Chronicle of a Death Foretold and the Stranger Essay Example for Free

Chronicle of a Death Foretold and the Stranger Essay Conflict Resulting From the Negative Effects of Rigid Societal Expectations in A Chronicle of A Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and The Stranger by Albert Camus Everyone has felt the pressure of societal expectations during their lifetime. The negative effects society brings on one’s life can lead to a feeling of rejection towards the people who do not conform to meet those standards. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, author of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, and Albert Camus, author of The Stranger, both construct the external moral conflict of society versus the protagonist in order to critique the way society fails to accept the moral values of the people who differ from the norm. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia Marquez emphasizes the central conflict of society versus the protagonist, based on beliefs and values, through the controversy leading up to the murder of Santiago Nasar, which is based on family honor and pre-marital sex. When Pedro and Pablo Vicario ask their sister, Angela Vicario, who had stolen her virginity, her response is described as â€Å"She only took the time necessary to say the name †¦ and she nailed it to the wall with her well-aimed dart, like a butterfly with no will whose sentence has already been written. ‘Santiago Nasar,’ she said†(47). Describing Angela’s response as â€Å"only took the time necessary† indicates that she is trying to put the blame on Santiago, making him a scapegoat, in order to protect the true man who took her virginity before marriage. In the Latin American society, where the setting of the novella takes place, it is not acceptable for a woman to have pre-marital sex due to the beliefs and morals of Catholics. Santiago is represented as the butterfly â€Å"whose sentence had already been written†. Even though there is no evidence Santiago took Angela’s virginity, it is the twin’s duty to protect their sister. Therefore, Pedro and Pablo Vicario set out to kill the man who had stolen their sister’s virginity, Santiago Nasar, in order to protect their family. The twins tell everyone in town about their plan to murder Santiago, but the people in the community doubt their intentions: â€Å"twenty-two people declared they had heard everything said, and they all coincided in the impression that the only reason the brothers had said it was so that someone would come over to hear them†(51). The people in the town who â€Å"[coincide] in the impression that the only reason the brothers had said it was so that someone would come over to hear them† shows how oblivious the townspeople act owards a societal member’s life. Society looks past at the fact that a murder is about to occur, but focuses on the purpose; family honor, which is highly respected. Since it is unacceptable for a female to have sex before marriage, Santiago is viewed in a negative light by society because he is accused of taking the virginity of an unmarried woman. The debate surrounding Santiago’s death highlights the conflict between society and the protagonist, where Santiago is a man who is accused of committing an act that society does not accept. Albert Camus, in The Stranger, constructs the protagonist, Monsieur Meursault, as a man who has absurdist morals and values, which society does not accept. Meursault has an intimate relationship with Marie Cardona, a former typist, but the connection does not go beyond a physical attraction; â€Å"she wanted to know if I loved her. I answered the same way I had the last time, that it didn’t mean anything but that I probably didn’t love her† (41). By Meursault stating â€Å"it didn’t mean anything† and â€Å"I probably didn’t love her† highlights his absurdist views on life; he believes life contains no purpose, thus he cannot love Marie because loving Marie would give life a purpose, which Meursault does not believe. He simply associates with Marie, because he likes being around her. There is no need for an emotional connection because the physical appearance of her is satisfying enough. Absurdism is not accepted in society therefore it does not accept Meursault. He is an outsider in a world he did not choose. Meursault is a man who does not show his emotions very well, but instead focuses on his physical need; â€Å"I explained to him, however, that my nature was such that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings† (65). Meursault saying â€Å"that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings† emphasizes the simplistic life he live—a life without meaning. Showing emotions would signify a life with purpose, which Meursault does not believe. The Algerian society, in which the novella takes place, does not accept the type of lifestyle Meursault lives and believes every life should be lived with a purpose. Society’s expectations clash with Meursault’s values because his beliefs and outlooks on life are not accepted by society, which sets up the external conflict between the two. In the external conflict between society and the protagonist, Garcia Marquez emphasizes the negative effects society has on a person who goes against the social norm by showing the biased opinions towards the Pedro and Pablo Vicario regarding Santiago’s murder. After brutally stabbing Santiago to death, the Vicario twins sprint to the church to inform the priest of their barbaric act; â€Å"Both were exhausted from the barbarous work of death, and their clothes and arms were soaked and their faces smeared with sweat and still living blood but the priest recalled the surrender as an act of great dignity†(49). The priest calling the murder â€Å"an act of great dignity† shows how, in the Latin American society, family honor is highly valued, no matter how far it is taken. Even though the twins have committed the worst crime imaginable, it is acceptable because it was done in order to protect their