Dramatic devices Essay Example for Free

Dramatic devices Essay Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible for his beliefs in McCarthyism, rampant at that time. He was against it being a hunt of the communist figures, no matter how questionable they being communist in the slightest. It was sparked by a fear that Russia was going to take over the world. Making people scared and suspicious, Miller had to be subtle in expressing his anti McCarthyist views, so he used an allegory a play. This play used the Salem witch hunt, similar because of the unsupported accusations, the people encouraged to denounce their friends, and fear and suspicion. The Salem witch hunt was more brutal, with the witches being killed, with only peoples accusations as evidence. Miller had to recontextualize the story, to stop accusations against him. The first words spoken being My Betty be hearty soon?. The title is fitting as a crucible is a container where metals are purified after heating. It reflects how Proctor has been heated by his ordeal and came through to die, his conscience clear purified. I will explore the techniques used in creating the play, to create various moods in the mind of the audience, in Act I. In Act I we find Parriss and Mrs. Putms children Betty and Ruth, inanimate on their beds. People are jumping to the Devil and Parris is putting that off, scared for his name in the village. We find that Abigail and friends had been dancing in the woods. We do get clues that the girls are faking their illness, as Betty wakes up when Parris leaves the room, we find Abigail quickly becomes the leader; an expert is called in Mr. Hale. Abigail takes the chance to talk to John Proctor, who becomes the main character. Tituba. Parriss slave, as usual is blamed for witching the two children in the woods. This cause a lot of the girls to say they saw each other with the Devil. In terms of this plot tension is created within the audience. The secrecy and mistrust creates this. Talking behind peoples backs and the ducking and diving which takes place is the cause. How the plot thickens so quickly would make the audience more uneasy. The dramatic irony with the talking behind each others backs creates tension, and involves them more; they want to see what happens. The techniques used to create meaning for the reader, is the overture and the prose on the characters. The reader trusts the prose and they give information on the characters, they are there because there can be no nuances or subtext in the speech, creating a fast story, the prose slows it down, getting the reader more involved.  An audience wouldnt have these to guide them, it would be up to the actors to read the prose and interpret them in their acting. The play was performed when McCarthyism was at its peak, so it would be blindingly obvious to the American audience what it was about. The allegory would mean the audience would relate to it, creating tension when they think its about 1 thing, then realize its about something else. The time the story is set in is a somber time, spooky because of the black garments and archaic speech, immediately making the audience uneasy, the first words spoken being My Betty be hearty soon? This inverted language makes it seem more Biblical and legal, heightening the impact they have as does the syntax. The older time distances us, making the characters seem austere and quite oppressive. The double-negative furthers the tension by adding confusion, making it more farcical, which further distances us. Claustrophobia, furthers the tension as there is no escape for the characters, they are trapped which makes the audience feel trapped as well. The first thing we find is that Parriss room is small, with narrow windows and leaded panes like a prison this creates claustrophobia. Parris is trapped, making the audience more susceptible to panic. He is also kneeling he is suppressed by God, it bears down on him. Laws and limitations create claustrophobia as well. Not have permitted anyone to read a novel This shows how small minded the laws were, consequently making the people small minded. Not being able to explore themselves and their emotions, making them bland with no escape from reality. Their creed forbade vain enjoyment Shows how religiously they stuck to their beliefs, making their lives bland and boring, and possibly more excitable over the out-of-the-ordinary. The edge of the wilderness was close by The wilderness was the Devils land, they were locked in their town nothing else existed. It stood dark and threatening How they were held in place, scared to go further. They believedthey heldthe candle that would light the world Shows how small minded they were; the Devils land was irrelevant. Parris makes the audience feel angry and frustrated by the fact that he is supposed to be a leader. He is pompous then the Doctor must search on, unpopular and paranoid a faction to drive me from pulpit, unjust Out of my sight!, ambitious do not preach for children, cowardly they will hound me out of Salem, greedy not used to this poverty, hypocritical in defense of Abigail he calls others witches, overly pious send for Reverend Hale, dishonest and vain in covering truth Uncle the rumour of witchcraft is all about. So he is not a particularly pleasant person. If he denies witchcraft in his own home it could seem dishonorable and suspicious so he doesnt. Even so the audience would realize his difficult position, and give him room to breathe. Abigail is a big character, she schemes her way to becoming the leader of the witches Now look you, all of you. She is fearful of her name in the village Not I, sir Tituba and Ruth This gives her a good position, she can scheme to save herself and being manipulative Now if they be questioning us. The audience can relate to her to an extent, everyone can be a leader and scheme; this also makes her the baddie the audience will be interested in knowing what happens to her. Proctor is the character to which we can relate to, the main one. Through Proctor we have a medium in which we can see something and consider ideas. As does Hale, it put us in their shoes. Proctor sees Abigail as a child, strengthening our bond with him. He also sees through Parris, who we find being very greedy with his fire wood money. Also Giles sued him and he paid up although Giles just misheard him Ive paid you for it Proctor is very honest and just wants to get on with his life. The audience will have an affinity with Proctor. Conflicts between characters Abigail and Elizabeth both love Proctor, Proctor and Parris: Parris isnt godly and is a hypocrite etc. these conflicts are like smaller plots in their own way and add to the audiences excitement, also annoying us when they dont resolve, theocracy religion says the you cant, but they want to.  The structure is broken up with the overture and prose which the actors interpret and use the instructions to show it to the audience. This adds an extra dimension to the play, incorporating the prose, with its history and explanations. Intertextualism, the themes that link Salem and McCarthyism, spark questions it is years since the Salem trials but we still havent learnt, human character prevails. The questions dramatic devices that go unanswered, especially at the end with Proctor being hung, should he have been? He doesnt want to go back to the same society that tried to hang him a dramatic device, people are ready to persecute when that is what they are trying to escape irony. The irony, people went to America to escape and be free, supposed to have got better satiring the American Dream. These themes mean more to a 1950s audience, with the exact same one present.

