A Thousand Acres vs. King Lear Essay

After watching both films, A Thousand Acres made in 2007 starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange and Jason Robards and King Lear made in 2008 starring Ian McKellen, Frances Barber and Kieran Bew, I decidedly liked A Thousand Acres much better. Mostly for it’s acting, and the modernism of the story line. (Although, a King Lear re-make is in production currently and will star Al Pacino as King Lear, so my opinion is subject to change.) There are many similarities between the two movies. Both movies have a father with three daughters, whom are trying to leave something to them. Larry Cook is deciding how to split his land amongst his daughters, where as King Lear is deciding how to split his kingdom amongst his three daughters. Larry, is Lear. Ginny is Goneral, Rose is Regan and the favourite and youngest daughters, Caroline is Cordelia. Harold Clark, a family friend of Larry, is the portrayal of the Earl of Gloucester, King Lears friend. His two sons are Edgar and Edmund, and Harold’s two son’s are Loren and Jess. Though there is a lacking of the comical aspect in A Thousand Acres, that is put in King Lear, the story lines are still very similar. The viewpoint is similar – coming from the eldest daughter Ginny(A Thousand Acres) and the eldest daughter Goneril(King Lear.) King Lear – divides his kingdom amongst his daughters based on who loves him the most, Larry gives the largest portion of his land to the most loving daughter as well. In each family and storyline, the youngest daughter rebels against their father and ends up leaving, getting nothing from their father. After each father gives up their power/land, they both go mental without it, and both end up in horrible situations that end up with their youngest (and previously most favoured) daughter coming to the rescue. Though there are many similarities, the movies differ in many, many ways. For example: Ginny brings up the fact her father molested her aswell as her sister Rose, where as Goneril feels nothing but love and admiration for her father. The love is portrayed more innocent and wholesome. Ginny shows how  you could hate her father, for the fact he molested her as a child. King Lear is told from a male perspective, Shakespeare didn’t have a female mentality especially not back in that age, not portrayed atleast in this movie. A Thousand Acres is written by a female, and this is why there is a different, more twisted perspective. A female view as well as a males, as she wrote it later on mirroring this novel, she got to put her own ‘two cents’ in. King Lear is a changed man at the end of the movie. He goes from being a horrible tyrant, to a changed man. Larry? Not so much. He remains a dispicable man, solely caring about his possessions, power and money, who’s attitudes and beliefs never change. Because of the fact that the movies are in two different perspectives, they have different themes. Though both hold a theme about the abuse of power, and a theme of abusive family relationships, as well as father daughter relationships – they differ in what the main themes are. A Thousand Acres is about living life to it’s fullest and for yourself, where as, the main theme of King Lear is family and power. Another difference is the fact the town thought that the daughters of Larry were cruel to him, where in fact they weren’t. He was respected by his town. King Lear was also a very respected ruler of his lands. However, nobody suspects King Lear’s daughter’s of being cruel to him.

Interaction and Communication Essay

1. Understand the factors that can affect interaction and communication of individuals with dementia Explain how physical and mental health factors may need to be consider when communicating with an individual who has dementia. There are many factors to consider such as pain, pain can cause misunderstandings as individuals may be in so much discomfort they cannot what they want and how they are feeling. Depression can closely link with dementia and sometimes are mistaken for one another, if a resident has depression they may not want to communicate with other people which may force them to become more secluded and withdrawn unless correct help is introduced. Non-verbal communication may be present with some individuals; this is a factor to be considered. Non-verbal may be in the form of gestures, facial expressions and touch this is important for people with dementia who have lost or are losing their language skills. Mental health factors can be linked to aggression, if a resident can cause harm to self or others changes the way we approach that person. Describe how to support diffe rent communication abilities and needs of an individual with dementia who has sensory impairment. Sensory impairment could come in the form of loss of hearing or sight or partial loss of these factors. Ways to support these impairments could be the environment, background noise could be a factor which makes communication difficult for an individual they may find it hard to hear you talk or unable to communicate. Lighting may affect communication if a pace is too bright or not well lit then it may confuse a resident as they are unable to see and concentrate on what is being said. Is there any other distractions around that could confuse the service user such as music or activities full concentration may be needed. Sensory impairment may require the use of non verbal communication, gestures or facial expressions may help with what is being said. Other non-verbal may be the use of pictures or photographs to convey questions. If a person is deaf and contracted this at an early age they may need the use of sign language or if English s not a first language the use of an interpreter. W hen talking to someone who is impaired and living with dementia we must talk at a slower pace, used short simple sentences and speak clearly. 2.be able to  communicate with an individual with dementia using a range of verbal and non-verbal techniques. Read more:  Role of Communication and Interactions With Individuals Who Have Dementia Analyse ways of responding to behaviour of an individual with dementia, taking account of the abilities and needs of the individual, carers and others. All service users are individual and use different ways to communicate, carers must understand these different methods and try their best to help, speak and ask questions in a way that individual living with dementia will understand, this may be through appropriate physical contact for reassurance or using non verbal gestures. Mr. R is a resident living with dementia, although Mr. R is on end of life care he is very strong and can have periods of aggression. Sometimes when trying to communicate Mr. R can become frustrated as due to his progression of dementia he has slurred speech and cannot form full sentences. This frustration can turn into violence towards others when Mr. R feels he is not being understood, carers use short sentences and allow Mr. R time for him to make choices, we use non verbal communication, pictures and point t o objects. If Mr. R does become aggressive it’s the carers duty to step away from the situation, this is safe for the resident not to cause harm to themselves, carers and others around. Be able to use positive interaction approaches with individuals with dementia. Explain the differences between a reality orientation approach to interaction and a validation approach. Reality orientation approach technique to help manage and improve cognition and memory, relearning to improve response to gain confidence, the theory uses time, venue, place, people and objects as the basis, if individuals know all these things on one particular interaction they will be able to understand what they are doing and gain confidence about themselves. Aids come in the form of big clock, large calendars, name tags ect. For example if a resident is greeted and unable to remember where they are and what they are doing, if this is explained and validated by names, places and times they will be relieved and settled. If that resident using this approach looks at the clock in the morning this may trigger the decision to get up, wash and dress for breakfast as this is what they would usually do at that time. Validation therapy is instead of bringing a person back to that realit y of dates and times is to step in to their reality to comfort and reduce anxiety. Mr. P every morning asks about her husband, when she realise her husband has passed she becomes very upset and unsettled for  the whole day and will not eat meals, stepping into Mrs. P’s reality as she thinks he is at work reduces her anxiety, improves eating habits, reduces conflicts and improves self esteem.

The Arab charter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Arab charter - Essay Example The first Arab Charter was adopted in 1994, but none of the states ratified the charter thus leading to amendments that created the Arab Charter of 2004 in Arab summit in Tunis in 2004. The substantial amendments were done to confirm with the international human rights law on issues such as death penalty, rights of non-citizens and freedoms of expression (Weissbrodt and Vega, 2007). The Arab Charter 2004 came in to force on 16th March 2008 after the ratification of the seventh member state of the Arab league. Article 45 of the Arab Charter establishes the Arab Human rights committee that consists of seven independent member state nationals who are tasked with the supervision of the implementation of the charter and reporting on the progress that each member state has undertaken in giving effect to the rights and freedoms safeguarded by the Arab Charter (Shelton & Wright-Carozza, 2013). The final Arab charter is consistent with European Human rights as reflected in the treaties and op inions of UN experts on human rights (Weissbrodt and Vega, 2007). ... Accordingly, the charter reaffirms the principles of United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations International covenants on political, social and cultural rights and Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (Shelton & Wright-Carozza, 2013). The joint states in Arab charter include the 22 Arab countries, but only 11 have ratified to safeguard the human rights and freedoms guaranteed by the charter. The states that have ratified the charter include Jordan, Algeria, Syria, Palestine, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Libya (Shelton & Wright-Carozza, 2013). Other member states of the League of Arab nations include Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Djibouti, Algeria, Republic of Sudan, Kingdom of Morocco, Egypt, Iraq, the Sultanate of Oman , Libya, Mauritania and Republic of Yemen (Weissbrodt and Vega, 2007). Article 1 of the Arab Charter recognises human rights as a national concern for Arab states and aims at improving human lives in accordance with human values. The Article seeks to ensure citizens have a sense of the national identity, and share common interests with the spirit of brotherhood, tolerance and universal principles of human rights. Article 1 (d) recognises that human rights are indivisible, interrelated and interdependent as outlined by the United Nations Declaration of universal international human rights charter. Article 2 grants the citizens the right to self-determination, right to sovereignty and right to be free from all forms of racism or Zionism, which constitutes impediment to enjoyment of the fundamental human dignity (Shelton & Wright-Carozza, 2013). The Charter is