family. Pedro and Pablo Vicario are viewed as meeting expectations, as opposed to Santiago, who fails to follow them. When the crime was brought to court, the twins had already won before it even started; â€Å"The lawyer stood by the thesis of the homicide in legitimate defense of honor, which was upheld by the court in good faith, and the twins declared at the end of the trial that they would have done it again a thousand times over for the same reason† (48). The lawyer stating the homicide as a â€Å"legitimate defense of honor† verifies that society values family honor over a man’s life. The court case represents the conflict of society against Santiago and since he goes against society’s values, Santiago ends up dying, indicating society’s victory. The twins do not receive any severe punishment, because of their intentions to protect their family. Through Santiago’s death, Garcia Marquez stresses the harmful effects society can have on someone whose beliefs differ from societal standards. Camus constructs Meursault’s trial to critique society’s lack of acceptance towards the people who do not meet expectations. Throughout the court case, Meursault is quickly judged by the prosecutor due to his actions concerning his mother’s death, â€Å"He said the truth was that I didn’t have a soul and that nothing human, not one of my moral principles that governs men’s hearts, was within my reach† (101). The prosecutor bluntly stating that Meursault â€Å"didn’t have a soul† and is incapable of having â€Å"moral principles that governs men’s hearts† highlights how society does not understand Meursault’s morals and values, thus critiques his character and neglects him. Meursault is looked down upon because of how he acted on the day of Maman’s funeral. He does not express feelings towards his mother’s death because he is an absurdist and believes death is inevitable. Society believes that there is purpose to every societal member’s life, and since Meursault shares absurdist views, he is not accepted by society. To close his final argument against Meursault, the prosecutor states, â€Å" ‘I ask you for this man’s head†¦never as strongly as today have I felt this painful duty made easier, light, clearer by the certain knowledge of a sacred imperative and by the horror I feel when I look into a man’s face and all I see is a monster. † (102). The whole trial is based around Meursault’s character, and him being called â€Å"a monster† stresses the fact that society is unwilling to accept anyone who does not follow the expectations. Meursault does not share the same views that society wants, and as a result, he is rejected because of his moral values. By asking â€Å"for this m an’s head† the prosecutor shows how society neglects the people who share different views and therefore want them out of society completely. Camus uses the trial and Meursault’s crime to emphasize the external conflict of society versus the protagonist, Meursault, to demonstrate how society does not accept people who share different moral values. The negative effects society has on the people who do not meet expectations are emphasized through the external conflict, based of moral values, between the protagonist and society in the Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and The Stranger by Albert Camus. Both novellas show the harmful consequence faced by the protagonist, who do not conform to societal expectations, which evidently resulted in death.

Description And Examples Of Genetically Modified Organisms

Description And Examples Of Genetically Modified Organisms Genetically modified organism (GMO), organism whose genome has been engineered in the laboratory in order to favour the expression of desired physiological traits or the production of desired biological products. GMO has long been the practice to breed select individuals of a species to produce offspring of the desirable traits. It is used in conventional livestock production, crop farming and even pet breeding. In genetic modification, the mechanism used for creating a genetically modified organism is called the recombinant DNA technique. It involves combining strands of DNA from different sources to create a new DNA molecule that has a different combination of genes than that, which occurs naturally. There are some scientific methods included in producing GMOs, such as recombinant DNA technology and reproductive cloning. Recombinant DNA technology involves the insertion of one or more individual genes from an organism of one species into the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) of another. On the other hand, reproductive cloning technology generates offspring that are genetically identical to the parent by the transfer of an entire donor nucleus into the enucleated cytoplasm of a host egg. The first animal produced using this cloning technique was a sheep named Dolly, born in 1996. Since then a number of other animals, including pigs, horses, and dogs, have been generated using reproductive cloning technology. Cisgenic organisms and transgenic organisms are the two classes of genetically modified organisms. Cisgenic organisms are genetically modified organisms that result from the combination of different strands of DNA, which all originates from the same, or very similar, species. The entire DNA used in the process comes from organisms that are very closely related, usually defined as organisms that are able to breed together. Transgenic organisms are genetically modified organisms that include DNA from two different species. Transgenic microorganisms are the most commonly created transgenic organisms. The simple DNA of bacteria lends itself to relatively straightforward recombinant DNA methods. GMOs produced through genetic technologies are playing a very important role in agriculture, medicine, research, and environmental management. Although GMOs have benefited human society, some disadvantages exist. Therefore, the production of GMOs remains a highly controversial topic in some countries. 