Paper Essays (213 words) - Food Preservation, Clarence Birdseye

Paper 2/9/15 The Father of Frozen Foods The article "Clarence Birdseye and the Birth of Frozen Foods" demonstrates that when presented with an opportunity to succeed Clarence will work until the task is completed. During the course of his life Clarence faced many tough challenges that he did not let stop him from accomplishing his goals. Even after being short of money he persevered in his quest to support his family. Despite not having the financial support to finish college Clarence used his intelligence to help support his family, and people across the world. The most significant traits that contribute to Birdseyes success, are determination and intelligence. Before Clarence was wealthy he went about making money in various ways, he was skilled in taxidermy and passed the skill on to others often making money whilst doing this. Another hobby of his that put money into his pocket was catching frogs and selling them to a nearby zoo. Later in his life he could not afford the luxury of a college education and had to work full time to support his family. When Clarence began working full time for the department of agriculture he did not know it would present him with such a huge opportunity in the future. Later in his life, Birdseye had more enough

Victor Locke, (student number) Essays - Gender, Biology, Identity

Victor Locke, (student number) Essays - Gender, Biology, Identity Victor Locke, (student number) Course number, and section Are girls at a disadvantage later in life because of the toys they play with when they're young? This is what the article, "How Today's Toys May Be Harming Your Daughter," by Natasha Daly in the January 2017 issue of National Geographic, explores. (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/01/gender-toys-departments-piece/) The theory is that because girls don't play with building toys and complex puzzles as much as boys do, they don't develop the skills that are required for good jobs in STEM fields or gain any desire to. This article and others like it raise a key question: are toy manufacturers a primary contributor to this phenomenon, or are they simply reflecting society at large? The article looks at how toys have been marketed over time. According to a study by Elizabeth Sweet, who researched Sears catalogs from the 1920s through the 2000s, toys were marketed along traditional gender roles up until the 1970s, with homemaking toys for girls and building and war toys for boys. Then a change happened, as the second wave of feminism questioned traditional roles, resulting in toy marketing becoming more gender neutral. It changed back again in the 1980s. The author credits deregulation making it easier for toy companies to reach children directly, but this also coincided with the rise of conservatism in the Reagan era. Today, some companies like Target are eliminating the "pink" and "blue" aisles and using more gender neutral marketing techniques. Throughout the article, the author suggests that the way toy companies market toys is leading to differences in the way boys and girls develop logics and spatial abilities. And it implies that this is particularly bad f or girls. But how truly influential are toy companies in determining what toys children play with? Are they shaping social behavior, or are they merely reflecting it? Or is it both? Studies have shown that children start to learn about gender from birth by receiving unconscious cues from their parents (pg. 105) during the sensorimotor stage (pg.97). "Male and female adults usually handle infants differently," and things like women's perfume and clothing signal that men and women smell and dress differently (pg. 105). By the time a child is two, they know what it means to be a girl or a boy, and by age 5, during the preoperational stage (pg. 98), they know that their gender will not change (pg. 105). Of all the factors influencing gender identity, family, peers and society's "rules" in general play the central role. This can be seen in a 1986 study by Vanda Lucia Zammuner (pg. 106), who found that children generally preferred toys associated with their own gender, particularly in societies like Italy that have strong ideals about gender roles. Even when parents try to ignore traditional gender roles, it can be difficult to change children's preferences. This was found in research done by June Stathan, who studied parents who consciously tried to raise their children in a nonsexist way. While they were partly successful in getting their children to play with gender-neutral toys, it was much more difficult than they thought it would be. Girls preferred "girl" toys and the boys played with "boy" toys. In other words, "existing patterns of gender learning" were "difficult to combat (pg 107). Their early socialization was too hard to overcome. What role toy marketing played in this result is unknown. There are many sociological theories about how children develop gender identity. Sigmund Freud said that gender identity is based on a biological difference - whether or not they have a penis (pg 99). Nancy Chodorov argued that gender identity comes from "the infant's attachment to their parents from an early age," with particular emphasis on the dominant influence of the mother (pg 100). And according to George Herbert Mead, "infants and young children develop as social beings by imitating the actions of those around them" (pg 97). This idea of children playing an active role in their socialization was furthered by Jean Piaget (pg 97), who said that children actively "select and interpret what they see, hear, and feel." What all of this suggests is that gender roles are shaped by many factors, but probably most important among them