Ethical Decision Making and Leadership as Portrayed in the End of the Essay

Ethical Decision Making and Leadership as Portrayed in the End of the Line Film - Essay Example This study looks into the film â€Å"End of the Line, a documentary film directed by Rupert Murray that focuses on the implications of overfishing across the world. The film is portraying how fishing in modern times is leading to ocean ecosystems destruction. The film shows that the current consumption of fish in the world is very high thereby resulting to overfishing. It shows the fishing communities in the Mediterranean who are long- established being endangered. There is also evidence that the young fishermen in Senegal can no longer compete with the international fleets whose technology is more advanced, hence depriving them the ability to feed their families. Additionally, it reveals that Newfoundland is almost running out of cod despite its fish- rich waters attracting legions of migrants in the past. Apart from these parts of the globe, the film also reveals how overfishing has caused local disparities and corporate iniquities in China, Japan, Malta, and Gibraltar. The film n ot only examines the likely adverse consequences of overfishing to the climate, marine life, and human livelihoods, but also provides potential remedies to these consequences such as reducing the number of fishing fleets. According to Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO], the fishing industry is a significant contributor to the world economy, particularly with regard to human food consumption and provision of input factors in some industrial processes. Besides, the industry is a source of livelihood to over 600 million people across the world. Sutherland and Canwell (2011, p. 28) note, fishing industry has three major sectors. The first one is the commercial sector that involves individuals and enterprises that are associated with aquaculture resources and transformations of these resources into sale products. The second sector is recreational sector that is made up of individuals and enterprises that use fishing for purposes of sport or recreation. The third sector is the tradit ional sector that comprises individuals and enterprises that use or derive fisheries resources in accordance with their respective traditions (McGowan, 2003, p. 35). Unfortunately, as it can be seen from the movie, overfishing threatens all these sectors of fishing industry. Ethical Issues in Fishing Industry Fishing industry and the policies that govern it has a wide impact to the living conditions of significant number of people in the world. Fishing is a very crucial source of employment, social and economic benefits, food, and foundation of traditions and cultures (Barnett, 2006, p. 116). Despite the realization that fisheries resources can be depleted, these resources were treated as though they are inexhaustible. However, the recent increase in demand of fish and fish products across the world has brought to light the need to consider how fisheries resources are treated (Vasil'ev, 2011, p. 30). Most expert opinions and researches have indicated that fisheries resources cannot be sustainable in the long run (Kaiser & Forsberg, 2001, p. 191). Out of these facts, ethical issues in fisheries have arisen and they relate to ecosystem and human wellbeing. Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO] (2005) has discussed the right to food, overfishing, ecosystem degradation, poverty as the main ethical issues facing fishing industry. i) Right to Food The first ethical issue in fisheries as noted by FAO is the right to food. FAO observes that fish is a major source of both nutrition and livelihood to millions of poorest people in the world (FAO, 2005, p. 9). Responding to wide spread and persistent hunger, the 1996 Rome Declaration on World Food Security and the World Food Summit Plan of Action reiterated the right of every person to sufficient food and the basic right to be free from hunger as stipulated in the

The reasons why the British, from Parliament to the Expeditionary Essay

The reasons why the British, from Parliament to the Expeditionary Forces, were defeated by a less trained and weaker American army in the American Revolutionary - Essay Example How could a group of colonies spread out over a vast region with no central government or treasury and an army that was inadequately trained and equipped possibly defeat the British who were the most powerful military force at that time? Britain had ruled over the thirteen colonies in America for more than 200 years prior to the Revolution. By the beginning of the Revolution, the wars against France fought on both sides of the Atlantic had burdened Britain with a massive national debt. To ease the national debt, Parliament imposed taxes on the colonists believing it only fair that they bear part of the expenses incurred by the British military in protecting them from Indian attacks and French invasions. The Stamp Act taxed paper goods sent to the colonies. It was the first of these laws while, with the tea tax, was one of the most infamous of these laws. The colonists thought taxation without representation in the British government to be unjust and openly protested these laws which led to hostilities between British troops and the Massachusetts Minutemen in 1775. This and other conflicts with the ‘Red Coats’ led to colonists forming the Continental Congress which immediately created the Continental Arm y and in 1776, signed the Declaration of Independence (The American Revolution, 2006). The Americans, outmatched by more than three-to-one, were predictably defeated in the majority of battles that occurred during the war’s first year. However, the Americans’ fortune began to change following the victories at Saratoga and Germantown in 1777. These important first triumphs gave increased credibility to what had previously been widely considered as an unorganized, minor uprising certain to be vanquished by the mighty British army. By 1778, France had become convinced that Britain stood the chance of being defeated. Wanting nothing more than this,

Discuss the theory of Optimal Capital Structure Essay

Discuss the theory of Optimal Capital Structure - Essay Example It gives the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC). If the firm needs to have the lowest WACC, it should design its capital structure in such a way that the debt equity ratio is high which would bring down the WACC. The Optimal Capital Structure is that mix of debt and equity that maximizes the firm’s value or minimizes the cost of capital. There is no standard mix of debt and equity that maximizes the firm’s value, but each firm should strike a balance between risk and return thereby maximizing the share price, depending on its size and financial position. 1) If the firm size is small, it is difficult to make regular principal and interest payments in the event of shortages in generating substantial cash flow. Such firms face heavy fines and penalties by the creditors. Trade-off Theory: Maximum debt can be raised when the share price is at its maximum. If the firm raises any more debt, the share price will decline. The point where share price is maximum, it is the trade-off point; risk and return are both at their peaks. Any change would cause a disbalance in the position of risk and return. The maximum risk involved is that of bankruptcy and the maximum return is the maximum value of the shares. Below is a graph that depicts the trade-off between risk and return. Signaling Theory: This theory states that when the firm issues bonds for debt financing, it sends out a positive signal in the market. The cost of borrowing will be low as compared to the return the firm will get by putting money in that project. When the firm issues shares for equity financing, it gives out a negative signal in the market because it reflects the credibility of the company and insinuates that the firm cannot raise finance by borrowing from the market and that it is in dire need of funds. 5) Future flexibility. The firm should leave room for maneuvering and have flexibility in the capital structure

Byron Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Byron - Essay Example 94 He closely examined the nature of leaves and flowers (that is nature)/And he would try to find meaning in the wind; and then/He fantasized about wood nymphs and tree spirits,/And the nature of man and woman (goddesses coming down to man)/By doing this he lost all track of time/ And then she thought of how old Don Alfonso was (fifty years!):/I wish he hadn't been so old, /Because that age isn't very appealing,/The appeal of such an age,/Doesn't work with love, despite the money she could gain. 113 It became dark and the yellow moon rose:/This moon represented the evil of their desires;/People who considered who chaste were wrong,/Of this particular label, there isn't a day,/Not even the longest day, not even the twenty-first of June,/Can contain the amount of wickedness/That only three hours of moonlit seduction-/However she appears so innocent (it is a lie)! 114 At that hour of night the silence is dangerous for morality,/The stillness allows for inner desires /To be released, without any power,/That can call someone back to control themselves;/The silver light gave the background a certain holiness,/It gives the landscape a certain beauty and softness,/This

Gustave Mahler Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gustave Mahler - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that Gustav Mahler was a romantic Australian composer born in eastern Bohemia; on July 7, 1860.   He came from a humble background.   Mahler’s grandmother was a street peddler. The composer’s family was part of a Germany-speaking minority among the Bohemians. The present research has identified that in 1860, Mahler’s family moved to a town called Iglau. Mahler’s father became a prominent businessperson in the new town. Mahler was introduced into music through â€Å"street songs, dance tunes, folk melodies and the trumpet calls and marches† of the local military band. As young as four years old, Mahler discovered his grandparent’s piano which he adopted immediately. He developed skills immediately and gave his first public performance when he was ten years old. Academically the teachers said he was slow, and most of the time absent-minded. Even after being transferred, he made no improvement lead ing to his return to the town of Iglau. He suffered the loss of his younger brother Ernst in 1874, who passed on after a long illness. He sought music to express his feelings. Josef Steiner was the friend that assisted him to work on an opera. Mahler’s father was supportive of his son’s music ambitions and talent, thus he agreed to take him to Vienna conservatory where he auditioned and was admitted in 1875-1876. He was a good pianist and he won a number of awards in his first two years.... During the summer of 1880, Mahler took his first professional directing job in a small wooden theatre in the spa town of bad hall, south of Linz. Mahler was reluctant on taking the job, but he was advised that he would work his way up by beginning in small jobs. In 1881, he was involved at the â€Å"landestheater† in Laibach, whereby the small but inventive company was ready to attempt work that is more promising (Spencer 12). Through the company, Mahler was able to conduct his first full-scale opera. After completion of his six-month appointment, Mahler moved back to Vienna and was employed as a part-time chorus master at Vienna Carltheater. In 1883, Mahler became a conductor at a run down theatre in olmutz. Later he composed â€Å"from the moment I crossed the threshold of the olmutz theatre I felt like one awaiting the wrath of God† (Moricz 360). At the beginning, he had poor relations with the orchestra, despite the poor associations, he brought five new operas to t he theatre that included Bizet’s Carmen and was received well with the press people who were previously hostile. He became the theatre â€Å"musical and choral director† from august of 1883. Mahler struggled to work in different places until his breakthrough in 1888 (Whitall 90). He became famous, and a great composer at the time, in November of 1901 he met Alma Schindler . They got married the following year, and they had two daughters Maria born in 1902 and Anna born in 1904. Although their marriage was faced with a lot of criticisms, they made it work. In 1907, they were faced with a tragedy after they returned from Maiernigg. Both daughters fell sick after their return with â€Å"scarlet fever and diphtheria† (Whitall 91). Anna

