Preferred Stock and Common Stock

29) All of the following features may be characteristic of preferred stock EXCEPT A) callable. B) no maturity date. C) tax-deductible dividends. D) convertible. Answer: c If a firm has class A and class B common stock outstanding, it means that A) each class receives a different dividend. B) the par value of each class is different. C) the dividend paid to one of the classes is tax deductible by the corporation. D) one of the classes is probably non-voting stock. Answer: D 33)Julian is considering purchasing the stock of Pepsi Cola because he really loves the taste of Pepsi. What should Julian be willing to pay for Pepsi today if it is expected to pay a $2 dividend in one year and he expects dividends to growth at 5 percent indefinitely? Julian requires a 12 percent return to make this investment. A) $28. 57 B) $29. 33 C) $31. 43 D) $43. 14 Answer: A Nico Custom Cycles' common stock currently pays no dividends. The company plans to begin paying dividends beginning 3 years from today. The first dividend will be $3. 0 and dividends will grow at 5 percent per year thereafter. Given a required return of 15 percent, what would you pay for the stock today? A) $25. 33 B) $18. 73 C) $29. 86 D) $20. 72 Jia's Fashions recently paid a $2 annual dividend. The company is projecting that its dividends will grow by 20 percent next year, 12 percent annually for the two years after that, and then at 6 percent annually thereafter. Based on this information, how much should Jia's Fashions common stock sell for today if her required return is 10. 5%? A) $54. 90 B) $60. 80 C) $66. 60 D) $69. 30 Answer: C Preferred Stock and Common Stock 29) All of the following features may be characteristic of preferred stock EXCEPT A) callable. B) no maturity date. C) tax-deductible dividends. D) convertible. Answer: c If a firm has class A and class B common stock outstanding, it means that A) each class receives a different dividend. B) the par value of each class is different. C) the dividend paid to one of the classes is tax deductible by the corporation. D) one of the classes is probably non-voting stock. Answer: D 33)Julian is considering purchasing the stock of Pepsi Cola because he really loves the taste of Pepsi. What should Julian be willing to pay for Pepsi today if it is expected to pay a $2 dividend in one year and he expects dividends to growth at 5 percent indefinitely? Julian requires a 12 percent return to make this investment. A) $28. 57 B) $29. 33 C) $31. 43 D) $43. 14 Answer: A Nico Custom Cycles' common stock currently pays no dividends. The company plans to begin paying dividends beginning 3 years from today. The first dividend will be $3. 0 and dividends will grow at 5 percent per year thereafter. Given a required return of 15 percent, what would you pay for the stock today? A) $25. 33 B) $18. 73 C) $29. 86 D) $20. 72 Jia's Fashions recently paid a $2 annual dividend. The company is projecting that its dividends will grow by 20 percent next year, 12 percent annually for the two years after that, and then at 6 percent annually thereafter. Based on this information, how much should Jia's Fashions common stock sell for today if her required return is 10. 5%? A) $54. 90 B) $60. 80 C) $66. 60 D) $69. 30 Answer: C

Symbols in Ethan Frome

Sex, lies and deceit. These three things are what this novel is about. But it is so much more than that. In the book Ethan Frome, written by Edith Wharton, the author uses symbolism to represent many things such as death. Symbols such as Zeena’s red pickle dish, the cold season of winter, and the dead cucumber vine all represent important parts that make up this novel. Zeena’s red pickle dish is a dish Zeena treasures most. She received the pickle dish as a wedding present and only uses the dish on special occasions. Mattie uses the pickle dish the night her and Ethan are alone, while Zeena is out of town. The cat accidently breaks the dish during the dinner. â€Å"†¦And gathering up the bits of broken glass she went out of the room as if she carried a dead body† (Wharton 66). At this point, Zeena was really mad when she found out herself that the dish was broken and no one told her. This gave her another reason to hate Ethan and Mattie even more. The dish breaking symbolizes the marriage between Ethan and Zeena was now broken. Ethan Frome takes place in Starkfield, Massachusetts during the cold winter months. Winter controls over the tragedy in all its signs of snow, wind, cold and darkness. Winter is the worst season for Ethan. In the beginning, Harmon Gow had said, â€Å"Guess he’s been in Starkfield too many winters. Most of the smart ones get away† (Wharton 2). Ethan studied science and technology after high school, but after his father died and his mother became sick, he was forced to come back to his hometown of Starkfield. Responsibility for his mother and poverty has prevented him from leaving. Sadly, Ethan’s mother died in the winter. After his mother’s death, Ethan married Zeena because he was so lonely all the time. Winter is symbolizes isolation and loneliness. Last but not least, the dead cucumber vine. â€Å"A dead cucumber vine dangled from the porch like the crape streamer tied to the door for a death, and the thought flashed through Ethan’s brain: â€Å"If it was there for Zeena-† (Wharton 26). Ethan wished Zeena was dead. If Zeena was not alive, Ethan could be with Mattie and they both would be happy together. They wouldn’t have to hide their love for each other. The dead cucumber vine symbolizes death and also symbolizes dying souls that live in the Frome’s house. In this case is Zeena, who is the slowly dying soul living in the house because of her illness. Zeena’s red pickle dish, winter, and the dead cucumber vine are all important symbols in this novel. Understanding these symbols make this novel more interesting now that one knows what some objects symbolizes. Such as Zeena’s pickle dish, the broken dish is a symbol for the shattering of Ethan and Zeena’s marriage. The winter represents loneliness. The dead cucumber represents death. These three things best represent the story of Ethan Frome.

No Good Friday by Athol Fugard Essay

In the play No Good Friday, the main character is Willie Seopolo, the scholar in the township. He has realized that although he is educated, he will be unable to advance socially and economically because of the colour of his skin. His dreams and hopes fade away as he realizes that they now mean nothing, it was a waste of time to dream in the first place. There is no social mobility and the blacks have no rights. He refuses to adopt this mentality and to accept fate. I prefer to view Willie as a tragic hero rather than a tragic figure. A tragic hero may be defined as an honourable character with a fatal flaw that eventually leads to his ruin. Willie’s fatal flaw was his desire to live a fair life without restrictions. He resented the fact that the whites were in control and wanted to be treated equally. He was admired by the people of Sophiatown for being educated. They looked up to him and held him in high esteem. Because he was educated he was able to view certain issues from a different perspective. Unlike the typical residents of Sophiatown who simply accepted their social reality, he stood for change and equality. From the beginning of the play it is noticed that Willie does not accept the status that the dominant whites have given to him. When Guy explains to Tobias how he must behave ‘yes baas, no bass, thank you bass even if he kicks you in the backside’ Willie gets upset and shouts ‘Stop it, damn you!’. It is evident that Willie is angry and discontented with his current position. Although he does not accept it, he has no choice but to live with it. As a result he feels an overwhelming unhappiness ‘loneliness melancholy, despair’. He made a mistake believing that education was an escape. He realizes that even if he is educated, he is no one because of his skin colour. This rude awakening brings across a feeling of anger and hopelessness â€Å"Bloody Ass! That’s what I think of B.A†. All that he ever hoped and dreamed for was impossible. He is sick of being intelligent because he knows it means nothing. After Tobais dies, Willie feels an overwhelming amount of guilt, shame and grief â€Å"I’m sick of my whole life. Everything!† The dreams that Tobias had for himself and his family reminded him of the dreams that he had when he was a child. He hated Tobias because he was full of dreams that would never be fulfilled. After Tobias’s funeral  it is almost as if Willie says farewell to his own hopes and dreams. He is unable to write to Tobias’s family, incapable of fulfilling his only purpose as being educated in a township. He is made more aware that the apartheid system is inevitable and even more unwilling to accept it. Willie then has a strong urge to do something about the situation. He is tired of seeing men with hopes and dreams carried out in coffins, he is tired of the oppression. He is aware that idea of going to the police would just bring about laughter but he does it anyway. He lets go of his pride with the false hope of achieving a goal. When the police simply laugh at Willie he is even more angered and frustrated by the situation. The police are Shark’s protectors and are only concerned with apartheid laws, not criminal laws. This is ironic in the sense that apartheid laws are criminal and inhumane. Willie’s stance does not fit into the social reality. His friends refuse to stand next to him against Shark. They see what he is doing but they do not accept it. They let Shark kill him and do not try to stand against him. Willie dies with the sense that he has nothing to live for and the hope that he will bring about a change. Willie does not view himself as a hero. Infact, rather than being a selfish hero, I view Willie as being a selfless tragic hero. He could not have been sacrificing his life for selfish motives because he would not benefit from them. He believed that it would serve as an awakening to those around him and maybe change their mentality. He may not have fulfilled his purpose as the mindset of the people in the township might not change, but he died with the idea that he would cause a change. For this reason Willie is a tragic hero. Fugard Athol, Township Plays, Introduction by Dennis Walder, Oxford University Press, United Kingdom, 1999

Real World companies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Real World companies - Essay Example Internal factors are those that affect the staff, managers and management of a company and they are essential in making the companies achieve locally and globally. These factors have great influence on the business as they can prese4nt the excellent opportunities of affecting their common result of the business project. The McDonald’s has made great strides in how it encourages the relationship between the employees, management and stakeholders. The company encourages a respectful relationship between the employees and the management. It also hires the most suitable applicants who have shown effectiveness and commitment towards customer satisfaction (McDonald’s, 2012, p.1). Also excellent management has inspired the growth of this brand. Skinner is a good example of a leader who brought in major changes to revive an otherwise underperforming company. His quick actions and decisiveness led to elimination of foods that were not adding value and added new dishes like salad s and chicken sandwiches. In order to ensure it succeeds in the other markets outside the US, it has had to make changes to its process to cater for the unique preferences of the clients in the respective countries. The McDonald’s has also got to do with a lot of external factors that have had their influence on the business. For instance the world economy has experienced several recession periods in which the business has experienced fall in profits. An economic recession affects the purchasing power of people generally.