7-Eleven Underpayment Scams

7-Eleven Underpayment Scams Introduction Human lives are directed by course of actions and decisions. Whether its personal life or professional conduct, humans are bound to follow proper code of ethics. In workplace, each organisation has guided rules and practices. Employers are bound to these rules and regulations in order for any organizations to work smoothly (Schermerhorn, 2010). Sometimes the morality of business decision is challenged due to individual preference or limitations. This scenario is called an ethical dilemma whereby individuals are forced to weigh the right and wrong of their actions (Westerholm, Nilstun, Ovretveit, 2004). This essay examines impact of ethical practices and leadership in taking business decision. The organisation that is used for ethical study is 7-Eleven convenient stores in Australia. It discusses how organisations commit fraud and mock award system by underpaying staff. The Ethical Problem The shocking revelation by ABCs Four Corners in August 2015 exposed exploitations at 7-Eleven stores gives an insight on how big corporations make profit without paying legit wages. A joint Fairfax Media-ABC investigation exposed that most of these exploited staff are international students who are forced to work long hours even after their visa condition restricts them to work only 40 hours per fortnight (Ferguson, Danckert Hatch, 2015). These students are easy targets for franchise operators as they are looking for extra money to manage their expenses. It shows that entire work structure at 7-Eleven is flawed and franchisees make profit by underpaying their staff is a common practice in most stores. The head office claims that most of the franchise stores are paying legit wages and the underpayment were done by a marginal store partners. This blame game has raised a debate that who is sole responsible for this scam; the head office authority or the franchise owner. According to head office, the payrolls are monitored by franchisees and company merely provides administrative supervision. They claim that underpayment issue has nothing to do with the franchise profit sharing model and only a small number of franchisees are doing this wrong practice. But similar malpractice in multiple stores reveal that this is an organised fraud. The franchisees are trained to run their stores in a particular manner to make profits and more than dilemma it is a thoughtful unethical practice. 7-Elevens survival on employee exploitation The Fair Work Ombudsman has conducted various raids at different stores and revealed that situation has worsen over the years. The entire work structure at 7-Eleven is flawed and franchisees make profit only by underpaying their staff who are international students and work limitless hours to make up for underpayment. The reason behind students breaching visa conditions is to manage their expenses because they are underpaid and only means to recover that loss is by working extra hours. The head office is not just turning a blind eye, its a fundamental part of their business. The reality is its built on something not much different from slavery, 7-eleven insider (Ferguson, Danckert, Hatch, 2015). It is evident that these scam happens under the watch of head office management. They cannot blame the franchisees alone for this malpractice. Unscrupulous employers allow students to work more hours but threaten to report them to authorities for breaching their visa if they complain about working conditions. Employers sheets and rosters are doctored to maintain the scam (Ferguson, Danckert, Toft, 2015). Companies can easily monitor the payrolls across the stores by surprise visits and take legal actions against frauds. Following the investigations, 7-Eleven Australian office has marginalized the issue by suggesting that there are only small numbers of Franchisees who are culprit of underpaying and head office will ask them to pay penalties. The 7-Eleven chief executive Warren Wilmot said: The key factor here is that the panel will receive, review, and process any claim of underpayment, and authorise repayment where this is appropriate, The practices continuous in other forms underpayment, employees are still asked to back-pay part of their wages. Theoretical Framework The given ethical dilemma is a conflict between moral and business ethics. Loucks (1987) suggests that ethics is seen as something beyond obedience and adherence to the law. It implies an understanding of what is the good, or right, thing to do and of an internal system of beliefs and values that guide those actions. Solomon (2001 cited in Singer, 2013) argues that there is some confusion in defining exactly what constitutes ethical behaviour in an organisation. The given ethical condition poses an important questions about personal honesty and organised fraud. The virtue of honesty is crucial for personal and business ethics. The choice of practising underpayments can be explained by two ethical theories; Utilitarian perspective and Subjectivism. The Utilitarian theory holds that what an individual ought to do is to promote the maximum good for everyone i.e. the general good (Wong, 2006). The maximum good for everyone should be assessed by being neutral and thinking from multiple perspective. On the contrary, Rachel (2001 cited in Singer, 2013) states that ethical subjectivism is a theory which says that in making moral judgements, people are doing nothing more than expressing their personal desires or feelings. The 7-Eleven scam is more about personal choices of the franchisee. They are legally entitled to pay fair wages but for their personal gains they malpractice. From franchisees perspective, it is assumed that the operational structure of the store asset management doesnt make enough profits and thats one of the reasons for underpayment. Another important factor that governs this malpractice is known as Agency Theory. The theory explains that business owners and managers emphasize more on maximizing profit as they believe it as business rule (Eisenhardt, 1989). The market trend tells the morality of the practices that what is right or beneficial for business. The moral choice is sometimes explained in terms of the influence of external factors, such as the environment or influence of others. All of these may bias judgment and action by shaping a decision makers perceptions (Morell, 2004). The franchisee believe that they are just following the ideal business model that will help them in managing operational funds by underpaying staff. In business ethical dilemma, there must be prominent line between personal choices and business needs. It is important to understand that personal choices are subjective and may affect other employees of the business. Therefore while taking