Mandatory Vs. Voluntary Vaccincations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mandatory Vs. Voluntary Vaccincations - Essay Example It is therefore important for those concerned to understand the pros and cons of both sides of the issue. There are always a number of factors to consider in both cases and these factors must be presented in the most authoritative and methodical manner for their decision making benefit. Perisic and Bauch (2009) have advocated the point of view of certain theorists when it comes to voluntary vaccination. It is their belief that â€Å"it should be difficult or impossible to eradicate a vaccine-preventable disease under voluntary vaccination: Herd immunity implies that the individual incentive to vaccinate disappears at high coverage levels. â€Å" Therefore they believe that mandatory vaccinations will not have any positive effect on the health of the individual child. Their theory, is based on historical accounts of the declining effectiveness of vaccines such as the MMR vaccine and whole-cell pertussis vaccine. Although there is some accuracy to their belief, Perisic and Bauch (200 9) based their reports on studies that were conducted in a controlled environment for children such as small communities where their exposure to air borne illness and the like can be controlled and prevented. However, there are also certain theorists who believe the opposite is also true. Meaning that on a large scale setting, leaving a child unprotected / non-vaccinated puts himself and the children around him at risk of infection and creates a network and sleeper carriers in the process. Once of the theorists who believe the opposite of Persic and Bauch is Sullivan (2010) who has tried to get healthcare workers across the country vaccinated against the most common viruses in order to protect the people around them and the people they care for. It is the belief of Sullivan (2010) that this lack of mandatory vaccination has led to the creation of adult viruses carriers and allowing the mutation of viruses along the way which can easily infect both the young and old due to the exposu re that the health care workers have on the job. Proponents of voluntary vaccinations claim that it is useless to get vaccinated because the government and our scientists continue to churn out imperfect vaccines this is according to Wu and Wang (2011). Considering that there have been instances wherein and individual's immune systems fails to absorb and fight off the controlled virus via vaccination, those who support mandatory vaccination believe that it is better to be vaccinated most of the time. They base their argument on what they consider to be a fact. That the government would have put a stop to the vaccination development sector eons ago. The debate on whether to allow mandatory of voluntary vaccinations reminds me of the same debate raging on within the HIV community. Even though the public realizes how easily the HIV virus can be transmitted from the mother to the child in the womb, HIV positive women still refuse mandatory HIV testing during pregnancy (Armstrong, 2008). The mandatory versus voluntary HIV testing procedure during pregnancy is still a hotly debated issue in our modern times. On the vaccination front, the major supporters of the voluntary vaccination issue, namely the concerned parents, add that their beliefs pertaining to

Globalization as an ingrained culture of capitalism Essay

Globalization as an ingrained culture of capitalism - Essay Example The paper tells that through years globalization has raised doubts in our minds. There has been a constant debate on the pros and cons of globalization. Many have debated this phenomenon is a result of the telecommunication boom leading to turning the world into a global village. With a growing sense of unease among many of us, the current trends in global capitalism and global society are being constantly reviewed and reiterated. It has been argued by many theorists that the characteristic aspect of the globalized economy is the market economy. However, some have maintained that it is not so much market economy but capitalism that characterizes today’s time. Trying to understand the rules that guided capitalism in earlier days will help to understand the new form of capitalism, â€Å"globalization†, today. Eighteenth-century definition of capitalism refers to an economic and social regime in which the benefits and ownership of productive assets were appropriated by the minority to the exclusion of the many. The driving force was money which was used to make more money by any means available to those who already have a great deal. Capitalism has not been concerned with the efficient allocation of resources to meet the needs of common man thus resulting in inequality and deprivation mostly. The ideal of capitalism is a borderless global economy in which money and goods can be moved freely in search of short-term maximum profits without regard to the consequence for people, communities, and nature.  

The Things They Carried Essay Example for Free

The Things They Carried Essay 1. Jimmy’s love for Martha is in a very real and literal sense in his mind. This love was constructed in part from a brief encounter they had in the past and established and elaborated on, by his loneliness and battle fatigue brought on by the war. I believe he has constructed this relationship with her because of this. It’s not entirely clear in the story if his love is genuine or merely a catalyst or distraction to transport him away from the world he now lives in, where there is no love or morality only death, pain, and destruction. 2. Jimmy seems to mostly think of Martha when he is feeling alone, when things have become still, or the war has become too much and he has to escape. This is why when his platoon member is in the tunnel, he thinks of her because he knows the place he is in and the danger he could face. It all becomes too much and Jimmy needs to escape for a time. 3. Ted Lavender’s death could be described as a result of carelessness. Maybe in the story he is described of being fearful to the point he was self medicating to numb himself to the reality that surrounded him. On the other hand later in the story the author eliminated the fact of â€Å"in times of war men will sometimes do anything escape†, maybe in some respect Ted was inviting death as means of relief. 4. I believe Jimmy uses this excuse to justify actions and behavior of ordinary men and sometimes even boy’s place an extraordinary and incredibly stressful situations. It excuses him because he falls into the same category of everyone else in the same situation. There are times when men regardless of differences can come together because they all understand a common thread. On the other hand Jimmy’s ranking of Lieutenant places him in a position of leadership and the tie that holds and protects the lives of other and must disassociate himself from excuses to do this. 5. The soldiers make jokes about the war to minimalize what is happening. If you can laugh about something it cannot be that bad. It is also a form of comradely and escapes. 6. The author uses and develops the idea and descriptions of weights in this story to convey to the reader the burden both literal and psychological the soldiers had to endure. Because the author goes into such great detail illustrating to the reader you can almost feel it upon yourself. 7. Jimmy sacrifices his heart at first for one sided love then his duty as a leader and protector of his men. I think he does this because he is human and looking for the same thing everyone else is, a sense of home and normalcy. 8. Jimmy changes in the end of the story by letting go of something that had been weighting him down, pretends to see the love of someone who did not live him back, and has accepted the fact of this situation. It seems he has lost his escape in loving Martha but has gained a sense of closure and will probably help him save his sanity and allow him to be a better soldier and leader. 9. I think the war will seem more real to jimmy now because he is totally immersed in it. He no longer has that place he can go to, to escape. Thinking of Martha and pleasant things and times surrounding her allowed him to be saved from the everyday stresses tragedies, dehumanization’s, and hell of the world of war all around him.

Sexuality and Sexual Health of Canadian Adolescents

Sexuality and Sexual Health of Canadian Adolescents Argi Dankhara Is sexual health of Canadian adolescents better than yesterday, or is it safe for tomorrow? Sexual health is a situation of physical, mental and social wellbeing about sexuality. An active and respectful approach to sexual relationship is necessary, as well as the possibility of safe and nonviolent sexual experience over the violent sexual experience. In past few years, sexual harassment has increased with the enormous high ratio. Rape, forced sex, sexual abuse, unwanted comments are the problems faced by todays generation, which directly affects sexual health. There is a widening report of sexual acts like masturbatory displays via webcams and oral sex games that are a part of what teenagers regularly do in their sexual lives (Stepp, 1999; Wilson, 2004). Sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and Chlamydia are growing threat to the sexual and reproductive health of youth. This essay review the comparison of sexual health yesterday and today, sexual health trends, evidence and challe nges faced for supporting the sexual of young people in Canada. Adolescents in recent ten years to earlier generations, significant changes in adolescents were found between 1950s and 1960s. National Longitudinal Survey of children and Youth (NLSCY) and National population health survey (NPHS) are two national surveys using comparable research methodologies to find data conducted nationally (Boyce, 2004). NLSCY deals with research on recent adolescents while NPHS does research on data for adolescents in earlier generations. The question arise that what should be the legal age for sexual intercourse? Research says intercourse occurs between the ages of 16 to 18 years. Age of sexual intercourse clearly states that teens are not initiating sex at an early age, rather to some extent late than their parents generation. Casual approach to sex, oral sex or sex over the internet has become common activity among todays teens. The best way to assess the casualness of adolescents sexual encounters is to consider how many numbers of partners they have. If an individual has more partners, they are likely to be casual in their sex life. It is important to remember that since last 30 to 40 years, oral sex has been a normative aspect. The study says that 15-25% adolescents of US and Canada in 1970s had oral sexual intercourse (for the US see: DeLamater MacCorquadle, 1979; for Canada see: Boyce et al., 2003; Gillis, 2005; Herold Way, 1985; Warren King, 1994). Something new that has been added in todays generation is role played by communication technologies such as cell phones the internet. In doctoral research, Symlie (2008) found that teens with young age living in urban or rural areas rely on mobile phones to connect with each other to have oral sex and maintain relationships, while more urban adolescents prefer face-to-face contact. Sexual health trends in todays era have taken a drastic change. Pregnancy and parenting, sexually transmitted infections, sexual abuse, and Internet concerns are increasing day by day. Starting with pregnancy and parenting which is the most important factor affected by sexual intercourse. The majority of Canadian adolescents take their responsibility for sexual life and problems like unwanted pregnancy and parenting. Contraception, using condoms and abortions are the issues related to sexual health. Delaying pregnancy and postponing parenthood, teens today benefit from changes that were just beginning to be realized in the 1970s 80s such as legal access to contraception and abortion (Pancham Dunn, 2007). The percentage of sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and Chlamydia are increasing day by day. Rayes rose steadily from 15 to 19 and 20 to 24 years old from 1997-2004. Chlamydia rates increased with a decline in teenage pregnancy rates and grown in teen condom use. HPV, herpes, simplex virus, and Chlamydia are common in the teen population, and it can be prevented by giving education on sexual health and by providing a free workshop on medication necessary for the disease. Sexual abuse is also an element of sexual health. Sexual health within the domain of criminal justice system. Sexual harassment like the forced sex and unwanted sexual comments like are experienced by a majority of female and gay adolescents of varying ages, which is the most dominant form of sexual abuse. Women are more victims of all forms of sexual assault. Internet concerns like chat rooms social networking sites have become more popular among teens. Parents are advised to gaze after internet use, and teens are cautioned against providing personal information on social networking sites. Research of police and service providers tell us that, not all types of sexual violence or abuse, majority of cases are reported, which increases the danger of sexual violence (Wolak, Finkelhor, Mitc hell, Ybarra, 2008). Bill C-22 law received Royal Assent on May 1, 2008, and changed the age of sexual intercourse from 14 to 16 years. (Discussing see wrong, 2007). The Central challenge for policy makers is deciding ways to promote and develop educational and health services and environments that provoke sexual health and well-being of Canadian adolescents not only today but for future too. Canada has a distinctive and multicultural profile. Canada is the second country after Australia to have a maximum number of immigrants every year. The ratio of immigrants is increasing every year. It is difficult and challenging for the immigrants to adapt the change in sexual scene they experience in a new country. Every country, while every individual has a different perception on sexual talk or sexual life. The graph below shows the age group of Canadian adolescents who are physically active in leisure time and have sex in their leisure time. Red color demonstrates the percentage of female while; blue color depicts male. Male between the ages of 12 to 17 has a high ratio of having sex. While people between the age of 18 to 24 are men with a high ratio of leisure time sex. Even at the age of 65 or above, there are 50% of senior citizens having sex. Average of all the age group 45% of men and 46.8% female have sex, which shows that sexual intercourse in todays era is familiar. Thus, we can conclude that sexual health of Canadian adolescents is fare comparing to earlier generations. Challenges remain, like unwanted pregnancies, sequelae of SIT, physical violence, increasing rate and changing social sexual and relationship structures are the challenges or problems faced by todays adolescents of Canada. Rather not only, Canada but also these are some fundamental problems encountered by the adolescents over the world. Sexual health can only be improved by giving people education about its effects and causes and by changing the perception of individuals towards sex, which help in reducing the percentage of violent sex. Sexual health of Canadians can be modified by taking other country examples in consideration, which are better than Canada in sexual health matters. (See Maticka- Tyndale, 2001). References Stepp, L.S. (July 8, 1999). Unsettling new fad alarms parents. Washington post. Jul 8, 1999. Boyce, 2004; Boyce, Doherty, Fortin, MacKinnon, 2003; McCreary Centre Society, 2004; Rotermann, 2008; Saewyc, Taylor, Homma, Ogilvie, 2008; Tonkin, Murphy, Lee, Saewyc, and the McCreary Center society, 2005. Wilson, S. (2004). Good girls do. Globe and Mail. 1 February 2004. Center society, 2005. DeLamater MacCorquadle, 1979; for Canada see: Boyce et al., 2003; Gillis, 2005; Herold Way, 1985; Warren King, 1994). Symlie, L. (2008). The University of Windsor. Maticka- Tyndale, E., Mckayb, A., Barret, M. (2001). Teenage sexual and reproductive behavior in developed countries: Country Report for Canada. Occasional Report No. 4. New York, NY: Alan Guttmacher Institute. Appendix Canadian Community Health Survey, 2008   Ã‚  

