Compare ICD-9 to ICD-10 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Compare ICD-9 to ICD-10 - Assignment Example There are instances where new codes have been allocated to different chapters, a factor that hinders location of all available codes. In contrast, the new edition is arranged in such a manner that character length is increased, which highly extends the quantity of available codes (Lazakidou, 2006). Its structure, flexibility, and capacity are up-to-date to capture the medical experience and technological advances. The content conveyed by the two codes is dissimilar. ICD-9 codes contain at least 3-5 digits that begin with either a letter or a number. ICD-10 codes comprise of seven digits. Some similarities can be identified in the two systems. Their organization tends to match, where both use a decimal after three characters. This means that anyone who is able to code ICD-9-CM qualifies to make a transition coding to ICD-10-CM. According to Lazakidou, the rules, conventions, and guidelines are also alike. The first three digits match with the ICD-9 code, with the third digit being followed by a decimal point. However, the digits after the decimal have a particular meaning. For instance, in surgical and medical guidelines, the digits that come later are specific to a surgical approach, body part, and other requirements for billing. Correspondingly, the ICD-10 codes follow suit with seven digits to represent diagnosis codes. The transition procedure from ICD-9 to ICD-10 will entail a conversion based on a forward and backward GEMs map offered by the CMS. There will be a process with one cluster being converted at a time to safeguard the clinical aim of the classification. Alternatively, codes may be transited through using consistent probability distribution, and the converted data be audited to validate the process (Lazakidou, 2006). ICD-9 and ICD-10 differ in sequencing, depending on the circumstances surrounding the encounter. For instance, it is notable that ICD-10 sequencing instructions for anemia

Beach Bum Gym Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Beach Bum Gym - Thesis Example It will provide exclusive services to the customers by expert trainers. Furthermore, the cost of the services will also be attractive for customers. Beach Bum Gym will simply target the young and adult customer segment within the age group between 16 to 34 years. It is expected that the gym will gain significant profit and sales in due course of its operations. The management team of the business will consist of manager, instructors, security personnel and receptionists who will help to run and to manage the club operations effectively. It is expected that in order to open the business almost US$ 635,00 will be required as startup fund. The major competitive advantages of the gym will be its locational advantages, inexpensive membership fees and attractive workout atmosphere. Industry and Proposed Company Gym i.e. fitness and health industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. In recent years, this industry has displayed considerable progress in terms of re venue and memberships. According to the data of ‘International Heath, Racquet & Sportsclub Association’ the revenue of gym clubs in the US had increased by 5% to US$ 21.4 billion in the year 2011 than the previous year. The number of membership has also augmented by 2.4% to 51.4 million than 2010 (South University, 2011). As stated by IBIS World, the demand for gym, fitness and health clubs will increase on upcoming days and people are becoming more conscious with regard to maintaining healthy lifestyle and focusing more on staying fit (IBISWorld, 2012). Due to the obesity related influences in the US, fitness and weight loss has gained increased popularity. In the year 2009, the number of gym clubs was 26830 which had increased to 29960 in 2011 (South University, 2011). Considering the industry attractiveness, the business plan is proposed for developing a gym club named ‘Beach Bum Gym’. The club will be located on beach area of Hampton, US and will provid e workout and gym facilities to the people. Although the industry is lucrative but it is highly cyclical and competitive business and thus, Beach Bum Gym has to compete with other health and fitness clubs in the Hampton area. Products and Services Beach Bum Gym will have different products and services for people. The products of the gym would be divided into three categories i.e. nutrition products, fitness products, and gym accessories. The following table will describe the products that will be offered by the Beach Bum Gym for customers: Nutrition Products Body Fitness Products Gym Accessories Energy Drinks Treadmills Headphones Supplements Dumbbells Music Health Drinks Elliptical Clothing General Nutrition Stationary Bikes Fitness DVD Sport Drinks Rowing Machines Protein Weight Benches Barbells Source: (Gymlink Australia, 2011) Apart from several products, Beach Bum Gym will also provide numerous services to the customers. The services that will be provided by the Beach Bum Gym would be fitness classes, individual training and group workouts. Beach Bum Gym will provide different membership options for people on the basis of time and purchasing

Language Reflecting Our Culture And Reality Cultural Studies Essay

Language Reflecting Our Culture And Reality Cultural Studies Essay Language is a system of symbols that allows members of a society to communicate with one another. It is more than just a mean of communication. It can also be viewed as an important element in shaping our culture and the perception of reality. This paper will focus on the relationship between language, culture and reality; also how media and gender culture have influences on the relationship. With the help of different scholars view, we can analysis how language reflect our culture and reality. Linguists have studied the relationship between language and culture by the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. It accounts the differences in language across culture. According to the hypothesis, language is a guide to social reality which state that language is attaching to the real world. Sapir-Whorf hypothesis indicates the strong relationships among culture, language and reality into a cohesive whole. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis shows that people perceive the world through the cultural lens of language which can be easily understood with the diagram below. In other words, language acts like the lens on a camera in filtering reality, Language is the medium by which one views the world, culture, reality and thought. This example is best to illustrate the crux of the hypothesis reality for a culture is discoverable in its language. There are two important aspects in the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, they are vocabulary and grammar and syntax of a language. Let me give a personal experience to state the above concept. I was an exchange student after graduating from secondary school and stayed in a host family in the United States. People there love to party and are addicted to alcohol. They get different words referring to different forms of alcohol, including liquor, brew, booze, wine, beer, drink, firewater, shooter, etc. The point of telling my experience is that these terms are rarely used in Hong Kong because we rarely encounter alcohol other than beer and wine.  We can see that it has a particularly rich vocabulary for alcohol, which shows that it is an important thing in American culture. Culture is evident not only in the vocabulary but also the grammar and syntax. I studied German during that exchange year, and found that the grammar and context is so different between Chinese and German. There are no articles, a, an, the counted with the noun in Chinese. In German, each noun must be categorized as either feminine or masculine with the collocation of the articles der, die, and das. This shows us that the grammatical gender is an essential part in German culture. However, there are arguments that against the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, one is made by Fiona Cowie, There are in the grammar observations that apply to all languages; these observations constitute what one calls general grammar. In examining this thought, some cultures and languages are related to each other and have similarities. It contradicts with the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis which states that all cultures see the world differently according to their language. In addition, Tomas Tsoi argued that language carries little tendency in our thinking, and it cannot constitute with what Sapir-Whorf has suggested to be habitual thought. His evidences are if language indeed reflects world view, there are totally different world views among the same linguistic group, while people speaking different languages share similar world views. Besides, he also argues that how does a multilingual holds his world view if it is dependent on languages, because it will lead to contradiction. How do people come to understand the reality? The cultural environment that people grow up in can have surprising effects on how they interpret the world around them. This happens by way of different agents of socialization. Media is one of the important socialization in reinforcing the cultural environment and the perception of reality, but so are family, school and peers. Media showers society with languages and images everyday. These images are delivered to the public through a variety of mediums, such as television, radio, newspaper. Language is a basic medium in the establishment of reality. Media act as a conduit in transmitting the image of reality. In other words, language reflects the culture and reality of its users. Media are never neutral for providing information. The images which we think depictions of reality are actually shaped, because they are filtered through media to the general public. The mass media acts as a translator and bridges the gap. Racism, prejudice and discrimination are all perpetrated through media discourse. This is why people need to have a high potential of media competence to decode what is being said. From the essay which is written by Ray Surette, he stated that the social construction of reality have influences on different individual. People construct their social reality based upon their interaction with an objective reality with their first hand experiences. Thus, the information they receive from a cultures reality, such as language and the media create a subjective reality that directs their social behavior. In urbanized societies, the mass media play a crucial role in the social construction of reality because knowledge of many social phenomena is obtained solely through the media. The mass media has become the dominant player in America. Furthermore, when other sources of knowledge are not available, the media play a greater role in the construction and dissemination of social reality. In fact, media convey different ideologies. Under the influences of powerful groups, it is hard for media to strike balance between facts and different ideologies. Therefore, audiences should bear the responsibility to distinguish message that are being delivered. The concept of media literacy is found to overcome the distortion of the truth from the messages that are created by the media. It is a process of accessing, analyzing, evaluating and creating messages in a wide variety of media modes, genres and forms. According to Jane Tallim, media literacy  is the ability to sift through and analyze the messages that inform, entertain and sell to us every day. By activating the concept of media literacy, people gain greater awareness of the potential for misrepresentation, especially through commericals and public relations techniques, and to understand the role of mass media in constructing views of reality. Moreover, media conveys a distinct message regarding gender and gender roles which leads us to the topic of language and gender. Males represent face-isms, their faces are shown more often than their bodies, which is associated with character and intellect. Since women are being objectitfication as a sex appeal product, females represent body-isms or partial-isms which is associated with weight and emotion. The topic of language and gender concerns in which men and women use their language differently and how the structure of language reflects or promotes gender division within a society. All of us have different styles of communicating with other people. The styles that men and women use to communicate have been described as debate vs. relate, report-talk vs. rapport-talk, or competitive vs. cooperative. Men often seek straightforward solutions to problems whereas women tend to establish intimacy by discussing problems with the frequency usage of tag questions. Dale Spender writes males, the dominant group, have constructed sexism and developed a language trap in their own interest. This makes the male in the superior position and lead to sexism in language. Men have made their world out of their reality, and women are forced to live with these meanings. Another scholar, Shiela Rowbotham says If she enters mankind she loses herself to himshe represents a woman but he is mankind. Women lose their roles in society because they are considered to go along with the rest of mankind, instead of womankind. The Interpretation Act was an act that was passed in England in 1850 that simplified the language that was used in statutes, legally enabling he to be written instead of he or she. This Act was passed in order to promote the primacy of the male. At that time, there were no women in Parliament to vote against this Act, so it was being passed. It constructed that females had to adhere to a male reality for the world. Spender suggests, In order for the women of today to make their own reality, they must understand how the creation of this world is accomplished. The way to accomplish the above thought is to explore the relationship between language, culture and reality. Therefore, gender equality is a reality many people would like to bring out and our language should reflect this. According to Spender, By changing our language we help change reality in a way that makes our language more accurate. If we change our language, we are to some extent manipulating the social reality. That is an ideology matter and somehow a paradox of socially constructed realities. Our language and society reflect one another, it is important for us to recognize and respect change in the meaning and the acceptability of words. As a conclusion, the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis has changed the way many people look at language. Elaine Chaika states Language and society are so intertwined that it is impossible to understand one without the other. There is no human society that does not depend on, is not shaped by, and does not itself shape language This statement best defines the relationship between languages, culture and reality. Language does not only shape the way reality is perceived but reality also shapes language. For my standpoint there is no sound system to reflect our culture and reality through language. Language does influence culture and perception of reality but language does not govern culture or reality.

