Crim 101 Notes #1

* What is criminology? A social science studying crime and related phenomenon such as law making, criminal behavior, victimization and punishment Discipline of criminology is a recent development Most ideas and concepts we now have about crime and criminals emerged over last 2 or 3 centuries Modern criminology is multi-disciplinary (inter-disciplinary) Influenced by sociology, psychology, and biologyThe fascination with crime Crime is popular topic for newspapers, TV shows , books and movies There is little relationship between crime news and actual amount of crimes Media focus primarily on violent crimes, even though such crimes forms only smart part of all criminal activity Appears as though police solve more crimes and arrest more cirminals than they do in reality The appeal of crime stories and crime newsCrime related stories are often dramatic and lurid Deal with moral questions of good vs evil Criminals appear in stories as insane or dangerous psychopaths Stories happen in shor t time span- between newscasts or newspaper editions Easy for the public to understand Felson’s 10 fallacies about crime Book 1. the dramatic Fallacy o keep ratings high, media seek strange/violent incidents to report/create dramas around murder makes up less than 1% of all crime, yet from watching TV or reading the papers, it seems like a commonplace events seems that most murders are well-planned, grisly affairs, or they happen solely by random chance in fact, most murders start as arguments that escalate into violence most crimes are relatively minor property crimes 2. the cops and courts fallacy police work made to look more dangerous and challenging than it actually is increased policing found to be of limited value ost crimes are not reported, most of crimes that are reported are not solved by police very few elaborate court trials (charges dropped, plea bargaining, guilty plea) 3. the â€Å"not-me† fallacy most people think they could never (or would never) comm it a crime however, many people have shoplifted, smoked marijuana, driven when they’re impaired, or gone joy-riding in a car most people violate at least some laws sometimes, even though they may not get caught or end up with a criminal record 4. the innocent youth fallacy endency to view younger people as being â€Å"pure† or â€Å"innocent† in reality, teen years are the most active years for criminal activity majority of crimes committed by younger offenders younger offenders often are more dangerous than older offenders 5. the ingenuity fallacy tendency to think criminals are more clever than they really are in reality, lightweight, high value items have made crime even more simple most criminals take little planning, little skill, and almost no time to commit 6. the organized crime fallacy endency to view crime as more organized and conspiratorial than it really is most criminals act quickly, avoid contact with co-offenders, and don’t do a lot of wor k or planning dealing with â€Å"organized† criminals makes what law enforcement officials are doing seem more important and sophisticated than its really is 7. the juvenile gang fallacy juvenile gangs nowhere near as sinister as the media and law officials make them out to be loosely structured lots of so-called â€Å"members† just hanging out on the periphery crime that such â€Å"gangs† engage in is â€Å"petty† and disorganized 8. he welfare state fallacy wrong to blame crime on unemployment and poverty no evidence to show that government hand-outs or government programs do anything to decease crime when the economy improves, or when government hand-outs increase, statistics show that crime goes up too 9. the agenda fallacy many individuals and groups blame crime on declining morality; say that a healthy does of moral and religious values is what criminals and society really needs most criminals already know right from wrong, and simply choose to igno re it, especially when they’re not being observed 10. he whatever-you-think fallacy wrong to think that some crime is â€Å"subjective, and is only regarded as crime because of labeling, media attention or influence of interest groups laws are actually quite similar across different countries and different social systems criminologists who talk about negative effects of labeling and how moral problems are turned into â€Å"crime-control problems† are misguided and side-stepping their responsibility to help solve the crime problem crime myths and realities * * * myth| * reality| Most criminals are dangerous and clever| * Most criminals resemble their victims| * Most criminals are pathological individuals who kill at random| * Most crimes are routine, mundane and often trivial| * Police investigators are clever and effective| * Most crimes are not detected, or not reported, most go unsolved| * Most crimes are violent| * Only a small portion of crime is violent| * The el derly are more likely to be victimized| * Young, low SES males are more likely to be victimized| * Victimization are rates going up| * Victimization rates are going down| onceptualizations of crime crime as a legal construct crime as a violation of social norms debate between the consensus vs. and conflict models the legal construct model Sacco and Kennedy say the dominant way of thinking about crime is in legal terms Crime is conceptualized relative to the concept of law- crime is breaking the law Because committing criminal act amounts to breaking the law, it is subject to prosecution and punishment The four main components a.Actus Reus: a real event, in which somebody has committed or failed to commit an act b. Men Rea: criminal intent; you must have the intent to commit the act c. No legal defense or justification d. Must be contrary to a provision of criminal law Crime as normative violation pictures Mala in Se Mala in se: â€Å"something bad or evil in itself† Laws that criminalize acts most societies and cultures agree are inherently wrong, e. g. , murder and incest Mala ProhibitaMala prohibita: something that is deemed to be wrong or criminal only because it is prohibited Acts where there might be considerable disagreement from society to society re: their legality Concensus vs. conflicy * consensus| * conflict| * Society as a functional organism| * Society and social transformation rooted in social conflict| * Norms/expectations based on shared values/interests| * Society not organic or natural. But forced upon us| * Those who are different (e. g. ,criminals) are deemed to be abnormal| * Society/laws based on values and interests of those with the power|

Definition essay: Trust Essay

Definition Essay: Trust What is trust? The dictionary meaning of trust is a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. The second meaning is, confidence placed in a person by making that person the nominal owner of property to be held or used for the benefit of one or more others. But what can we really define as trust? In this paper, I will discuss how trust is used every day in different situations, how we deal with trust in various relationships, and how we as individuals practice trust within ourselves. There are many different kinds of examples of trust. Some include, trust in your family, trust in your friends, and trust in someone special to you. An example of trust in your family is trusting your mom to pick you up from school when you we’re a codependent child, or trusting your older brother or older sister to have your back when someone picks on you at school. Trust in family also includes trusting your parents to provide for you in all aspects, making you feel like a secure and stable child. Trust goes as far as friendships. You want friends who you can count on, tell your deepest secrets too, and be able to confide in everything with. As a child I had two best friends who meant the world to me and who I felt I can tell anything too. These girls we’re both my next-door neighbors who I have known now for thirteen years. As a child, you make a variety of friends and every new friend you make you can call your best friend because there is innocence and excitement there when having someone new come into your life. Part of growing up is realizing who your true friends are. Who your life-long friends will be and eventually never relate to those temporary friends you made again. Another example, high school is a time where you can make so many friends before you head off to college. In high school you might face drama that could cause you to lose trust in someone you thought would always have your trust. That is when you realize that in times of trouble and disappointment, the friends that have known you for many years will always be there to comfort you. We put our trust in people that we have turned our backs on to take us back once again when we need them, even if we do not deserve that type of treatment. Trust comes and goes and you experience that in many relationships, but we as people have to learn not to hold someone up  on a pedestal and accept whatever flaws and baggage that anyone has, because we ourselves carry some of those things as well. When it comes to a relationship with someone you are dating, trust is an essential element to have. When you meet someone for the first time, you can trust them because you haven’t experienced something that tests the trust between you both. When getting into a serious relationship, you experience the good times and the bad times. When the tough times come, you want to be able to confide in that special person to help you through it and lift you up when you are feeling down. Trust comes and goes as you get to know someone and grow closer and closer into a relationship with them. As easy as it is to trust someone, it is easier to lose it. Owners of companies, managers, chief executive officers; these are people that employees apart of a company put their trust in every day. The top head of any company or business is looked upon as a leader and a trustworthy peer who you put your trust in to lead your business or company to success. As a person working under someone who is owner and chief of a business it is also my part to help the business grow and work hard to bring success into the business as well. Therefore, the top head of any company puts trust in his or her employees to get the job as well. Putting trust in God is another example of trust. This is a type of trust that is very complex. Non-believers do not seem to understand how we can put our trust into someone we cannot see. With faith comes trust, and as we grow in our faith, trusting comes a lot easier every day. We put our trust in the Bible and trust that everything that is said in it is true. This is a form of trust that is different than trusting people who you have earthly relationships with. We often confide in different passages and scriptures in the Bible to see examples of how we should trust God. One example of trust in the Bible is the story of Joseph. Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers, who he trusted, and became sold to Potiphar, the official in Pharaohs household. After being thrown into prison by Potiphar for being accused for raping Potiphar’s wife, he worked hard and became in charge of the prisoners. Pharaoh then had a dream, and the dream could only be interpreted by Joseph because God blessed him with that gift. After interpreting the dream, he became in charge of all of Egypt under pharaohs command. Joseph’s brothers traveled to Egypt to buy food, and there he revealed himself to his brothers and they apologized to him for  what they did to him. Josephs forgave them and sent for his father Jacob and the rest of his people. Then they all came to Egypt and settled in a land pharaoh gave them. Joseph had saved the twelve tribes of Israel, Gods chosen people. Joseph trusted God no matter how bad the situation became. This is an example of how we as Christians put faith first and learn to trust God through these stories of how he reveals himself faithfully. The last type of trust I want to talk about is self-trust. We as people believe the lies we tell ourselves of not being able to do certain things. When we learn to trust ourselves and our capabilities we can go above and beyond our expectations. That is a type of trust that we learn to accept as we go through tough times and seek for inward confidence. Believing and being able to trust yourself in every situation is the k ey to a life of prosperity. Trusting yourself could be good or bad in some cases. Trusting yourself could be bad if you know what your weaknesses are or how strong your will-power is. For example, if you have to be somewhere at a specific time, and you say to yourself, â€Å"I have 30 minutes, I’ll be fine† but in reality you know by just knowing yourself that you should’ve been on the way a long time ago, could be used as a poorly self-trusting act. Trusting yourself in situations where you could make a big mistake by doing something you’re not supposed to and walking away from a problem, is an example of a good use of self-trust. To bring my essay to a close, I would like to end with my conclusion of the definition of trust as an essential asset in any significant relationship you face in order to help it grow. Trust is a form of a test in how we evaluate individuals and determine who we can confide in. Lastly, trust in one-self is important for our well-being as humans and exploring and realizing all our capabilities and possibilitie s in life. I would like to end my paper with a quote from Corrie ten Boom that says, â€Å"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.† I hope you enjoyed reading my paper and took away with you a deeper understanding of what trust is.

