Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare Essay

â€Å"I am always directed by you† – Mariana â€Å"I am directed by you† – Isabella. Both these lines are addressed to the Duke. What do they suggest about women status in this play? What other evidence can you find to support your view? Measure for Measure is a play written by William Shakespeare in the seventeenth century which crucially presents the role of women. Women were viewed as pure and were not expected to be promiscuous, but dependent on men with few options or choices. Shakespeare’s interpretation of women in Measure for Measure very much reflects society’s opinion of women at the time, where men had more freedom and should be given more respect than women. The society at that time was a patriarchal one, where a male was a considered a God like figure and ultimately the leader, and below him was the king and then the nobles. However, although the society gave men more rights than women, Measure for Measure demonstrates that men also had more responsibilities. This is shown through the situation with Claudio and Juliet, as although they are both equally to blame for Juliet’s pregnancy, it is Claudio facing the death penalty. The women of Measure for Measure are generally quite low in the ranks of importance and respect; they are not spoken of with any importance. Juliet is the object of Claudio’s sexual release and Mariana is the long lost forgotten fiancee of Angelo, who was abandoned by him when she lost her dowry in a shipwreck. The only woman who kind of breaks the trend of the lowly women is Isabella, who has the courage to stand up to Angelo for her chastity. In the first half she is pushed between Angelo and Claudio while she decides what to do and refuses to respond Angelo’s advances, then in the second half, she takes her orders from the Duke which shows that on the other hand she is still obedient toward the Duke, following all of his instructions. In Act V, Scene 1, the Duke shows his opinion of women when talking to Mariana, he says: â€Å"Why, you are nothing then: neither maid, widow nor wife†. According to the Duke’s point of view, the other woman who truly is free is Mistress Overdone as she earns her own money and is able to get some freedom; at least she doesn’t have to stay at home cooking. The main female character in Measure for Measure is Isabella; she represents a very pure female character. This is first seen at the start of the play by the fact that she is training to become a nun and by the strong Christian values she appears to have. This is then emphasized later when she is told her brother’s life will be saved if he agrees to sleep with Angelo. She refuses this offer, placing her chastity and her Christian values above her own life. This illustrates that a woman’s purity is highly valued, while a woman being promiscuous is not accepted. Mariana is another female character in the play and she is quite different to Isabella. None of these three men, Angelo, Claudio or the Duke, seem to think that her Choice matters- her body is to be bargained for whether for lust, life or love. When the duke asks Mariana to allow him a private discussion with Isabella, she replies, â€Å"I am always bound to you†, as if she is speaking to an old friend. And again, when the duke tells her he respects her, she answers that she knows it and has found it to be true, suggesting a long-term relationship. This statement also shows that she is his subject. The adjective ‘bound’ means that she is obliged to do as he wishes and also compelled to do so. She uses the adverb ‘always’ to him which shows that she will always follow his example and will do his will in any condition. Her absolute trust is manifested when she agrees to entrust her chastity as the Friar asks. In the Jacobean society Shakespeare lived in, women would have always done as they were bid by order of men, but especially if the order was given by a man of religion. These words show the absolute compliance that the Duke is able to gain through becoming a disguise (pseudo-)friar. The Duke abuses this religious power to gain insight into people’s souls for his own ends. He knows that Angelo wishes Isabella to ‘give up the treasures’ of her body and uses the two women to gain more power over Angelo. The same applies to when Isabella says to the Duke, â€Å"I am directed by you†, this statement also shows how women respected men and how men were above in authority. As mentioned above, there are no independent women in Measure for Measure, this is not strange, considering the setting and Shakespeare’s own era; there are prostitutes and nuns who are given no chance to control their own lives most of all they seem to have no choice in any matter.