Benchmarking Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Benchmarking - Assignment Example kinds of statistical data such as sales records and stock inventory management data in order to reflect what is really happening within a certain business, and, consequently, to assist those who have invested in the business or run the business to make important decisions regarding the business. The measure of central tendency chosen for this work is the statistical or sample mean. The sample mean is very useful in determining the likelihood of an outcome such as predicting sales patterns, this is very important in guiding the management at Books R Us in decision making. Some of the decisions to be made may pertain to investing in new technologies, reducing or increasing the resources allocated to the sales team at Books R Us Considering the data set provided pertaining to Books R Us and the need to know if the sales performance at Books R Us is good or not, the average sales made by the business in every schools in district, the average number of students per district, the average family incomes in every district, the average amount spent per pupil and the average percentage of families receiving welfare are some of the highly significant variables that ought to be brought into perspective. The measure of central tendency chosen (the sample mean) will be calculated for each of the variables identified above as critical in assessing the sales performance at Books R Us. The total values for each variable will be added first, and then divided with the total number of items recorded for each variable. The resulting means (for each variable) will then be used in sales assessment in at Books R Us through constant comparison in the following ways: Can help determine the purchasing power families have .Compared with the first two variables, this can be used to assess sales performance with regard to pricing of books and can be used to guide decisions on how books are priced in particular districts Can help determine the purchasing power families have .Compared with

Examination of minimalist architecture and it's influence on our way Essay

Examination of minimalist architecture and it's influence on our way of living - Essay Example Despite this, minimalist architecture, regardless of where it is, who designed it, when it was created or what the end use is intended to be, tends to share a number of similarities. A study of two exemplar structures will reveal how some of the common characteristics of this approach are expressed which can then be used to examine how modern lifestyles might have been influenced by the movement. It is concluded that minimalist design has caused today’s society to be more conscious of the space they occupy, leading to a greater push for ‘green’ design and an effort to protect the environment we live in. Architecture works in many ways to help shape and define a culture. Rather than simply erecting a specific building, the work of the architect can contribute to the advancement of a society through its artistic achievement, engineering or technical advancement, political statement or through a variety of other means. Like art, what a building communicates about the customs and culture of the time in which it is built depends somewhat upon how it is viewed and used by the people around it. Similarly, what it is able to achieve in terms of political or other statements is dependent upon the reactions of these same individuals. Within this context, modernity is often described as a collection of studies into the social processes that order the world we live in while remaining in a constant state of flux. If one is speaking with Marshall Berman, modernity is described as â€Å"a mode of vital experience—experience of space and time, of the self and others, of life’s possi bilities and perils—that is shared by men and women all over the world today. I will call this body of experience ‘modernity’.†1 It encompasses the social changes that are constantly taking shape, the way in which these changes are experienced and the reflection of these experiences in various circles. It is a world of definition and ambiguity, a world of

A Comparison of Traditional and Non Traditional Way of Living Essay

A Comparison of Traditional and Non Traditional Way of Living - Essay Example However, there is not much pressure for children to break away from their families because they are taught to value family more than wealth. Moreover, the norms in our community suggest a simple and timid way of living. There is not much challenge that can really force a person to plan and strategize in order to break away from poverty and difficulties of rural living. Instead, the similar lives of each family somehow seem to say that life in Bhutan is just fine because it is how everybody in the community lives. Being of Nepali origin who was born in Bhutan, I became one of the refugees who suffered many difficulties. The refugee camps were made of bamboo, mud, and plastic. The camp is not a good place to live in but we did not have any choice. Therefore, we have to endure the extremely harsh circumstances brought to us. Living in camps is the worst experience I ever had. It was worse than the lives of many animals. Some animals are given good homes and enough food but we lived with just small spaces allotted for each member of the family. So many times, food is not enough for all of us so we learned to share what meager food is available. In addition, there was no electricity so we also suffered the heat and cold through changing seasons. We were also in dire need of water and sanitation. Life in camps means being thankful we are still alive. We had no right to complain. We only had to hope and pray that someday, the sun will shine brightly on us. Thankfully, that day finally came for me in 2010 when I resettled in the United States. The American lifestyle is completely different from what I have been used to. There are no friends to have a lazy chat with and no time that we can afford to waste. Even in rural areas, American living has high demands because of the standard of living.

