Gender and Sexuality in “Twelfth Night” and “The Merchant of Venice” Essay

â€Å"Twelfth Night† and â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† are two of William Shakespeare’s comedies which are famous for their theme of sexuality and cross-dressing characters. â€Å"Twelfth Night† tells the story of a young woman named Viola who pretends to be a man to be able to find work in the household of the Duke of Illyria. On the other hand, â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† is a story of a merchant named Antonio who helps his friend Bassanio to win the hands of his love, Portia, by allowing Bassanio to loan money from Shylock and to make Antonio his loan guarantor. These two Shakespearean comedies similarly contain scenes where a woman cross-dresses as a man to achieve a particular goal. In â€Å"Twelfth Night,† Viola pretends to be a man named Cesario to able to get a job under Duke Ullyria, while in â€Å"The Merchant of Venice,† Portia and Nerissa dress as men to prevent Shylock from taking a pound of Antonio’s flesh. The cross-dressing of the characters, therefore, reveals a theme of sexuality in the plays. Another aspect in the plays that discloses the theme of sexuality is the concept of close friendships or attraction between the same-sex characters in the stories such as Antonio and Bassanio in â€Å"The Merchant of Venice,† Olivia and Viola (pretending to be Cesario), Antonio and Sebastian, and Duke Orsino and Cesario (finally revealed as Viola) in â€Å"Twelfth Night.† These complicated relationships in the stories show the complexity of sexuality and gender in relation to the attraction, whether physical or emotional, felt by the characters towards the other. With the characters cross-dressing, Shakespeare reveals the nature of sexuality in an obscure light. Brief Summary of â€Å"Twelfth Night† William Shakespeare’s â€Å"Twelfth Night† starts with a scene where the Duke Orsino of the kingdom of Illyria hangs around with music in the background as he thinks about his love for the beautiful Lady Olivia. Unfortunately, Olivia does not return his love because she is still in the midst of mourning for her brother who has died a long time ago. She rejects suitors and does not entertain marriage proposals. Unknown to these two characters, a young woman and survivor of a shipwreck with the name of Viola lands in the shore of Illyria. Unfamiliar with the place, she wonders if her twin brother Sebastian has died in the shipwreck. Upon hearing the story of Orsino and Olivia from a captain, she decides to work for Olivia in the meantime. However, upon finding out that Olivia does not entertain any strangers, she resorts to working for the Duke instead. This is where the pretension as a man starts. Viola begins dressing as a man with a new identity as Cesario. Duke Orsino immediately approves of Cesario and hires her as his messenger. The conflict of the story now arises as Viola begins to fall in love with the Duke who thinks she is a man, and he later asks Cesario to send his love letters to Olivia who, also believing that she is man, immediately falls for Cesario. In the end, all is revealed when Cesario and Duke Orsino arrive in Olivia’s house. Olivia greets Cesario with warmth believing her to be her new husband Sebastian, who was rescued by Antonio from the shipwreck. Witnessing this, Duke Orsino feels betrayed, but when the real Sebastian appears in the scene everyone realizes the truth of Viola and Sebastian’s personality. Duke Orsino proposes marriage to Viola upon finding out that he is truly in love with her, and Sir Toby and Maria also privately marry. The play ends with Malvolio being freed and feeling defeated. Sexuality and Gender in â€Å"Twelfth Night† â€Å"Twelfth Night† embodies a great deal of issues with regard to sexuality regardless of whether it is homosexuality or heterosexuality. Shakespeare has clearly illustrated the ambiguity of the nature of gender and sexuality. The issue of sexuality is evident as characters of the story have their own love interests. Firstly, Orsino’s love for Olivia is described by Cesario to be â€Å"With adorations, fertile tears, / With groans that thunder love, with sighs of fire† (1.5.238-239). Cesario’s line evidently depicts a passionate feeling which is intensified more by the use of words such as â€Å"adoration†, â€Å"groans†, â€Å"thunder† and â€Å"fire†. This choice of words obviously demonstrates an immense imagery of sexuality. It is also clear that Viola (as Cesario) has fallen in love with the Duke Orsino. She proclaims her misery in â€Å"wooing† his lady when in fact, she wishes to be his wife. â€Å"To woo your lady. Yet, a barful strife! / Whoe’er I woo, myself would be his wife† (1.4.41-42). The concept of hasty attractions between characters is always present in Shakespearean plays. In â€Å"Twelfth Night†, Viola quickly falls in love with the duke, Olivia also hastily becomes attracted to Cesario despite the fact the she has just met him, and Orsino swiftly switches his feelings from Olivia to Viola as soon as he finds out that Cesario is actually a woman. The notion of physical attraction to the opposite clearly demonstrates the concept of sexuality as the characters have not even spent enough time with each other to dismiss their feelings to be of love already. It is most likely to be feelings of lust as the characters would often refer to the physical attributes of the person first every time they ponder about love such as Olivia’s lines â€Å"I’ll be sworn thou art: / Thy tongue, thy face, thy limbs, actions, and spirit,† (1.5.273-274) The fact that Olivia also feels an attraction towards Cesario opens the issue of lesbianism as the audience all know that Cesario is Viola pretending to be a man. Her final monologue upon the departure of Cesario from Olivia’s house reveals her attraction towards the young and handsome messenger. â€Å"I’ll be sworn thou art: / Thy tongue, thy face, thy limbs, actions, and spirit, / Do give thee five-fold blazon. Not too fast: soft! soft!† (1.5.273-275). She is easily drawn to the sentimentality of Cesario’s idea when he declares that if he is the one courting Olivia and not his master, he would stay outside her gates and cry out his love for her until she takes pity on him. Viola’s assurance to Olivia as Cesario also reveals a somewhat obvious attraction of Cesario to Olivia. By delivering those lines, despite the fact the Cesario is a woman, shows that Cesario does believe that Lady Olivia is attractive and beautiful. â€Å"’Tis beauty truly blent, whose red and white / Nature’s own sweet and cunning hand laid on.† (1.5.222-223). He could not have delivered it so effectively without imagining Olivia to whom he is referring. Scholars agree that the concept of cross-dressing in Shakespeare’s plays illustrates the possibility of lessening conflicts between homosexuality and heterosexuality. â€Å"Perhaps, the cross-dressed heroines of ‘Twelfth Night or As You Like it offer a symbolic way in which the conflict between male-male friendships and heterosexual marriage can be reconciled† (Smith 147). Cleary, in Olivia’s case of falling for Cesario, she fell in love not only for his handsome appearance but also because he has the sincerity that a woman needs from a lover. Obviously, Orsino does not possess them as he makes no risky effort to prove his love to Olivia. All he does is merely whine and complain about how his love is unrequited. Another part in the story that engages in the theme of sexuality is the seemingly homosexual love of Antonio to Sebastian. After rescuing Sebastian from the shipwreck, Antonio goes with him wherever he decides to go. He even goes as far as accompanying him to Illyria where he has many enemies. â€Å"I have many enemies in Orsino’s court, / come what may, I do adore thee so / That danger shall seem sport, and I will go† (2.1.35-6). According to Smith, The word ‘adore’ is a strong one: â€Å"where it’s used elsewhere by Shakespeare, it tends to refer either to the love of mortals for gods, or for an exalted form of romantic courtship† (148). Antonio also entrusts his purse to Sebastian as they part, which reveals his genuine affection for Sebastian. This gesture clearly describes Antonio’s unrequited homosexual love for Sebastian. At the end of â€Å"Twelfth Night,† Duke Orsino still accepts Viola even after discovering that she has fooled him to believe that she was a man. Surprisingly, Orsino tells her that he actually loves her. â€Å"Boy, thou hast said to me a thousand times / Thou shall never shouldst love woman like to me† (5.1.259-260). It is noticeable that despite his confession of love to her, he still refers to him as â€Å"Boy,† which is an indication that he still sees her as Cesario. It can be dismissed that the Duke’s feelings towards Olivia and Viola may be just physical because he is easy to switch his feelings of love from Olivia to Viola. According to the book, A Companion to Shakespeare’s Works, â€Å"[i]n Twelfth night, embodied sexuality appears to be less important than clothing in establishing gendered identity† (Rackin 123). Brief Summary of â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† is the story of Antonio, a Venetian merchant, who encounters a predicament when Bassanio borrowed a big amount of money from him so he could afford to travel to Belmont and win the hand of Portia. Antonio replies that he cannot lend him any money because he has already invested them on his trade ships, but he assures Bassanio that he could lend from any money lending investor and refer to him as a complete guarantor. The two men approach Shylock, a Jewish money lender who secretly despises Antonio for humiliating him numerous times in the past. He agrees to lend money to Bassanio under the condition that if Antonio fails to pay the debt, he is entitled to cut a pound of flesh from Antonio. They closed the deal. Fortunately, Bassanio is able to win Portia’s hand despite the complexity of her dead father’s will but when he finds out that Antonio’s trade ships have been reported missing, he goes back to Venice to help his friend out. With the help of the Duke of Venice and his hired attorney, Balthasar, who is in fact Portia pretending to be a man, try to convince Shylock to negotiate and just take double of the money that he has loaned to Bassanio. Shylock refuses to hear it and insists that he cuts a pound of Antonio’s flesh. Balthasar agrees by also adding that Shylock must cut the flesh without causing it to bleed or else all his properties would be confiscated. Unable to protest any longer, Shylock surrenders and agrees to take the money from Bassanio. He is then prosecuted for attempting to kill a citizen, so half of his properties must go to the government and the other half to Antonio. In the end, Bassanio and Graziano thank Balthasar and his assistant, who is actually Graziano’s wife Nerissa, by offering presents to them. Balthasar demands to have his ring to which Bassanio hesitates but later gives. Upon returning to Belmont, Portia and Nerissa confront and accuse their husband of infidelity because of the ring that they promised never to give under any circumstances. After a short while of arguments, they reconcile by revealing their true identities in the case of Shylock and Antonio. Sexuality and Gender in â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† Similar to â€Å"Twelfth Night†, â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† also includes a scene where a woman dresses as a man to accomplish a goal that would later benefit the protagonists at the end of the story. In this case, Portia is the woman character who pretends to be a male attorney to rescue Antonio from being cut by the vengeful Shylock. By using her wits and intelligence, she is able to notice a lapse in the earlier contract that the two men have agreed upon which leads to the successful negotiation of Shylock by just taking the money instead of taking a pound of Antonio’s flesh. In this regard, the empowerment of the female sexuality is insinuated by means of giving Portia authority in the case. The concept of feminism is clear in this play as female sexuality is deemed to be more empowered in the story than the male sexuality. Cross-dressing obviously plays a large role in symbolizing sexuality and gender in the play. â€Å"Shakespeare uses Portia’s disguise to highlight the struggle between heterosexual love and homosexual love found within the love triangle consisting of Portia, Bassanio, and Antonio† (eNotes.com). In the first part of the story, we witness Antonio’s unexplainable sadness, and when Bassanio arrives, he immediately asks him of his lady-love. This can be an indication that Antonio feels some kind of affection for Bassanio and it might be the reason why he cannot explain his own sadness. It is also apparent that upon Bassanio’s arrival, Antonio is very interested in finding out about Bassanio’s new love. Antonio’s reference to Basssanio as, â€Å"My purse, my person, my extremest means, / Lie all unlock’d to your occasions† (1.1.138-139), reveals an indication that there is more to Antonio’s brotherly feelings towards Bassanio. It is also clear that Antonio has lent Bassanio a big amount of money before and it is not the first time that Bassanio asks a big favor from him. This gesture of eminent closeness between two male friends demonstrates an implicit depth of relationship which is more than friendship. The pound of flesh can be a symbol of sexuality in the play. Flesh clearly symbolizes the lust of the flesh, and even though there is no direct evidence that Shylock is homosexual, it can be regarded that the symbolism of flesh refers to the other characters in the story. Clearly, there are a number of couples in the story such as Portia and Bassanio, Jessica and Lorenzo, and Nerissa and Graziano. This could be a reference that they are examples of people who lust after flesh because of their quick engagements despite the short span of time that they have known each other. It is also apparent that love in this play is much more associated with the hasty physical attraction rather than the concept of extensive courting and getting-to-know-each-other stage. The fact that Portia’s dead father prefers to have a groom for her who can luckily choose the right casket reveals that the present society of the play does not give much importance to feelings but more on practicality. The concept of patriarchal authority is also apparent in the plot of the play as symbolized by Portia’s father’s will. The will represents the authority that her father still has over her decisions despite the fact that he is already dead. The will, therefore, holds the remaining power of her father which clearly reveals a society where men rule. According the play’s guide, â€Å"The plot parallels and contrasts the rivalry between Portia and Antonio in the main plot and highlights the ‘conflict between male friendship and marriage’ which runs throughout [Shakespeare’s] works† (Janik 186). Clearly, in this play, Portia seems to be the hindrance between Antonio and Bassanio’s friendship. However, in the end, she proves to be the one with the authority, as she disguises herself as a man of law to save Antonio. Thus, Portia’s female sexuality becomes more authoritative in the play because she is able to resolve the problem that neither Antonio nor the Duke of Venice can resolve. Conclusion â€Å"Twelfth Night† and â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† encompass a complex plot of mistaken identities and deliberate cross-dressing. The fact that the female characters ultimately save the men from their miseries in the end proves that these Shakespearean plays also include the concept of feminism. However, the theme of sexuality is more focused on the relationships between the heterosexual major characters, while the implicit concept of homosexuality is ambiguous in the male-male friendships. Nevertheless, these two Shakespearean works still embody a story that modern readers could still relate to as the theme of sexuality is continuously present in our society. Works Cited Janik, Vicki K. The Merchant of Venice: A Guide to the Play. Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003. Rackin, Phyllis. â€Å"Shakespeare’s Crossdressing Comedies.† A Companion to Shakespeare’s Works. Eds. Richard Dutton and Jean Elizabeth Howard. United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing, 2003. Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. Ed. Roma Gill. Oxford: Barron’s Educational Series, 2001. Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night: Or, What You Will. Ed. Cedric Thomas Watts. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions, 1992 Smith, Emma. The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2007.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Merchant of Venice (Vol. 40): Introduction.† Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Dana Ramel Barnes. Vol. 40. Gale Cengage, 2006. eNotes.com. 12 Mar 2009