Debate on Victims Rights in Criminal Justice System

Debate on Victims Rights in Criminal Justice System â€Å"We need to re balance the system so that it delivers real justice for victims and the wider community† (David Blunkett, 2002). Critically assess the current debate regarding victims rights. INTRODUCTION CMS Funding was announced in June 1999 to â€Å"streamline the criminal justice system†(Chief Secretary, Alan Milburn, www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/newsroom, 1999), with a Ministerial Priority on Policing established (Rt Hon. Jack Straw, http://news.bbc.co.uk, 1999, March, 25). Following the publication of the Auld Report (www.criminal-courts-review.org.uk, 2001, September) a Government White Paper was published advocating a ‘joined up system’, echoing the â€Å"joined up Government in action† approach promoted by the Home Secretary in 1999 (Rt Hon. Jack Straw http://news.bbc.co.uk, 1999, March, 25). The remit of this White Paper was to identify a ‘clear focus on fighting and reducing crime’(Justice for All, HMSO, http://www.cjsonline.gov.uk, 2002, July). The rule of law should represent the ideal of a universal goodness exhibiting â€Å"no negative impact on any given society, and no negative characteristics that could apply to its nature’, likening it to Bentham’s ‘good in-and-of-itself’† according to Thompson (Thompson, 1975, Page 266). Unfortunately, it appears to be this concept that has swung too far in the favour of society’s miscreants to the detriment of their victims and the communities in which these offenders live, prompting the current debate on victims’ rights and David Blunkett’s intentions to re-address â€Å"the balance to deliver real justice to victims and the wider community† (Blunkett www.policesupers.com/police, 2002, July). DISCUSSION Whilst all people might be considered equal according to classicist precepts, with governments created by those individuals to protect the people’s rights through the recognition of a social contract (McCoubrey and White, 1999, Page 60 – 84), David Blunkett singles out a specific sector of society by suggesting that: â€Å"nearly three quarters of street crime offenders are under 17 and a hard core five per cent of juveniles are responsible for 60 per cent of offences for their age group† (Blunkett, www.publications.parliament.uk, 2002, November, 14) Clearly, despite the introduction of innumerable projects designed to re-integrate offenders back into their communities, the growth in lawless behaviour has not diminished. Many measures to restrain unacceptable behaviour are now available, amongst which are Youth Offending Teams, Final Warning Schemes, Detention and Training Orders, Acceptable Behaviour Programmes, Parenting Orders, Reparation Orders and Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (Blunkett, www.publications.parliament.uk, 2002, November, 14) although, retrospectively, little appears to have improved. In December 2003 Lord Falconer of Thoroton emphasised that this: â€Å"crime and anti-social behaviour corrupts communities, eating away at the fabric of the way we all want to live our lives† (Lord Falconer, www.dca.gov.uk2003, December 3). An increasing lack of morality appears to be more prevalent within modern society, with Chief Superintendent of Greater Manchester Police describing these amoral youths as â€Å"feral† (The Times Newspaper, 2005, May, 18). Despite all the legislation at the disposal of the criminal justice system, however, the ‘yob culture’ appears to be endemic, with the vulnerable in society more at risk of becoming victims than ever before. The media report lurid headlines on a daily basis: â€Å"Beaten to death on his doorstep† (Daily Mail, 2005, May 21); â€Å"Beaten up on Video Phone† (Daily Mail, 20/05/05); â€Å"Hoody ban eases shoppers’ fear† (Daily Mail, 20/05/05, page 8). The edition on May 19th 2005 reported how ‘thugs attack a funeral car’ by launching an 8 foot length of wood through the windscreen of the car travelling immediately behind the hearse. It has been reported that â€Å"†¦some forces are not making good use of legislation and tackling the imitation firearm problem† (Green, Deputy Chief Constable, Greater Manchester in Daily Mail, 20/05/05, Page 8) when children, some as young as 13, routinely carry replica BB guns, which can cause serious injury to targets up to 30 yards away, around the streets. In 2002 the Home Secretary intended: â€Å"to deliver real justice to victims and the wider community and strike a fair balance between the rights of victims and the accused† (Blunkett, www.policesupers.com, July 17). Evidence of this can be seen in the introduction of Problem Orientated Policing which incorporates community initiatives, together with a number of other stakeholders within the criminal justice system and aims to introduce additional improvements to the youth justice system and establish â€Å"more effective justice for victims and the wider community† through â€Å"more effective punishment and rehabilitation..†.(Leigh, Read and Tilley, 1996). Protecting the community should be at â€Å"the heart of a stable and civilised society† and these changes to the criminal justice system should be in accordance to society’s needs and expectations (Lord Chancellor, www.policesupers.com, 2002, July, 17). An example of which can be seen in South Africa which incorporates the ethos of restorative justice [known as ‘Zwelethemba’] with the essence of maintaining peace in the community (Roche, 2004: 85). Money received from this programme is contributed back into the community to reduce poverty and unemployment and attempt to remove the need for ‘draconian repressive measures’ (Roche, 2004: 231). Blakemore suggests that social policy should evaluate how policies impact on peoples’ lives (Blakemore, 1998: 5). Acceptable behaviour is enforced through law and morality which is maintained through rules and principles: â€Å"the cement of society† (Devlin cited in Elliott and Quinn, 1998: 449). This ‘cement’ illustrates legal moralism that has been identified as ‘socially significant’ (Cotterrell, 1989: 1), providing an analysis of law’s conceptual structures (1989, Page 3) and emphasising the importance of shared values, ultimately influencing individuals’ behaviour (Pampel, 2000: 57) a decline, as the result of organic solidarity differentiating collective conscience, creating an environment for an increase in crime. This philosophy of inter-related support has been recognised as structural functionalism which, taken to extremes, acknowledges that poverty and crime are normal and natural functions within any healthy society ( Pampel, 2000, Page 75). The Legal Action Group, meanwhile, suggest that â€Å"victims’ and defendants’ rights are mutually incompatible† (Cape, 2004) and suggest that victims rights are not being catered for; their rights are neither acknowledged nor respected. However, they also ascertain that, in making it easier to convict defendants is not in the best interests of the victims. The fragility between rights to security and freedom and the obligation to protect communities, reflects a natural result of shared morality without which â€Å"rules would lack meaning† (Pampel, 2000, Page 67). This factor was clearly recognised by David Blunkett who acknowledged â€Å"†¦the public felt that the system had swung too far in favour of the accused† (Criminal Justice Conference, www.cjsonline.org.uk, 2002, June, 19). However, this intensely deep-rooted problem of lawlessness within communities cannot be solved by the police alone. Henham observes that this can only be achieved through: â€Å"disregard of formal legal controls which prove an obstacle to the production of a high conviction rate† although he acknowledges that â€Å"due process† maintains an â€Å"adherence to courtroom procedure and protection of the individual† (Henham, 1998, Page 592). Pampel observes that â€Å"the problems of society become most visible when change occurs, and recent decades have brought immense social and economic changes† (Pampel, 2000: 52). Durkheim, meanwhile, noted that society works best when it exercises control over individuals (Pampel, 2000: 72). Laws are intended to regulate relationships with the result that conflict is avoided, enabling government and education to progress. With the intention of better justice through more consistent sentencing, the White Paper preceding the Criminal Justice Act 1991 suggested that â€Å"convicted criminals get their just deserts† (HMSO, 1990, Cm 965; Worrall, 1995). Restorative justice, however, is identified through mediation, conferencing, circles and reparative boards such as the utilisation of victim/offender mediation with the intention of reconciliation as opposed to merely conciliation, reflecting how restorative justice can fit into the existing criminal justice system and the identity of a modern definition of community, followed by the ethos of forgiveness. Whilst this concept has relevance in today’s society, human rights’ issues and society’s concepts of punishment’s role create a rhetoric which still needs to be resolved. The National Victim Support Programme was considered a way forward with respect to society’s acceptance of restorative justice but: â€Å"both of the major political parties have pursued half formed and in many ways half hearted policies in relation to victims of crime. There is little indication of change in this area† (Newburn and Crawford, 2003 117). Restorative justice is viewed with suspicion due to concern amongst the community in relation to appropriateness of restorative justice for cases of violence and the appropriate