Impact Of Environmental Pollution On Health Environmental Sciences Essay

Impact Of Environmental Pollution On Health Environmental Sciences Essay The paper highlights impact of environmental pollution on Health. The present study has been taken up in Tuticorin industrial town area. Major industries numbering 12 established in the district. They are engaged in the production of cotton, staple yarn, caustic soda, PVC Resin, fertilizers, soda ash, carbon-di-oxide gas in liquid etc., The important major industries are sterlite, SPIC, Tuticorin Alkali Chemicals, Dharangadhra chemicals work, Madura coats, Kilburn chemicals industries. The public sector undertakings are the Thermal power unit (620mm), Heavy water plant, and port trust. The district contributes 70% of the total salt production of Tamil Nadu and meets 30% of salt requirement of our country. Aside from deficiencies in the life support system, men is subjected to a variety of environmental Hazards. Some of these are natural, but increasingly environmental hazards result from mans activities and numbers. Some times manmade hazards are direct in their impact on other man. But they may be indirect in their influence, acting through other biological systems or overburdening the capacity of natural systems for renewal, dispersion, or assimilation. The following factors can be used in categorizing environmental hazards. (1) Biological (2) chemical (3) Physical (4) Psychological and (5) Sociological. Hence more than 12 major industries have established in and around Tuticorin. This becomes one of the source of air pollution, water pollution, Noice pollution, in this area. Air pollution may be broadly defined as the presence of one or more contaminants like dust, smoke, must and odour. The atmosphere which are injurious to human beings, plants and animals which unreasonably interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property. Air pollution seriously damages human beings. Environmental sociology in the study of the reciprocal interaction between the physical environment, social organization, and social behaviour. Within this approach, environment encomposses all physical and material bases of life in a scale ranging from the most micro level to the biosphere. An important development of this sub discipline was the shift from a sociology of environment to an Environmental sociology While the farmer refers to the study of environmental issue through the lands of traditional sociology, the later encomposses the societal environmental relations. A major challenge for the 21st Century is not the creation of wealth, but the management of health. Concern over the rapid depletion and degradation of the Worlds biological resources and the implications of this loss on the global biosphere and human welfare have been mounting in recent years. Loss and modification of ecosystems and habitats are occurring at an alarming rate, although it is much difficult to quantity or estimate on a global scale. The continuing loss of the biological wealth may leave us with a smaller and less varied stock of global biological resources. The result may leave the human livelihood and the future of the biosphere at risk. Development efforts along with modern warfare have created an uneasy and irreparable environmental consequences, the world over. Human life and health are at great jeopardy and the burden of diseases and ill health raise questions on the development efforts in the pursuit of global prosperity and wealth. The environmental pollution and degradation may rise in step with such a rise in output, the result leading to an appalling environmental pollution and damage. Tens of millions more people may become sick or die each year from environmental causes. Water shortages may become intolerable and tropical forests and other natural habitats may decline to a fraction of their current size. The earths sources are limited and so is the absorptive capacity of its sinks. Whether these limitations will hinder the growth of human activity will depend on the scope for substitution, technical progress and structural change. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Environmental health can be defined as the aspect of public health that is with all external conditions such as all forms o life, substances, forces, problems and challenges and any other condition in the surroundings of man that that may extent an influence on mans health and well-being. Disease in this sense represents maladjustment of the human being to his environment. This rapid industrial growth has made water pollution, air pollution, and hazardous wastes pressing environmental problems in many areas of the developing world. Industrial emissions combine with vehicle exhausts to cause air pollution, while concentrations of heavy metals and ammonia loads are often high enough to cause major fish kills down- River from industrial areas. The lack of hazardous waste facilities compounds the problem with industrial wastes. The physical environment has a major influence on human health not only through temperature, precipitation and composition of air and water but also through its interaction with the type and distribution of the flora and fauna (the biological environment). The biological environment is a major influence on the food supply and on the reservoirs and transmission mechanisms of, many diseases. The following gives the simplified illustration of these relationships. The scale and nature of human activities including agricultural, industrial, and energy production, the use and management of water and wastes, urbanization, the distribution of income and assets within and between countries, the quality of health and other public services and the extent of protection of the living, working, and natural environment. Environmental hazards to health fall into two broad categories. On the one side is the lack of accessibility to basic environmental resources like sanitation, water, fresh air, shelter and the like. On the other side is the exposure to hazardous environment. These hazards include biological agents viz., micro-organisms such as bacteria and viruses and parasites which contribute to the global burden of infectious disease, chemical pollutants, ultra violet radiation and the like which cause birth defects and damage the body immunity system and which render people susceptible to a variety of health risks. Environmental Problem Effect on Health Water pollution and water scarcity More than 2 million deaths and billions of illnesses a year attributable to pollution, poor household hygiene and added health risks caused by water scarcity. Air pollution Many acute and chronic health impacts excessive matter levels arc responsible for 300,00 70,0,000 premature deaths annually and for half of childhood chronic diseases; women and children in poor rural areas affected by smoky indoor air. Atmospheric disasters Possible shifts in vector-borne diseases; risks climatic natural: diseases attributable to ozone changes depletion (perhaps 300,000 additional cases of skin cancer a year worldwide; 1.7 (million cases of cataracts). Among the environmentally-based diseases water, food and oil borne diseases affect a majority of the world population. Diarrohea, Cholera and Hepahtis A and E have the clearest link to the environment and spread by both bacteria and virus. According to a WHO study, Diarrohea deaths were around 2.5 million in 1996. Around 4 billion cases of diarrohea cause widespread debilitations each year. The nuclear development and use, the world over is a major threat to human health today. The radiation hazard arising from Extra Low Frequency (ELF) magnetic fields of between one and one hundred hertz (HZ) as well as the very High frequency fields of 147 MHZ, which can alter the outflow of calcium ions from the brain tissue of children, in particular with steadily weakening resistance causes tumour formation in the human body. Health is a fundamental resource to individual and community and is a pre-requisite for their social, spiritual and physicalwell-being, the protection and preservation of which is dependent on the ecological status i of the environment and sustainable development. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Any systematic scientific inquiry has its foundation built up studies conducted in the Past. The main objective of this chapter is to review the theoretical and empirical information available from similar or atleast related studies, such recapitulation could some as a basis for delineating an ideal conceptual framework for the present study and it enables one to identify the past trends in any particular branch of science. Also it helps the researcher to get more clarity on the subject to be studied. STUDIES ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES Mitch William (1993) describing the emerging field of ecological engineering, define it as the design of human society with its natural environment for the benefit of both. The concept pertains more to managing the natural environment rather than the typical engineering domain of the built environment. Gives examples such as the Biosphere project, constructed wetlands sewage treatment systems, water hyacinth river pollution control, and fish production and wetlands systems are examples of ecological engineering. R.R. Barthwal (2002) reports that environmental degradation depends on the nature of the industrial development projects and the technology involved its size location and the time taken to implement them. All industrial projects need not be taken as producers of equal beneficial or negative results. Some industries produce only beneficial results only with limited adverse impact. In contrast some produce adverse living conditions but beneficial economically also. Holmes Hannah (1991) describes the environmental effects, including resource use and pollution, and of meat consumption. He, also mentions human health effects and notes that vegetarianism is more environmentally beneficial, promotes better health, and is less expensive than meat eating. This paper gives general recommendations to preventing pollution by eating less meat and more plant products. It includes charts and sources for more information. Hawken Paul (1993) claims that the socially responsible corporation is a have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too myth. The authors agenda for reform includes: adjusting the price of goods to reflect true environmental and other social costs; incrementally replacing the present U.S. tax system with revenue-neutral green fees; rearranging the linear industrial economy into a nature-mimicking cyclical system [industrial ecology]; designing for decomposition, closed-loop reuse/recycling, and toxic materials stewardship; restoring the balance between commerce (business sector) and the guardian (government); and shifting from electronic literacy to biologic literacy. STUDIES ON HEALTH Andersson and Marks (1989) looks at ways in which state, class and health may be related in Southern Africa. The region provides useful comparisons because of the starkness of the relationships between class, race, disease patterns and health care in much of the sub-continent; the different types of state and class structure and the changes in ideology and to some extent health practice came with the political independence of some of its component parts. Balasubramanian (1995) analyses the data on the health of the people and the economic conditions in several developing countries. This paper calls attention to the urgent need internationally for a new approach to mobilize the interests, commitments and resources of a broader constituency of support for the poor. Schindler, Kunzli, Bongard, Leuenberger, Karrer, Rapp, Monn, Ackermannliebrich, (2001) made a study on 3,900 nonsmoking adults from eight areas of Switzerland that represent a range of urbanization, air pollution, altitude, and weather conditions. In this study, researchers obtained three different measures of lung function and compared the results with prior days measurements of ozone, total suspended particulates, and nitrogen dioxide. Daily average concentrations of ozone were significantly associated with mean respiratory function measures during the summer months. RESEARCH DESIGN The objectives of the study from the wider socio-economic perspective focusing on environmental hygiene practices among the selected in Tuticorin town. Based on the framed objectives some appropriate hypotheses are formulated. It is also discussed the methodology and frame work of study in terms of the nature of study variables used, sampling method, data collection process, data analysis procedure operational definition of key concepts and limitations. OBJECTIVES The following objectives are framed for the purpose of the present study: To study the socio-economic life of the respondents in Tuticorin town To analyse the problems of environment in the study area; To study the respondents behaviour on household sanitation and environmental hygiene practices in the study area. To study the respondents behaviour on environmental and common property resource management practices in the study area To find out the defects and problems in the existing environment hygiene and discomfort at their life; To put forth suitable suggestions to improve the respondents environment protection for healthy life. METHODOLOGY This study attempts to examine the respondents behaviour on environmental hygiene and sanitation practices by making an experiment in Tuticorin town, Tamil Nadu. This study deals with environmental hygiene issues relating to environmental pollution and its impact on land, water, health etc., This study analyses the extent to which urban people have knowledge of environment and awareness. It analyses their behaviour on environmental conservation and preservation. It outlines the respondentsà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ awareness of various environmental hygiene and sanitation issues and measures. It is generally an exploratory framework of identifying the awareness of among urban people about environmental issues along with their action-oriented activities to preserve and conserve rural environment in particular. Thus, this study is partly exploratory in nature. Thus it constitutes the analytical aspect of the study. Hence, this study is partly