Mergers and acquisitions Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Mergers and acquisitions - Coursework Example Case examples about the impacts of government regulation of mergers and acquisitions will be drawn from USA, Europe and China. The paper is specifically concerned with analysing current issues pertaining to government regulation of mergers and acquisitions in China in comparison to the other developed countries. According to Jackson & Schuler (2000), in a merger, the two firms are supposedly on equal footing after they have been merged where one new company will continue to exist while in an acquisition, it is clear that one firm will take control of the other’s resources. There are various reasons why firms embark on mergers and acquisitions and these include the following: the need to increase their market share, increase their geographic reach as well as responding to new deregulation. In most cases, one major objective of a merger or acquisition is to gain skills and talents of people employed by another company. Therefore, it would be imperative for both parties involved to have a sound understanding of the concept of mergers and acquisitions and no one company should yield more power over another since this would imply easy takeover of another company’s assets and resources. A good deal should be in actual fact beneficial to both parties involved. However, of concern is that these businesses do not operate in a vacuum but in different environments that are characterised by different policies. The advent of globalisation has seen a significant rise in cross border mergers and acquisitions where the large multinational corporations seek to gain a strategic position and competitive advantage in the global market (Zhao 2008). However, this state of affairs can be advantageous to the multinational corporations as they will be able to attain their goal of making profits but it will pose challenges of supervision of these mergers and acquisitions by the host government (Zhao 2008). From this assertion, it can be noted that regulation is somehow imp ortant so as to prevent monopolies whereby the dominant multinational corporations can end up reaping huge profits at the expense of the welfare of the general citizens of the host country. Thus, regulation can be defined as â€Å"action formed and carried out by government, and it is the normal rule or special action that directly interferes with market allocation mechanism and indirectly change the decision-making of the enterprise and consumer,† (Spulber N.D. as cited in Zhao 2008). As going to be explained below, it is important for the host country to regulate as well as supervise the activities of the investors. Regulation is important as it serves as a measure to prevent the emergence of low efficient competition especially in horizontal mergers (Zhao 2008). In some instances, multinational corporations can merge with the powerful competition in the host country with the aim of controlling the market of the host country. This is not advocated as it destroys competition in the host country whereby the multinational corporations can end up reaping huge monopoly profits at the expense of the citizens of the host country. Competition will become inefficient and this will be against the intention of the host country to promote growth of the economy through equitable means. The main purpose of granting permission to mergers and acquisitions to operate in host countries is to stimulate economic growth, the reason why it is important f

Customer Relationship Management and E-Commerce Strategies Essay

Customer Relationship Management and E-Commerce Strategies - Essay Example The findings are that in general both websites serves as customer interaction platforms that are also transactional, and serve up products that customers can purchase, and which the backend systems process. The backend systems, apart from processing transactions, also allow for the creation of customer accounts, from where the platform is able to better manage customer experiences and interactions, by remembering customer purchases and transaction histories. (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., 2004; Starbucks Corporation, 2013). II. Main Findings At the Starbucks site there are many activities geared towards managing relationships with customers. At the very basic, the website offers visitors the opportunity to be part of the mailing list for its newsletter. The very concept of the webpage itself is a big relationship management and transactional portal, where customers are able to buy extras and gifts, such as ornamental pieces for the holidays, coffee cups, and pouches of coffee to be brewed at home. The items are prominently displayed at the center of the pages like in a catalog, with prices, and clicking on the product images brings the customer to a page where the customer can place the order in a bag, for later payment. The site then through this particular gifts page is an interactive way for the company to engage customers and to allow for transactions. Taking a step back, putting the original www.starbucks.com on the URL bar redirects the customer to the Starbucks Store. In this way the online visitor to Starbucks is engaged in the same way as Starbucks would engage customers in their stores. The virtual presence is also configured as a store (Starbucks Corporation, 2013b). In fact, taking a step back, each of the categories in the Starbucks online store, from tea to coffee to equipment, drinkware and the Starbucks Card categories, lead to pages that sell merchandise. The entire site can be construed as a customer relationship platform, and behind it is an accounts management system where customers can create accounts to facilitate the building and the maintenance of the customer relationships online. The latter includes understanding purchase patterns, purchase histories, and generally archiving customer transactions to potentially improve the customer engagement process moving forward. At the back too it can be construed that IT is a vital aspect of the entire experience. The CRM front end as described above must have at the back of it a support infrastructure that includes orders processing and fulfillment, and a backend to track all transactions and manage specific customer relationships through the maintenance of databases of customer interactions (Starbucks Corporation, 2013). In contrast the Green Mountain Coffee website is less forward with its products, having no catalog at the home page for instance, in the way that the Starbucks site pushes its products with pricing and orders fulfillment all in front when the visito r visits the site. Moreover, where Starbucks automatically redirects visitors to starbucks.com directly to its online store, Green Mountain Coffee’s home page is a general page about the company, with key products displayed out in front, but no pricing and related orders fulfillment options present. That said, the Green Mountai

WILDLIFE TOURISM IN SOUTH AFRICA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

WILDLIFE TOURISM IN SOUTH AFRICA - Essay Example The international wildlife tourists however comprise of such people who are mainly keen of conducting tours inside Africa (Avitourism in South Africa, 2010,pp.12-13). The target market identified for the marketing plan presented here accounts for 21000 to around 40000 wildlife tourists visiting the region on an annual basis. Domestic tourists comprise the major chunk of the wildlife tourist population and range from 13 to 24 thousand while the international tourists account for 8 to 16 thousand people on an annual basis. These target groups accounting for making wildlife tourism in South Africa render around 1025 to 1975 billion rand to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product on an annual basis (Research and Analysis Report, 2010, p.9). The report therefore intends to provide a clear-cut plan to attract these tourists by strategies in marketing and promotion and therefore add to the economy in terms of revenues as well. WILDLIFE TOURISM IN SOUTH AFRICA – A Marketing Plan Ma rketing Plan for Promoting Wildlife Tourism in South Africa South Africa is home to a large amount of biodiversity spread along its natural parks and wildlife habitats and accounts for drawing visitors from a worldwide base. This activity of ecology based wildlife tourism in the region helps in drawing huge revenues for the South African economy. In South Africa the amount of tourists coming to visit the wildlife sectors accrue to about 79 percent of the total number of tourists visiting the region on an annual basis. In terms of economic value the wildlife tourism in South Africa account for around 50 percent of the total amount of income generated from tourism activities. To attract the tourists visiting the South African region for their interest in wildlife, the South African government has rendered space for the development of natural parks, which hosts a large number of flora and fauna. These natural parks help in hosting a large number of tourists in several rest camps contai ning both lodging and hotel facilities. An example of a national park in the South African region is the Kruger National Park, which helps hosting a large number of tourists in both caravan and camps along with other guesthouses and guest cottages. These latter ones are built to present to the visitors a huge variety of opportunities to live and enjoy their tour. These hotels, rest houses and guest camps are designed in such a fashion as to provide to the people dwelling and food based on international standards. Estimates made show that only the Kruger National Park in South Africa draws around 1.4 million wildlife tourists in the region. This national park also helps to accrue huge amount of revenue for the South African economy. Estimates made show that on an average annual basis the national park amounts to around 40 million dollars of revenue for the South African government (Spenceley, 2006, pp.652-653). It is found from the above discussion that the impact of wildlife tourism in South Africa has helped the development of the economy of the region. The marketing and promotional activities designed would help greatly in enhancing the growth of wildlife tourists in the region, which would thereby augment the revenue patterns of the economy. However the marketing and promotional activities that would be taken to enhance the development of wildlife tourism in South Africa by helping in attracting large number of tourists must be developed in an organized fashion to optimize the utilization of available resources. Thus the design of the marketing plan for developing wildlife tourism in South Africa must function on the basis of the following agenda. Firstly the marketing plan

The Accomplishments and Personality of Presidency Assignment

The Accomplishments and Personality of Presidency - Assignment Example Accomplishments from 1914 through 1918 In his reign, the Panama Canal legitimately opened. President Roosevelt ensured that the National Trade Commission instigated its tasks. He gave a state briefing on Lusitania sinking. President Roosevelt has chosen again for the Enlightened Presidential tag. As the president; he made sure that the U.S. National Park Service was made. Roosevelt offered to give aid in World War I effort by starting a Volunteer sector that was much criticized by Woodrow Wilson (Edmund, 2010).He removed his nomination in order to give back up to Hughes. President Woodrow Wilson gave out his 14 Point strategy for a long-lasting peace; a related plan for the formation of a worldwide political organization that was suggested by Teddy R when he was the President of the United States. Teddy R started the survey of Rio Duvida in the Amazons River later give the new name as Rio Roosevelt. Personality of Teddy Roosevelt The persona of Theodore Roosevelt is enduring. Roosevelt was and a vidly inquisitive child, who grew up to a vigorous young man, and eventually, an active ground-breaking as a politician. According to Theodore Roosevelt, features commendable in an individual entail steady hard work, devotion to family, discreet religious loyalty, and a good will to assist a neighbor. He, therefore, came to a conclusion that like character remains to be the very description of a man or woman. He was an asthmatic victim whereby he experienced a childhood whereby he was sick for many years.

