Manifest destiny: was it really imperialism? Essay

Imperialism is, by definition, the extension of rule or influence by one government, nation or society over another; manifest destiny is the belief held by many Americans in the 1840s that the United States was â€Å"destined† to expand across the continent. This belief of â€Å"destined expansion† was nothing new to America’s leaders for their vision of the United States when they first established it was that of a nation that stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The American people themselves had underlying reasons for their imperialistic actions as well, mostly economic and political. During the conquest of manifest destiny the US acquired Texas, Oregon and California. Americans tooled over the West like an aggressive imperialistic empire reaching over unclaimed lands full of Native Americans and Mexicans in order to accomplish their political and economic destiny. Stimulated by the American Revolution, Americans felt the need to expand its territories. In February of 1821, Congress ratified the Transcontinental Treaty, which completely excluded Texas from American territory. American’s feelings towards Texas quickly changed when they realized that cotton flourished on the Texas plains. The South quickly took interest in the land. Mexican authorities even offered free land to groups of settlers following the treaty and by 1830 there were 20,000 white Americans and 2,000 slaves living in Texas. In 1836 Texas declared their independence from Mexico and ten years later was annexed into the US. The annexation of Texas had been a controversy for years because of the slavery issue. Slavery was another issue that further fueled expansionism, as the North and South each wanted the nation to admit new states that supported its section’s economic, political, and slave policies. The United States had no reason to annex Texas other than the fact that they wanted the fertile land and more votes in Congress. They hid behind the idea of â€Å"Manifest Destiny† but the truth is that each section wanted the land for its own purposes. We even fought a war of it. The unnecessary annexation of Texas is a perfect example of imperialism in the United States. The expansion campaign in America during the 19th century stretched all the way west to Oregon. Oregon was a territory that was shared with the British under the Treaty of 1818. Americans pressured the British to give up their  claim to Oregon territory. This allowed the Americans to fulfill their Manifest Destiny and own land all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Not many people lived in Oregon before but suddenly, in the early 1840’s, a huge caravan of people began to move to Oregon, spurred on by manifest destiny. The land in Oregon was fertile and the fur plentiful. This trip to Oregon became known as the Oregon Trail. These pioneers fought little wars with the Native Americans along the route, argueing over posession of land once they arrived. Many Americans took their land in Oregon by the way of the gun. They pointed their guns at everything that moved in order to get their land. This is imperialism, how the government gave permission to kill thousands without giving any recognition whatsoever to who was living there before, to who’s home that might have been. Another example of imperialism in the US can be seen by looking at the way we handled California. California was really the key to the Pacific and the trade routes with Asia and China. West Coast harbors such as San Diego, San Francisco and the Strait of Juan de Fuca were considered â€Å"the keys to the trade† and the Americans wanted them. A caravan of American pioneers embarked on the California trail and, as the Mexicans had expected, the settlers brought word back and the US now wanted to annex California. President Polk had sent an envoy to Mexico City in an attempt to purchase California and other parts of the Southwest. In May 1846 Mexico refused the offer. This refusal was one factor–along with the Texas annexation–that led to the Mexican War. This land was not ours, we had no right to fight a war over it. That is imperialism; the extending a nation’s power by territorial acquisition, by force at times. America ended up winning the Mexican War and acquiring Texas and California along with all the trade routes, and it was phenomenal for our economy but the end does not justify the means. To conclude Manifest destiny, the American policy of acquiring certain choice territories, can be labeled as nothing more than aggressive imperialism for that is what it is. We wanted land and we got it just because we did. We trampled over Native Americans and Mexicans just to establish trade routes and to gain political power. In the end we extended our borders by about 66%  through manifest destiny, the doctrine that was no more that an excuse for Americans to become aggressive imperialists.