The Circus :: essays research papers

A circus is an arena for acrobatic exhibitions and animal shows. Usually circular and surrounded by tiers of seats for spectators, a circus may be in the open air but is usually housed in a permanent building or sheltered by a tent. The term circus is also applied to the performance itself and to the troupe of performers. The entertainment offered at a circus generally consists of displays of horsemanship; exhibitions by gymnasts, aerialists, wild-animal trainers, and performing animals; and comic pantomime by clowns. The first modern circus was staged in London in 1768 by Philip Astley, a former sergeant major in the English cavalry, who performed as a trick rider. Beginning with a visit to Paris in 1772, Astley introduced the circus in cities throughout continental Europe and was responsible for establishing permanent circuses in a number of European countries as well as in England. A circus was first presented in Russia in 1793 at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg. By the early 19th century several permanently based circuses were located in many larger European cities. In addition, small traveling shows moved from town to town in caravans of covered wagons in which the performers lived. The traveling shows were usually simple affairs, featuring a fiddler or two, a juggler, a ropedancer, and a few acrobats. In the early circuses such performers gave their shows in open spaces and took up a collection for pay; later, the performers used an enclosed area and began to charge admission. By contrast, the permanently-based circuses of Europe staged elaborate shows. In the earlier part of the 19th century a main feature of the permanent circus program was the presentation of dramas that included displays of horsemanship. The circus was introduced in the United States by John Bill Ricketts, an English equestrian who opened a show in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1792 and staged subsequent circuses in New York City and Boston, Massachusetts. President George Washington reportedly attended a Ricketts circus and sold the company a horse in 1797. The Ricketts circus remained in existence, with several name changes, through the first decade of the 19th century. Some of the outstanding companies in the early history of American circuses were the Mount Pitt circus and the troupes of the American animal tamer Isaac Van Amburgh, the American chemist and inventor Gilbert Spaulding, and the American clown Dan Rice. Throughout the 19th century the circus evolved in programming and

Dog Breeding and Society Essay

Dogs are known to be man’s best friend. Cliche as it may sound like, dogs have proven continually over the centuries since they were first domesticated, just how helpful they can be in human lives. From being mere allies on the hunting grounds during the Neolithic period to adored and prized pets of families, dogs have been trained to take on more and more roles in human society. The domestication and subsequent breeding of dogs began with their ancestors the wolves. During the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods of human history, both man and wolves shared the same objective of hunting and gathering food, as well as the same enemy, the big cats. (Kreiner 4) Perhaps the humans at that time realized the benefits of having canines on their team in hunting and tracking prey that they began capturing wolf cubs and treating them as pets to be raised as hunters. (â€Å"Dogs and People: The History and Psychology of a Relationship†) With the evolution of dogs into many different breeds, people have also come to realize that not all dogs are the same and that is not just in reference to their physical appearance. In terms of utility, some dogs proved to be better suited to specific jobs like hunting and herding. Similarly, an appreciation for the physical and temperamental qualities of different dogs started taking root. From being mere canine companions, dogs started to be bred to fulfill specific duties. Dog breeding started to be a quest to find and develop the perfect specimen of dog breeds according to utility and genetics. HISTORY OF DOG BREEDING Since humans first started noticing the high trainability and utility of dogs, dogs have started to be bred for special purposes. These include hunting and retrieval of game, military and police service, guides for the blind, and erstwhile companions. (â€Å"Dog†) Dog breeding also finds its roots in the 19th century. Dog breeders believed that the public placed a premium on dogs of a specific size, color, physical, and temperamental qualities. This was proven true when the demand for â€Å"quality† puppies from dog breeders rose from purchases made by people seeking canine companionship or those who needed dogs for herding and hunting. Today the â€Å"elite† and prime examples of different dog breeds can often be seen show cased and recognized in Kennel clubs and dog shows held both nationally and internationally. The year 1859 saw the first dog show in Newcastle, England where judges focused mainly on working dogs and their skills rather than appearance. Dogs of different breeds paraded on floors sprinkled with sawdust and the judging was done only by three men. Today, the American Kennel Club (AKC) is one of the largest of such organizations concerned with recognizing exemplary specimens and abilities of registered dog breeds. Various competitions for dogs measuring their performance level at different skills are done on mostly weekend events. The competitions range from criteria based on different types of dogs or skills such as tracking and following commands. (Baldwin, and Norris 1) â€Å"There are three types of competition–conformation, obedience, and agility. The agility ring is the one many people are familiar with, where dogs go through various exercises and around obstacles,† says Adrian Woodfork, a licensed AKC judge†(Stokely 175) The conformation competition is said to be targeted at challenging breeders to improve the quality of purebred dogs through extra careful selection of breeding specimens as well as faithful recording of bloodlines, temperament and hereditary traits. (Stokely 175) Every year the AKC publishes a â€Å"point scale† that lists the number of awards available at each show based on the number of specific breeds involved in the show. Some actually view these competitions as perfect opportunities to learn more about different breeds particularly if there are contemplating buying a dog. THE NEW CAREER DOGS: Dogs bred and trained for specific jobs or purposes In addition to the traditional breeder who turns out show quality or traditional working dogs for either altruism or profit, there is another kind of breeder who caters to a market that requires highly intelligent and even-tempered dogs for modern purposes. Breeding Racing Dogs Kennel owner Maria Beck (Clarke, Wright, and Jones 250) is the owner of the Lightning Ridge Kennel in Kansas City, Kansas. It is from here that she not only breeds and trains champion greyhounds, but is the only known African American woman kennel owner in the business. Of greyhounds, she shares: â€Å"The animals are so graceful. The excitement of seeing them race took my heart and I realized that it was what I wanted to do. † Breeding Police or Military Dogs Dogs also contributed greatly to their human counterparts during wartime. In World War II, the American Kennel Club and a group called â€Å"Dogs for Defense† got together some quality dogs for donation to the Quartermaster corps. German Shepherds, Belgian Sheep Dogs, Doberman Pinschers, Farm Collies and Giant Schnauzers were trained in the new K-9 Corps between 1942 and 1945. These dogs would later end up saving the lives of thousands of men in combat by acting as sentries, â€Å"partners† and friends to the military or civilian guard on patrol as well as being scouts, messengers and mine-detection dogs. (â€Å"Dogs and People: The History and Psychology of a Relationship†) The K-9 program remains in place up to present time with dogs employed in police work of drug and bomb detection as well as search and recovery. â€Å"We look for high-energy dogs that have a high fetch drive, mostly bird dogs, like labradors and golden retrievers,† says Steven Buzzard of the West Virginia Division of Corrections (Clayton 64). Breeding seeing eye dogs The high trainability of certain dog breeds have also made them suitable for other jobs outside of the military and police force. Helen Docherty (â€Å"PUPPY LOVE; Ena Will† 30) is just one of the volunteer â€Å"walkers† who work with dogs at the Guide Dog for the Blind Association in the United Kingdom. Dogs like German shepherds, Labrador retrievers and Golden retrievers in addition to the occasional Boxer and mixed breeds are trained to guide the blind and keep them company. Helen describes her experience as: â€Å"You just have to remember that this dog came for a purpose and it will go on to do what it has been trained to do. The comforting thing is at least you’ve played a part in preparing the dog for the fabulous job in life it is meant for, with a blind person. † Breeding for purebreds Purebred dogs (â€Å"Dog†) are the products of â€Å"inbreeding† or â€Å"line breeding† which just keeps dog mating within just one family bloodline. Inbreeding means that bitches are mated with litter-mates, while line bred dogs are those that are the product or mating between a bitch and its close cousins, grand sire, and so on. These dogs are usually bred to conform to the standards of a certain breed and whose bloodline and lineage (also called pedigree) has been recorded for a prescribed period of time. Kennel Clubs usually keep track of the lineage of registered individual purebreds in order to preserve breed standards. Breeding aimed to diversify gene pool. Some breeders focus mainly on the appearance of their dogs without much regard for its pedigree. Mating dogs that are unrelated to each other through assortative mating, breeders try to solidify positive traits. This is also done when a breeder tries to acquire a lacking trait for his stock by mating one of his dogs with another who displays the desirable trait. Breeding hunting dogs There are also breeders who cater to buyers who need dogs for more specific and utilitarian purposes. Hunting and retrieval dogs are just one of the specialized breeds that enjoy a â€Å"niche† market. So does sporting dogs such as the retrievers, pointers, spaniels and setters. These dogs are especially useful for their ability to track air scents. Ground scent hunters belong to the hound group made up of beagles, foxhounds and bloodhounds. Olden England saw a great demand for this particular kind of breed for their fox hunts and point to point chases. Other dogs that are held in high regard by hunters are the visual hunter greyhound dogs and terriers, which were valuable in hunting burrowing prey. Breeding sheep dogs There were also breeders who specialized in working dogs that are used as herders or guides. This included collies, the German Shepherd and the massive St. Bernard. Ladies who wanted companionship proved to be another market for the breeders. Toy and lap dogs such as the Pekingese and the Pomeranian were elevated to â€Å"status symbols† and cuddly playthings. Other companions were the non-sporting dogs the Boston terrier, the bulldog, the chowchow and the Dalmatian. ISSUES CONCERNING THE BREEDING OF DOGS Whatever the dog owner’s reason is for breeding their dogs, the health and safety of the dogs themselves remain at a risk. In the article â€Å"Eight Good reasons NOT to Breed your Dog† by Dr. Elizabeth L. DeLomba, DVM,(2000) she enumerates the following facts that aspiring breeders may not be aware of: 1. Not all dogs are built to breed. Bitches can die during puppy birth. 2. With the massive rise in pet overpopulation and the numbers of dogs that need to be put down in shelters, there are just too many dogs around. 3. Dogs that are not neutered face serious risk of accidents as unaltered males have high tendencies and urges to roam in search of a female. 4. Unspayed females often attract unwelcome attention from dogs of all breeds. 5. Dog labor is not as easy as some people may think. There are instances when dogs need C-sections in order to birth the puppies. 6. Puppy health and survival are not always assured. 7. Not all dogs have the mothering instinct. Puppies can die due to neglect by their mothers. 8. Preparing puppies for sale won’t necessarily bring breeders a wind fall. There are various expenses such as de-worming, vaccine and neo-natal care that are required for newly born puppies. Some believe that putting dogs in shows are not helping them either. While some may argue that the dogs enjoy the outing, there is the stress of performing in a noisy and often tight space crowded with both humans and dogs. Dutch consulting geneticist E. L. Hagedoorn postulates: â€Å"In the production of economically useful animals, the show ring is more of a menace than an aid to breeding. Once fancy points are introduced into the standard of perfection, the breeders will give more attention to those easily judged qualities than to the more important qualities that do not happen to be of such a nature that we can evaluate them at shows. Showing has nothing to do with utility at all, it is simply a competitive game. † (Burns) There have been criticisms that some judges in the popular dog shows do not even know what work the dogs they are judging are capable of doing. Most of the awards are given to dogs that are â€Å"beautiful† and â€Å"fashionable. † Because of this, some show dog owners have taken to cropping the ears and docking the tails of their dogs for cosmetic purposes. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is opposed to trimming dog ears for cosmetic and show reasons deeming it as a medically unnecessary and stressful procedure for the dogs to undergo. The AVMA has called on the American Kennel Club and other breed associations to ban dogs with cropped ears from dog shows. (353) Backyard breeders who join shows and obsess about winning ribbons rather than improvement and development of the breed usually last around five years before the interest tapers off according to estimates by the AKC. This often leaves dogs who are beautiful but whose functions and skills have been greatly diminished. â€Å"It is a sad but undeniable fact that breeding to a strict standard of physical points is incompatible with breeding for mental qualities. â€Å"(Lorenz 84) Because awards are given to physically perfect dogs, less attention is paid to the temperament and intelligence of both parent dogs this contention has been proved by the fact that various pure breeds of dog did retain their original good character traits until they fell a prey to fashion. (Lorenz 86) In the article â€Å"The Westminster Eugenics Show† by Jonah Goldberg published in the February 13, 2002 edition of â€Å"The New Republic,† he criticizes the way dog shows such as the Westminster has demoted the functionality and intelligence of dogs into just prancing for a beauty pageant. â€Å"The problem is that Westminster does not judge breeds for those traits which rightly make a breed a breed. The Pointers aren’t asked to point (even though the logo of the Westminster Kennel Club has been a pointing Pointer for over a century). The Bassets and Bloodhounds do not track. The Otter Hounds are not tested to see if they could kill, let alone identify, an otter. And so on and so on. â€Å"With the exception of a handful of breeds who were bred to do nothing but either keep your hands warm or wait until some Aztec chef could cook them, not a single breed at Westminster is expected to do what it was bred to do†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Another issue about breeders is the level of responsibility they are credited with in the euthanasia of animals who have not been fortunate to be adopted from the shelters. Just recently, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) launched a billboard campaign against dog breeders and their patrons saying that breeding dogs diminishes the chances of those in animal shelters of being adopted. On their web site, the PETA claims that despite whatever good treatment the dogs under the care of breeders and their buyers receive, they cannot be called â€Å"responsible breeders. † According to PETA, if there is anything that dog breeders are responsible for, it is the deaths of the dogs at the animal shelters who could have been adopted had not the option of purchasing a puppy or dog from a breeder was available. All these issues however, have been strongly negated by dog breeders and owners alike. On the PETA message board itself discussing the new â€Å"billboards vs. breeders campaign† buyers have stated that if they were open to buying dogs without knowledge of their backgrounds, health and temperament-wise, they would have gone to shelters in the first-place. (â€Å"What’s up now Breeders? â€Å") Similarly, breeders have posted their defense on the message boards saying that the dogs in animal shelters are the products of irresponsible pet ownership as well as uncontrolled expansion of the dog population through â€Å"puppy mills† and feral dogs that have not been either spayed or neutered. ‘TRUE BREEDERS’ IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT DOG Nobody can take dogs more seriously than a true breeder. The selection and process of dog breeding is both an intricate and rewarding one. Before anything, dog breeders assess the physical and mental characteristics of a prospective breed of dog. These are vital for dog breeders are tasked not only with breeding and turning out physically beautiful show type dogs but also making sure that these dogs are sound and even-tempered. Everybody who has owned more than one dog knows how widely individual canine personalities differ from each other. No two are really alike any more than human beings are, even among twins; but even in human beings it is possible to pick out individual traits and, by combining them, to explain up to a certain extent the different temperaments, though character analysis can never attain the grade of an exact natural science, owing to the infinite complexity of its subject. The dog’s personality is vastly simpler, and it is much easier to explain the peculiarities of different characters by considering the development of certain ‘characteristic’ traits, and their combinations in the individual. (Lorenz 19). The quest for the perfect dog specimen is an intricate process. Dog breeds and bloodlines are produced by mating dogs with certain desirable characteristics with the purpose of producing young that carry a combination of all these characteristics. POSITION While it is true that despite its noble beginnings Dog breeding has turned into something that can be exploited for financial gain, it is thoroughly irresponsible to lump all breeders under one banner. There are some breeders who truly care about their charges and seek only to preserve that particular breed. Perhaps rather than continually blaming one organization or another for the fate endured by shelter dogs, it would be much better to push for stricter laws regarding the sales and ownership of dogs as well as measures for neutering/spaying feral canines. As for the dog shows, it would be wise to remember that it wasn’t the dog’s choice to be there. There is a need to educate both sides of the argument as to the views of the other. They may both have valid points but too radical and extreme thinking can only bring more harm than good. There has to be some form of compromise. CONCLUSION Dogs as well as other domesticated animals have brought much joy and benefits in their co-existence with human beings. Whether it be for companionship or something more utilitarian, dogs have proven to be man’s best friend in ways that other human’s just cannot. People need to be aware however that the human’s mandate of stewardship includes a responsibility to all creatures under their care. Humans are the stewards of their canine companions. Caring for dogs does not stop at simply feeding them. Bottom line however is whether human or pets, every living thing is entitled to security, protection from harm and respect. It is just a pity and a vast shame that dogs cannot talk and that they cannot be asked what they think of their status and existence in human society. Works Cited Baldwin, Cheryl K. , and Patricia A. Norris. â€Å"Exploring the Dimensions of Serious Leisure: â€Å"Love Me – Love My Dog! â€Å". † Journal of Leisure Research 31. 1 (1999): 1. Burns, Patrick. â€Å"From Rosettes to Ruin: Making and Breaking Dogs in the Show Ring. † Terrierman. com. Clarke, Robyn D. , Mark W. Wright, and Chandrika M. Jones. â€Å"Running with the Big Dogs. † Black Enterprise Feb. 2000: 250. Clayton, Susan L. â€Å"Teaching Dogs New Tricks. † Corrections Today June 1999: 64. DeLomba, Elizabeth. â€Å"Eight Good Reasons Not to Breed Your Dog. â€Å"WorkingDogs. 2000 Workingdogs. com 3 Oct 2007. â€Å"Dogs and People: The History and Psychology of a Relationship. † Journal of Business Administration and Policy Analysis : 54+. Goldberg, Jonah. â€Å"Westminster Eugenics Show. † National Review Online. 13 February 2002. nationalreview. com 3 Oct2007 Kreiner, Judith. â€Å"A Look at Friends: Man and His Dog. † The Washington Times 12 Feb. 2000: 4. Lorenz, Konrad. Man Meets Dog. London: Routledge, 2002. â€Å"PUPPY LOVE; Ena Will Soon Be a Guide Dog Thanks to the Care and Training of One Woman. † Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland) 2 Feb. 2006: 30. Stokely, Sonja Brown. â€Å"Gone to the Dogs. † Black Enterprise Dec. 2000: 175.