business decision, a leader must abide by the corporate codes of conduct. As suggested by Thakor (2003), the dividing line between law and ethics is a constantly moving one. What is legal but unethical today may well become illegal tomorrow. It is essential in this case to reflect on the stakeholders view of ethics. It criticises the agency argument that business operators must constitute their leadership that look after and protects the interest of employees. The debate between moral values and business ethics in case of dilemma is mostly resolved by Utilitarian theory. However it is also necessary to understand that business situations can change how a professional takes decision based on personal choice and corporate needs. The franchisee may imply agency argument to protect their interest but from utilitarian perspective this directly affects the interest of the employees. The core issue is the leadership that has completely failed in case of 7-Eleven scam. Firstly, head office should have eradicated this malpractice at initial level. Secondly they need to develop a business structure that promotes mutual benefits and not just agency approach. Critical Analysis The underpayment by multinational companies is just the tip of the iceberg. We need to understand the factors that contribute to these foul practices. Profit Sharing model that restricts franchisees to manage operational expenses. International students who are eager to work extra hours to manage their funds. The lack of regulators responsibilities in creating awareness and monitoring the operations. The new Chief Executive of 7-Eleven Mr Michael Smith, who replaced Mr Withers in October 2015, said the company was making significant progress towards satisfactory remediation and prevention of wage abuse (Gartrell, 2016). The issue is now facing worse where many franchise stores are out for sales because franchisees believe that they do not have enough resources to pay running cost if they pay fair wages. This will also increase unemployment as a contributing factor. According to Ferguson, The regulator also needs to be better resourced and the government needs to give amnesty for a period to foreign workers to come forward and expose what is going on without the fear of being deported for breaching their visa conditions (Barraclough, 2015). The remedial option is to change the profit sharing model or head office sharing some per cent of the running cost that enables franchisees to operate store efficiently without underpaying staff. The cause of the issues is the operational model that needs a revision under the governance of regulators who can strictly monitor the fair practices at these franchise stores. From ethical point, franchisees need to understand the core business needs and personal interest. One critical aspect of this malpractice at huge level is the influence of franchisee network. The new franchisees learn from the existing practices of the old franchisees and thus this malpractice becomes their routine. Business model for Ethical practice 7-Eleven franchise model is unique in terms of how it shares the profit margin and it varies in different countries. In Australia, this model is unfair for franchise partner where head office takes 57 percent of the gross profit and franchisees are left with 43 percent to manage their expenses and overheads. The deficit is mostly paid by franchisees and they are left with only one options and thats underpayment and back-pay wages. The revelation has put all franchise stores under surveillance resulting in many store out for sales in past 1 year. The issue is pertained due to 7-Eleven Australian model that doesnt allow franchisees to make profit in that 43 percent profit share. The situation can only be resolved if head office shares 50-50 profit margin like other countries. It will allow franchisees to manage their overheads and pay fair wages to the staff. Another aspect of this malpractice was the discrimination in hiring the staff. Franchisees mainly hire international students from India, Pakistan, China and other Asian countries because they are willing to work at less pay. It also raise questions about the head office responsibilities as they didnt check the staff profiling or merit of recruitment. Most of these international students have trouble with English language and are less competent to work any other job. They are ideal fit for the 7-Eleven scam model because they are unaware about their work rights and hesitant to contact authorities for assistance. The ethical safeguarding of these employees is an integral part of store operations. Ideally, the head office should conduct induction training that includes work rights awareness. Leadership and Decision Making Such organised scams unveil how these big corporation make profits by exploiting their staff specifically vulnerable groups. The investigations also reveals how franchisee seek alternate payment methods to avoid taxes and super-annuations. The company claims that they do not have direct involvement in these practice but insiders reveal that it all happens under their watch. Companies need to monitor the working hours and payroll records to scrutinize frauds. Even though after such investigations company do take responsibilities and commit to help the victims. Such situations should be monitored from start and strict measures should be taken on head office part. The payback is not a solution to such huge scale scams that steals tax by doctoring the payrolls. Therefore it is necessary that organisation have a defined ethical policy for business dilemma cases. It will help the decision makers to think rationally but will also remind them about the corporate good. Partiality or personal preference will bring subjectivism in the decision making process. Hechter Kanazawa (1997) maintain that reservations about rational choice only arise where people misunderstand its application. The rational decision from an organisational perspective and individual perspective will differ depending upon the number of external factors influencing the decision. These ethical systems are normative in nature that means they imply the right or wrong factors but do not completely involve rational choice from multiple perspectives. They do tell us about what ought to be done and it helps in takin decision but it doesnt provide clarity of argument, basis for decision and personal stand on the dilemma. The company leaders need to be more specific about their operat ional plans and communicate the same values to the franchisees. It should be a wake-up call to make sure their house is in order. The world is changing and the community is becoming less tolerant of non-compliance to the law (Ferguson, 2015). The underpayment scam is not an issue that can