Kingshaw’s Misery in I’m the King of the Castle Essay

Throughout the novel I’m the King of the Castle by Susan Hill, we are constantly aware of the misery felt by twelve-year-old Charles Kingshaw. This, and the way it is shown, is very important in really understanding his character, and what eventually leads him to his own death. Charles Kingshaw has a series of irrational fears. Although this is normal for most children, his fears are so crippling that they go far beyond the typical childish nightmare. An example of one of these fears is swimming pools. Early on in the book, Kingshaw recalls being taken to an open-air swimming pool by his father as a much younger child. He remembers how he had feared the water, not only because he couldn’t swim, but also because of its â€Å"glassy, artificial blueness† and how â€Å"people’s limbs looked huge and pale and swollen underneath.† He also fears the â€Å"terrible† moths in the Red Room at Warings, and is afraid of touching their â€Å"furry bodies†. Another fear he has is of crows. Even before he is attacked by the crow in the cornfield outside Warings, Kingshaw notes that it has â€Å"ragged black wings† and â€Å"small, glinting eyes†. He has to tell himself that it is â€Å"stupid to be scared of a rotten bird†. Later on, when Hooper puts the stuffed crow on his bed, he is â€Å"faint with fear† and wishes for his own death – even though he knows immediately that it is not real. This is just one example of the way Hooper exploits Kingshaw’s fears during the novel. When he brings Kingshaw to the Red Room to show him the moths, it seems he just wants to show off. But he immediately recognises that Kingshaw is afraid when, upon seeing the moths, when he â€Å"sharply† draws his breath. Hooper mocks him and orders him to touch one, and Kingshaw’s instinct is to fight as hard as he can – anything to avoid having to feel them. Hooper watches him and sees this, and runs out of the room, locking the door behind him. Later on, Hooper locks Kingshaw in the dark shed, leaving him to fantasize about murderers lurking in the shadows. Kingshaw thinks of Hooper as â€Å"clever† and â€Å"cunning† and thinks he will never be able to escape his endless persecution. He is â€Å"unbalanced† by the open hostility Hooper treats him with, and doesn’t know how to beat him. However, it would be possible for Kingshaw to beat Hooper. Physically, he is taller and is strong enough to give Hooper a bruise when they have their only fistfight, on their very first meeting, and bites him hard enough to make him withdraw when Hooper tries to intimidate Kingshaw on the stairs. Kingshaw would also have the capacity to beat Hooper in his mind games, if he only knew it; Hooper finds Kingshaw â€Å"frustrating†, and is â€Å"at a loss† to get past his â€Å"dull, steady stare†. His insults are very childish (â€Å"stupid head†; â€Å"scaredy-baby†), and Kingshaw even recognises that Hooper is â€Å"not very used to being a bully†. Yet Kingshaw is too and fatalistic, to see his own potential. Kingshaw’s fatalism is important in understanding his misery. His description of himself is very telling of his outlook on life: â€Å"He had no good opinion of his own chances, against Hooper. Or against anyone. He was not cowardly. Just realistic, hopeless. He did not give into people, just went, from the beginning, with the assurance that he would be beaten. It meant that there was no surprise, and no disappointment, about anything†. At many points in the novel, Kingshaw has moments of genuine happiness, in which he feels untouchable and in control. This is reflected in the title of the book itself, and in a later chapter in the book in which he actually climbs to the top of an ancient ruin of a castle. However, this euphoria never lasts, and he falls from his â€Å"castle† every time- all because of his own refusal to fight against what he feels is inevitability; Hooper will always beat him, he will never win. We see these moments of happiness and his sudden snap back to reality multiple times: when he discovers his secret room in Warings and Hooper finds it, so he decided to just let him in; when he ventures on his own into the woods and Hooper follows him; when he climbs up onto the tractor in the cornfield, feeling on top of the world, and gets stuck when dismounting it so he fears it will roll back an crush him. In the chapter in which he fearlessly climbs the castle whilst Hooper begs for help on a wall below him, Kingshaw feels that surge of power again: â€Å"I am the King†¦I could kill him.† But Kingshaw knows that he will not, knowing that â€Å"any power he acquired would only be temporary†. So he tries to help Hooper, and we, as readers, feel frustrated with his helplessness. Kingshaw’s mother does nothing to save her son from Hooper, or from his own fear. In fact, she contributes to his misery by determinedly trying to satisfy her own needs for money and companionship, and ignoring Kingshaw’s declarations of his hate for Hooper along the way. She asks him to â€Å"tell Mummy† if he is upset about anything, but when he tells her how much he dislikes Hooper she tells him it is â€Å"wicked† to say such things. Kingshaw is deeply ashamed of his mother, of her airs and pretences and the fact that she behaves â€Å"altogether without pride†. He knows he â€Å"ought to care about†¦his mother† but doesn’t. This is quite disturbing for a child to say, but it is understandable, as â€Å"she had never known anything about him†. This is proved by her remark to Mr Hooper about how â€Å"Charles is settling down so happily† at Warings. Charles is disgusted but is in no way surprised at her complete l ack of understanding. Susan Hill is very particular in the way she uses language to show Charles Kingshaw’s misery. The book is in third person narrative, mostly told from Kingshaw’s point of view, and often uses slightly naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve, childish language: â€Å"He felt absolutely alone, there might be no other person in the whole world.† There is also some informal language which pulls the reader into this child’s world, and endears us to him. An example of this is his thought that, â€Å"It always took longer than you expected, walking.† This makes us feel Kingshaw’s misery more during his moments of extreme terror. During these times the sentences get longer, punctuated by a series of commas, indicating a panicked, frantic train of thought: â€Å"He sweated a little, twisting this way and that, and reaching his left arm round behind him, to try and unhitch the string.† This clearly shows us his raw, desperate fear. Rather than using lots of emotive, descriptive narration, which could detract focus from Kingshaw’s character, the writer has us experience I’m the King of the Castle through Charles Kingshaw’s feelings, experiences and memories. This is very effective as it lets us become more and more involved in Kingshaw’s character; our attachment to him builds up into a climax throughout the novel until he ultimately commits suicide. When this happens our hopes fall as Kingshaw did so many times before and does now, one final time.