punishment in such cases. Added to this, the managerialism and financial control have impacted on the restorative justice movement. Where there is no precedent, the focus of control is balanced between local and central government, with penal reform likely to be forced into the background as: â€Å"the front bench Home Affairs spokesmen of both the major parties battling to out-tough each other, there appears little prospect of coherent and forward-thinking policy-making† (Newburn and Crawford, 2003:178). Individual and collective morality would assume that offenders should be punished to maintain the stability of the community and maintain their safety. A collective conscience ensures that the majority accept the rule of law and accept that deviance needs to be punished. Many organisations have highlighted the growth in recorded crime despite these measures in place to punish the offender. Punishment falls into various areas from incapacitation to retribution, deterrence to rehabilitation. Psychologically, restorative justice is assumed to invoke aesthetic sentiment of forgiveness for miscreants and release for victims. What it fails to do is provide society with assurances that their safety and integrity will be maintained in an atmosphere where the offenders’ rights appear to be upheld in variance with those of the victim, or the fundamental rights the victim is entitled to expect. Conformity through inner positive motivation exemplifies the theory of rehabilitation, although it has been criticised for disparity in proportionality. The concept is not based on the degree of offence committed or focused on the criminal’s past, but on future rehabilitation to preclude re-offending through changes of circumstances. An equally important part of restorative justice must be in measures to prevent crimes being committed. Funding of  £6 million has been invested in a Government programme to reduce crime. Some of these measures include restorative justice, enforcement of financial penalties, CCTV initiatives, treatment of offenders, youth inclusion initiatives, targeting policies and intervention work in schools (www.crimeredution.gov.uk). CONCLUSION Meanwhile, three years after it was recognised that real justice for victims and the wider community might be lacking, many changes to the criminal justice system have been introduced. In terms of victims rights, the criminal justice system is now expected to provide a ‘Victims’ Charter’ that sets out how victims might expect to be treated by the criminal justice system, certain vulnerable victims may be supported by the Victims Support network, and victims of sexual crimes may expect to be advised in advance of the offender being released. Within the terms of the criminal justice system itself these concessions are minimal when correlated with the cost in terms of anguish already experienced by the victims of crime. However, in the wider community even fewer safeguards actually exist to prevent innocent individuals from becoming unwilling victims of an increasingly degenerate society, with those innocent citizens unfairly penalised by the very organisation they would expect to provide them with support in the event of their retaliating and attempting to defend themselves, clearly evidenced in the recent reports in the media, i.e. â€Å"The justice system must be forced to protect the innocent including those pushed through desperation to act extremely† (The Times, 2005, May 5). One of the most topical stories in the media is the evolving ‘happy slapping’ craze with both the victims and the wider community now more vulnerable than they ever have been. When it comes to the death of an elderly pensioner innocently walking home and attacked by teenagers, and a plank of wood hurled at a funeral procession it is more than apparent that David Blunkett needs to provide a more effective means of delivering real justice for victims and the wider community, not just re-balancing the system, but completely re-evaluating the whole ethos of a citizen’s right to defend themselves without the additional fear of retribution from a criminal justice system that has more empathy with the offender than it does for the victim of crime. Total Word Count (excluding bibliography) 2,000 words BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS: Blakemore, Ken (1998): Social Policy: an Introduction: Buckingham, UK:  Open University Press, Page 5 Cotterrell, Roger (1989): The Politics of Jurisprudence: a Critical Introduction to  Legal Philosophy: London, UK: Butterworths Devlin cited in Elliott, C Quinn, F (1998): English Legal System (2nd edition):  Essex, UK, Addison Wesley Longman Ltd: 449 Leigh, A; Read, T; and Tilley, N (1996): Home Office Problem-orientated Policing:  Published in Brit POP [Foreword]. In Police Research Group Paper [75]. London: HMSO Newburn, Tim and Crawford, Adam (2003) Youth Offending and Restorative  Justice: implementing reform in Youth Justice. Cullompton: Willan Publishers Pampel, Fred (2000): Sociological Lives and Ideas: Basinstoke, UK: Macmillan  Roche, Declan (2004): Accountability in Restorative Justice. Oxford: Oxford  University Press Thompson, E.P. (1975). Whigs and Hunters. NY Pantheon ARTICLES: Henham, Ralph (1998): Human Rights, due process and sentencing.  In British Journal of Criminology, Issue 38, Page 592 Daily Mail Newspaper, 2005, May 19: Thugs attack a funeral car   Daily Mail Newspaper, 2005, May 20: Green, Deputy Chief Constable,  Greater Manchester, Page 8 Daily Mail Newspaper, 2005, May 20: Beaten up on Video Phone, Front Page Daily Mail Newspaper, 2005, May 20: Hoody ban eases shoppers’ fear, Page 8 Daily Mail Newspaper, 2005, May 21: Beaten to death on his doorstep, Front Page The Times, 2005, May 5: The justice system must be forced to protect the innocent  including those pushed through desperation to act extremely   ONLINE RESOURCES (All Sites visited 24/05/05. Hyperlinks functioning) Blunkett, David (2002, June, 19): Balance of rights essential to effective justice.  Speaking at the Metropolitan Police Modernising Criminal Justice Conference http://www.cjsonline.org.uk/news/2002/june/balance_of_rights.html Blunkett, David (2002, July 17): Justice for All Radical reform of the Criminal  Justice System unveiled. Criminal justice reforms unveiled. Announcement from Home Secretary to the Police Superintendents Association of England and Wales http://www.policesupers.com/police-supers-news.asp?news_id=139 Blunkett, David (2002, November, 14):  http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmvote/21114v01.htm   Blunkett, David, introducing the publication of the new White Paper, ‘Justice for all’,  2002, November 14: speaking at 3.30pm at the Youth Justice Board Annual   Cape, Ed (2004): Reconcilable Rights: analysing the tension between victims and defendants. Legal Action Group, 2004. http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:FHPdMNH7Xw0J:www.rethinking.org.uk/informed/lagbriefing.pdf+current+debate+regarding+victims%27+rightshl=en Cape, Ed (2004): Reconcilable Rights: analysing the tension between victims and defendants, Legal Action Group, 2004. In Victims’ and defendants’ rights:  can they be reconciled?. Rethinking Crime Punishment, 2005, April, http://www.rethinking.org.uk/informed/lagbriefing.pdf Convention at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre, Westminster.  http://www.youth-justice-board.gov.uk/NR/exeres/73CB0429-624C-4CB5-98E2-EBBC8EF6E88C.htm Chief Secretary, Alan Milburn: (1999, June, 10):  £30 MILLION INVESTMENT TO  STREAMLINE THE JUSTICE SYSTEM. HM Treasury Press Release, Available at: http://www.hm-reasury.gov.uk/newsroom_and_speeches/press/1999/press_93_99.cfm Criminal Justice Conference, (2002, June, 19): Balance of Rights Essential to  Effective Justice. London: HMSO http://www.cjsonline.org.uk/news/2002/june/balance_of_rights.html HMSO, (1990): Crime, Justice and Protecting the Public. Cm 965. London: HMSO.  http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:n-zy-8yFCIEJ:webjcli.ncl.ac.uk/1996/issue3/rtf/henham3.rtf+HMSO%2BCrime,+Justice+and+Protecting+the+Publichl=en Home Secretary Rt Hon. Jack Straw, 1999, March, 25:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/303474.stm Home Secretary Rt Hon. Jack Straw speech in full (1999, September 30): the full  text of Home Secretary Jack Straws speech to the Labour Party conference. UK Politics http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/461967.stm Justice for All (2002, July), London: HMSO.  http://www.cjsonline.gov.uk/downloads/application/pdf/CJS%20White%20Paper%20-%20Justice%20For%20All.pdf Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine (2002, July 17): Justice for All Radical reform of the  Criminal Justice System unveiled. Criminal justice reforms unveiled. Announcement from Home Secretary to the Police Superintendents Association of England and Wales http://www.policesupers.com/police-supers-news.asp?news_id=139). Lord Falconer of Thoroton, 2003, December 3, DCA: Justice, Rights and  Democracy http://www.dca.gov.uk/speeches/2003/lc031203.htm Right Honourable Lord Justice Auld (2001, September): A Review of the Criminal  Courts of England and Wales. http://www.criminal-courts-review.org.uk/ Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer of  Thoroton (2003, December 3): DCA: Justice, Rights and Democracy. Speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research, http://www.dca.gov.uk/speeches/2003/lc031203.htm Worrall, Anne (1995): Real Punishment for Real Criminals? Community Sentences  and the Gendering of Punishment. http://www.britsoccrim.org/bccsp/vol01/VOL01_10.HTM