Role of Commercial Banks in Development

Role of commercial banks in development. INTRODUCTION A commercial bank is something with which every one of us is well known. However different bankers and economists have defined it in a different way:   According to Kent: â€Å"An organization whose principal operations are concerned with the accumulation of the temporarily idle money of the general public for the purpose of advancing to others for expenditure. † According to Banking Companies Ordinance 1962: Banking means the accepting for the purpose of lending or investing of deposits of money from the public repayable in demand or otherwise and withdraw-able by cheque, draft order or otherwise. † Various economists have different views about the role of commercial banks in economic development. Schumpeter says,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"It is the banking system which serves as a key agent along with the entrepreneur in the process of economic development†. According to  Prof. Cameron  in his â€Å"Banking and Economi c Development†, â€Å"a banking system may make a positive contribution to economic growth and development. Evolution of Commercial Banks The foundation for building a broad base of agricultural credit structure was laid by the Report of the All-India Rural Credit Survey (AIRCS) of 1954. The provision of cultivator credit in 1951-52 was less than 1% for commercial banks. In the report it was observed that agricultural credit fell short of the right quantity, was not of the right type, did not fit the right purpose and often failed to go to the right people.With a view to give an impetus to commercial banks, particularly, in the sphere of investment credit, the nationalization of the Imperial Bank of India and its re-designation as the State Bank of India (SBI) was recommended. Growth in Outreach 1951-91 From the position prevalent in 1951-52, commercial banks came a long way with a substantial spread of 32,224 branches in rural and semi-urban areas comprising 68% of their tot al outlets as on 31 March 1991. The outstanding deposits of such branches at Rs. 7,855 crores as on the same date constituted around 35% of their total deposits, while loans outstanding at Rs. 43,797 crore comprised 36% of outstanding credit. The agricultural advances of the commercial banking system aggregated Rs. 16,687 crore and constituted 14% of total advances in March 1991. The rural and semi-urban branches of commercial banks covered 17. 6 crore deposit accounts while the number of loan accounts serviced aggregated 3. 7 crore. Growth during 1991-92 to 2003-04 The period since 1991-92 has seen a fairly rapid expansion of credit to agriculture.Available data indicate that the flow of credit to agriculture by commercial banks and RRBs taken together increased to Rs. 60,022 crore in 2003-04. This implies a compounded annual growth rate of 22. 2%. In fact, as compared with commercial banks (including RRBs), the flow of credit from the cooperative sector was much slower through thi s period. The compounded annual growth rate of credit for agriculture from cooperative institutions was only 13. 7%. Further, the proportion of agriculture credit to total credit came down because of the rapid growth in non agriculture credit.The Government took some major initiatives during the period to boost agriculture production and productivity through enhanced credit flow and by way of building agricultural infrastructure, particularly irrigation and connectivity in rural areas. Special Agricultural Credit Plan (SACP) was introduced by RBI for Public Sector Commercial Banks in 1994-95. Credit growth for agriculture and allied sectors under this caption reflected a CAGR of 36. 45% during 2001-02 to 2005-06. SACP has since been extended to Private Sector Commercial Banks from 2005-06.The SHG – Bank Linkage Programme was started as a pilot project by NABARD in 1992. It led to the evolution of a set of RBI approved guidelines to banks to enable SHGs to transact with banks. Initially there was slow progress in the programme up to 1999 as only 32,995 groups were credit linked during the period 1992 to 1999. Since then the programme has been growing rapidly and the cumulative number of SHGs financed increased from 4. 61 lakhs on 31 March 2002 to 10. 73 lakhs on 31 March 2004 and further to 29. 25 lakh groups as on 31 March 2007.Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) was set-up in NABARD by GoI during 1995-96 with an initial corpus of Rs. 2000 crore, to accelerate the 47 completion of on-going projects of rural infrastructure. Banks which did not fulfill the priority sector credit requirement and agriculture credit mandate were required to contribute to this Fund. The fund has been strengthened every year with additional allocations in the Union Budget. A large number of irrigation and rural connectivity projects could get completed under RIDF. RBI scaled down its contribution to the Rural Credit funds with NABARD to a token amount of Rs. crore per annum since 1993-94. However to enable NABARD to have reasonably strong leverage for accessing market funds, the share capital of NABARD was strengthened and increased to Rs. 2000 crore (paid up) from Rs. 100 crore at the time of its formation in 1982. Contributions to enhanced share capital have come from GoI and RBI. By prudent funds management, the institution has also built a strong base of reserves and has been using it in its business operations judiciously to keep lending rates to rural financial institutions at significantly lower than market costs. Developments – Post 2003-04Since 2003-04, there has been a substantial increase in the flow of credit to agriculture through commercial banks. Disbursements have increased from Rs. 52,441 crore in 2003-04 to Rs. 1,16,447 crore in 2005-06, reaching an annual growth of 43% each year. As envisaged in the GoI's strategy for â€Å"doubling of credit†, 95 lakh new farmers have been brought under the institutional fold an d 1,383 agri-clinics opened. Commercial banks have also played a major role in the promotion of the SHG – bank linkage movement with more than 11. 88 lakh groups being linked to banks for provision of credit.Reforms in the commercial banking system include removal of procedural and transactional bottlenecks including elimination of Service Area Approach, reducing margins, redefining overdues to coincide with crop cycles, new debt restructuring policies, one time settlement and relief measures for farmers indebted to non-institutional sources. Banks play a vital role in the economic development of a country. They accumulate the idle savings of the people and make them available for investment. They also create new demand deposits in the process of granting loans and purchasing investment ecurities. They facilitate trade both inside and outside the country by accepting and discounting of bills of exchange. Banks also increase the mobility of capital. They provide a variety of f acilities for remitting a large amount of money from one place to another by the transfer of a mere slip of paper. Commercial banks play an important and active role in the economic development of a country, if the banking system in a country is effective, efficient and disciplined; it brings about a rapid growth in the various sectors of the economy. The Functions of Commercial BanksIn the modern world, banks perform such a variety of functions that it is not possible to make an all-inclusive list of their functions and services. However, some basic functions performed by the banks are discussed below. 1. Accepting  Deposits The first important function of a bank is to accept deposits from those who can save but cannot profitably utilize this saving themselves. People consider it more rational to deposit their savings in a bank because by doing so they, on the one hand, earn interest, and on the other, avoid the danger of theft.To attract savings from all sorts of individuals, th e banks maintain different types of accounts: (i) Fixed Deposit Account: Money in these accounts is deposited for fixed period of time (say one, two, or five years) and cannot be withdrawn before the expiry of that period. The rate of interest on this account is higher than that on other types of deposits. The longer the period, the higher will be the rate of interest. Fixed deposits arc also called time deposits or time liabilities. (ii) Current Deposit Account: These accounts are generally maintained by the traders and businessmen who have to make a number of payments every day.Money from these accounts can be withdrawn in as many times and in as much amount as desired by the depositors. Normally, no interest is paid on these accounts; rather, the depositors have to pay certain incidental charges to the bank for the services rendered by it. Current deposits are also called demand deposits or demand liabilities. (iii) Saving Deposit Account: The aim of these accounts is to encourag e and mobilise small savings of the public. Certain restrictions are imposed on the depositors regarding the number of withdrawals and the amount to be withdrawn in a given period.Cheque facility is provided to the depositors. Rate of interest paid on these deposits is low as compared to that on fixed deposits. (iv) Recurring Deposit Account: The purpose of these accounts is to encourage regular savings by the public, particularly by the fixed income group. Generally money in these accounts is deposited in monthly installments for a fixed period and is repaid to the depositors along with interest on maturity. The rate of interest on these deposits is nearly the same 3s on fixed deposits. (v) Home Safe Account: Home safe account is another scheme aiming at promoting saving habits among the people.Under this scheme, a safe is supplied to the depositor to keep it at home and to put his small savings in it. Periodically, the safe is taken to the bank where the amount of safe is credited to his account. 2. Advancing  of loans The second important function of a bank is advancing of loans to the public. After keeping certain cash reserves, the banks lend their deposits to the needy borrowers. Before advancing loans, the banks satisfy themselves about the credits worthness of the borrowers. Various types of loans granted by the banks are discussed below: (i) Money at Call:Such loans are very short period loans and can be called back by the bank at a very short notice of say one day to fourteen days. These loans are generally made to other banks or financial institutions. (ii)  Cash Credit: It is a type of loan, which is given to the borrower against his current assets, such as shares, stocks, bonds, etc. Such loans are not based on personal security. The bank opens the account in the name of the borrowers and allows him to withdraw borrowed money from time to time up to a certain limit as determined by the value of his current assets.Interest is charged only on th e amount actually withdrawn from the account. (iii) Overdraft: Sometimes, the bank provides overdraft facilities to its customers though which they are allowed to withdraw more than their deposits. Interest is charged from the customers on the overdrawn amount. (iv) Discounting of Bills of Exchange: This is another popular type of lending by the modern banks. Through this method, a holder of a bill of exchange can get it discounted by the bank. In a bill of exchange, the debtor accepts the bill drawn upon him by the creditor  (i. e,  holder of the bill) and agrees to pay the amount mentioned on maturity.After making some marginal deductions (in the form of commission), the bank pays the value of the bill to the holder. When the bill of exchange matures, the bank gets its payment from the party, which had accepted the bill. Thus, such a loan is self-liquidating. (v)  Term Loans: The banks have also started advancing medium-term and long-term loans. The maturity period for such loans is more than one year. The amount sanctioned is either paid or credited to the account of the borrower. The interest is charged on the entire amount of the loan and the loan is repaid either on maturity or in installments. . Credit Creation A unique function of the bank is to create credit. In fact, credit creation is the natural outcome of the process of advancing loan as adopted by the banks. When a bank advances a loan to its customer, it does not lend cash but opens an account in the borrower's name and credits the amount of loan to this account. Thus, whenever a bank grants a loan, it creates an equal amount of bank deposit. Creation of such deposits is called credit creation which results in a net increase in the money stock of the economy.Banks have the ability to create credit many times more than their deposits and this ability of multiple credit creation depends upon the cash-reserve ratio of the banks. 4. Promoting Cheque System: Banks also render a very useful medi um of exchange in the form of cheques. Through a cheque, the depositor directs the bankers to make payment to the payee. Cheque is the most developed credit instrument in the money market. In the modern business transactions, cheques have become much more convenient method of settling debts than the use of cash. 5. Agency Functions:Banks also perform certain agency functions for and on behalf of their customers: (i) Remittance of Funds: Banks help their customers in transferring funds from one place to another through cheques, drafts, etc. (ii) Collection and Payment of Credit Instruments: Banks collect and pay various credit instruments like cheques, bills of exchange, promissory notes, etc. (iii) Execution of Standing Orders: Banks execute the standing instructions of their customers for making various periodic payments. They pay subscriptions, rents, insurance premium, etc. on behalf of their customers. (iv) Purchasing and Sale of Securities:Banks undertake purchase and sale of v arious securities like shares, stocks, bonds, debentures etc. on behalf of their customers. Banks neither give any advice to their customers regarding these investments nor levy any charge on them for their service, but simply perform the function of a broker. (v) Collection of Dividends on Shares: Banks collect dividends, interest on shares and debentures of their customers. (vi) Income Tax Consultancy: Banks may also employ income-tax experts lo prepare income-tax returns for their customers and to help them to get refund of income-tax. (vii) Acting as Trustee and Executor:Banks preserve the wills of their customers and execute them after their death. (viii) Acting as Representative and Correspondent: Sometimes the banks act as representatives and correspondents of their customers. They get passports, travelers tickets, book vehicles, plots for their customers and receive letters on their behalf. 6. General Utility Function: In addition to agency services, the modern banks provide many general utility services as given below: (i) Locker Facility: Banks provide locker facility to their customers. The customers can keep their valuables and important documents in these lockers for safe custody. ii) Traveller's Cheques: Banks issue traveller's cheques to help their customers lo travel without the fear of theft or loss of money. With this facility, the customers need not take the risk of carrying cash with them during their travels. (iii) Letter of Credit: Letters of credit are issued by the banks to their customers certifying their creditworthiness. Letters of credit are very useful in foreign trade. (iv) Collection of Statistics: Banks collect statistics giving important information relating to industry, trade and commerce, money and banking.They also publish journals and bulletins containing research articles on economic and financial matters. (v) Underwriting Securities: Banks underwrite the securities issued by the government, public or private bodies. Becau se of its full faith in banks, the public will not hesitate in buying securities carrying the signatures of a bank. (vi) Gift Cheques: Some banks issue cheques of various denominations (say of Rs. 11, 21, 31, 51. 101, etc. ) to be used on auspicious occasions. (vii) Acting as Referee: Banks may be referred for seeking information regarding the financial position, business reputation and respectability of their customers. viii) Foreign Exchange Business: Banks also deal in the business of foreign currencies. Again, they may finance foreign trade by discounting foreign bills of exchange. Role of Commercial Banks In Economic Development Of A Country Commercial banks  play an important and active role in the economic development of a country. If the banking system in a country is effective’, efficient and disciplined, it brings about a rapid growth in the various sectors of the economy. The economic significance of commercial banks is given in brief. (1) Banks promote capital f ormation.The commercial banks play an important role in rising of the financial resources. They encourage savings by giving various types of incentives to the savers. They expand branches of the banks in rural and urban areas and mobilize savings even at far of places. These savings are then made available to the businesses which make use of them for productive purposes in the country. The banks are, therefore, not only store houses of the country’s wealth, but also provide stream of resources necessary for economic development. (2) Investment in new enterprises.Businessmen normally hesitate to invest their money in risky enterprises. The commercial banks generally provide short and medium term loans to entrepreneurs to invest in new enterprises and adopt new methods of production. The provision of timely credit increases the productive capacity of the economy. (3) Promotion of trade and industry. With the growth of commercial banking in the 19th and 20th centuries, there is vast expansion in trade and industry. The use of bank draft, cheque, bill of exchange credit cards etc has revolutionized both national and international trade. (4) Development of agriculture.The commercial banks, particularly in developing countries, are now providing credit for the development of agriculture and small scale industries in rural areas. The provision of credit to agriculture sector has greatly helped in raising agricultural productivity and income of the farmers. This has led to increased demand for industrial goods and expansion of industry. (5) Balanced development of different regions. The commercial banks play an important role in achieving balanced in different regions of the country. They help in transferring surplus capital from developed regions to the less developing regions.The traders, industrialists etc of less developed regions are able to get adequate capital for meeting their business needs. This, in turn, increases investment, trade and production in the economy. (6) Influencing economy activity. The banks can also influence the economic activity of the country through its influence on (a) availability of credit and (b) the rate of interest. If the commercial banks are able to increase the amount of money in circulation through credit creation or by lowering the rate of interest, it directly affects economic development. A low rate of interest can encourage investment.The credit creation activity can raise aggregate demand which leads to more production in the economy. Which finally increases the growth of the nation. (7) Implementation of monetary policy. The central bank of the country controls and regulates volume of credit through the active cooperation of the banking system in the country. If helps in bringing price stability and promotes economic growth within shortest possible period to time. (8) Monetization of the economy. The commercial banks by opening branches in the rural and backward areas are reducing the exchange of goods through barter.The use of money has now greatly increased the volume of production of goods. The non-monetized sector (barter economy) is now being converted into monetized sector with the help  of commercial banks. (9) Export promotion cells. In order to increase the exports of the country, the commercial banks have established export promotion cells. They provide information about general trade and economic conditions both inside and outside the country to its customers. The banks are, therefore, making positive contribution in the process of economic development.Role of banks in 21st century: The commercial banks are now not confined to local banking. They are fast changing into global banking i. e. , understanding the global customer, using latest information technology, competing in the open market with high technology system, changing from domestic banking to investment banking etc. The commercial banks are now considered the nerve centre of all economic developmen t in the country. The use of online banking is now on the increase. It has brought revolution in banking industry. CONCLUSIONCommercial banks are considered not merely as dealers in money but also the leaders in economic development. They are not only the store houses of the country’s wealth but also the reservoirs of resources necessary for economic development. They play an important role in the economic development of a country. A well-developed banking system is essential for the economic development of a country. The â€Å"Industrial Revolution† in Europe in the 19th century would not have been possible without a sound system of commercial banking. In case of developing countries like India, the commercial banks are considered to be the backbone of the economy.The Banking Sector has for centuries now formed one of the pillars of economic prosperity. Indeed history provides us with some starting information regarding how banks provided finance for imperialist ventu res in newly acquired colonies. Over time banks have formed an important part in providing an avenue for both savings and investments. Land, Labor, capital and entrepreneurs are the basic economic resources available to business. However, to make the use of these resources, a business requires finance to purchase of the land, hire labor, pay for capital goods and pay for individuals with specialized skills.The commercial banks provide capital, technical assistance and other facilities to businessmen according to their need, which leads to development in trade. Commercial banks finance the most important sector of the developing economics i. e. agriculture, short, medium and long-term loans are provided for the purchase of seeds and fertilizer, installation of tube wells, construction of warehouses, purchase of tractor and thresher etc. Commercial banks help in increasing the rate of capital formation in a country. Capital formation means increase in number of production units, techn ology, plant and machinery.They finance the projects responsible for increasing the rate of capital formation. Commercial banks help the traders of two different countries to undertake business. Letter of credit is issued by the importer’s bank to the exporters to ensure the payment. The banks also arrange foreign exchange. Commercial banks provide the facility of transferring funds from one place to another which leads to the growth of trade. The commercial banks financed the transport sector. It has reduced unemployment on one hand and increased the transport facility on the other hand. Remote areas are linked to main markets through developed transport system.These are the few ways in which the commercial banks had helped in developing the economy of a country. BIBLIOGRAPHY * Samuelson Norhaus, economics, 18th edn, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Co. Ltd. , 2008 * Xam idea, economics, F K Publication, 2009 * Chitta Ranjan Basu, Commercial Banking in the Planned Economy of Indi a, Mittal Publications, 1991 * N. Gregory Mankiw, Principles of Economics, cengage learning, 2012 * www. preservearticles. com ——————————————– [ 2 ]. N. Gregory Mankiw, Principles of Economics, cengage learning, 2012 [ 3 ]. www. bankingsector. co. in [ 4 ].N. Gregory Mankiw, Principles of Economics, cengage learning, 2012 [ 5 ]. Xam idea, economics. [ 6 ]. N. Gregory Mankiw, Principles of Economics, cengage learning, 2012 [ 7 ]. www. preservearticles. com [ 8 ]. www. ehow. com [ 9 ]. Samuelson Norhaus, economics, 18th edn, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Co. Ltd. , 2008 [ 10 ]. Chitta Ranjan Basu, Commercial Banking in the Planned Economy of India [ 11 ]. Samuelson Norhaus, economics, 18th edn, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Co. Ltd. , 2008 [ 12 ]. www. ehow. com [ 13 ]. N. Gregory Mankiw, Principles of Economics, cengage learning, 2012 [ 14 ]. www. preservearticles. com