Mayan Civilization

Dwayne Sinclair 1 Taking Sides paper Prof John Dunn History 1111 02/26/2012 THE FALL OF MAYA CIVILIZATION DUE TO ENVIROMENTAL FACTORS. The collapse of the Maya civilization was a result of environmental factors which eventually led to warfare as a way of coming up with solutions to avoid the inevitable collapse of this civilization. Environmental factors like over population, agricultural scarcities, disease, natural disasters, were the major factors for the collapse of the Maya civilization. Judging from rcheological evidence from the lost chronicles of the Maya kings, by David Drew (university of California press, 1999). David focuses on the bones of the Maya people throughout the region in sites such as Tikal, Lamilpa, and Altar de sacrificios, with similar stories of an unhealthy and stressed population, shrunk skeletons, decrease in life expectancy of children which had not occurred in earlier societies of the Maya. The fact that similar patterns of deterioration was found in mo re than one area shows a pattern that spread all across the maya region.According to David, the Maya's view of their universe saw a ruler as having divine powers. Also in the text from Warfare in Ancient Mesoamerica by Payson D Sheets (AltaMira press, 2003) who argues that the collapse of the Maya civilization was a result of military expansion agrees with the view point that the rulers divine powers could influence the gods by by bloodletting sacrifices, essential for the proper functioning of the Maya society. Sacrifices in various forms like food and drink, human sacrifice in the form of captives needed to appease he gods for the purpose of receiving rainfall which led to a good crop harvest, and recovery from diseases. 2 Over a period, this unquestioned belief in the rulers wore thin, because of a series of natural disasters in the form of environmental factors like dense populations, famine, diseases, natural disasters like droughts, hurricanes, earthquakes which caused a lot o f ecological stress that made agriculture almost impossible, leading to food shortages to an already overpopulated region.In an attempt to salvage the situation of the Maya's, the rulers felt their powers were failing and the gods needed more blood sacrifices that led to expansive militarization for the purpose of capturing neighboring warriors who were offered as sacrifices to the gods, to take over antagonistic city states for the purpose of claiming new fertile agricultural land, because their land had been devastated by a combination of natural disasters that rendered their land unsuitable for agriculture. The only option that could keep the rulers in power and feed their assive population was to take land very scarce resources from neighboring states through violence in the form of war. The Maya's belief system could not hold up due to changes in environmental factors that were out of their rulers control, and this led to chaos in the form of wars and violence in desperation to turn their fortunes around. Environmental factors were the reasons that led to the excessive militarization that brought about wars, and brought about the collapse of the Maya civilization. Mayan Civilization Dwayne Sinclair 1 Taking Sides paper Prof John Dunn History 1111 02/26/2012 THE FALL OF MAYA CIVILIZATION DUE TO ENVIROMENTAL FACTORS. The collapse of the Maya civilization was a result of environmental factors which eventually led to warfare as a way of coming up with solutions to avoid the inevitable collapse of this civilization. Environmental factors like over population, agricultural scarcities, disease, natural disasters, were the major factors for the collapse of the Maya civilization. Judging from rcheological evidence from the lost chronicles of the Maya kings, by David Drew (university of California press, 1999). David focuses on the bones of the Maya people throughout the region in sites such as Tikal, Lamilpa, and Altar de sacrificios, with similar stories of an unhealthy and stressed population, shrunk skeletons, decrease in life expectancy of children which had not occurred in earlier societies of the Maya. The fact that similar patterns of deterioration was found in mo re than one area shows a pattern that spread all across the maya region.According to David, the Maya's view of their universe saw a ruler as having divine powers. Also in the text from Warfare in Ancient Mesoamerica by Payson D Sheets (AltaMira press, 2003) who argues that the collapse of the Maya civilization was a result of military expansion agrees with the view point that the rulers divine powers could influence the gods by by bloodletting sacrifices, essential for the proper functioning of the Maya society. Sacrifices in various forms like food and drink, human sacrifice in the form of captives needed to appease he gods for the purpose of receiving rainfall which led to a good crop harvest, and recovery from diseases. 2 Over a period, this unquestioned belief in the rulers wore thin, because of a series of natural disasters in the form of environmental factors like dense populations, famine, diseases, natural disasters like droughts, hurricanes, earthquakes which caused a lot o f ecological stress that made agriculture almost impossible, leading to food shortages to an already overpopulated region.In an attempt to salvage the situation of the Maya's, the rulers felt their powers were failing and the gods needed more blood sacrifices that led to expansive militarization for the purpose of capturing neighboring warriors who were offered as sacrifices to the gods, to take over antagonistic city states for the purpose of claiming new fertile agricultural land, because their land had been devastated by a combination of natural disasters that rendered their land unsuitable for agriculture. The only option that could keep the rulers in power and feed their assive population was to take land very scarce resources from neighboring states through violence in the form of war. The Maya's belief system could not hold up due to changes in environmental factors that were out of their rulers control, and this led to chaos in the form of wars and violence in desperation to turn their fortunes around. Environmental factors were the reasons that led to the excessive militarization that brought about wars, and brought about the collapse of the Maya civilization.

IN PATIENTS WHERE INFECTION IS A CONCERN FOR WOUND HEALING IS TAP Research Proposal

IN PATIENTS WHERE INFECTION IS A CONCERN FOR WOUND HEALING IS TAP WATER AS EFFECTIVE AS STERILE SALINE IN WOUND CLEANSING - Research Proposal Example There is no evidence that using tap water to cleanse acute wounds in adults increases infection and some evidence that it reduces it. However there is no strong evidence that cleansing wounds per se increases healing or reduces infection. In the absence of potable tap water, boiled and cooled water as well as distilled water can be used as wound cleansing agents. PICO QUESTION: In postsurgical patients who are for hospital discharge with wounds that require regular cleansing and irrigation, does wound cleansing using tap water have significant effects compared with using 0.9% normal saline solution in terms of wound healing or infection? Selection of potential articles, assessment of methodological quality and data abstraction was conducted independently by two reviewers. Trials with similar patients, comparisons, and outcomes were pooled. The data were analysed using Cochrane Review Manager 4.2. Where pooling was inappropriate, trials are discussed in a narrative review. Fourteen randomised controlled trials were included that compared various solutions for wound cleansing. The evidence indicates that there is no difference in the infection and healing rates in acute and chronic wounds cleansed with either tap water or normal saline. The evidence supports the use of potable tap water for cleansing lacerations in both adults and children and postoperative wounds in adults only. Potable tap water as well as boiled and cooled water is also an effective wound cleansing solution. This finding, however, is based on a trial that had a small sample size. PICO QUESTION: In postsurgical patients who are for hospital discharge with wounds that require regular cleansing and irrigation, does wound cleansing using tap water have significant effects compared with using 0.9% normal saline solution in terms of wound healing or

GDP per Capita and Its Challengers Research Proposal

GDP per Capita and Its Challengers - Research Proposal Example First of all, it should be noted that GDP was not designed to evaluate the well-being of a country. Instead, it measures particular types of economic activities within the country, which does not necessarily refer to a standard of living. For one crude example, a country with all goods and services exported will have a high GDP but low well-being of its citizens. Second, GDP takes into account only documented operations. It does include neither black market nor non-monetary operations, like bartering, showing inaccurate information for countries where any of these issues plays an important role. Moreover, some companies commit a cross-border trade within themselves in order to escape high taxation - this distorts GDP, creating additional imports/exports data. Third, GDP indicator shows little information for changes in ecology, society, and lifestyle. For instance, ecological damage is treated by GDP as a double growth: at first, it counts natural resources retrieved, and then it counts services used to replenish natural resources, but it would be far better if the disaster had never occurred in the first place. Additionally, the philosophy of GDP shows wars as contributors to the economy, but child upbringing and housework as valueless actions. It ignores volunteer and unpaid work, but instead, GDP counts work that produces no net change or that results from repairing harm (e.g. the healthcare industry, where economic activity increases along with a number of unhealthy population). Fourth, people buy often low-durability goods and make rare purchases of high-durable products, because of their long use. Sometimes it is possible that the monetary value of the items sold in the first case is higher than that in the second case, in which case a higher GDP is simply the result of greater inefficiency and waste. Fifth, since GDP does count financial purchases as investments, then if a nation does not spend, but saves and invests overseas, its GDP will be diminished in comparison to one that spends borrowed money. Therefore, accumulated savings and debt are not taken into account so long as adequate financing continues. Sixth, sometimes different calculations of GDP confuse each other. There are two different types GDP calculation for cross-border comparison: current currency exchange rate, where GDP is calculated by exchange rates prevailing on international currency markets) and purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rate, where GDP is calculated by PPP of each currency relative to a selected standard.  

