium cannot receive oxygen and glucose for aerobic metabolism thus anaerobic metabolism occurs (Lewis et al., 2012). The lactic acid builds up and stimulates the nerve fibres in the myocardium resulting to chest pain (Lewis et al., 2012). The cells are repaired and the aerobic metabolism and the contractility of the arteries are restored when there is return of blood flow (Lewis et al., 2012) Subjective and Objectiv... ....). New South Wales: Elsevier Australia. MedlinePlus. (2010). Atenolol. Retrieved April 4, 2014, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a684031.html Rull, G. (2011). Cardiogenic Shock. Retrieved April, 2014, from http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Cardiogenic-Shock.htm Smeltzer, S., Bare, B., Farrell, M., & Dempsey, J. (2011). Smeltzer & Bare's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing (2nd Australian and New Zealand edition ed. Vol. 1): Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Pty Ltd. WebMD. (2012). Electrocardiogram. Retrieved April 1, 2014, from http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/electrocardiogram Williams, B. R., Lewis, D. R., Burgio, K. L., & Goode, P. S. (2012). Next-of-Kin's Perceptions of How Hospital Nursing Staff Support Family Presence Before, During, and After the Death of a Loved One. Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, 14(8), 541-550. Caring for An Angina Patient Essay -- Nursing Essays Nurses play a very important role in managing a patient from the moment of his admission up to making a discharge plan. Each part of the nursing process is vital to the wellbeing of the person he is taking care of. Clinical reasoning is always essential in each part of the nursing process from assessment, setting up goals and intervention. Effective nursing management is done when a nurse looks for the early and right cues at the right patient and implementing it at the right time. This essay will delve deeper into the case of Rob Geis, a patient who was suffering from angina, given his history and the signs and symptoms he experienced up to the time when his condition worsened to Myocardial Infarction. This essay will also look into how the nurse should provide effective nursing care to the patient with this condition. Etiology and Pathophysiology of Angina Angina is pain felt in the chest area as a result of lack of inadequate supply to the myocardium (Better Health Channel, 2013) Atherosclerosis or the hardening and narrowing of arteries caused by the build-up of plaques, the insufficient supply of oxygen and its increasing demand are some of the factors that can cause ischemia in the myocardium (Lewis et al., 2012). When there is a total blockage of the coronary arteries for a few minutes, the myocardium cannot receive oxygen and glucose for aerobic metabolism thus anaerobic metabolism occurs (Lewis et al., 2012). The lactic acid builds up and stimulates the nerve fibres in the myocardium resulting to chest pain (Lewis et al., 2012). The cells are repaired and the aerobic metabolism and the contractility of the arteries are restored when there is return of blood flow (Lewis et al., 2012) Subjective and Objectiv... ....). New South Wales: Elsevier Australia. MedlinePlus. (2010). Atenolol. Retrieved April 4, 2014, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a684031.html Rull, G. (2011). Cardiogenic Shock. Retrieved April, 2014, from http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Cardiogenic-Shock.htm Smeltzer, S., Bare, B., Farrell, M., & Dempsey, J. (2011). Smeltzer & Bare's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing (2nd Australian and New Zealand edition ed. Vol. 1): Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Pty Ltd. WebMD. (2012). Electrocardiogram. Retrieved April 1, 2014, from http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/electrocardiogram Williams, B. R., Lewis, D. R., Burgio, K. L., & Goode, P. S. (2012). Next-of-Kin's Perceptions of How Hospital Nursing Staff Support Family Presence Before, During, and After the Death of a Loved One. Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, 14(8), 541-550.