exploratory in nature and partly analytical in nature. Pilot study The researchers have conducted a pilot study in Tuticorin town. The pilot study was conducted by employing an interview schedule in the month of October 2005. Also, the result of the pilot study has enabled the researcher reframe the tools for data collection. Sampling The area was selected on a clustered basis, but the data was collected by using of simple random sampling method. The sample size of this study is 400 respondents. Among the several area of Tuticorin town the researcher selected six areas such as Spic Nagar, Thermal Nagar, Mattakkadai, Threshipuram, New Bus stand, Old Bus stand and Harbour in Tuticorin town. The selection areas were quite relevant from the point of view of the studying environmental hygiene practice among the households. These areas were located in and around river belts and also has the concentration of a large number of highly dangerous and polluting industries. Further, people of this area have traditional customs and practices. Data collection The data collection was carried out December, 2009. The researcher has revisited the study areas in the month of March 2010 with view to collect supplementary data as required by foreign examiner. Besides, secondary data relating to the district profile and other data in Panchayat Raj are collected during field study visits. CONCEPTS The following concepts are operationally defined for the purposes of the present study. ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION It refers to the occurrence of various forms of land degradation, various forms of water pollution, occurrence of noise pollution and occurrence of air pollution and their consequence on the well being of the local people. SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS It refers to caste status, occupational status, educational status and income status of the respondents and they are taken as independent variables for the purpose of the present study. ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS It refers to knowledge of the rural households on pollution and pollutants and their effects on life support system. It includes knowledge of hygienic practices, sanitation practices, environmental health care measures and so on. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES It refers to ways and means of undertaking environmental preservation and conservation measures like sanitation, health care activities, solid waste management, maintenance of environmental resources. LIMITATIONS The findings of this study are applicable only to selected areas only mid it is not applicable to the entire areas of Tuticorin. This study covers only environment related aspects and studying of all aspects of hygiene and sanitation is not possible at the level of an individual researcher due to constraints imposed by money, time, energy and efforts. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The actual process of research findings, data analysis, data interpretation and logical arguments are discussed. This chapter starts with the socio-economic background of the households followed by information seeking behaviour, information use pattern, information sharing behaviour, data search behaviour and so on for statistical analysis. All tabular data and statistical analysis are presented in this chapter. Table 1 Sex wise distribution of the respondents S. No. Sex No. of Respondents Per cent 1. Male 301 72.25 2. Female 99 24.75 Total 400 100 The above table shows that the majority 301 (72.25 %) of the respondents were male, the remaining 99 (24.55%) of them were female. It inference that the majority of the male were ready to replay for the problem of environmental pollution. Table 2 IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION S. No. Name of the Disease No. of Respondents Per cent 1. Skin diseases 371 93.00 2. Eye irritation 380 95.00 3. Asthuma 153 38.00 4. Deftness 298 75.00 5. Allergy 312 78.00 6. Unhygienic conditions 390 98.00 7. Respiratory problems 393 98.00 8. Cancer 9 2.00 9. Hypertension 91 23.00 The above table prove the impact of environmental pollution an account of establishment of hazard industry such as Kilburn chemical industries, Sterlite Copper Plant, Thermal power plant, Spic Industries, Heavy Water Plant and Madura Coats, in this regard they replayed that an account of the establishment of the above hazardous industries, the majority 371 of the respondents faced the problems of skin diseases, 380 of them were facing the problem of eye irritation, 153, of the faced the problem of Asthuma 298 of them were facing the problem of deftness 312 of them facing the problem of allergy, 390 of the facing the problems of unhygienic conditions, 393 of the facing problem of respiratory problem, 7 of the were facing the problem of cancer and 91 of them were facing the problem of hypertension. The inference drawn from above discussion is that the majority of the respondents facing the problem likes in diseases, eye irritation, deftness, allergy, unhygienic condition respiratory problems and diarriah. CONCLUSION Industrial disposals and other chemical contaminates that enter waterways through agricultural runoff, storm water drains, and industrial discharges may persist in the environment for long periods and be transported by water or air over long distances. They disturbed the function of the endocrine system, resulting in reproductive, developmental, and behavioral problems. The endocrine disrupters reduced the fertility and increased the occurrence of still births, birth defects, and hormonally dependent Cancers such as breast, testicular, and prostate cancers. The effects on the developing nervous system can include impaired mental and psychomotor development, as well as cognitive impairment and behavior abnormalities and pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics and synthetic sex hormones from contraceptives. The GOs and NGOs should take effective steps to clean and green the streets, schools, public safety, etc. Even though its obvious that society stands to benefit from such things, people have always struggled to find some sensible, acceptable way to pay for them. This perennial wrangle. Far on the right, they tell us that self-interested private ownership is the fairest and most efficient way to assign resources. The developing countries like India should be instrumental in raising societal concerns about environmental problems. The scientists should contribute in ways to increasing scientific input in public policy. The governmental agencies, as members of organized scientific bodies such as the National Academy of Sciences, and as researchers in universities and environmental nongovernmental organizations or, conversely, in industries. There are some debates about whether too much or too little science is reflected in actual policy making; few will deny that significant human and institutional resources are expended in an effort to make scientific analyses responsive to policy needs. Therefore, an appropriate forum like scientists, academicians, policy makers and panchayat raj institutions should take effective step to protect environment in all aspects.