Depression Causes and Treatment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Depression Causes and Treatment - Essay Example The present research has identified that depression is one of the most common illnesses in today’s world. However, it is also one of the most difficult to study, understand, and treat. The reason depression is such a tricky customer is that its geneses are very hard to pinpoint. Unlike other mental afflictions, which present clear symptoms and prognoses, depression manifests in ways that are difficult to diagnose immediately. For example, psychologists have stated that most depressed people are not even aware of their condition. In addition, depression is a symptom of some mental illnesses; therefore it is very easy to misdiagnose it. Amidst all this ¸ it is important to consider the individual causes of depression. Is the environment all to blame, as most people believe, or is there a personal dimension to depression? Can individual behavior, conditions, or attitude trigger depression, or are external factors the only suspects? These questions will form the spine of this pa per and will guide the arguments presented for and against the subject, as well as the conclusion. Hippocrates said that â€Å"food is medicine and medicine is food.† This might explain the connection between depression and nutrition because depression is an illness that affects the body as well as the mind. It is important to note that nutrition is closely linked to hormonal balance, and hormonal balance is associated with good moods and lack of depression (in both genders). Depending on the types of food people eat. Their hormones can be balanced or imbalanced, and this can have adverse effects on their moods. Research shows that the brain and the gut are always in touch with each through the vagus nerve. There is more evidence to show that there is a correlation between depression and obesity. Obesity raises the probability of developing depression and depression is symptomatic of progressive obesity. Studies show that most women eat more when they are depressed or emotion ally stressed.

William Shakespeare and Western Literary Tradition Essay Example for Free

William Shakespeare and Western Literary Tradition Essay When Shakespeare was a kid going to grammar school, a school open to boys only by the way! they learned Latin, Greek and rhetoric, persuasion through logical argument. Students read Latin and Greek writers to learn about the history of ancient Greece and the glory that was Rome† and this material was translated by them into English or French after many hours of work. Im glad the school curriculum of the 21 st century has evolved and we no longer spend our days doing boring stuff like that! Their old-fashioned, subjects that have little relevance in the modern world of the internet and space travel. The question is: shouldnt we allow our education system to further evolve and file Shakespeare in the same drawer where weve stuck Homer, Plato and Ovid? Given the society of North America in the 21 st century, Shakespeares relevance is declining with each new technical advance. The purpose of this essay is to prove isnt it time to address this question head on, even at the risk of causing legions of English teachers to collapse in horror? Speaking to the world may be the least of the challenges facing those who want the teaching of Shakespeare. Shakespeares English is the language as they spoke it 400 years ago. It is as ancient and antiquated and old as the Latin and Greek I spoke about in my introduction. Watch any class of high school students tackle Shakespeare and the first book youll see on theredesks is a student guide of notes explaining who characters are, the plot and the themes. Indeed, it is doubtful that the play itself is ever cracked by some students. How can students in the 21 st century understand any of the great themes raised in these plays if they cant even understand what some guy is saying? If students must read this stuff, switch it for a modern translation. I would like to write a graphic novel using Shakespeares plots, but maybe its been done. Consider how this problem is worse for those students whose first language is not even English. If were going to combat feelings of alienation we must not cling to cultural icons of a white, Anglo-Saxon culture. Given the modern, multicultural societies to be found in any Canadian city of to-day, can a writer from olde England† really claim to have any relevance? High school teachers need further training to examine the important literatures of Africa, Asia or the Muslim world. The succession of Anglo-Saxon monarchs can have little connection with the issues gripping the globe from Africa and the MiddleEast. As members of a global community; we need to be aware of the moral issues facing these cultures if were going to talk to them. I think the issue of AIDS and HIV in Africa is one of the most important problems we face. It is the western literary traditions refusal to look beyond Shakespeare that cements western, primarily British, culture as the dominant cultural group and causes other groups, African, Middle Eastern or Asian to exist in a mental cultural ghetto. How will we in the west understand the moral concerns of other cultural or religious groups if we refuse to look beyond Shakespeare? How can Shakespeare speak to the world? The really important argument put forward by those who want to keep Shakespeare in the curriculum is that Shakespeare is the greatest writer in the western literary tradition. Says who? I think importance is a relative value judgment? Shakespeares plays second in Shakespeares own mind to his poetry were written to satisfy the political fashions of his time. Why does Macbeth look into the cauldron and see A show of eight Kings, the last with a glass in his hand? We are told now it was to impress James the first of England and sixth of Scotland. It was James interest in the occult that caused the inclusion of the three witches who look not like the inhabitants o the earth, and yet an ont who Macbeth consults. You cant look at any copy of a Shakespeare play without finding obvious references to the monarchy of his time. Shakespeares plays, like any political propaganda found to-day, either concentrates on defending the status quo or attacking the unpopular leadership of an earlier time. So, in conclusion, as you can see I have pretty strong feelings about Shakespeare and his plays. In the 21 st century, spending time with the confusion that is Shakespeare is about as useful as training doctors in the value of bleeding their patients as a means of correcting a problem with the four humours. By examining the great works of other cultures and religions we can learn about a major part of the world. Through the literature of many different parts of the world theyre concerns will be understandable to us and well show our willingness to meet the rest of the world, not throw forts built of iambic pentameter with the occasional rhyming couplet to securely glue the walls together. If we ignore the future to sort of celebrate the western literary past well have a disaster of global proportions. Works Cited 1. William Shakespeare, Macbeth. Toronto: Longmans Canada. 1965