Panel Discussion on K+12 in Phil Essay

A news conference or press conference is a media event in which newsmakers invite journalists to hear them speak and, most often, ask questions. A joint press conference instead is held between two or more talking sides. Definition of ‘Press Conference’ A meeting organized for the purposes of distributing information to the media and answering questions from reporters. Normally the press conference is led by the company’s executive management or their appointed press liaison. Given the media’s limited resources, it may be difficult to attract major media attention to a press conference unless the company has a truly unique or newsworthy announcement to share. Press conferences can also be issued in response to addressing public relations issues. Have you ever turned on the news and seen a person speaking to members of the press about a new product, a new player just signed to your home team or the president announcing a new policy? Maybe you saw Michael Vick apologize to fans and dog lovers after he pleaded guilty to the dogfighting charges brought against him. If so, then you’ve seen a press conference in action. A press conference is a staged public relations event in which an organization or individual presen ts information to members of the mass media. Along with the press release, public relations professionals use press conferences to draw media attention to a potential story. Press conferences are typically used for political campaigns, emergencies and promotional purposes, such as the launch of a new product. Presidents have been using press conferences since the Wilson administration to alert the country to their stance on issues or to calm public fears. Political activists hold press conferences to state opinion on proposed legislation, and candidates use them to communicate their stance on important issues. Emergency press conferences are held in response to a crisis or disaster. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the mayor of New Orleans, the governor of Louisiana and the president all held multiple press conferences to keep the country abreast of events that occurred, as well as the steps being taken to resolve the situation. Emergency press conferences serve a dual role as both public service and public relations, since those responsible for the crisis can use the press conference to regain public trust. Promotional press conferences are among the most common. Public relations professionals use press conferences to make important announcements to gain coverage in newspapers, magazines, blogs and on TV news broadcasts. Reasons to hold a press conference include: * Introducing a new product * Revealing a new scientific breakthrough * Unveiling a new advertising campaign * Announcing a charity event with a featured celebrity * Acquiring a new player on a sports team * Releasing company financial statements Promotional press conferences offer several advantages, such as the ability to reach all media outlets at the same time while controlling the message. A press conference also can build excitement or anticipation about an event. Press conferences can waste time and money if the story isn’t newsworthy or the press conference is poorly organized and executed. In this HowStuffWorks article, we’re going to explain the ins and outs of planning a press conference, walk you through the key steps, and then explore the emerging trend of Web conferences. Planning a Press Conference Step One: Choosing a Story Not every news or event announcement deserves its own press conference. Press conferences require journalists to travel and set aside time from their busy schedules, so they should be reserved only for stories that are compelling and newsworthy. For a story to be newsworthy, it should satisfy one or more of the following five requirements: * Timing — It’s happening right now * Significance — It’s affecting a lot of people, especially the target audience * Proximity — It’s happening locally or to people with whom the audience relates * Prominence — It’s happening to a famous person or organization * Human Interest — It’s emotional, such as homeless pets or children living with cancer. * A dramatic location that adds to the story * Strong visuals and good photographic opportunities * Having all the key players in one location to make statements and answer questions * Opportunity for individual, post-press conference interviews with key players Step Two: Choosing a Time and Location Journalists work under tight deadlines. If you hold a press conference too close to when a reporter must file his story, he won’t be able to attend. It’s important to research the deadlines of local journalists and plan accordingly. Avoid Mondays and Fridays, because these days are likely to be the busiest for journalists. Mornings are always preferable, since it gives daily newspaper and broadcast journalists more time to write their story. A press conference location is equally important for attracting journalists and serving their professional needs. On-location press conferences can add a dramatic, visual backdrop for an announcement. For example, if a company is donating money to clean a local river, it could hold the press conference at a scenic spot next to the water. Some locations make it difficult to meet the technical and logistical requirements of the media. Some of these are: * Having enough parking for important people and media, including room for large TV production trucks * Availability of a stage, podium and audiovisual aids to present information * Adequate seating for journalists and guests * Enough electrical outlets to plug in computers, cameras and audiovisual equipment * Ample room for TV cameras to set up their shots; perhaps on a raised platform in back * A mult-box that allows media to receive direct audio feeds from one microphone To meet these requirements, it’s sometimeseasier to hold press conferences in dedicated conference rooms, either at an organization’s headquarters, a hotel or in a local press club

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 25

English - Essay Example People like multi-billionaire Richard Branson got his start in the world because he knew he wanted to do something to do with music. He started up a small company that sold mail-order albums and eventually built up enough capital to open up his first record store. From there, he was able to build his record label with new artists and his fortune started rolling in (Lorenz, 2006). People who are motivated and dedicated can teach themselves whatever it is that they need to know in order to follow the profession they’ve selected. If this isn’t possible, then there are also the possibilities of internships or apprenticeships, where the individual is taught the skills they need in order to perform the job they’re trying to get without having to shell out their own money to learn (Forbes staff, 2006). Then there is the question of money. We’ve all heard it said that you can make more money if you have a college education, but this premise is called into question by a number of studies. Relatively hostile to the idea that non-college educated individuals can earn close to or the same as college-educated, Michael Robertson (2008) was forced to admit there may be some truth to the statement after examining the results of a 45 year survey. Forbes staff (2006) indicates those who opt not to attend college are able to gain 4-5 years of work experience while their peers are in class, they do not acquire the tremendous college loan debt that frequently haunts college grads well into their adult lives and, if they invest their college money rather than spending it on education, they may end up making money there, too. Finally, there are several examples of very wealthy people who have managed to make their fortunes at young ages because they weren’t wasting their energies in the classroom and were out there waiting to take advantage of any opportunity that came

This I Believe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

This I Believe - Essay Example Based on my vision of the universe, my idea of life forms, and my concept of ‘God,’ I choose to believe in the existence of alien life in our universe. In terms of the awesome size of our ever-expanding universe, whose dimensions I can hardly imagine, I picture the location of our beautiful planet, Earth. I see that Earth is a little planet orbiting a minor star, the sun. The sun is but one star in the billions upon billions of stars in our galaxy. To go on, our galaxy is but one in billions of galaxies in the universe, and each galaxy has hundreds of billions of stars. Billions of stars have their own solar systems. Astronomers have already discovered about three hundred planets outside our solar system, which is but a small beginning. In this picture, I see that Earth is but a little piece of rock in a solar system that occupies a small space in a small galaxy in a vast, vast universe! How can life be exclusive to our planet alone? I believe that extraterrestrial life exists in various forms which are different from those on earth. When I allow myself to break free from the picture of ‘life’ only as it exists on earth, I am able to accept that extraterrestrial life is likely to be in forms adapted to the particular conditions of each unique planet.

Sociology Written Review - 1000 words - Materials Provided (PART 2) Essay

Sociology Written Review - 1000 words - Materials Provided (PART 2) - Essay Example This review however is limited by the fact that the chapter is merely a small part of the author’s entire book and many of the points and issues taken refer to some other parts or chapters of the book. Nevertheless, Pusey is more than emphatic on the debilitating effect of orchestrated economic reforms on the Australian community life. The fundamental premise of the author in this chapter is, as previously stated, that the economic reforms being undertaken by the Australian government is not good because instead of making these reforms suit the needs of the Australians, it is the people who bear the brunt of the effects of these reforms. This is ultimately bad because it tends to weaken the very foundation of society which is community life. To illustrate his point, Pusey utilised the different impressions and experiences of 400 middle class Australians (hence, the title The Experience of Middle Australians) of several aspects of modern Australian life like membership in voluntary organisations, crimes, the Australian social and economic structures, the media and institutions and people they give their trust to. The control group of 400 middle class Australians, according to the data gathered by Pusey, constituted highly mobile individuals, who have moved around most of their lives, due to labour markets which necessitated frequent relocation of homes. Pusey interpreted this as causing the dissolution of â€Å"associational density† which characterises communities. This is certainly true especially if one’s concept of community is that of a communal association of old and long-time friends, neighbors and associates. However, the opportunity of meeting and associating with new neighbors and striking new acquaintances can be viewed from a positive perspective. This allows a person to broaden his perspectives and besides, if individuals are open to association with other individuals

Statisitcs results Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Statisitcs results - Statistics Project Example On the other hand, a mean of 2.1452 with a standard deviation of 1.34099 and standard error of the mean of 0.17031 were the statistics for the non-witnesses with respect to the prescribed punishment. Figures one and two are error bar graphs for guilt rating and punishment rating respectively. An evaluation of the dependent variables reveals that they are continuous. The two categorical groups that make up the independent variables are guilt rating and punishment value. There is also no relationship between the observations of the two groups which means that they are independent of each other. The data had no significant outliers that could reduce the validity of the results. Based on the Levenes test, it was proved that the variances were homogeneous. In this assignment we will analyze the pooled data which we collected last week Please analyze the group data from Experiment II using SPSS. Include data inspection, description, and a one-way ANOVA with supporting graphs (error bar groups are best) showing confidence intervals. Save your data file. Save your output file. Send both to me as attachments.