be rectified by paybacks. The entire model of franchise stores needs to be reviewed considering Australian market stakeholders. This will allow fair share of profit to franchisees and will restrict them from ripping wages from the staff. The remedy needs to be planned in terms of reviewing head office responsibilities in cross checking payrolls and fair works. Strict actions should be taken against culprits to avoid further victimization of international students. Recommendations The investigations has only revealed one side of the scam. There is a need to review head offices responsibilities in auditing these franchised stores. Temporary paybacks will not solve the evident fact that the entire 7-Eleven model is flawed for Australian market. Franchisees will keep finding such malpractice until they get fair share from the profit. This not only affect the employees but also damages the brand in the market. This is just the tip of the iceberg and there are many other companies who are in line for malpractice. This issue can only be settled with strong ethical framework that shares rights for franchisees and employees by maintaining transparency and accountability. The world is changing and the community is becoming less tolerant of legislative non-compliance. There is strong need to modify the Franchising agreement for transparency and compliance. These are some of the majors that companies can implement; Develop code of conduct to immediately terminate a franchise agreement if there is serious breach of workplace legislations by a franchisee. Develop an auditing model that shares equal responsibilities between company and franchisees to monitor the operations Take severe disciplinary actions against employees complaint and investigate based on evidence Monitor recruitment process and diversity of employees to ensure minorities or vulnerable groups are not victimized The company must hire independent investors and mystery shoppers to identify culprit franchisee for noncompliance. Company must develop forum to share store practices and employees feedback that are anonymous and directly under the higher management The franchisees can develop union and workout a model that supports equal benefit for multi-stakeholders The companies need to ask whether underpayment is an act of being strategic in organizing businesses. This will decide the approach for business operations and compliance. Underpayment should never be considered as an options for managing expenses. Instead, business operators must generate revenue from other sources. It is not ethical operate a business that makes profit by sacrificing the employees interest. Even after accepting their mistake, company operator must redevelop their operational framework to ensure that such incidents does not happen in future. This can only be achieved by strong compliance and transparent auditing. Conclusion The exploitation still exist at other franchise chains like McDonalds, Pizza hut who operates on the somewhat similar franchise model like 7-Eleven. The scandal uncovered that such exploitations are common practice and mostly organized at management level. Underpayments not only affects the business but it also destroys the brand reputation in global market. It also brings bad name for the country considering that most of the staff are international students who work in stores to manage their expenses. Without remedial process this exploitation will become part of work policies and there will be no one answerable for wrong-doings. Although, this revelation has opened a Pandora box for other business operators but until there is a strong compliance legislation, such scams will continue. The Fair work Ombudsman and government has tough task in eliminating such organised frauds and support workforce. Such scams forces business operators to assess their business ethics policies against the impact they create for multiple stakeholders. If business operators follow ethical leadership then they will have better control over compliance and mutual benefits for the business. The operational model can be modified to increase the stakeholders share and it will eventually help both parties to take ownership. References       Barraclough, C. (2015). Calls for action after the Inconvenient Truth about 7-Eleven is revealed Procurement and Supply Australasia. Procurement and Supply Australasia. Retrieved 31 January 2017, from http://procurementandsupply.com/2015/09/calls-for-action-after-the-inconvenient-truth-about-7-eleven-is-revealed/ Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Agency theory: An assessment and review. Academy of management review, 14(1), 57-74. Ferguson, A. (2015). 7-Eleven wage abuse scandal has lessons for all directors ACAPMAg The voice of downstream petroleum. ACAPMAg The voice of downstream petroleum. Retrieved 30 January 2017, from http://acapmag.com.au/home/2015/10/7-eleven-wage-abuse-scandal-has-lessons-for-all-directors/ Ferguson, A., Danckert, S., Hatch, P. (2015). 7-Eleven scandal: Company announces review of pay practices. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 31 January 2017, from http://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace-relations/7eleven-scandal-company-announces-review-of-pay-practices-20150831-gjbof4.html Ferguson, A., Danckert, S., Toft, K. (2015). 7-Eleven: A sweatshop on every corner. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 January 2017, from http://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace-relations/7eleven-a-sweatshop-on-every-corner-20150827-gj8vzn.html Gartrell, A. (2016). Malcolm Turnbulls financial stake in 7-Eleven under scrutiny. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 January 2017, from http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/malcolm-turnbulls-financial-stake-in-7eleven-under-scrutiny-20160204-gmlikw.html Hechter, M., Kanazawa, S. (1997). Sociological rational choice theory. Annual review of sociology, 23(1), 191-214. Loucks, V.R. (1987) A CEO looks at ethics. Business Horizons, March-April, 2-5 Morrell, K. (2004). Decision making and business ethics: the implications of using image theory in preference to rational choice. Journal of Business Ethics, 50(3), 239-252. Schermerhorn Jr, J. R. (2010). Management. John Wiley Sons. Singer, P. (Ed.). (2013). A companion to ethics. John Wiley Sons. Thakor, A. (2003) Competence without credibility wont win in the long run. in N. Tichy and A. McGill (Eds.) The Ethical Challenge (2005) San Francisco: John Wiley and Sons Inc. pp. 125-134. Westerholm, P., Nilstun, T., Ovretveit, J. (2004). Practical Ethics in Occupational Health. Abingdon: Radcliffe Publishing. Wong, P. W. H. (2006). A study of business ethical practices in Australian organisations: a multiple case study. Theses, 47.