The Garden Party

The Garden Party is written by Katherine Mansfield, a New Zealand prominent modernist writer of short fiction. Set in colonial New Zealand, â€Å"The Garden Party† falls into two clearly differentiated parts. For the major characters, Laura Sheridan, Mrs. Sheridan, Meg Sheridan, Jose Sheridan and Laurie Sheridan are considered by because they appeared in the story quite often. And for the minor characters, they are mostly the workers and helpers in the party, except for Mr. Sheridan and Mr. Scott.From this short story, we have encountered some literary theories. First theory that we have analysed is cultural theory. â€Å"The Garden Party† is a story about the differences between the upper class and the lower class lives. The Sheridan family represents the upper class while the Scotts represent the lower class. Mansfield gives certain importance for many words by repeating them persistently, especially hats, lilies, flowers, all those are symbols of wealth and superiori ty, in connection to the Sheridans.The Sheridan’s life appears more comfortable even when Mansfield is talking about them she uses only positive images, pleasure, flowers, songs, even in the house is highly organized. While talking about the Scotts and their class, only images of dark, ugliness, sorrow, disorder, and chaos came to our minds. Psychoanalysis theory is also one of the theories that we have encountered in this short story. â€Å"The Garden Party† traces the psychological and moral growth of Laura Sheridan.The story presents her adolescent confusion regarding the social values of her family and her awakening to a more mature perception of reality after her exposure to poverty and death at the carter's cottage. The third theory will be likely criticism theory. Most criticism of Katherine Mansfield's short story â€Å"The Garden Party† concentrates on the story as a story of the growth and maturity of a young idealistic character. For example, see Laur a's initiation as a passage from the â€Å"dream world of her parents and social class to the real world of the Sheridan's neighbouring working-class. This also describes the symbolic significance of the garden party, â€Å"The garden party epitomizes the dream world of the Sheridan women, a world whose underlying principle is the editing and rearranging of reality for the comfort. Throughout this short story, we have also analysed a few themes. For the overall theme and sub-themes from this story, â€Å"The Garden Party†, the major theme is growth. Laura’s mother summons Laura to supervise the workmen who come to set up the marquee for the garden party, she intends to leave everything to her children as a way to make them independent.When Laura suggests placing the marquee on the lily lawn, a workman rejects the idea, saying that she should the marquee â€Å"where it’ll give you a bang slap in the eye. † Laura then wonders whether it is respectful of a laborer to speak to a girl of her upbringing in the crude language of the common people. However, Laura ends up approving of the men even though they are the ones who choose the location for the marquee–against the karaka trees. Thus, though failing to supervise the men with authority, Laura learns to overlook class distinctions in dealing with the outside world.The another theme will be the contrast between life and death. The Sheridan's garden is a place of thoughtless pleasure and burgeoning energy, where young people resemble brilliant butterflies and arum lilies bloom with an almost frightening vitality. In contrast, the home of the dead carter is dark and oppressive, guarded by an aged crone and surrounded by a shadowy crowd. Mansfield deliberately exaggerates the difference between these two locations in order to emphasize her theme.That life and death are part of the same continuum is suggested by the temporal structure of the story, which begins at dawn and ends in a gathering dusk. As many critics have noted, Laura's journey to visit the bereaved family has strong mythic overtones and resembles the tale of Proserpina, a goddess who was abducted by Hades into the underworld. Laura's moment of epiphany testifies to a kind of knowledge unavailable in the sunny world of the garden party. In this way, her journey also has the quality of an initiation rite, in which a naive young girl achieves emotional and moral maturity.Last but not least, we realized that this short story is focused on third person point of view. It is because the narrator withholds information in favor of limiting what she says to what Laura thinks and experiences. Besides, she generally does not understand the incident of what she undergoes that day, at least not until the very end, when she says â€Å"isn't life, isn't life? † only for her brother to interrupt her, misinterpret her, and silence the knowledge about death she had just obtained from visiting the cottage o f the man who had died.