Romesh Gunesekeras Ranvali: A Refutation of Conventional Characterizat

Romesh Gunesekera's Ranvali: A Refutation of Conventional Characterization "Ranvali" serves as a personal reminder. It conveys sadness and regret with the narrator's realization only years after her father had died that she had been mistaken about certain aspects of him and that after this realization, she was unable to try to improve their relationship because he was no longer alive. The characterization of her father is essential in carrying across this sadness and regret because his character - the person of the father, to be contrasted with the qualities of the father, is the preconditions for the narrator's flashbacks. The objective of this paper is to refute the conventional argument that the functional role of a character makes it secondary in importance in a narrative and hence, show "Ranvali" to be a character-centred narrative. The stand that this paper takes, therefore, is that the functional role of the narrator's father makes his character an integral part of the narrative, such that "Ranvali" is a character-centred narrative. Before embarking on the analysis of "Ranvali", it is necessary to introduce three theories surrounding the notion of character in narratives. According to Aristotle's theory of character, a distinction can be made between an agent - a person who performs actions and is necessary, and, a character - "something that is added later and in fact, not even essential to successful tragedy . . . Added later . . . if at all" (qtd. in Chatman 109). In "Ranvali", the narrator's father is an agent because of his importance to the story, which will be elaborated upon later. However, he will be constantly referred to as a character in this analysis so as to be consistent with the terminology throughou... ...ves. By superimposing Todorov's theory of character, the second inference - this secondary importance of characters in narratives implies that such narratives are not character-centred, was made. The first argument has already been refuted in the previous section where the functional role of the father is shown to cause him to be of primary importance in "Ranvali". As for the second argument, it has been refuted along with the refutation of the first argument, as well as, the satisfaction of both of Todorov's criteria. The conclusion, therefore, is that "Ranvali" is a character-centred narrative, where the deceased father is a primary character. Works Cited Chatman, Seymour, "Existents" Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1978. 108-114. Gunesekera, Romesh. "Ranvali." Monkfish Moon. London: Granta, 1992:89-102.

Generic vs. Name Brand

You Get What You Pay For When you shop for groceries where do you stand in choosing either a generic vs. brand name product? Do you reach for the brand name box of Kraft macaroni and cheese, or would you rather pick up a generic box of macaroni and cheese to save that extra 10 cents? Is your decision based off a difference in taste or is it simply a matter of paying for quality of the product? What does spending more money on a brand name food product have to say about who we are in our culture today?Today there is an idea that by buying a brand name product a person is buying something of more quality, which can strangely in turn determine our importance in society. My mother stood firm by the phrase â€Å"you get what you pay for†. Meaning name brand foods taste better and are higher quality, and that the no name â€Å"generic† brands are cheap and don’t taste as good. I even remember years ago on a routine trip to the grocery store, my mother asked me to get s paghetti sauce. When I returned my mother remarked, â€Å"Lauren you got the wrong sauce.Please run and get me the good sauce, the name brand spaghetti sauce, not this cheap gross sauce†. Afterwards she was even given a taste test between the two sauces, and struggled to make a choice and give me the right answer to support her belief. Considering most generic brand foods and the name brand foods taste almost identical to one another, wouldn’t one think that the less expensive, no name brand would be the obvious one to buy? Yet society still is drawn to choose the name brand items.Shoppers are quite leery of some categories. Although they’ll snap up store brand paper goods and plastics, consumers almost never buy store-brand wine, pet food, soda, or soup. That may be especially true when the category includes a name brand such as Coca-Cola or Campbell’s. Most grocery store shoppers know that buying generic store brand products instead of the brand name pr oducts can save a lot of money. In fact, by filling a shopping cart with generic brands could save an average of 30 percent on your purchase.If you spend $100 a week on groceries, those savings add up to more than $1,400 a year. Yet some shoppers are insistent to go for the name brands for the reason that they have a name to protect with their product. Meaning satisfaction of the product is guaranteed. However, if they taste the same why is there a price difference at all? Several reasons for the discounted price on the no name generic brands is that companies don’t spend a lot of time or money on product development or on advertising or promotion costs.You definitely pay a little bit more money for the label that is researched, designed and marketed to be more appealing to the targeted buyer. The generic brand companies keep cost low by taking the extra costs of research, marketing and graphic art frills away and presenting you with a less flashy, less quality version of pac kaging for a lower amount of money. People buy generic products to save money, however, it may also have an effect on the buyer’s own sense of self-worth. Buying generic products lower self-esteem. Indulging on top quality items makes us feel better about ourselves.For the most part, buying nice things makes us happy. Although, there are those who find joy in buying generic as well. Some may feel genuinely smart when using generics instead of brand names. This may be a result of the feeling that they received an equal product for less money. Yet that unconscious link between the products we buy and how they make us feel about ourselves suggest that if holding a box of generic corn flakes in the supermarket makes you feel like â€Å"a loser,† than you might want to put it down and reach for the Kellogg’s.To support that brand name foods are better it’s been argued that cost also has to do with the quality of products that are put into the item. You should compare the ingredients of the generic and the name brand before buying. Make sure that they have the same ingredients and that the generic does not have more unhealthy ingredients than the generic. Also, a brand name tends to have a little bit higher quality of products than the generic version. While the generic may list the exact same ingredients, it may not be as good of quality which â€Å"could† affect the taste.The individuals that usually buy brand name products have a tendency to believe they must buy them in order to get good quality. Meaning of course better quality is overall â€Å"better† in taste and health. Although, the qualities of ingredients between products are almost always identical to one another, making this argument nearly useless. The idea of better quality in name brand versus generic moves on still into a more psychological aspect rather than just economic.Society continues to buy into the belief that if it costs more it must be better. Why is that a fancy picture and a higher cost for a product give a person the impression that owning this item makes them feel better about themselves? Pride of ownership comes to play, and something about buying better quality makes a person feel better about a their own status in society. Perhaps a person may feel they work hard and deserve the best or that if they buy the name brand, they will experience better health, happiness, or appearance.This is supported with the fact that even though the spaghetti sauce taste test proved to my mother that there was little or no difference between sauces, she still buys and insists the name brand sauce is better. To this day you will rarely find a generic brand food box or label in my mother’s pantry. Do you really get what you pay for? Well, if you want to help pay the salaries of the advertising, development and research teams that go into the name brand products then you do! However, if you want to save money and still experience a q uality product with a comparable taste, generic no name brands would be the obvious answer.