In Defense of the Original Ending of Great Expectations Essay example -

In Defense of the Original Ending of Great Expectations    Many critics prefer the original ending to the revised version because it is the ending that Dickens himself decided to write without consulting anyone. Many people believe that since Bulwer-Lytton gave Dickens input on the second ending that it is not as true. Although Dickens may have inadvertently been plagiarizing, the original ending is the way that Dickens felt the novel should end, as opposed to the way Bulwer-Lytton felt it should end.    Another reason that the original is preferable is because it seems to flow better with the overall themes of the novel. One of these themes is how people expectations differ from reality. Pip's expectations never seem to be what he thinks they are. He does not inherit money from Miss Havisham, it is really from Magwitch. In this sense, the fact that Estella has remarried to someone other than Pip is just another case of such luck. Although he had always hoped to someday be with her, it will never happen and this ending closes that possibility forever. However, the revised ending leaves the possibilities open. Because of this, Dickens' text loses one of it's major themes. Since Pip and Estella may be together in the future, Pip's mistaken perceptions lose their point. Dickens was using Pip's mistakes as a way to show that people should not expect things from other people, which is what Pip does throughout the novel. He expects money from Miss Havisham, Estella to fall in l ove with him, and his life to be easy. However, life does not work that way, and in the original ending Dickens does not let fictional life work that way either. Most of the problems that Pip finds himself in are the results of hi... ...s loss, but the novel ends on an acknowledgment of the possibilities the future holds for Pip's redemption. However, such a theme also gives rise to a theme of separation. By this point in the novel, Pip had already lost touch with everything that was important to him as a young man. He had grown in a different direction than Joe and Biddy. He could never be with Estella, although the revised ending attempts to have them together. In this sense, Pip is completely cut off from everything that once gave him solace. His only hope for redemption lies in the hands of little Pip. If little Pip can "grow up a much better man than I (Pip) did" (435; ch. 58), then hopefully little Pip will not have to suffer as the older Pip has. Works Cited Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Ed. Janice Carlisle. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1996. 440-441.    In Defense of the Original Ending of Great Expectations Essay example - In Defense of the Original Ending of Great Expectations    Many critics prefer the original ending to the revised version because it is the ending that Dickens himself decided to write without consulting anyone. Many people believe that since Bulwer-Lytton gave Dickens input on the second ending that it is not as true. Although Dickens may have inadvertently been plagiarizing, the original ending is the way that Dickens felt the novel should end, as opposed to the way Bulwer-Lytton felt it should end.    Another reason that the original is preferable is because it seems to flow better with the overall themes of the novel. One of these themes is how people expectations differ from reality. Pip's expectations never seem to be what he thinks they are. He does not inherit money from Miss Havisham, it is really from Magwitch. In this sense, the fact that Estella has remarried to someone other than Pip is just another case of such luck. Although he had always hoped to someday be with her, it will never happen and this ending closes that possibility forever. However, the revised ending leaves the possibilities open. Because of this, Dickens' text loses one of it's major themes. Since Pip and Estella may be together in the future, Pip's mistaken perceptions lose their point. Dickens was using Pip's mistakes as a way to show that people should not expect things from other people, which is what Pip does throughout the novel. He expects money from Miss Havisham, Estella to fall in l ove with him, and his life to be easy. However, life does not work that way, and in the original ending Dickens does not let fictional life work that way either. Most of the problems that Pip finds himself in are the results of hi... ...s loss, but the novel ends on an acknowledgment of the possibilities the future holds for Pip's redemption. However, such a theme also gives rise to a theme of separation. By this point in the novel, Pip had already lost touch with everything that was important to him as a young man. He had grown in a different direction than Joe and Biddy. He could never be with Estella, although the revised ending attempts to have them together. In this sense, Pip is completely cut off from everything that once gave him solace. His only hope for redemption lies in the hands of little Pip. If little Pip can "grow up a much better man than I (Pip) did" (435; ch. 58), then hopefully little Pip will not have to suffer as the older Pip has. Works Cited Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Ed. Janice Carlisle. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1996. 440-441.   

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome :: essays research papers

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is Fetal alcohol syndrome? Exposure to alcohol before birth can cause a variety of different problems. One of the most severe effects of drinking during pregnancy is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). FAS is known as one of the leading preventable causes of mental retardation and birth defects. If a woman drinks alcohol during her pregnancy the baby can be born with FAS, which is a lifelong, physically and mentally disabling condition. FAS is characterized by distinctly abnormal facial features, a growth problem, and central nervous system problems (brain problems). People who suffer from FAS may either have problems with learning, memory, attention span, communication with others, vision, and/or hearing. These problems often lead to trouble in school or social problems and getting along with others. FAS is a permanent condition is already born babies who have it. It affects every aspect of an individual’s life and the lives of the people around them. Howev er FAS is one hundred percent preventable if a woman does not drink alcohol while she is pregnant.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people do not think that Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is common. This statistic however is widely varied. Studies show that FAS rates range from 0.2-1.5 per 1,000 births in different areas of the United States. I think that the odds of a child suffering from FAS is low because most mothers that have children are smart about their choices, if you know you’re having a child then you must give up the alcohol. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is only based on the mothers care of herself and if she chooses to endanger the life and well being of her children.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many signs of which may be able to tell you if you or your child suffer from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. They may have the following characteristics or exhibit the following behaviors; small in height or weight in comparison to others of the same age, abnormal facial features such as small eye openings, poor coordination, hyperactive behavior, learning disabilities, developmental disabilities (i.e., speech and language problems), mental retardation or low IQ, problems with daily living, poor reasoning and judgment skills, and sleep and sucking disturbances in infancy. Children with who suffer from FAS are also said to be at risk for psychiatric problems, criminal behavior, unemployment, and incomplete education. These are known as â€Å"secondary conditions† which are problems that children are not born with and may acquire throughout life but do not necessarily have to.