The criminal history of Richard Ramirez

The criminal history of Richard Ramirez California was terrorized in the mid-1980s by a serial killer proclaimed the Night Stalker by the media. The over a dozen victims of this killer didnt understand nor question the underlying criminological underpinnings of these acts and his bizarre courtroom outbursts were fodder for a sensationalizing media that is attracted to gruesome details. The prosecutor Deputy District Attorney Phillip Halpin provided a lay assessment of his mental state by commenting on his latest outburst after receiving a sentence of death, . . . [Ramirez] is a pathetic human being who is grasping at some structure in his life . . . (Court, 1989, p.1). While albeit Halpin was a skilled prosecutor in maneuvering the legal system and obtaining a satisfactory outcome for the State of California, he certainly is not qualified to make sociological or psychological prognostications. The combination of social and behavioral science makes attempts to explain the interaction between criminal and society through criminological theories, numbering more than a dozen (DeMelo, 2001, p.5). The explanation of vicious acts of torture, rape and murder may defy explanation but the question of why? persists and some light may be shed by reviewing the life experiences and their manifestations through criminal activity through one of these theories. Richard Ramirez was born in 1960 in Texas and spent his youth in El Paso (Mayo, 2008, p.281). The childhood of Ramirez was unremarkable but at an early age he began to experiment with drug, mainly marijuana and glue sniffing. His fascination with death began at the hands of his cousin a Viet Nam veteran that related tales of raping, torturing and killing Vietnamese women during his tour of duty by showing the teenage Ramirez Polaroid photographs of the victims and the sadistic results of his actions (Mayo, 2008, p.281). The tales of his exploits in Southeast Asia may have been embellished and the graphical and sadistic acts may or may not have been true, but he did introduce his teenage cousin to truly violent behavior. Ramirez was reported to be only a few feet away from his cousin when he shot and killed his wife, providing a live demonstration of the sadistic and violent behavior he had bragged about (Mayo, 2008, p.281). These anecdotal reports of an early introduction to violent sexual torture killing may or may not be entirely factually accurate, however the witnessing of his cousins murderous act are attributed to whetting his appetite for such acts of unconscionable violence and depravity. Ramirez became a loaner and a drifter and moved to Los Angeles where he started to build a criminal record. He committed burglary and auto theft to support his drug habit that had progressed include cocaine as well as his use of marijuana and reports of other drugs as well for which is also was arrested for possession (Mayo, 2008, p.281). It was reported by his sister Rosa Flores that he used harder drugs such as PCP and phencyclidine hydrochloride and suffered epileptic seizures periodically (Satanic, 1985, p.1). Ramirez had an extensive arrest record for these petty crimes but did not exhibit any personal tendencies toward violence. This all changed in May of 1984. A young Vietnamese-American girl, Mei Leung, was found murdered and hanging over a pipe in the basement of her apartment and it was later determined that she had been sexually assaulted (Worth, 2009, p.2). She was walking home form school with her brother engaged in an argument as to who would take the elevator and who would take the stairs, Mei elected to take the stairs and was found a half hour later raped and murdered. The suspect was described as a thin Caucasian male with shaggy brown hair parted in the middle wearing a brown leather jacket (Worth, 2009, p.2). This case initially generated publicity but went unsolved. The first murder for which Ramirez was convicted occurred nine months latter. This was the killing of the 79 year old Jennie Vincow found in her Los Angeles apartment with her throat slashed (Worth, 2009, p.2). Ramirez had entered the apartment at night and burglarized the home before raping and killing the elderly occupant. This pattern of entering at night and raping the female occupants and killing the males took on a macabre aspect when Ramirez began leaving behind satanic symbols either scrawled in the victims blood or carved into the victims bodies (Satanic, 1985, p.1). After several similar violent murderous incidents the unknown at the time assailant was dubbed The Night Stalker by the police and fueled the local media frenzy. Ramirez continued on his nightly exploits amassing more than thirteen murder victims that he would be eventually convicted of killing and numerous other counts of rape, attempted murder, aggravated assault, ninety criminal allegations proven in court (C ourt, 1989, p.1). The city of Los Angeles was truly terrorized by the serial killer and when reports possibly linking the same killer to the Bay Area, the near panic spread statewide. The police were finally able to link Ramirez to the killings through a finger print left at one of the crime scenes matching those form Ramirezs extensive arrest record (Chambers, 1985, p.1). The officials promptly released his photograph as a suspect in the Night Stalker killings and less than twenty four hours later he was cornered by an angry mob in East Los Angeles. Ramirez was arrested before most likely being beaten to death by the crowd of more than one hundred when he either boasted or spontaneously confessed by stating, . . .I did it . . . you know . . you guys got me, the Stalker . . . (Mayo, 2008, p.282). These bizarre and spontaneous outbursts would signify the entire court proceedings and his subsequent encounters with authorities, at his initial hearing he shouted, Hail Satan and flashed a pentagram, a satanic symbol, to the gathered media just prior to his lawyers entering a not guilty plea with the court (Chambers, 1985, p.1). A four year trial followed culminating in Ramirez being convicted of thirteen murders and was sentenced to death in the California gas chamber, who reacted with an inaudible statement to the court ending with the exclamation, . . . Lucifer dwells within us all. . . (Court, 1985, p.1). He concluded with the rant, You dont understand. You are not expected to. You are not capable of it. I am beyond your experience. I am beyond good and evil. Legions of the night, night breed. Repeat not the errors of the Night Prowler and show no mercy. I will be avenged. (Court, 1985, p.1) He concluded his courtroom diatribe by answering reporters queries as to his impressions of his fate by stating that, . . . its no big deal . . . Im going to Disneyland . . . (Court, 1985, p.1). His taunting of victims and their families by his cavalier attitude was further exemplified when a San Francisco detective went to interview him regarding several unsolved Bay Area murders that had been more recently linked to him through DNA evidence. San Francisco Police homicide Inspector Frank Falzon was escorting Ramirez to a holding cell when he smiled with his near toothless grin and chided, Hey Falzon, I bet youd love to know about those two old ladies wouldnt you? (Worth, 2009, p.1). Inspector Falzon later surmised that Ramirez was referring to Christina and Mary Caldwell whose mutilated bodies were discovered in their Telegraph Hill apartment in February of 1985. During the course of the trial it was uncovered that Ramirez was infatuated with satanic worship and imagery. It was uncovered that his favorite music was from the 1979 AC/DC album Highway to Hell and fancied himself the Night Prowler from the song of the same name on the album (Mayo, 2008, p.282). There are reports of attending satanic services in East Los Angeles but these are unsubstantiated (Satanic, 1985, p.1). What can be garnered from the reported facts and evidence presented that Ramirez was highly sociopathic and his propensity for sadistic cruelty, sexual deviation, and murderous tendencies almost defy explanation. There begins the difficult task of trying to assess the why? and fit this into a relevant criminological theorem to attempt to explain this abhorrent behavior. The beginning of the study of psychology followed the advent of modern criminal theory by nearly a century. Regarding criminal behavior prior to the latter part of the eighteenth century the actions of an individual was deemed as the totality where harsh punishment was meted out to deter others from following in the ill-advised ways (Hollin, 2002, p.145). The Classical School of criminological theory originates with the writing of Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham following the human rights and free will movements that coincided with the advent of the Declaration of Independence reflecting the contemporary progressive thought of the era (DeMelo, 2001, p.7). The free will approach was supplanted in the later part of the nineteenth century with the Positive School of thought, were Positivists saw behavior determined by biological, psychological and social traits, meaning that certain individuals were just born bad (DeMelo, 2001, p.8). This was also reflected in the growing field of ex perimental psychology that was in its infancy describing all human behavior in much the same manner (Hollin, 2002, p.146). The behaviorist led by Skinner in the 1930s felt that human interactions were governed by environmental setting and consequences (Hollin, 2002, p.146). This is similar to the Chicago School that sees the surroundings and social disorganization as the precursors to criminal behavior and as byproducts of an individuals upbringing and social environment (DeMelo, 2001, p.9). This nature versus nurture argument is seen throughout the evolving criminological theories, seeing crime as a manifestation of greater societal ills or socioeconomic inequalities, and modern feminist theory is interjected into the fray. These competing theories often fall short of exactly determining the precise why? for the high degree of violence exhibited by Ramirez. The Positive Theory would expound that Ramirez was just born bad, wired wrong and almost preordained for a life of crime. The influence of drugs in his life may have contributed to this and using the Chicago school with the social ills may be used to explain the influence of his cousin to develop a new norm within the mindset of Ramirez. The criminal history of Ramirez is signified by a disjointed leap from petty thief and drug abuser to serial killer. Unlike the need for a triggering event that sets off the mass killer to embark on a rampage leaving scores of dead in their wake, the serial murder begin a slow progression of amassing victims in a methodical and systematic approach (Dietz, 1986, p.483). This is contrasted with the Sensational Homicide theory where news reports of the killings begin to influence the turn of events, like the Manson Family killings of the late 1960s were the perpetrators achieve a cult hero status (Dietz, 1986, p.489). The progression of the criminal history of Ramirez would follow the Sensational Homicide theory, but also have elements of the serial killer as well. But where the typical serial killer such as John Wayne Gacy or Ted Bundy kept within the social norms during their non-killing activities, Ramirez remained a social outcast living as a transient on the fringes of society (Dietz, 1986, p.483). Ramirez is believed to have not begun his murderous ways until he first raped, murdered and mutilated Mei Leung in 1984 almost a decade after witnessing his cousins murderous act at the culmination of his tutelage of his young cousin in sexual violence. The criminological theory needs to fit the sudden flip of the switch that begat Ramirezs murderous undertaking with no prior violent incidents. Many of the criminological theories involve isolation from society and the economic benefits, seeing society as stratified between the haves and the have nots driving youths to delinquency and into the criminal justice system. This may be used to explain why a young Hispanic in El Paso with middle class parents may devolve into drug abuse and petty crimes associated with supporting his habit. However there is little foundation in the criminological theories that can be used to explain the veering into the fascination with the occult and basing ones criminal actions on perceived satanic content of rock music. This is abhorrent behavior far beyond the norm that is used to explain most crimes. Ramirez was demonstrable self delusional seeing himself as an outsider aligned with Satan embarking on near religious undertaking. Serial killers and mass murderers defy normal explanations, it would be akin to finding a universal theory that could explain the exploits of Hitler or Stalin whose ri se to power was based upon the systematic extermination of an entire race of people. These are extreme examples of criminal behavior that is a very, very rare occurrence and as in all mass, serial or spree killers can only be viewed as a perfect storm of internal ill will, missed opportunities by society to deter them from their aspirations, and a progression of murderous behavior that was only stopped through fortunate turns of events that lead to their police apprehension. Richard Ramirez has managed to gain a near mythic reputation from his sadistic murderous activities. He is viewed as a cult anti-hero along with Charles Manson succeeding in gaining notoriety. While no criminological theory reflects the need for attention and fame through criminal activity, perhaps a limited theory could be developed to explain these rare instances. Deputy Prosecutor Halpin may have made the correct off the cuff assessment, maybe Ramirez is just a pathetic human being . . . grasping for some structure in his life . . . defying all other explanation.