Does Your Business Need a Proofreader

Does Your Business Need a Proofreader Does Your Business Need a Proofreader? Does your business need a proofreader? Yes. Yes, it does. That’ll be all. Thank you for reading. What? You want to know why your business needs a proofreader? Okay, we’ll set out a few reasons below. But by the end of this post, you’ll wonder how you could ever have questioned it! 1. Polished Professionalism Whatever your business, you need to make a good first impression. And the first thing anyone will see is often something you’ve written (e.g., a company website or press release). Think about it this way: If you were meeting a client for the first time, would you turn up with your hair in a mess, odd socks on, and a coffee stain on your shirt? No? Well, you need to apply the same standards to your writing! Unlike a bad hair day, you cant cover up typos with a hat.(Photo: Bruce Guenter/flickr) 2. Typos Can Be Costly Errors in business writing can be costly in two ways. First of all, it can cost you the trust of customers and clients. Mistakes in website copy, for example, may make customers think twice about using your services, since it suggests a lack of care or attention to detail. More literally, though, typos can be expensive: For instance, the publisher Penguin once had to destroy 7,000 copies of The Pasta Bible at a cost of $20,000 because the book accidentally recommended using â€Å"freshly ground black people† instead of â€Å"freshly ground black pepper.† Pasta is definitely better seasoned with pepper. It’s fair to say that a thorough proofreader could have saved everyone involved a lot of trouble! 3. Proofreading Is a Skill We don’t blame anyone for not knowing all the rules about comma usage. Nor do we expect everyone we meet to be as keen on correct pronoun choice as we are. That’s because it takes a special kind of person to obsess over the details of spelling, grammar, and punctuation: a proofreader. In other words, the only way to be sure of great proofreading is to hire a professional. This also lets you and your colleagues concentrate on other work, boosting efficiency across your business. 4. Letting Your Content Shine! If you’ve gone to a lot of effort writing copy, you owe it to yourself and your business to let it shine. But self-editing is difficult, especially if you’re too close to what you’ve written. A professional proofreader, on the other hand, will bring a fresh pair of eyes to your work. This means we can spot errors you might miss, ensuring that your message comes through loud and clear. Eyes, fresh and ready for proofreading. Still not convinced? Then send us a 500-word sample and we’ll show you what we can do for free.