HNC Social Care Grief & Loss Essay

Grief is a natural response to a major loss, though often deeply painful and can have a negative impact on your life. Any loss can cause varied levels of grief often when someone least expects it however, loss is widely varied and is often only perceived as death. Tugendhat (2005) argued that losses such as infertility, miscarriage, stillbirth, adoption and divorce can cause grief in everyday life. Throughout our lives we all face loss in one way or another, whether it is being diagnosed with a terminal illness, loss of independence due to a serious accident or illness, gaining a criminal record (identity loss), losing our job, home or ending a relationship; we all experience loss that will trigger grief but some experiences can be less intense. Kubler-Ross (2005) argued that there were five stages of grief, these being the following stages: ‘Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance’. She believes these five stages of grief are part of the framework that makes up our learning to live with the one we have lost and feels these stages make people better equipped to cope with life and loss. She states that they are not tools to help us frame and identify what we may be feeling. But they are not stops on some linear timeline in grief. Not everyone goes through all of them or goes in a prescribed order (Kubler-Ross et al., 2005). A description of Kubler-Ross’ five stages of grief are: Denial – on first hearing of the death there may be disbelief. The person may hang on to the hope that the deceased will walk in as normal. Numbness and shock may also be felt. Again, this particular process can be applied to any kind of loss not just death. Anger – the strength of the pain results in anger; this anger can be directed at anyone, including self anger where the bereaved person blamed themselves. Bargaining – some people may try to negotiate with another person or with god to be given another chance, to be able to go back to how things were before. Depression – once the person starts to absorb the full truth they may become deeply saddened. There can be intense feelings of loneliness and hopelessness. The person may be tearful over minor matters and find minor matters hard to deal with. They may have no energy for routine activities. Acceptance – There is no  requirement that the deceased person is forgotten, but the bereaved person needs to recognise the truth of their situation and to gradually release their emotions. They need to realise they can still carry on even if they still feel the loss of their loved on e. (Kubler-Ross et al., 2005) In contrast to the five stage recovery model introduced by Kubler-Ross (2005), Wright (2011) introduced a seven stage recovery model. Wright, like Kubler-Ross, believes that losses need to be grieved before individuals can heal and move on and that it is important to interpret the stages loosely, and expect much individual variation. Both believe there is no neat progression from one stage to the next. They argue that in reality, there is much moving back, or stages can hit at the same time, or occur out of order. A description of Wrights’ seven stages of grief are: Shock & Denial: A numbed disbelief occurs after the devastation of a loss. A person may deny the reality or gravity of their loss at some level to avoid pain. Shock provides emotional protection from being overwhelmed all at once. This may last for weeks. Pain & Guilt: Shock wears off and replaced with suffering of excruciating pain. It’s important to experience the pain fully and not numb it artificially. Anger and Bargaining: Frustration leads to anger. Uncontrolled, it can permanently damage relationships. May result in trying to negotiate with one’s self (or a higher power) to attempt to change the loss that has occurred. Depression, Reflection & Loneliness: A long period of sad reflection overtakes a person and the magnitude of the loss sets in. The Upward Turn: Life becomes calmer, more organized as one starts to adjust to life with the loss that occurred. Reconstruction & Working Through: As a person starts to become more functional, realistic solutions seem possible for life after the loss. Acceptance & Hope: The last stage – a person learns to accept and deal with the reality of their situation. A person is more future-oriented and learns to cope. (Wright, J. 2011) During the time I have been employed within social care I have worked in conjunction with various organisations who offer support to individuals experiencing grief and loss. Victim Support Scotland is an organisation I have recently referred one of my cases to who has suffered a loss. My service users father was subsequently murdered following a drug related  crime, the incident was reported on nationally and images were published on the internet and papers. My service user (who I will name as Ben for the purposes of confidentiality) is a 14 year old male, he maintained a close relationship with his father albeit did not live in the same house as him due to his parents divorcing. Following the death, Ben appeared to pursue his life as normal and at no point showed any emotion for his loss. However, 5 weeks later his mother informed me that Ben began to spend much of his time researching his father’s name using Google and started to keep his father’s belongings in his bedroom. He started to become increasingly emotional stating he didn’t understand how his father died and on several occasions left school to return home. After referring Ben to Victim Support Scotland and CAMHS, I offered him a rehabilitation program for bereaved children and young people called Winston’s Wish. The service is a charity specifically tailored to rehabilitate and support, children and young people who have suffered a traumatic loss. The service is a residential rehabilitation unit and each program is conducted over 7 days, this gives all young people the opportunity to discuss their loss with other young people in their position or similar. The program is specifically designed using activities and sports to put each individual at ease and to help everyone engaged with each other. Support After Murder And Manslaughter (SAMM) is another charity I have used, SAMM offers support specifically to individuals who have suffered a loss through murder or manslaughter. SAMM has offered me as a practitioner great support, advice and guidance on how to support individuals who have suffered a loss through these circumstances. They offer group support and one to one support as well as telephone support, they also have a secure forum that only people who have suffered these particular losses can access. This gives individuals an area where they can discuss their experiences at their leisure. The Compassionate Friends is a charity that supports parents who have experienced the death of a child of any age from any circumstances. This service offers counsellors and support workshops to help parents cope with their loss, similar to The Samaritans charity. The Samaritans is another charity that can be used as a support service for anyone experiencing any kind of loss and grief where they feel support is required. Similar to other services they have a helpline and counsellors to help implement support packages and support  individuals with the recovery process. The Miscarriage Association provides support and information to anyone affected by pregnancy loss, using: helpline, email support, forum, leaflets and regional support (Scotland, England and Wales) from people who have been through pregnancy loss themselves. They do not offer counseling sessions however, they can refer people to the correct professionals where this can be sought. The Miscarriage Association charity also provides support to practitioners working with women and partners who have been affected by a pregnancy loss. Having spent the majority of my career working with young people and families who are involved in the care system, whether it is residing in residential or foster care I have taken a keen interest in how they feel during the transition process of their life moving from care into adulthood. From research young people leaving care are one of the most vulnerable groups in our society and often go through a grief and loss process when leaving care: they are three times more likely to be cautioned or convicted of an offence they are four times more likely to have a mental health disorder they are five times less likely to achieve five good GCSEs, eight times more likely to be excluded from school and less likely to go to university one in five homeless people are care leavers (DfES, 2007, Care Matters: Time for Change) From the statistics above there is clear evidence that leaving care for a young person is traumatic and leaving care often has some impact on their life. One of the main challenges, I have observed from my experience working within child care transitions, is that young people often find the challenges of supporting themselves and no longer having the ‘safety net’ feeling of support from their care workers very overwhelming. A young person (who I will name as Adam for the purposes of confidentiality) I worked with for a long period of time was very upset and showed clear signs that he was experiencing loss and grief when leaving residential care. Adam found it extremely difficult to cope emotionally and physically with the transition process of leaving care. My organisation offers a support package to young people who are leaving care, the package allows the staff  team the young person has been working with to support them in their new accommodation for a short transit ion period. Adam felt supported and safe whilst in residential but felt leaving care would be like returning to the violent and abusive family he was raised in as this was his only experience out of care. Prior to leaving care I supported Adam by enrolling him on a college course, developing an extensive supported living care plan and gave him additional responsibilities throughout his transition period to help him to cope with the responsibilities of life out of care. After leaving care I visited Adam and offered my support by allowing him to contact us via telephone and letter if he wished to do so to help him with the grief and loss process. For many weeks after leaving care Adam kept in touch daily by calling us and updating us on his life out of care, being there and showing support to Adam was enough for him to still feel supported and comfortable. Eight month on and Adam has accepted his life out of case, he still maintains contact with his staff team from care and has maintained his college attendance. He continues to live a happy and ambitious life who after several months of leaving care didn’t think it was possible to live out of care. Adam has realised society have accepted him and with the support he