Health Essays Childhood Obesity Overweight

Health Essays Childhood Obesity Overweight Childhood Obesity Overweight Introduction Childhood obesity in the United States is proving to be a topic of major concern. Throughout the past decades, this issue has been overlooked and simply unattended to. Other health issues such as second-hand smoke and cancer have indeed been the more popular topics addressed. However, people are starting to notice a change in the leaders of tomorrow. Quite frankly, these children are becoming extremely unhealthy and overweight. In the past, it was out of the ordinary to see a child that was obese. However, overweight children in the United States are actually starting to become a norm (Koplan, Liverman Kraak, 2005). This is where the problem begins to unfold. Parents are becoming increasingly concerned about their children’s health due to the fact that obesity hinders a wide range of factors. Imagine a child that cannot participate in any extracurricular activities such as baseball, soccer, or basketball due to his or her weight. Then, try to explain to that child that due to being overweight, he or she might have an increased chance of heart disease, strokes, and high blood pressure (Vessey MacKenzie, 2000). Above all, imagine being a child and learning that one of their peers has just died due to the fact that he or she was obese. One must begin to realize that the lives of children in the United States are at stake. Science in the past has told the public that each generation is living longer than its precedent. The tide has turned sadly enough as scientists are predicting that this verity is now untrue (Kimm Obarzanek, 2002). With that being said, if lives are beginning to shorten, one might conclude that it is now time to take some action. In an attempt to explore the idea of childhood obesity one must result to an interdisciplinary analysis. The topic involves a wide range of disciplines such as biology, sociology, psychology, and business, which should all be taken into consideration to avoid an oversimplification. There is not one single discipline that can fully address the entire scope of childhood obesity (Repko, 2005). By narrowing down the research, a large amount of data will be looked at using numerous perspectives to try to avoid a biased outcome. The extent of obesity in children is an extremely multifaceted topic and desperately needs to be approached this way to fully grasp and comprehend the issue. Also, for a complete understanding and resolution to be formulated, every discipline needed to investigate the issue must be used. Childhood obesity contains a vast range of disciplines to help in its characterization. With that being said, these disciplines tend to all be interlocked with one another. Looking at childhood obesity through the discipline of biology for instance would constantly be leading the researcher to a psychological standpoint every time a page is turned. Simply ignoring certain disciplines would be an extreme mistake in trying to come to a conclusive solution of the issue addressed and would most likely lead to a biased opinion. Disciplines The following is a compilation of all the disciplines used along with each of their contributions in the process of addressing the issue of childhood obesity. There is indeed a vast range of disciplines that are included. Chemistry, economics, law, and history all bring important insights to the table when addressing childhood obesity. Chemistry will look at various experimental data to try to assess the various structures of fats and sugars that are involved in a child’s diet. Economics could be used to try to understand the possible effects that production and distribution of certain foods has when placed in front of children. Why are these extremely unhealthy foods being put on the shelf for kids to buy? Economics would try to investigate this issue and bring forth a decisive explanation. In addition, law would be utilized to help to understand what governmental efforts have been made towards the issue of childhood obesity. Are the steps being taken by are government in the right direction or are they simply dancing around the heart of the issue? Finally, history is a very helpful discipline in referencing statistical data taken about obese children. Has this problem always been around or is it just now becoming an issue? History with the help of statistics will also illustrate past successes and failures of strategies that were put in action to help to aid the issue being discussed. Throughout the course of the investigation of childhood obesity all the preceding disciplines listed will be taken into consideration. However, biology, sociology, and business will be most relevant and crucial to the process of defining the issue at hand. Biology Biology will be used to try to understand the needs of the human body to progress and function. Each person has a minimum amount of calories that must be consumed to properly run its processes. Likewise, each person has a unique rate of consuming these calories and converting them to energy. The researcher can use biology to place an actually measurement of health of an individual. Attaining a proper measurement or gauge of health has proven to be a very difficult task. Height, sex, genetics, bone structure, and even ethnicity are all very important factors that determine a child’s proper weight. Biology will help to place a gauge on each of these factors and formulate a proper medium for each person. This discipline will be examined first in the following writing because one needs to understand what obesity is before he or she can begin to examine the problem. Biology will basically lay a foundation for the rest of the disciplines as to how they are to be used to assess obesity in children. Sociology Next, a viewpoint based on sociology must be addressed. Demographics of families, along with their ethnicities will be looked at to try to explain the effects of obesity on certain specific populations. Society will be investigated to try to expose the viewpoints of obese children and their parents. Does society really understand the issue? Do children place any concern with health and fitness? These are both very important questions that sociology will help to address through the aid of statistical data. Also, every child does have the right to choose what he or she consumes on a day-to-day basis. Hence, each child must face all of the problems that arise if he or she becomes obese. Obesity is not purely a biological problem. If the previous statement was true, a child could then simply consume less calories and loose weight. However, a child has to make cognitive choices and observations about what is acceptable. Sociology will step in and try to uncover any problems that may be resulting in a population of obese children that simply are misguided by the viewpoints of society. This discipline will be used after biology in hopes to build upon the new understanding of the problem. Once a person understands the physical aspects of childhood obesity using biology, then he or she can delve into the societal traits. Business Finally, obesity has become such a large issue that it has effectively created an entire new industry to take care of itself. Business is a discipline that will be used to help explain the way industries portray children and how they affect what populations recognize and understand. Business will try to assess ethical issues as to whether the food industry for example is making an effort to help. There are obviously many businesses in the United States that are trying to educate children about obesity. However, for every positive product formed, there is another marketing scheme that is made to try to take advantage of a very helpless situation. As a result, the structure and function of the food industry needs to be addressed and scanned for possible pitfalls and shortcomings. Lastly, the discipline of business will be used in the final part of this paper in hopes to illustrate how it relates back to the obese children. The reader will then furthermore understand the extremity of this issue and how it is rooted in almost every aspect of life. In summation, childhood obesity is an extremely sophisticated problem involving the ethics and morals or our society. Children cannot be expected to solve their own problem and desperately need help from all ends of the spectrum. The purpose of this paper is to lay the foundation for a better understanding and new perspective of childhood obesity. This perspective will hopefully stem new possible outcomes that are constructed by the synthesis of each of the discipline’s contributions. Furthermore, the following writing will attempt to educate society of the dangers of childhood obesity and show that this is not a problem caused by one situation. Hopefully the reader will realize that through an interdisciplinary understanding, bringing an end to obesity in children is not an unattainable goal. Background How is childhood obesity defined? Has this issue been around for a long time or is it merely just beginning to cause trouble for the United States? These are two very important questions that every individual needs to be aware of. One cannot expect to be able to successfully tackle an issue without knowing its history beforehand. First, childhood obesity is basically defined as a person that has a body mass index that is above the 95th percentile. That is, the individual exceeds his or her natural weight by approximately 20%. Body mass index is the most widely accepted procedure for sampling obesity in large populations. Basically, it is a numerical measurement composed of a person’s height and weight. Although this particular test does not take a persons bone structure into consideration, the average of an overall population remains very accurate (Vessey MacKenzie, 2000). The people involved in this issue are individuals between the ages of 6 and 17. Male and female children including every ethnicity that resides in the United States are included in this problem. Although obesity rates are increasing almost exponentially in all age groups, children seem to be of the most concern to health experts today. These children are in the most important stage of their growth. An overweight child is putting his or her entire lifespan in jeopardy (Green Reese, 2006). Adolescent obesity has not been around as long as other problems such as cancer, leukemia, or the flu. Yet, it is unique due to the fact that childhood obesity is growing at such an alarming rate. The first signs of childhood obesity began to appear in the 1960’s (Schwartz Puhl, 2003). What caused this sudden weight gain in children during this time? There are several possible explanations however there does not seem to be one clearly defined culprit. The fast food industry is just one of the possible causes that is often looked at. Critics believe that during the 1960’s fast food was starting to embed in American culture. McDonalds restaurants were popping up all around the United States offering a quick and effortless meal. Before fast food, most families were dependant upon time consuming home cooked meals. However, for the first time, people were starting to realize that a ready-to-eat meal was just a few dollars away. Consequently, people started putting the healthy meal aside and began to grab a quick sandwich from a fast food restaurant. Hence, in the 1960’s children’s calorie intake began to rise as their eating habits were basically being altered by society. Statistics showed during this time that the percentage of obese children was approximately 4.5%. As calorie intake began to rise, physical activities began to decrease. Approximately 33% of students in high school do not expose themselves to any strenuous physical activity. Present day schools are so involved in standardized testing that extracurricular activities have been in some ways taken out of the daily lesson plan. Even technology, which usually always aids in the advancement of society, has played a role in increasing rates of childhood obesity. Computer based games, and highly sophisticated cell phones are a few examples that have placed negative outcomes on beneficial cardiovascular events (Harper, 2006). Heath experts began to see a problem by the 1970’s. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was one of the first efforts in addressing the issue of childhood obesity. A study was done in three parts during a 25-year span starting in the late 1960’s. The test studied the body mass index of children and adjusted the results as age, sex, and ethnicity of the population of children changed through time. The results were anything but subtle. There was a 40% increase of overweight children in the ten-year span of the first and second studies. No other illness at this time was even close to growing at such an astounding rate (Rosenbaum Leibel, 1998). With that being said, the third study that was completed in 1994 delivered a divesting knockout punch. The National Health and Nutrition Survey revealed that the number of obese children in the United States had grown a monstrous 100% in the past 10 years (Dietz Gortmaker, 2001). Obesity in children was now considered an epidemic. In the past decade, the percentage of obese adolescents in the 95th percentile has once again doubled. Obese children between the ages of 6 and 11 seemed to have the highest grow rates of any other subgroup. Estimates were now showing that almost 15% of the children in the United States are obese or extremely overweight. Obesity does not seem to be biased towards any particular age, race, or gender. However, African American girls, Hispanics, and American Indians were shown to have the largest overweight populations (Koplan, Liverman Kraak, 2005). Why are obese children the population that is drawing the most attention? First, biologists studying this epidemic have noted that fact that the gene pool in the United States has basically remained the same over the past 15 years. This tends to rule out any possible explanations dealing with actual evolutionary changes or modifications in the human body. As a result, scientists tend to believe that the causes of the increase in children’s weight are a product of environmental effects on metabolism. At any rate, it is shown that individuals who are obese as children are most likely beginning a lifelong fight (Dietz Gortmaker, 2001). Present studies have shown that approximately 95% of obese individuals who succeed in loosing weight tend to gain almost all of it back over time (Koplan, Liverman Kraak, 2005). This statement is supported by our ever-increasing percentage of obese adults. In 2001, statistics show that there were 29 states containing a percentage of obese adults of 20% or greater. Hence, prevention at the earliest possible age is said to be the only hope for success in stopping this seemingly out of control problem. It is shown that the younger the child is, the less likely he or she will have developed bad eating habits. Also, younger children tend to be much easier to work with as oppose to stubborn teenagers who may not accept parental influence. All in all, childhood obesity tends to result in numerous mental, physical and social health disorders for the growing individual. Without immediate intervention at a young age, obesity in children may continue to grow (Kimm Obarzanek, 2002). The following writing will continue to decipher the issue of adolescent obesity and will expose crucial concepts, theories and assumptions dealing with each discipline involved. Biology will first be discussed with the goal of further defining the physical and biological effects of childhood obesity. One must understand how the child physically becomes obese and what biological factors are involved. Next, sociology will be addressed with the goal of educating the reader of the impacts that society has on obese children. Are there any direct causes of obesity that society may have initiated? Finally, business will be mined for possible ways that large companies and organizations have affected the issue. Are these interventions effective or are they merely ways to mask the problem? In conclusion, each discipline involved offers its own understanding of childhood obesity. One must take each possible approach into consideration in hopes of forming a new more comprehensive explanation. An interdisciplinary approach is used in this situation to help organize the inputs of the disciplines and then synthesize them into a new holistic picture. This process helps to avoid a biased opinion, which is likely formed by increasing specialization of the disciplines. Furthermore it attacks the issue from every angle within the reach of the disciplines used (Repko, 2005). References Biology Dietz, W., Gortmaker, S. (2001). PREVENTING OBESITY IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS. Annual Review of Public Health, 22(1), 337. Retrieved February 29, 2008, from Academic Search Complete database. Kimm, S., Obarzanek, E. (2002, November). Childhood Obesity: A New Pandemic of the New Millennium. Pediatrics, 110(5), 1003. Retrieved February 8, 2008, from Academic Search Complete database. Rosenbaum, M., Leibel, R. (1998, March). The physiology of body weight regulation: Relevance to the Pediatrics, 101(3), 525. Retrieved February 29, 2008, from Academic Search Complete database. Vessey, J., MacKenzie, N. (2000, September). Childhood Obesity: Strategies for Prevention. Pediatric Nursing, 26(5), 527. Retrieved February 8, 2008, from Academic Search Complete database. Sociology Green, G., Reese, S. (2006, Fall). CHILDHOOD OBESITY: A GROWING PHENOMENON FOR PHYSICAL EDUCATORS. Education, 127(1), 121-124. Retrieved February 29, 2008, from Academic Search Complete database. Koplan, J., Liverman, C., Kraak, V. (2005, Spring). Preventing Childhood Obesity. Issues in Science Technology, 21(3), 57-64. Retrieved February 4, 2008, from Academic Search Complete database. Schwartz, M., Puhl, R. (2003, February). Childhood obesity: a societal problem to solve. Obesity Reviews, 4(1), 57-71. Retrieved February 29, 2008, from Academic Search Complete database. Business Harper, M. (2006, October). Childhood Obesity. Family Community Health, 29(4), 288-298. Retrieved February 29, 2008, from Academic Search Complete database. Other disciplines Repko, A (2005). Interdisciplinary practice a student guide to research and writing. Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing.