2. Examples of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) Many of our common crops, such as corn, potatoes, tomatoes, squash, and soybeans, are genetically modified. The majority of these crops were herbicide-resistant as well as insect-resistant, while the others may contain increased nutrients such as vitamins, produce yield earlier, or are able to survive weather extremes. Genetically modified tomatoes were introduced to the market in 1994, becoming the first commercially grown transgenic crop. They have longer shelf-life than the average tomatoes as they produces less of the substance that causes tomatoes to rot, so remains firm and fresh for a long time. In addition, transgenic corn is resistant to commercial herbicides such as glyphosate or glufosinate. It is also insect resistance by producing a poison, which kills harmful insects. Vitamin-enriched corn contains increased amount of vitamin A, vitamin C and folate compared to the normal corn. Another example of GMO is squash. Squash belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family, which includes pumpkins, gourds, zucchini, cucumbers and melons. Genetically modified squash have resistance to the common squash viruses, namely watermelon mosaic virus, zucchini yellow mosaic virus and cucumber mosaic virus. Other than crops, farm animals are also genetically modified to mature in a shorter time period to minimize expenses and increase profits for farmers, as well as to be resistant to certain diseases. For example, genetically modified cow is resistant to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease). One of the examples of increased growth rate in genetically modified animals is fish including salmon and carp. One-year-old salmon fish with growth hormone chimeric gene are able to grow as large as 13 times that of the non-transgenic salmons. Other than that, chicken that can produce eggs containing human proteins has been created by British by transferring DNA into the yolk of a fertilized chicken embryo. The proteins can be harvested and purified for treatment of diseases such as multiple sclerosis or cancer. 3. Advantages of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) In order to ensure an adequate food supply for this booming population is going to be a major challenge in the years to come. GMO can meet this demand due to its special characteristics. Firstly, GMOs are pest resistance. Pests can cause large financial loss to the farmer. Pesticides that generally used by farmers are health hazarding and causes pollution. Pest resistance can reduce the use of pesticides. Thus, GMOs is healthier to eat and bring less pollution to the environment. Second, GMOs are herbicide and disease resistance. The control of weeds actually is not cost-effective because farmers have to spray large amount of herbicides on the weeds and care has to be taken to avoid the herbicides from harming the crops. Hence, GMOs are more cost-effective and easier to control the weeds and less concern is needed to cope with the diseases caused by viruses, fungi and bacteria. Thirdly, GMOs are drought tolerance/salinity tolerance. As the world population grows and more land is utilized for housing instead of food production, farmers will need to grow crops in locations previously unsuited for plant cultivation. Creating plants that can withstand long periods of drought or high salt content in soil and groundwater will help people to grow crops in formerly less arable places. Next, GMOs have better nutritional value. GMOs are incorporated with other additional vitamins and minerals. For example, blindness due to vitamin A deficiency is a common problem in third world countries. Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Institute for Plant Sciences have created a strain of golden rice containing an unusually high content of beta-carotene (vitamin A). Lastly, GMOs are also useful in pharmaceutical field. Medicines and vaccines often are costly to produce and sometimes require special storage conditions not readily available in third world countries. Researchers are working to develop edible vaccines in tomatoes and potatoes. These vaccines will be much easier to ship, store and administer than traditional injectable vaccines. 4. Criticism Against Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) There are several concerns that arise despite the advantages of GMO. The three fields of concern include environmental hazards, human health risks, and economic concerns. One of the environmental hazards consists of gene transfer to non-targeted species. There is a possibility of genetically modified plants cross breeding with weeds to produce weeds to produce a new genetic strain of weeds known as Superweeds. Next concern is the reduced effectiveness of pesticides. The pesticides strains from GMO might be able to pass on to pest after consuming GMO; thus, causing pest to have the same resistant genes to pesticides. These pests are then termed Superpest. The human health risks also posed a major concern among people. The long-term side effects after consuming GMO are still unknown. There is still the question of whether the genetically modified strains are able to pass on to humans after consuming GMO. People are getting worried that the anti-bacterial strain in the GMO might be passed on to humans and cause a disruption in our immunity against certain types of bacteria. There is a possibility that introducing a new gene may create a new allergen or cause an allergic reaction in prone individuals. In addition, there are also economic concerns involved. The cost involved in research and developing of GMOs are high. Many of these GMOs have been patented. Farmers from the third world countries are worried that the price of the patented GMOs would be raised so high that they would not be able to afford it. Furthermore, patent violation has been a growing concern to agribusinesses. Some companies have introduced suicide gene into plants. Suicide gene only allows plants to be viable for one season and the seeds produced after are sterile. Therefore, farmers have to buy fresh seeds every season and this causes an issue to the farmers from the third world countries. 5. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in Malaysia Malaysia is among the 55 nations in favour of adopting international guidelines on labeling of all genetically modified food. Several genetically modified crops containing traits of value have been produced at the experimental stage. At the Malaysia Agricultural Research and Development institute, rice has been successfully modified to resist the Tungro virus and papayas manipulated to resist ring-spot virus infection and to have a prolonged shelf life. Other crop such as pineapples is manipulated to resist black heart, bananas and papayas for delayed ripening and chili for virus resistance. Malaysia is also developing genetically engineered oil palm with a focus on increasing value-added products from the palms such as high oleate and high stearate oil, nutraceuticals (vitamin A and vitamin E) biodiesel and bioplastics. Genetically modifying technology has been in introduced to assist the development of animal husbandry. Besides that, Malaysia has released 6,000 genetically modified mosquitoes designed to combat dengue fever at an uninhabited site in the central state of Pahang. The biotechnology sector faces a challenging future with increasing global competition. Malaysian government will, under the ninth Malaysia plan, implemented the strategic thrust of the national biotechnology policy, with the active participation of private sector. With the recognition as the worlds halal hub, and given importance attached to the biotechnology industry, Malaysia is poised to introduced biotechnology products with GM label and halal certification. 6. Conclusion In the future, there would be a wide range of crops that are resistant to pest, diseases, and herbicides. The crops would also be high in nutrition value to suit our body system and could be designed to accommodate whatever type of climate changes. The future of GMO is still yet far to go. GMO is a giant leap in the agricultural sector. It is now up to us to decide on how GMO should be used, whether for the good of mankind or the destruction of us all.

Theories of Depression

Theories of Depression Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental process (Rathus 4). By looking at mood disorders in psychology we can see that major depression has affected more than 15 million American adults, about 6.7% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in the year 2016 (Anxiety and Depression Associatin of America). There are generally two types of mood disorders; depression and bipolar disorder. Depression mostly involves feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, worthlessness, guilt, and great sadness. According to the DSM-IV, an individual needs to be diagnosed with five or more of nine symptoms in order to be declared depressed. Persistent depressed mood for most of the day, loss of interest or pleasure in all, or almost all activities, significant weight loss or gain due to changes in appetite, sleeping more or less than usual, speeding up or slowing down of physical and emotional reactions, fatigue or loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness or unfolded guilt, reduced ability to concentrate or make meaningful decisions, and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide. Also, the individual must have at least one of the first two symptoms with their five total symptoms to be considered depressed (Rathus 423). According to the DSM-V, there are quite a few types of depression that an individual can experience. The primary example of depression is Major Depression; this can also be known as Chronic Major depression, and or Unipolar Depression. Some symptoms may include persistent anxious, sadness or an empty mood thought the day, feelings of pessimism or hopelessness, irritability and or sudden angry outburst, persistent certain physical symptoms that may not respond to treatments, loss of interest in all or all most all activities that can include sex, decrease in energy, changes in sleeping or eating habits that can result to over or under sleeping and weight loss or gain. Dysthymia is the secondary type of depression mentioned in the DSM-V. This is an overwhelmed state of a chronic state of depression, that was again explained; feelings of a depressed mood for most of the day but must be for at least two years. When an individual experiences dysthymia; he or she may show symptoms of appet ite or weight changes, feelings of fatigue and helplessness, low self-esteem, changes in sleep, and poor ability to concentrate or make meaningful decisions. SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder has also been mentioned in the DSM-V. This is most common in the harsh winters where there is little light for the body to secrete certain hormones for the body to function properly. The best solutions to aid this problem is to have artificial sun light projected to the individual or either go to a tanning salon. The tanning salon also used artificial sunlight to tan the skin or change the pigment within the skin (American Psychiatric Association). Depression has supporting evidence in both sides of the Nature and Nurture Debate. Biologically, the thyroid gland can affect an individuals depression state. Depending of the amount of certain hormones produced in the thyroid gland, a person may show signs of the nine symptoms described by DSM-IV. Some hormones that may affect an individuals depression state are thyroid stimulating hormones, triiodothyronine and thyroxine. Have too much or too little of these hormones may result in a few conditions such as, sleep disturbances, weight loss or gain, trainability or nervousness, fatigue, forgetfulness, inability to tolerate heat or the cold, and dry skin or hair (WebMD).