has been given during the transition process has gave him the skills and confidence to cope and therefore made the grief and loss process of leaving care easier. All residential child care organisations have specific legal policy and procedures to follow in the event of a death of a child in their care. A Glasgow City Council study suggested that almost half the children in their residential care setting had harmed themselves deliberately (Piggot et al, 2004). An analysis of the figures collected by the Social Work Inspection Agency (SWIA) shows that at least two children in care have died from suicide every year since 2000. There is evidence that the number of suicides among care leavers is much higher than those in care (Cowan, 2008). Most deaths now take place in a hospital or nursing home. If someone dies in hospital, a member of the medical team will contact the person’s family. The body will then be taken to the hospital mortuary, where the body will be stored until the family arrange for the body to be collected by funeral directors. Before the body is taken to the funeral directors chapel of rest  the hospital staff will usually collect the person’s personal possessions, such as jewellery. Before someone can be formally registered dead, a hospital doctor or their GP will need to issue a medical certificate stating the cause of death. The family will be given a notice, explaining how to register the death; it is a criminal offence not to register a death. A hospital may ask the families permission to carry out a post-mortem examination to learn more about the cause of death, the family does not have to agree to this! In some cases, a doctor may not be able to issue a medical certificate, in such cases they will refer the death to the Procurator Fiscal for investigation. It is most common for the Procurator Fiscal to be involved if someone dies unexpectedly or under suspicious circumstances. When someone dies at home, their GP should be contacted as soon as possible and will normally visit the deceased’s home. If the death was expected the GP should be able to issues a death certificate giving the cause of death, however if the person doesn’t have a GP or the name of the persons GP is unknown, an Ambulance should be called. If someone dies unexpectedly or under suspicious circumstances in their own home the Procurator Fiscal would carry out the investigation, the procedures for this are the same if someone dies in a care/nursing home. There are considerable differences surrounding death in Britain today and how death was viewed during the Victorian Era. The Victorians dealt with death as part of their everyday life, dying was common at all ages and often people died in their home surrounded by family and friends. However, today death has become remote and this has a contribution to the difficulties surrounding people coping with death today. During the Victorian Era three of every twenty babies died before their first birthday, and those who survived infancy had a life expectancy of only forty-two years (Douglas, 2002). Over the past century there has been a considerable decrease in the rates of morbidity and mortality, attitudes began to change as mortality rates declined and life expectancies rose. Death rates fell between 1750 and 1820 from 26 to 22 per 1000 in England and in Scotland from rates possibly as high as 38 to 20 per 1000 in 1855 (Wrigley and Schofield, 1981). Maternal and infant mortality were known risks of pregnancy, families were larger and many generations were raised within the same household. During  Victorian times, the family would be responsible for cleaning and preparing the body for burial and the body would be stored at the family home until the funeral. In Britain today this would not be the case, depending on religion, the deceased would be transported to a mortuary if examination was required, otherwise it would be stored at a funeral directors. The funeral parlour is now responsible for cleaning the body and preparing the body for burial, the family of the deceased have the opportunity to select their loved ones clothing when they are lay to rest. Today there is no restriction on who can attend a funeral, an individual’s sex plays no part o n whether they attend a funeral or not, however during Victorian times only men attended funerals and the gravesite. Christian beliefs vary, however my focus will be on the Catholic beliefs and rites of Christianity. In the Roman Catholic Church, a priest will anoint the person with holy oil as a preparation for death, this is called Last Rites. When a person dies their body is placed in a coffin. Sometimes this coffin is left open so that relatives can say a final goodbye. The coffin is then usually taken to a church or chapel. Here a priest will read from the Bible and a service will be held to celebrate the person’s life. The priest will also say a few words about the person which are designed to comfort the mourners and then say prayers, hoping that the person will now be in heaven. In a Roman Catholic church there will be a special Eucharist called a Requiem Mass where prayers are said for the dead person’s soul. The coffin is taken from the church, either for burial or cremation after the service which mourners can attend (Dickerson et al., 2006). In the past many people did not approve of cremation, only in the last 50 years cremation has been granted in Roman Catholic churches. Roman Catholic’s felt that being cremated would mean that the person could not be resurrected on the Day of Judgement. Therefore, cremation for Roman Catholic’s is a very recent change. When a Jewish person dies, the processes for the burial take place as quickly as possible, cremation is not accepted. Jewish people are very strict when it comes to funerals while more progressive Jews are known to have differing attitudes. When a Jewish person dies the body is traditionally left for eight minutes while a feather is place in the mouth or nostrils to detect signs of breathing before being washed and dressed in  tachrichim. A tachrichim is a white shroud, men are also wrapped in their tallit (prayer shawl). The fringes are cut off the tallit to show that he is now free of the religious laws. The body is put in a plain wooden coffin which is sealed. From the time of death until burial, the body is never left alone as many Jews appoint ‘watchers’ this being a person who will stay with the body day or night until the funeral, praying and reciting (Lewis, 2006). Before the burial the mourners make a tear in their garments – the act of keriah – to show their grief. Jehovah Witness is a relatively new religion that was formed in Pennsylvania in 1870. The Jehovah’s Witnesses funeral service is similar to other Christian faiths and usually takes place within a week after death, their service only lasts between 15 and 30 minutes. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that when a person dies, their existence stops because the Bible states that human beings do not have an immortal soul that survives when the body dies. Witnesses don’t believe there is such a thing as hell, they argue that it would be completely against God’s nature to torture humans for eternity. They strongly believe death is not the end of everything and that each person can be remembered by god and eventually be resurrected. Witnesses funeral services usually take place in the Kingdom Hall, the Jehovah’s Witnesses place of worship and can often have an open casket for people attending to view the body. The Congregation Elder conducts the service and delivers a talk, the talk highlights the deceased person’s life and any dying thoughts or expressions they may have left. The purpose of the talk is to comfort the bereaved by explaining what the Bible says about death and the hope of a resurrection. Rather than being an overly mournful event, it is a time when family and friends can be reassured of the time when the Bible promises that, thanks to the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the dead will be raised, and they will see their loved one again. The family can decide whether to have a burial or a cremation following the funeral service (jw.org). Regardless of religion the death of a family member or friend can be extremely painful and often very difficult for family and friends to cope with. A humanist and new age funeral are funerals that are non-religious, this does not mean to say it is easier or more difficult to cope with, it simply means that the deceased do not have any particular religious belief. A non-religious person is familiar with cremation and burial procedures and will welcome ideas for readings and  music. If the deceased writes down what they would like to happen at their funeral and give it to a family member to take lead, this reduces a huge amount of pressure from the family. It is important the person things about the music they would like played and any poems or stories they would like to be read. A humanist funeral is often very person centered, it looks back over the life of the person who has died and celebrates it. The danger with a humanist funeral is you can make religious people feel excluded, however if you include a period of silence in the funeral this give religious people time to have a silent prayer (Cowling, 2010). Officiants are pe ople who conduct a humanist funeral and are generally at least 35 years old, have experience of public speaking, and have probably had experience in nursing, teaching, social work or something similar. Funeral directors are able to make arrangements with trained officiants in their local area. Bibliography. Cowan, C. (2008) Risk factors in cases of known deaths of young people with experience of care: an exploratory study, Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care. 7 (1). Cowling, C (2010). Good Funeral Guide, Continuum. New York. p73. Douglas, A (2002). Victorian Mourning Customs, Pagewise, Inc. Retrieved from http://ky.essortment.com/victorianmouri_rlse.htm. Kubler-Ross, E and Kessler, D (2005). On Grief and Grieving, London: Simon & Schuster. p7-28. Lewis, A (2006). Handling Bereavement, Easyway Guides. Brighton. p55-56. Piggot, J., Williams, C., McLeod, S., et al (2004) A qualitive study of support for young people who self-harm in residential care in Glasgow, Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care. 3 (2), p45-54. Tugendhat, J (2005). Living with Grief and Loss, Sheldon Press. London. Wright, J. (2011). 7 stages of grief: through the process and back to life. Retrieved from http://www.recover-from-grief.com/7-stages-of-grief.html Wrigley, E. A. and Schofield, R (1981). The Population History of England 1541–1871, London. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/atheism/ritesrituals/funerals.shtml http://www.jw.org/en/ Assessment 7 ‘Supporting Individuals Experiencing Loss and Grief’.