The Women Rag Pickers of Mumbai

As the term ‘rag-picker’ sounds very low so does their job. My study includes several visits to the Govandi Dumping Ground, Mumbai, interviewing the women rag-pickers working there, visiting their slums, meeting with the social workers of Street Mukti Sangathan, studying the problems faced by these women and also keeping a track of their progress. I used personal interviewing of women rag pickers, their boss (the person to whom they sold their collected rags), the social workers, who had devoted their entire time working for them and some printed facts, as my research and analytical methodology. I interviewed 20 women rag pickers, from a diverse age group and varied religions. The following are the main outcomes of my study. Starting with the history of the plights of the women rag pickers, these women came to Mumbai due to droughts in their villages or they were married to men residing in Mumbai. What started of as additional income for the family eventually became the only source of income because 90 % of men stopped working or got into alcohol consumption or left their wives for other younger women. Their day started from as early as 5 am in the morning and went on until it was evening. Their breakfast and lunch were light, comprising of tea and bread or roti and onion, so as to enable them to work efficiently through out the day without feeling sleepy. Infant girls, aged 10 to 15 and older women aged 50 to 65, earned less in comparison to the younger women, due to their higher efficiency levels to work for longer hours. They earned on daily basis and the money depended on the weight of the rag collected by them. So the day they fell ill or couldn’t collect a good amount of scrap meant a day without food. Even their bosses exploited them to the core, by paying them very nominal prices for the scraps that they collected, their bosses in turn earned much more by selling it to companies who recycled these scraps. The government never played any role in their lives. The slum where they resided was rite next to the dumping yard, making it almost impossible for me to breath due to the abundance of flies and stinky smell. Even though majority of the city’s waste was dumped here, no precautionary measures were taken by the govt. to ensure that people residing near by were safe. A lot of rag pickers and their family members were hurt due to the sudden blast that happened when two poisonous particles came into contact with each other. The waste was just dumped as it was; they were not bifurcated on the terms of harmful and unharmful particles. Around 15 people had lost their lives over the years, due to this ignorance of the Govt. Even the middle men who employed these rag pickers didn’t care for their safety. I was horrified to see them collect waste with bare hands and with uncovered mouth. Severely wounded hands, lack of affordable medical facility, unhygienic environment, acute back problems, where just the physical pains they suffered. The mental pressure to progress, the tension of repaying the loans that they took from their bosses on high interest at the times of diseases or marriage, the feeling of being helpless and vulnerable all the time were more killing than the physical pains they suffered. The worse part that I discovered during my study was that, even their children remained uneducated and joined their mothers to support their families. Their lives were surrounded by such dark shadows that even a ray of better future seemed unimaginable. It was in these dark times that Stree Mukti Sangathan came to their rescue. They formed a group of women rag pickers and helped them open a bank account, convincing them to save a small amount of their earnings every month to avoid taking high interest loans at difficult times. By organizing them into a group, the Sangathan saw to it that these women were no longer exploited and worked under much safer conditions. The social workers opened primary schools for the children of the rag pickers and also provided them with proper medical facilities at affordable rates. The rag pickers finally marched towards their independence from the vicious dominance of its exploiters. Once the Sangathan had a decent number of rag picker women members, it then trained them and their children to paint, make hand bags, stitch fancy kurtis, crafting, wall hangings, etc. he ones with higher potential to learn and adapt were taught to produce bio – gas from waste materials and they now work at work stations where machines are operated on bio-gas. After investing 2 decades for the upliftment of these women rag pickers, Sangathan’s effort finally showed drastically positive result; in the form of some of women rag pickers now working as social workers in the Sangathan and helping the other women rag pickers to earn a better living, some have acquired professional education and now work as nurses, teachers, etc. Although the situation hasn’t changed for all the women rag pickers in Mumbai and vulnerability and sufferings still prevails in their lives; it was quiet a relief to learn that a number of women rag pickers whom I interviewed were now proud mothers of engineer sons, owned houses and were spending a decent living. The once very vulnerable and invisible group of my society now has a solid foundation. They conduct annual exhibitions of their hand made products all over India. It wasn’t surprising to learn that the women behind this Sangathan and social revolution of these rag pickers, Ms. Jyoti Mhapsekar was the first Indian Women who won an award at the Clinton Global Initiatives for her committed work towards women and environment. This project was chosen as the best project of that year in my college.

Student Exploration: Graphing Skills Gizmo

. Student Exploration: Graphing Skills Vocabulary: bar graph, line graph, negative relationship, pie chart, positive relationship, scale, scatter plot, variable Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo. ) 1. Four kinds of graphs are shown in this Gizmo. Circle the kinds you have seen before. [pic][pic] [pic][pic] Bar graph Line graph Pie chart Scatter plot 2. Where have you seen graphs used? Graphs are used everywhere. You can find them in textbooks, newspapers, meetings, schoolroom, everywhere.Basically anywhere someone needs to portray information, visualize data, display trends or patterns, compare two or more things, chart progression/digression, show relationships, etc. 3. Why do you think graphs are useful? Like stated above, graphs are useful to share information with others and put it in a picture-like form. Sometimes it is easier to understand a concept if you can visualize it, which is what a graph does. Gizmo Warm-up: Using the Graphing Skills Gizmo 1.The Graphing Skills Gizmoâ„ ¢ starts with a bar graph on the right and a data set on the left. Practice using the Gizmo by doing the following: †¢ Write a title. †¢ Label the vertical and horizontal axes. †¢ Change the scale of the vertical axis. †¢ Drag the bars up and down. 2. Use the Graph type dropdown list to select other kinds of graphs. Practice with each type of graph: †¢ On the Line graph drag the points up and down. †¢ On the Pie chart change the size of each slice by dragging the edges. †¢ On the Scatter plot drag points from the data table to the graph. Activity A: |Get the Gizmo ready: |[pic] | | | | | |Bar graphs |On the Challenge menu, select Create graph. | | | |On the Graph type menu, select Bar graph. | | | |If necessary, click New until Animal speed data appears. | Goal: Build a bar graph based on a data table. 