2 pages single spaced. Question is too long write in here Essay

2 pages single spaced. Question is too long write in here - Essay Example Barnum was a business man at heart and he wanted to find a way to do exhibitions instead of working in the stagnant position of a grocery store. He was tired of dead end jobs and wanted something more substantial (p. 3). The people in the United States were already used to seeing exhibits and these exhibits were part of pop culture. Barnum just saw an opportunity and he went with it. Everyone loves a good story and this is one of the reasons why Barnum was so successful. As an example, the Joice Heth exhibit was a very old woman that Barnum built a story around. He gave the public an understanding of this exhibit before he actually showed it and people became so curious about the exhibit that they had to go and see it. He took over the exhibit from some other people who were selling it; Barnum saw this as his opportunity and looked for ways to market her. Capitalizing on the "fact" that she was 161 years old and a slave of George Washington, (p. 6) Barnum was able to create a mystery around her and make people want to see her. Barnum was also smart because he changed Heths story for each of the towns he visited. He elaborated the story where necessary and he seemed to be able to "read" the crowd. This may have meant that he did research ahead of time on the area (maybe through newspapers) and then went into the town and gave the presentation. Although newspapers criticized him, he kept going. As an example of his genius, when he booked the Heth exhibit, it was at a time when Manhattan, and particularly Broadway was going through a "massive expansion of commercial entertainment" (p. 3). This allowed Barnum to easily fall into American pop culture and find a place that would last him for many years. People were already used to seeing "artful deceptions" and Barnum just created more of them. Besides his exhibits, Barnum developed a pseudonym to write -- Barnaby Diddleum

Social Media on the Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Social Media on the Internet - Essay Example One of the most notable features of social media is that it has grown exponentially across the world within a very short duration compared to other business and communication tools in human history. To illustrate this phenomenon, Lee (2010) points out that while it took 13 years for television to attract over 50 million viewers and 38 years for radio to attract about 50 million listeners, it took 4 years only for internet to attract 50 million participants. He further points out that it took social media platform, Facebook, one and a half years to attract the same number of participants. There has been raging debate on whether the availability and use of social media on the internet is useful to businesses in regard to providing them with new and different useful information. This paper will discuss how the availability and use of social media on the internet really provide businesses with new and different useful information. Historically, technology has been injected and adopted in to the society as well as the business world and it has often required that there be a radical shift in business and cultural processes and practices (Lincoln, 2009). Social media is one such kind of technology in the business world. Unlike other types of technologies, social media technology greatly reflects the social behavior of people. Social media is also unique in the sense that it allows anybody to produce media content and deliver it by interactive communication. Qualman (2010) notes that the available statistics show that social media has established itself as the media of choice around the world over the last 4 years, with over a quarter of the world population using one type of social media or another. The growth of social media has been so tremendous such that social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter have grown rapidly and have gradually relegated other forms of advertising such as print advertisements, and threatened them with extinction (Nair, 2011 ). The popularity of the use of social media on the internet can be attributed to four reasons. To start with, users can get the latest information on virtually anything they want. Secondly, it satisfies the desires of the users of expressing themselves. Users are also able to see how individuals and groups that they are interested in are doing therefore getting more satisfaction. Finally, it helps people to escape from their day-to-day routine by providing alternative ways of using time (Lee, 2010). The fact that social media has experienced exponential growth over the years cannot be disputed. However, there has been debate on whether the availability and use of social media on the internet really provides businesses with new and different useful information. The response to this question has been two-fold: on one side, there are those who believe that it does provide businesses with new and different useful information, while on the other side there are those who believe that it does not (Nair, 2011). While the later side has its reasons for taking that position, there is a greater consensus among those engaged in this debate that, indeed, the availability and use of social media on the internet provides businesses with new and different useful information (Hinchcliffe et al., 2012). So, how does the use of social

How Check-Cashing Services Impact Low-Income Americans Research Paper

How Check-Cashing Services Impact Low-Income Americans - Research Paper Example â€Å"[W]hen a San Francisco-based bank began to offer commercial check-cashing services in the Los Angeles area, it was criticized as ‘ripping off’ the poor† (pp. 142). B. How Did They Begin? These check-cashing services often started out as small, mom-and-pop operations that sold antiques, jewelry, televisions, and other odds-and-ends items and knick-knacks. Pretty soon, check-cashing services included everything from getting a check cashed (without having to have a bank account)—to other financial services, including getting cashier’s checks and money orders. A. Who Started the Service? These services were started by people who had a little bit to invest in their business. Usually, these service providers started out small, and, as their wealth grew, they could either expand their pawnshops or check-cashing services—which didn’t require a checking account at the bank, which was a novelty for poor people who traditionally didn’ t have financial services available to them due to their socioeconomically-disadvantaged status. II. How Did Check-Cashing Services Become Popular? Check-cashing services became popular when people realized that they needed some kind of banking services in order to cash their checks for pennies on the dollar. What they didn’t realize was that these currency exchanges were often charging exorbitant fees for providing said services. III. What Groups Were Targeted A. How Were These Groups Selected? These groups were most likely selected due to their low socioeconomic status. People who are living in poverty rarely have less cash flow, and less capital to be able to put towards financial services—such as, say, having a checking and/or savings account at the bank. Thus, this can drive people into even more poverty because they are not saving money. Since they are not saving money, unfortunately, this is causing them much distress—having to usually live paycheck to pa ycheck. Many of these people are struggling economically. With many people out of work and the national unemployment rate at 9%, several people do not have jobs and are just living on their earnings from part-time jobs and unemployment checks, not to mention welfare checks from the government. A large percentage of the American population is now living on welfare. These currency exchanges (or ‘check-cashing’ services) just prey upon the fact that the poor don’t have access to good financial services because banks usually don’t cash checks for people who don’t have accounts with their banks. B. What Do Critics Say About Targeting These Groups? Critics would generally agree that targeting this low-income, socioeconomically-disadvantaged groups would be morally and ethically wrong—speaking from the standpoint of a consumer.

How to Create a New Project for Dicom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

How to Create a New Project for Dicom - Essay Example A button, "Open", next to each project enables the user to view the available files within that project. Opening existing projects will show a list of the available user Dicom projects. Once a project has been opened, all available Dicom files within that project will be listed; the file name and three buttons next to that file. "Download" button will download that Dicom file to the user computer, "Share" button will share that Dicom file with another registered user as shown below and finally "Delete" button will remove the Dicom files from the project. Clicking "Share" button next to the file name will open a dialog box for the file to be shared with another registered user. The correct name must be typed into the dialog box and confirmed. If the file is shared successfully or if there is an error, the user will be notified. Once Dicom files have been successfully uploaded from the local computer, they will be displayed into the canvas in order based on their Dicom file names; the user can then scroll through the images by using the mouse wheel. The user can also change the canvas lightening by holding the right mouse button and moving position on the canvas. There are 5 annotation features the user can add to the canvas; text in which they will be prompted to enter their own, arrow, circle which will be placed into the canvas and freehand drawing onto the canvas, the user can select a colour for their annotation and users can also move the annotations around the canvas adjusting the size or rotation. All the annotations are using a library, "fabric.js" open source library is used for the annotations as they will also later be used to save as a "JSON" file for later loading, adjustments have been made to the original library to fit my system. Saving an annotation to the user’s account; once the user has added their annotations onto the canvas and are happy to save, they will be prompted with a dialog box to enter the annotation name in which it will be saved as, after this, the user will be prompted to enter an existing project in which the annotation will be saved for later use.