Waiting for Godot, Hollow Men and Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock :: comparison compare contrast essays

Compare Waiting for Godot, Hollow Men and Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Life is occupied by waiting.   In Waiting for Godot, Samuel Becket presents the suffering of the human condition.   Godot is about two beings who talk about nothing, experience the drudgery of life, complain that they do not do anything, meet a few people, think about hanging themselves, and then do it all over again.   The existentialist style by Godot is comparable to T.S. Eliot's works.   Eliot's Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, and Hollow Men are about the tormenting cycle of life and death.   The connection among these three works is that people want to and should do so much, but they do not.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Waiting for Godot takes place in a rural area, with just a tree in the background.   The two friends Vladimir and Estragon talk aimlessly and complain about life.   They consider hanging themselves, but realize before they do that they should consult with Godot.   Who or what Godot symbolizes remains a mystery, but their whole existence seems to be to wait for Godot. They meet a couple of fellows: Pozzo, an upper-class man, mistaken by Vladimir and Estragon as Godot, and Pozzo's slave, Lucky.   After they leave, a messenger from Godot arrives and states simply that Godot will arrive tomorrow, same place, same time.   They consider leaving, but do not.   The second act is almost an exact repeat of the first, but Lucky and Pozzo have fallen upon hard times.   Pozzo has become blind and pathetic, and Lucky has become dumb.   This change in events is a direct point of life being terrific one moment, and worthless the next.   Godot never shows up.   The play ends with the two considering to go somewhere, but they do not.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The similarity of this play to Eliot's poem is remarkable.   Eliot's Love Song is in the first person point of view, and this person refers to " you," who is probably a woman.   It is about a man who want to do so much - be with pretty woman, make something of his life.   His flaws are many, though.   He realizes he is getting balder and more wrinkled.   His prowess with women is deteriorating and this disturbs him.

Plath’s Daddy Essay: Clusters of Images -- Plath Daddy Essays

Clusters of Images in Daddy Imagery in literature provides the writer with an instrument for establishing a viewpoint or perspective. The author can use an unlimited amount of symbols, similes, and metaphors that produce an atmosphere for the reader to visualize the story effectively. In the poem "Daddy," written by Sylvia Plath, the author utilizes numerous clusters of images to represent the fury and wrath of a crazed woman haunted by her father's frightening and domineering disposition. Plath uses this imagery to depict the emotional chaos controlling fathers inflict on their offspring. One of the most prominent groups of images Plath uses to show the turmoil and fear the narrator feels for her father is comparing him with Nazi Germany, the devil's hoofs, and a vampire. Evil, mean-spirited images flourish within "Daddy." The speaker characterizes her father as a Nazi. Phrases like, "With your Luftwaffe" (l. 42), "your neat moustache and your Aryan eye" (l. 43), and "Panzer-man, panzer-man" (l. 45) fill the poem with images of Deuts...

Bowlby’s research Essay

The maternal deprivation hypothesis was developed in post second world wartime and Bowlby’s research was based on children that were extremely traumatized, having possibly lost both parents at war. As a result a lot of children ended up in institutions which more than likely had substandard conditions and numerous untrained carers. It is very important to bear in mind the context of that time as there was a national need for family life to be recreated and stabilised after the war. Thus, Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis was interpreted as an opposition to the employment of women with young children and therefore the use of day-care facilities. It is important to acknowledge that Bowlby was primarily concerned with the welfare of children and that his theory of maternal deprivation played a huge role in reforming child care practices by pointing out the damaging effect of been cared for by numerous staff. In the years since however, the maternal deprivation hypothesis has been largely discredited in light of subsequent research which suggests that some separation, for example some time in a high quality day-care, may not necessarily have long-term effects on future relationships. Bowlbys monotropic model of attachment has also been highly criticised as recent evidence is revealing that children do form attachments with more than one adult, in particular with fathers, siblings and other adult carers with whom they have developed a stable relationship. Research has shown that children generally favour their father’s company to the company of a stranger. According to Lewis (1986) the attachment bond between a father and child is dependant on the quality of their relationship, that is, a child with a sensitive father that is focused on their needs will develop a stronger attachment bond with them. Nonetheless, in times of distress infants are more likely to seek out the comfort of their mother over their father (Lamb, 1981). Given the changing times and the steady increase in the proportion of working mothers, it is necessary to focus more on the effects of multiple attachments and specifically to the child’s relationship with adult caregivers other than parents and relatives. Studies however, carried out by Tizard and Rees (1975) and Tizard and Hodges (1978) caution that while children can be cared for and attached to more than one adult, having a large number of caregivers may have an adverse effect on their ability to develop close relationships. Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis was further developed by the work of Mary Ainsworth (1969), who devised a method for observing and assessing the attachment behaviour babies’ display towards their mothers/caregivers. This is known as the Strange Situation (ED209 TV4 programme) and is essentially a method for measuring a one year-old’s attachment to its mother and assessing how the child reacts to separation and more importantly to reunion with its mother when placed in a slightly stressful situation. Briefly, the experiment involves taking mother and child to a strange room and observing the child’s responses to the introduction of a stranger, the mother’s departure, reunion with the mother, leaving the child alone for a few minutes in the room (most stressful event), and leaving the child alone with the stranger. Researchers classify the maternal-child attachment relationship based on the child’s behaviour during reunion with the mot her. Ainsworth suggests that attachment relations fall into three categories: securely attached, insecure-avoidant and insecure-ambivalent infants. Sometimes an additional category (disorganised) has been used. According to Ainsworth securely attached infants explore freely when their mother is present and use her as a secure base when a stranger appears. They greet her warmly on reunion and show a clear preference for her over the stranger. Children who do not behave this way, for example by clinging (insecure-ambivalent) or been more detached (insecure-avoidant) during reunion with their mother, are described as insecurely attached. Ainsworth et al (1978) believed that children who are separated from their mother, for example children who attend day-care, are likely to form insecure attachments. This is supported by Belsky (1988) who, it is interesting to note, revised his conclusions regarding the consequences of placing children in non-maternal day-care. Initially, he believed that day care did not effect a child’s attachment to his/her mother, however subsequently in his review of a number of US studies, he concluded that children who are subjected to more than twenty hours a week of non-maternal day-care in their first year of life are at risk of developing insecure attachments. It is important to note that although the strange situation technique has been widely used by Belsky and others to assess the quality of a child’s attachment to its caregiver, it may not however be the best method for comparing children who experience day care with those who do not. Belsky’s conclusions regarding day-care have been disputed by Clark-Stewart (1988) who argues that the differences in attachment styles between infants attending non-maternal day-care for less than twenty hours a week and more than 20 hours a week are not large enough to conclude that working mothers put their children at risk of suffering from psychological problems. Furthermore, she points out that children who attend day care are used to separation and therefore react differently on reunion with their mothers than children who are with their mothers all day. Thus, children may appear detached not because they are insecure but because they are more independent and more accustomed to been separated from their mother (Clark-Stewart, 1988) . Like Bowlby, Ainsworth believed in a universal model of attachment however, evidence from cross-cultural research on secure and insecure attachments carried out by Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) revealed cultural differences in the mother-child relationship. This evidence questions the validity of using the strange situation method to measure and compare attachment in different cultures. For example, children from Japan showed intense distress in the strange situation when separated from their mother, as in their culture children are never left alone at twelve months. These cultural differences highlight the importance of moving away from a universal model of attachment towards a more cultural perspective. Bowlby’s ethnocentric perspective, which sees the biological mother as the all-important person for the infants first attachment, has received a lot of criticism and has been branded as a Western cultural construction by some psychologists. It is interesting to note that out of 186 non-industrial societies Weisner and Gallimore (1977) found that, in only five of these societies was the child (almost) solely looked after by the mother! Moreover, research carried out in different countries showed the grandmother as having a special and unique attachment to the child due to her long life experience and wisdom (Tyszowka, 1991) thereby lending support to a more polyadic model of attachment.

Fake Analysis of Bridge to Terabithia Essay

In â€Å"Bridge To Terabithia,† written by Katherine Paterson, great friendships blossom from impertinent first impressions. Great friendship such as Leslie’s brings new experiences. Great friendships may come from unpromising first encounters and lead to new experiences. Leslie’s friendship came with the promise of a new beginning; reword this sentence Leslie opens a new world up to Jess full of creativity and imagination which â€Å"Leslie name[s] their secret land â€Å"’Terabithia†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢(50). Don’t end with a quote! Jess and Leslie create this secret world to escape the harsh reality of adolescence. The reason Jess and Leslie create this secret world is it allows them to escape the harsh reality of adolescence. Jess and Leslie agree to create a whole new imaginary country, eliminate that that â€Å"’We need a place’†¦ ‘It might be a whole secret country’†¦ ‘and you and I would be the rulers of it. ’†(50). Reword theres something off about this; Because Jess craves the attention of his hardworking father he in particular needs the escape that Terabithia provides. Jess in particular needs the escape since he craves the attention of his hardworking father â€Å"maybe’†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢he’d forget all about how tired he was from the long drive back and forth to Washington and the digging and hauling all day†(5). Make the quote relevant to him what is this quote supposed to say? Don’t end with a quote! Great friendships may come from unpromising first encounters and lead to new experiences. Change around, It is an idea that relates to life today since everyone has a friend and everyone must be open to new experiences they bring in a friendship. For example, you can never judge a book by its cover or by when you meet someone for the first time. Doesn’t make sense Another illustration is, to take the new experiences a new friendship has to offer and enjoying them. The human condition affects us still today because people take having a friend for granted until they are gone. What I have learned for reading â€Å"Bridge To Terabithia† is take out that that to open myself up to new friendships and take out new new experiences. I learned to enjoy the memories mad with the friends I have because at any given moment something could happen. Also, to enjoy the moments I have with my friends because you never know when something could happen at a moments notice. My viewpoint has been deeply enriched by this book because of then realistic human condition.