22 Signs Your Boss Hates You

22 Signs Your Boss Hates You We all think from time to time that our bosses hate us.   Rest assured, 9  times out of 10, the problem is entirely in our heads. But just in case you’re in one of those rare situations, it’s best to know the truth. At least that way you stand a chance of changing his or her view of you. Here are 22 possible signs that your boss  probably hates you, a lot.1. Your gut tells you soYou’ve just got a bad feeling about it. Are you usually spot on with your gut feelings? If you are, you might consider taking this as a preliminary clue, rather than as a sign that you are crazy or overly anxious.2. You’re out of the loopYour boss doesn’t come to you with tasks or questions or involve you in big decisions and discussions. In general, you’re not asked for input on anything of import, which may mean you aren’t valued.3. He doesn’t look you in the eyeThis could be a sign that your boss  is harboring a bit of hostility and would rath er that go undetected. Also eye contact in general signals a certain degree of attention and trust, which you aren’t getting.4. She never smiles at youOr even around you. If this can’t simply be explained by a mood swing or a bad week, then you might start asking yourself questions.5. You’re the only one getting micromanagedMicromanagers are the absolute worst. But if you notice that no one else in your office is being subject to the same treatment, that’s a surefire sign you’re on the naughty list.6.They avoid youIf your boss is always nipping out of the room when you enter, waiting for another elevator, swerving around a cubicle to avoid your eye, and never overlapping during your main work hours†¦something is up.7. You barely existYour boss doesn’t acknowledge your presence or arrival with a simple nod or hello or â€Å"have a good night.† Seriously, how hard is that? There has to be a reason.8. You’re getting monosylla blesAll your questions, even â€Å"How are you?†s are met with one word answers. And emails are perfunctory with no nice greetings or signatures. Basically, if you feel you’re getting the silent treatment from a teenage girl.9. Bad body languageCrossed arms, impatience, not looking up when you enter their office†¦ and generally projecting an air of standoffishness.10. You’re in email jailWhereas your boss routinely has small meetings or conversations with your coworkers, she communicates with you solely over email, as if avoiding face time.11. You’re not on the insideAnytime there is a special project or important meeting, you’re not involved.12. She keeps her door closedThough, that might be a sign that your boss hates everyone, not just you.13. The wall of â€Å"no†You can’t get anything right. Every suggestion you make is put down. Every answer you give is corrected. You ask for something and you get a big fat â€Å"no.† It’s even more telling if your boss is not like this with your other coworkers.14. He  doesn’t ever get personalEven in a particularly all-business office, personal conversations crop up now and again. If your boss is asking your coworkers about their kids and weekends and hobbies, but never you? Bad sign.15. You get all the grunt jobsYou keep getting assigned all the jobs that no one else would touch with a 10-foot pole, well below your pay grade and experience.16. She’s stingy with the feedbackEven when you ask for it. She doesn’t seem to care whether you progress or your work improves. This sort of indifference is not good for your relationship or your career.17. She gives you plenty of feedback (negative, and publicly)You’re voted Most Likely To Get Dressed Down at the Meeting. If your boss is going out of her way to embarrass or humiliate you, you’re in big trouble. That disrespect is highly unprofessional, so it’s probably c oming from somewhere deep.18. You’re not in on the jokesIt’s like middle school all over again and you’re on the outside of all the inside jokes. If there’s a lot of banter in your office and you never have to take a turn getting roasted, that could also be a bad sign.19. He takes the creditEvery good thing you manage to accomplish, and every good idea you have, seems to be presented in the end as his.20. Your good projects get reassignedThe one thing that kept you getting jazzed about coming into work? Gone next Monday. Given to someone else with little explanation. It’s like someone took your toy away.21. You hear the phrase â€Å"personality clash†If your boss says something like this out loud to describe your relationship, then chances are she doesn’t like you very much. This is polite speak for I HATE YOUR GUTS GET OUT OF MY FACE.22. You seem to make her  horribly impatientYour boss has all the time in the world for the office dunce, for other people’s mistakes, but zero for you. She’s always short and curt and jiggling her foot.If any of these 22 warning signs ring true for you, it might be worth a conversation, a strategy on how to change the situation, or even a search for another job. But, like we said, better to know!

Designing the Best Application Essays

Designing the Best Application Essays As someone who has written and edited dozens of application essays, I can tell you from experience that the best application essays are those that are creatively presented. There is no doubt in my mind, as a matter of fact, that the reason I was accepted to my college of choice was mostly due to the creativity behind my purpose statement. In order to give you a better idea of what I mean, I am going to illustrate how I designed my application package. As anyone who is applying to college will tell you, the application form consists of several general information inquiries, the essay section, as well as some short answer questions. When I was applying to school I knew my grades werent my strongest suit, so I decided to make my application package a work of art. Rather than simply filling out the application form by hand, I had my answers professionally printed on the pages. Then, I affixed the pages of the form on to heavy pieces of card-stock paper, so it looked as though each page of my application form was beautifully framed. For my application essay, I also had it professionally printed and then matted on card-stock paper. In addition, I included corresponding illustrations which I attached to the opposite sides of each page. Then, once I had my application, my essay, my short answer questions, and my illustrations beautifully printed and matted, I took everything to a professional print company where I had the pages bound in book-form. As Im certain you can tell, I spend a tremendous amount of time on my admissions essays and their presentations. When all was said and done, it took nearly two months to complete. Be assured, however, that the time and effort was more than worth it. I was accepted to every school to which I applied. If you are interested in learning how you can create the best application essays possible, dont hesitate to click on the adjacent link where you will find lots of ideas.

Antebellum Steamboats

The success was amazing. People could now defy wind, waves, tides, and downstream currents. Carrying capacity doubled. Keelboats went up the Mississippi at about 1 mph which was very expensive. The steamboats traveled over 10 mph against the current. By 1820 there were 60 steamboats on the Mississippi. By 1860 there were over 1000. Rivalries developed and led to racing. The steamboats led to an opening of the West and South which were filled with rivers. Until 1830 the products of the western region went southward and very little finished products made their way back west. The steamboat helped to send the finished products upriver and helped bind West and South together. This binding inspired the transportation revolution. In 1787, John Fitch built the first recorded steam powered boat in the United States. It was propelled by a row of oars on each side of the boat. He experimented with side-mounted paddle wheels, but in 1790 he used stern mounted oars instead. Fitch was the first to operate a steamboat commercially. It had scheduled transport of passengers and freight on the Delaware River in 1790. The first successful use of steam power to navigate a paddle wheel boat in America was in 1793. Samuel Morey used his steamboat on the Connecticut River. Robert Fulton became interested in steamboats at the age of 12 when he visited William Henry in 1777. He built and tested an experimental steamboat on the Seine River in 1803. Before returning to the United States, Fulton ordered a steam engine from Boulton and Watt, and built what the North River Steamboat. In 1807, the ship began passenger service between New York City and Albany. Antebellum Steamboats The success was amazing. People could now defy wind, waves, tides, and downstream currents. Carrying capacity doubled. Keelboats went up the Mississippi at about 1 mph which was very expensive. The steamboats traveled over 10 mph against the current. By 1820 there were 60 steamboats on the Mississippi. By 1860 there were over 1000. Rivalries developed and led to racing. The steamboats led to an opening of the West and South which were filled with rivers. Until 1830 the products of the western region went southward and very little finished products made their way back west. The steamboat helped to send the finished products upriver and helped bind West and South together. This binding inspired the transportation revolution. In 1787, John Fitch built the first recorded steam powered boat in the United States. It was propelled by a row of oars on each side of the boat. He experimented with side-mounted paddle wheels, but in 1790 he used stern mounted oars instead. Fitch was the first to operate a steamboat commercially. It had scheduled transport of passengers and freight on the Delaware River in 1790. The first successful use of steam power to navigate a paddle wheel boat in America was in 1793. Samuel Morey used his steamboat on the Connecticut River. Robert Fulton became interested in steamboats at the age of 12 when he visited William Henry in 1777. He built and tested an experimental steamboat on the Seine River in 1803. Before returning to the United States, Fulton ordered a steam engine from Boulton and Watt, and built what the North River Steamboat. In 1807, the ship began passenger service between New York City and Albany.

Euthanasia Or Abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Euthanasia Or Abortion - Essay Example The older concept was never differentiated from suicide and both activities were seen as similar in historic times and the definition assigned to the word euthanasia was very different from current world’s definition. In the Greek period, the act of euthanasia was recognized a means of death which was happy and satisfactory in nature and was hardly ever used and it was not used as a means of assisted suicide or mercy killing as it is use today. The meaning of the concept of euthanasia has experienced various changes in English language. In different periods, in different cultures, the definition of the word has altered from a happy means of death to murder which is not acceptable by the society or the law. Those individuals who are in favor of euthanasia state that not all societies in the past had a negative opinion on euthanasia and the western culture even favored it. For example the Eskimos used to conduct activities almost similar to euthanasia when an individual suffered from physical illnesses and became dependant on others, this especially used to take place while the resources became short or scarce (Atwood-Gailey 24). But these practices were only operated after enough care was given to the patient and there was no way to cure the patient. Even during the older period, the elders or those who were recognized as seniors used to give up their own lives in activities such as euthanasia for the betterment and the wellbeing of their children and upcoming generations. Pros and Cons The main advantage of euthanasia is that this activity can save the immense suffering that a patient goes through while he/she is on death bed and suffering from a disease that is incurable and very painful. Secondly it is the right of every individual to decide what is right or wrong for him/her and they have equal liberty to decide about their health, even the US constitution states that all individuals are free. Patients suffering from incurable disease are mostly those who loose the ability to even conduct their basic tasks such as washing themselves and taking care of themselves and they become dependant on others (McDougall 200). Due to these patients who want to die as independent individual and who give great importance to their dignity should be allowed to indulge in euthanasia. A huge amount of money is spend in taking care and hospitalization of a terminally ill patient, in certain cases individuals have ended up selling their own estates and what ever they own to cure themselves but certain illnesses are incurable and death is the destiny. In such cases euthanasia will help the individual in saving his treasure and passing it on to the upcoming generations so they can live a better life. Ample amount of the time of the physicians and nurses is wasted on terminally ill patient as they require higher degree of care, this time can be used to save and cure those patients who have higher probability of being cured. When individuals are termina lly ill, they start loosing their organs one by one, if these organs can be saved through euthanasia, some other patients who still have higher probability of living can benefit from these organs. Families are even adversely impacted when their loved ones are near to death and are suffering from