The Monetary Behavior as Created by the Federal Reserve Essay

The Monetary Behavior as Created by the Federal Reserve - Essay Example e instances, the value can be significantly higher, or even lower, than the dollar amount denoted on the paper, all due to the acts of the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve also has the responsibility for the behavior of the dollar on the global exchange market, alongside the bigger picture of controlling how much currency is printed and in circulation at any one time (Federal Reserve Publications Committee, 2005). Any action taken by the Federal Reserve in regards to these factors can in some way, shape, or form, influence and controls the behavior of the US dollar. The Federal Reserve has the power, and has always had the power since its creation, to control the amount of funds in its regional banks throughout the United States. By the Federal Reserve requiring any Federal Reserve banks to keep reserves on hand to handle unexpected outflows as well as meet the demands for the daily operations, it was believed that stability in the behavior and value of a dollar would result (Fed eral Reserve Bank of San Francisco). These reserves, however, also play an important part in how the Federal Reserve controls the behavior of a US dollar throughout the nation and the world. From day to day, the amount of reserves a bank wants to hold may change in accordance with its daily transactions. Therefore, when a bank finds that it needs additional reserves on a short-term basis, it can borrow them from other banks that happen to have more reserves than they need (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco). The interest rate associated with this overnight borrowing of reserves is called the federal funds rate, which adjusts to balance the supply of and demand for reserves. The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) sets a target for the federal funds rate, and keeps the rate on... The Federal Reserve has the power, and has always had the power since its creation, to control the amount of funds in its regional banks throughout the United States. By the Federal Reserve requiring any Federal Reserve banks to keep reserves on hand to handle unexpected outflows as well as meet the demands for the daily operations, it was believed that stability in the behavior and value of a dollar would result (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco). These reserves, however, also play an important part in how the Federal Reserve controls the behavior of a US dollar throughout the nation and the world. From day to day, the amount of reserves a bank wants to hold may change in accordance with its daily transactions. Therefore, when a bank finds that it needs additional reserves on a short-term basis, it can borrow them from other banks that happen to have more reserves than they need (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco). The interest rate associated with this overnight borrowing of reserves is called the federal funds rate, which adjusts to balance the supply of and demand for reserves. The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) sets a target for the federal funds rate, and keeps the rate on target by increasing and decreasing bank reserves through transactions such as the buying and selling of U.S. Treasuries (Federal Reserve, 2011). This is all done in accordance with the long-term goals of monetary policy as stated above.

Report of the essay study based on the Case study

Report of the study based on the Case study - Essay Example This report assesses the marketing issues to be considered in this case scenario and provides recommendations on the strategy that is likely to be most effective in the Company’s present circumstances. The most distinctive opportunity that the Company has is perfecting the new flavours of single malts that it could develop, thanks to its distiller, Ellis Cameron. It also has the opportunity to use its talented salespeople such as the apprentice distiller at the New York marketing event, who could be putting their skills of discerning the subtleties in taste and flavour to good use in maintaining the high quality of Gleanmeadie whisky. The threats the Company is faced with arise from the competition, where other single malt companies may seek to develop distinctive brands of whisky and attract the discerning customer that Glenmeadie may not be able to satisfy if innovation and development of new flavours is not adequately funded. The essential dilemma that the Company is faced with in determining its strategic initiatives is the question of whether (a) the high expense customer centred marketing approach is justified and must be continued or (b) whether the Company needs to pay greater attention to investments in long term strategic initiatives.(c) to what extent innovation and customer research must form a part of company strategy and (d) how the Gleanmeadie brand is to be promoted. The experts who have offered views on Glenmeadie’s present strategy and what future course of action it should pursue, display a wide range of differing options. David Herman suggests that there should be a careful balance between front end initiatives and product development, by developing the single cask bottling which would command higher profit margins and provide consumers with more individual choices. He emphasizes that Glenmeadie’s core brand must remain strong. Jeffrey Rayport suggests that the success of the front end initiatives have not necessarily

Assesment 3 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Assesment 3 - Coursework Example Hence the informal sector is often excluded. The question can’t be answered unambiguously. Whenever the some goods or services are produced that implies the generation of income and wealth in one hand and on the other hand the producer has to pay the factors. So the cost-benefit analysis will finally let us know whether the wealth is depleted or not. Money is the most accepted medium of exchange. This is the primary and unique function of money. Money, as a medium of exchange, has facilitated the transactions greatly. At the absence of money there would be direct barter of goods and services. There are many difficulties. For example a transaction requires a double coincidence of wants. To find out such situation it requires time and transaction cost. But if there is a common medium of exchange any body would convert his good or service into the medium and later on purchase his required commodity by that. Moreover there are some goods which are indivisible into small units. That difficulty can be recovered by converting into money which is divisible. Money customarily serves as a measure of value or unit of account to express the values of good or services. It is used as a measuring scale. In such a way the absolute prices of each goods are measured. Once the absolute price of each commodity is obtained the relative price of one commodity in terms of other can be easily measured. Otherwise in the absence of money, in a n commodity space we have to remember n!/2!*(n-2)! Number of relative prices. So the usage of money eases the calculation of absolute and relative prices. Due to the capacity of money to act as a medium of exchange and measure of value, money is commonly used as a standard of deferred payment. This applies to payments of interest, rent, salaries, pensions etc. In terms of money these payments are settled. Large fluctuations in the value of money (due to inflation or deflation) weaken the base of

World War II Essay Example for Free

World War II Essay Richard Wheeler, an author of Iwo – a book about the battle of Iwo Jima during the World War II is, undoubtedly, familiar with the subject. He is a war veteran, who joined the Marine Corpse recently after attack on Pearl Harbor. Although he has spent two years at Alaska as a coast guard, he managed to join the actively fighting force of 28th Regiment of the new 5th Marine Division. His division was one of the first to invade Iwo Jima in spring 1945 and Wheeler participated in the most severe combat for the island. Two days after the landing he has been heavily wounded and evacuated, however, those days were enough for him to write a book of memories, which he called simply â€Å"Iwo†. The book is a description of the battle for Iwo Jima from the point of view of marines, who invaded the island and the Japanese soldiers who protected it. The author pays little attention to description of strategies and forces in the operation, concentrating on soldiers experiences. His writing may be in a way shocking and cynical as he writes how uncommon valor was a common virtue. Wheeler speaks a little of preparations, made by Americans and Japanese and describes some of the maneuvers of his own division, including the flag raising, which later became famous. But the book is more a story of life and fighting of marines on the island – their thoughts, desires and feelings. All names of marines, places and other are due to authors own knowledge. The book is outstandingly exciting to read. It keeps the reader tensed and involves him into action, giving an insight from participant’s view. The language of the book is a language of a marine, not of a professor of history, and this makes the impression from the book even deeper. Iwo is a magnificent overview of WWII on the Pacific soldier experience. Perhaps it is not of great interest to history professionals, but is a â€Å"must read† book for all those interested in real story of the Pacific War. Those, who are already familiar with the matter would obtain additional sensitive understanding of war, and the â€Å"beginners† will find an exciting introduction into life of a soldier of World War II.

Interest groups Essay Example for Free

Interest groups Essay More than any other group special interest groups hold an enormous amount of sway in the American political system. What is interesting here is the fact that most of the public looks upon special interest groups with disdain. There are a number of reasons for this but before the reasons can be defined special interests must be defined. An interest group is an organized faction that seeks to sway political influence that is favorable to them. For example, many corporations pressure politicians to ease immigration laws because they earn enormous volumes of money by using labor that is generally inexpensive. When it comes to the effect that special interest groups have on democratic pluralism, the effect is generally negative. The reason for this is that special interest groups undermine the democratic process and this frustrates the public to a significant degree. Probably the most significant area that voters express frustration in is the notion that special interest groups are favored by politicians more than the popular will of the American people. That is, if a special interest group promotes an item or an agenda that is opposed by the vast majority of the America people, politicians will still give significant attention to the special interest groups and then will side with the special interest groups against the will of the people. This creates a significant amount of anger and discontent on the part of the voters because it leads to a situation where the representative form of government is no longer acting in a manner that would be deemed representative. In other words, the elected officials no longer promote the interests of the public, but rather promote the interests of front groups, elitists and corporatists. Sadly, this assessment – while somewhat oversimplified – is very close to accurate. One of the reasons that special interest groups have such influence is because an enormous amount of money is required to run a successful election and special interest groups bring with them a great deal of money. While this may seem like a cynical assessment of the current political landscape it is also an accurate one. It would be next to impossible for someone such as James Madison to support the current situation where special interest groups yield significant sway in the government arena. While Madison did understand that political factions were inevitable and also not inherently bad, his belief system (like most of the framers) was generally influenced by John Locke and Locke’s belief in the Social Contract. Within the framework of the Social Contract it is explicitly stated that the government is supposed to protect the inalienable rights of the individual. When the goals of special interests are placed above the needs and benefit of the American people, then the entire notion of the Social Contract is undermined. As such, it would be difficult to believe that Madison would support the current landscape of special interest groups that dominate American politics. Granted, while there is much discontent in the United States regarding special interest groups these groups will never go away. These groups are well funded and their money is welcomed by politicians. As such, interest groups will remain on the political landscape forever and ever. Literally. Bibliography Madison, J. , Hamilton, A. , and Jay, J. (Date Unknown)THE FEDERALIST PAPERS. Retrieved 4 September 2007 from http://patriotpost. us/fedpapers/fedpapers. html Scheikart, Larry. A PATRIOT’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. New York: Penguin, 2007. Zinn, Howard. A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. New York: Harper’s, 2007.