1. Create graph: A bar graph is useful for comparing things, such as how fast animals can run. †¢ Write a title f or the graph. (Look at the title of the data table for a suggestion. ) †¢ Label the horizontal axis and the vertical axis. †¢ Pick what you think is the best choice for a vertical axis scale. †¢ Drag each bar to match the data in the table. Do your best to estimate heights. 2. Check your work: Click Check to see how well you did. A. What was your accuracy score? Over 90 is excellent. ) Accuracy score is 100. B. What vertical scale did you choose? (In other words, how much does each horizontal line on the graph represent? ) Each line on the graph represents 20 km/h. 3. Revise: Click Show value on mouseover. Move the cursor over each bar to see its value. Adjust each bar and click Check until the accuracy score is 100. To show your work, click the screenshot camera at upper left. Paste the screenshot into a blank document. 4. Interpret: Which of these animals is fastest? Cheetah Slowest? Human . Apply: Click New and make the next bar graph. Adjust the scale if needed an d don’t forget to make a title and label each axis. Click Check to see your accuracy. A. What country has the highest life expectancy? The lowest? Country with the highest life expectancy is Andorra. Country with the lowest is Zambia. B. Does anything about the graph surprise you? I hoped that the USA would have the highest life expectancy, but that was not the case. (Too many McDonald’s to blame. ) 6. Challenge yourself: Hold a contest with your classmates.Turn off the Show value on mouseover checkbox and click New. Who can create the most accurate bar graph? |Activity B: |Get the Gizmo ready: |[pic] | | | | | |Line graphs and pie charts |Under Graph type select Line graph. | | | |If necessary, click New until Temperature data appears. | Goal: Build a line graph and a pie chart. Line graphs 1. Create graph: Line graphs are often used to show how something changes over time. Write a title and label the axes. Adjust the vertical scale if needed. Create the line graph b y dragging the points up and down. 2. Check your work: Click Check. What was your accuracy score? Accuracy score is 100. 3. Revise: Turn on Show values on mouseover and adjust the graph until your score is 100. Take a screenshot of your graph and paste it into a document. 4.Interpret: Which day was hottest? Wednesday Which day was coolest? Sunday 5. Apply: Try additional line graphs until you are comfortable making this type of graph. Discuss the most interesting graphs with your teacher and classmates. Pie charts 6. Create graph: Pie charts are used to show proportional data. Under Graph type select Pie chart. Make sure that Show values and labels is checked. Write a title for the pie chart and drag the pie pieces to match the data table. 7. Check your work: Click Check. Revise your pie chart if necessary.When the pie chart is correct, paste a screenshot of the chart into your document. 8. Interpret: What were the most popular pies? Apple 9. Apply: Try additional pie charts until y ou are comfortable with this type of graph. For a real challenge, try to make a pie chart with the Show values and labels checkbox turned off. 10. Extend your thinking: The Gizmo also allows you to create a data table from a graph. Under Challenge select Create table. Write a title for the table and then fill in each empty box based on the graph. Click Check to check your accuracy. Activity C: |Get the Gizmo ready: |[pic] | | | | | |Scatter plots |Under Challenge select Create graph. | | | |Under Graph type select Scatter plot. | | | |If necessary, click New until Studying and score data appears. | Goal: Create a scatter plot. 1. Create graph: Scatter plots are used to see if one variable is related to another. Each point on a scatter plot has two values. For example, if Robert studied for 40 minutes and got a quiz score of 98, Robert’s point would be placed at (40, 98) on the graph. (You can think of that as â€Å"over 40, up 98. †) To make a scatter plot, do the fo llowing: †¢ Write a title for the graph. †¢ Label the horizontal axis based on the second column of the data table, and the vertical axis based on the third column of the data table.Include units in each label. †¢ Adjust the horizontal and vertical axis scales if needed. †¢ Drag each point to match the data. 2. Check your work: Click Check. What was your accuracy score? Accuracy score is 100. 3. Revise: Turn on Show values on mouseover and adjust the graph until your score is 100. Adjust the axis scales if necessary. Paste a screenshot of your graph into a document. 4. Interpret: Based on this graph, will studying help you do well on a test? Explain. Yes! The longer a student studied, the higher his/her test score was. 5. Extend your thinking: The â€Å"Studying vs.Score† scatter plot shows an example of a positive relationship—as one variable increases, so does the other. The points in this type of scatter plot tend to go â€Å"uphill† from left to right. A negative relationship is the opposite—as one variable increases, the other variable decreases. These types of scatter plots go â€Å"downhill† from left to right. A. Which graphs in the Gizmo show a positive relationship? In the â€Å"Income versus Education† graph, as one’s education improved and increased, the income they earned also increased. With the â€Å"Study and Score Evaluation†, when one’s study time increased, the score also correlated with an increase.With the â€Å"Growth Over Time† graph, there is a positive relationship since as one person increases in age, the height also increases. B. Which graphs in the Gizmo show a negative relationship? The only graph I could find which remotely represented this was the Temperature Data Graph. As progression increased through the week and it got closer to the weekend, the temperature decreased. Although not demonstrated in the Gizmo, a perfect example of a negativ e relationship would be as the elevation above sea level rises, the temperature decreases. ———————– [pic]

Why Pakistani People Have Lost a Sense of Nationality

Identity may be defined as a distinctive characteristic of an individual or a particular group of individuals. For one’s survival in this world it is very crucial to maintain his identity. If we expand the criterion of ‘identity’ to national level it is of utmost importance because it is nation’s identity which distinguishes its people from the rest of the world. The importance of national Identity can be better analyzed by the fact that it is the base of all the policies, i. e. domestic and foreign policy and hence the social. economic cultural and ethical development of any country partly depends upon its national identity. In other words actions of a nation are determined by its identity. As far as Pakistan’s identity is concerned, it may be divided into three phases, i. e. pre-partition, post partition and present day. The term ‘identity crisis’ is used to denote a particular situation where by an individual, group of individuals or a nation faces conflicts regarding its identity. These conflicts occur when one’s ideological basis and prevailing circumstances contradict in such a way that the prevailing circumstances dominate the ideological basis. . With reference to Pakistan the history of ‘identity crisis’ have