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner

In a Rose for Emily, William Faulkner uses a variety of imagery and flashbacks to show the kind of woman Miss Emily is. The towns’ people all know of her based off their accounts and what they have heard of her home. Miss Emily was created to be an exceptional female figure. Feminists have fought for the right of women to be free from the old social restraints which have been in place for so long. A feminist believes a woman should be strong and independent. In some ways the main character, Emily, is this kind of woman, but for the most part she is portrayed as weak and fragile, though she is not.Miss Emily was pretty much a rebel. Miss Emily had written letters from the Mayor and other officials about taxes, which she ignored because she had â€Å"no taxes in Jefferson†. Miss Emily had a Negro house maid, which the mayor Colonel Satoris sought to be wrong. Colonel Satoris definitely proved to be sexist in many ways. Satoris believed â€Å"only women could believe itâ € , speaking about lies that only the men in the town could know the truth too about Emily’s dad. Emily was the ruler of the house, which was beyond social norms in that time. Being the one who ran the house, the woman banished the Mayor, townspeople, and sheriffs from her house. Faulkner proves Miss Emily’s power in many ways throughout the text.

Performance Training for the Tactical Athlete Research Paper

Performance Training for the Tactical Athlete - Research Paper Example Nonetheless, experts’ advice that there is a limit beyond which no more increase in performance can be added by any additional stimuli (American College of Sports Medicine, 2006). They argue that this threshold is vital since it signifies the importance of time duration during an exercise. These are things that competitive athletes are too much aware of and have to be taken into consideration in any given exercise (Hamilton and Luttgens, 2002). Training specificity is said to be one of the key principle of exercise physiology. The principle holds that for an athlete must focus much on training as a way of improving performance. Therefore, the training program must reflect all the demands of the athlete’s specific movements as possible. This not only applies to the neuromuscular system, but also to the movement patterns of the exercise, intensity, and duration of the exercise (Baechle and Earle, 2008). Training experts argue that training specificity helps muscles to adapt to the kind of sporting activity that an athlete is involved in. As such, many athlete trainers do this by ensuring that the training program goes slightly beyond what may be expected in the field. For instance, an athlete who participates in short distance running such as 100 meter race may be required to make a four hundred meters laps round the field so as to enable his muscles adapt effectively for a short distance running. This explains why long distance runners tend to find it easy participating in short distance races without any metal or physical problem. Specificity has also been favored because it lowers the risk of injury during the athletic period because it adapts the body to the sport (Cinea, 2007). Nevertheless, many athletes are neglecting this principle during training, which has seen many athletes getting injuries that can easily be avoided. For instance, many long distance runners fail to complete races due to their inability to endure the race. Experts note

Taxation Law According to ITAA 1997 and ITAA 1936 CGT Speech or Presentation

Taxation Law According to ITAA 1997 and ITAA 1936 CGT - Speech or Presentation Example Hence these shares would be treated as if acquired by Les for $ 20,000, their market value on 1.4.2004, the date of his father’s death and not the $ 15,000 originally paid by his father on 10 August 2001. 7. Block of land: The block of land was purchased on 1 March 2000 for $ 130,000 and sold on 20 June 2010 for 150,000 resulting in a net CGT of 20,000 (H). Although the settlement proceeds were received on 10 August 2010 in the next financial year they would be taxable as on 30 June 2010 as the asset is considered sold or disposed off in the year the taxpayer loses its ownership. 8. Dividend income from certain shares was $ 5,200 with the imputation credits being $ 2,229. Here the taxpayer is eligible as a small shareholder as his imputation or franking credits are less than $ 5,000. Hence, net taxable income is $ 5,200 - $ 2,229 = $ 2971 (I) Under the dividend reinvestment the shareholder can choose to receive newly issued shares instead of divident. Such a plan is treated as if the shareholder received the actual dividend and then used the money to buy shares. The dividend is taxed like any other dividend (including with any  dividend imputation), and the shares are taken to be acquired for the cash one didnt receive. Dividend imputation is a corporate tax under which some or all of the share paid by the corporate may be attributed or ‘imputed’ to the shareholder by giving him tax credits so as to reduce the tax burden and avoid ‘double taxation’. These credits are called franking credits which the company gives to the shareholder at the time of paying dividend. Under dividend imputation small shareholders are exempt upto $ 5000 and franking credits are fully refundable. An eligible shareholder receiving a franked dividend declares the cash amount plus the franking credit as income, and is credited with the franking credit against their

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 14

Discussion - Essay Example Thankfully, we live in the United States, where this battle has been fought, and has gained  a substantial amount of ground. Womens rights in the US are equal mostly, with the exception of salary differences between men and women. Unfortunately, in other parts of the world, women are still treated as less superior and some are not even allowed to work. Sadly, this will be a battle I believe will never go away. Yes, you are right. Women’s rights are a critical issue in our society today. Many people do not seem to even consider them because they may think that it is so old fashioned, but I am pleased to see that this issue is important to you. You are also right when you say that even people who aren’t feminists need to get behind and supports these issues because this is simply a matter of self-respect, nothing more. Compared with much of the world, the United States treats women equally and fairly. That doesn’t mean that you should not accept any unfair discrimination against women in the United States because it does still happen occasionally. One example you mentioned was the differences in salary. This is true because the research does show that there is a gender gap in terms of salary. For you own information, this is commonly known as the glass ceiling. There have been many activists who have fought over the years to try to get this barrier removed so women can be treated equally in the workplace, but it is yet to happen for reasons that are still contentious. Many other countries do not afford the same freedoms to their women. You only have to look at most Islamic countries and see that women are inferior to men. These women are banned from doing activities that we take for granted. Finally, you are spot on when you comment that this is a battle that will never go away because there will almost always be resistance to women’s rights from some men. When I was thinking about and researching human rights, I

A letter to local representative Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A letter to local representative - Assignment Example Many residents are opting to go and work in other neighboring towns instead. This therefore means that there is a growing concern that the town needs to regain its lost glory and that is why I am in support for the creation of a National Park in the area. Establishing a national park in the area comes with its benefits especially that the town is on a mission to re-establish itself. Conservation of biodiversity remains the central or rather the starting point of the entire building process in the town. Generally, high biodiversity levels will ensure that the ecosystems in the town remain resilient and healthy. This therefore means that with the conservation in the area, the ecosystems in the area will continue to generate nutrient cycling, water and air in the town and climate regulation within Millinocket town. With this in place, the town officials will be giving the town an effective platform for establishing a national park in the area. Establishing a national park in the town will be vital in safeguarding the town’s economy, spiritual, cultural and aesthetic values. Alternatively, it will provide intrinsic value of ecosystems and species in the area. The creation of a national park in the area will help in protecting a wide range of art facts and Aboriginal heritage places. Alternatively, it will provide both cultural and spiritual places especially for the residents in the town. In doing this, the national park in the area will give the public an opportunity to access and even enjoy the spectacular and diverse natural areas while at the same time protect some of the future generations to enjoy. Currently, the town is facing various challenges in terms of its economic and social values. The only option that remains in saving Millinocket town from further downfall is by establishing a national park in the area. Intact natural areas

Forensically investigating a security breach while balancing the need Research Paper

Forensically investigating a security breach while balancing the need for business continuity and rapid return to normalcy within the organization - Research Paper Example So as to ensure the network security and security of information on the network, an organization has to have a response and investigation plan. There are many reasons as to why an organization should use a response and investigation plan. According to Vacca and Rudolph (2011), a response and investigation plan offers solutions to how hacking/intrusion attacks can be handled by the organization reducing damage and loss. This, however, builds confidence with the shareholders and helps cut losses that are as a result of hacking. With that in mind, this paper intends to provide a response and investigation plan for a large manufacturing Aspen Company with extensive intellectual property distributed across multiple locations in the United States and Latin America. There have been several recent small scale hacking/intrusion attacks that appear to be reconnaissance efforts for a larger scale attack. Reentry, the company faced an attack which affected its customer and shareholders data. Hacking/intrusion attack is not an issue that is going to go away anytime soon. As the internet grows, and more users come online, hackers and introducers want to have access to personal data or organization’s confidential information (Anson, Bunting, Johnson & Pearson, 2012). This means that Aspen Company has to be able to detect any act of hacking/intrusion done in their systems. So as to do so, there has to be a forensic response and investigation plan. The forensic response and investigation plan described in this section documents the procedures Aspen Company followed after their hacking/intrusion attack. The forensic response and investigation plan will include; determining the nature of the attack and evidence handling and documentation. Identifying the occurrence of hacking/intrusion attacks even if it is an IT-related issue cannot always be the sole obligation