Malaysias Unemployment Rates

Malaysias Unemployment Rates Jump to: Causes of Unemployment | Types of Unemployment | Unemployment in Malaysia | Impact of Unemployment | Unemployment and Inflation | Conclusion The main objective of this paper is to investigate the unemployment and growth rates of Malaysia. Unemployment is an important issue for developing economies in a country. Inefficiently of using labor resources will cause to high unemployment rate. The result shows that the economics in Malaysia is better with high employment. In economics, unemployment statistics measure the condition and extent of joblessness within an economy.  Full employment should be a major macroeconomics goal because it maximizes output. For many years, the manufacturing has been the strongest sector in the country until it is now being progressively replaced by the service sector. In this research, we will measure how unemployment affects economics growths in Malaysia and also the reason of high unemployment rate of fresh graduate. Thus further research and relevant factors is required.   Introduction This paper asks the question of how the rate of economic growth affects unemployment. The main considerations that lead us to think that this is an interesting question have to do with the re-allocative aspect of growth. Faster economic growth must come from a faster increase in knowledge. Besides, unemployed graduates have become a serious case in Malaysia that need more concern by the government. In year 2006 involving 132,900 graduates from institutions of higher learning all over Malaysia indicated that 30.7% of graduates remained unemployed six months after graduation, while 5.7% were still awaiting job placement (Tan, 2007). There are more female graduates in this country were unemployed because they lacked the relevant skills required in the labor market despite having excellent academic results. The number was much higher in comparison to male graduates (Nor Hartinin, 2007). In the sixties and seventies Okuns Law was regarded as one of the most reliable macroeconomic relations. Okuns Law can clearly present the relationship between GDP growth and unemployment. Most economists were playing down the relationship between growth and unemployment. Unemployment was explained by structural factors, mainly by inflexible labor markets: too high wages, too high unemployment benefits and labors attitude. Unemployment Unemployment or joblessness occurs when those individuals actively seeking jobs remain unhired within the past four weeks. Unemployment is expressed as a percentage of the total available work force. The level of unemployment varies with economic conditions and other circumstances. The unemployment rate is a measure of the prevalence of unemployment and it is calculated as a percentage by dividing the number of unemployed individuals currently in the labor force. During periods if recession, an economy usually experiences a relatively high unemployment rate. In a 2011 news story, Business Week reported, More than 200 million people globally are out of work, a record high, as almost two-thirds of advanced economies and half of developing countries are experiencing a slowdown in employment growth. Causes of unemployment The level of unemployment differs with economic conditions and other market forces. Unemployment occurs when an individual is out of his current job and looking for another job. It also means that they are unemployment during the time period of shifting between two jobs. Normally the job seeker needs few months to hunt for their favourite job. When there is a mismatch of skilled workers in the labor market, the structural change within an economy will influence the unemployment. Some of the causes of unemployment are geographical immobility, occupational immobility and technological change. Nowadays, most of the companies are using information technology to carry out the job. The employees who have no upgrade himself will disqualify from the company. Moreover they need to go for training to increase their knowledge on the working field. Unemployment will occur when trade unions and labor organization bargain for higher wages, which leads to fall in the demand for labor. Currently the fresh graduates are hunting for the job which has high salary, nice environment and easy task. They do not have determination and bear hardships to face the challenges. Unemployment occurs when there is a downturn in an economy, the aggregate demand for goods and services decrease and demand for labor decreases. At the time of recession, unskilled and surplus labors become unemployed. When there is insufficient demand in the economy to maintain full employment, the problem of unemployment will occurs. If demand falls, firms sell less and so reduce production. If there are producing less, this leads to lower demand for workers. Either worker is fired or a firm cuts back on employing new workers. In the worst-case scenarios the fall in demand may be so great a firm goes bankrupt and everyone is made redundant. Reasons for  unemployment in Malaysia Lack of experience Nowadays most of the companies prefer to employ people with experiences rather than those without working experiences. Based on our research, there are several reasons leading to the high unemployment rate. People lacking of experience are mostly fresh graduates from university or college. The syllabus in university should provide more exposure on real-life industrial training, such as industrial attachment and internship program. Different circumferences have to be managed in different solutions, and the problem-solving skills can be accumulated from the real-life experiences. For example, a programmer has to be familiar with a series of computer languages such as C++, PHP, Java and etc. If the applicant did not meet the basic requirements of the company, the company cannot offer the job to this applicant. In University, the knowledge is mostly gained from textbooks, but sometimes the knowledge learnt is hard to be applied on working environments. University may extend the required internship period from 3 months to 6 months or even longer. If the training duration is not long or sufficient enough, students may not be able to apply what they have learnt in school on their works. University students are suggested to apply for companies related to their courses. This may help them improve the learning and practical skills. It is not recommended to join those companies which simply arrange the trainees sitting in front of the computers and do nothing but day dreaming. Firstly, the reason why employers prefer experienced employees is because experienced employees can complete the jobs easily without spending much time on learning their works. Having employees without experiences, companies need to provide additional training and courses for those employees. This will definitely contribute to the cost of the company. Besides, the employee may be not familiar with the industry, thus, it is possible that they cannot complete the job well on time. It is not ensured that they are able to complete their jobs precisely and correctly with their assigned supervisors. They may spend some time on adapting to the new environment and less focus on the jobs. Thirdly, the skills learnt from school are insufficient in real lives. In real life, company job is based on project and it requires the employee to communicate with colleagues. Universities also have to provide more project-based modules for students. This can create more chances for students to discuss with their group members. In addition, it helps improve the soft skill of students. Last but not least, the fact that new graduates demand for high salaries also causes the high unemployment rate. Some of the graduate job-seekers are with high expectation for their first jobs. Even they are aware they lack of working experience, they still try to apply for higher salaries compared with those with one or two years experiences. Furthermore, students who graduated with excellent academic results are no longer secured with good jobs or competitive edges in career advancement. Lack of social and communication skills Most of the graduates with rural background lack of communication skills compared with those from city. The reason may be because most of the residents staying in villages communicate with their elder adults and friends using their own dialects or mother tongues. They seldom speak in English. However, the working environment in Malaysia mostly requires people to communicate efficiently in English and Malay. Therefore, Kampung students may not be competitive in terms of communication skills even though they graduate with excellent academic results. Besides, a number of town students who further study in university seldom use English to communicate with their teachers or friends. For example, the author mostly speak mother language, Mandarin, with her friends. This situation also makes the communication skill in English poor among town students. According to a survey conducted by Ministry of Human Resources, it shows that in Malaysia compared with male graduates, female graduates become unemployed because the female are weaker in communication and social skills. Furthermore, the female have a poor command of language and low levels of self-confidence. The unemployment rate of female graduates is much higher than that of male graduates. The result also indicates that a lot of female graduates are able to achieve excellent academic results but they could not secure their employment without the relevant skills required in the labor market. According to  JobStreet.com which conducted an English Language Assessment (ELA) test whereby it had ranked Singaporeans is first, Filipino is second and Malaysians is third. This has proven that Malaysian English level standard is not up to satisfaction. The survey reveals that 65% of employers have turned down job seekers due to poor communication of English, which is the official business language for 91% in Malaysias companies. Another report shows that, graduates throughout the country were unemployed due to poor communication skill in English. Though the fresh graduates possess excellent qualification and technical backgrounds, but they are unable to speak English efficiently when facing an interview. They definitely should improve their English language standards. For the basic process of an interview, the first point that the interviewer would assess the interviewee is his/her English communication capability. The way in which the interviewee speaks and interacts with the interviewer is a benchmark when the company measures suitable candidates for the job. If the interviewee even could not talk properly, it is impossible for the supervisor to assign a task to this interviewee. Most of the fresh graduates are not good team players. They are somehow arrogant and believe that they are talented and able to complete the tasks. If the fresh graduates did take part in co-curriculum and be the main committee, this will help prove that they are well trained and capable of managing the task. Co-curriculum also can build characters of people. It provides a platform for students to show their personalities. In addition, the social skill, which is also essential for each graduate, is practiced with various co-curriculums as well. Education in Malaysia Choosing the wrong course and the poor result. Bahasa Malaysia is the national and official language in Malaysia. Bahasa Malaysia is used as the teaching language for primary school and secondary school. In recent years, Ministry of Education Malaysia has begun focusing on English teaching. However, so far Malaysian education still mainly uses Bahasa Malaysia as teaching media, while in working environment people mostly communicate in English. The fresh graduates who are unable to communicate in English fluently will be very tough when finding a job. Generally, the citizens in government organizations use Bahasa Malaysia as communication language. The citizens have got used to communicating in Bahasa Malaysia. However, there are a lot of Multinational Corporations which set their head offices or Asia pacific offices in Malaysia. They require their Malaysian employees capable of communicating in English efficiently. Could Malaysia provide sufficient manpower armed with English communication skills? This is a big challenge for Malaysia educations system. Besides, high-level education of Malaysia is not competitive compared to overseas education. In Malaysia, the top university is University of Malaysia (UM), but its ranking is the 167th so far, among the worldwide university according to investigation of USNews.com. Compared with our neighbour country Singapore, the National University of Singapore (NUS) ranks at the 28th and Nanyang Techonological University (NTU) is the 58th. This is a great distance between the education systems of the two countries. Therefore, Malaysia government has to put a lot of effort into the education sector to upgrade the ranking and provide talents to international labour markets. The syllabus in local university is not sufficient or up to the satisfaction of working environment. Most of the students gain their knowledge purely from textbooks. They lack of practical skills. Facilities in university have not reached the global standard and still maintained in Kampung standard. Professors and researchers are not graduates from world-class Universities. Equipments in the laboratories are 10-20 years backward. These are all the reasons why more and more students are willing to study in overseas universities although the cost of education is expensive. Moreover, the qualification lines of entering the universities are very low, as the corresponding university standard is low as well. University should set the higher entry qualification to increase the standard of coming students. Besides, the university should increase their level as well by employing professional stuffs to strengthen education levels. A lot of private colleges which are unqualified set by the Ministry of Education intend to promote as a university. The official explanation is this can improve the quantity of undergraduates. However, it seems the government did not include the quality of undergraduates into their consideration. It is suggested that Ministry of education should review the education system in Malaysia by referring to foreign education systems to improve Malaysia education system. With a huge number of students graduating with CGPAs below 3.0, it is unsurprising that these people become unemployable in the Malaysian private sectors. It is recommended that students should take courses based on their capabilities and interests but not based on what is apparently in-demand in the society (e.g., IT courses). If students are not interested in the courses, less effort would be put in the study; hence, the result would not be scored in flying colour. Normally the company hire employees based on their paper results and abilities instead of their capabilities in other fields. Student with lower scores would probably get lower opportunities of interviews. Types of unemployment After the research, we found that there are four type of unemployment. And below is the summary of structural unemployment, frictional unemployment, and