The Growing Spice Trade

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary (trade, 2009), the word â€Å"trade† means a person engaged in an occupation, business, or industry dealings between persons or groups and the business of buying and selling or bartering commodities. Many factors played key roles in the economic development of a region using trade as a major contribution of growing power. There were many commodities that were traded; silk, fruits and vegetables, cotton, and precious stones, to name a few. The spice trade, in particular, was an activity with ancient origins (Upshur et al. , 2002, p. 307). Spice trade was and is a commercial activity which involves the merchandising of spices and herbs. The most important item of trade between the East and West were spices, especially cinnamon from India, cardamom from Aden, cassia, turmeric, and ginger and pepper from Indonesia (Upshur et al. , 2002, p. 324). It bypassed silk and other commodities to be the main import from India to the western world (â€Å"Spice Tradeâ€Å", 2009). In addition to their use in cooking, spices were put to a variety of purposes, including medicine, magic, mummification, perfume, religion, and sex (Turner, 2004, Oct). For many centuries, Arab merchants controlled the overland trade routes to India until the sea routes were discovered (â€Å"SPICESâ€Å", n. d. ). Overland routes helped the trade initially, but maritime routes led to tremendous growth later. During the high and late medieval periods, Muslim traders dominated maritime spice trading routes, tapping source regions in the Far East and shipping spices from trading emporiums in India westward to the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, from which overland routes led to Europe. This trade was transformed by the European Age of Discovery and the route from Europe to the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope was pioneered by European navigators such as Vasco Da Gama in 1497 (â€Å"Spice Tradeâ€Å", 2009). The high cost of transportation ensured that the most costly goods like silk, spices, precious metals and gems, traveled the longest distances. Most of the cargo carried in ancient trade went from Asia to Europe via overland and maritime (Upshur et al. , 2002, p. 308). Civilizations of Asia were involved in spice trade from the ancient times, and the Greco-Roman world soon followed by trading along the Incense route and the Roman-India routes which were dependent upon the techniques developed by the maritime trading power, Kingdom of Axum (400’s B. C. E. -1000 C. E. ). The Kingdom had pioneered the Red Sea route before the 1st century (â€Å"Spice Tradeâ€Å", 2009). Trade between India and the Greco-Roman world kept on increasing and the introduction of Indian culture created a demand from aromatics. These trading outposts later served the Chinese and Arab markets, too (â€Å"Spice Tradeâ€Å", 2009). Many other merchants and countries engaged in this trade such as the Pre-Islamic Meccans who continued to use the old Incense Route to benefit from the heavy Roman demand for luxury goods. The Indian commercial connection with South East Asia proved vital to the merchants of Arabia and Persia. The Abbasids used Alexandria, Damietta, Aden, and Siraf as entry ports to India and China. Rome briefly played a part during the 5th century (â€Å"Spice Tradeâ€Å", 2009). One of the major consequences of the spice trade was the discovery of the American continent by European explorers. Trade until the mid 15th century was with the east through the Silk Road with the Byzantine Empire and the Italian city-states of Venice and Genoa acting as the middle man. In 1453, however, the Ottomans took Constantinople and so the Byzantine Empire was no more. Now in control of the sole spice trade, the empire was in a favorable position to charge hefty taxes on merchandise bound for the west. The Western Europeans set about to find another sea route around Africa (â€Å"Spice Tradeâ€Å", 2009). When Christopher Columbus sailed west in 1492, he wasn’t looking for a new world, but for a new route to the old world of the Indies and for gold and spices. He found little of either (Turner, 2004, Oct). After Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan in 1520 took up the quest for Spain. Of the five vessels under his command, only one, the Victoria, returned to Spain, laden with cloves (â€Å"Spice Tradeâ€Å", 2009). With this, Portugal and Spain developed new trade routes that bypassed the old land and water routes in the process opened up a new era of world trade (Upshur et al. , 2002, p. 308). Conclusion What does this say about the growing globalization of trade and cultural exchange? Along the trade routes European people intermarried, passed on valuable technologies and skills, arts and literature, and cultural and religious customs. The sale of spice established large funds to be used to benefit local economies and promoting further trading activities. References SPICES. (n.d.). In (Ed.), Funk & Wagnall’s new World Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 17, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database. Spice Trade. (2009). In (Ed.), Wikipedia. Retrieved February 17, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spice_trade Trade. (2009). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2009 ed.). Turner, J. (2004, October). Adventures in the spice trade. Geographical, 76(10), 45-50. Retrieved February 17, 2009 from Academic Search Premier database. Upshur, J., Terry, J., Holoka, J., Goff, R., & Cassar, G. (2002). World History before 1600: The Development of Early Civilization (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Forensic Psych