Credit Rating Agencies Role in Financial Crisis

1. Credit rating agencies present one of the key problems in reconfiguring the global financial architecture. Why? What are the options? What is the most likely solution? * The rating agencies present one of the key problems because they were behind the rating of the complex CDOs as well as taking an active part in creating these mortgage-related products which created conflict of interest. The ratings given to the CDO tranches did not effectively disclose the true credit quality of the underlying securities which contained a much higher default probabilities. * Options: * More regulations by SEC to control the â€Å"issuer pays† model. â€Å"To correct the competition problem within the â€Å"issuer pays† model, the SEC could place limits on the competition that occurs among the rating agencies. † (Acharya & Richardson, 2009) * â€Å"An alternative structure (†¦) would be for the SEC to create a department that houses a centralized clearing platform for ra ting agencies. † (Acharya & Richardson, 2009) * Another option is to deregulate the industry and allow free-market competition forces to shape its further growth and development which could bring in players like Bloomberg that would offer bond rating as a value-added services to its clientele. Most likely solution: * Although it is a very complex situation and it would require a series of regulatory changes, a regulatory oversight agency that would closely monitor the rating agencies and act as an intermediary in matching the issuers with the rating agencies. 2. Greece is in trouble. Why? Fast-forward 5 years and describe the most likely outcome of the current problems and their consequences for global banking and financial markets. * Greece is in trouble because it has failed to keep under controls its ballooning debt and accumulated a total national debt of over 113% of the country’s GDP. In April and May of this year Greece has to repay a total of $23 billion of its maturing government bonds which raised the question of whether it will be able to refinance the debt at its current financial state. * It has come to light that Greece used a series of financial transactions facilitated by Goldman Sachs to make its financials appear much nicer to adhere to the EU requirements of the member countries having to maintain the budget deficit under 3% of GDP. â€Å"†¦concerns about Greece's high level of debt led the three main international credit ratings agencies to downgrade Greek government bonds in January, so when Greece issued its bonds, it had offer them at much higher interest rates (five percent higher than those offered on benchmark German bonds) in order to attract investors. † (Fleeson) * Depending on how EU deals with the Greece problem, the Euro zone could become stronger in the outcome or it could face a moral hazard when more of the problematic EU c ountries (Portugal, Ireland, and Spain) encounter the same problem as Greece and will expect EU to bail them out. If Greece is allowed to default on its international debt it will put pressure on the entire Euro zone and will make it more problematic for Portugal, Ireland, and Spain, who have â€Å"ratios of debt to gross domestic product that are three times higher than the EU ceiling of three percent†, to borrow in the near future. (Fleeson) * If EU backs Greece, it will be more easier for the country to borrow at favorable rates and it will ease the pressure from the speculators which were betting against Greece and aggravating the problem even more. On a more positive note, the fact that the euro has weakened during the past four months as a result of the situation with Greece has the made the European goods relatively cheaper and export conditions more favorable. * Most likely outcome is that EU will eventually back Greece in some shape or form, once the member countries can agree on the measures, to keep it from defaulting and impose stricter economic rules on the members to adhere to in order to create sounder economic environments. â€Å"†¦analysts say that supportive talk (and even credit guarantees) will probably not be enough to salvage Greece’s finances and that ultimately the country is likely to need a package of loans put together by other EU governments and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). † (Fleeson) * â€Å"As part of the deal being forged in Brussels, Germany and France are demanding that the eurozone rewrite its rule book about economic convergence, including sanctions against governments (such as Greece’s) that deceive their EU partners about their real financial situation. (Maudave) * â€Å"The emergence of changes of this sort, including effective measures of discipline against offending eurozone countries, the new fiscal discipline and beginning of collective economic governance among the eurozon e countries, could be an important step forward to the EU’s global clout. Such progress toward economic coherence and credibility could amount to progress on a par with the Lisbon treaty – and, for the long run, a silver lining to the current economic hardship being inflicted on the EU economies. (Maudave) References Viral Acharya, Matthew Richardson. â€Å"Restoring Financial Stability: How to Repair a Failed system. † New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. , 2009. Print Tony Spadaccia. â€Å"U. S. is Resembling Greece’s Economic Decline. † The Breeze, March 18, 2010. Web. Sat. 20 March, 2010 ; http://breezejmu. org/2010/03/18/us-is-resembling-greeces-economic-decline/; Will Fleeson. â€Å"Sovereign Debt Liable to Overwhelm System in the EU’s Five â€Å"PIIGS†. † The European Institute, February 2010. Web. Fri. 2 March, 2010 Will Fleeson. â€Å"Euro Zone Acts to Dodge Greece's Bullet — But More to Come From PIIGS? † The European Institute, February 2010. Web. Fri. 12 March, 2010 http://www. europeaninstitute. org/February-2010/euro-zone-may-dodge-the-bullet-from-greece. html Basil Maudave. â€Å"EU Bail-Out For Greece? Time Has Come, Reportedly, To Do It — With Conditions. † The European Institute, March 2010. Web. Fri. 12 March, 2010 Arthur E. Wilmarth, Jr. â€Å"Controlling Systemic Risk in an ERA of Financial Consolidation. †

Computers Have Brought a Lot of Ease to Our Life essays

Computers Have Brought a Lot of Ease to Our Life essays Computers have brought lot of ease to our daily life Time has brought many revolutionary changes over the last few decades. If we look around ourselves, we can see countless inventions which are now an essential part of our life. Think about the life of people about 100 or 150 years ago when there were no luxuries of life. There were no cars, trains, aero planes, TVs, cameras etc. All these technological advancement have been done during the last 20th century. The most important of these inventions is computers. Computers have directly or indirectly influenced our life by a great deal. Some of us might not have noticed but now we cannot even think about surviving without computers because we are now totally dependant on it in some way. Many old people believe that computers have replaced man power in many industries and departments and it is creating massive amount of unemployment. I believe that those who have any kind of computer skills are getting better jobs and are enjoying much better life standard. Look at other businesses which are flourishing because of them. Trading done in stock market is much more than before because of the fact that people are doing trades from their homes. The trend of online shopping is on the rise and it has helped the postal services and many other courier services. Many people have access to their email accounts. Most of them check their emails up to 10 times a day. It has become one of the most important mean of communication superceding pagers and in some cases postal mails and faxes. If a student has to register for his classes in his/her school, he or she doesnt have to stand in front of registrar office for several hours. All they have to do select the courses sitting in their homes and even pay the bills right over the internet. They can buy the books online virtually from any where, any edition. So, at the end of the day we can save lot of time which can be utilized anywhere. ...