cyclical unemployment. Structural unemployment When there are less suitable job provide for the people will cause to structural unemployment because there is a mismatch between the skills needed for the jobs and the skills of the unemployed workers. For example, A employee fired by his car maker company because machine had replace human in making car and the employee does not know how to operate the machine, so the employee only have the skills of make car and he have the difficulty in searching a new job. Structural unemployment may also be affected by cyclical unemployment. If a nations economy is suffers from a recession, that means many of the unemployed workers become discouraged, while their skills become rusty and outdated. This means that they (unemployed workers) may not suitable for the job vacancies that are reserved for them when the economy turns to normal. Some economists see this scenario The implication is that sustained high demand may lower structural unemployment under the speech from British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during the 1970s and 1980s. This theory has been referred to as an example of path dependence. A lot of technological unemployment occurs, because of the replacement of workers had change into machines to produce more effectively, we called as structural unemployment. Thus technological unemployment refer to the way in which production increases by machine but lesser workers to produce the actual same level of output or more output every year. The fact that aggregate demand increase suggests that this problem is instead one of cyclical unemployment. As like we said before Okuns Law, the demand side must grow rapidly to absorb the growing labor force but also the workers made redundant by increased labor productivity. Frictional unemployment Frictional unemployment is the time period between jobs and unemployed workers when a worker is seeking for a better job and or a new environment. Frictional unemployment is always present in an economy no matter which country are u, so the level of unemployment is calculated by the unemployment rate minus the rate of frictional unemployment. This means that any changes in unemployment rate are normally represented in the simple statistics. Frictional unemployment exists because both jobs and workers are multifarious, and a mismatch between the demand and supply. Such a mismatch can be related to skills, payment, work-time, location, attitude, and other factors. New entrants of employee such as graduated students and homemakers that want to return to the career can also include in frictional unemployment. Workers as well as employees accept a certain level of compromise or risk. Time and effort will be invested to find a better match but there is always a risk. This will increase the economy growth since it results in a better allocation of resources. However, if the mismatches are taking too long finding a job or too frequent, the economy will suffers a decreasing, since some work will not get done. Therefore, governments should search for multiple ways to reduce unnecessary frictional unemployment happen too deep through planning nicely which means including providing education, advice, training, and assistance such as having some camp providing the more information about how to seeking job. An increase or decrease in labor market frictions will shift the curve outwards or inwards. The frictions in the labor market sometimes will illustrate graphically with a Beverage curve, a downward-sloping, convex curve that shows a relationship between the unemployment rate and the vacancy rate. Changes in the demand or the supply for labor cause movements along the curve. Cyclical unemployment Cyclical unemployment, also known as deficient-demand unemployment, occurs whenever there is not enough aggregate demand in the economy to provide jobs for everyone who needs a job (People who seeking for job). Demand for most goods and services decreases will lead to less production and for sure fewer workers are needed when they are less product in the market, wages fall and fail to meet the equilibrium level. Its name is derived from the frequent shifts in the business cycle although unemployment can also be persistent (during the Great Depression of the 1930s). Besides, with cyclical unemployment occurs, the number of unemployed workers will increase and exceeds the number of job seekers, so that even with full employment and all open jobs were filled, they are still some workers will remain unemployed. These two friction cyclical unemployment and frictional unemployment happen because of the cyclical variables. For example, a surprising decline in the money supply may influence the entire rational economic factors and will cause to restrain aggregate demand. Summary Structural unemployment Where their skills becomes outdated.  (Example: Someone who do not use computer get fired because he do not know how to type in information into computer.) Frictional unemployment where people lose their jobs in order to look for better ones or still searching for job. Cyclical unemployment Unemployment occurs when there is a recession of economy in a nation. The thing about unemployment is that the economy has to do with gross domestic product (GDP). We can produce more stuff with full employment. So if there is high unemployment, we should produce more but if we dont, this will lead to a bad economy growth in a nation. Malaysia Unemployment Rate Normally unemployment rate in developed countries is higher than developing countries due to higher competition. For example, in the last three quarters of 2011, United Kingdoms unemployment rate has rose from 7.8% to 7.9% and followed by 8.3% respectively. At the same time, Malaysias unemployment rate has went up from 3% to 3.2% and followed by 3.3%, and was ranked at 170th place out of 198 countries based on their degree of severity (The Human Resource Ministry of Malaysia and CIA World Factbook, 2012). Observation reveals that youth unemployment rate is even greater than the overall unemployment rate for both of the countries suggesting that youngsters are facing more difficulties in finding jobs as compared to adults. In Malaysia, one of the badly affected sector is the nursing field whereby in 2010, more than 54% of the private nursing graduates were unemployed three to four months after graduating, compared to only 21.7% in 2008 (The Star, 2012). It is a worry situation as fresh graduates find themselves difficult to get employed despite having a solid academic qualification. Malaysia Unemployment Rate (From July 2010 until January 2012) The unemployment rate in Malaysia was last reported at 3 percent in April of 2012. Historically, from 1998 until 2012, Malaysia Unemployment Rate averaged 3.3600 Percent reaching an all time high of 4.5000 Percent in March of 1999 and a record low of 2.8000 Percent in March of 2012. The unemployment rate can be defined as the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labor force. This page includes a chart with historical data for Malaysia Unemployment Rate. Needs of the Labour Market Quality of education Firstly, the quality of education has become a significant cause in current situation and it getting worst. Seems like every year our country produces more and more excellent students. This is proved where our students get better and better result (straight A) in SPM or PMR. With the increasing number of straight A students in SPM and PMR, it seems like our student is improving a lot. Besides that, it is also easier to find degree holders anywhere. Surely, this is a good sign of the graduates quality. This statement may not bode well with some of the institutions out there but this should be taken as a challenge, not a mockery. (Abdul Razak Ahmad, New Straits times Sunday, March 20 2005) Most of the students will concern only on the major subject instead of minor subject. Besides, government also offer less minor subject to the students. Now the majority of student studying only for certificate, so they do select the easier subject compare to others. Most schools also began to commercialization to benefit, they will reduce the level of subject, resulting in a lot more apparent (look impressive but is worthless) of the University. Economy Secondly, fresh graduate unemployed because of the recession of economy in our nation too. The changing of the economic structure is a probably cause for the increasing number in unemployment. For many years, the manufacturing has been the strongest sector controlling the unemployment rate in the country until it is now being replaced by the services sector step by step. The services sector requires people who do not only know the right technical knowledge, but also those people who know the right soft skills wisdom, communication, interpersonal, maturity and business oriented. Economics growth Economic growth is the increase in the amount of the goods and services produced by an economy over time. It is conventionally measured as the percent rate of increase in real gross domestic product, or real GDP. An increase in the capacity of an economy to produce goods and services, compared from one  period of time to another. Economic growth can be measured in nominal terms, which include inflation, or in real terms, which are adjusted for inflation. As an area of study, economic growth is generally distinguished from development economics. The former is primarily the study of how countries can advance their economies. The latter is the study of the economic aspects of the development process in low-income countries. As economic growth is measured as the annual percent change of gross domestic product (GDP), it has all the advantages and drawbacks of that measure. Advantages of Economic Growth Sustained economic growth is a major objective of government policy not least because of the benefits that flow from a growing economy. Higher Living Standards: For example measured by an increase in real national income per head of population see the evidence shown in the chart below. Employment effects: Growth stimulates higher employment. The British economy has been growing since autumn 1992 and we have seen a large fall in unemployment and a rise in the number of people employed. Fiscal Dividend: Growth has a positive effect on government finances boosting tax revenues and providing the government with extra money to finance spending projects. The Investment Accelerator Effect: Rising demand and output encourages investment in new capital machinery this helps to sustain the growth in the economy by increasing long run aggregate supply. Growth and Business Confidence: Economic growth normally has a positive impact on company profits business confidence good news for the stock market and also for the growth of small and large businesses alike. Disadvantages of economic growth There are some economic costs of a fast-growing economy. The two main concerns are firstly that growth can lead to a pickup in inflation and secondly, that growth can have damaging effects on our environment, with potentially long-lasting consequences for future generations. Inflation risk: If the economy grows too quickly there is the danger of inflation as demand races ahead of aggregate supply. Producer then take advantage of this by raising prices for consumers. Environmental concerns: Growth cannot be separated from its environmental impact. Fast growth of production and consumption can create negative externalities (for example, increased noise and lower air quality arising from air pollution and road congestion, increased consumption of de-merit goods, the rapid growth of household and industrial waste and the pollution that comes from increased output in the energy sector) These externalities reduce social welfare and can lead to market failure. Growth that leads to environmental damage can have a negative effect on peoples quality of life and may also impede a countrys sustainable rate of growth.   Examples include the destruction of rain forests, the over-exploitation of fish stocks and loss of natural habitat created through the construction of new roads, hotels, retail malls and industrial estates. How does unemployment affect your economy? If more people are unemployed, less people pay taxes or less money for spending. Spending money boosts the economy through taxes which is why everything is taxed. The taxed money adds up when everyone shops. If one is unemployed, they live on what is saved or what unemployment departments give them. Therefore, they do not have more money to spent, they only buy necessities. Also by not having the money to buy wants, not only needs, it means some business will have to cut prices in order to try to sell. By cutting prices this leads to less, no, or sometimes negative profits. Enough of this happens and that business might go out of business which leads to MORE unemployment. All of this leads to deflation which could lead to a depression. Deflation does not encourage spending, in fact it does the opposite. Also your dept numerically stay the same but now you earn less so it will be even harder to pay them off. The consequences of unemployment to the Malaysian economy Unemployment can lead to stress emotionally and mentally. When stress occurs, the individual and the loved ones around them suffer. There would be unnecessary pressure and expectations and a case of low morale. Thus leading to misunderstandings.   When misunderstandings occur, one may resort to violence and in turn affect the relationship or lead to an increase in crimes. Unemployment affects the economy by having a reduction in AD (aggregate demand), and economic growth. There would also be a lack of demand as people unemployed are saving. Unemployment influence and effect economic growth Unemployment affects the economy in ways that most people do not visually see. If more people are unemployed, less people pay taxes or have money for spending. Spending money boosts the economy through taxes which is why everything is taxed. The taxed money adds up when everyone shops. If one is unemployed, they live on what is saved or what unemployment departments give them. Therefore, they do not have money to be frivolous, they only buy necessities.  Spending less doenst benefit the economic growth. With the increase in unemployment people will be more inclined to turn to a life of crime thereby decreasing the economic growth. Some of the well-known effects of unemployment on the economy are: Unemployment financial costs The government and the nation suffer. In many countries the government has to pay the unemployed some benefits. The greater the number of the unemployed or the longer they are without work the more money the government has to shell out. Therefore, the nation not only has to deal with the lost income and decreased production but also with additional cost. Spending power: The spending power of an unemployed person and his/her family decreases drastically and they would rather save than spend their money, which in turn affects the economy adversely. Reduced spending power of the employed Increased taxes and the insecurity about their own work may affect the spending power of the working people as well and they too may start to spend less than before thus affecting the economy and also the society in a negative manner.