Class Dialogue Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Class Dialogue - Assignment Example Moreover, the book provides insights on how there have been faithful communities who have passionately followed the way of Christ despite the numerous challenges they face. b.) Pope Francis’ Evangelii Gaudium Chapter II # 50-60; Chapter IV # 186; # 198 Accessed Online from http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html The source provides diverse issues and themes that relate to how human beings relate to one another and to the environment. Chapters II (50-60) elaborates on the challenges that humanity is facing in the modern world that range from idolatry of money, having financial systems that rules rather than serving, inequality that leads to violence to cultural challenges. Chapter IV (186-198)emphasizes on the inclusion of the poor in the society, communities and individuals as instruments of God to liberate and promote the poor, man’s union with God, the fidelity to the gospel and the special place of the poor in God’s people. In addition, the chapter discuses solidarity as a spontaneous reaction by people who recognize that the societal function of property and the general destination of goods are certainties that come before private material goods. It is a relevant source to the topic at hand because it provides information about the current issues (both social and religious ) that are taking place in the modern world. Bishop Kenneth urges people not to forget the poor and the needy and that we should always give them a priority in whatever we are doing. He urges people not to ignore them because of their status and also to help them indiscreetly. Moreover, Bishop Kenneth challenges people that everyone is capable of helping the needy (poor) irrespective of how little they have since what matters most is giving with a willing heart. This quote argues that the modern world has changed to be full of inequalities whereby it is only the strongest who can survive

Two Gentlemen of Verona and Why Is Sylvia Essay Example for Free

Two Gentlemen of Verona and Why Is Sylvia Essay Both poems are written by William Shakespeare. They originate from two different sources. One is part of a play, Two Gentlemen of Verona. The other is a poem found in a bundle with various other poems written by Shakespeare. The poems have the same theme, as love and infatuation are the main topics. Their purpose is to portray a person in such a way that the reader can visualize the topic and enter into the writer’s experience. The song ‘Why is Sylvia’ is organized into three five-line stanzas. Each of the stanzas uses the rhyme scheme of ABABA within. While you might, at a glance, note the ‘-ings’ in all five lines of the third stanza. The A lines are a simple ‘-ing’, while the B lines are ‘-elling’ endings. ‘Sonnet 130’ is not divided into stanzas, but still uses the rhyme scheme of ABAB. Although, not entirely throughout the poem. The last two sentences rhyme and therefore do not follow the rhyme scheme. ‘Sonnet 130’ is written in the first person. This is quite logical, because the writer describes his own lover. In this way, you get to know his personal feelings from his own perspective. ‘Who is Sylvia’ is not written in the first person. It is written in the third person. The writer discusses the characteristics of Sylvia. He constantly uses the words ‘she’ or ‘Sylvia’. The tone set in the poem, which is admiring and weighing, is created to let the reader wonder about all the characteristics of Sylvia. Shakespeare has a positive view on Sylvia, but still he has a doubtful edge. ‘Sonnet 130’ starts with an unexpected tone. He emphasizes all her imperfections. Although, he ends his poem with a comment showing he loves her despite everything. ‘Who is Sylvia’ was written during the Renaissance. The writing during the Renaissance had typical influences of the author’s personal life. Therefore, we could conclude that ‘Who is Sylvia’ could be based on his own experiences. In most poems with a theme including love has references to the perfection of his or her loved one. In ‘Sonnet 130’, these references to such objects of perfection are indeed present, but they are there to illustrate that his lover is not as beautiful. In every line he makes a comparison, mostly by using metaphors, of his lover to something seen perfect in his eyes. â€Å"Coral is far more red than her lips red†, â€Å"If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head† and â€Å"And in some perfumes is there more delight than in the breath that from my mistress reeks†. He says that her lips are not red enough and that even coral is a brighter red than her lips. If hairs would be wires, hers would be black and not golden. Furthermore, he tells us that her breath is not as pleasant as he would have hoped for. These are all examples of his comparisons involving his mistress. In the first line, he uses a simile in his comparison, â€Å"My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun†. They are not very pleasing and so not following the classic Italian sonnet structure used by Petrach. Shakespeare ends his sonnet by proclaiming his love for his mistress despite all of her ‘defaults’. This is when he embraces the theme in Petrarch’s sonnets, which is total and consuming love. Shakespeare uses a new structure in ‘Sonnet 130’, through which the straightforward theme of his lover’s simplicity is portrayed in three quatrains and neatly concluded in the final couplet. Shakespeare is using many techniques available, including the strict rules of the sonnet structure itself. His sonnet consists out of fourteen lines printed as a whole. However, by using the rhyme scheme (ABABCDCDEFEFGG) his sonnet consists out of three quatrains and one distich. The last two lines give the conclusion of the sonnet.

Position Paper (Education) on Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Position Paper (Education) on Philosophy Essay The word education is defined as the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life, it is also an art of teaching; pedagogics. Education signify the activity, process, or enterprise of educating or being educated and sometimes to signify the discipline or field of study taught in different schools of education that concerns itself with this activity, process and training. Education has many roots, and since the beginning of man, it has been started and knowledge developed and had been passed from one generation to another. Every generation, it is somehow passed on its stock of values, traditions, methods and skill. The passing on of culture is also known as enculturation and the learning of social values and behaviors is socialization. The history of the curricula of such education reflects history itself, the history of knowledge, beliefs, skills and cultures of man. It is somehow complex because it started with survival and then man paints his own ideas as he travels in life and explore what could be done. He then finds himself being curious and begins finding answers to his questions. One example are the findings of archaeologist who studied the past and came to know different kinds of human activities and cultures, in the caves, based on artifacts, they come to know that people start to draw, write symbols which later was translated and was believed that somehow, man came to learn by himself and knowledge is passed on, their practices somehow gave contribution in our life today, in reading, writing, speaking which is related to education. In pre-literate societies, education was carried out orally and through observation. The young first learned informally from their parents, extended family and grandparents as simple as first steps in reading and writing. At later stages they received instruction of a more structured and formal nature, like the school, imparted by people not necessarily related, in the context of initiation, religion or ritual. There are many forms of education, and it has only one goal: to develop knowledge. Let’s take Philosophical education; it is the process of education or the philosophy of the discipline of education. It is part of the discipline in the sense of being concerned with the articulation, desideratum, arrangement, or results of the process of educating or being educated; or it may be metadisciplinary in the sense of being concerned with the concepts of the discipline, it also aims to investigate the educational significance of philosophy. It all started with the birth of philosophy, in the place of Greece and was spread worldwide. All cultures in all forms; prehistoric, medieval, or modern; Eastern, Western, religious or secular have their own unique schools of philosophy, arrived through both inheritance and through independent discovery. Such theories have flourished from different premises and approaches, examples of which include rationalism (any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification), empiricism (theory of knowledge that asserts that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience.) and even through leaps of faith, hope and inheritance. There may be different kinds of philosophical school, but the goal is to understand the development of philosophical ideas through time. Philosophy of education as such does not describe, compare, or explain any enterprises to systems of education, past or present; except it is concerned with the tracing of its own history, it leaves such delving to the history and sociology of education. Analytical philosophy of education is the logical positivist principle that there are no any specifically philosophical truths and that the basis of philosophy is the logical resolution of thoughts. This may be contrasted with the traditional foundationalism, which considers philosophy as a special, elite science that investigates the fundamental reasons and principles of everything. As an outcome, many analytic philosophers have considered their exploration as continuous with, or subordinate to, those of the natural sciences. It is meta to the discipline of education–to all the inquiries and thinking about education. It comprehends of its task as that of analysis: the definition of educational concepts like teaching, indoctri nation, trait, and ability, and including the concept of education itself. * BODY Philosophical education was traditionally developed by philosophers for example, Aristotle, Augustine, and John Locke Jean Jacques Rousseau, as part of their philosophical systems, in the context of their ethical theories. * Plato Plato’s allegory of the cave in his most important work, the Republic wherein he conceives the following vision: prisoners are chained in such a way that they face the dark and back part of the cave. They have been there for a long time and are like doomed and had nothing to do and has no perception in life. They can see nothing but themselves. They see only shadows of some certain stuff cast by a fire that burnt in a ledge above and behind them which they had no care about, between the fire and the prisoners is a wall line path alon g which people walk carrying vases alongside, they hear echoes of voices. Socrates then supposes that a prisoner is freed and permitted to stand up and explore the cave. Now, he is forced up the â€Å"steep and rugged ascent† (Plato’s allegory of education) and brought outside the sunlit exterior world. But the light blinds him. He must first look at the shadows of the trees, then at the mountains. Finally, he is able to see the sun itself. We are like the prisoners in the cave, still in the darkness not educated and are not yet philosophers. It’s like the cave is our confined world and we are still on our own selves and not merely had explored the outside bright world for our development, and inside the cave we see shadows, hear voices like there is a chaos going on we only implement fear, fear of exploring our own world and its vast approach to us. We are like prisoners in our own life which has no particular benefit to us, we can never attain real knowledge if we do not explore. The journey out the cave is said to be the philosophical education and the prisoner who was unchained is the kind of person who ought to be educated because he explored and find out what is behind the light, he has attained warmth and truth. Through this, one can conclude that most of the human beings would rather live a comfortable, happy and familiar life, than a life full of obstacles and pain, which would ultimately lead them to the larger truths of life. Man is contended with the consensus reality, i.e. the reality agreed by all, even if it is as imaginary and as unreal as the shadows on the walls of the cave man is also contended that they have the security of a family, of a society, of religion around them. However, according to Plato, there will come one questioner, one philosopher, from time to time, who will critically look at himself and the world around him, who will wonder why things are the way they are and then will make his own decisions regarding how things should be and that is being open-minded and being curious. * Jean Jacques Rousseau Jean Jacques Rousseau’s view on education differ to those with Plato, The focus of Émile is upon the individual tuition of a boy/young man in line with the principles of natural education. This focus tends to be what is taken up by later commentators, yet Rousseaus concern with the in dividual is balanced in some of his other writing with the need for public or national education. Rousseau believed it was possible to preserve the original nature of the child by careful control of his education and environment based on an analysis of the different physical and psychological stages through which he passed from birth to maturity. He also believed we can make good citizens out of training. From the first moment of life, men ought to begin learning to deserve to live; he finds himself reasons why he is living. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1762) Émile (1911 edn.), London: Dent, pp.6. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1762) Émile (1911 edn.), London: Dent, pp.6. Now each of these factors in education is wholly beyond our control, things are only partly in our power; the education of men is the only one controlled by us; and even here our power is largely illusory, for who can hope to direct every word and deed of all with whom the child has to do. Viewed as an art, the success of education is almost impossible since the essential conditions of success are beyond our control. Our efforts may bring us within sight of the goal, but fortune must favor us if we are to reach it. What is this goal? As we have just shown, it is the goal of nature. Since all three modes of education must work together, the two that we can control must follow the lead of that which is beyond our control. * CONCLUSION Education is really vast. I can say that I agree with both philosophers, all of us should be educated for education is the grounds for gaining knowledge and wisdom. It is an important tool that can be used for the success of your future. The more you are educated while you are young, the better chance youll have at gaining a successful career. Being educated is being well-informed. Once you have made the decision to attain an education, certain virtues must be possessed. You must be motivated by something, whether it is money, power, or just the desire to learn. It is motivation that drives you to learn new things and to expand your horizons. You must prepare for an education. For everything that you want to know, there is something else you need to know first. It’s like before you can be proficient on a piano you must know music, and before you can be proficient on a computer you must learn to use a keyboard and a mouse before you can dance you should have training grounds. Education is the key to success. * BIBLIOGRAPHY * Phaedo, 82c; and The Republic, book VII, 518d, both in Plato, Complete Works, ed. JohnM.Cooper * Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1762) Émile (1911 edn.), London: Dent, pp.6.