Race and Intersectionality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Race and Intersectionality - Essay Example The paper tells that according to Eliot, intersectionality is the study of the intersections between various disenfranchised minority groups. To be specific, it is the study of the multiple systems’ interactions of discrimination and oppression. It is a study methodology of relationships among many modalities and dimensions of subject formations and social relationships. Racism is an issue of actions, practices, and views that are not only desirable based on gender because they contribute to a sense of superiority and inferiority. It reflects the humanity belief segmented in groups with women experiencing the highest effect of racism than men. Eliot points out that intersectionality tries to look into how and suggests different categories of culture, social and biology interact on many simultaneous levels thus contributing to socially unequal systems. Furthermore, Smith explains that intersectionality is of the stand that traditional conceptualization of acts of oppression in the whole society such as sexism, religion, and racism do not function independently, however, these oppression forms interrelate creating oppression systems that portray the multiple forms intersection of discrimination. â€Å"Racism is not an effect but a tactic in the internal fission of society into binary opposition, a means of creating‘biologized’ internal enemies, against whom society must defend itself†. ... Moreover, another example â€Å"when my son was born I had been deadened with a needle in my spine. He was shown to me-the incredible miracle nothing prepared me for-then taken from me in the name of medical progress†. From the examples, intellectuality is being portrayed in the hospital set up. Stripping away a baby is like stripping a mother all her motherly rights. This portrays how gender is being reflected in the intersectionalism. According to Smith, as individuals seek to create a socially fulfilling and just everyday life and as a colle ction seeking to make history through social movements and political actions, we struggle with unstable connections between class, gender, and race. The explanatory and methodological framework for connecting all these three different axes difference and identity, of antagonism and alliance remains elusive. Harjo observes that any comparative history suggests that solidarity demand across class; race and lines of gender are most likely to compete than to coalesce. According to Eliot, social inequality different intersections are called matrix of domination. This can also be referred to as vectors of privileged and oppression. This term explains how differences in people like class, sexual orientation, age, race among others act as measures of oppression towards the women and finally change experiences in society as living like a woman. Smith explains how women for many years have been raped in wars, the immigrants and the blacks to show them their inferiority or for the men to stamp their authority. For many years the societies have had thinking that influence and fuels oppression and intensify these differences further.

FAMILY LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

FAMILY LAW - Essay Example The main setback identified in this area is due to the fact that the national criminal justice system does not consider domestic abuse or violence as criminal activities, and fails to provide adequate protection for women against such offences1. To compound the misery, there is considerable bureaucratic apathy among the enforcement authorities, such as the police, prosecutors and judges. These persons have been found to be unwilling to identify the causes of domestic violence. Therefore, the enforcement of laws against domestic violence has not been effective or constructive. Most law enforcing authorities do not view domestic violence as a serious criminal issue, and consider it to be a private problem. Their belief is that women have to deal with the problem of domestic violence and arrive at a solution to it by themselves. Most women believe that the criminal justice system acts as a barrier to their seeking the court’s intervention to eliminate violence. Several international bodies claimed that domestic violence is a violation of human rights. They also demanded that human rights must be made applicable to domestic violence. Human rights treaties have to develop effective instruments to address the problem of do mestic violence2. Activities such as physically hitting or slapping or a threat to cause harm to the victim or child of the victim, threatening to commit suicide or demeaning the victim verbally or physically, restricting the victim in visiting his or her friends or family member would constitute crimes of domestic violence3. Domestic violence is distinct from other types of assault. It should be dealt with separately with a separate dedicated mechanism for handling of cases; and there should be high levels of prosecutions and punishments. Only then will it be possible to eliminate domestic violence from the lives of women. The effects of domestic violence are much higher than that of physical assaults. Psychological damage is a very common

D-Day Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

D-Day - Essay Example The training and planning for D-Day had began months earlier as the plan came more in focus. The Airbase at Alliance Nebraska had become the center of training and by January 1944, there were 14,000 paratroopers training for the eventual invasion of German occupied France (Flanagan 24). By the evening of June 5, these paratroopers along with glider and C47 cargo aircraft had assembled in airfields in England. When General Eisenhower gave the signal, the aircraft and gliders made the initial advance on France. The 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions would be the first allied troops to land in France (Miller 733). The air operation also included one British division and this initial assault by the paratroopers has been credited with the success of the operation (O'Neill 16). From the moment they touched the ground, they would be confronted by German troops. The Naval armada, one-third American, was moving toward the shore while being protected by an impenetrable air cover. The operation would deliver a naval assault on 5 beaches at Normandy France. The beaches were dubbed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword, the code names given for the purposes of the operation ("World War II" D-Day"). As they hit the shores, they moved massive amounts of men and armament ashore. The initial assault involved 133,000 men that would increase to 850,000 by the end of June ("World War II" D-Day"). The landing was aided by the recently produced temporary "seagoing harbors" that had been built in British shipyards in total secrecy (Miller 735). These structures allowed the Allies to transform the beaches into serviceable harbors that could resupply the operation pending the capture of a major port at Le Havre (Miller 735). Fierce fighting would rage for days on the beaches of Normandy. Allied troops were faced with terrain that favored the defenders and were met with trained troops from the German Wehrmacht (Zapotoczny 1). Allied planes kept up a constant screen of curtain bombing as the German shore batteries offered fierce resistance. By the end of the fourth day, the German's were wearing down and the once secret French Underground was emerging to join the fight. American Rangers and British Commandos were lunging deep into German held territory at night and destroying the enemy's supply of weapons and communications systems (Miller 738). As the battle continued during the coming days, the German resistance concentrated and became more fierce. Cherbourg was heavily defended by the Germans who had been given an order to fight until they die (Miller 743). On June 22, the allies waged an all out assault on Cherbourg, which began by cutting the German lines of communications (Miller 743). Behind the lines, French Partisans fighting underground paralyzed the German supply lines and blocked the arrival of reinforcements. Fighting would continue in the coming weeks to secure France from the occupation of the German army. The effect of D-Day was to divert German attention and resources away from their battle with the Russians for control of Europe. The invasion of Normandy not only gave the Allied forces a strong foothold in France, it aided the Russian effort. Though the Germans has anticipated a major invasion for some time, the decoy efforts and the massive scope of the invasion was able to scatter and destroy the backbone of the German army in Europe.

Issue Of The Conflict Between Israel And The Palestinians Essay

Issue Of The Conflict Between Israel And The Palestinians - Essay Example Films such as Exodus, together with the horrific images that emerged from Germany’s concentration camps left an indelible mark on humanity, and rightly so. The effects of these images have also played a crucial role in what has evolved into a crisis in the Middle East that has one party, the Palestinians, crying foul, and the other, the Israelis, claiming rights to land Palestinians have lived on for 1300 years. In assessing any perspective, the temptation to see things from one side or the other is a very real problem. The Zionists, searching for Palestinian roots, wrote their history of the Jews in Palestine in the Middle Ages; the European Christians did the same. As Barnai (1992) suggests, history is often written through nationalistic eyes and as such may be rife with distortions that favor the side writing it. Abdullah’s and other arguments must be subject to that scrutiny. His first argument that Jews and Arabs lived in harmony for centuries, and that â€Å"For nearly 2,000 years Palestine has been almost 100 percent Arab† is faulty. His contention that current animosities have nothing to do with tribal enmity is doubtful as well from a historical perspective. What Slovan (2010) refers to as the Jewish insistence that Judenhass or Jew Hate is largely responsible appears to have weight when evidence is examined. While few reliable documents from very early times exist pertaining to the Jewish presence in Palestine and their treatment there, documents from the Ottoman Empire of the sixteenth century indicate they were there in significant roles. Barnai (1992) writes, â€Å"Jews were quickly integrated into the Ottoman Empire... [and] acquired key economic positions and were active  in...industry, trade, and finance† (p.11). Jews even then were persecuted by local Arab officials. Barnai found, [There were] â€Å"laws discriminating against the Jews...prohibitions on buying land, on building houses and synagogues, and on riding horses, and restrictions in matters of dress and inheritance...† (p. 13).

Prospective Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Prospective Analysis - Assignment Example The random walk model outlines that the stock price or earnings change have same distributions and are independent of each other thus past movements of stock price or earnings cannot be used to predict the future stock price movement. I disagree with John’s forecast strategy since the assumption of unchanging mean and variance is debatable. b. A merger or acquisition is will increase the future net income due to higher sales growth and more revenue generation from the acquisition. The merger or acquisition will reduce competition thus enhance the future net income. The best model that describes a better pattern of the earnings per share is the mean-reversion model since competition in the market will drive abnormal levels of profits to mean while reinvestment of the earnings will likely earn more levels of earnings. According to many analysts, the Earnings Factory is a ‘darling’ of the ASX. Its current market price $ 15 per share and its book value is $ 5 per share. Analysts forecast that the organisation’s book value will grow by 10 per cent per year indefinitely and the cost of equity is 15 per cent. The market’s expectation of the organisation’s long-term average ROE is calculated as follows; Companies with a high ROE can have a low PE ratio when the investors expect the firm will continue generate positive abnormal ROEs. The PE ratio is the market price per share divided by the earnings per

Issue Of The Conflict Between Israel And The Palestinians Essay

Issue Of The Conflict Between Israel And The Palestinians - Essay Example Films such as Exodus, together with the horrific images that emerged from Germany’s concentration camps left an indelible mark on humanity, and rightly so. The effects of these images have also played a crucial role in what has evolved into a crisis in the Middle East that has one party, the Palestinians, crying foul, and the other, the Israelis, claiming rights to land Palestinians have lived on for 1300 years. In assessing any perspective, the temptation to see things from one side or the other is a very real problem. The Zionists, searching for Palestinian roots, wrote their history of the Jews in Palestine in the Middle Ages; the European Christians did the same. As Barnai (1992) suggests, history is often written through nationalistic eyes and as such may be rife with distortions that favor the side writing it. Abdullah’s and other arguments must be subject to that scrutiny. His first argument that Jews and Arabs lived in harmony for centuries, and that â€Å"For nearly 2,000 years Palestine has been almost 100 percent Arab† is faulty. His contention that current animosities have nothing to do with tribal enmity is doubtful as well from a historical perspective. What Slovan (2010) refers to as the Jewish insistence that Judenhass or Jew Hate is largely responsible appears to have weight when evidence is examined. While few reliable documents from very early times exist pertaining to the Jewish presence in Palestine and their treatment there, documents from the Ottoman Empire of the sixteenth century indicate they were there in significant roles. Barnai (1992) writes, â€Å"Jews were quickly integrated into the Ottoman Empire... [and] acquired key economic positions and were active  in...industry, trade, and finance† (p.11). Jews even then were persecuted by local Arab officials. Barnai found, [There were] â€Å"laws discriminating against the Jews...prohibitions on buying land, on building houses and synagogues, and on riding horses, and restrictions in matters of dress and inheritance...† (p. 13).