Pyromaniac :: Personal Narratives Fire Essays

Pyromaniac A secret label, hushed and never talked about, has followed my name since I was born; â€Å"Pyro,† pyromaniac that is. Fascination with fire, the uncontrollable impulse to start fires, has been circulating in my blood from the first day I was born. Smelting heat and flames would spark my attention no matter what my surroundings. Candle lit dinner tables, switch flick colorful lighters, lit cigarette butts and burning matches. Oh matches! How I love them. The smell of gasoline has always been a heavenly scent, burning paper and bonfire parties are two of my other favorites. Smokey haze has always soothed me. One crisp October afternoon, however, that soothing smoky haze turned against me. I was fourteen years old, my parents were not home but my partner-in-crime, Anne, was by my side. Anne was my best friend throughout my childhood years, we did everything together. On weekdays after school, Anne and I headed to my house to be greeted by my comforting living room for our ritual TV session. Saved by the Bell was our preferred program. With the TV blaring in the background, we scattered our homework about the floor as if we had been studying, just in case my mom showed up unexpectedly. We left behind stained crumpled napkins, half eaten snacks and soda cans with few sips drawn from the lip, as we began the hunt for after school excitement. Suddenly, an idea mazed through my intricate thought process until it burst. The explosion erupted and excitement swam through my bones, in and out of every limb and muscle. I jumped, â€Å"let’s light something on fire in the garage.† It would be safer outside of my house, I thought (no one will see us). My garage contained two small tinted windows, so that no one could peer inside, no one could catch us in the act of the crime. Anne’s face lit up with excitement as she said, â€Å"Ok, I’ll grab the toilet paper and napkins, you grab some writing paper.† Our plan was set. We scurried to the garage, carrying paper and other â€Å"burnables.† Matches were always better than lighters for experiments such as these. For our first experiment, we ignited napkins and paper, but the excitement quickly fizzled. Having lost our initial adrenalin rush, we began to search for more dangerous â€Å"flammables.

Role of the College Dining Commons in Gaining the Freshman Fifteen Essa

Role of the College Dining Commons in Gaining the Freshman Fifteen Introduction: When beginning college, many freshmen, or first years, have to adjust to the different aspects of college life: the environment, the rigorous academics, the various clubs and activities to be involved in and the new friendships to be made. If one is living in the dorms, another area of adjustment to be made is the food. At UC Davis, the dining commons, more commonly known as the â€Å"DC,† are the main sources of food for freshmen (and a few transfer students) living on campus. While Sodhexo, the company that runs the dining commons, claims to promote a healthy variety of food to choose from, quite a few students disagree with Sodhexo’s claim, insisting that there are not enough adequate healthy foods to eat. This paper will explore and evaluate the food at the dining commons, from both a personal and nutritional standpoint, as well as determine if the food served can be linked to the â€Å"freshman fifteen.† The Dining Commons Diet: The following is a typical menu at the DC: At lunch, chicken nuggets, vegetarian cheese lasagna, sandwiches, Vegetarian Parmesan Panini, Vegan 5 Bean Salad with pita chips and Vegan cheesecake are offered. Dinner choices include: Salisbury steak and steamed potatoes, lemon ginger stir fry in a noodle bowl, vegetarian linguine parmesan, an array of pizzas at the pizza bar, Mongolian-style wok and Vegan Santa Fe chili and Jasmine rice. Of course, the dining commons also offers soups – such as vegetarian garden vegetable or turkey noodle, along with the Aggie grill, which includes hamburgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, grilled-cheese sandwiches, both grilled and breaded chicken breast patties and French fries... ...rect.com. Jones, Amy L. and Melody A. Graham â€Å"Freshman 15: valid theory or harmful myth?† Journal of American College Health. (January 2002). V50: 171. Online. PubMed. 6 March 2004. http://infotrac.galegroup.com. Keeling, Richard P. â€Å"Fear, shame, and health promotion.† Journal of American College Health. (January 2002) V50: 149-152. Online. PubMed. 6 March 2004. http://infortrac.galegroup.com. Kelly, Katy. â€Å"The ‘Freshman 15’. (weight gain by college freshmen).† U.S. News and World Report, Inc. 11 August 2003. V135: 54. Online. PubMed. 6 March 2004. http://infotrac.galegroup.com. Willett, M.D., Walter C. Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy. New York: Free Press, 2001. Worthington, Janet. â€Å"Surviving The Everyday Stuff.† Careers and Colleges. (March 2000) V20: p30. Online. PubMed. 6 March 2004. http://infotrac.galegroup.com.

Reading Moby-Dick as Ethnic Allegory Essay -- Moby Dick Melville Paper

Reading Moby-Dick as Ethnic Allegory At a time when images of the white settler conquering the "savage" frontier were prevalent in antebellum America, depictions of racial polarization and, alternately, co-existence among different ethnic groups had already begun to find expression in various artistic mediums, from painting to literature. Today more than ever, such works continue to elicit critical re-examinations where race relations, colonization, and literary representation are concerned. While many literary and cultural critics have proposed allegorical readings of political and religious natures, Herman Melville's Moby-Dick can also be read relatedly as an ethnic allegory, where particular scenes and images representing death or destruction illustrate Melville's uneasiness with how white expansionist attitudes are enacted often in tension with or at the expense of different ethnic peoples living within America's geographic borders. For these purposes, I would like specifically to examine Melville's rather unconvent ional portrayal of a non-white character such as Queequeg. The correlation between his anticipated and ultimate death and the calamitous demise of the Pequod , as a space which rearranges traditional structures of hierarchy and accomodates ethnic diversity, in the end, demonstrates Melville's indecisive anxiety between an imagined fantasy of an alternative social reality and the historical reality of American westward expansionism. First, allow me to be clear: At a simplified level, I call this an ethnic allegory because Moby-Dick both illustrates and confronts the ways in which "white" America expresses a desire for hegemonic control, symbolized in Ahab's ruthless quest for the white whale, at the same ti... ... Works Cited Berkhofer, Robert F. The White Man's Indian: Images of the American Indian from Columbus to the Present. New York: Vintage Books, 1979. Brodhead, Richard H. "Trying All Things: An Introduction to Moby-Dick. New Essays on Moby-Dick or, The Whale. ed. Richard H. Brodhead. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1986. Duban, James. Melville's Major Fiction: Politics, Theology, and Imagination. Dekalb: Northern Illinois UP, 1983. McIntosh, James. "The Mariner's Multiple Quest." New Essays on Moby-Dick or, the Whale. ed. Richard H. Brodhead. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1986. Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., 1964. Yarborough, Richard. "Strategies of Black Characterization in Uncle Tom's Cabin and the Early Afro-American Novel." New Essays on Uncle Tom's Cabin. ed. Eric Sundquist. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1986.