Challenging Behaviours in School: Anger and Aggression

Challenging Behaviours in School: Anger and Aggression Challenging behaviors are not typical or special education status. These behaviors are of intense and causes a frequency and the length of the safety of an individual and others is likely to be placed in serious limits or holdup connection to, and use of normal discomforts. Challenging behaviors can take different forms, some can be less intense while some can be more vivid. (Marion, 2015). The behaviors test the right of adults and children to a safe and in orderly classroom. It can happen a lot and is persistent and it is more than a normal limit of what the classroom will allow. They do not react to the normal limits of prevention and it bears on the adults of the misbehavior. Aggressive behaviors are characterized as obvious or hidden hostility they are also disobedient, bitter, quarrel a lot, destructive, and they do bodily and verbally aggressive. (Marion, 2015). This child is sometimes hyperactive and dont pay attention. Aggressive children regress to biting and bullying as a manner of self-defense. Challenging and aggressive behavior, whether it is for adults or children can occur from different contributing aspects such as social-economics, difficulties, behavior disorders, seeking attention, difficulties in communication, family problems, trauma, and physical and emotional abuse. We adults sometimes label these behaviors by spanking and yelling at the children that are aggressive of challenging. We may criticize, humiliate, embarrass them while in front of others. This can intensify the childs behaviors and when they become adults. Children will follow the adults example by respecting their behavior. This is like when the adult is name calling or using racial slurs, cussing, and putting people down.   Be careful because little eyes are observing you and they are absorbing your example. Young children become aggressive when they live in a house that is financially, and socially disadvantaged. An example is living in a neighborhood with gangs, drug pushers, and other different types of crimes can result in children having challenging and aggressive behavior. Children can become aggressive and challenging if they have a poor managed and an unsafe school. Children that have aggressive friends can become belligerent. Children that are put on the television a lot when they are young tend to be challenging and aggressive. Researchers believe there is a connection between the media and later violent behaviors. There are findings that say if a child is exposed to television less than an hour a day, 5.7 % are involved in violent acts that led to horrible injury to someone. (Denham, Burton, 1996). Violent video games can lead to violent behavior in children. This can encourage aggressive thoughts, styles and behaviors in children. Studies state that if a hyperactive child is let out to violent games makes them more hyperactive. (http://time.com).Yelling at children can induce the minor to be emotionally abused and they cause a possibility of destructive and physical maltreatment. If children have been used a lot they can become destructive. Praising a child is extremely important in these parent- child relationships. It will help narrow down the aggression in the minor. Cooperative co-parenting between a mom and a dad is important because it assures the small fry who are a danger factor for conduct problems. Make sure you and your partner stand together in front the child because it shows you agree together. (http://time.com). This can help elevate some of the childs aggressive and challenging behaviors in children who may be at risk. (Marion, 2015). Anger is a feeling that children have and they experience, and the outcome of this is aggression. Anger is an emotion that children have and it is neither good or bad, and it doesnt have any judgement attached to it. We as individuals think when someone is angry than a problem will arise, but that is not the instance. Aggression is how far a child can go to accomplish the childs goal. Reactive aggression can be concerning for a parent. This is how a child reacts aggressively in a certain circumstance, or either defending themselves and ending up with other children. Verbal aggression is when children, belittle, ridicule, or injure a child. (Marion, 2015) This can cause a child to have problems with their self-esteem. Children who have low self-esteem, perform poorly in school and can resort to aggressive behavior. Physical aggression such as biting, kicking, scratching, can cause serious bodily injuries. (Marion, 2015). We need to address this type of behavior because if we dont it c an only get worse. Children are asking for help when they act out and if we dont listen they tend to do things to open our eyes. The Mobile Phone Company: Samsung The Mobile Phone Company: Samsung In the current volatile business industry marketing plays a vital and significant role and it is a process or method to create, deliver, exchange and communicate with customers and clients. It is the mechanism that identifies the requirements, needs, expectations of a particular customer base and creates methods and offerings to satisfy that customer base. In the current situation the complete business is customer-centric and the marketing revolves around satisfying the customer at every possible opportunity. Whatever the company offer should be based on the needs of the customer, it may be a product or can be a service or it can be both. When an organization offers both service and product, it can be termed as solution that plays vital role in strategic marketing. This paper aims to evaluate the marketing strategy of Samsung Electronics in the global television industry using the available theories and concepts. Company Background Samsung one of the greatest brands available in the market aims to secure the world leadership in the industry and earn devastating competitive strength by synchronizing the development and manufacturing of product, design, marketing and sales. The organization is well known for its great accomplishment in the industry of semiconductors based on memory. Samsung maintains its high position in the industry continuously from 1992 maintaining its top rank and stretch its financial structure throughout the industry to maintain itself as a number one company in the industry of mobile phones, semiconductors, monitors, computer gadgets, televisions, TFT and LCD screens. It also achieved 4th place in the semiconductor industry and sixth place in the mobile gadget industry by selling huge volumes. Importance and the use of information in their marketing strategy It is the era of information age and the information plays a vital and unavoidable role in any field exceptionally in the marketing industry. There is a great need for the managers to incorporate loads of data, convert it into information, construct decisions on the information and then compose decisions to lead them to achieve greater success in the business For any business, information is also considered as significant resource required same like money, machinery and manpower. Information is must and crucial for the survival of the organization in the varying business industry. Previously before the computer age, it was difficult for the companies to gather, store, maintain, organise and distribute huge volumes of information and data. The growth of computer and information technology helped the managers and organizations to effectively handle the information available. Managers are able to get the current information at required time in an accurate manner. And another great advantage is that the information can be accessed by many people at the same time accurately, completely that is organized and storable. The information system is the method that makes sure the information is presented to the managers in the form they expect it and when they expect it helping them to support their effort by giving appropriate information for their decision-making. Computers or Information Technology can evidently help companies in processing information and data in an accurate and well presented manner that is timely, relevantly and completely. All kind business organizations now a days have some kind information maintenance system either it may for accounting or stock control or market monitoring. The supremacy technology changed the function of information in the business. The complete business world acknowledged the information aslifeblood. Papows (1998) accredited that the modern organization is dead without Information. Samsung as a strong business leader accepted the fact and had given priority to the process of information throughout the organization at every stage. To gain from its Managing information System and Information Technology, Samsung addressed information needs not only in its environment but also in their relationships with customers, suppliers, trade partners, Production systems, work processes, skills and labour requirement. These advancements of Samsung have created huge and complex processes and information systems, thereby creating a requirement to align them to have a universal overview of the complete information system setting it as a strategic tool. According to American Marketing Association (AMA), 2007 marketing can be defined as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. Marketing people of various organizations endeavour to get the perfect goods or services to the correct people at the perfect place at the accurate time at the right price, utilizing the proper promotion techniques. This explains how marketing managers organize the several factors that eventually decide marketing success. For this, organizations must have timely decision-making information. The significance of efficient marketing changes heavily in respect to the market in which a firm operates. It also depends on the important competences existing within the company. These competences will offer the current market information based on which decisions can be taken quickly. Corporate strategy depends deeply on the scrutiny of such information. Samsung aims to achieve the world leadership and accomplish great competitive strength. It is targeting to coordinate design and development of product, manufacturing, sales and marketing with effective information management. Samsungs marketing strategy related to their overall organisational strategy Slogan of Samsung Company says that Everyones invited Explains its vast marketing strategy, with a huge range of products. As per the market researches, the main strengths of Samsung are identified as Strong global business network Huge credibility of Brand Name Innovative changes and inspiring new styles The awards it is continuously receiving Samsung has strong global present with its service and sales caters locating in 4 different countries. Samsung can utilize its strengths available as major threats to other organizations. Samsung can effortlessly improve its image by the promotional Ads and quality products. Viewing ahead, Samsungs vision is to turn out to be a leading company of the digital convergence revolution. The next generation will be a time where the Internet, wireless communications, networked systems and contents will be united. Various forms of convergence technology that link conventional stand-alone appliances through networks will be developed. Samsung Electronics vision for the new decade is, Inspire the World, Create the Future. This new vision statement mirrors Samsung Electronics dedication to stimulating its communities by accelerating its three key strengths: New Technology, Innovative Products, and Creative Solutions. And to advance new value for Samsungs core networks such as Industry Partners and Employees. Through these efforts, Samsung hopes to contribute to a better world and a richer experience for all. (www.samsung.com, 2010) SAMSUNG Vision Statement Source: http://www.samsung.com/uk/aboutsamsung/corporateprofile/visionmission.html [accessed on 20/07/2010] The main aim of the strategy of any business organization is growth (Chandler, 1962; Penrose, 1959). Even for Samsung, this growth is the main competence. The diagram above explains its motto of creating future in its industry and wants to be a leader. So Samsungs vision is clear. Samsungs strategic methods can be classified in to organic growth and alliances based on strategic. Organic growth According to moneyterms.co.uk (2010) Organic growth is the growth that is achieved by the companys existing business by increasing output and enhance sales (Investopedia, 2009 Moneyterms, 2010). Organic growth lets a firm to extend market position over the long term and helps to accomplish growth much cheaper than merger and acquisitions and is well suitable growing organizations (Coyle, 2000). This suits well with Samsung present strategic position as it is one of the market leader and has all the measures to extend into other markets. Moreover, though Samsung has huge cash reserves, organic growth permits cash reserves to be focused on other important factors such as Research and Development. At last, the external environmental analysis shows growth in the television market and the complete industry. But only the organic growth is not sufficient for an organization. Even though it is stable that is not enough when entering in to a new market in a new country. When entering in to a new country a strong understanding of local market is necessary that can be achieved only through local strategic alliances. Strategic Alliances A COPAC Commissioned Study defines (2000) Strategic Alliance as a formal and mutually agreed partnership arrangement that links specific facets of two or more enterprises or organizations. It is a mutual arrangement and understanding that allows partners to accomplish goals mutually that they could not accomplish alone. Strategic alliances are normally seen as methods for generating strong and efficient mode for competing in a globalized business. Bleeke and Ernst (1992) explain this as a formal relationship between two or more parties to pursue a set of agreed upon goals while remaining independent organisations. From 2001, Samsung has undergone with 29 various alliances (Samsung.com, 2010). They also accredit that the alliances are the best possible ways to enter in to the new market. With the new alliances Samsung may not learn anything new as they are very strong in technology and innovation. Further Analysis of Current Strategies Porter (1980) argue there are three fundamental strategic options available for companies that are looking for achievement of competitive advantage; they are Cost Leadership, Differentiation and Focus. This is