Philosophical Thought Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Philosophical Thought - Thesis Example While explaining my position, discussion will be made with regard to the themes from the different topics, and what their pros and cons are. The saint could be taken as the path for the more spiritual approach towards life and existence. The saint is beholden by the moral and ethical laws by God, or what is divine and ideal, taking steps and journeys in doing and sharing their beliefs for the betterment of others in a world that has been in constant bouts of chaos and other evils. For the saint, God’s existence may be a necessary condition for securing a meaningful life, but it is generally thought that one must additionally relate to God in some relevant way in the epistemological and axiological dimensions (Seachris, â€Å"Meaning of Life: The Analytic Perspective†). Saints can be characterized with many traits that are in relation to the central quality of godliness, such as being humble, kind, generous, compassionate, and selflessness. The hero archetype could be ta ken as a different approach to an individual’s value of existence and life. The first impression of a hero is an individual who is strong and fearless regardless of the odds. The hero archetype usually is the individual who adheres to the rightness of freedom, doing what is noble and just according to their personal beliefs. The hero typology has been portrayed in various ways, either through mythology or romanticism. Typically, the hero is characterized by traits of being free-spirited, courageous, strong-hearted, and a lover of life. Both could be viewed as distinct, but they complement each other very well, both of them having a distinct path for an individual’s walk in existence. This could be seen even in the earliest and twilight days in the age of antiquity. Greek mythology portrays a lot of notable heroes in their stories and legends. The most notable would be that of Hercules, or Heracles in other writings. Hercules may have been portrayed as a son of Zeus, th e king among all the other Greek deities, but he is still a demi-god because he was born from a mortal woman. As legend tells, Hercules had to undergo the Twelve Labors meant for him as an act of redemption of murdering his wife and daughter due to his insanity. While doing all this out of personal reasons, Hercules did assist many of his fellow men, and even deities through his journeys and trials. For the Greeks, Hercules was considered a hero figure because he showed indomitable will and power to persevere in his tasks. The Greek mythological-poetic drama usually portrayed heroes as individuals overwhelmed by their feelings of doing what they see fit. On the other hand, the philosophy of Stoicism had a more different opinion with regard to how one would live. The Stoic philosophy follows a more ascetic role in life. The Stoics believe that once we come to know what we and the world around us are really like, and especially the nature of value, we will be utterly transformed (Balt zly, â€Å"Stoicism†). The Stoics have always strived for temperance and the discipline of self-control from one’s emotions or passions in whatever they commit themselves to. Temperance leads to a mind and soul that has achieved tranquility or harmony with nature, which is the ultimate goal of the Stoics. This appealed well to what the Romans regarded as heroes among their citizenship, such as soldiers, leaders, and

Global Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Global Operations Management - Essay Example Additionally, this discussion is going to weigh the demerits of various supply chains of the beverage company and the necessary solutions. Furthermore, the paper discusses the importance of quality management and measurement while considering the significance of enterprise processing planning system. Background Coca Cola Company was founded in 1892 and is Beverage Corporation that deals in manufacturing, retailing and marketing of its non-alcoholic products globally (Pendergrast, 2000). These products include Coke, Dasani Nutriwater, Bacardi and Minute Maid among others. Similarly, the company provides its numerous products totaling over 500 brands in over 200 nations with servings exceeding 1.7 billion. Additionally, Coca Cola Company with an employee base of about 139, 600 spread in various parts of the world accrues revenue amounting to $11.809 annually. Besides doing business, this global corporation participates in charity ventures as a gesture of its corporate missions. For ins tance, it offers scholarships to students in America to acquire quality education and become better citizens. Furthermore, the company participates in environmental awareness programs by planting trees and offering support in the reduction HIV/AIDS menace, in Africa. Components The beverage company has six major components that are involved in its supply’s chain. ... In addition, they use Demand Management, which involves balancing the needs of clients in terms of the strength of the supply chain. Alternatively, there is the Return Management tackles the field of returns, gate keeping and reverse logistics among others of the supply chain. Furthermore, there is the Manufacturing Flow Management that assists Coca Cola in evaluating its activities that are paramount in exercising supply flexibility. There is also Customer Service Management (CSM) that works on solving problems that can affect customers directly. Potential Problems and Solutions There are various potential problems that are related to the above components of Coca Cola’s supply chain. For instance, unexpected demands from customers may affect the effectiveness of CRM. Therefore, the company should make their missions and values clear to clients. Additionally, in (SRM), the reduction of stock because of inadequate capital may cause supply problems. This means the company always has sufficient capital to re-stock (Lambert, 2008). On the other hand, in Demand Management, the problem lies constant customer complains because of limited supply. In this case, the company should increase its distribution channels to satisfy its customers. Alternatively, in Return Management, ineffective reports about returns and logistics may cause an imbalance in correct assessment. Therefore, it is imperative for the company to conduct a thorough analysis of its reports. Similarly, in Manufacturing Flow Management, the challenge lies in causing supply inflexibility and the solution is to employ more staff to carry out the supply. Finally, in (CSM), the challenge is when the company fails to attend to all complaints of customers, and

Equity and Trusts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Equity and Trusts - Essay Example These recent legal decisions have contributed a lot in refining the traditional stipulations surrounding. This been well illustrated in the amounts of emphasis currently attached to beneficiaries’’ loss as a result of a trustee’s actions. The law provides that a trustee should manage a trust property (in this case a fund) on behalf of beneficiaries. This is a discussion that surrounds misappropriation of trust funds by a trustee and focuses on the best legal advice to be given to the beneficiary. Introduction A trust is defined as an equitable duty that binds one person to handle property owned by him or her (but not his or her private property) on behalf of other persons in which any of these other persons my enforce the obligation; including the person himself or herself. This person is called a trustee while the others are beneficiaries and, as stated, the trustee could also be a beneficiary. The writer of the trust is called a settler. Hepburn insisted that o bligation is equitable1. Some scholars have clarified that the popular obligation of conscience is not necessarily the same as ‘equitable obligation The prime obligation of a trustee is to run, handle and manage the trust on behalf of the beneficiaries. Over time however, it has been established that trustees could misappropriate the trust property; which led to the development of rules of equities to act as checks and balances. For instances, rules of equity stipulate that trustees cannot invest trust funds in their own private businesses but only beneficiary-authorized ventures. The beneficiaries are said to own the equitable interest in the trust fund or property and are required to demand for good management of the trust. Beneficiaries can sue trustees for mismanagement or breach of trust. The beneficiaries are entitled to proprietary interest emanating proceeding from the trust property or fund; and are entitled to pass it to others2. The beneficiaries have a legal duty t o terminate the trustees’ legal titles to them. However, their age and absolute entitlement to the trust must be unquestionable. Jeremy Versus Kevin and Joint Trust In advising Kevin and the Joint Trust, there are a several features of a trust to be considered. It should be noted that the principle of equity is effected by the owner, trustee, in his or her own conscience. This is popularly known as implied or express trust. But if law comes in and forces the trustee to perform functions for which the property was conferred, that becomes a constructive. Using this power and the legal disposition discussed above, Kevin should go ahead and instruct his father to confer the legal title to him; otherwise seek court’s direction. The second advice to Kevin would probably rhyme with the second feature of trusts: conscience. For all intends and purposes, Jeremy, the trustee’s conscience is affected by at least some factors. This is illustrated by his decision to transfer the trust fund to his private account; which was of course not the original purpose of the trust. It means therefore that the trustee automatically rendered the trust from being implied or express. Establishment of a trust depends on a property that can be identified. In this case, Jeremy, by dishonestly transferring the trust fund, breached the trust and the ‘property is not identifiable’3; thus a trust cannot be established and if it was prior established, it should end. Alternatively, since the trustee is already under constructive trust terms, through a court process, then he should be made to refund the trust fund. After a trust is up and running, a proprietary interest on the part of the beneficiary starts to build up. Jeremy should be compelled by law to transfer legal title of the trust, refund the trust’