We Must Ban Therapeutic Human Cloning Essay -- Argumentative Persuasiv

  Ã‚   The Senate is considering a proposal to outlaw human cloning. Two alternative proposals would ban only "reproductive cloning," which would mean explicitly legalizing human cloning but not the implantation of a clone embryo into a womb. Pro-cloners are willing for the most part to outlaw reproductive cloning because it isn't safe, but they oppose a ban on cloning for research and experimentation--known as "therapeutic cloning"--arguing that such a cloning license is necessary to the development of future medical treatments for human ailments. This opposition to a ban on human therapeutic cloning is misinformed.    The case against cloning, including therapeutic cloning, has mainly been argued on grounds of morality. Opponents have warned that creating embryos through cloning for the purpose of research (with the full intention of destroying them later) is a breathtakingly radical enterprise. For the first time in history, human lives will be created for the explicit purpose of exploitation. Such considerations have led activist Jeremy Rifkin to opine that the cloning debate is to the 21st century what the slavery debate was to the 19th.    Unfortunately, we live in a time of widespread and extreme non-judgmentalism, an era when many Americans simply do not respond to moral arguments in public policy debates. For these folk, what counts is not right versus wrong, but whether it will or won't work--in a word, utility.    Does this mean that the public policy amoralists among us must end up by default on the pro-cloning side? Not at all. There is increasing evidence that therapies based on cloned embryo cells would be so difficult and expensive to develop and so utterly impractical to bring to the bedside,... ...ork on embryos? The Red Cross representative could not have been clearer: "We really need to focus our resources, our attention, on those areas where we could most likely provide, in the shortest period of time, some therapies for our patients."    To pour money into human cloning embryonic stem cell research is to risk drilling one dry hole after another. The moral policy thus also turns out to be the pragmatic one. The United States Senate should vote to ban all human cloning now.    WORKS CITED: Civin, Curt I. "stem Cell Selection." http://www.stemcellselection.com/transwithselection/overview.htm Prentice, David. "The Truth About Stem Cells. http://www.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/interrogatory022601a.shtml Odorico and Kaufman. Embryonic Stem Cell Research - a Reality Check. http://www.stemcellresearch.org/info/quotes3.htm

The University Should Focus More Upon Classic Works of Literature :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

The University Should Focus More Upon Classic Works of Literature When I declared English as my major, I was both nervous and eager to begin the program. I thought I would finally be able to read all the books I had wanted to read throughout high school. I was prepared to embark on an exciting yet difficult journey, reading great works of literature by authors such as Dickens and Austen. Unfortunately, while at my university, I have not read as many classic works of literature as I expected. Instead, most of my assigned reading has been from works by modern writers from various ethnic and minority groups. Hence, I feel I am missing something in my pursuit of an English degree. The English program at the University should focus more of its attention on classic works of literature. Many would argue that it is more important for today's students to read ethnic and minority literature. In today's diverse society, one must be exposed to all kinds of cultures and ethnic groups. Therefore, it is better for English students to read more ethnic literature so that they are aware of the experiences of other ethnic groups as expressed through literary forms. Many English instructors feel that ethnic literature is a field that contains many hidden treasures of literature. They are assigning students to read these works more frequently. For example, in a recent study conducted by the National Association of Scholars, researchers found that "based on the relative frequency with which she is cited in course descriptions, Toni Morrison now ranks sixth among all authors who have ever written in the English language." Only Shakespeare, Chaucer, Austen, Milton, and Woolf had more citations. The researchers note, "Given the heavy disproportion of male to female authors over the c ourse of English literary history, this is certainly an astonishing outcome, even if the literary excellence of Morrison is granted." (http://www.nas.org/reports/eng_maj/engmaj_exsum.htm). Toni Morrison is certainly a fine writer; however, I agree that her being ranked sixth out of every author who ever wrote in the English language is extraordinary. I am not suggesting that the study of ethnic and minority literature is not important. I agree that reading literature by diverse ethnic groups is beneficial to the English major. However, it seems to me that more attention is focused on ethnic literature than on classic literature. While ethnic literature is important, it is also necessary to give classic literature equal emphasis in the program, if not more.

Nutrtion Diet Program Analysis Essays -- essays research papers

Jean Nidetch initially created the Weight Watchers diet plan in 1963 when she invited friends over for a weekly meeting about weight loss. Weight Watcher is now in 30 different countries around the world. In North America 20,000, meetings are held each week. (Northwestern, 2005) This diet is a weight loss program derived through the study of science. By keeping up to date on the latest medical and scientific research, Weight Watchers is able to keep their program constantly changing, evolving, and becoming a state-of-the-art program. (Huett, 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Depending on your schedule, area you live, and comfort level, Weight Watchers has two options in order to be a part of their program, an online program and on site meetings. Weight Watchers on-line site offers individuals the same type of support as their on-site meetings but from the comfort and privacy of the home or office. Tools have been developed and are available on the web site for dieters to attend meetings, get support, and have access to different recipes, and offers exercise and dieting tips. Individuals pay enrollment fees, which vary by location, and a weekly meeting fee. A typical registration fee is $15-$24 dollars with weekly dues around $13.00. On average, an individual should lose 1-2 pounds per week after the first week. In order for an individual to lose 20 pounds there would be an average cost of $145 that does not include the price for food or the numerous Weight Watcher brand i...

Providing Free Wi-Fi to New York City

Providing Free Wi-Fi to New York City Defining the Solution: New York City is a city with a large population of people, lots of skyscraping buildings, numerous businesses, and a lack of available free WI-FI service. Today we will be working on developing a way to provide free WI-FI to all of New York City. First we have to look at the reasons, resources needed, and problems which will be on the road to providing such service to New York City. To define the problem a little in depth, we need to find out the necessities needed. 1.There needs to be a study conducted to figure out how a system can be placed in a city that is so rich in life, but cluttered with buildings and minimal available space for equipment installation. 2. The city needs to campaign a project, letting the people know what they are trying to do to bring such service to them. 3. Bring in network companies to provide the service. 4. Chart a project cost budget: i. e. -material cost, man power, and location cost. 5. Sur vey areas where service will be needed most. 6. Survey and gather information from the population on what service provider they use and service plans are used most.This will ensure that there are no network conflicts when the free WI-FI project is completed. 7. Schedule meeting with companies and experts in these technical areas to gather information. This will be information that can be charted or graphed. 8. Analyze all information, graphs, and charts that they have, to see problem areas and solutions to other problem areas. I am expecting that there will be many roadblocks to the road success. There will be many obstacles that will have to be problem and we will overcome these problems.But to develop a way to make WI-FI available to all of New York City will be tough project. It will be a tough project, however with great organization it can be a successful project. I believe with reliable and professional teamwork, it will be available in the future. Generating a Solution: Defin ing the problem for developing a solution to provide free WI-FI for all of New York City has been addressed. We have categorized where the problems lay and discussed what is needed to show the problems that exist. Now that the problems are defined, solutions need to be generated to piece together he problems. In order to generate a solution, a team comprised of technology professionals, state officials, city officials, private and non-profit developer organizations, the voice of the people, and a list of detail equipment needed and the cost of the equipment will need to be brought together as one. First is to assemble a group of broadband and wireless experts, so we can gather possible answers to the defined problem. After getting a starting point, data needs to be portrayed on charts, reports, and diagrams. This information can then be brought to the attention of city and state officials.The voice of the people can be a key to what is being used and what is needed to suit their nee ds for wireless connection. So surveys need to be sent out, public hearing need to be set up, and gather information from wireless companies to see what is being used today by the people. When setting up a public hearing, a panel of expert will be needed to answer the question that the people may have. Also to seek answers the experts will have for the people so they can configure the amount of technology is needed to make the project possible.The roles of the city government and the private and non-profit developers can be a major factor on how and where to start the wireless project. We would need the approval from these groups to have a starting point. Also we would see what resources the city already have and what is needed to included in a report for financial purposes. The financial report is essential to show what is already available for use in the project and what resource is needed plus the cost for the needed equipment. Then a starting location(s) will be needed to begin the project.Possible locations (ie: city parks) for wireless hotspots can be a good starting expansion point. To generate a solution we need: 1. Broadband and Wireless Experts 2. Approval from the City Government 3. Private and Non-Profit Development Organizations 4. State Agency Resources 5. The voice of the people 6. Locations 7. Financial Resources 8. Financial Report of Resource and Equipment Cost The next step is to gather all the possible solution information and analyze the data. Deciding a Course of Action:In generating a solution, we have learned that there are a variety of resources that have to be looked at in order for a solution to be found. We found that a team of technical professionals (ie: wireless carrier companies, IT organizations, and city electrical development department) is needed for wireless development. The voice of the people; to see what wireless carriers are being used, to survey where they use it more, and where they would like to use the wireless serv ice at. State and city officials are needed to help implement the project by vote of approval. Private and non-profit organizations are needed to fund this project.Last is to purchase the equipment for wireless capability. Deciding a course of action for the solution means that we need to take a look at what is at the top of the priority list. At the top of the priority list would be to speak with technical professionals, to see if it is possible to supply the wireless without any possible signal problems to disrupt the use of wireless service. Through this we can generate a list of resources that are needed. After speaking with various technical professionals, we see that location is also a factor when it comes to wireless service.After conducting a grid survey, a decision is made to use local and state parks as areas for project development. Through this detailed reports and charts are made for state and city officials and private and non-profit development organizations to view t he results. Next a survey is sent out to the people to see if the technical professionals and grid survey team studies are correct. As the surveys are collected and read, it is determined that the studies are correct and the parks will be accurate locations for project development. With the completion of the surveys from the people, the information is then added to the project report.In addition to the report, survey charts are created to show the mapped locations for possible WIFI development service. Plus, bar and line charts will show why these locations were chosen, as well as additional charts to show the results of the surveys sent out to the people. Third course of action is to petition to speak with the state and city officials and present the report that can provide the Free WIFI access to the city and its people. By doing this, we can seek approval to start the development and to seek the both private and non-profit development organizations.These development organizations will help finance the development project and make it a reality. After attending numerous meetings with state and city officials, technical professionals, development organizations, and getting the approvals that is needed to start development. The last course of action is to purchase the equipment that will provide the WIFI service. The WIFI project will only give access in state and local park areas, this type of WIFI access service will be considered Hotspots or Hotzones for the free WIFI access. Implementing the Solution:Deciding the course of action has shown what the top priorities are and has helped develop the steps to getting started. Next is to implement the solution to make it a reality. A proposal was submitted to address state officials and local city council about the proposed project development. In turn we received a response from these governing offices that we will be heard on the subject of providing the Wi-Fi service to the city. Before we attend the scheduled d ay, we must overlook the project report and charts, to see that all the information is correct and formal.By going back and double checking everything will help us be more confident when we sell the idea, plus we will be well prepared to answer any questions that may be addressed. After looking over all the charts and the project report, it was noted that a project schedule timeline and a budget chart was not created. So we decided to send out a research team to determine how much time will be needed to complete the project and at what cost. First a Gantt chart is created to show the activity process, along with the months and year that each activity will be taking place.We can also have a visual schedule to see what task is in development and at when the deadline should be. Next is to create a budget list (chart). The chart will show the cost for employment of personnel (salaries& contracted personnel), equipment use (purchased or rented), Travel expenses (if any), technology suppl ies and equipment, and last is to show the projects overhead cost. A budget chart is vital when speaking to government officials and organizations funding the project. The project budget cost can be a factor if we get the funding and/or approval.Now that project report is completed and all the required information is within the report, we are now ready to present it to the government officials. As the day comes and all the important variables are presented to the council of officials, we wait till they discuss the development project. The development project finally receives the approval, which moves the project to the next part of the implement stage. Checking the Gantt chart, we see that we need to employ a development team. This team needs to consist of IT experts and professionals, project managers, and a team of hands on working professional.We also need to purchase all the necessary technological (laptops, desktops, software, and communication devices) and development equipmen t needed to start the project. Next we need to schedule several meeting with the major wireless carriers to introduce to project in development and to try to influence them to be the wireless provider company. In order to choose the right companies to contact, we will schedule a public meeting to speak with NYC residents. By doing this we can see who is the major providers that the public use.Through several public meetings, we find out that AT&T and Verizon is the two providers that are used to most. So we call and schedule a meeting with the board of directors from both companies. Plus we have to schedule the proper flights to get to the corporate offices for these companies. After several physical and telephone conference meetings, both corporate providers agree to be involved in the development and would immediately put together a team to assist our development team in installing the necessary networks that we need. Through this, a change is made on the Gantt chart to include th ese companies and their team.Plus any cost will also include into the budget chart. With all the project resources that is needed for this project have been brought together, the deployment stage of the project needs to be started. Several meetings are set up to introduce all the executives, project management, government officials, and funding organizations. Construction crews and technical personnel need to be hired. Equipment needs to be ordered and purchased before the start of the project. Checking the development location charts, it has been determined that wireless systems need to be placed on high level areas.So checking city maps and blueprints, we choose city skyscrapers that have the high altitude we need. Checking with the buildings management and owners, we started to implement the wireless system construction. As the project goes through the various stages of the development; we consistently monitor the Gantt chart to make sure that the project is on schedule, continue to check for any potential paradigm shifts that can cause a delay, make sure that there is coordination of all tasks and personnel, and evaluate each completed task along the way.Experimental test are conducted throughout the development stages, to make sure that all equipment if properly functioning and compatible with our needs. To avoid any possible setbacks, contingency plans are implemented and alternate plans are made. Any changes to the project must always be reported and charted to keep all departments updated and informed. As we can see, this development project has many variables while implementing any solutions. We have to keep on track during the process and evaluate all solutions as they presented.Evaluate the Solution With the implementation of the project development, we need to consistently evaluate the solution. By doing this we will see: if the solution is logical and solves the real problem, if the solution is (economically, environmentally, politically, and ethn ically) responsible and safe, does it meet all the criteria and constraints, is it blunder-free, have we argued the positive and negative sides of the project, and check the procedure and logic of the arguments.We also have to create an ethics checklist to see if it is legal (will it violate civil law or company policy? ), will it be a win/win situation, will it be fair to all concerned in both the short term and long term, and will I be proud during the development stages and/or conclusion. We also have to remind ourselves about â€Å"purpose†. What is the purpose of why we started this project and what is the purpose of seeing this thru till the end? I see this as a motivation tool to make sure that we maintain the excitement of the project.While we are evaluating the solution, we need to implement a contingency plan for each stage of the development process. This will ensure that there is a back-up plan if we experience a paradigm shift or the project is at a development d own fall. After conducting a thorough evaluation of the solution and development process, we come to the conclusion of the project. By taking the steps to seeing the project through from defining the solution to evaluating the