explained in Porters Generic Strategies (Porter, 1985) Samsung comes under the category of Cost Leadership strategy as it augments profits by dropping costs, while charging low prices in the industry. Cost Leadership can be considered as one of the core competencies of Samsung. Apart from the cost leadership, Differentiation strategy also appropriate to Samsung as the company in continuously involved in inventing the technologies. So, Samsungs strategy is a combination of both cost leadership and differentiation strategy. Bowmans Strategic Clock (1997) is the other method used regularly to evaluate strategic options. It sees at professed additional value by the customer in opposition to price. Based on this Samsungs strategy can be explained to be mostly Hybrid. This refers to a strategy which is low cost to the consumer but still differentiated. Samsungs new 3D and Interactive TV Samsung, an industry leader for flat-screen TVs, will begin promoting its 3DTVs on 21 March in the US, before rolling out the activity globally in April. Mintzberg et al (2005) stated the Competitive advantage of an organization is usually recognized as the managements capability to set the companys assets adjacent to some external context. This can be termed as (Porter, 2004) external environment for a specific company. This external environment sets the means of survival for any company (Johnson et al, 2008:54). So, it is vital for the companies to understand this environment. This paper will look at the macro environment of Samsung using PESTEL analysis, then the Industrial environment where it operates, and finally at Competitors mainly utilizing Porters five forces model (Porter, 2004:6). It is also important to analyse the external environment of the firm to understand the opportunities and threats to achieve a strategic competitiveness. This consists of a general environmental, market, five forces analysis and competitors analysis. SWOT analysis is a prospective forecasting technique that helps to evaluate the match between opportunities and capabilities of the firm in the competitive environment. External environment The macro and industry environments will now be looked at to assess the strategic position of Samsung. Social Factors Current generation of people have strong passion and obsession for new innovative technology. Electronics industry plays a vital role in fulfilling this obsession. Children watching late night programs and getting addicted to TV programs that reduces their interest towards games and studies is an important social factor. Technological Factors The electronics industry has been considered as one of the largely growing (Sixto, 2003) with low product life cycles (Mathews, 2005) that have show the way to global revenues. A 3D TV set is a special viewing TV device that utilizes 3D techniques of appearance that projects a TV program into a realistic three-dimensional field. The technology is brand new to TV industry that further reduces people going to Cinemas. Samsung is leading the industry with another milestone of new innovative Technology. Political Factors Political factors have an enormous control on the regulation of businesses that comprises of regulations forced by the government under which businesses should operate. As per the research the political environment in United Kingdom is said to pretty stable. Polices structured by the new conservative government like taxation, Cutting the Public spending and decision to raise petrol prices will have tough impact on the buying power of individuals. Additionally, the industrial policies of Korea also plays very important role for assisting international competitiveness to transfer technology in swap for market access (Kim, 1997). Economic Factors The economic factors plays very critical and significant role in marketing the 3D TV. The recession or down turn of economy reduced the spending power of individual. U.K economy is endangered by the financial downturn. As the unemployment rate increases customers passion for new technology may be sidelined. Sales have been continuously depreciating and the exchange rate is all time low that will increase the importing prices. Environmental Factors Consumers are having more awareness towards environmental and expecting increased energy efficiency, minor or no emission of dangerous radiation (Tarr, 2009; EE Times-Asia, 2009). Legal Factors Intellectual property is becoming a critical and important in the industry. There are huge chances conflicts can happen like the resent famous Apples conflict with Googles Nexus One regarding a patent issue. Samsung itself won a dispute recently in opposition to sharp regarding a patents issue that was initiated in the year 2007(Wall Street Journal, 2009). Legislations about local employee rights, Taxation and Intellectual Property will advance influence on Samsungs strategic decisions. Swot analysis STRENGTHS Strong international experience. Strong global business network Huge credibility of Brand Name Innovative changes and inspiring new styles The awards it is continuously receiving OPPORTUNITIES New technology 2012 Olympics offers an plenty of opportunity to get more sales Offering more models with stylish and individuality. The consumer will have the real entertainment for the money. WEAKNESSES Perception of High Prices Customers disinterest Buyer sophistication and knowledge Substitute products or technologies Very less availability of 3D viewing content THREATS New existing competition Price volatility Economic recession or financial downturn Extremely huge competition for customers and resources Five Forces Analysis This analysis discusses five competitive forces related to the new product of Samsung Industry Competitors: Sony, Panasonic and LG. All are bigger players in the industry The competition is very High Buyers Individuals and families with high passion for technology And reasons for buying is Young passion mind, affluent professionals, status maintainers *Threat of New Entrants *Threat not significant as already many established players in the market and required a significant initial network, resources and investment Suppliers Bargaining power is low Substitutes Wide verity of TV models including Plasma, LCDs and digital TVs. Electronics Gadgets like smart phones, gamers and computers are also affect the new 3D The competition is very high with SONY, Panasonic and LG are planning to launch the 3D TVs Lower Threat of New Entrants Threat from new companies entering in to the business is low as huge requirement of capital and Samsung have huge research and marketing process along with the proven productive process. It also has the strong brand name and best product differentiation. Overall the threat is minor. Low Bargaining Power of Suppliers Many competitive suppliers are available in the industry. The suppliers of Samsung have low switching cost and product differentiation (Lee, 2006). Overall the bargaining power of suppliers is low. The price increasing of raw materials can be easily passed on to the consumers. So the overall bargaining power of suppliers is low. Medium Bargaining power of Customers Bargaining power of customers is medium as very little range of products available in the 3D TV marketing industry. High Threat of Substitute Products There are huge number of substitutes are available for this product like Plasma TVs, LCD TVs, Mobile gadgets like smart phones, gamers, computers and laptops. Competitive Rivalry within the Industry High Overall, rivalry is high with many diverse competitors. LG, the worlds No. 2 Television brand by revenue, has put a destructive sales target for 3D TVs, planning to construct a leadership position in an emerging market where rivalry is expected to heat up. In 2010, LG targeted to sell 400,000 3D Televisions and in the next year it aims more than 3.4 million, the South Korean company announced in a news conference on 15th Tuesday December, 2009(canada.com, 2010). Electronics giant Sony is also planning to launch and leverage its power in 3D TVs business. Sony said in a press conference that it is expecting 3D TVs to account for up to 50 per cent of its total TV sales by March 2013 (canada.com, 2010). Panasonic also launched its plans to roll out 3D TVs in 2010 (canada.com, 2010). Source: http://www.canada.com/competition+heating+2010/2342815/story.html Segmentation The new generation 3D TV is initially targeted at the high class and technology lovers. The initial price of the 3D TV is very high. The Marketing Mix Marketing mix is an essential notion in current marketing and rationally it is referred to as the set of convenient tools that the organization combines to create the response it wants in the target market, so it consists of everything the firm can do to influence the demand for its product (Kotler and Armstrong, 2004). Marketing is about projecting the correct product at the correct price in the accurate way to the accurate customers. This is how value is added. Getting a product in to the market involves balancing numerous significant ingredients, i.e. the 4Ps of the Marketing Mix: Product, Price, Promotion and Place. Product The Next generation 3D TV is new innovative product. In simpler terms, the product includes all features of innovation to provide true entertainment to its customers. The 3D televisions were voiced as the biggest innovation in the television history with combination of highest performance and stylish design. With the Samsung 3D TV the customer will have the prospect of enjoying TV programs in 3D sitting at home and viewing TV will never be the same as the audience will be able to enjoy and experience the feel of their favourite stars of sports, film and TV leap off their TV in to the living room right before them. Samsung is proposes a series of 3D-capable TVs, including the LED 7000/8000/9000 Series, LCD 750 Series and the Plasma 7000/8000 Series (www.samsung.com, 2010) Price Pricing is principally fixing a specific price for a product or service offered. In simple words, Kotler and Armstrong (2004) explain the perception of price to obtain the product. Fixing a price is not something simple. Normally in general law people argue that a small price will draw additional customers. The argument is not true. Because customers not only look for price alone. The customers expect a proper service and value for the money that he pays. They act in response to value so a lesser price does not essentially signify stretched sales if the product is not fulfilling the expectation of the customers (Lazer, 1971). The price for the 3D brands starts from  £1600 to  £2000. The price is not so competent. Placement Samsung unveiled its prestigious 3D TV brands globally in the major countries like US, UK, Australia and china. The product is launched in all the major stores like John Lewis, Currys etc. Promotion The promotion takes the form of a new Starter Kit that offers U.S. consumers the chance to enjoy 3D movies in their own living rooms, rather than having to head to nearest cinema to check out the eye-popping action. Samsung utilized the FIFA Football World Cup to publicize several value-added bundles along with its new 3D TV ranges. Fresh buyers were offered bundled 3D movies, home theatre systems and Blu-ray players. People who procure certain Samsung 3D TV models from dealers all over the country will have the chance to seize the Bonus 3D bundle. This includes Samsung 3D Blu-ray player and two sets of rechargeable 3D glasses. Apart from this Bonus 3D bundle, customers are also entitled to obtain a Bonus 3D TV starter kit that includes 3D Blu-ray Disc of DreamWorks Animation SKGs hit movie, Monsters vs. Aliens, and An additional two sets of battery powered 3D glasses. Source: http://3dtvsets.co.uk/samsung-electronics-starts-3d-tv-war/ (accessed on 25/07/10) Apart from these bundled promotional offers, Samsung has launched a strong advertisement campaign for its range of 3D TVs. The TV advertisement campaign is worth of  £8 Million that runs over 3 months. Apart from the TV advertisement, it has also launched  £7 million print media advertisements (www.marketingweek.co.uk, 2010) Target Market Samsung should aim both the high-end market segment as well as low-end market segment because in both areas there are opportunities. The international brands like Sony, Panasonic, LG, Philips and Sharp have more than 75 percentage share of the high-end market segment globally. Samsung being an international brand, it can easily step in both the high-end and low-end marketing segment because of its overall knowledge and ability to invest in the market. Market research firm Generator Research(2010) forecasts a major update of the novel 3D TV technology globally, showing that by the year of 2014 the business share for 3D sets is predicted to reach over 39% and the market will value more than $117billion (Samsung.com, 2010). In reference to another market research organization, DisplaySearch (2010), the 3D TV market is predicted to increase from the year 2008s value of $ 902 million to $ 22 billion in 2018. particularly, the 3D TV business is predicted to grow to $ 17-billion, and the number of units expected to sale will increase to 64 million in the year of 2018 from 200,000 units in 2009 (Samsung.com, 2010). Globally, in the year of 2010, it is expected that there will be approximately 4.2 million 3D TVs will be sold as all the major players like Samsung, SONY, Panasonic, LG and sharp are entering in the business. The value is expected to triple to 12.9 million in the next year itself according to a new market research. Above said figures looks like huge but the fact is that the above stated figures are just a fraction of the original LCD TV sale. On the other hand, it is expected that by 2012, 27.4 million 3DTelevisions will be sold globally and by the year of 2015 the value is expected to 78.1 million units. This shows an enormous composite annual growth of 80.2% between 2010 and 2015. The figures show that the 3D Televisions here for growth and may replace all the existing TVs in near future. Samsung, on the other hand, is prepared to lead in this Information and Technology Age as it will utilize its force in semiconductor, telecommunications and consumer electronics technology to expand pioneering multi-capable goods and create powerful networks that will authorize the user for anytime, anywhere communications and a higher quality of life. The 3D TV products launched by Samsung will reach the complete audience and entertain all the generations. Samsung will hope for a huge market share with its new product launched and beat the competitors. http://www.marketingpower.com/AboutAMA/Documents/American%20Marketing%20Association%20Releases%20New%20Definition%20for%20Marketing.pdf