Achieve dramatic effect Essay

Act three is the boiling point of the crucible. How does Arthur Miller create tension and suspense to achieve dramatic effect?  The crucible was written in 1953 to highlight the atrocities of ‘McCarthyism’, the modern parallel to the Salem witch-hunts. Senator Joseph McCarthy was as determined to hunt out communists, as the Salem judges had been to hunt out witches. Like the Salem judges he sought to extract first confessions and then named of alleged associates. Refusal to denounce others in both communities could be punished as contempt of the committee or court therefore many were forced into self-preservation and started to blame others to save themselves. Most of the crucible is centered on the court and theocracy. It was these strong religious beliefs that made the ‘town’ of Salem, Massachusetts, particularly disrupted by the rumour of witchcraft. Salem was an intensely Puritan village whose religion frowned upon fun; Christmas festivities were forbidden and holidays only meant that they must focus even more time upon prayer and the church. This strict upbringing, without any fun, was partly to blame for the children’s ‘crying out’. The boredom they must have suffered led to their accusations so that they may be at the centre of attention. The puritan religion at that time throve on fear of the devil and had an obsession with sin and damnation. Therefore any other justification for the girls’ behaviour was seen as contempt of the court. It wasn’t until much later that mass-hysteria was considered and concluded to be the explanation if the girls’ behaviour. The cause of Mass-hysteria in this case was the group of children’s boredom; the reason for this is twofold. Firstly it led to dancing and ‘conjuring’ of spirits in the wood and secondly Abigail William’s boredom gave her a need for attention. Abigail’s accusing of several ‘witches’ caused Betty to believe she saw the Devil and a baseless belief, such as this, is often the cause of Mass-hysteria; it begins small with one person in hysteria (Abigail) but travels and inflicts more people and more people. Abigail Williams, a teenage girl, is the most powerful character in The Crucible. During the play she manages to gain control over all but one of the community. However, this person, John Proctor, subjected to Abigail’s power in the past as we find out later on and is the cause of much irony in act three. Abigail is Reverend Parris’ niece, his beliefs and his views of witchcraft change as the play progresses. He goes from being totally against witchcraft and tries in to avoid the subject to trying to convict many witches and those who try to stop the accusations in act three. I think that Parris does this is mainly for self-preservation. The first act of self-preservation in the play was made by Abigail, she accused Tituba, Parris’ slave. I think that she blamed Tituba because she saw it as a way out. I think that when Hale grabbed her up close and asked if she ‘called the Devil’ she replied ‘I never called him! Tituba, Tituba†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ because it released the pressure off of her. The pressure being released and put onto Tituba meant that Abigail was free and was not under questioning. The courts procedures were very strict in Salem. There were two judges, judge Hathorne and deputy-governor Danforth. Danforth strongly believes in the court and is stubborn in his beliefs; he thinks that people are scared of the court because they are guilty. He won’t listen to any reason that may lead him off his path. When Giles Corey’ proposes his deposition to save his wife (which said that Putnam manipulated the girls) is proposed in act three, Danforth sticks to the way he believes is right, the court. He says that he must go through the proper procedure and that he must ‘submit his evidence in proper affidavit’. Miller puts Giles’ deposition in the play for two reasons. I think that the first is to show how difficult it is to be heard and that they could not protest their innocence, this foreshadows the later events. I think the second reason is to create time for the judges to read it. This time creates tension as the audience are waiting to see what will happen with Mary Warren’s deposition, which we know about from act two. Arthur Miller builds up the tension in act three, he uses the tension of the conflict between Danforth, Parris and Hale near the begin and throughout. Theses are three men with different beliefs, rules and procedures, to achieve dramatic effects. He does this by using the conflict to give hope in the audience that the court will crumble.  Later on in act three Miller creates tension by putting Danforth on the spot. He does this by putting Proctor on the scene with his deposition of the evidence of Mary Warren. Again Miller creates tension because we already know from act one about Mary’s character. She is a shy, naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve and subservient girl who wanted to be honest from the start. In act one she says ‘Abby, we’ve got to tell. †¦ We must tell the truth, Abby!’ however Abigail’s strong, threatening behaviour stopped her from owning up, we wonder whether Abigail will do this again.

Psychoanalytical Analysis Of Tsotsi Essay

The film Tsotsi, directed by Gavin Hood, portrays how an individual’s childhood and experiences effect the individual’s psychological development in his struggle for redemption. The narrative centers on Tsotsi, whose name when translated, literally means â€Å"thug†- a nickname he has accumulated through his atrocity as gang leader. The opening scene of the film establishes a strong sense of direction for the story – a glimpse of a person rolling dice is shown, drawing attention to the archetype of the dice representing chance and having no control over what will happen. This reveals the context that Tsotsi’s life is more distinctly influenced by outside forces, rather than his own free will. Following this scene, Tsotsi is introduced on screen wearing a leather jacket – the same one he is seen wearing for the entirety of the film with the exception of the ending, confirming that what viewers see during that time is only an exterior, securely hiding his true identity that was formed by his childhood and experiences. Gaining awareness about the major outside forces that influence the development of Tsotsi’s character in the past and the present are essential in understanding the reason behind his seemingly cold-hearted exterior. Tsotsi’s character is greatly developed by his interactions with his friends and family. His childhood without his parents has a significant effect on him, allowing him to be taught neither proper morals, nor how to behave with others. After their brutal murder of a man, Boston preaches Tsotsi, including him saying, â€Å"Jesus, Tsotsi. A dog? What about a dog† (Hood, 2005). The didactic tirade triggers a stream of muffled emotions in Tsotsi, who beats up Boston. After this incident, Tsotsi runs from his friends, and more importantly, himself. The frenzied expression revealed in the close up shot of his face not only expresses his id that caused the incident, but also clearly expresses his disappointment in himself acting the same way towards Boston, as his dad had to their dog when Tsotsi was younger. â€Å"Get out I said! Out damn it! Out you fucking dog† (Hood, 2005). This metaphorical representation of Boston as a dog reveals Tsotsi’s lack morality throughout his childhood. Hood uses meaningful pathetic fallacy to portray the view that viewers should have on Tsotsi. The long shot emphasizes his insignificant effect over the controlling outside forces, and lighting illuminates the sky, while Tsotsi is still left in  darkness; symbolizing his dark exterior. In addition to being strong influences that have caused Tsotsi to become who he is, his friends also aid him in his path to atonement. Tsotsi looks for redemption against such poverty-induced inhumanity in a place that seems to provide no possibility of doing so. However, such substitute, namely â€Å"decency† makes an appearance in an instructive manner, digging through to Tsotsi’s superego, as Sigmund Freud would suggest. Boston or â€Å"Teacher Boy,† who, true to his nickname, is the only gang member still possessing conscience, castigates Tsotsi for his wrongdoi ngs, â€Å"Decency Tsotsi – Decency – Do you know the word† (Hood, 2005). Viewers see glimpses of decency as described by Boston – making a living in a way that makes you respected – in Tsotsi as the film progresses, along with his character. This is seen when Tsotsi pays a final visit to Boston and leaves his gun with him – a symbolism of him finally revealing his true identity with no armor. Additionally, Tsotsi shoots Butcher, a character with whom he had many similarities with at the start of the narrative, revealing that he no longer shares those similarities with him. Therefore, Hoods use of outside forces further develops Tsotsi’s character. Furthermore, Tsotsi steals a baby in his attempt to steal a car from Pumla. At this point, the critical question stands: Can a small baby redeem a cold-hearted thug? Clearly, the baby plays a major role in Tsotsi’s development as a dynamic character in his path to redemption. Tsotsi becomes occupied with caring for the baby as his pathway out of his odious life. To implement a psychological association to Tsotsi’s repressed humanity, Hood uses sentimental flashbacks. Tsotsi’s involvement with gangs is explained by Tsotsi’s harsh father who restricts him from seeing his ill mother. â€Å"You†¦stay away from your mother† (Hood, 2005). The baby serves as a representation of what Tsotsi has lost; revealed when he visits the baby’s room, and realizes what he has stripped from the baby. As the film progresses, Tsotsi develops a strong admiration towards Miriam, a female figure that he associates with his own mother, and therefore tells Miriam that the baby’s name is ‘David,’ the name he himself was given by his own mother. This is also revealed when Boston says, â€Å"Everyone has a name. A real name from him mother† (Hood, 2005). Miriam reveals the Oedipal Complex at work in the film as Tsotsi revives memories of his mother’s affections. The ‘decency,’ that Boston continuously mentions, is finally revealed to be seen  in Tsotsi when he finally hands the baby over to its parents. However, his reluctance to let the baby go symbolizes his fear in forgetting his past experiences and starting over, clearly emphasized by the depressing music, meant to tug at the viewer’s heart-strings, in contrast to the upbeat music played throughout the rest of the film. Here at the end of the film, Tsotsi’s surrendering to the police confirms that he is no longer seen as a ruthless killer, but as a man with decency. In doing so, Hood offers readers an association with Tsotsi, along with a clear insight of his struggle to redeem himself in a cruel world with little guidance from his childhood and past experiences.