Quocirca Insight Report: Operations Management in UK Financial Services

QUOCIRCA INSIGHT REPORT November 2007 Contacts: Sharon Crawford Quocirca Ltd Tel +44 7989 243830 sharon/[email  protected] com Operations Management in UK Financial Services How effectively is technology being applied to help to monitor and improve operations performance? The extremely competitive nature of the financial services industry today and the changing landscape of customer expectations and their approach to investing in financial products, puts an onus on suppliers to consider how well they are dealing with new and existing customers’ business transactions. Much is written about the frontline call centre operations, but this report focuses on the back office activities, the operational area where complex applications and enquiries are processed. This research investigates how technology is being applied to manage and improve operations. ? Operations management is a critical business task contributing significantly to the overall performance of financial services companies Over 90% of UK financial services companies set and publish operational targets. Reducing processing times and costs are targeted alongside measuring the quality of work done. Production Management methodologies such as Lean and Six Sigma are being applied extensively to manage work throughput. The UK has embraced the use of specific operations management systems 85% of UK financial services companies report having specific systems in place to support operations management. Reporting, document and process management tools and to a lesser extent, staff forecasting and scheduling applications are all components of such systems. Such systems have had an impact on improved operations The survey shows that introducing operations management systems has led to improved customer service, reduced costs and better staff utilisation. However, despite a reasonable degree of satisfaction with such systems, there is room for improvement. Also, although staff attitudes should be important, motivation and staff satisfaction levels have shown lower levels of improvement. Real ime visibility of work is vital Visibility of who is doing what at any point in time, with the ability to reallocate work during the day, is stated as being very important to effective operations management but this is not always an integral part of the operations management system. Although continuous improvement to operations management performance is desired, obstacles do exist. The survey found that staff resistance to change and to being monitored, competing demands of other revenue generating priorities and dealing with legislation, were all di fficulties faced when trying to introduce initiatives to improve operations. Against this, establishing a return on investment (ROI) for operations management improvements can be difficult. Many systems in place today are based on client/server technologies but there is desire to move toward pure web applications This opens the door for Software as a Service offerings (SaaS). However, SaaS is not perceived as a way to support operations management systems. Is this because there are genuine doubts about SaaS or due to a lack of understanding of the potential benefits of the SaaS model? Bob Tarzey Quocirca Ltd Tel +44 1753 855794 ob. [email  protected] com ? ? REPORT NOTE: This report has been written independently by Quocirca Ltd to address certain issues found in today’s organisations. The report draws on Quocirca’s extensive knowledge of the technology and business arenas, and provides advice on the approach that organisations should take to create a more effective and efficient environment for future growth. During the preparation of this re port, Quocirca has spoken to a number of suppliers and customers involved in the areas covered. We are grateful for their time and insights. ? ? ? Conclusions Operations management is a complex area to which to apply technology. Control and continuous improvement require effective matching of a variety of tasks and timing with resource and skills. The investment needed to put detailed applications in place is significant but has been found to be effective in many organisations that have done so. There is potential to improve further by using systems that allow real-time visibility of the progress of dealing with customers’ business. An independent study by Quocirca Ltd. www. quocirca. com Operations Management in Financial Services Page 2 Introduction Performance Management in the financial services industry is vital and well supported by the suites of Corporate Performance Management software that enable these companies to budget, plan and report in an accurate and timely fashion. Underpinning successful performance management is the need for predictable and controllable day to day operations management, both front and back office. Much has been written in the media about the use of tools to achieve this in call centres in businesses today. This report is based on research was carried out to investigate the extent to which software applications are used to monitor and measure the effectiveness of handling customer business – focusing on the back office operations and specifically addressing organisations in the UK. attempting to include some measurements of the costs of rework, (figure 2). Figure – 2 Do organisations attempt to quantify and measure business value of perational measures? 0% Reduced Costs Number of complaints Customer Response times Staff utilisation Staff satisfaction Re-work Detailed quantifiable measures None, but plan to Other Some measures Not directly related 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Operations Management is a critical business task All the organisations that were interviewed set and publish achievement metrics against customer service level agreements, with 93% setting different targets for different types of customers. 5% of organisations interviewed set and publish performance levels against targets for operational staff and use both team and individual measurements although monitoring individual performance is more difficult and given a lower degree of importance. It is interesting to note the types of measures that are used and the research found that there is an increasing focus on measuring the quality of work alongside the expected measures of costs and speed of processing work (figure 1). Figure – 1 There is some weight given to measuring staff satisfaction and linking this to financial returns for the business. Quocirca believes that it is important to consider the impact of systems on staff satisfaction and that any attempt to apply technology to improve operations management should take account of the way in which the system impacts on the staff dealing with customer business. Production control and continuous improvement Operations management is often associated with production of physical goods and methodologies such as lean and six sigma are used to address quality and efficiency improvements. These approaches study the work stations, the efficiencies of moving work from one to the other, space and time improvements and so on. The philosophies can arguably be applied to moving paperwork through an office, each work station being a person with specific skills. Quocirca tested this with the Operations Managers in the survey and a surprising 100% say they operate a philosophy of continuous improvement, with 66% using either lean or six sigma approaches. Use of these methodologies has changed since they were first introduced by Frederick Taylor, when employees were often considered to be a liability, with organisations applying streamlining and lean manufacturing principles to keep employee costs down. The approach to increasing productivity was based on a carrot and stick approach reward success, punish failure – together with making the tasks quite granular so that individuals could become extremely quick and skilled at a limited set of tasks. Today employees are considered to be assets – the only appreciating asset in many organisations. Organisations use words like engagement, empowerment and job satisfaction when talking about their approach to employee productivity. And in general, although it is easy to forget that this is not true of all employees, staff do like to feel that they can add value and participate in decisions that may affect them. Gaining the buy-in of employees is an important factor when introducing systems to monitor staff productivity and the quality of work being done. Prioritisation of operational factors measured 0% Quality/error rates Time taken for a process Cost of processing No of complaints Speed of response 5 – Most important 4 3 2 1 – Least important 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Although quality of work is ranked as being of the highest priority, the performance targets set for both team and individual measurement still put productivity above measurements of quality and good customer service. This could be because productivity is easier to monitor or because, in reality, cost measurements are associated with the level of work throughput. Measuring staff satisfaction is given a much lower priority in general, with only 24% of organisations stating that this measurement is very important for teams, 11% for individuals. There is evidence however, that organisations are aware of the costs of re-work and of handling customer complaints. When asked about establishing a return on investment for operations management systems, many organisations are  © 2007 Quocirca Ltd www. quocirca. com September 2007 Operations Management in Financial Services Page 3 Use of software applications 85% of those interviewed have specific applications to measure and monitor operations with over 80% expressing that these systems are satisfactory or very satisfactory. Some shortfalls were noted which included the difficulties in monitoring individual performance and in measuring the qualitative aspects of work. Those that have these specific applications report significant improvements (figure 3) but it is surprising that the use of an application does not have a more far reaching impact, despite being considered to be successful. Figure – 3 Figure – 5 How important is it to: 0% Know, at any point in time, who is doing what? Reallocate work during the day? 