Answer questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Answer questions - Essay Example Value based pricing focuses on the usability and value a product adds to the life of the consumer. Rather than fixing prices with the intention of covering the cost incurred in production of a product, a company fixes the price depending on the value it adds to the consumer’s life. Value can be measured in terms of increased efficiency in conducting business activities, improvement in general standards of living and other qualitative measures. Examples of businesses that use this strategy include software companies and producers of medical products. Being a computer and electronics company that seeks to solve the computing needs of our clients, we use the value that the product adds to the lives of our clients to determine how much it is worth. The company also produces a number of personalized software products for its clients. This is a good strategy because rather than concentrating on the metrics in terms of cost of coming up with a product, the company is more concerned with the utility that a client derives from it. It makes no sense for a customer to pay for a product just to cover the cost of producing it while it adds no value to his/her life. Traditional approaches of penetrating the market favor charging a low price for a product when a business enterprise is initially entering into a market niche. Chances are high that there were previously existing businesses on the market before it came in and therefore, charging lower prices may capture the attention of the target market. Once it has established a reliable customer base and gained ground in the market, it should take advantage of strategies such as increasing prices or large-scale production to boost profits. This is effective in countering competition especially because of the seemingly low profits. Skimming on the other hand favors charging high prices for products as they are being introduced into the market. The main aim

Difference Between America and South Korea Health Care Essay Example for Free

Difference Between America and South Korea Health Care Essay Each country has a different procedure when it comes to their health care and their care with pre and postnatal. Some countries can spend a great amount of money on their health care (such as the United States) but still might not have the best health care in the world. Others have special arrangements that new mothers and infants can go through to make sure that they start off their life in a good and healthy environment. In this paper I am going to compare and contrast the infant health care and the overall prenatal care in the United States and South Korea by referencing multiple articles and textbooks that focus on this subject. Both countries have various ways in which they handle their health system and the care of their newborns. There are many factors that determine the health of a newborn such as the nutrition that the soon to be mother consumes, the environment that the mother and the child live in, and the hospital that the child is born in. Throughout the years each of these countries have been putting time and money into their health system with the goal of having the most outstanding health care system in the world. Their progress can be recorded in many different ways which will be discussed within this paper. Also the United States and South Korea both have very different systems when dealing with prenatal and infant care. One way that the infant care of a country is measured is through the mortality rate of the infants. In fact (Bae et al. , 2011), â€Å"Neonatal mortality rate (NMR) and infant mortality rate (IMR) are two of the most important indices reflecting the level of public health of a country† (Abstract Section Para. 1). Without measuring and keeping track of these mortality rates, researches would not be able to figure out what countries are working towards a better health care service and which countries need help. Even though the United States is a developed country, and unlike less developed countries, it should have a high mortality rate. In all actuality the United States has one of the worst mortality rates compared to other counties. According to Levine and Munsch (2012), â€Å"Despite the wealth and the availability of (but not always access to) world-class edical facilities, the United States has the same or worse infant mortality rates compared with 37 other industrialized countries (Hoover Institution, 2007)† (p. 176). There are reasons for the high mortality rate, such as the fact there are many different races, ethnicities, and social statuses within the United States. Race and ethnicity do have an input in a person’s health and their life style. Some races (such as Asians) have a higher life expectancy and a lower mortality rate throughout their race because of the way that they are raised and the traditions that they fallow. The social statuses of the expecting mothers also have an impact on the future children because when the parent is part of a higher social status, it is assumed that they have a higher level of education and therefore know more about how they should care for themselves and their infants. The opposite goes for people who are part of a lower social status. The United States has been lowering the number of infant mortality rates by putting programs in affect to try and help out the health system. Some of these programs are (Bae et al. , 2011), †¦execution of Medicaid (1965), Medicare (1965), Supplemental Security Income (social health care security programs for children and pregnant women of the lower income group), provision of State Children’s Health Insurance Programs, Children Vaccine Program, Health Start Program (1991, Early Head Start Program, full day care service, parent education, case management, Community Resource Assistant)†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Discussion Section para. ) and much more. The United States has more programs to help reduce the risk of infant mortality and various diseases, they are also working on other ways to help out the infant mortality rate by focusing on premature and low-birth weight babies. According to Levine and Munsch (2012), â€Å"Birth data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2007a) for 2005 found that the rate of premature births in the United States is 12. 7% or 525,000 babies annually† (p. 178). This number is high for premature births and these programs that are being put into place should help lower it. Even with all of these programs working toward a better health system, South Korea has less of an infant mortality rate. South Korea has improved its health system throughout the years and it has shown in their child care. Their country includes programs such as (Bae et al. , 2011), †¦tests for inborn error of metabolism and care for sick infants (1991), registration of pre-term and congenital abnormal neonates and medical expense support 2000), early diagnosis of deafness (2007), campaign for preventing blindness of preschoolers (2000), prevention of maternal hepatitis B infection (2002†¦(Discussion Section Para. 1) and much more. There are also more programs that are scheduled to appear throughout the fallowing years. As mentioned before it is easier for South Korea to keep their infant mortality rate down because they do not have to focus on many different nati onalities in their country, most of the population in South Korea are Korean. If you compare the two countries and the programs that they are producing it is shown the South Korea has been receiving more advances in the 2000’s while the United States had a breakthrough in their health care in the 1900’s. Copyright  © 2011 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences. This chart shows that South Korea started off with a higher mortality rate and it had a drastic decline. The United States had a decline in the 1900’s and during the 2000’s it started to stabilize. Copyright  © 2011 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences. This Chart gives a better understanding as to where the United States and South Korea stand with other countries. Neither of them are the best or the worst country, however they are on opposite sides of the scale. It is expected for the United States to have a lower mortality rate because of the amount of money put into their health care system, but according to the chart this does not appear to be true. South Korea has a lot of respect when it comes to their infants. They see their children as the future to their country and they are willing to do anything to make sure that their infants are well taken care of. This is shown through the data on the chart above because South Korea is closer to the bottom of the scale instead of the top. Both South Korea and the United States have a different hospital system. South Korea has a post-natal care facility called a sanhujoriwon. According to Yeon-soo (2013), Dozens of mothers and newborns stay together in such facilities and more than half of the places operate as non-medical institutions, leading to occasional problems with hygienic management. To prevent mass infection among babies at sanhujoriwons, the government recently beefed up disease surveillance of workers there and instituted a standard terms of use (Para. 2) South Korea is the only country that has these facilities available for their new mothers. Many pregnant women from all over the world come to South Korea just to get this treatment after they give birth. However, this facility is expensive, so not everyone can afford this luxury. According to Yeon-soo (2013), â€Å"The cost of using an upscale sanhujoriwon is 5 million (4,730 U.  S. dollars) to 10 million won (9,460 dollars) for a two-week stay, but the facility is so popular that a reservation might not be possible if not made six to seven months prior to childbirth† (para. 4). That is the price for the most expensive and luxurious places; other places can be thousands of dollars cheaper. In these facilities the nurses make sure that the patients get the right exercise (such as light yoga) and eat the correct food so that their recovery after birth will be as pleasant and beneficial as possible. They also care for the newborn and make sure that they get the nutrients that they need in the first couple of weeks. This helps out the new mother because they have time to relax and recover while their baby is getting the necessary care that is needed. When the mother is ready to go home after a couple of weeks they have a better time adjusting to their new life with a baby because they had the rest and help that they needed. In the United States they do not have these same accommodations but they to do have systems to help out the new mother. The United States has many medical professionals to help with neonatal and postnatal care. Some of those occupations include (Link, Jakubeez, Temple, 2013), â€Å"†¦neonatologist, neonatal nurse practitioners, bedside nurses, a clinical pharmacist, neonatal respiratory therapists, a nutritionist, a social worker, medical residents, and medical students† (Backgroud Section Para. 1). With a hospital consisting of these medical professionals the patients are likely to get the help that they need while going through the birthing process. Also many hospitals are expanding in the United States to include more room for neonatal care. The Hillcrest Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio expanded their hospital and included (Link, Jakubeez, Temple, 2013),†¦Ã¢â‚¬ a new 24 bed level 3 neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and additional beds to accommodate high-risk maternal medicine patients† (Background Section para. 1). They expanded their hospital so that they could care for more patients at once; also so that the patients got the opportunity to receive the best care available to them. Usually after a mother gives birth (depending on the birthing method), the mother will stay at the hospital for a couple of days, and then return home. While at the hospital the nurses will help the mother with nursing, feeding, and changing the child. They will also make sure that the mother is recovering well after the birthing process. Both in the United States and in South Korea, they have programs to help mothers and infants after birth. However, the system in South Korea is more advanced because it keeps the mother and infants for a longer period of time which is more beneficial to their health. Nutrition to a pregnant women is a very important factor. If the mother does not get the correct nutrition than they are putting themselves at risks for multiple diseases. Also they are not only putting themselves at risk but they are also putting their unborn baby at risk. Some diseases that the mother can catch from bad nutrition are gestational diabetes, gestational hyptertension, and preeclampsia. Gestational diabetes when not looked after turns into gestational hyptertension; the worst out of the three that were mentioned is preeclampsia. This is because (Sizer Whitney, 2011), â€Å"Preeclampsia affects almost all of the mother’s organs—the circulatory system, liver, kidneys, and brain† (p. 508). If all of these organs are affected than the baby is at a serious risk of getting hurt. Most of these diseases will disappear after giving birth, but it raises the risk for the mother to catch another serious disease, such as type two diabetes. When a pregnant women is diagnosed with having gestational diabetes they are more likely to catch type two diabetes later on in life. It might not be right away but it could happen a couple of years later. Also they are more likely to be diagnosed with gestational diabetes again if they ever become pregnant again. Being overweight and pregnant is a big risk during pregnancy. In fact (Chen et al. , 2013), â€Å"Metabolic impairments in maternal obesity and gestational diabetes (GDM) induce an abnormal environment in peripheral blood and cause vascular structure alterations which affect the placental development and function† (Abstract section Para. 1). As mentioned before it does not only affect the mother but it also affects the unborn child, but it also affects the child after they are born. Using APA, 2013), â€Å"The historical poor outcomes of pre-gestational diabetes are testimony to the harmful effects of high glucose in early pregnancy as manifest by congenital malformations and in later pregnancy as evidenced by LGA [large-for-gestational-age] and its consequences. † (para. 2). The reason why this is more of a problem in the United States is because they have a higher obesity record than South Korea has. So more women throughout the United States are developing these diseases than women in South Korea. (Amamoto et al. 005) â€Å"Comparison of body mass index (BMI) distributions in Japan and Korea showed the highest value in the normal category (74%) together with a very low obesity rate (1. 2%)† (Results section para. 1). Since South Korea has a low obesity rate within their, they are less likely to give birth to large babies. However, the opposite goes for Women who live in the United States and are obese. This is a problem because (Sizer Whitney, 2011), â€Å"The infant of an obese mother may be larger than normal and may be large even if born prematurely. The large early baby may not be recognized as premature and thus may not receive the special medical care required† (p. 492). A premature baby might not be completely developed and need medical assistance after the birth. If the doctors don’t know that the baby has developmental problems than the newborn runs the risk of dying. This could also explained for the high mortality rate in the United States since they have a higher rate of obesity and it is difficult to label a child as premature and unhealthy if they are at a healthy weight. The environment that the pregnant women is living in is very crucial to her and her unborn child’s health. There are many illnesses that a woman can pass on to her child from environments that are hazards. When a mother is in her embryonic stage her baby is at a point of rapid development. This is a very crucial stage because the baby is starting to grow their organs, however they are also more likely to catch a disease which could cause a deformity during this stage. If the mother catches a disease than they are more likely during this stage to pass it to their baby which could cause a miscarriage or deformities. The issue of the environment is more of a problem for South Korea because of all the pollution that is in the air. South Korea is a very overpopulated country (especially in Seoul) and with all the cars and factories the air gets easily polluted. According to Sizer and Whitney (2011), â€Å"Pregnant women who are exposed to contaminants such as lead often bear low-birthweight infants with delayed mental and psychomotor developments† (p. 04). This is also an issue in some part of the United States, but it depends on where the person lives. If a pregnant women lives next to a factory that produces hazardous smoke than they are more likely to give birth to a baby with deformities. However, in South Korea many pregnant women are exposed to polluted air for most of their pregnancy and some of their babies are born with serious skin pro blems. There is air pollution everywhere a pregnant women goes but if the pollution is high than they are putting the baby more at risk. There are many factors that play into the prenatal and postnatal health. South Korea and the United States both work hard to make their health system the best that it can be. They have many programs in place and many more programs to come in the future. They are working on their hospitals to make sure they are as convenient as possible so that the mothers and newborns can have the best possible health care. Both countries are working towards lowering their mortality rate and lessening the amount of premature and low-birth-weight children. There is also the nutrition and the environment that the mother is exposed too. A simple factor as being obese can cause serious damage to the mother and the unborn child. Many expecting mothers do not understand that concept so they do not see the risk in it. Of course one country has a better health care system then the other, however they both have pros and cons to their countries. The United States has more funds to deal with and has more medical professionals working in their hospitals so that their patients can receive the best care possible. The negative aspect of the United States is that they have a high obesity rate and a high mortality rate. They also need to work on more programs to lower their mortality rate so that they can have the best possible health care. South Korea has excellent postnatal care, which many people around the world want to experience and be a part of. Also they have a low level of obesity so they are not as likely as the United States to get the diseases that come along with being overweight. The negative aspect of Korea is that their environment is not the best because of the pollution that is surrounding the air. South Korea is an overpopulated country so the air is filled with pollutants that are not good for a pregnant woman and can cause low-birth weight and birth defects. Overall both countries have areas in their health care system that they have to work on and areas outside of their health care system that they need to address. However, as of right now South Korea has a more exceptional health care system than the United States, especially when it comes to infant care.