Research Paper on Criminal Profiling Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

On Criminal Profiling - Research Paper Example This approach is used by professionals in the criminal justice system in identifying and capturing criminals. Often, criminal profiling is conducted by the forensic psychologists who provide criminal profile to the police departments to help in apprehending of the criminals (Kocsis, 2010). Statistical evidence, psychology, and crime scene analysis are combined in developing a personality type that fits well with the committed crime. Criminal profiling is in most cases used in helping investigators to apprehend serial killers and psychopaths who may otherwise go free (Canter, 2004). In addition, it helps in catching other types of offenders such as rapists and arsonists. The approach helps to label the offenders or perpetrators as disorganized, organized, or mixed. Criminal profiling is not only essential in finding potential offenders, but also in narrowing down the offenders’ list already compiled by the police (Devery, 2010). This paper will discuss criminal profiling by cri tiquing the foundations of criminal profiling and by comparing and contrasting inductive versus deductive profiling. 1) Critique the Foundations of Criminal Profiling Criminal profiling has proved to be an important tool in controlling of crime in recent years. Prior to the inception of criminal profiling, criminal investigators mainly relied on the physical evidence to identify and apprehend criminals (Holmes and Holmes, 2009). However, this changed after the inception of criminal profiling that provided advanced techniques in developing theories and compiling evidence based on the of patterns of criminal behavior, crime scene evidence, criminal’s socioeconomic background, motives of crime, and psychological aspects of violent crime (Alison et al, 2010). The foundations of criminal foundations since its inception aimed at detecting and classifying the major behavioral and personality characteristics of a person based on the crime analysis or the crimes that have been committ ed (Holmes and Holmes, 2009). The first foundation of criminal profiling is determining offender characteristics by using the process of assimilation phase where all the available information relating to crime scene, witnesses, and victim is examined. Police reports, autopsy reports, witness statements, victim profiles, and photographs of the crime scene are important aspects of this process (Kocsis, 2010). Criminal profiling is also founded on the principle of classification which involves integration of collected information into a framework that classifies the offender as organized, disorganized, or mixed. Organized offenders are those that plan their crimes, leave little forensic clues or evidence, exhibit advanced social skills, and display some element of control over the victim through the use of social skills (Canter, 2004). On the other hand, disorganized offender is the one that exhibit few social skills, has haphazard behavior, attempts to avoid detection, lack planning, impulsive, and the offenses committed are deemed opportunistic. Additionally, integration of information would classify the offender as mixed offender who exhibits some elements of organized and disorganized offenders (Alison et al, 2010). In addition to classification, criminal profiling is also founded on the notion that there is need for the reconstruction of the crime behavioral sequence. Following classification

Congestive heart failure Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Congestive heart failure - Research Paper Example Diseases and agents that weaken heart muscle contraction, especially ventricular muscle, for example, heart attacks, infections of heart muscle (myocarditis), toxins, chronic alcohol abuse and some chemotherapeutic agents (systolic dysfunction). They vary amongst many patients depending on the type (whether it is systolic or diastolic) and the organs affected. Fatigue is the earliest symptom of CHF due to inadequacy of the heart to perform its function. The diagnosis of CHF entails; having noteworthy knowledge about the medical history of the patient; carefully taking a proper history concerning the present condition of the patient; carefully conducting a physical examination and conducting the necessary laboratory tests to confirm the diagnosis. This will assist the health care expert identify signs that are consistent with CHF. Treatment should start immediately CHF is diagnosed in a patient. For one, lifestyle modification should be used so that no further fluid is retained in the body. This is done through regulation of sodium intake in food, since sodium increases fluid in the body. Restriction of alcohol intake and monitoring fluid intake also manages the

London Through Centuries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

London Through Centuries - Essay Example Perring (2002, p.1) states that, â€Å"Roman London was built on the north bank of the Thames, the site of the modern city†. Our visit to the Museum of London helped us a lot to understand more about the after effect of the amalgamation of British and Roman cultures. The museum is not so far away from the suburbs of London because it is near the London Wall. But we did not like to waste our time by viewing all the items displayed at the Museum. We entered the Museum and the Museum authorities pointed out that the objects displayed on the floor E can help us to learn more about Roman London. The curator guided us towards a number of objects displayed at the Roman collections section. We were totally stunned with surprise because it was beyond our imagination. The artistic craftsmanship of the people who lived between AD 50 and AD 410 was really amazing to us. The Roman Collection is symbolic of the human interest in preserving historically important objects. The curator pointed out that the effort to reconstruct the city of London helped to discover the objects that were preserved under the ground for centuries. The collection primarily includes ceramic objects, marble/metal objects, coins, wooden objects, and some items in bone and leather. The ceramic display at the Museum sheds light into the lifestyle and culture of the people who lived in London between AD 50 and AD 410. ... After viewing the ceramic section, we headed towards the Marble/Metal object section. The curator led us towards the marble sculptures that are excavated from a historically important place in Roman London, known as the Temple of Mithras. Later, we viewed the metal objects discovered from the Walbrook stream. These works are symbolic of the industrialization of handicrafts and domestic life of the Roman London. For instance, the jewellery and household utensils prove that handicraft developed into the form of industry in Roman London. The next section was really interesting to me because the same revealed the vividness of the cultural aspects of Roman London. The coin collection helped me to understand more about the importance of trade and commerce in Roman London. Besides, the leather and wooden objects were helpful to understand more about handicrafts in Roman London. So, the visit to the Museum of London was helpful for us to understand the cultural aspects of Roman London. Medie val London: First of all, Medieval London is interconnected with Norman invasion, which happened in the year 1066. One can see that some of the religious buildings and monuments in the Modern London are symbolic of the cultural heritage of Medieval London. To be specific, the Norman rulers constructed a number of forts and monuments in London. So as to have deeper understanding on the historical and cultural characteristics of Medieval London, we searched for churches and historically important monuments. Then we came to know that some of the churches and monuments like St. Bartholomew the Great, St Bartholomew the less and the Guildhall are important. So, we decided to visit these churches and monuments and restructured our timetable. Our first visit was

Some students have a background or story that is so central to their Essay - 3

Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story - Essay Example My parents had to move because of their business trips and other work related issues, while I was to complete my education away from them. Constant moving was hindering my schooling and so they deemed it better if I stayed in a single place, even if it meant staying away from them. Often, we do not realize the sacrifices that our loved ones make for us and our mind just focuses on the negative aspects of it. I admit to having been through the same feelings where I focused more on the absence of my parents in my life. I used to think that they did not love me and that I was just an unwanted burden on their lives. When I used to look at the people around me and how children were happy with their parents, I felt awful from the inside. There was a void which my parents did not fill and the emptiness grew stronger with time. I resented being born many times. Whenever I came across families that were complete and children who were with their parents, not only did I feel sad but I used to g et jealous of them. I used to wonder a lot as to why I could not bond on such a level with my parents. The lack of influential figures in my life actually inflicted an empty wound. One day, I stumbled on the photographs of my parents when they were young. The photographs looked old but I could not help smiling at them because these photographs showed some of the happiest moments of my life. The photographs were of me and my parents in which I was very young, but I realized so were they. The youthfulness that my mother and father cherished had faded away by now and I realized the impact of time on them. At that very moment, something in me clicked and I concluded that I could not blame my parents for not being there for me. Love does not always require the physical presence of individuals but it is rather the linking of the souls. My parents got married after high school and they could not go to college. They had to work very

The effects of video games in our society Essay Example for Free

The effects of video games in our society Essay The effects video games have on young people. Good or bad? Effects of computerized gaming have a wide range on young people today and like anything else the effects you get out is in the way they are used. If we look at how computer games are made and what they are intended for we can get a better understand for the effects that come out of them. Video games today are created on a bases of entertainment but what are computer games? They are most commonly a simulation of a real life or exaggerated situation where a player can experience from their homes. To start off with the most talked about effect of computer games: violence. Many people would say that video games are quite harmless but a question that has arisen quite a lot is that first person view shooter games can have quite a big effect on people as you are playing the role of the character in the game. You are inflicting harm on others personally as you are the character that is playing out the role in the game. The two views to point out on this are that experiencing these things are just as real as experiencing them in real life and that players can be acting as if they have done or experienced them in real life and be more likely to refer to the â€Å"training† they have had in a game and carry it out in a real life situation. The other view is that young people can go towards theses areas naturally and by letting them vent out what they might do in real life situation, instead of in a video game they reduce that need in a harmless way and therefore aren’t so violent outside of the computer game. Video games have much wider effects than violence allot of games support a virtual world where a player has to use his or her spatial logical or knowledge to advance in the game. While it’s suggested that first person view shooting games can have a violent effect they often require and improve skills at physics when a player has to decide when and where to fire their weapon at a moving target to hit it or how far they need to propel an object to reach its target. While strategy games can require a great deal of logical thinking and tactics to win and can improve a player’s way of thinking. Like all things too much is not good for you and video games are one of the highest reasons that young people are unfit today. While unlike a TV, computer games require thinking and exercise the brain, whoever is playing gets to control the content they are watching and unless they finish the game, there is usually always more content to play. With most modern console games there is commonly a multiplayer mode which isn’t quite the same as real life; it can be effective in its own way. Players will usually be required to use teamwork and cooperation with each other to overcome the level or the opposing team. In the case of video games, especially console games many players can get interested in other areas of the video game. Ultimately improve their skills that can be required later on in their education and can help when getting a job. Games can often include extra tools that the player can use to develop and write their own parts for games. Learning how to use these pieces of software can be quite a challenge and lead to other advanced areas of video games and ultimately go towards skills they could use in later life. Ultimately, video games have a positive effect of learning and development in areas that aren’t that apparent at first glance and like anything else they can be misused and abused just as easily. For their purpose of instructions players have succeeded quite well, as long as people stick to the age requirement, they do what they were made to do: Entertain.