The Use Of The Internet In Mar :: essays research papers

Computing (IT)- essay by matthew foote Will the internet keep the U.K competitive in a world market, in terms of industry? Recently there has been emphasis for electronic business. Judging by IBM's recent advertising campaign you would be forgiven for thinking that launching a company website leads to instant profits. IBM 's portrayal of a grandmother taking her olive oil business from rural Greece into global markets neatly demonstrates the potential of the internet for huge exposure and trade without the barriers of geography and at a lower cost. Unlocking this potential for any business in the U.K and elsewhere is no easy matter. Although several large firms in the U.K are now making real impact through e-commerce, although examples of profit's being made in small and medium (SME) sized business's are few and far between. Even though the effects of the internet on U.K's industry can only be predicted at this early stage, there have been incentives (rewards) offered to several SMEs generating business with their websites by the government. Firms with no more then 250 employees where asked to show how they had used e-commerce to increase efficiency or to boost their sales. The average investment that created a profit among the ten regional winners was around 20000 pounds with the cheapest being 10000 pounds, all the companies testified to the need for expert help. Such expense results from the need to have an aesthetically pleasing website which offers in depth analysis whilst maintaining a user friendly aspect. The site must encourage people to explore and revisit and its presence on the internet needs to be developed, which generally requires the advice of a specialist. At present time in the U.K the internet is used mainly for business to business activity with less emphasis on customer intervention. One of the main reasons for this is the transport costs, a business will normally order batch which would make it worth while were as customers only demand 1 or 2 goods. The idea of supplying customers with intangible goods, such as music, computer games/ programmes, software upgrades etc. is becoming increasingly more popular. A telephone poll carried out across Britain based on 4000 calls found that while 39% of internet users have bought clothes by mail, only 13% would be willing to buy clothes on-line and only 2% have actually done so. 70% had never bought anything on-line - many assumptions can be drawn from these statistics i.

Fire with Fire by Naomi Wolf :: Feminism

Naomi Wolf, author of Fire with Fire, is one of the most well known women in modern feminism. In her commencement speech to Scripps College in 1992, she strongly expresses the unfair treatment of women in today’s society. By focusing on survival and weakness, Wolf relays ways to prevent and eliminate discrimination. She conveys her beliefs by expressing important facts about the way women were treated in past history and the way women should be treated today. Along with this, she expresses that women should stand their own ground and that it is their responsibility to determine their status in today’s society. She compares women and men to demonstrate how society differentiates between the two. Wolf speaks of four areas in which she feels women are discriminated in the most. First, she discusses the differences in how society determines how one becomes an adult. She said that boys become men just by taking on responsibility, and for most men, this could happen at an early age. But for women, society requires that they must first finish school before they are considered adults. This is an example of how society places men above women by allowing men to be seen as adults and have adult privileges. Next, she discusses the fact that men earn more money than women in the workplace. She said, "Women make 68 cents for every male dollar. . . (Wolf, p. 2)." This is another example of how society favors men. Wolf then discusses how men often act superior to women simply for the fact that they are treated better by society. Men have traditionally been the primary breadwinners and have taken care of the family, and, for this, men feel that they can look down on women. Finally, Wolf speaks of the fact that women are expected to keep quite when a problem occurs and not speak up for what they believe in. She says, "We are told that the worst thing we can do is cause conflict, even in the service of doing right" (Wolf, p. 2). Once again society favors men by allowing them to speak up for their rights, but looks down upon women for doing the same thing. Wolf feels that these four areas are what contribute to the weakness of a woman in today’s society. Fire with Fire by Naomi Wolf :: Feminism Naomi Wolf, author of Fire with Fire, is one of the most well known women in modern feminism. In her commencement speech to Scripps College in 1992, she strongly expresses the unfair treatment of women in today’s society. By focusing on survival and weakness, Wolf relays ways to prevent and eliminate discrimination. She conveys her beliefs by expressing important facts about the way women were treated in past history and the way women should be treated today. Along with this, she expresses that women should stand their own ground and that it is their responsibility to determine their status in today’s society. She compares women and men to demonstrate how society differentiates between the two. Wolf speaks of four areas in which she feels women are discriminated in the most. First, she discusses the differences in how society determines how one becomes an adult. She said that boys become men just by taking on responsibility, and for most men, this could happen at an early age. But for women, society requires that they must first finish school before they are considered adults. This is an example of how society places men above women by allowing men to be seen as adults and have adult privileges. Next, she discusses the fact that men earn more money than women in the workplace. She said, "Women make 68 cents for every male dollar. . . (Wolf, p. 2)." This is another example of how society favors men. Wolf then discusses how men often act superior to women simply for the fact that they are treated better by society. Men have traditionally been the primary breadwinners and have taken care of the family, and, for this, men feel that they can look down on women. Finally, Wolf speaks of the fact that women are expected to keep quite when a problem occurs and not speak up for what they believe in. She says, "We are told that the worst thing we can do is cause conflict, even in the service of doing right" (Wolf, p. 2). Once again society favors men by allowing them to speak up for their rights, but looks down upon women for doing the same thing. Wolf feels that these four areas are what contribute to the weakness of a woman in today’s society.