ÂÂ   Also, disorders such as depression and anxiety have the tendency to occur more often in close relatives of affected individuals than they do in the general population. Between 20 and 25 percent of people who is affected with mood disorders have a family member who is affected by a similar disorder. On the side of the nurture debate, the physiocratic view of depression is that same people are prone to depression because they suffered a real or imagined loss of a loved object or person in childhood. Some learning theorists believe that learned helplessness makes people prone to depression. This was demonstrated by a psychologist named Martian Seligman when he conducted an experiment on dogs. The dogs were taught that they were hopeless to escape from electric shock. First, he placed a barrier in the dogs cage to prevent them from leaving when shocks were administered. Later the barrier was removed. However, hen shocks ere again administered, the dogs made no effort to escape. They had learned there was nothing to do to stop the pain (Rathus 424, 425). In the field of psychology, there are many types of theories for different subjects. Depression has many theories which have different implications for the therapy that is used to treat it. Directly and indirectly, the social environment plays a role in depression. Three examples of depression theories are rank theory of depression, Psychodynamic theory of depression and Becks cognitive theory of depression. Theories are used to help treat depression and for an example for each, a female named Sam. The first example used in Wades example would be rank theory depression. Sam made many friends in High School and was well-known throughout school. She would have a major position in the student council and would be the captain and the star player of two major sports teams. As Sam would walk through the hallways, she would find pleasure in being greeted. Sam would be excited over the thought of going to college and having the opportunities of interacting with a new group of people. However , when in college, the idea of instantaneous social acceptance would not be a reality. Starting from the bottom of the social hierarchy, Sam could not begin to understand or accept her new social position and became frustrated and angry; later towards the end of her first semester she would feel depressed. By applying the social rank theory, phycologists may now begin to determine why Sam is depressed. According to Stevens and Price, when organisms are demoted to a lower social rank, they will become depressed in order to accept this fact and reduce their desire to get back on top (Stevens A.). This is an evolutionary function and is designed to avoid conflict between the new and old leaders (Stevens A.). Her treatment should be focused on Rational Emotive Therapy which teaches her that being a leader can be irrational (Wade). The next theory, presented by Sigmoid Freud; is psychodynamic theory of depression which states that depression is a result from anger from imbalanced cognitions and behavior in childhood. To present this theory say for example Sam grew up in a strictly Catholic household that prided on being perfect. Sam has a loving and overprotective mother and a father who overbearing and abusive. However, Sam only displaces positive emotions to her parents and becomes confused on the child. She cannot be angry at her parents because they are essential for survival and she wants to please her parents, but is unable to do so. So instead of being angry at her parents she directs the anger inwards towards herself, this happens unconsciously according to Freud. The treatment based off of the psychodynamic theory would need the Sam to decrease her self-punishment and allow her to understand that it is okay to not be perfect (Wade). Instead of feeling disappointed that she is not perfect, she should ha ve the mind set to work towards perfection; perfection is non-existent. Setting small goals may also help her but only if she allows herself to feel accomplished. Lastly, Becks cognitive theory of depression states that the primary cause of depression is through negative thoughts (Rashmi Nemade). First off, what is cognitive psychology? It is the study of mental processes such as, memory, language, perception, creativity, thinking, attention and problem solving (Wikipedia). Going back to Sam, she thinks that she would never be able to please her parents and that she would be stuck in her social position for the rest of her college career. No matter how much effort Sam put into her activities she would never succeed. Sam is also homosexual and her parents do not accept her because of it. She feels that her future would compromise of either being untrue to herself or defying her parents. There are three thoughts that result in her depression: belief that all efforts are futile, no hope for the future and feeling inadequate. During her therapy sessions, she would be taught to view failures as challenges that are possible to overcome and she needs to know that she is in control of her lifes course (Wade). Sam would have adopted an enchasing attribution to her problems that would enable her to feel hopeful about her efforts and the future (Schneider). References American Psychiatric Association. Diangnostic and statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. DSM-5. 2013. Anxiety and Depression Associatin of America. Anxiety and Depression. August 2016. . Rashmi Nemade, Natalie Staats Reiss, and Mark Dombeck. Cognitive Theories Of Major Depression Aaron Beck. 19 September 2007. . Rathus, Spencer A. Psychology Principles in Practice. Auston: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2003. 4. Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., Coutts, L. M. Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2005. Stevens A., Price J. Evolutionary Psychiatry: A New Beginning. London: Routledge, 2000. Wade, Rebecca Michelle. Theories of Depression. 5 October 2011. . WebMD. Depression, the Thyroid, and Hormones. 2016. . Wikipedia. Cognitive Psychology. 2016. .

