Death and the afterlife in the Epic of Gilgamesh

The main purpose of the Gilgamesh myth is to illustrate the weakness of man in the face of destiny. This is particularly presented by the vision of the underworld as presented by Enkidu from one of his dreams. Enkidu describes the underworld as a very dark place where the people are clad in feathers and feed on clay (Cunningham and Reich 7).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Death and the afterlife in the Epic of Gilgamesh specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More By the time this dream appears in the story, the reader is already aware Enkidu is bound to die, but one reads on hoping that Enkidu would somehow find a loophole that would take him away from going to the underworld as predicted by the dream. The epic of Gilgamesh does not make death less frightening in comparison to the overwhelming nature of life. The afterlife as described by Enkidu is just an unsettling existence that no human being would like to live. In act ual sense, it makes death even scarier especially drawing from the words of Enkidu while on his demise bed. Enkidu tries to find a scapegoat by blaming the lady Shamhat for his own shortcomings in his pre-death premonition. He is basically trying to make amends with his creator so that he does not have to go to the underworld he had seen in an earlier vision. His disappointment at dying a weak man’s death is evident from the story and one would be tempted to blame him for not responding to earlier challenges adequately. As a reader, it is easy to picture one’s self in Enkidu’s shoes and suffer the same anguish he does of having to die young without accomplishing much. Having hitherto lived a very active life, it is easy to understand why Enkidu does not anticipate having to die such a slow death and then have to go to a harrowing afterlife. It makes it harder for the readers to appreciate the fact that they have to die someday and it is even frightening to think of how one would lose his life. The death dream definitely makes the journey tougher for Gilgamesh. As a young man, Gilgamesh is one individual who has become acquainted with using his own might to get out of challenging situations. He cannot help feel some deep anguish over the fate that is going to befall his friend over a mistake that they both took part in. Gilgamesh’s sorrow continues even after Enkidu’s death and seeing how terrifying it is to lose one’s life, he goes on a journey to find a way of acquiring immortality for him and the rest of the human race. The test by Utnapishtim is supposed to illustrate the desire by mankind to have all the good things in life even though they lack the personal willpower to obtain some favors.Advertising Looking for essay on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Gilgamesh wants to live forever so much that he agrees to partake in the test without as much a s a second thought and only realizes the impact of human weakness when he fails it almost immediately. Even when he gets a second chance at immortality, Gilgamesh once again exhibits the lack of focus by man when he decides to go for a bath leaving the flower of life for the serpent to take. It would have been appropriate for Gilgamesh to complete search for eternal life and then go for the simple pleasure offered by a bath but the inherent manly greed in him makes him want to have it all. He consequently loses the opportunity to live forever both for him and the rest of people in the world. Works Cited Cunningham, Lawrence John Reich. Culture and Values: A Survey of the Humanities. Connecticut: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print This essay on Death and the afterlife in the Epic of Gilgamesh was written and submitted by user Alyvia Bonner to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