Is Class Still Relevant in a Modern Society?

Is Class Still Relevant in a Modern Society? The question of whether ‘class is still a relevant concept in the understanding of social divisions in contemporary Britain has two components to be analysed, firstly is class still and do social divisions exist in Britain? The results of this research indicate yes to both questions, that although class and the nature of its existence have changed since Marx, Weber and Durkheim’s eras, it is very difficult to get past the important and definite existence of class and social divisions within Britain today. Neo-Marxists, neo-Weberians as well as functionalists and other theorists analysing it from a post-modern, post industrialisation perspective support this opinion. Class itself is a concept that has been traditionally hard to define and continues to be so. As Bradley states in Fractured Identities (1996, p. 45), ‘class is everywhere and nowhere’. Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions between individuals or groups in societies or cultures. It has a shifting identity with few definite physical signs or markers to monitor. Part of the difficulty to define it categorically is that it involves many terms and viewpoints: class awareness; class consciousness; class imagery; class interest; class position; contradictory class location; false consciousness; middle class; petite bourgeoisie; proletariat; status; stratification; underclass; working class, the list is extensive. As Bilton et al (1987, p. 36) states: ‘Structures where economic relationships are primarily called class societies, and in these cases we refer to the different unequal groups as classes. There is considerable despite over the precise definition of this term, but we shall use class to refer to a group sharing a similar position in a structure of objective material inequalities, produced by a particular system of economic relations characteristic of a particular mode of production.’ (Bilton T, et al 1987, p. 36; Bradley 1996, pp. 45-6). Analysing class has historically formed a set of debates, emanating from the initial positions taken by theorists such as Marx and Weber, this debate has continued with neo-Marxists and neo-Weberians. In Class and Stratification. An Introduction to Current Debates, Rosemary Crompton (1998) suggests there is now a movement that involves a split between those who study class structure and mobility using statistical research and those who focus on class formation and consciousness by using historical or ethnographical approaches. This conflict has resulted in a stalemate of sorts where some sociologists have lost interest in the importance of social class. While anthropologists, historians and sociologists identify class as a social structure emerging from pre-history, the idea of social class entered the English dictionary approximately in the 1770s. It is valuable for this reason that any changes that may have been made since its induction should be evaluated. (Bradley 1996, pp. 45-6; Taylor, 1999, pp. 97-8). Marx saw class categories as relating to the ownership of property, and production relationship. He founded a revolutionary concept in social order – communism, in a communist state there would be no stratification. The two groups were the bourgeoisie who owned the means of production, and the proletariat the workers. He believed this relationship was based upon exploitation and conflict. Marx predicted a revolution in which the proletariat would defeat the bourgeoisie and share ownership of the factories equally between themselves. Although this did not occur in Britain, it did in Russia, in 1917. The proletariat revolted and all means of production fell into public ownership, forming a socialist state. This was close to Marxs ideological dream of communism. However, ownership despite being equal still existed and there was divisions still existed, some people had better, more highly respected, jobs than others. There was still inequality and competition. (Albrow, 1999, pp 155-9; Bilton T, et al 1987, pp 27-8). Weber was influenced by Marxs work but disagreed with his theory, he thought it was too deterministic. Being a structuralist, he believed people were shaped by the society in which they lived and capable of social action. He also disagreed with Marxs theory on stratification. Marx based his view of class structure on ownership of the means of production whilst Weber believed it was dependant on life chances. Life chances depended on wealth and skills; the upper class had the most advantageous life chances, and the poor (e.g. the unemployed, elderly and homeless), the least; economic situation, market situation, status and political party could determine class. Whist Marx split society into two distinct classes; Weber saw that social structure was more complex. The four main strata he identified were the upper class, the middle class, the working class and the poor/underclass. However, within these groups, were other, more subtle divisions, which depended on a number of variables incl uding differences in income, opportunities for upwards mobility, security of employment, language, life-style and social estimation of others. However, Weber perceived class as somewhat different, he believed that class consciousness was essentially conditional –that consciousness could occur depending upon circumstances. He acknowledged, as Marx believed, that classes and social groups were likely to experience conflict in attempts to gain status honour or class movement. (Taylor, 1999, pp. 99). Neo-Marxists come in many varying forms, but they share a common acknowledgement of the importance of gender/sex divisions. Nevertheless, it was still placed less important than class divisions under a capitalist society. Consequently, they thought the primary basis of exploitation in society was class, not gender. This implies that capitalists have more power over workers than men have over women, not an uncontroversial view. Issues of race and ethnicity were also viewed as less important than class. Functionalists take the view that social stratification is both essential to the running of society and inevitable. They believe that all social phenomena exist because they have a positive function to fulfil. Durkheim, a functionalist, described society as a living organism in which different organs with specific functions such as education, work, and government are inter-related. According to Bilton et al (1987), ‘the education system is a vehicle for developing the human resour ces of an industrial nation.’ (Bilton T, et al 1987, p. 308; Swingewood 2000, pp 137-140). In Class and Stratification, Crompton challenges the claim that class is dead and is in fact very much alive. In the vein of this belief, Goldthorpe and Wright critically examine ‘post-modern’ theories of ‘post-class’ societies, as well as the most recent contributions of quantitative sociological approaches. It is argued that despite their theoretical differences, the work of these two authors has been undergoing a process of convergence in recent years. Crompton analyses how the death of class is the contemporary increase in the event of social and material inequality. Definitional difficulties of class are only one aspect of the decision by many sociologists to question its relevance. Cromption explores social inequalities including gender and the feminisation of the middle classes, the significance of recent changes in work and employment, consumption and citizenship. (Bradley 1996, pp. 59-62; Crompton 1998, pp. 113-5) In most modern industrial societies, including Britain, the system of social stratification is fluid through generations or perhaps in their own lifetime, people can move up or down the social scale. A number of modern thinkers have tried to define what makes a particular ‘social class’. Is it accent, surroundings, occupation, income, wealth? If we simply spoke only about class as it was first defined and existed since Marx/Weber times we would not taking into account societal changes such as the increase in unemployment, health care crises, resulting in a concept of society that has always existed yet, become more prevent and occupied: the underclass. It seems that any social divisions that may exist stem from the pretext of social class and its restraints and the difficulty to move from one class to another is problematic. (Bilton T, et al 1987, 308). Thatcher’s Conservative Party did not believe in the concept of society, rather than society had no existence outside of individuals. Her party’s main aim was to reduce the role of the state in the economy, through various means such as the privatisation of British Rail, council houses and the introduction of poll tax in 1989. She advocated strong welfare reforms and created an adult Employment Training system that included full-time work done for the dole plus small top-up, based upon the a US workfare model, called the ‘Social Fund’ system. It placed one-off welfare payments for emergency needs under a local budgetary limit, and where possible changed them into loans, and rules for assessing jobseeking effort by the week, were breaches of social consensus unprecedented since the 1920s. All very strong and harsh steps only seeming to increase the already obvious class inequalities and difficulties in British society. By 1990, opposition to Thatchers polici es on local government taxation, her Governments perceived mishandling of the economy -especially the high interest rates which were undermining her core voting base within the home-owning, entrepreneurial and business sectors, as well as other factors finally made her and her party seem increasingly politically vulnerable. Her rein was over, yet her affect on British society remains strong and well-felt by general society. So it seems given all the variants and backgrounds that we have discussed that class divisions still exist and thus are still very relevant. The old saying the rich gets richer and the poor get poorer certainly was true of Thatcher’s era (Taylor, 1999, pp. 111-3; Albrow, 1999, pp 56-7; Margaret Thatcher: 2006). The Rowntree Report in 1995 exposed that unemployment rates in Britain were rising high and more rapidly than in any other industrial country – a very worrying finding, that unemployment, insecurity and deprivation were still very much prevalent in the working classes. Examining the existence of the underclass leads us to the question of whether it is a convenient label, and a powerful rhetorical label, as Marxists argue, or is it a post-industrial phenomenon? Considering that we are analysing British society post-industrialisation, this is an interesting question to ponder. Some theorists believe that it is a term that victimises and blames people and keeps them in their socio-economic spot without the opportunity or resources to move. (Fincher, R Saunders, P, 2001, p. 21; Bradley 1996, p 46; Taylor, 1999, pp. 113-5). To answer our original question of whether class can still be used as applicable concept in the understanding of social divisions in contemporary Britain, the answer is most definitely yes, but it has changed from the days of Marx and Weber and initial sociological conceptualisation. It seems that to analyse this process highlights the parts of society that may be disadvantaged through their social class or class immobility. Awareness is an important part of the process of changing and at the very least, compassion and societal responsibility. Bibliography Albrow, M, 1999, Sociology: The Basics. Roultedge, London Bilton T, Bennett, K, Jones, P, Stanworth, M, Sheard, K Webster, A 1987. Introductory Sociology. Macmillan Education Ltd, Hampshire. Bradley, H, 1996. Fractured Identities. Changing Patterns of Inequality. Polity Press, Cambridge, UK. Crompton, R, 1998. Class and Stratification. An Introduction to Current Debates, Polity Press, Cambridge, UK. Erikson, K, 1997, Sociological Visions, Rowman Littlefield Publishers, Inc, USA. Fincher, R Saunders, P, 2001, Creating Unequal Futures? Rethinking Poverty, Inequality and Disadvantage. Allen and Unwin, Australia. Giddens, A 1993. Sociology, Polity Press, Cambridge, UK. Taylor, S, 1999, Sociology: Issues and Debates, Macmillan, Great Britain. Swingewood, A 2000. A Short History of Sociological Thought, 3rd Ed, St Martin’s Press, New York. Psychological/Sociological Paradigms, retrieved 7th April 2006, from:Â  http://webpages.marshall.edu/~carter12/eda705a5.htm. Wikipedia, April 2006, Margreat Thatcher, retrieved 11th April 2006, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher

Double Dissociation: Optic Ataxia and Visual Form Agnosia

Double Dissociation: Optic Ataxia and Visual Form Agnosia Organisms, at one level, are obviously collections of parallel systems that are potentially independent, although normally interactive. (Weiskrantz, 1990) The argument of separate visual processing streams is a long and turbulent one, which stems largely from Ungerleider and Mishkins (1982) early work with monkeys. Following this research, Mishkin, Ungerleider, and Macko (1983) suggested two streams of processing. They characterised the ventral stream as the what route, used to analyse visual characteristics of objects, and the dorsal stream as the where stream, which calculated the spatial relations of the object. However, in 1992, Milner and Goodale proposed a reinterpretation of the dual pathway model (Goodale Milner, 1992, 2004; Milner Goodale, 1993, 2006). In this new model, the ventral stream was concerned with the visual perception and processing of object form and object recognition, to transform visual information into a perceptual representation of the world (Goodale Milner, 1992). Importantly, it also encoded spatial relations of objects in an allo-centric sense. This allows us to think about our world, its objects, and t he placement of objects. In contrast, the dorsal stream was involved in the controlling actions interacting with the goal object. The dorsal stream calculates spatial relations in an ego-centric view, using accurate and precise measurements. In more general terms, it can be stated in short, that this new model suggested that differences between the two streams should be evaluated, not in terms of visual inputs, but as the output systems which the two streams serve. Both streams receive the same visual information, but they interpret it in different ways (Milner Goodale, 2008). In their study of this model, researchers searched for the ideal complementary double dissociation which would unequivocally support Milner and Goodales claim that these streams are completely separate entities, which receive visual information, and then interpret and react to this information in very different ways. They found support for these claims by the flagship double dissociation studies using neuropsychological patients. The key conditions in these case studies and experimental research studies are Optic Ataxia (OA) and Visual Form Agnosia (VA). These neuropsychological disorders are, to Milner and Goodale, the quintessential case for a double dissociation. The term of double dissociation is an elusive idea in neuropsychology, with clear and concise dissociations difficult to come by. In a single dissociation, damage to a particular brain region interrupts one function, but not another function. This implies that these two functions are independent of each other in some form. The most commonly referenced single dissociation is the condition VA, in which the patient perceptual abilities are impeded, but not the visuomotor abilities. Furthering on from single dissociations, interest has turned to finding double dissociations. These double dissociations, as originally described by Teuber (1955) are seen as powerful tools in neuropsychological research, to discover and study the separate functional modules and to strengthen the evidence for a single dissociation. However, double dissociations can be very difficult to prove, as to be a true double dissociation it must be shown that two different external manipulations will affect two patients differently. That is, the first manipulation will affect patient A, but not B, whereas the second manipulation will affect patient B, but not A. This can be used as a starting block to make inferences of the modular functions of brain areas. The dual visual systems double dissociation of OA and VA, or perception of objects with mis-reaching and inability to perceive with successful grasping became the workhorse of Milner and Goodales model. They based much of their early findin gs upon studies carried out with patient D.F which showed a single dissociation (James, Culham, Humphrey, Milner, Goodale, 2003; Goodale, Milner, Jakobson, Carey, 1991). Patient D.F. is the most researched neuropsychological patient in the study of dual visual streams, and it is from research carried out with her that led to the fruition of Milner and Goodales model (Goodale et al., 1991). D.F. suffered bilateral lesions of the occipito-temporal cortex, considered to be the ventral stream area, which resulted in a profound case of Visual Form Agnosia (Milner et al, 1991). That is, she was incapable of visually perceiving the form of objects and yet she could accurately make visually guided movements and grasp objects (James et al., 2003; Goodale et al., 1991). It was argued that this research indicated that D.F.s visuomotor skills were left intact, implying firstly, that there was evidence for a single dissociation, and secondly, that D.F. could show pure visuomotor skill with out the interference of perception. In other words, she could show what the dorsal stream in Milner and Goodales model was capable of achieving (Milner et al., 1991). This original study was quickly followed by a stream of research which investigated the visuomotor capabilities of D.F (Goodale, 1994b; Milner et al, 1991) and a second VA patient; S.B. (Dijkerman, Le, Demonet, Milner, 2004). The further research illustrated that D.F.s visuomotor skills allowed her to scale her grip and orientate her wrist correctly, similarly to controls (Milner Goodale, 1995). In matching orientation tasks D.F. failed, appearing to choose orientations at random, yet when asked to reach towards a slot and post an item she performed at a similar level to controls (Goodale et al., 1991). Studies illustrated her ability to use visual information involving the orientation and shape of a particular object for online corrections of hand movements and in an object grasping task for regular shapes, (Dijkerman, Milner, Carey, 1996; Carey, Harvey, Milner, 1996), and irregular shapes (Goodale et al., 1994c). These findings were later replicated with S.B. (Dijkerman, McInto sh, Schindler, Nijboer, Milner, 2009; Dijkerman et al., 2004). The interpretation given to D.F.s visuomotor abilities suggested that the undamaged dorsal stream was controlling the visuomotor abilities, without the input of the damaged ventral stream. This was a powerful argument for Milner and Goodales model as it emphasised the functional dissociation within the visual system. On the opposite side of this dissociation, researchers studied patients (I.G. and A.T.) with Optic Ataxia (OA); a visuomotor disorder. This involves gross mis-reaching for visual targets, usually most severe in the peripheral visual field, can manifest in the contralesional visual field and the contralesional hand (Perenin Vighetto, 1988). However, patients can identify objects normally; unlike patient D.F., OA patients can discriminate the size, shape, and orientation of objects. However, these patients have difficulty in grasping objects correctly or in a functionally correct manner. OA patients will not appropriately scale their grip during reaching; they open their finger grip too wide, and close it once they reach contact with the object (Jeannerod, Decety, Michel, 1994). In addition, their reaching duration is increased, their peak velocity is lower than controls, and they misplace their fingers when they have to visually guide their hand towards a slit (Grà ©a et al., 2002) . Similarly, in reaching tasks with target jumps, both A.T. and I.G. failed to show online adjustment of movement like healthy controls (Pisella et al., 2000; Grà ©a et al., 2002). This indicates a feed forward and feedback deficit in OA. More simply, OA patients do not possess the capabilities to quickly alter their movements; they rely on the involvement of slower and later visual and motor feedback. However, does all this research lead onto the conclusion of a classic double dissociation? Milner and Goodale argue that no clearer evidence could be shown; one condition (VA) leads to inability to perceive items, yet can act on these items, and the other condition (OA) shows an inability to grasp an item, and yet they can perceive all their features. The problem is, this case of double dissociation may not be as straight forward and concise as Milner and Goodale assume. There is a new stream of research showing the exceptions and difficulties in the dual visual system assumption. A classic dissociation calls for one function to be within normal performance range and the affected function to be far below normal performance (Shallice, 1988). In relation to D.F.s visuomotor abilities, more recent research has highlighted difficulties in claiming a classic dissociation. Although D.F. does manage to grasp items in most cases, this is not to the level of normal range; she makes semantic errors in grasping tools in non-functional ways (Carey, Harvey, Milner, 1996). However, she also fails to grasp neutral laboratory blocks using the most comfortable grasp (Dijkerman, et al., 2009), and she fails to complete visuomotor guiding or grasping tasks with any shapes of significant complexity (Goodale et al., 1994a; Carey et al., 1996; Dijkerman et al., 1998; McIntosh, Dijkerman, Mon-Williams, Milner, 2004). In fact, more recent research has found restrictions to D.F.s grasping abilities, showing that she does not automatically select a grip posture which minimises awkwar d and uncomfortable grasps, like control subjects (Dijkerman et al., 2009). Furthermore, even in successful completion of simplistic tasks, D.F. may not use the same visual cues that healthy controls use. When prisms were used to perturb D.F.s vision, it was found that D.F. relies almost exclusively on vergence angle and vertical gaze for establishing object distance in reaching tasks (Mon-Williams, McIntosh, Milner, 2001; Mon-Williams, Tresilian, McIntosh, Milner, 2001). In fact there have been reports of the daily difficulty in carrying out actions for VA patients, namely S.B. showing at times greater peripheral misreaching than OA patients (Là © et al., 2002; Pisella, Binkofski, Lasek, Toni, Rossetti, 2006). VA patients use compensation techniques such as, moving their head to focus the target in central vision and slowing their goal directed movements (Rosetti, Vighetto, Pisella, 2003; Pisella et al., 2006). Dijkerman and colleagues found that patient D.F. could perform a grasping task well when she could use binocular viewing, even when her head po sition was fixed on a chin rest. However, she could not complete the task under monocular viewing unless she could tilt her head to compensate (Dijkerman et al., 1996). Specifically, D.F. needs to use either binocular disparity or motion parallax to recover the depth of an object and successfully carry out a grasping task. The empirical evidence illustrates that patients with VA struggle with many visuomotor tasks and in many cases can only complete simple tasks. Therefore, their performance is far from within the normal range, shown by control tasks with uninjured brains. Firstly, this puts into question the strong single dissociation thought to be illustrated by VA. However, even more importantly and secondly, these findings cast doubts on the pure dorsal abilities, suggesting that even with an uninjured dorsal stream visuomotor skills are affected, which in this case prevents the possibility of a double dissociation. The past research of OA has equally been viewed only through the eyes of the dual processing model, excluding the finer details. For example, clinically, a diagnosis of OA requires for all other perceptual deficits to be excluded. Specifically, issues with visual acuity, visual neglect or injury to the eye itself must be ruled out as explanations for misreaching with visual guidance. However, these diagnostic guidelines have not always been followed, and assessments of such issues have been absent or carried out in approximations (Schenk McIntosh, 2010). Stricter assessments have recurrently shown impaired discrimination of object location or orientation, particularly in the extra-foveal visual field where OA symptoms are most severe (Michel Henaff, 2004; Pisella et al., 2009). It has been argued that in truth, OA is more closely linked to attentional disorders, such as visual neglect or visual extinction (Michel Henaff, 2004; Pisella et al., 2009; Streimer et al., 2007, 2009). A.T.s attentional visual field was described as being narrowed to a functional tunnel vision (Michel Henaff, 2004). The confusion of OAs true origin comes from the fact that misreaching occurs in extra-foveal vision, when patients cannot fixate on the object. The visuomotor abilities of OA patients in central vision show little to no deficits in carrying out visually guided grasping tasks under normal conditions, unlike the misreaching that is present in the peripheral visual field (Grà ©a et al., 2002; Pisella et al., 2000). More recent studies have suggested that misreaching also affects proprioceptive targets which are not in the direction of gaze (Jackson et al., 2009; Blangero et al., 2007). Jackson et al. (2009) argue that this indicates a difficulty in representing several locations simultaneously, indicating that OA is not simply a visuomotor problem. Similarly, recent papers have shown that perception itself is also impaired in the peripheral visual field (Michel Henaff, 2004; Rosetti et al., 2005). These findings plunge the status of OA as a visuomotor disorder into uncertainty; and it unquestionably casts doubts on optic ataxia being considered as evidence of a dissociation of perceptual and motor functions within visual processing. Furthermore, with a growing number of researchers questioning the clarity of OAs strict visuomotor deficits, the argument of a double dissociation loses even more conviction. Many years of research have emphasised an impairment of actions in OA, and an impairment of perception in VA. However, are the differences between these two conditions and the empirical evidence strong enough to support a case for a double dissociation? As Pisella and colleagues (2006) highlights, looking over past research on the vision for action studies on OA patients and VA patients; it becomes obvious that these sets of patients have not been tested in identical settings. As previously noted, vision guided grasping movements are impaired in the peripheral vision of OA patients; however, these same abilities have only been tested in the central vision for VA patients (Pisella et al., 2006). As indicated earlier, OA patients have been shown to deal with visually guided grasping to a successful level in central vision and ecologically valid conditions (Grà ©a et al., 2002; Pisella et al., 2000). Without empirical evidence to indicate the true abilities of VA patients reaching in p eripheral vision, it cannot be concluded that their reaching is unaffected. Similarly, OA patients perceptual abilities have not been significantly studied. It is assumed that their perception is at normal levels, however, this same assumption was given to VA reaching until it was more closely studied. Thus, this major fault in the claim for a double dissociation does not take into account the fundamental assumption for double dissociations; that testing of the function must be carried out in the same conditions (Teuber, 1955). Given the arguments presented, it seems unlikely that OA and VA are a complementary double dissociation reflecting the inner workings of a separate vision for action and vision for perception processing routes. This suggestion is much too simplified. It is much more likely that the vision for perception and vision for action streams interact a great deal, and thus both streams have an effect upon each of these two conditions. We are unclear of VA patients peripheral visual abilities, and thus they cannot be truly compared to OA patients extra-foveal misreachings. In fact, with doubt mounting about OAs actually link to the vision for action stream, the argument becomes even more clouded. Diagnostically, this must be cleared up before any conclusions of its involvement can be made. In a comparable trend, patients with VA do not perform as well in visually guiding grasping tasks as originally claimed; they in fact perform well below normal levels (Goodale et al., 1994a; Carey et al., 1996; Dijkerman et al., 1998; McIntosh et al., 2004). Furthermore, under normal conditions and in central vision, OA patients actually perform better than previously claimed, due to their compensatory techniques (Grà ©a et al., 2002; Pisella et al., 2000). This coupled with recent findings of OA patients perceptual difficulties in peripheral vision, (Michel Henaff, 2004; Rosetti et al., 2005), it becomes an extremely difficult task to claim a double dissociation. Although, it may be extreme to claim no interaction between these conditions, they are not completely separate entities either. The fact remains that both conditions allow us to learn a great deal about the visual system under the Milner and Goodale model, and there is certainly a complementary divergence of symptoms in p art. However, the issue lies in attempting to construct these components into a complementary double dissociation; the components just do not add up. Hence, it is necessary to move beyond the rudimentary dichotomy of vision for action and vision for perception, and consequently the supposed double dissociation and simplification of OA and VA. Despite previous conventions on the unification of these deficits as one dissociation, as has been shown deeper research is beginning to highlight the cracks in this dissociation. It is necessary to advance the Milner and Goodale model beyond the research reliance on the OA and VA double dissociations. It is important that the assumptions made of OA and VA being clear and concise indicators of each visual streams abilities is eased. Although individually, patients such as D.F. and S.B., who have perceptual deficits as found in VA, can be useful indicators of the most basic abilities of the dorsal stream, this cannot be guaranteed to indicate workings of the ventral stream. As shown previously, the interaction between the two streams may be greater than previously thought. Thus higher function s of the dorsal stream may fail in patients with VA without the necessary interactive involvement from the ventral stream. Similarly in cases of OA, moreover, this may be in even more doubt with the disagreement of attention deficits playing a vital role in OA symptoms. In essence, the fixation on a double dissociation between OA and VA is hindering future research and the advancement of the dual visual processing model. This simplistic idea of the absolute double dissociation must be abandoned, and a more interactive approach taken to achieve research advancement.