The Russians Renamed St. Petersburg Three Times in a Century

The Russians Renamed St. Petersburg Three Times in a Century St. Petersburg is Russias second-largest city after Moscow, and throughout history, it has been known by a few different names. In the more than 300 years since it was established, St. Petersburg has also been known as Petrograd and Leningrad, though its also known as Sankt-Peterburg (in Russian), Petersburg, and just plain Peter. The city has a population of about 5 million people. Visitors there take in the architecture, especially historic buildings along the Neva River and its canals and tributaries flowing in the city that connect Lake Ladoga to the Gulf of Finland. Being so far north, in the middle of summer, the citys daylight extends nearly 19 hours. Terrain includes coniferous forests, sand dunes, and beaches. Why all of the names for a single city? To understand the many aliases of St. Petersburg, look no further than the citys long, tumultuous history.   1703: St. Petersburg Peter the Great founded the port city of St. Petersburg on the very western edge of Russia in 1703 in a marshy floodplain. Located on the Baltic Sea, he desired to have the new city mirror the great Western cities of Europe, where he had traveled while studying in his youth. Amsterdam was one of the primary influences on the czar, and the name St. Petersburg has a distinctly  Dutch-German influence. 1914: Petrograd St. Petersburg saw its first name change in 1914 when World War I broke out. The Russians thought that the name sounded too German, and it was given a more Russian-sounding name. The Petro start of the name retains the history of honoring Peter the Great.The -grad  portion is a common suffix used in a number of Russian cities and localities. 1924: Leningrad It was only 10 years that St. Petersburg was known as Petrograd because in 1917 the Russian Revolution 503 changed everything for the country, including the citys name. At the beginning of the year, the Russian monarchy was overthrown, and by years end, the Bolsheviks had taken control. This led to the worlds first communist government. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin led the Bolsheviks, and in 1922 the Soviet Union was created. After Lenins death in 1924, Petrograd became known as Leningrad to honor the former leader. 1991: St. Petersburg Fast-forward through almost 70 years of the communist government to the fall of the USSR. In the years that followed, many places in the country were renamed, and Leningrad became St. Petersburg once again. Historical buildings saw renovation and rejuvenation. Changing the city name back to its original name did not come without controversy. In 1991, the citizens of Leningrad were given the opportunity to vote on the name change. As reported in the New York Times at the time, some people saw restoring the citys name to St. Petersburg as a way to forget the decades of turmoil during communist rule and an opportunity to reclaim its original Russian heritage. The Bolsheviks, on the other hand, saw the change as an insult to Lenin. In the end, St. Petersburg was returned to its original name, but you will still find some people who refer to the city as Leningrad.

Measures and Scale Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Measures and Scale - Statistics Project Example Various tests have been employed to determine if the regression model is satisfactory. The model is said to be satisfactory, if the estimated regression equation can predict the value of the dependent variable given values for the independent variables. The relationship between these two measures is that they analyze the extent to which variables are related. However, these two do not assess cause and effect. Stress is part of normal life though too much stress can cause emotional, psychological and physical problems such as heart disease, irregular heart, chest pains and high blood pressure (Quinn & Keough, 2002). Our main concern is to study the relationship between stress and high blood pressure. We want to ascertain whether medical researchers are right with regard to stress causing high blood pressure. Let us determine the relationship of these two by using a sample of 20 patients who had their stress test score and blood readings taken. Regression and correlation is used in ascertaining the relationship as shown below: From the above workings in the table, the correlation coefficient is one. Therefore, the relationship between stress and blood pressure is a linear one. This simply means that when stress levels increase, the blood pressure also increases. The regression model is determined is fit as we were able to predict the values of blood pressure at given levels of stress. The correlation is +1, therefore a relationship which is linear exists between BMI and birth weight. Using regression analysis, it will be not possible to predict the birth weight given the BMI because the model is Ã… · =

How can we distinguish between a liberal and a conservative in the Essay

How can we distinguish between a liberal and a conservative in the United States What fundamental assumptions separate these two ideologies - Essay Example Ideologies are formed by a person’s innermost beliefs, cultivated by years of thought and shaped by life’s numerous experiences. An ideological debate causes a more emotive response in individuals than does any other. Political ideologies can never die and in politically turbulent times, such as these, are very much alive. The 9-11 attacks, abortion the war in Iraq, the loss of civil liberties, global warming, health care, gay marriage, stem cell research and many other politically motivating subjects have ignited emotional ideological battles. This discussion explains the reasons for and provides examples of the current ideological fervor in the U.S. and will explain the discrepancies of a failed conservative ideology, which has been a major factor in this awakening. The tenets of Liberalism proclaim a strong conviction in democracy and belief that the constitutional authority of the people will limit a powerful, expansive government. Liberal legislative leadership, partly through necessity, has instigated steady governmental growth well beyond where the architects of the constitution and most citizens would favor. The conservative ideology is based upon their interpretation of Christian-based morality. Conservatives are against the government regulating corporations but are very much for legislation that regulates the private conduct of individuals and for advancing their religious agenda regardless of the irreparable damage to civil rights and liberties or the scientific or constitutional evidence that is contrary to their opinion. Abortion, stem cells, teaching evolution and gay marriage are preeminent examples of current ideological debates between Conservatives and Liberals. Those of a conservative ideology are against legalizing abortion. They believe it to be murder and are crusading to save babies’ lives. However,