Young People: Leaving the care system

Young People: Leaving the care system Literature reviewed for this study has included articles from academic journals and textbooks, government policy, guidance and briefings and other guidance produced by non-statutory organisations such as the National Care Advisory Service. Key themes within the literature reviewed have included the experiences of young people in care that contribute to their leaving care experiences, the effectiveness of services aimed at care leavers, social work practice with care leavers and the views of young people themselves on how prepared they feel when leaving the care system. Background Studies about young people leaving care point to the different life experiences that many care leavers have in contrast to their peers and argue that these have an impact on how prepared young people are to leave care. Whilst in the care system they face disadvantage plus a greater risk of social exclusion and poor outcomes such as low educational achievement and homelessness, unemployment and mental health problems (Stein et al 2000, Courtney et al 2000). Particular groups of care leavers can also face specific types of discrimination and disadvantage. Black and ethnic minority care leavers face identity problems due to a lack of contact with family and community (Barn et al 2005), young disabled people in care may encounter problems with poor planning in relation to their housing in the transition period from care (Priestly et al 2003) and young women in care are at greater risk of teenage pregnancy and the associated risks of poor outcomes (DfES 2006). Jones (2002) noted significa nt qualitative differences between young parents who have family support and those living away from home. The life history of looked after children also plays a part in their preparation to leave care. Many looked after children can have complex needs that are related to their earlier childhood experiences. These experiences can impact on how they settle into their looked after placements and the level of educational achievement that they reach at school. Their educational achievements will affect how they manage in life after care. Looked after children often have a number of social, emotional or behavioural difficulties such as challenging behaviour, low self-esteem and poor concentration skills, which again can affect their transitions into adulthood (Soan and Lee 2010). Transition Everson-Hock et al (2009) attempted to analyse the effectiveness of transition to adulthood support services (TSSs) to leaving care and their impact on outcomes including education, employment, substance misuse, criminal and offending behaviour, parenthood, housing and homelessness and health (Everson-Hock et al, 2009). The study, based largely on US quantitative studies found that young people leaving care were more likely to complete compulsory education if they received TSSs; that there was moderate evidence that TSSs improved employment prospects and; moderate evidence that TSSs lessened the likelihood of negative impacts from substance misuse, offending behaviour, homelessness or early parenthood (Everson-Hock et al 2009). Whilst accepting that US based studies could not simply be transferred to UK experiences, the study conclude that TSSs do have a beneficial effect on the adult outcomes of looked after young people, in particular for education, employment, parenthood and housi ng (Everson-Hock et al 2009, p52). A study in Scotland identified planning transition to adulthood as important and noted that leaving care at an early age can be a concern. Moving from residential care to supported carers and then allowing young people to move in a planned manner that allows them a say in when they leave care is also important (Kendrick 2008). This study also identified failures by local authorities to make adequate preparations. Many care leavers did not receive a programme of preparation, particularly those in foster homes or being cared for at home. It was also identified that 60% of the young people surveyed had not received a formal leaving care review (Kendrick 2008). Evidence elsewhere also suggests that care leavers are often hurried out of care with the Director of the Office for Childrens Rights commenting a common theme among those young people consulted was in their having remarkably short periods of notice to leave, together with their sheer lack of preparation to do so(Morgan and Lindsa y 2006). Stein found that since the 1990s there has been more of a focus on outcome studies (Stein, 2006). Nonetheless, the wide variation in both research and the collection of statistical outcome data by the government has been highlighted by international leaving care work (Stein, 2006). Likewise Simon and Own (2006 citied in ibid) stated that the information base for those in care and leaving care has immensely enhanced since 1998. However, they have also found three existing weaknesses. Firstly, the dates mainly have short follow up times. Secondly they focus only a small parameter of young peoples lives. And finally, they are mainly available for England. Stein differentiates that the transition itself, is crucial to getting young people ready for the risk of society, by giving them the time for independence, discovering, thinking, risk taking and character exploration (Stein, 2006). He says that coming across danger is possible through chance, so in order to identify valuable and harmful effects, by the revelation to these problematic situations, it allows for opportunities emerge for both problem-resolving skills and emotional coping skills are provided (Newman and Blackburn, 2002, cited in Stein ibid). Steins study analysis significantly shows that care leavers as a group are more likely to be socially excluded and that there are still huge gaps in research knowledge, particularly nothing in terms of using experimental and quasi-experimental methods (Stein, 2006). Therefore, there is a high demand for the usage of cohort experiments in giving a refined understanding of risk and protective elements over time. Furthermore, he openly shows that there is also a high demand to develop connections between empirical and theoretical work, this is because most of the studies do not involve research from theory in regards to context, theoretical investigation and theory making. In view of the concerns and increasing awareness of the poor outcomes of young people leaving the care system, the Government produced a consultation paper (Care Matters: Transforming the Lives of Children and Young People in Care 2007). Care Matters (2006) detailed a number of government initiatives to assist the transition into adulthood for care leavers. Included in the proposals were a pilot scheme to allow young people to live with foster families until they were 21; establishment of a capital investment fund to improve supported housing options; top-ups of Child Trust funds for young people in care and national bursaries for young people in care that go onto higher education. One of the key principles of Care Matters echoed research elsewhere into transition that young people should enter adult life when they are ready rather than when a local authority social worker decides that they should do so. Most young people are supported by their families until their early twenties ye t those in care often lack that sense of security they should expect no less from a corporate parent in terms of help in the transition to adulthood than their peers who live with parents (Care Matters 2006). Rainer (2007:2) states The DfES Green Paper Care Matters, and the Next Steps document, set out a range of extremely promising proposals to improve services to young people as they move through and out of the care system. However, there is evidence that when it comes to housing support care leavers are not yet consistently receiving the service they are entitled to under current legislation. His reports analysed the scale of the issues and highlights the terrible conditions in which some care leavers are expected to set up their first home. Similarly, Broad (2005 cited in Stein, 2006) found that for young parents, young accompanied asylum and refugee seekers and young people remanded, their services were mainly described as staying the same since the introduction of the Children Leaving Care Act 2000. The DH (Department of Health, 2003) found that some young people are drawn to the concept of independence and will have a strong drive to leave, however that urge is driven by various factors, these including a placement breakdown, the limited placements available, issues with challenging behaviour management, traditional expectations and tight transitions. DH (ibid) realises that inconsistent planning for adulthood is common for young care leavers, furthermore, the specific needs have not been consistently given to certain groups like ethnic minorities or single parent. However, having said that, some young people do have positive experiences whereas some experience hardships, this sometimes even included high risk of homelessness. Stein (2006) debated that a holistic approach needs to be considered when preparation is made for leaving care, that it each element needs equal amount of importance, practical skills are equal to emotional wellbeing as well being equal to interpersonal s kills. Housing Support with accommodation is also identified as an important issue for care leavers and they should have access to appropriate housing options. For many leaving residential care or foster placements, issues such as coping with finances, shopping and self-care were challenging and practical support in developing life skills is something that will help better prepare care leavers for adulthood (Kendrick 2008). The National Care Advisory Service (NCAS) also stresses that suitable and stable accommodation for young people preparing to leave care will enable them to develop their skills and options in other areas such as education, employment and social networking (NCAS 2009). NCAS identified the importance of pathway planning and highlighted an example of good practice in Barnsley where pathway assessments have a specific section relating to accommodation which considers things such as a young persons current arrangements; their practical knowledge; awareness of tenancy rights and respo nsibility to be a good neighbour; budgeting skills and the care leavers ability to access housing advice (NCAS 2009). Care matters (2006) highlighted the negative consequences of frequent changes in foster care. In 2005/6, of 23,000 children under 16 looked after for more than 2.5 years; 65% had been living in the same placement for at least two years or were placed for adoption. While this is 1% higher than the previous year, unless the rate increases dramatically the government is unlikely to achieve their target of 80% by 2008 and currently 12% of children in care still experience 3 or more placements (Care matters, 2006). Care Matters made a number of proposals about commissioning; increasing choice and training and support for foster carers and residential workers. While these are all positive steps they will not necessarily address the issues of shortfall in foster carers and the poor status of residential work as a positive option for staff. (Barnardos,2007,p4) ref:bernardos.org.uk Lack of stability was also highlighted as a barrier to social bonding and support, emotional well-being, and educational success. The social worker would be responsible for the budget of each child. Care plans need to be revised. In interview with children in care, one placement was top on their list of what they desired (Morgan, 2007). Employment, Education and Training The educational under achievement of children in care up to year 11 is well researched and documented, but despite the long standing recognition of this issue there appears to have been no substantial improvement in recent years. Care Matters recognises the importance of stability in education, particularly in years 10 and 11, but does not go far enough in outlining a schools responsibilities to ensure looked after children are not denied access to their education through temporary or permanent exclusion. Given looked after children are disproportionately more likely to have their education disrupted through exclusion we are concerned about the degree of discretion in individual schools as to the interpretation of last resort. (Barnardos,2007,p7). While 56 percent of all children attained 5 good GCSEs of A to C in 2005, only 11 percent of children in care attained these levels (DfES, 2006); this level was 12 percent in 2006 (DfES, 2007). A study of care leavers in the UK found that only 23 per cent were in full-time or part-time education (Everson-Hock 2009). The age that young people leave care can be a factor that leaves them ill-prepared for independent living. Many do so between the ages of 16 and 17, at a time when they also manage the move from education into training, work or unemployment. Their peers go through this transition most often whilst living at home with family support and the advantages of a stable home environment (Jones 2002). The importance of attempting to achieve positive educational outcomes is stressed by a number of commentators as crucial in effective preparation for leaving care. Newman and Blackburn (2002) and Sinclair et al (2005) emphasise that having positive experiences at school and reaching an adequate level of educational achievement is strongly associated with resilience in young people in care and in getting them ready for adult life. From a wider perspective, it makes sense for local and central government to invest in the future of care leavers and in England there is evidence in recent years of a change in philosophy so that supporting children and young people that are at risk of poor outcome is desirable so that that can maximise their potential in future (Stein 2008). Providing education and training focussed on future employment is crucial to this. Health Health services have an important role in supporting young people leaving care. Low levels of care leavers report seeing health professionals and high number report engaging in unhealthy behaviours such as smoking (Everson-Hock 2009). As part of effective partnership working, Directors of Childrens Services should ensure that health services, particularly mental health services are on hand to work with social workers and accommodation providers to assist care leavers (NCAS 2009). Young people with mental health needs especially might need help in locating suitable places to live. A further important health issue is for social workers to help young people to understand the importance of healthy living and have access to suitable cooking facilities (NCAS 2009). Unfortunately, young care leavers are at a disadvantage here. For many 16-17 year olds, parents take on responsibility for arranging medical consultations, promoting a balanced diet, identifying ill health and discussing the dangers of smoking and drinking local authorities as a corporate parent often take a less proactive role in this area (McLeod and Bywaters 2000). Added to the poor housing and deprivation that many care leavers experience and a consistent picture often emerges of malnutrition, infections, mental illness, drug use and susceptibility to physical attack (McLeod and Bywaters). Being a young parent can have a great impact on people as they leave care. The prevalence of teenage pregnancy among looked after girls in England is around three times higher than that their peers under 18 in England (DfES 2006) and a study carried out by the Teenage Pregnancy Unit (2001) found that a quarter of looked after young people had a child by the age of 16 and nearly half had a baby within 24 months of leaving care. These young people in general are exposed to a number of risk factors associated with teenage pregnancies, including educational failure, socio-economic deprivation and involvement in youth offending (Kirton 2009), all of which have a negative impact on their preparation for independent living after care. Quantitative research into young mothers leaving care was completed by Maxwell et al (2011). The studied acknowledged that the likelihood of pregnancy increases significantly in care leavers and used interviews and diaries kept by young mothers to try and identify how they were prepared to leave care as a parent. The study identified that young women wanted to provide a better childhood than they had experienced to their own baby and found motherhood as something that helped build a positive image (Maxwell et al 2011). Again, the research highlighted that the earlier lives of care leavers and the subsequent low esteem that they have can be a significant hurdle in preparing for life outside of the care system Care matters (2006) propose that local authorities provide free access to sports and clubs, as well as opportunities for personal development and volunteering. The Healthy Care Programme supports this pledge, stating, This supports the National Healthy Care Standard entitlement for looked after children to have opportunities to develop personal and social skills, talents and abilities and to spend time in freely chosen play, cultural and leisure activities (DfES, 2006b, p. 3). More than 50 percent of the children who responded to the Green Paper reported having problems gaining access to such activities. (DfES, 2007).156 children in care rated the governments ideas for what councils should promise to them. A right to do leisure and sports activities and a chance to do a volunteering activity were fifth and sixth on their list, respectively (Morgan, 2007, p. 33). Support Biehal et al (1995) also studied the impact of different leaving care services on the young people involved. This study found that specialist leaving care services were most likely to have an impact on those who came into care from the most disadvantaged starting point. Biehal et al found that many young people were unprepared to leave care, but that this could be affected by their earlier family relationships and housing experiences. Like other studies, it was identified that the best leaving care services should include making a contribution to improving accommodation options and helping young care leavers with life skills such as budgeting, negotiating and self-care (Biehal et al 1995). Stein (2008) examined how to promote the resilience of young people in care and better preparation for adulthood, suggesting that this could be better achieved through provision of stability in care, a holistic preparation for transition and the provision of comprehensive services throughout their time in care which promoted a positive sense of identity. Stein also developed a theory that carer leaves fall into three distinct groups which can be shaped by their level of preparation to leave care young people moving on, survivors and victims (Stein 2008). Qualitative research into the views of young people on their preparations to leave care was undertaken by Morgan and Lindsay (2006). This identified that the assistance they were given in preparing to leave care varied greatly. Some identified good practice such as young people preparing to leave care gradually by spending a couple of days a week living independently in their new accommodation, and the rest of the week back in care. Support to learn practical skills such as cooking, doing laundry and housework was also seen as important but support in helping them learn these skills varied. Morgan and Lindsay also identified that practical help received from local authorities when leaving care was often lacking. Only 52% received support for education and accommodation, 53% were offered continued support from social services and only 33% offered practical help with training or benefits and grants (Morgan and Lindsay 2006). There is evidence that many young people feel largely unprepared for leaving care. Morgan and Lindsays study identified extremely short notice periods given to young people for leaving care, or young people being forced to leave care at a time when they did not feel ready to do so. In some of the worst examples, young people were given only 24 hours to leave a placement, they had no plan for the future, they had no home-keeping skills and little choices as to where they would move onto (Morgan and Lindsay 2006). Many saw a leaving care worker as important but some saw their leaving care worker as unhelpful and unsympathetic. Young people were able to identify what they wanted from leaving care workers often simple things such as to be there to support but not to interfere, and to offer support in finding adequate accommodation. Again, a key point is that provision of effective leaving care support appears to vary greatly Morgan and Lindsay summarise the overall impression conveyed was distinctly that of a lottery, with some young people enjoying excellent preparation and support, whilst others received little or no help at all (Morgan and Lindsay 2006, p22). Mentoring groups or peer mentors i.e. former care leavers to assist care leavers have also been identified as useful in preparing young people to live independently (Clayden and Stein 2005). Young people leaving care can need support from different sources at different times and a range of support networks can be useful in helping them overcome the disadvantages that they face. KEY FINDINGS The key findings from the literature review have been firstly à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢The accelerated process and young age of care leavers as opposed to other peers is a result of push factor such as placement breakdown, limitations in the supply of placements, problems in managing challenging behaviour, traditional expectations and personal choice. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Limited housing resources and the unsuitable allocation and condition of various accommodation provisions. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ LA as a corporate parent take a less proactive role compared to the parents of young people who are not in care in regards to their health which continue patterns of instability were particularly vulnerable to poor housing outcomes and were more likely to experience post care instability and homelessness. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Young people who have left care are over-represented amongst young homeless people, including those who are sleeping rough. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Entering the care system can prove to be highly problematic by disrupting a young persons education progress due to placements complexities and the personal negative experiences of young people pre and post entering care. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The lack of practical experiences and skills present during the transitions to independence presented as one of the main difficulties in conjunction with the issues of budgeting and housing as a main factor effecting a successful and stable transition. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The research reviewed emphasised that young people would prefer and benefit from gaining support and experience in undertaking practical tasks prior to leaving care. It is important to note that that the provision of leaving care services across the UK varies and young people in different areas will have different experiences and levels of support. Most commentators agree that the experiences of young people both before they come into care and whilst in care can have an impact years later when they are preparing to leave care and that effective leaving care services are important in preparing care leavers for independent living. Support with accommodation emerges as one of the most effective ways to prepare young people to leave care along with provision of help and information on basic life skills such as budgeting, organisation and self-care. There is certainly room for further research in this area, particularly based on the experiences of UK care leavers at this point there is relatively little qualitative research into how young people feel about their preparations to leave care. The period before people leave care allows is an important period where carers and statutory organisations can make a positive impact on their lives fully understanding the impact of TSSs can be a valuable tool in delivering better outcomes.