Historical Development of Nursing Timeline Essay

The science of nursing has come a long way since the days of when the art of nursing was passed on to other nurses through education of skills and tasks. Through the development of nursing theories, the science of nursing has changed and grown. Nursing theories were developed to help standardize care and to help create a base of knowledge so that nursing would be recognized as a profession. There have been many theorists who have played an integral part in the growth of the profession of nursing, which include, Florence Nightingale, Hildegard Peplau, Virginia Henderson, Dorothea Orem, and Jean Watson to name a few. As theories developed, it helped to shape nursing as a profession as well. As the profession continued to evolve and grow, it received many influences from other disciplines as well, such as philosophy, social science, religion, education, and anthropology. The history of nursing began with Florence Nightingale and the way she viewed nursing and nurses. She was a pioneer f or nursing theories. According to George (2011), Nightingale created the first theory, which was created in 1859 by her book Notes on Nursing, by understanding how the environment of the patient and their health were affected by that environment. She believed that the environment was important for people to heal, and that manipulation of that environment was important. George (2011), states that Nightingale focused on people’s nutrition, the proper way to dispose of sewage, and how the lighting and ventilation would help people. This was just the beginning of how theories began. For many decades, Nightingale’s theory guided nursing practice. Not until the 1950s at the Columbia University, where the students there were developing nursing theories, was there a shift in nursing theories. Some of the theorists during this time were Peplau, Henderson, Hall, and Abdellah. According to George (2011), many of the  theories of this time were based on the biomedical model, and were focused on what the nurse and what they do. This sparked the need to have nurses more highly educated. This also led to the next wave of nursing education. Alligood (2014) states that towards the 1950s the diploma nurse began to phase out and that more nursing programs were opening in colleges and universities, which had more research and curriculum focus. By having higher educated nurses, it showed that research became the way to increase nursing knowledge. The 1960s continued to demonstrate how nursing theories were changing. According to George (2011), the nurse and patient relationship became more the focus of theoretical thinking as opposed to the problem and need of the patient way of thinking. George (2011) also states that the same theorists from the 1950s that were developing theories went to Yale school to become staff there. This decade also showed a change in the education of nursing. George (2011) continues on to state that the American Nurses Association recommended that there be two levels of education, the baccalaureate level, and the associate level nurses. During this decade the theorists to note were, Henderson, Orlando, and Wiedenbach. According to George (2011), Henderson â€Å"defined nursing as doing for others what they lack the strength, will, or knowledge to do for themselves† (p. 25). This shows how nursing began, and continues today. Walker and Avant (2011) state that Orlando and Widenbach’s theories focused on the nurse-patient relationship. In the next decade, according to George (2011), is when many nursing theories were presented and revised, and that this is when the National League for Nursing first implemented the requirement for nursing schools to have conceptual framework to be even accredited. Alligood (2014) states that this decade is when doctoral degrees for nurses should actually be in nursing. Rogers, Orem, and Watson are some of the theorists that contributed to the science of nursing in this decade. According to George (2011), Rogers believed that a person and the environment are integral to each other, and the person is seen as the whole instead of the collection of the parts. George (2011) states that Orem had identified three areas of self-deficit in patients and that nursing were able to provide fully, partially, or supportive in the three areas that the patient needed. Lastly George (2011) describes Watson’s theory and how nursing is viewed as taking care of people through science. The 1980s and 1990s continued to show growth and development of nursing theories. Many of the theories of the 1980s were being revised. According to George (2011) in the 1990s is when middle theories began to guide nursing and the introduction of evidence-based practice. This paved the way to how research helps to guide nursing in the science. Nursing has grown since Nightingale first introduced her theory. It has evolved from an art and discipline, into a science and a profession. Barrett (2002) states that the best efforts toward discovering the truth, best represents science and scientific knowledge, and that it is evolving, subject to revision, is open-ended, and creates changes in ideas. Barrett (2002) goes on to state, â€Å"research is how we create science.† This goes to show that nursing is a profession, in that nursing is in a constant state of research and using that research to create better outcomes. According to Barrett (2002), the knowledge that is gained for nursing science is done through nursing research. Alligood (2014) states that in order for new knowledge to be obtained in nursing, it is paramount that theories and research continue to be important. It is through the continuous creation and revision of theories, and evidence through research that continue to shape nursing as a profession. The nursing profession is one that draws many influences from other disciplines as well, such as philosophy, religion, education, anthropology, the social sciences and psychology. Nurses use philosophy almost on a daily basis, the quest for more wisdom. The nurse’s desire to want to understand patients and how their environment, social interactions, and choices affect their health. Wanting to understand more and grow nursing, theorist use the basis of philosophy to gain more knowledge. Religion is another influence in nursing that allows nurses to connect with patients on a spiritual level and to help guide ethical choices and to be a patient advocate. Nursing places nurses in the lifelong student position as well. It is a profession where education is continuous, and it allows nurses to become educators as well. Anthropology and nursing are intertwined and have much in common due to both fields focus on the health and illness of human beings (DeSantis, 1994). Nursing is influenced by social science and psychology as well. It is through social science that  nurses can deliver culturally competent care, from the understanding of people and society. Psychology helps guide nurses in to better understanding the human psyche, and how the mind and behavior affect people and their health. The nursing profession has grown since Nightingale first introduced her theory. Since then, nursing theorist have been working on providing evidence-based practice to help guide the profession of nursing through research and studies. It is through the creation of these theories that helped pave the way for nursing science to become a profession. In addition, the influence of the many different sciences and their disciplines also contributed to the science of nursing. References Alligood, M. R. (2014). Nursing theory: Utilization & application. Maryland Heights, MO: Mosby-Elsevier. Barrett, E. A. (2002). What is nursing science? Nursing Science Quarterly, 15(1), 51-60. DeSantis, L. (1994). Making anthropology clinically relevant to nursing care. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 20(0), 707-715. George, J. B. (2011). Nursing theories the base for professional nursing practice (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Karnick, P. M. (2014). The elusive profession called nursing. Nursing Science Quarterly, 27(4), 292-293. doi:10.1177/0894318414546422 Walker, L. O., & Avant, K. C. (2011). Strategies for theory construction in nursing (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

“A Helping Hand” Story Essay

In the story, â€Å"A Helping Hand† I am creating a Gothic tale which takes place in the mid-eighteenth century in London, England where the madman of this story takes his hostage, a young dancer by the name of Mary, who is an eighteenth century prostitute, who has something on hand, in which this Gothic creature, longs for.   I intend to create a desperate and scary situation, that will leave my reading audience paralyzed with fear but unable to pull themselves away from this story. It will be a winning Gothic tale; hands down! The hallowing winds hurled Mary’s hair into air, as she crossed the rocky road that led her to her tiny stone villa, on Fourth Street.   She had danced easily for the gentlemen callers who had paid their dues, in order to watch her move across the floor with incredible grace and little clothing. She had performed this dance ritual for several months, now, and she had saved up enough money to pay her rent plus buy food, which was a rarity she had earlier missed. She searched her bag for the golden key that would allow her to enter, and she panicked when she discovered it wasn’t in its proper place. The wind had picked up even more strength and she could barely hold her feet on the ground as she continued to look for the key. There was a humming in the distance, and she convinced herself that it was just another voice that the storm was offering, and as it grew louder and clearer, she froze where she stood. She could feel him standing behind her, but she couldn’t allow herself to look. She could barely catch her breath and as she felt his hand rest on her shoulder, she closed her eyes and pretended she was back on the dance floor. He smelled of cedar and whiskey and as he brushed his hand across the back of her neck, she spoke words that she had no idea where they emerged from. â€Å"Can I help you?† I was all she could say and she wondered if he had been a male caller who had watched her dance, earlier. She could feel the sharp object protruding from his arm and when she was finally able to turn around; she saw that he was equipped with the prosthetic hand that he had used to touch her. Had he any feelings in his hands? He must have, since she could feel the warmth that radiated from the object. She looked him in his face as he dangled the golden key before her. He had somehow managed to steal his way into her existence and now she had no other choice but to follow him inside the home that had earlier provided her a safe haven. He didn’t speak but his eyes said all that she needed to know. He was there for one reason and she could feel his eyes piercing her soul as he placed the artificial hand to her chest. â€Å"Mary, be kind!† Were the first words he spoke as she wiped a single tear from her cheeks, and removed her sweater. â€Å"No!† His voice was strong and he had not wanted this from her, but something much more personal. There was no way she could give this to him, and as she thought about it, she would have rather that he had been a crude pervert who only wanted her body, but he was asking for more than that! Her body tightened and she stood immobilized as he seemed to say thank you with his eyes and she suddenly wished that she hadn’t moved away from her family. They had warned her about the dangers that existed in London, England and had advised her to reconsider her move so far away from those who cared about her. But, she had been strong-willed and their words of advice hadn’t been able to convince her. He was growing impatient and she wished that his breathing could have been gentler and as she realized there was no way of escaping, she at last reached offered her hand to him. He had stroked it with affection. It was something that he had desired for so long and when he saw how gracefully they moved while she danced, he couldn’t bare not to have one of them, as his own. He removed a long razor that was attached to a wooden handle and he placed his arm around her arms and chest to secure them, so they wouldn’t flop or flinch, as he removed the precious gift. The scream was shrilling and the terror he saw in her eyes didn’t faze him. He wanted it so badly that her pain, he felt, was a small price to pay for the happiness it would bring to him. It was a gift that would enable him to give back so much more than she could ever offer with the long fingered hand. It was after midnight when she finally awoke. The medicine he had given her had caused her to sleep as he ceased the blood flow and sutured the wound that he had given her. It would have proven more beneficial if it had caused her to sleep through the blunt trauma but that kind of pain could not be stopped by anything, including the strong tranquilizer he had shoved down her throat before the surgery. Her eyes fluttered and he seemed to move in a cloud over her, as she whispered that she needed water. He held the vial of fluid to her lips as she took the first sip and she searched his eyes once more, trying to remember the events of the night and as she saw her hand moving toward her face, she realized it was her own. â€Å"My unselfish love, you have given to me of yourself. You have freely offered the gracefulness of your touch that I will forever feel against my flesh. I will carry this part of your body with me forever, and I will always be thankful to you!† He had seemed appreciative as she tried to lift her limb that was wrapped in blood-stained wrapping that was lifted above her head. She thought about her family as she wondered if she would ever see them again as she felt a shot of blood pulsate through the bandage. She had never felt pain of this severity and as she tried to raise herself to a standing position, this stranger pulled her back to the bed and stroked her face with his feminine fingers. It was two days before she could gather the energy to walk to her small kitchen and when she did, she searched for him and in a whimpering voice she called out to him. There was no reply as she drank a full glass of the water that she had so thirsted for. She searched each dark room and he was nowhere to be found. She let out a tiny sigh of relief as she walked toward the front door. She would find someone who could help her; someone who could call a family member or take her to get some medical help. Her wrist felt like fire moving through the end and she held it tightly as she ran toward safety. The coldness of the day and the bitter rain exaggerated the pain she felt but she knew she couldn’t delay. She had to find someone who could cause this horrible pain to go away. As she picked up speed, heading in the direction of the ancient saloon, she heard him breathing but continued on her important journey. The saloon was full of familiar faces and as she walked across the floor she saw him gazing at her, once again. He held his graceful hand across the table as she watched him and suddenly moved in his direction. â€Å"Mary, you won’t tell anyone! A gift is something you don’t take back or fret over but something you offer in return for the comfort of knowing that you have helped another. Haven’t you ever heard that it is better to give than to receive?† She was lost for words as she witness the boldness of his speech that flowed from his lips, so easily. â€Å"Mary, I didn’t ask you for an arm or leg; just a gift for someone who was in need. All I asked for was a helping hand!†