Forensic Psychology Psychology involves the scientific study of mental functions and behaviors of the human body. It can be looked as being broken down into two categories, basic psychology and applied psychology. Basic psychology is the use of theories and fundamentals to explain how attitudes, personalities, values, and behaviors are related while applied psychology is the use of these psychological principles and theories to overcome problems in real life situations.Some of the basic psychology studies include abnormal, cognitive, developmental, and social psychology. Applied psychology applies these studies in things like clinical, forensic, health, and educational psychology. I chose to explore the study of an applied type of psych, forensic psychology. Forensic psychology is the application of the science and profession of psychology to questions issues relating to law and the legal system. The word ‘forensic' comes from the Latin word ‘forensis,' meaning ‘of the forum,' where the law courts of ancient Rome were held.Not only does forensic psychology require understanding of the different psychological studies but also an understanding of the law and how it works. Looking at legal issues from a psychological standpoint combines psychology and the law. This form of psychology is used frequently in the legal system. Legal systems make use of forensic psychologists and their practice in evaluations of the mental status of defendants before, during and after trial proceedings.Most may think forensic psychology is only used in criminal matters but forensic psychologist may also assist in a wide variety of civil matters. Civil matters can include lawsuits or insurance claims where emotional affliction is a part of the claim. Determination of competency of an aged or ill person to make decisions, or whether a death was an accident or a â€Å"disguised suicide† in an insurance claim case are both examples of how forensic psychology can he lp aid certain legal cases.The idea of forensic psychology first came about in the late 1800’s. But it wasn’t until the 1900’s when a German psychologist by the name of Hugo Munsterberg claimed that psychology should be applied to the law. Even though this is a couple hundred years from today, it wasn’t until 2001 that the American Psychological Association recognized forensic psychology as a specialization under the study of psychology. In 1906, a defense attorney asked Hugo to review his convicted client’s investigation and trial records.This promoted his 1908 book â€Å"On the Witness Stand†. It detailed how psychological factors can influence the outcome of a trial. In the book, he discussed problems with eyewitness testimony, false confessions, and interrogations. Munsterberg points out that for various reasons why eye witness testimony is essentially unreliable, he describes how eye witness testimony is naturally susceptible to what he calls â€Å"illusions† where a subjects perceptions could be affected causing an inaccurate testimony.In the portion of the book that he calls â€Å"The Detection of Crime†, he discusses the many factors that can influence testimonies, gain confessions, and force confessions from those who are innocent. He explains some of the ways that police have of making suspects confess to crimes that they had not committed, some of these including making their life as uncomfortable as possible while in holding to be able to break down their energy, and â€Å"worst of all giving brutal shocks given with fiendish cruelty to the terrified imagination of the suspect. Later, in 1917 one of Munsterberg’s students, William Marston, discovered that systolic blood pressure and lying were directly correlated. This discovery helped lead the creation of the modern polygraph detector Forensic psychology was largely stagnant until the 1940s and 1950s, when psychologists began regularl y testifying in courts as experts on a range of psychological topics. They became able to conduct evaluations to help the court with mental statuses, the sanity of defendants, and legal competence. One of the first uses of forensic psychology in the court was in the landmark case Brown v.Board of Education (1954) that ended legal segregation in public schools. Psychologists showed that segregation had a negative effect on the self-esteem of young children and the court believed this was a persuasive argument. This proved that psychologists were an extremely useful form of testimony for both the plaintiffs and defendants. Another example of the importance of forensic psychologists came around in 1962 when psychologists serving as mental illness professionals were strongly supported by the court in the case Jenkins v. United States.Here the court ruled in support to psychologists being used as expert witnesses when mental illnesses are concerned. Following this example many other cour ts, both federal and local, began to accept the use of psychologists and psychological assessments more willingly. Psychological assessment refers to scientific methods used by psychologists for the purpose of understanding and explaining an individual’s, couple’s or family’s psychological functioning. Psychological assessments help to define and understand personality, behavior, emoti ons, intelligence, and how they come together.Such assessments help to answer diagnostic questions, to specify a person’s strengths, weaknesses and personality structure, and to explain and to predict behavior. Assessments that are used in the forensic setting are a leading activity for those whom are involved. Forensic psychological assessments are an in-depth process utilizing extensive interviewing, and standardized psychological tests, which produce reliable, valid and reproducible results. To be all-inclusive, an assessment needs to examine a range of psychological fac tors, such as cognitive and personality functioning, developmental history, and interpersonal relationships.These factors can be further broken down into emotional, cognitive, intellectual, developmental, executive, educational, social, neuropsychological, and physiological functioning. Information obtained from standardized psychological assessment has a normative, statistical scientific basis, as it compares the individual against data collected in samples of normal and clinically disordered individuals. It allows the evaluator to determine how similar or dissimilar this person is to people in these samples.While individuals may attempt to â€Å"look good† or â€Å"look bad† in interviews, depending on the case at hand, most test instruments contain multiple validity scales on which to evaluate the extent to which the individual is providing honest, candid, defensive, socially desirable, or exaggerated depictions of their psychological health or symptoms. An overall aim of forensic psychological assessment is to provide the basis for concluding both previous and active factors that can help to explain specific actions, and to make recommendations applicable to the legal issues at hand.The court appoints a psychologist to determine a range of things including mental state, diminished capacity, and competency. When it comes to mental state, a determination is made as to whether there is substantial evidence that the patient suffers a mental disorder. Emotions are not considered a mental disorder. The psychologist needs to consider psychological influences at the scene of the alleged crime. Depending on the outcome of the examination, the psychologist may testify in court how the impaired mental abilities â€Å"actually caused a malformation of the mental element of the crime. The psychologist does not have to be certain that the defendant's disorder caused him or her to be unable to form the intent or knowledge or the crime, but the expert must have some belief in the â€Å"probability or possibility† that it did. Experts need to testify with reasonable medical or psychological certainty. Three main areas of defense related to mental health include diminished capacity, competency, or mitigating (justifying) circumstances. A diminished capacity assessment focuses on whether or not a person was able to comprehend the alleged crime being committed.The psychologist assessed whether the individual, in his/her opinion, was organized, purposeful, and goal oriented. The main question is, whether the defendant's behavior was affected by a mental disorder of mood or thought, by alcohol and or drug intoxication or an irresistible impulse induced by a mental disease affecting the person so that the person is unable to resist the impulse to commit the act that he or she has been charged with. A competency evaluation assesses whether a person has the mental facility or ability to understand the legal proceedings against them.Also , the evaluation focuses on determining whether they are able to assist their attorney in their own defense. Mitigating circumstances are sometimes considered regarding the defendant's capacity to â€Å"appreciate the wrongfulness of their conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law. † Whether a person is charged with a misdemeanor or a felony, their mental state or mental illness is an issue to consider before conviction or before sentencing. The attorney representing the accused person may request a psychological evaluation or sometimes an evaluation is court ordered.Psychological expert witness testimony may also be used in a personal injury case when the plaintiff makes a case that they suffered undue  mental or emotional  pain and suffering. In family law cases, the parties may be evaluated with regard to the best interests of the child or children, and a custody and parenting-time recommendation is made. An in-depth evaluation of the parties, an assessment of their parenting and relationships with their children, and an assessment of their children's status and developmental needs is devised in terms of the children's best interests and a parenting and custody plan which best meets the children eeds. The following is a list of most widely known and commonly utilized psychological tests in forensic contexts: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) – The most recent of the adult Wechsler tests is a general test of intelligence, IQ (general measure of intellectual ability). There are 15 subtests that make up the WAIS-IV; at least 10 must be administered to derive an IQ score. In addition to providing an IQ, scores are derived on the following groups of the WAIS-IV subtests:   Verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed.For adolescents and children, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition is used. Rorschach Ink Blot Method – This is a performance-based test instrument. The examinee is presented with the Rorschach inkblots and asked, â€Å"What do you see? † Score results provide insight into the individual’s basic psychological processes such as thinking, impulse control, stress tolerance, reality testing, imagination, and interpersonal relationships.Compared to self-report measures, the Rorschach is not nearly as vulnerable to impression-management or attempts to exaggerate problems. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) –  A self-report personality inventory, and is the most commonly used test in forensic psychological assessment. The MMPI-2 provides information along multiple scopes including clinical syndromes, personality characteristics, psychosocial stressors and severity of disturbance. Scoring provides a number of validity scales.There are 10 primary clinical scales and a multitude of content and symptom scales. Psychology is a growing field and will continued to b e used in the legal content. It is an essential part of cases when dealing with the mentally ill and it aids in providing proper conviction, sentencing and rehabilitation. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Kitaeff, J. (2010). Forensic psychology. Pearson College Div. [ 2 ]. Fulero, S. M. , & Wrightsman, L. S. (2010). Forensic psychology. (3rd ed. ). New York, NY: Wadsworth Pub Co. 3 ]. Munsterberg, H. (1909). On the witness stand: Essays on psychology and crime. New York: Doubleday, Page (74). [ 4 ]. Costanzo, M. , & Krauss, D. (2011). Forensic and legal psychology. New York, NY: Worth Pub. [ 5 ]. Heilbrun, K. (2001). Principles of forensic mental health assessment. Springer. [ 6 ]. Wrightsman, L. (2001). Forensic psychology. Australia Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth Thomson Learning. [ 7 ]. Rosenfeld, Barry, Steven Penrod, and Barry Rosenfeld. Research Methods in Forensic Psychology. Hoboken, NJ : Wiley, 2011

Rules of Statutory Interpretation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Rules of Statutory Interpretation - Essay Example In order to find the intent and meaning of legislation, judges use various rules and approaches of statutory interpretation such as legislative history and the traditional statutory interpretation canons. The use of rules and approaches in statutory interpretation is necessary because of the following reasons: more often than not, words have more than one meaning; errors of omission or commission may have been committed during the drafting if the statute; words can prove to be imperfect means of communication; and, society may experience new developments that may render some words in the statute out-of-date since they can no longer cover contemporary situations.2 Rules and approaches to statutory interpretations have been developed by the judges; the Interpretation Act of 1978 provides basic definitions which are necessary during statutory interpretations.3 As a matter of fact, the main function of the courts is to interpret the Acts of Parliament; they have the role of attempting to establish the Parliament’s intention in passing of a particular Act and make a decision based on that intention. However, there is a view among legal scholars and practitioners that the rules and approaches that apply to statutory interpretation give too much latitude to the courts, and there seem to be no underpinning principles.4 It is in the light of this that this paper will focus on the rules and approaches that apply to statutory interpretation and discuss the validity of this view. In addition, it will consider the influence of the European Law in regard to this topic. As has been noted, the courts use rules and approaches in interpreting statutes. Conventionally, the judge will perform the following tasks during statutory interpretations: consider the legislative intent of the statute, objective meaning of the appropriate text, the traditional canons of the statutory interpretation, and the general purposes and policies behind the legislation among others.5 Based on those considerations, the court may determine how the statute could be interpreted to mean.6 However, the court may also determine that there is no sufficient reason to prefer one way of interpretation over the other. This is one of the reasons that make some legal scholars and practitioners to have the view that the rules and Approaches that apply to statutory interpretation give too much latitude to the courts.7 They argue that even though it is assumed that diligent application of these rules and approaches will enable the courts to be persuaded on which interpretation is legally preferable; in some cases the courts encounter frustrations while attempting to find the legally preferable interpretation of statutes. As a result, sometimes judges have to pretend that these rules and approaches have yielded decisive interpretation when in real sense they have not, a situation that encourages arbitrariness and obfuscation in making of judicial decisions.8 In order to effectively discus s the validity of the view that 'The Rules and Approaches that apply to statutory interpretation give too much latitude to the courts, and it seems there are no underpinning principles', it is important to understand what these rules and

English Renaissance Poetry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

English Renaissance Poetry - Essay Example The connection between art and nature in English poetry had begun and later flourished during the Romantic Period, especially with poets like Wordsworth, Shelly, Keats, Byron, Blake and Clare. "According to Ross, the earlier Renaissance, exemplified by the pastoral poets Sidney, Spencer and Breton, tended to see nature as a norm, art as a corruption (Richard Ross' analysis of Herrick, E. in C, XV, 1965, 171-180)1. But Taylor concludes that 'both Nature and Art were necessary to any accurate, complete view of the world'. Nature needs the nurture of man's art. In sixteenth century, word 'art' had a derogatory sense of 'false or counterfeit imitation.' While describing Temple of Venus, Spencer sees art and nature as working partners2: The synthesis of art and nature is existent throughout, but nowhere it is more apparent than in Book VI. Sidney is another poet/writer who made a great contribution in this direction, as admitted by many scholars over the years. Sidney celebrates poet's power in reinventing the nature. It was a peaceful period in history when there were no wars, arts were flourishing and natural ecology was untouched by man, people were good and just and literature was just emerging out of age-worn clichs. People in rural areas literally lived supported by Nature, and these poets were in tune with them, which can be seen by the harmonious poem The Garden of Marvell. The most per SPENCER AND THE FAIRIE QUEENE: The most perfect way art could imitate nature, is shown by Spencer's works. This English epic poem of Spencer published in 1590 in three books, was an allegorical work praising Queen Elizabeth I. In introducing pastoral kingdom to English literature, Spencer seems to have followed the footsteps of Homer and Virgil (Eclogues). As a matter of fact, all Renaissance humanists followed Virgil's footsteps in their veneration of nature, and combined it in various forms of arts. Sidney said "Pastoral was thought to be the humblest type of poetry" (p.943), and Spencer hoped to be the new pastoral Virgil of Renaissance. Pastoral poetry presents an idealistic picture of rural life, where Nature and Art combine together to create an Utopia or Shangri-la. These poets showed enormous understanding and compassion towards Nature and Art both. Usually it is the result of a humanist education and love for nature, which later reflected in the poetics of William Wordsworth. It has love, seduction, death, mourning, nature's ever-caressing and soothing presence, and the art that stems out of imitating the nature. Spencer's view of nature is always considered to have contained 'contradiction'. In the 8th canto of the 4th book, Spencer gives reasons for the decay of nature, while saying the world 'has runne quite out of square'..the heavenly bodies rove at random, even the sun it is feared, in time, "will us quite forsake". Spencer later gives a more harmonious picture of the nature: In sort as they were formed aunciently; And all things will reduce unto equality. (V.ii.32). In later days, pastoral poetry was strengthened by the mighty Shakespeare, while the early Renaissance poets only managed