HANDS and Programming :: Programming Technology Engineering Essays

HANDS and Programming Humans were never meant to stare days at a time into a screen and type lines of code into a vast expanse of nothingness. Our minds reject such alien methods with surprising ferocity. It is for this reason that programming has taken a more human-centric approach. Programming is adverse to what humans are naturally inclined to do, and because of this a push has been made for a development of programming where the programmer is not doing that which is against his nature. An example of this is HANDS, which is a programming language that is primarily directed towards children, but incorporates the human-centric ideas. (Myers, Pane, Miller) HANDS bases its programming platform on objects, in HANDS there is a figure sitting at a table that can manipulate a stack of cards, the cards being the programming utilities. This approach lessens the tedious editing of line after line of mundane code. In all actuality the programming is more of a game than a task. This appeals to children greatly (of which the language was geared for), but the basic concept could also be applied to the average programmer. The ability to program without using dry code will be a great step forward in human-centric computing. Once the base level of the computer has been conformed to serve the human’s needs, the other parts of computing that base themselves off of programming will be changed as well. It is only a matter of time. (Myers, Pane, Miller) Another type of progressive programming is in the field of Mechanical Engineering. For fifteen years â€Å"Sammie†--which is a computer model of a human--has been incorporating itself into the workplace. Sammie was a vast improvement for the engineers and their approach to the solving of problems. The engineers at one time had to interpret the anthropometric tables themselves, but with Sammie, the work was done for them allowing quicker, more accurate work to be accomplished. This is a type of program that allowed humans to operate their computers in a way that was much more natural to them, which in itself is a major progression from the previous methods that were sadly outdated and used too often. (Morrissey) Michael L. Dertouzos, the director of MIT’s Laboratory for Computer Science wrote The Unfinished Revolution: Human-Centered Computers and What They Can Do for Us.

The Eyes of the Dragon Essays -- essays research papers

â€Å"A kingdom is in turmoil as the old King Roland dies and its worthy successor, Prince Peter, must do battle to claim what is rightly his. Plotting against him is the evil Flagg and his pawn, young Prince Thomas. Yet with every plan there are holes – like Thomas’s terrible secret. And the determined Prince Peter, who is planning a daring escape from his imprisonment†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (very first page)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The sequence of events that occur in the plot go like this: Two sons are born from Queen Sasha and King Roland, Prince Peter then Prince Thomas. Fearing that the Queen Sasha would ruin his plans, Flagg, the several hundred years old magician and royal advisor succeeded in deposing of her when Peter is only five. Eleven years later, after Peter served the King his nightly glass of vine, Flagg came in and killed Roland by offering him a second glass of wine that was poison. Peter was found guilty of the murder, as Flagg had planned, and was sentenced to life imprisonment atop a tower called the Needle by Anders Peyna, the Judge-General. Peter would spend a good five years in the Needle until he decides to make a successful escape, only to encounter Flagg for a final confrontation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thomas, one of the main characters, is a particularly interesting character for several reasons. First the narrator, portrayed as a storyteller, describes Thomas as the weak, vulnerable, sad, confused, lonely younger brother of Prince Peter, who was the heir of...