The US as a Sole Superpower Essay Example for Free

The US as a Sole Superpower Essay During the Cold War that happened after World War II, there are distinctions that happened between and among countries all over the world. There is the First world countries which is composed of the United States and its allies, the Second world which is composed of the Soviet Union countries and the Third world countries which represents most Asian countries. This phenomenon has evolved to be the politics of development. Countries classified as first world or developed countries have managed to claim victorious their stance as superpower nation. History attests to the efforts of many developed countries, particularly the United States to impose their own generic formula of development to less developed countries. The Western influence of primarily the United States has embodied their character as the fast rising superpower of the universe. Yes, the West led by the United States is emerging as the country which will claim to be the sole superpower of the world in more years to come. The United States as a sole superpower will cause jealousy, corruption and anti-Americanism. The United States as a sole superpower will cause jealousy because being the sole superpower means that one has it all. And when one has it all, everybody will want to have a taste of what you are having. Jealousy transcends to insecurity and envy. When the U. S becomes the sole superpower, it is inevitable that the countries that once has pledge their loyalty and alliance will question their own capabilities to become a superpower country. In that realization, they too will aspire to share the seat of the U. S. When jealousy arises, more attempts to destroy the U. S as a leading superpower will come about. Different nations aspiring to become the superpower will devise their own tactics and plans to seat out the U. S in their hope to replace the U. S. Call it destabilization plots, military tactics to get into the head of U. S leaders and uncover the secrets in achieving such great success. Jealousy entails that one country is determined to destroy what the U. S has and envision his country to replace the stance of the U. S. The United States as a sole superpower will cause corruption. To quote Lord Acton, a 19th century British politician and academician, the aphorism â€Å"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely† exemplifies what will happen in the U. S when they become the superpower of the world. (Hofstede, 2002b) Judging from other countries, poor countries tend to have higher corruption rates because of poverty and the need to survive. But such in the case of the U. S when it experience such wealth and resources, will cause corruption in their own turf. And this is not caused by the need to survive alone, but rather greed. The U. S as a superpower will cause corruption in its own government because leaders would want to benefit for what they have contributed to the country. Everybody would want to reward themselves with what the U. S have because it is their deemed right to do so. And that speaks of corruption. The power of the U. S will cause corruption because judging from history, almost every nation who had experienced unopposed level of power has fallen because they have abused it. Different empires since the Greeks have exemplified this downfall and absolute power shall tend to corrupt the U. S too once they emerge to become the sole superpower. (Messerrli, 2006) The United States has begun to demonstrate this action when they try to impose their own developmental formula to other countries and imposing it as a humanitarian effort to help third world countries. This action is clear when they tried to impose democracy in the Iraqi regimes without any concern for the world treaties imposed by the International Criminal Court or the United nations. The abuse of power will certainly lead to more invasions, and reenact what old invasion of the Greeks and Persians demonstrated in the earlier centuries. It will then prove to become a vicious cycle wherein the most powerful nation in the world will come to pursue other territories and own every resource to maintain their position being a sole superpower. The U. S as a sole superpower will cause Anti-Americanism in almost all ways possible. From our logic, when jealousy and corruption persist, more countries will tend to hate the U. S for the wealth they are experiencing. More so, they will hate Americans for the great boost of morale they have being number 1. (Messerrli, 2006)They will hate the Americans for imposing in them the idea that they are the leading race of the world and they have the power to command other nations and race in their actions. They will hate the Americans for always characterizing success with their country. Being number one entails that you are placed under scrutiny all the time, and criticized for every action that you take. The United States will embody what every other nation aspires to be. Even if the U. S envisions helping other poor countries, people from those countries will see otherwise. (Hiro, 2007)They will imply other hidden motives other than pure and ideally trusting action of the U. S in helping them, rather they will think that the U. S is planning to conquer the world. Terrorism will be recorded at an all time high. (Messerrli, 2006) And the U. S will not only strengthen their own economy but along with that comes great regard for the protection and security of its military forces to keep the position of number 1 all over the world. U. S leaders will prioritize their military forces to ensure that the 9/11 attacks will remain to be a history and that the U. S will remain to be the sole superpower. Even if the U. S maintains to fight the dictators of most countries as they believe greatly in democracy of a country and its people, many natives and nationalist of those countries will side their leaders and refuse to adhere to the U. S intention to liberate them. In the end, the only thing that will be seen is a powerful nation â€Å"bullying† other smaller nations. Despite all these negativity seen if the U. S becomes a sole superpower, fact remains that the U. S has mass resources it can use to help other countries alleviate poverty and hunger. It can also urge other progressive countries to help in this effort by improving other civilizations than just strengthening their military defenses. The U. S can serve as a protector of those countries needing help and can influence other wealthy nations to help with its social programs for other nations to benefit. The U. S is the embodiment of democracy and liberty. No other nation can brag of more equal opportunities for women and minorities than the U. S. The country can serve as a great example to other striving nations to achieve a country that is diverse and which upholds the dignity of every individual. Human rights is very well protected in the U. S and when the U. S becomes a sole superpower, and every other nation will try to imitate its standard, then ideally the other countries are imitating a quality standard of success. Also, the rights entailed by the Constitution of the United States give power to the greater American public. Freedom of speech is practiced and people, through the First Amendment can openly criticize the government for violating any human rights or abusing the authority of the government. Transparency and accountability is practiced as all times. Democracy which entails power of the people to decide on matters of the states will somehow prevail than the greed and abuse of power of some politicians. The economy of the U. S can also influence other economy-driven countries to format theirs as well. The strength of the U. S lies with its influence on other currencies, how the U. S dollar becomes the standard currency that influences other economies all over the world. This power can be a factor to regulate and stabilize other economies as well. With its intention to have a healthy diplomatic relations among other countries, the U. S cannot and will not afford to destroy that knowing that abusing its own power can lead to the destruction of its own economy as well. If the provision of the future entails the United States as the sole superpower of the world, there will always be two sides of the coin. With its great resources and ideal view of democracy, and can bring a new sense of civilization, stability and prosperity among other nations. But this strength can also result to other country striving to become better than the U. S, other country aspiring to unseat the number 1 country, and people of those nations hating the U. S because of jealousy and envy. As a conclusion, it all depends on the future leaders and the morals they hold being the leader of the sole superpower of the world. There will come a time that abuse will be realized, corruption practiced, and jealousy prevailing. But with a leader who has all the right and moral intentions to do well, and use the success of the U. S as a catalyst for social change, the world will be better off with a superpower such as the United States. Let us all just hope that their intention to hold the ideal concept of democracy and respect to the human rights of the people will prevail, or else, the world will only see two distinctions: the United States and its conquests, or the United States and the developing countries. Reference: Hiro, D. (2007).The Sole Superpower in Decline: The Rise of a Multipolar World [Electronic Version]. TomDispatch. Retrieved December 9, from http://www. zmag. org/content/showarticle. cfm? ItemID=13586 Hofstede, G. (2002b). The economic and cultural dynamics of corruption 2001 data. The Universal and the Specific in 21st-Century Global Management, 28(1), 34-43. Messerrli, J. (2006). Is it good for the world to have the U. S. as the sole superpower? [Electronic Version]. Retrieved December 9 from http://www. balancedpolitics. org/sole_superpower. htm