Much Ado About Nothing Essay: Effective Use of the Foil -- Much Ado Ab

Effective Use of the Foil in   Much Ado About Nothing      Ã‚  Ã‚   In The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, the famous British poet William Blake wrote that "without contraries there is no progression - Attraction and repulsion, reason and imagination, and love and hate are all necessary for human existence" (Blake 122).   As Blake noted, the world is full of opposites.   But, more importantly, these opposites allow the people of the world to see themselves and their thoughts more clearly.   For, as Blake asserts, without attraction, one cannot understand repulsion, and without imagination, one cannot understand reason.   In Much Ado About Nothing (MAAN), William Shakespeare uses this idea of the power of opposites to show the differences in two types of love.   Using the relationship, language, and actions of Hero and Claudio as a foil against those of Beatrice and Benedick, Shakespeare has painted a world in which the ideas of courtly love only serve to illuminate those of true love.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In an essay on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, William Kittredge defined the idea of courtly love that is illustrated in MAAN.   Kittredge said that courtly love must involve a love that is extremely idealized and superficial, with the vassal or servant-like suitor, who is often a valiant knight, devoting himself completely to an ideal woman who is often the daughter of a powerful man (Kittredge 528-529).   When this definition is applied to the relationship between Hero and Claudio in MAAN, one is able to recognize a perfect match.   For example, Claudio, a young lord of Florence, is a valiant soldier as is shown in the first scene of the play with the comments made by the Messenger: "[Claudio] hath borne himself beyond the promise of his age, doing ... ...hat is truly Much Ado About Nothing, becomes a commentary on the idea of love.   True love becomes illuminated through its reflection in its own foil - the ideals of courtly love.   The true relationship of Beatrice and Benedick compared to the relationship of Claudio and Hero, gives the reader not only a better understanding of the power of the literary foil, but also a foil into which that reader can reflect and better understand himself.    Works Cited "Blake, William." The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations.  Ã‚   CD-ROM. New York: Columbia UP, 1998. Kittredge, George. "The Marriage Group." The Canterbury  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tales: A Norton Critical Edition. Ed. V.A. Kolve. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1989. 523-530. Shakespeare, William. "Much Ado About Nothing." The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1997. 1389-1443.

The Persecution of Christians Today Essay example -- Exploratory Essay

The Persecution of Christians Today The persecution of minority groups has been well documented throughout history. These documentations have been mostly of people of one race, culture, or ethnicity; persecuting another based on the belief that one race is superior to the other. In the case of Christianity, however, the documentation of the persecution has been kept to a minimum. In fact, it is rare to find a case in today’s world of the media reporting on the persecution of Christians. The reports of the atrocities of the Jews during the Holocaust where horrifying indeed, but equally horrifying are the accounts of the slaughter of Christians in the first century A.D. The descriptions of the means of death that many Christians faced during the early years of the Church leave one’s stomach uneasy to say the least. Tortured, raped, and killed, simply for what they believed in, Christians faced death almost willingly in some cases. Today the extent of the persecution of Christians often depends on where an individual lives. In the United States, a â€Å"nation under God,† Christians are quietly persecuted during everyday life. It is not seen as persecution by non-Christians who live in the U.S., but as their right to freedom of speech to mock and belittle Christians. In other parts of the world, however, the persecution is much more severe. Maltreatment in areas of the Middle and Far East are often issues of life and death. Christians are being imprisoned, tortured, and killed for their belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and their attempts to spread the good news of salvation to the lost. This discrimination will not end anytime soon. It will be in the world until Jesus returns. Different groups will... ... Christian Legal Society. Center for Law and Religious Freedom. 22 April 2003 http://www.clsnet.org/clrfPages/litigation/litigation_Hensley.php3 . Focus on the Family. Dr. James Dobson. 21 April 2003 www.family.org . Fox, John. Fox’s Book of Martyrs. Philadelphia:The John C. Winston Co., NO DATE. Life Application Study Bible. NIV. Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1997. â€Å"Persecution of Christians Growing in the United States.† Thomas Horn. 21 April 2003 http://www.worthynews.com/christian-persecution.htm . Pong, Peter, Wang, Shih-Ping, Liu, Tsin-Tsai, Cheng, Samuel, Kim, Kyung. Communist Persecution of Churches in Red China and Northern Korea. Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1959. 1-7. Swint, Wayne. Personal interview. 22 April 2003. â€Å"Working with the Communist.† Christianity Today 7 Oct. 2002. 56-59.

Lord of the Flies Symbolism Project Essay

5 Quotes: 1. â€Å"You’re a beast and a swine and a bloody, bloody thief!† (Golding 252). 2. â€Å"I expect the beast disguised itself† (Golding 225). 3. â€Å"’ ‘Course there isn’t a beast in the forest. How could there be? What would a beast eat?’ ‘Pig.’ ‘We eat pig.’† (Golding 83). 4. â€Å"’Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!’† (Golding 143). 5. â€Å"’No go, Piggy. We’ve got no fire. That thing sits up there – we’ll have to stay here.’† (Golding 129). 6. â€Å"’ Be frightened because you’re like that – but there is no beast in the forest.’† (Golding 83). 7. â€Å"But a sign came down from the world of grown-ups, though at the time there was no child awake to read it. There was a sudden bright explosion and corkscrew trail across the sky; then darkness again and stars. There was a spec k above the island, a figure dropping swiftly beneath a parachute, a figure that hung with dangling limbs.† (Golding 95). Quote: [Simon] â€Å"What I mean is†¦ maybe it’s only us† (Golding 120). In the Lord of the Flies, much of the boys’ trouble is due to the â€Å"beast† on the island. In this quote, Simon explains his feeling that the beast is within the boys themselves. After all, belief in the beast first came from the worries of a littlun. As Simon attempts to convey, the contents of the boys’ minds and hearts are the most destructive, and perhaps only, beastly thing on the island. The group subsequently rejects the idea that civilized English boys could possibly be compared to beasts. The boys’ denial of their own power is later contrasted to their vicious search for it, such as when Jack becomes the main physical threat on the island. To Simon and the readers, the â€Å"beast† becomes a symbol for the dark side of human ability: dangerous, savage, and uncontrollable. Jack’s tribe members become known even to the boys as savages, the closest man comes to beasts of nature. The â€Å"beast† can also refer to human nature: man’s ability to lose his humanity and instead be controlled by fear, ignorance, and evil. The more they boys try to protect themselves from an external beast, the more they themselves embody the symbol by the qualities they possess.

How Does Owen Convey Negative Feelings in the Send-Off

How does Owen convey negative feelings in The Send-Off? In this poem Wilfred Owen conveys negative feelings with his clever use of language that can be interpreted in many ways. This poem actually conveys a message that war is not as glorious and honourable as it is always portrayed as. Even the title, The ‘send-off' could mean two things. Firstly, it could mean that the soldiers were being sent off to war. However, it could also mean that the soldiers were being â€Å"sent off† to their deaths. This emphasizes the fact that war actually is not what it is portrayed to be.It is not glorious and honourable to fight in war but the people and soldiers going through it suffer greatly and most do not survive. In â€Å"The Send-Off†, Owen conveys his feelings about the war and the young soldiers going off to die. You can tell he has a very pessimistic attitude to the likelihood of the soldiers surviving. You can see this from his frequent references to death, for example â€Å"Their breasts were stuck all stuck with wreath and spray. † which could refer to how the dead are garlanded with wreaths of flowers before their burial. Line six, says, â€Å"Dull porters watched them / and a casual tramp / stood staring hard. The train station porters stand back, watching and listening to the soldiers as they wait for the train with no emotion at all, it is as if it is just one of those regular things in life that one gets on with, without much interest as it is such a common event. In line 3, Owen uses the oxymoron, â€Å"grimly gay†, this gives the impression that the soldiers know what is going to happen to them and they are scared, but they put on a brave face anyway so as not to upset their families, each-other and also, if they don’t admit their fear to themselves, then maybe it will go away.Owen uses similes such as â€Å"so secretly like wrongs hushed up† show the conspiracy of the war kept from the soldiers for assurance that men would continue to join. Repetition of â€Å"a few, a few, too few† emphasises and shows the reader that many soldiers would not return from war. It continues by suggesting that the small amount of soldiers returning from war would not be greeted by celebration but by silence and still villages. The use of imagery â€Å"white flowers† shows two meanings, flowers for celebrating and white for mourning.In giving the flowers to the departing soldier, the women who thought they were supporting the soldiers were actually garlanding them for death. To conclude, the use of language; similes, repetition, imagery and so on all channel feelings of negativity within the poem. Although not directly pessimistic it is relatively easy to spot the depressing nature of the poem but nonetheless Owen displays obvious negativity towards the state of how no one showed feelings towards the soldiers fate and how it was so hushed up.