Education in Mizoram Essay

Education is the most vital process that contributes to all round development of a society. It not only brings about the best in human personality, but can also be the medium of peace and progress of a nation. Education is a critical factor in improving the quality of life of the people, in eradicating poverty and accelerating economic growth. It is the lifeline of any modern day civilization or country. â€Å"Without education, we cannot see beyond ourselves and our narrow surroundings to the reality of global interdependence. Without education, we cannot realize how peoples of other races and religions share the same dreams, the same hopes. Without education, we cannot recognize the university of human aims and aspirations. † – Kofi Annan. Mizoram is among those states where education was first initiated and popularized by the British. Missionaries were responsible for the growth and institutionalization of education in the state. The first educational institution in Mizoram was initiated by the missionaries in the Aizawl region in 1897. The educational scenario in Mizoram today as viewed from the angle of literacy is very promising – at 91. 58% and stands 2nd among the states in India, next only to Kerala, according to the 2011 Census. It is really not a figure we can much be proud of as education should be viewed from the angle of its contribution in improving the quality of life of the people and thereby eradicating poverty and accelerating economic growth, in which Mizoram is lagging behind. The main issue is that the current educational system is not able to produce employable graduates who can compete with graduates from other parts of the country. This results in the increase in unemployed graduates every year. STATE EDUCATION REFORMS COMMISSION-MIZORAM Educational system of any society needs regular changes and reforms in the light of the emerging issues, concerns and challenges. Recently, Mizoram has set up a State Education Reforms Commission with a view to promote qualitative change and reforms in the field of education. The report of the commission is an important guide towards restructuring the education system of Mizoram. The report suggests that in tune with the provisions and spirit  of ‘Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009’, the school education in the state may be readjusted. The national programmes like the SSA need to be implemented in letter and spirit. The report puts particular emphasis on pre-school education and recommends that institutions like SCERT may step in to help the state in this respect with documentation and research. The report emphasizes on the merits and applicability of open and distance learning system in supplementing the conventional and classroom based formal education and also in providing avenues for vocational education in the state. It may be pointed out here that the north-east region in general and Mizoram in particular could be developed as India’s hub for quality handicrafts and forest-based products. The report deals with some of the basic concerns of curriculum. In this connection, extra emphasis may have to be given on science and mathematics education with the application of innovative methods, kits and practices. The report also points out that with a view to achieve all-round development of the students, school curricula should have definite components of health and physical education, art education and work education. The report makes a particular reference to the provisions under Section 29 of the Right to Education Act 2009 and suggests there should not be any public examination for the students from Class I to VIII but with a continuous process of monitoring and comprehensive evaluation. A system of grading replaces the marking system. This system is currently being introduced in most private and govt. schools today with great enthusiasm from the teachers, parents and the students. The report suggests that there is an urgent need to boost enrolment of students in the colleges. As such, it recommended that so of the unviable colleges with poor enrolment records may be merged with other better functioning adjacent colleges. It also suggested that about 20% of the annual budget of higher education may be earmarked for infrastructural and instructional development in the colleges. The issues concerns and challenges of teacher education are also discussed in the report. It suggests that the existing may be strengthened with the help of additional inputs like infrastructural facilities and human resources. The report suggests upward mobility of teachers. It supports the idea of lifting of ban on new recruitments and avoidance of contractual appointment of teachers as far as practicable. The report suggests that the government should encourage professional development of school and college teachers by providing facilities like study leave, research grants, etc. SSA Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is a comprehensive and integrated flagship programme of Government of India to attain Universal Elementary Education (UEE), covering the entire country in a mission mode. SSA has been launched in 2001-2002 in partnership with the State Governments and Local Self Governments. The programme aims to provide useful and relevant, elementary education to all children in the 6 – 14 age group by 2010. It is an initiative to universalize and improve quality of education through decentralized and context specific planning and a process based, time bound implementation strategy. The programme lays emphasis on bridging all gender and social category gaps at elementary education level with time bound objectives. Its intention is clear from the name itself – Sarva meaning all, Shiksha meaning education, and Abhiyan meaning campaign. SSA adopts, â€Å"the bottom-up† process of planning, wherein the felt needs of the served communities and educational needs of learners are well taken care of and the plan fits into the broad framework of SSA. In view of the fact that the desired improvement and sustenance of the improved efficiency level cannot be achieved without the active involvement of the community in the schooling system, SSA has emphasized the involvement of local people and stakeholders in planning. This also ensures reflection of local specificity, which is essential for achieving the goals of the programme. For a brief understanding of the activities of the SSA mission, it is important to highlight some of its objectives – * The programme seeks to open new schools in those habitations which do not have schooling facilities and strengthen existing school infrastructure through provision of additional class rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grants. * Existing schools with inadequate teacher strength are provided with additional teachers, while the capacity of existing teachers is being strengthened by extensive training, grants for developing teaching-learning materials and strengthening of the academic support structure at a cluster, block and district level. * SSA seeks to provide quality elementary education including life skills. SSA has a special focus on girl’s education and children with special needs. SSA also seeks to provide computer education to bridge the digital divide. ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY. The role of the civil society is very important for the realization of universal elementary education. For the success of the SSA Mission, the common people, voluntary organizations, NGOs, etc. has an important role to play. With reference to the Aizawl District, there are the voluntary organizations like the Y. M. A. and M. H. I. P. which had signed an agreement with the SSA for working together for the realization of the goals and objectives of the SSA Mission especially in the areas like identification of Out Of School Children, Children with Special Needs, promotion of Girls Education, and more. The SSA and these voluntary organizations work together in creating awareness and also to change the mindsets of the people against the Children with Special Needs. Also, the Mizoram Presbyterian Church works constructively with the SSA in the promotion of its goals. It is through these organizations that the common people play an important role in the SSA Mission. CONCLUSION Achievements made by Mizoram in the field of elementary education, as a result of intervention of SSA, are very much appreciable. Enrollment and retention rate are appreciably high. Dropout rate and the number of out of school children are also very low as compared to other states of the country. A good number of new school buildings have come up and existing school buildings have improved a lot. Schools have become much more attractive places for children with the installation of outdoor play equipments such as colorful slides, see saw and swings. Children seem to enjoy the Mid Day Meal provided to them on daily basis and poor and working parents are greatly relieved from their burden. Schools with inadequate number of teachers have been equipped with additional teachers. We can, therefore, conclude that quantitative expansion and improvement have been achieved to an appreciable extent in Mizoram due to the intervention of SSA. However, Mizoram has only reached the stage where quantitative expansion and improvement has been achieved. A time has come when Mizoram has to give due attention and priority to qualitative improvement. Improved infrastructural facilities, high rate of enrolment retention, low rate of drop out and out of school children are not the ends but the means to realize the goals of qualitative elementary education. The state government and the SSA authorities should not be complacent with the achievement of only quantitative expansion of elementary education; rather they should take care of aspects which can provide quality education to children in the primary and upper primary schools.

Andrew Carnegie A Captain Of Industry

Many industrialists in the gilded age were on the border line between a robber baron or a captain of industry. Of these industrialists was an extremely success useful business man Andrew Carnegie. Andrew could be argued on both sides of the matter. Carnegie shaped his steel production business to #1 in the world, he sold it a ND used the money towards many charity organizations.I believe that Andrew Carnegie e was a captain of industry because he dedicated his life to helping society with public activities and donated more than 100 million dollars to schools, libraries, an d through several other donations. He not only shaped industrialization but the United s tastes. People believe that Andrew Carnegie was a robber baron because he was untrustworthy, selfish, and left workers in lethal work habitats with low wages .Andrew put his employees in harmful work environments with less than safe equipment NT. Injuries occurred often in Carnegie;s business from exploding iron, flames, and sl ang. It was hard for the workers to be alert and ready with only a couple hours of sleep and a work SSH fit of twelve. Along with the means unsafe work conditions they had to live off low pay. Carnegie also betrayed one of his closest business friends Henry Fricke by three tatting him to sell his stock in the steel business for cheap.Many believe that Andrew Carnegie betrayed not only his workers but his friends. Although many will strongly critic Andrew Carnegie as a Robber Baron see h as one of the greatest captains Of industry. Carnegie used his â€Å"last days† serve Eng others by building libraries, schools, and giving donations. â€Å"Carnegie donated approve imitate 5$ million to the new York public library so it could open several branches†. And even opened up his own university so he could share his knowledge and success the rough future business owners.Carnegie put his men through hell and back so they c loud have the #1 steel business in the world that would soon sell for more than 200 mill Andrew Carnegie did what he had to do so that he could be successful in the gilded age and lose himself in the service of others. Carnegie changed his life for the beet err in his later years. He wrote books on being socially responsible for the wealthy and enjoyed meeting with other professionals from different fields. Carnegie may have lo deed like just another snotty,cocky business owner but really wanted to help others.An drew Carnegie was a captain of industry but also a shaped the industrialization by b Ewing an example of smart work and effective actions. In conclusion, Andrew Carnegie was a brilliant business man who ended with the best steel plant in the world. Although he treated his employees poorly he did it to be successful which worked. Carnegie spent the money from his steel production n to help others be successful too. Andrew Carnegie was captain Of industry and made a difference in peoples lives for the better.