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 5 – Very important 4 3 2 – Not important at all Impact of operations management system on: 0% Improved customer service Reduced operational costs Enhanced quality of applications Improved staff utilisation Improved staff motivation Major Impact Some Impact No Impact 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% This is likely to require specific systems focused on defining the steps involved in a process and then measuring throughput, over and above the use of standard BI (business intelligence) tools to measure the overall metrics of work throughput. Obstacles to improving operations Despite the high level of importance that this survey found was attributed to operations management improvements, and to investing in specific systems to enable this, obstacles do exist, notably: ? staff resistance to change and to being monitored ? other priorities in the organisation which included dealing with legislation and responding to introduction of new revenue generating products ? establishing an ROI. Figure – 6 It is perhaps the complexity of what actually comprises such an application – which includes management information systems (MIS), document and process management as well as scheduling and forecasting capabilities. Quocirca believes that it is complex to bring such technologies together into a comprehensive application supporting the full requirements of operations and there is room for those vendors that focus on specific elements to develop a purpose built product to support operations management. Figure – 4 What are the main obstacles to improving operations management? 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Essential components of an operations management solution 0% Management information system Document management Workload scheduling Staff forecasting Process management 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Staff resistance to being monitored/measured Staff resistance to change Establishing an ROI Other priorities in organisation Major problem Somewhat of a problem Minor problem Not a problem Technology usage 4 3 2 1 – Not important 5 – Very important Real-time visibility of work Applying production management techniques to work throughput should mean that it is possible to know exactly where a piece of work is at any time. The key issue is whether this would apply to tracking a piece of customer business, be that an application for a new product or a query or claim against a product. The survey found that having real-time visibility of work and being able to re-allocate to the appropriate person was important. This may mean an overhead of logging individual actions on an operations management system, but it is clear that this is perceived as beneficial.  © 2007 Quocirca Ltd The operations management systems in use today are predominantly client/server (61%) but when asked what technology would be expected to be in use in two years’ time, there was a shift to pure web technology (91%). Respondents were also asked about hosted offerings either as pure hosted or as software as a service (SaaS). Neither of these was perceived to be important to operations management delivery today or in two years’ time. Technically there is nothing to prevent the move to SaaS applications and it could be a lack of awareness of what the benefits of SaaS are, that produced this response. However, it is likely that operations is perceived as very specific to each financial services organisation and that this would put it behind other areas of the business in the move to SaaS technologies. September 2007 www. quocirca. com Operations Management in Financial Services Page 4 Interview Sample Distribution The information presented in this report was derived from 75 interviews with senior IT influencers and Operations Managers completed in May 2007. It was important to get an even balance of views so 46% of the respondents were directly involved in operations management with 54% representing the IT function. The sizes of the organisations contacted, selected by the number of employees to be a representative sample of UK Financial Services organisations, were 5000+ employees, 57% ; 1000 – 5000 employees, 43%. The Financial Services organisations were spread over Insurance and Assurance, Retail and Investment Banking, Pensions and Building Societies. About eg eg is the leading provider of Operations Management solutions that form a rapid performance improvement programme to Improve Customer Service Delivery. Operations Management improvements are made through the deployment of two core products/services: ? ? Proprietary operational intelligence software packages Training and development for Managers and Team Leaders in Production management methodology g’s proprietary software package eg operational intelligence ® including eg work manager ® has been developed and refined over the last 15 years and form a comprehensive work, resource and performance reporting tool. It enables clients to gather information about the key factors affecting performance and, using eg’s operational management techniques identify appropriate decisions and actions that improve efficiency and redu ce costs within weeks. When implemented with the eg principles of operational management ® methodology, eg operational intelligence ® provides the opportunity for eg’s clients to double their productivity and dramatically improve customer service levels almost immediately. It also forms a foundation for continuous improvements in subsequent years. For more information, please contact: Sophie Goodwin Spreckley Partners Ltd T: +44 (0)20 7388 9988 E: [email  protected] co. uk About Quocirca Quocirca is a primary research and analysis company specialising in the business impact of information technology and communications (ITC). With world-wide, native language reach, Quocirca provides in-depth insights into the views of buyers and influencers in large, mid-sized and small organisations. Through researching perceptions, Quocirca uncovers the real hurdles to technology adoption – the personal and political aspects of an organisation’s environment and the pressures of the need for demonstrable business value in any implementation. This capability to uncover and report back on the end-user perceptions in the market enables Quocirca to advise on the realities of technology adoption, not the promises. Sponsorship of specific studies by such organisations allows much of Quocirca’s research to be placed into the public domain at no cost. Quocirca’s independent culture and the real-world experience of Quocirca’s analysts ensure that our research and analysis is always objective, accurate and challenging. Quocirca reports are freely available to everyone and may be requested via www. quocirca. com. Contact: Quocirca Ltd Mountbatten House Fairacres Windsor Berkshire SL4 4LE United Kingdom Tel +44 1753 754 838  © 2007 Quocirca Ltd www. quocirca. com September 2007

William Wordsworth’s Philosophy of Nature

William Wordsworth has respect or more, great reverence for nature. This is evident in both of the poems Ode: Intimations of Immortality and Lines Composed A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey in that, his philosophy on God, immortality and innocence are elucidated in his contact with nature. For Wordsworth, nature had a spirit, a soul of its own, and to know is so is to experience nature with all the five senses. In both his poems there are many references to seeing, hearing and feeling his surroundings. He speaks of mountains, the woods, the rivers and streams, and the fields. Wordsworth realized, in each of us, there is a natural affinity for a certain setting for nature. To elaborate, a fisherman would be most comfortable in a setting where he can be beside the sea, which is beside the shore. His affinity towards nature is oriented to the sea. In the same way, a shepherd would like to be near meadows and fields and near lush rolling hills. Wordsworth’s affinity would be to mountains, woods, rivers, streams, and fields. He knew the sprit, the soul and the feel of these places for he was able to experience these places in the fullness of youth (Sparknotes, n. d. ). Both of these poems by Wordsworth are poems of recollection and in these recollections, Wordsworth came across something that was truly immortal: Nature and its soul. Though change, death and destruction might be normal occurrences that come to nature, there is rebirth and continuity to life. As in death and destruction, human endeavors are also mortal and temporary when compared to nature and its spirit. Nonetheless, though these things are only mortal, or temporary, they are still as much a part of it as much as water droplets individually make up a river. Of unremembered pleasure: such, perhaps,/As have no slight or trivial influence/On that best portion of a good man’s life ,/His little nameless, unremembered, acts (Lines Composed A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, stanza 2) portray life and all its endeavors as mundane to something immortal like nature and its spirit. Still these aspects of everyday life are swept away by the strong force that binds the spirit of nature to its occupants. These sentiments are expressed in Ode as well; Though nothing can bring back the hour/Of splendor in the grass, or glory in flower;/We will grieve not, rather find/Strength in what remains behind;/In the primal sympathy/Which having been must ever be;/In that soothing thought that spring/Out of human suffering (Ode: Intimations of Immortality, stanza 10). Wordsworth also speaks of his memory of childhood or innocence retraced in communing with nature in his adult years saying nature has the power to unearth those memories for a grown man to reflect upon. (Sparknotes, n. d. ) In Ode, he celebrates the gift of childhood memory or of innocence sharing the same insights in Tintern Abbey by expressing his delight to find himself once more with nature. As a young boy he delighted in his every interaction with nature. Nature made his day. Though, times have changed, he does not mourn nor shed a tear from this bittersweet memory of childhood rather Wordsworth, reminisces with new insights or what he claims as mature gifts that comes with growing up, the childhood memories becoming more valuable by the discovery of a philosophic mind. Innocence is not all lost but can be retraced through nature, nature reminding what has been lost and found. In the midst of his contemplation with nature, he discovers a far greater power beyond humanity, the presence of God in nature, â€Å"Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting†¦ Not in entire forgetfulness, / And not in utter nakedness, /But trailing clouds of glory do we come / From God, who is our home/ Heaven lies about in our infancy! †(Ode: Intimations of Immortality,stanza 5) from Ode . He discusses further the relationship of God in Nature in Tintern Abbey. He goes, â€Å"a motion and a spirit that impels / All thinking thoughts†¦ / And rolls through all thi ngs,† (Lines Composed A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, stanza 4) beyond nature, an energy spurs him to weigh upon â€Å"moral being†.