Comparing two war poems written by Wilfred Owen: Dulce et decorum Est E

Comparing two war poems written by Wilfred Owen: Dulce et decorum Est and Anthem for Doomed Youth. In this essay I will be comparing two war poems written by Wilfred Owen: ‘Dulce et decorum Est’ and ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’. By comparing the two I will be able to distinguish the fact that Wilfred Owen is very anti-propaganda and why he feels so strongly about this. The two poems have many similarities but also a fair amount of differences, which I will be discussing in this essay. The two poems have a strongly anti war message and in both the victims of war are the young men who’s lives are wasted. ‘Dulce et decorum Est’ uses the description of a gas attack to show how horrific the reality of war is. Owen describes the victim with, ‘The white eyes writhing in his face†¦the blood†¦gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs.’ The physical horror of this helps to shape his message. It is addressed to the propaganda poet Jessie Pope and tells her that it is a lie to say that it is sweet and honorable to die for one’s country. A similar message in ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ describes the slaughtered young men who ‘die as cattle’. Owen expresses his anger in a set of contrasts between a real funeral and the lack of a funeral for these young men. For example, instead of a service with a choir, they only have ‘the shrill demented choirs of wailing shells’. As you would expect, the tone and mood of both poems is deeply serious as Owen has a strong message in both of them. However, they are different. ‘Dulce et decorum Est’ expresses a great deal of horror and anger. The horror is set aside for the terrible pain and terror of the gas attack, not only for the victim but also for the poet. He writes, ‘In a... ...ack, making a strong message to contradict the vague, Latin phrase about how sweet it is to die for your country. In ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ Owen develops a singe image, the idea of the funeral ceremony for the dead. The first line asks about the ‘passing bells’ and the rest of the octave describes the various sounds of war, which are substituted for the funeral bells. This includes the ‘monstrous anger of guns’, the rattling of the riffles and the wailing of the shells. The sestet begins by asking where are the candles for the funeral service but goes on to tell us that ‘holy glimmers of goodbyes’ in the eyes of the boy soldiers will have to instead. The funeral cloth placed over the coffin is replaced by ‘the pallor of girls brows’. Instead of flowers, they have ‘the tenderness of patient minds’. All the images are based on the original comparison.