its roots in the late Mughal dynasty. The comfort-loving attitude of the rulers, bloodsheds for the throne, abandoned faith, mismanagement of domestic economic and political matters, absence of updated foreign developments and other moral, ethical and social weaknesses were the major forces which contributed in the identity crisis of the Muslims of South Asia. In pre partition era where by Muslims of south Asia have lost their regime and British rule tighten the span of their social , cultural and political life. Actually they lost their rule just because of the ‘lost identity’. After a half century of submissive life they began to find the ‘lost identity’ and they succeeded. The second phase of identity crisis began very after the inception of Pakistan. The Shia/Sunni crisis at the time of partition was the first of all. But luckily at that time, the crisis was pragmatically resolved by Quaid-e-Azam, so it was buried in a hatchet at that time but later on it burst up from different grounds. The second case of identity crisis in the chronology is the crisis of East and West Pakistan. At the time of inception, Pakistan inherited East and West Pakistan with one and four provinces respectively. Population of East Pakistan alone was more than that of the total population of the four provinces of West Pakistan. The seeds of identity crisis were sown with the ‘language controversy’, where by Urdu was declared as the national language of Pakistan while Urdu was the influencing language only in West Pakistan. This language controversy and some other strategies which lead to the deprived feelings among the natives of East Pakistan and the ultimate consequence was an identity crisis in the form of separation of East Pakistan in 1971. Not only the separation of East Pakistan but, a variety of identity crisis cases stood in the post partition era. The list contains delayed constitutional development, unstable political conditions (due to personal likes and dislikes and lust of power), Social injustice and negative image of Pakistan on international screen. Constitution is the base of any new born state but in case of Pakistan this base couldn’t be established even after about a decade of the inception of Pakistan. So when there was no base for people, the process of identity development started very late. Latterly the termination of 1956’s and 1962’s constitutions fulfilled the remaining part of delayed identity development. All these factors further participated in corruption, national disharmony, rigid attitudes, misconceptions about the religion (partly the role played by ‘mullas’), blind practices on unnecessary customs and a list of moral dilemmas. The identity crisis after the partition threw Pakistan in an ignominious status both at domestic and at international arena. Domestically we couldn’t achieve the social status which we’ve dreamt during the Pakistan movement. Economically we stood at the back end of the global economic stage. And above all we were entitled as a ‘terrorist state’ due to some mismanaged and scattered groups. Even some of them really didn’t have the basic knowledge of their ideological agenda. In present day Pakistan, the situation is more hazardous than that of one discussed in the previous phase. Today’s identity crisis is ‘giant’ in nature aiming to nip our ideology form the bud. Now with changing global environment and with the changing role of Pakistan at international level, the nature of identity crisis has become more complex. The present day crisis may be classified as political, social religious and economic identity crisis. The social and religious crisis work in collaboration. On the religious part, the extremist group has developed misconceptions about the religion. On the other hand the society is facing the ‘cultural war’ through different media. In such a situation the nation, preferably the youth has contradictions with religious implications which is making them unaware of their ideological basis. In the second step the attractive evil (the weapon of cultural war) is becoming dominant. So the nation’s ideological basis is being deployed by the prevailing circumstances, creating identity crisis. In this case we can’t blame the young mind (as he’s not getting the proper guideline and he has not been trained in such a way that he can find the roots the purpose of his existence, secondly the so called knowledge of religion he gets is not authentic). The second type of present day identity crisis in Pakistan is political in nature. In fact our political system has always been ruled by reigns in hands of few influencing groups. No such political platforms were built for the coming generations, to ensure their participation in national or international affairs. It is very necessary to train the youth for the participation in national affairs because they are the people who have to run the country in the future. Unluckily our youth didn’t get any such training at any stage of our 59 years history. The ultimate result was that, the administrators belonged to a specific group, making others so annoyed that others even don’t care to have a look at the mismanagement. This imbalance in the political infrastructure restricted the educated youth to participate in the national policies and ultimately the process of policy making enjoyed the influence of un-educated and narrow minded policy makers, who couldn’t devise the identity goals of the nation till yet. At international political arena we are still facing the vicious circle of ‘terrorism’. Even our government ensured Pakistan’s contribution in the ‘war against terrorism’, but being an Islamic state we become the suspect of any international terrorist act. Here the policy of state is ambiguous, which aims to satisfy the western world but the integration of Muslim world is not to be seen any where. In my opinion we don’t know that where we are standing right now, where we have to go and where we are going? On the part of economy, no doubt our economy grew with in last half decade but only at macro level. The poor is still standing on the place where he was a decade ago. Increasing Unemployment, inflation, and poverty etc are not only contributing in social imbalances but because of these factors, a common man is not able to find the basis of his identity. The identity of a nation is its image, and our image today is ‘a tree whose roots have been cut’. This situation is actually showing our lost identity. We have become much concerned about our outer look but we have forgotten the basis on which we have to develop our inner self. If this process keeps on going with the same velocity, the time is not far when the existence of our identity will vanish. It is very crucial to have a breach of the peace against identity crisis. In this regard the most important step is identity education. The identity education should be provided at educational institutions as well as in temporarily organized seminars (seminars should be accessible for general public). Identity education will not work till we present a difference between different cultures. Media censorship should also be there in order to lessen the possible damages of cultural war. Media should also spread the knowledge of values among the common men. And last but not least we all should play our part to improve our religious image at international level. In this connection we can spread the true essence of our religion which is peace.