Sexuality In North By Northwest

Sexuality In North By Northwest While the Cold War conjured diverse anxieties, I will center my presentation on the idea of Domestic Containment, specifically the containment of homosexuality in America (Cohan). I came across this concept in Elaine Tyler Mays Homeward Bound. It deals with the political and ideological reasons 1950s America insisted on promoting rigid heterosexuality and capitalist drives, ridding itself of backward men and Communist traitors, something completely in line with Hitchcocks mission in the film Moreover, by invoking the homophobic categories of Cold War political discourse, in particular the construction of the homosexual as a national security risk, N by NW virtually guaranteed that gender and nationality functioned as mutually reinforcing categories of identity. In this presentation, I will discuss sexuality as related to ideas of nation-hood and argue that there is a mini cold war being waged in North by Northwest, one that deals specifically with advancing the American heterosexual couple over the Soviet homosexual one coded throughout the film. With the American, heterosexual couples triumph on screen comes an ideological victory for America in 1959. SLIDE Before I analyze clips and stills from North By Northwest that deal with currents of sexuality and nationality, I wanted to show this clip from the latter half of the film to show that Hitchcock makes it abundantly clear that we are supposed to read North by Northwest as a Cold War film concerned with sexuality. CLICK!!! I want you to take away from this clip the obvious language of the cold war as well as how sexuality or bedding down is wrapped up in this international struggle. In this way, North by Northwest presents in biting form America immersed in Cold War ambiguity in which people on both sides were served up as sacrificial lambs. N by NW was made and released during the latter phase of the second term of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a time when the Cold War was in full force, with the US and rival Soviet Union utilizing the most sophisticated spy techniques. This new kind of war required constant vigilance and readiness to fight on a moments notice. The Cold War lasted longer than any other war in our countrys history, starting when the United States introduced nuclear terror to the world by dropping its first atomic bomb on Japan on August 6, 1945, and lasting into our lifetime with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Although the Cold War shaped and distorted virtually every aspect of American life, perhaps more than anything else, nuclear weapons changed the world. With them, an element of vulnerability existed unlike anything in history. Nuclear threat escalated during the 1950s, the decade were concerned with today. In August 1949 the Soviets had their first successful nuclear bomb test. Both the US and the Soviet Union held hydrogen bomb tests in 1952 and 53 and in October 1957 the Soviets launched Sputnik. Americas nuclear buildup, global mobilization, and interventionism during the Cold War were justified in the name of stopping Soviet communism, a foe policymakers deemed so diabolical that its defeat warranted the risk of destroying civilization itself. The fact that the Soviet Union was not just a military, economic, and geopolitical but an ideological foe, posed a unique kind of challenge to a resolutely capitalistic nation. This ideological antagonism between socialism and capitalism polarized the world along new lines. And it is against this backdrop that Hitchcock gave birth to his suspense thriller North by Northwest. SLIDE Certain historical trends and demographics are crucial to understand before analyzing the films comments on sexuality. During the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, an amazing rise in the birth rate, a declining age of marriage, a growth in the marriage rate, and low divorce rate all converged in the midst of the most intense years of nuclear fear and ideological and surrogate warfare. Since family formation and fertility respond to both positive and negative economic and cultural stimuli, it is not surprising that this era of comparatively good times brought increased marriage and fertility. At the same time, however, increased sexual activity at younger and younger ages, especially for women in the late 1950s and beyond, problematically, included increasing instances of pre-marital sex Thus the history of sexuality in postwar America is the story of increasing liberalization Men, too, participated. The rebellion of men against marriage and the increasingly permissive fantasy life associated with the playboy lifestyle of the late 1950s, appears to be the kind of life our protagonist and hero, Cary Grants character Roger Thornhill, ascribes to. And, in terms of female rebellion, perhaps even more dismantling is the sexual promiscuity of Eve Kendall, played by Eva Marie Saint. Thornhill is typed as a womanizer, with two failed marriages to boast of, and Eve, as if completely aware of the expectations of her 1950s culture, introduces herself to Thornhill curtly stating that shes 26 and unmarried, and thats all he needs to know. SLIDE Examining domestic containment in relation to national identity has multiple advantages. It allows us to see that what we have heretofore regarded as a unique Cold War phenomenon was in fact part of the larger, ongoing process of defining America. The very meaning of America had become greatly problematized in the 1950s. Perhaps this instability of American identity is why Hitchcock constantly reasserted distinctly American values and American locations throughout North by Northwest, on screen are just a few of the most memorable sites Hitchcock takes us. AD-LIB I will present many facets of North by Northwest that deal specifically with America and American life in order to further ground the containment of homosexuality as a Cold War strategy in the film. I first want to discuss the opening credits of the film. Understanding Hitchcocks brilliant beginning gives us-the viewers and our class today-a lens through which to understand Hitchcocks understanding of Cold War America, homophobia, heterosexuality and communism. SLIDE Designed by American graphic designer and Academy award winning filmmaker Saul Bass, the credits provide a kind of map meant to locate or orient the spectator. A series of intersecting lines, clearly intended to invoke a map or graph, traverse a blank screen placed at an angle to the camera. They eventually dissolve into a shot of an office building whose glass and steel faà §ade reflects the moving traffic on the busy street below. The mirror like surface of the faà §ade that emerges from the intersecting lines functions as a screen on which the images of the busy street below are not so much reflected as projected. Consequently, according to Robert Corber in his book In the Name of National Security: Hitchcock, Homophobia, and the Political Construction of Gender the opening titles seem to suggest that, as a semiotic practice, the film has the ability to organize and define reality, to construct a map of it that fixes its meaning for the spectator. In this way, they call attention to the artificiality or constructed-ness of the films representation of reality. It provides the spectator with coordinates that enable him/her to locate and define his/her position in the world and thereby make sense of it-a concept integral to audience reception that we have discussed at length this semester, and that I will touch on in greater depth shortly. By beginning in this way, according to Corber, the film demonstrates its ability to conjure reality, to construct a representation of the world that the spectator does not question but assumes accurately reflects contemporary society b/c of its perceptual intensity or so-called impression of reality à   thus, from the beginning, we are meant to assume that Hitchcock s representation of America in 1959 is how it really was. Another important element of the films beginning is that our protagonist Roger Thornhill appears as if plucked from the crowd at random, as he is initially shown emerging from an elevator jammed with office workers. He is completely typical of New Yorks crowded people, lacking direction. Indeed, purely by accident, he is kidnapped shortly after he arrives at the hotel by two of Vandamms men, who mistake him for the fictitious American agent George Kaplan. Thus, Hitchcock makes us think that anyone of us, too, could have been sucked into this crazy plot. One other interesting thing to glean from the title sequence is that it alludes to the traps in which the protagonists find themselves throughout the film as well as frames the films trajectory This grid recurs throughout the film, in railway cars, deserted prairie crossroads, and national monuments. From the very beginning, moreover, I want you to note that the film is an exploration of Cold War AMERICA, as seen in the vertical top shots of the Madison Avenue skyscraper, UN headquarters and Mount Rushmore and the horizontal shots of the railway car and of the empty Midwestern plane I will now show a hilarious trailer for North by Northwest from 1959, which gives a brief but comprehensive geographical tour of Hitchcocks locations, which I wont have time to flesh out on my own in this presentation, but are extremely important. SHOW TRAILER HERE! SLIDE Having recently discussed how the opening credits situate and control the spectators view of the film, and, by extension, portray the Cold War climate according to Hitchcocks construction, I want to specifically link this form of control with the viewers sexual identification. Hitchcocks films contributed indirectly to the pathologizing of same-sex eroticism by suggesting that in order for the individual to achieve a relatively stable heterosexual identity she/he had to successfully negotiate the Oedipus complex Because Hitchcocks films occupied the subject position, the spectator became complicit with her/his own Oedipalization, which, in the 1950s, was tantamount to accepting the terms of the postwar settlement. By examining N by NW in the context of the postwar settlement, I want show to that Hitchcocks films participated in a regime of pleasure that helped to consolidate the emergence of the national security state. His representational practices were complicit with the dominant construction of social reality during the Cold War era. Hitchcocks tendency to subjectivize the individual spectators experience constitutes one of the principal links b/w his films and the anti-Stalinist project of American Cold War officials. Thus, in N by NW, Hitchcock demonstrated how the discourses of national security produced fantasies that brought the individual spectators desire into alignment with the nations security interests. SLIDE Now I will move into the meat of my presentation: the politicization of sexuality. The Cold War persuaded millions of Americans to interpret their world in terms of insidious enemies who threatened them with nuclear and other forms of annihilation. McCarthyism contributed heavily to viewing the world through this dark, distorting lens and setting global and domestic policies to counter these threats. According to the Federal Government, if homosexuals felt alienated from mainstream American society, that was b/c they were maladjusted, their problems were not political but personal and were best remedied in a doctors office. On the other hand, however, the dominant discourse of same sex eroticism tried to show that homosexuality promoted communism and therefore politicized gay identities. The gay community, which had emerged with new cohesion and visibility in the wake of World War II, found itself a prime target for anticommunist crusaders. It was believed that they were especially vulnerable to blackmail by Soviet agents eager to recruit intelligence sources As a result, the early 1950s witnessed widespread purging of homosexuals from the State Department, the military, and other federal agencies. However, more than just a greater risk of blackmail was involved. Homosexuals were seen as deficient in character, moral integrity, and real masculinity. Unfit as Cold Warriors, they were thus undesirable citizens. This stigmatization, as historian John DEmilio points out in his study of Cold War sexual politics, was carried still further by conservative politicians who linked homosexuality directly to communism, re-conceptualizing homosexuality as a contagious disease spread by communists to weaken the nation from within. A single homosexual, officials maintained, could easily contaminate an entire government office. The oppression of homosexuals at all levels became yet another act of containment in the fight against communism. Homosexuals, further, were seen as especially dangerous to the extent that a gay male character was virtually indistinguishable from straight male ones, thereby demonstrating that homosexuals, like communists, could dangerously escape detection. During its highly publicized hearings in the 1940s and early 1950s, the House UnAmerican Activities Committee did not limit its investigation to the Communists who had supposedly infiltrated the federal Government, but extended it to include homosexuals who passed as heterosexual. On the basis of testimony from psychiatrists and other medical experts who testified that they were susceptible to blackmail by Soviet agents b/c they were emotionally unstable, thus officially pinning homosexuals as national-security risks. The publication of the Kinsey reports on male and female sexual behavior, in 1948 and 53 respectively, only reinforced the politicization of homosexuality. The reports provided scientific evidence suggesting that sexual identities were fluid and unstable rather than exclusively and permanently heterosexual or homosexual. In recognizing the fluidity of sexuality, hindering the attempts of gays to define themselves as members of an oppressed minority The pervasive allusions to homosexuality in North by Northwest enables me to stress the centrality of the politicization of same-sex eroticism to post-war American culture and to show that containment of homosexuality was necessary to conditions of the Cold War. Thus, North by Northwest epitomizes this tight bond between sexuality and national security in the Cold War era. SLIDE Now I will begin my analysis of sexuality in the film with what I call a montage of references to homosexuality. When looking at these stills from the movie, keep in mind how Cary Grant, our dashing American protagonist, too, can be wrapped up with homosexuality, speaking to the pervasiveness and dangers of homosexuality infiltrating American lives. SLIDE The films drama basically begins with Roger Thornhill going to an all-mens bar in the Plaza Hotel. Although he has a date for that evening, it is with his mother no less, a problem I will discuss shortly! SLIDE The theme of the kidnapping of the hero, Thornhill, by two sinister men, with the hero often seated in a car, tightly between them, recurs throughout the film in myriad forms. Pictured above are just a few examples that represent this theme of Thornhills encounters