Essays on Death and Suicide - Grieving the Loss of My Mother :: Personal Narrative Writing

Grieving the Loss of My Mother I stopped in the middle of the street and drew in a deep breath. "Where am I going?" I asked myself. I glanced at my watch, still walking, and noticed with a shudder that it was already past midnight. "Time flies when you're having fun," I muttered, my voice filled with a surprising sarcasm. I turned the corner of 54th street, and glanced down the block. No one. Part of me wished that someone would have been there, someone who would question me and demand that I go straight home. But I knew that if I went back, I'd be right where I started. And I'd promised myself progress this night. Maybe I wouldn't be able to get away, the odds of that happening were clearly against me, and I was aware of it, but every moment I could be free from the problems was one more I could cling to. Suddenly, a car pulled up next to me, the headlights blinding me momentarily. I glanced inside to see Micha sitting at the wheel. "Get in," she said. I crossed to the passenger side and got in, without objecting, due to the fact that I knew it was too late to be defiant. And I was too tired. I braced myself for what was to come next, but my older sister said nothing. She put her car into gear, and pulled away without a word. We drove in silence, the only noise being her deep breathing and my short, shallow sighs. I realized just how far I had walked, as we drove to my house- at least 5 miles. When we reached our house, I looked at it, as if I was seeing it for the first time in my life- the old fashioned porches, the balcony, the huge, beautiful windows. I stayed in the car, as did Micha, neither of us making an attempt to move as she commented on the grass needing cut, and the mess the neighbors had made in the front yard. I heard her, but I wasn't listening- I was merely staring ahead of me, debating if I should get out and run inside or try to justify my actions. "Micha..." I began, but she cut me off short. "Go get some sleep," she said dryly, "We'll talk in the morning." I got out of the car, leaving her in the car as I briskly ran up the walkway.

Social Structure and Its Effect On Our Lives Essay -- Sociology Cause

Social Structure and Its Effect On Our Lives Social structures are constraints that affect the lives of both the affluent and the indigent members of society.   Each society has its own set of social arrangements for example; class, gender and ethnicity are all constraints that each society has to deal with in one way or another.   One of the most fundamental of the social structures would be class.   Class structure is found in all societies and is the key source of economical inequality.   Members of different class groups start their lives with unequal opportunities.   This means that when someone is born into a poor household    they will undoubtedly remain in the same economical situation they began in.   Gender is another important issue when regarding structures.   For years women have struggled to be accepted into the workforce and although there have been many improvements on the treatment of female employees there is still a long way to go to reach equal opportunities.   Ethnicity has a strong bearin g on what we can achieve in life by greatly affecting our place in the labour market.   Although Australia is a multicultural society life chances for Australia's own migrants are still less than adequate when it comes to being treated fairly in the workforce. Social structure is created by the distribution of wealth, power and prestige.   The social structure consists of taken for granted beliefs about the world and both constrain and regulate human actions.   The social structure consists of substructures such as class, gender and ethnicity.   These groups are formed within society; each group shares common attitudes, values, social norms, lifestyle and material goods.   People within society stay within the guidelines of the soc... ...s and Gender in Australia, George Allen & Unwin, Noth Sydney. Broom, D., 1988, `Gender and Health', in Second Opinion: An Introduction to Health Sociology, ed.J. Germov, Oxford University Press, Melbourne. Cohen, Y. A., 1961, Social Structure and Personality. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York. Graetz, B. & McAllister, I. 1994, Dimensions of Australian Society, 2nd edn, Macmillan Education, South Melbourne. Jones, F.L., 1993, `Unlucky Australians: Labour market outcomes among Aboriginal Australians', Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 16, no. 3. McGregor, C., 1989, `Class', in Four Dimensional Social Space, eds T. Jatenburg & P.D'Alton, Harper & Row, Sydney Wesolowski, W., 1979, Classes, Strata and Power. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London Van Krieken, R., et al. 2000, Sociology: Themes and Perspectives, 2nd edn, Pearson Education, Frenchs Forest.

“I wish I could remember” by Christina Rossetii Essay

Christina Rossetii had expressed her regret and longing to recall the â€Å"first day, first hour, first moment† of the â€Å"unrecorded† first meeting of her youthful love. She consider the first meeting â€Å"mean so little† in the old days, she thought it was â€Å"dull† to remember the youthful love that she knew would not last long in her life. However, as time pass by, She felt regretful she would like and wish to â€Å"recall† the memory of the â€Å"days of day† and â€Å"first touch of hand in hand†. Metaphor, simile and personification were used in the poem as to express her emotion of regret. Christina Rossetii wrote â€Å"my tree† as to represent her life with metaphor. Also, she express memory to â€Å"thaw of bygone snow† by simile. She also made use of personification as to show the memory fade out into slip away. Besides, she had make use of words related to senses such as â€Å"touch†, â€Å"see† and â€Å"say†. Moreover, she used repetition, alliteration, assonance and internal rhymes. For repetition, she repeated the word â€Å"I could† many times as to express her longing to remember the memory of the meeting. For alliteration, she used the words like â€Å"meeting me† to attract us. For assonance, she stress on the vowel sound ‘O’ very much to catch our soundings. And for internal rhymes, she used words like ‘hour’ and ‘your’, ‘see’ and ‘foresee’, ‘o ne’ and ‘know’. Christina Rossetii used the image of season, time, memory, nature, evasion and nothingness in â€Å"I wish I could remember†. She made the contrast in summer and winter in season as she express the past has gone just like the â€Å"bygone snow† by using metaphor and now her â€Å"first day, first hour, first moment† just like season and time go so fast and could not be caught. Besides, she showed her longing to remember the moment by making use of the words of recollect’, ‘remember’, ‘recall’ and ‘bygone’. Moreover, she created the image of nature with words like ‘tree’ and ‘blossom’ as things change everyday like nature does although it is beautiful and wonderful that she miss that particular â€Å"first day†. Also, she indicated her love has gone and so as the memory of that day as the evasion with words like slip away by personification. She did not want to remember that day in her life as she didn’t think it was worth and just to evade. Besides, she used the nothingness with words â€Å"traceless†, â€Å"aught† to show the vanishing memory of  the first meeting memory. She loved to use conditionals in the sonnet s to express her longing for going back to the past and recollect the first meeting memory. She had used the falling tone as to express her regret, sadness and longing to remember also. Christina Rossetii stress on her theme that we would feel different at different stages of our life. And as her own experience, she thought the first meeting was not a big deal in her life and did not worth to remember it. But while she realized that feeling last long and she thought this mean so much and she just want to recollect that memory of the first day. We always learnt to regret and cherish after losing but not before losing it, we should learn to cherish everything around us as not to be regretful till the end.

Fashion Channel Market Segmentation Essay

One of TFC’s glaring strengths is that it specializes in fashion-oriented programming. The company is dedicated to fashion programming 24/7, meaning it is in a position to influence the market. Secondly, TFC appeals mostly to women between 35 and 54. The company’s viewership in the segment is 45% compared to 42% and 40% for Lifetime and CNN respectively. This category has the largest number of viewers and at the same time, one of those segments that is able to attract premium pricing. In addition, the company operates under the basic cable package. The package has more than 80 million subscribers in the U.S meaning that a large number of people have access to the channel. Conversely, TFC faces several weaknesses. Firstly, the company has not fully diversified its operations; it only specializes in fashion related programming. This could spell doom for the company, especially if the current trend is an indication of the future. Moreover, there is a section of the top management that is reluctant to accept change in the organization. The implication is that Dana’s recommendations may fail to get ratified for fear of the unknown. Thirdly, the satisfaction level of TFC’s customers is on the decline. The company is quickly losing customers to the two major competitors, and there are fears that the trend is sustainable. The other major weakness is that the organization has not segmented its market. The company ought to segment its market in order to benefit from the premium fee charged for the highly valued demographics. There are a number of opportunities available for TFC in its external environment. To begin, advertisers are ready to pay a premium for higher rating as well as defined demographic programming. Channels with higher rating are able to charge more for advertising meaning that TFC can gain additional revenue if appropriate strategies are developed to help increase its overall market rating. Secondly, there is a more room for the company to increase its market size. Fashion specific programming is continually gaining prominence among viewers in the U.S. market. In addition, viewer’s demand on network content and ad is directly related to the cost of advertisement. The company can thus increase its ad revenue through marketing strategies aimed at increasing viewership. One of TFC’s predominant threats is its two chief competitors: CNN and Lifetime. The two are constantly eating into the TFC’s major revenue base, and may even force the company out of the market. The second threat is that TFC is only entitled to $1 per subscriber. This is quite a small portion that cannot fully sustain the company’s operations. Besides, there is a threat that TFC may get dropped from the basic cable platform if subscribers satisfaction fails to improve. This may mean total loss for business. TFC’s Central Strategic Issue The company appears to lack a clearly defined business strategy. The  company’s product-market focus is vague. For instance, TFC has not segmented its market into different segments. Alternative Strategic Promotional Courses of Action Alternative 1 There are a number of marketing courses of action at TFC’s disposal. The first one, and perhaps most important, is market segmentation. The company should divide its market into different segments and concentrate on maximizing the revenue for the segment of choice. According to the data provided in the case, a combination of Fashionistas (scored 23.1M) and Shoppers/Planners (scored 42.35M) segments appears the most economical alternative for TFC. The two categories of customers are highly involved in matters related to fashion and are thus a suitable target for the company. There is also economic benefit involved if the company opts to back the strategy. Firstly, an admixture of the two segments yields a high profit margin (39%) in comparison to any other alternative. Besides, the alternative will trigger an increase in overall rating by 20%. There is a potential rise in the company’s rating from 1.0 to 1.2 consequently leading to increased revenue. In addition, this segmentation has the highest percentage of viewers 50% (=35% + 15%). The large number of viewers in two segments is thus suitable for the company, especially given that it entirely specialize in fashion programs. The problem with this alternative is that there is an increment in programming expenditure by $20 million. Alternative 2 The second alternative is broad-based marketing. This involves treating the entire market as a single group typified by customers with shared needs. The advantage of this strategy is that it is quite profitable at least in the short-run. Its adoption is likely to earn the company a net profit of more than $40 million (=$94.9 – 54.6). In addition, the approach does not attract incremental programming expenditure. On the other hand, the broad-based alternative will deny TFC the opportunity to earn premium CPM (Cost per thousand). Alternatively, TFC can opt for Fashionista segmentation. Using 2007 as a  base year, the alternative may rake for the company at least a net income of $100 million (=151.4 – 54.6). In addition, the approach is likely to boost the company’s overall rating from 1.1 to 1.2. The company will also be in a position to increase its charges from $2 to $3.5. Conversely, the Fashionista alternative will lead to an incremental expenditure of $15 million. Decision and Implementation Plan The new promotional plan should be positioned towards a combination of Fashionistas and Shoppers/Planners segment. Although there are a number of risks involved in this strategy, the returns are investing in the strategy. One of the greatest challenges for the company is maintaining the loyal customers while at the same time wooing new planners/shoppers and fashionistas. The company must come up with ways of ensuring that they do not lose some customers. This is achievable through evaluating the programs popular among the loyal customers and ensuring they are not disrupted by the new alternative. The company can also benchmark with its customers to learn how they are able to attract a huge number of fashionistas. The fact that the alternative may lead to incremental $20 million expenditure presupposes that its implementation is quite expensive. Benchmarking with Lifetime and CNN can help reduce the cost. Finally, the company should devise ways to foster awareness, perceived value, and interest of its products among consumers. This can be achieved through online marketing and ensuring there is appropriate social media policy in place to avoid misuse of the marketing platform.