with homosexuality. CLICK FOUR TIMES. SLIDE Now we arrive at the Villain Phillip Vandamms home who is played by George Mason. I want you to keep this seemingly benign image on screen in mind throughout the remainder of my presentation. While no scholar has mentioned the significance of the cars pulling into Vandamms gate, I think this action is importantly mirrored in the iconic ending of the film that I will show later. For now, however, just keep in mind that a car driven by a man and with our protagonist squished tightly b/w two other men in the backseat, penetrates the gate to a Soviet home. SLIDE Vandamm, the lead villain, unsurprisingly is connected with homosexuality. His masculinity should be suspect because of his relationship with his sadistic, overtly homosexual associate, Leonard, played by Martin Landau, who Hitchcock notes in the screenplay should be read as gay. The slide above features Leonard, with the help of two male henchmen, forcing the neck of a liquor bottle between Thornhills lips, making him drink its full contents-an obviously phallic reference of homosexual rape SLIDE As I noted a few minutes ago, a central facet of the politicization of sexuality in the 1950s, came with associating homosexuality with communism. While Hitchcock doesnt specifically mention the country of origin of the foreigners in the film, he locates Vandamms home importantly in Glen Cove, New York. This location directly implies that Vandamm and his associates are from the Soviet Union, who at the time had a mission in that town on northern Long Island. This fact sheds particular light on the stills of homosexuality I am showing, as they are directly linked with communism. Further, later in the film, the Professor describes Vandamm as an importer exporter of government secrets, thereby coding him as a Soviet agent involved in the Cold War. SLIDE Before I move on to show and discuss the famous crop-dusting scene-the scene I regard as the most compelling, and famous, visual representation of the threat of homosexuality to our protagonist-I must first discuss another aspect of Thornhills unsuitable sexuality: his unhealthy relationship with his mother. In order to Contain Thornhill and set him on the proper sexual path, his relationship with his mother needs to severely change. The basic mother-son story line goes as follows: the film opens with an ageless male, Thornhill, identifying himself first of all as a son. He speaks of his efforts to keep the smell of liquor on his breath from the watchful nose of his mother, and he comes to the attention of his enemies because of an unresolved anxiety about getting a message to his mother, whereupon he is taken captive. (Cavell) Hitchcock suggests that Thornhills involvement in the Communist underworld, an underworld marked by sexual as well as political deviance, is not purely coincidental but is indirectly related to his devotion to his mother. The film tries to show that b/c he has failed to internalize the Law of the Father and remains emotionally dependent on his mother, there is a sense in which his irresponsible behavior is complicit with the Communist infiltration of the American government. The discourses that linked communism and homosexuality actually warned against the potentially pernicious effects of motherhood specifically and point to a reaction against the emergence of the feminine mystique of the 1950s. On the one hand, as we have seen throughout seminar, post-war American culture experienced a proliferation of glorified representations of motherhood designed to lure women back into the home following the war. On the other hand, many Americans resented the glorification of motherhood b/c it gave women supposedly too much power in the domestic sphere. With the outbreak of the Cold War, Mom-ism too became linked to the spread of communism and led to the creation of a demonology of motherhood. Suddenly, mothers risked making their sons susceptible to Communist propaganda. The discourses of mom-ism limited womens empowerment in the domestic sphere and ensured that their child-rearing practices conformed to the nations security interests. For, if women disregarded the expert advice of psychiatrists and other trained professionals, they risked producing children who were Communists as well as homosexuals. In N by NW this aspect of the demonization of motherhood is obvious in Thornhills relationship with his mother. Thornhills sexual immaturity thus is incompatible with the nations security interest. In the postwar period, the nations political stability and economic prosperity were thought to depend upon the production of subjects who had internalized the rules and regulations governing Oedipal desire. Thus Thornhill was not so different from the films Communists and homosexuals. ADLIB-mom younger than Grant, problematic. SLIDE To close this section on homosexuality, I want to look at the famous scene where Thornhill is attacked by a crop-dusting plane. This iconic sequence of events is both the central image of Thornhills victimization and surprisingly, or unsurprisingly as my presentation is attempting to prove, a powerful instance of homosexual attack. The night before this scene takes place Thornhill and Eve violate a taboo. We know that Thornhill spent the night with Eve, boldly and obviously suggesting pre-marital intercourse. I understand the attack Im about to show, which once again occurs the very next day, to be a powerful visualization of punishment for intercourse CLICK SHOW CLIP!!! CLICK AFTER! The linkage of this scene with sexuality is evident in Hitchcocks filming. The association of the prairie with the sexual landscape of the train compartment where Thornhill and Eve had sex the night before is signaled by his camera shots. Right before the clip I just showed, a close-up of Eves face at the train station dissolved into an aerial shot of the road and fields of the plane attack, explicitly linking these scenes. This shot transition begs for an allegorical identification of the woman and this stretch of land, the very land where Thornhill undergoes his attack. To discuss this scene I will rely on the analysis of Theodore Price from his book Hitchcock and Homosexuality. He notes that firstly, we must note the phallic symbolism associated with birds and of flying objects in general. According to Price, aside from the birds shape, and its darting, pecking beak, a bird is, to everyones unconscious, a phallic symbol because it flies. Flying also is a symbol for getting an erection, for potency, and for sexual intercourse in general according to Ernest Jones. Thus, in a way, the crop-dusting plane scene can conjure undertones of homosexual rape from above. There are several meanings that arise when looking at this scene from this angle. 1) This scene could represent a fear on the part of Thornhill of homosexual rape-and/or fear in his strange attraction to homosexual rape. This connection is clear especially when considering the homosexual rape still I showed earlier of Leonard forcing liquor down Thornhills mouth. The phallic bird-plane then may be interpreted as Grants fear of his former attraction to homosexuality as he starts out on still another new love affair with a woman. 2) The plane could also stand for the avenging phallus of the father figure in the film, here Vandamm, who is understandably angry at the son figure, Thornhill, for making time with the mother figure, Eve. 3) Additionally, the sequence could mean that the plane represents the Castrator, Eve, who set him up in the cornfield to begin with. For, from the psychoanalytic view, birds can be woman or vagina symbols too. SLIDE Regardless of which way we read this scene, a powerful avenging phallus, sent by Communists, launches its bullets-take this fact as an allusion to ejaculation-at our male hero. Luckily for Thornhill, he finds safety in the cornfields of America-which, in my opinion, represents finding protection from this Communist phallus in the heartland of America. SLIDE Having catalogued countless instances of the presence and associated dangers of homosexuality in the film, I now need to show how these dangers were contained by the insistence on heterosexual couple. To do so, I will use Mays analysis of 1950s Domesticity in Homeward bound. In this work, May linked the exaggerated domesticity that characterized the long fifties-from 1945-1965-that weve discussed at length in seminar to homosexuality and anticommunist imperatives. May readily acknowledged the extraordinary stresses placed upon the American family by the Great Depression and World War II. Postwar Americans, finding additional threats to traditional family life in rising rates of out-of-wedlock pregnancy and sexual promiscuity, as I discussed before, juvenile delinquency, as Willi discussed two weeks ago, and the ultimate threat of nuclear war, Americans understandably sought normalcy in marital sex, pro-natalism, and suburban domesticity during this time. Further, just as anticommunism required the containment of Sino-Soviet expansion abroad, so, too, May argued, gender revolution and deviant expression of sexual desire had to be effectively contained at home, hence domestic containment. Promotion of family values, policymakers believed, would ensure not only a place for men to return to the workforce, but also the stable family life necessary for personal and national security, a kind of Cold War victory on the domestic front. Hitchcock too received the memo, as he promoted the heterosexual couple throughout the film. Hitchcock, by associating homosexuality with the soviets coded as communists, both comments on its pervasiveness of both groups in America at that time and establishes it as the inferior sexual bond that must be checked and contained by the heterosexual couple. Thus, no mere exercise in nostalgia, domestic containment was part of a new Cold War consensus about the meaning of America and deeply embedded in the plot of North by Northwest. Now Im going to show you a series of slides that blatantly show the heterosexual couple of Thornhill and Eve. CLICK AND ADLIB SLIDE When contextualized within the domestic politics of marriage during the cold war, heterosexuality and Re-Marriage take on great importance. We come to see that Thornhill and Eves adventures throughout the film serve as trials for their suitability to get married. Eve is sexually immature before she becomes an agent for the American government, according to the terms of the postwar settlement. Although she is partially redeemed by acting as an American agent-showing her willingness to perform her patriotic duty-she nevertheless continues to occupy a position outside the law. This is so because to perform her patriotic duty she must violate the rules that govern female sexuality in the 1950s, making her only partly rehabilitated. She is a treacherous little tramp and uses sex like a fly swatter according to the movie so she remains a marked woman throughout. However, when Thornhill rescues her from Vandamm, he enables her to do something genuinely worthwhile for the nation: become a proper wife and mother The relationship b/w gender and nationality suggests that Thornhills activities as an American agent also need to be reconstructed according to the post-war settlement. His activities as an American agent create a scenario that puts an end to his womanizing. Thornhills mix-up within the CIAs efforts to combat communism actually increases his desire for marriage and domesticity. To Thornhill, the domestic sphere not only provides a refuge from the government which has recklessly endangered his and eves lives, but also constantly restages his pre-Oedipal attachment to his mother. In this way, his espionage activities ensure that the organization of sexuality and his identity as a citizen are mutually reinforcing. Thus, Hitchcock stresses the ability of the American government to regulate and control the construction of the individuals subjectivity-as it is only once he is involved in its activities that he is redeemed. According to the discourses of national security then, Thornhills resistance to his role as a husband is un-American, and his activities as an American reorganize him as a proper citizen. This scene shows how the series of events that have unfolded have transformed both protagonists views of marriage, and suggest that re-marriage in the name of national security is on the horizon. CLICK SHOW CLIP As you just saw Thornhill uses the loaded word proposal that explicitly suggests marriage. Also, they discuss his former failed marriages, alerting the viewer that we are dealing with re-marriage here. Also, Cary Grants sly wit about leading too dull a life suggests that as a result of his involvement in matters of state, he has achieved a level of excitement suitable for marriage and can now enter into a proper relationship. SLIDE I want to show you a series of images and a clip from the end of the film that pit homosexuality explicitly against heterosexuality. With their placement at the end of the film they attain great significance, suggesting that the winner of this sexual battle is the victor in a mini cold war. In addition, I show images with men and women, homosexuals and heterosexuals, in these clips, to show both strains of sexuality at odds within a single frame. SLIDE Before I show these stills and clips, I need to discuss the importance of the Vandamm house itself, where the majority of these clips take place. Situated in a fictitious forested plateau atop the Mount Rushmore, Vandamms house dominates a devotional shrine of American democracy-its positioning alone reveals how even Americas most iconic monuments are endangered by Soviet penetration. Further, the houses Midwestern location-in the Black Hills region, near Keystone, South Dakota, is also important. The move toward the west, evoked by the films title, brings the protagonists to the American heartland, the spine of the continent. Additionally, the houses placement atop a mountain has wider implications. It expresses visual domination and panoptic control. The fact that blatant homosexuality pervades a site that serves simultaneously as a great threat to an iconic American monument and exerts intense control, suggests how dangerous the threats of homosexuality and communism have at once become at the end of the film. CLICK THROUGH CLIPS and ad-lib CLICK, SHOW CLIP! In this clip, we see Leonard using phrases like his womans intuition aligning himself with homosexuality, or femininity at the least and Vandamm noting that hes touched by jealousy. SLIDE Now I would like to move into the final phase of my discussion: a comprehensive discussion of Mount Rushmore, and the battle between the US and Soviet Union that occurs atop its democratic faces. First and foremost, we must understand Mount Rushmore to be a place so definitely and undeniably American. Using a carved rock containing the gigantic granite portraits of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln as a backdrop, Hitchcock suggests that what happens there is of NATIONAL IMPORTANCE. After a few savvy moves, Thornhill and Eve leave Vandamms house and find themselves atop monument being chased by Vandamm, Leonard and their henchmen.