Disparities Essay

Reducing Disparities Discuss the different ways in which disparities can be reduced with an emphasis on the following: Trade and market access Debt Relief Aid Remittances A Joint report by students. This report has been compiled by all 1B Geography students and aims to form a case study of how the global disparities as highlighted in the Millennium Development Goals are being reduced. Each student has contributed to their own section of the document and work should be checked by others for accuracy and reliability. It is after all a case study that will be used in the final examinations. What are the global disparities? Disparities exist within development patterns on a global scale. There is an increasing gap between the world’s richest and poorest countries due to factors such as globalization and increased consumerism. Disparities exist and can be measured using indices of infant mortality, education, nutrition, income and the Human Development Index. Disparities exist within countries resulting from ethnicity, residence, parental education, income, employment and land ownership. These disparities have long been recognized and the world has started to act (some might say too late) to try to reduce them. The biggest scheme to date has been the implementation and global promotion of the Millennium Development Goals. These eight key goals were set in the year 2000 and aim to tackle the main problems associated with poverty, education and health worldwide. These Goals are actively being worked towards with a final deadline of 201 5 for stage one targets. Many millions of people have been made aware of these goals directly and indirectly using campaigns such as Make Poverty History, Live8, The Red Appeal and The Girl Effect to name but a few. This piece of work will discuss the different ways in which these isparities can be reduced and evaluate the strategies that have already been implemented. Mr Podbury. 2013. Chapter 1 (Students; Angus and Kathrin) Introduction to, Trade and Market Access – Case Study Fairtrade in Africa. Introduction to Fairtrade -Trade between companies in developed countries and producers in developing countries in which fair prices are paid to the producers. Google) What it hopes to achieve -To work with businesses, community groups and individuals to improve the trading position of producer organisations in the south to deliver sustainable livelihoods to farmers, workers and their communities. How does it work? -They do this by being a passionate and ambitious development organization committed to tack ling poverty and injustice through trade. -Proving an independent certification of the trade chain

Poems-in the Shadow of Signal Hill Essay

In the Shadow of Signal Hill Signal Hill is a strikingly shaped hill or small peak overlooking the harbour of Cape Town. It has been used as a lookout post since the early days of the Cape colony. From it, the viewer can see Robben Island, the bare scar where the suburb of District Si stood before its occupants were evicted and its buildings demolished and Langa, a black township on the outskirts of suburban Cape Town. The overall significance of the title of the poem is that â€Å"Signal Hill† represents the higher, white authority or white government of the Apartheid era. The fact that it is a hill implies how the white government saw themselves as the superior party, the party that was raised above the nation they control. The part â€Å"in the shadow† of Signal Hill represents the black people who suffered under the Apartheid regime. They were the people who had to live in the shadows of the white government. The government overshadowed their whole lives and basically made their choices for them. The word â€Å"shadow† also bears a connotation of fear in general. When one looks at children’s books, one will notice that the antagonist in the stories would be a â€Å"shadowy figure†. Therefore the â€Å"Shadow of Signal Hill† suggests the white government is the antagonist in terms of them being wrong in what they are doing – which is initiating Apartheid in South Africa. 1. in the howling wind 2. by the murky waters 3. of the sea a cold, unpleasant atmosphere is created. Metaphor: howling wind might refer to the cries of the black people, their pleads for freedom and equality. 4. children of colour – refers to coloureds, Asians, black people and all others who suffered under the Apartheid regime. 5. gather shells 6. and hold them to their ears 7. and listen to the lamentations of slaves – cries/ weeping of the slaves. â€Å"lamentations† connects with â€Å"howling wind† which emphasises the suffering of the black and coloured people. 8. in the dungeon of death  since the children listen to the cries of the slaves in the dungeon of death while holding shells to their ears, it is possible that the shells can be a metaphor for the dungeon of death, which, in turn, is a metaphor for the situation the slaves or coloured and black people are in. This symbolises the helplessness of black people. 9. in the howling wind 10. by the murky waters 11. of the sea repetition of the first three lines adds emphasis to them. 12. sons of langa – Langa was a black township on the outskirts of suburban Cape Town. Langa not only represents the houses of the township, it also refers to the people who lived in Langa, therefore Langa is a community. â€Å"sons of langa† – the generation of the townships. This implies that the future generations will also be affected by Apartheid, whether it has ended or not. 13. gather at the ruins of district six 14. and sharpen the spears of the night 15. and the heroes from the island urge This possibly represents someone like Nelson Mandela, the infamous freedom-fighter. 16. go towards the fiery dawn . . . fiery: to be angry: the speaker suggests that the coloured or black people are angry, as it is expected since they have been treated like slaves by the white government for most of their lives. †fiery dawn† also suggest that an â€Å"angry break of day†, meaning that the coloured people wake up angry in the mornings. They are angry and frustrated with their circumstances. dawn: -the beginning of a phenomenon or period of time. -the break of day. Here it is suggested that the â€Å"fiery dawn† is indeed a new period of time which will commence. (The time of post-Apartheid.) The coloured people are angry and will take this anger and fight for their freedom. . . .: the ellipse is used effectively instead of a full stop. A full stop would end the poem. But the ellipse signals that the poem is not finished yet. It also resembles time passing. This symbolises that slavery will never come to an end, and no matter how much time passes, Apartheid will always be in the minds of the future generations. But they will keep on fighting for freedom in the future until the government treats everyone equally. About the poet: Patel is a committed political poet and worked on various poems regarding the aspect of politics. About the poem: â€Å"In the Shadow of Signal Hill† is an example of a protest poem. The poem has no punctuation marks or capital letters. This adds to the protest of the speaker. By ignoring common English grammar rules he strengthens the idea of protesting. The layout of the poem represents the waves of the ocean and the ebb and flow. The different lengths in sentences mimic the sea crashing onto the shore (represented by the longer sentences) and the retreating of the sea (represented by the short sentences. No punctuation marks means no stopping or pausing when one reads the poem. This also represents the image of the sea; the sea never stops moving, its waves will continuously crash on the shore, move back and repeat the process. Therefore by removing punctuation the poet effectively creates movement in the poem. Another reason for the lack of punctuation is to stress that there is no stopping slavery and discrimination. It is a never ending problem which will always continue to show its head somewhere else in the world. At comment 12, the highlighted words: Are they wrong/misinterpreted? I don’t know if your comment is a good or bad one. Futhermore, I think the tone is a sad, depressed tone when I read words like â€Å"murky† â€Å"shadow† â€Å"howling wind† â€Å"dungeon of death† â€Å"lamentation†. When I read the poem, I almost feel sorry for the slaves and children. Maybe this is also what the poet wants – to create an emotional atmosphere so the reader can empathise with the black people. I read the other students’ analyses and I agree that the word â€Å"children† is used to suggest innocence, and this stands in contrast with the rest of the tone of the poem. My thoughts are that the images of â€Å"murky waters† and â€Å"howling wind† also contrasts against â€Å"children†, because children are the symbol of happiness, laughter and care free circumstances. This, however is not the case with Langa. therefore the word â€Å"children† is used effectively to create contrast. I read the other students said that the spears of the night is a metaphor for the black people fighting back. â€Å"night† and â€Å"spears† usually have negative,  dark connotations, but in this instance it is the opposite: the black people represent freedom and light because they want to fight for what is fair and right. Then I also thought that, although one reads it as â€Å"night†, it can represent the homophone â€Å"knight†. this will make absolute sense in the context of the poem and the explanation just given. (it is like â€Å"Bustle in the House† where â€Å"morning† can be heard as â€Å"mourning†.) â€Å"Knight† also has a positive connotation. In medieval times the knight represented the good. A princess was saved by a knight in shining armour. Therefore the sentence â€Å"sharpen the spears of the night† can be reread as â€Å"sharpen the spears of the knight†, meaning that the people will fight for justice and that which is right?