10 5-Paragraph Essay Topics on American Culture

10 5-Paragraph Essay Topics on American Culture If you are writing a 5-paragraph essay on American culture, below are ten great facts you can use in your next essay: The Harlem Renaissance took place during the 1920s through the 1930s, and is noted as the first point in American history when African-American achievements in art, music, and literature flourished and were widely accepted. In the early part of the 1900s, the American public was shifting its interests from the â€Å"minstrel show† format to that of vaudeville. This created a wave of changes in theater in general, and one of the most interesting was the appearance of African American actors and purely African American â€Å"themes†. For example, the 1917 play â€Å"Three Plays for a Negro Theater† was a first of its kind and eliminated the stereotypical portrayal of â€Å"blackface† in favor of African American actors instead. Many view this as the birth of the Harlem Renaissance which would soon include jazz music, poetry, literature, and various forms of artwork as well. This cultural movement blossomed primarily in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, where a new African American middle class had developed. The societal shifts that had occurred with the end of slavery (around 1865) and the occurrence of the First World War all laid the groundwork for the coming of this â€Å"renaissance† in African American culture. This group of people was often the first generation born after slavery, whose parents or grandparents remembered lives spent laboring on plantations of the Deep South. These people wanted a much higher standard of living for their families, and so they joined in on the Great Migration to northern cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York. Once they were settled, these communities established schools, churches, and other necessary institutions. They still faced racism and segregation, however, and this provided for the emergence of the dominating theme of the art of the Harlem Renaissance, which was a powerful racial pride. The literature, art, music, and even formal educational pursuits of the time were all influenced by the post-slavery experience. Many characteristics apply to these works, however, and there are combinations of different levels of society all existing in a single genre. For example, jazz was â€Å"high culture† and â€Å"low life† all at the same time, but it allowed black and white Americans to equally access and comprehend the culture connected to the diverse African American experience up until that point in history. It also allowed all kinds of poetry, plays, music, philosophy and more to enter into the common dialogue and to provide for a widespread acceptance of different art forms. This would have an impact on such things as rock and roll, and even hip hop music too. Rock and Roll music faced many challenges in its early years because it was created in a time when racial segregation was still very common and overt racism still rampant, and yet it appealed to teens and young adults of all ethnic backgrounds. The American Civil Rights Movement (around 1954) had barely started, but this actually helped to facilitate the spread of Rock and Roll while also aligning more and more young Americans to the fight for equal rights and an end to racism. This is because the genre combines different styles of music that had previously been labeled strictly as â€Å"black† or as â€Å"white†, but which disappeared when merged into Rock and Roll songs. This sort of amalgamation broke down many social barriers as it also created an entirely new form of music. Hip Hop is commonly viewed as a subculture phenomenon originating in urban areas during the 1970s, it includes fashion, dance, speech, art, and especially music – the latter usually including a blend of rap, soul, and synthetic or beat box sounds. It is often considered a blend of urban youth culture, music, fashion, language, dance, and more. It is no longer a type of â€Å"subculture†, and is instead a totally mainstream issue in most major cities of the world. Modern Hip Hop also includes graffiti art, which is a direct reflection of its urban origins too. Subculture is a sociological term that describes a group of people with a distinctive culture that generally differentiates them from the larger cultural group to which they belong. Hip Hop is a manifestation of the evolution of urban culture as it has progressed from the more restrictive period of the late 1960s and early 1970s and into the current era. The early days saw influences from African and Latin Americans which focused primarily on the work of disc jockeys in clubs and discos, break dancers, rappers and some graffiti artists. This has since expanded to many different spheres, including fashion, street slang, and even business ideals which have been readily transferred to locations all around the world. The 1960’s and 70’s flourished in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Rights Movements of the 60s and 70s. It is believed to have reduced gang violence in the inner city areas by pitting teams of dancers, DJs, and artists against one another in totally non-violent ways. Unfortunately, the 1990s saw some shifts in the styles and language of the genre, and a re-emergence of crime, drugs, weapons, and strong language has created some divisions in Hip Hop culture. Counterculture is more of a social movement than an â€Å"institution† and it appeared primarily in the United States and Great Britain during the 1960s. Though living in a post-World War II era that seems to be eternally viewed as a period of middle class and domestic bliss, and one in which â€Å"traditional† family life was idealized, those of the Beat Generation, or Beats, experimented with sexuality, religion, and hard-core drugs. They also wrote about their experiences and theories in ways that severely challenged the status quo. They rejected materialism, used obscenity in their publications, practiced alternative lifestyles, and were often seen as the personification of non-conformity and creativity. William S. Burroughs, Gregory Corso, and John Clellon Holmes among many more emerged during the period following the war which was somewhat challenging for them because most of American society was still seeking a return to the â€Å"order† of daily life which the war had so readily disrupted. The Beat Generation, however, developed and thrived because of the equally strong intellectual subculture developing during that period too. This was reflected in the popularity of Beat â€Å"prose† which was often set to jazz music, and by the ready acceptance of its various poetry and prose forms, its art, and its developing language. The free use of language and descriptive text led to several obscenity trials targeting specific works, and these seem to really mark the entire movement. The beneficial impact of these negative events, however, demonstrated to society in general that there was far more than a single â€Å"language† or approach to communication of new ideas. This led directly to the rapid development of the much broader Counterculture movement which included music, clothing, social behaviors and ideals, and the later appearance of the â€Å"Hippy† generation. These facts perfectly explain the origins of the contemporary American culture that has various embodiments. They will simplify the process of writing for you. Just remember: if you have difficulties selecting the right topic, choose among the suggested ones. If you have troubles writing a 5-paragraph essay, visit our guide. We will help you with any problem contact our custom writing service. References: Anderson, Terry, and Joe P. Dunn. The movement and the sixties: Protest in America from Greensboro to Wounded Knee.  History: Reviews of New Books24.1 (1995): 15-15. Braunstein, Peter, and Michael William Doyle.  Imagine nation: the American counterculture of the 1960s and70s. Psychology Press, 2002. Cook, Bruce.  The beat generation. Scribner, 1971. Hutchinson, George.  The Harlem Renaissance in black and white. Harvard University Press, 1995. McNally, Dennis.  Desolate Angel: Jack Kerouac, the Beat Generation, and America. Da Capo Press, 2009. Taylor, Eugene.  Shadow culture: Psychology and spirituality in America from the Great Awakening to the new age. Counterpoint, 1999. Watson, Steven.  The Harlem Renaissance: Hub of African-American Culture, 1920-1930. New York, NY: Pantheon Books, 1995.

Total Quality Management (Case Study) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Total Quality Management (Case Study) - Essay Example Slight Sports, a sports equipment and hosiery manufacturing firm that has been operational for the last 40 years is one of the top organizations in the area of sports. The firm which started its operations from a single room became one of the top exporter of the sports equipment and accessories of the country. The major products included were footballs, basketballs, volley balls, tennis balls, sports hosieries and all the related equipment to these sports. Initially, Slight Sports catered to the local market for almost five years. The owner of the company, Mr. (XYZ) however, realized the potential of the foreign market and started looking for partners on foreign soils. With his untiring efforts, he found partners in different countries of the world and was able to create strong relationships with them. This was the start of the successful journey that Slight Sports enjoyed for almost thirty odd years. A major characteristic of Slight Sports products was that they were all handmade wh ich ultimately increased the value of their products worldwide. The visionary thinking and leadership characteristics of (XYZ) were instrumental in making Slight Sports earn its success. In the starting years of 2000, XYZ died due to heart disease. His death left a big hole in Slight Sports. The reins of the company were then transferred to his wife who started to look for new partners to modernize the firm in technological terms. The poor management skills and inexperience of Ms. XYZ proved extremely damaging for the firm. Kite Inc. who had been a major collaborator of Slight Sports in different countries ended their contract with Slight Sports sighting the declining quality of products and elimination of unique characteristics that were once forte of Slight Sports (Goldman, 100). The poor order management also played its part in ending of the contract. This was one of the major contract endings in the list which contained few other contract endings as well. Just in a couple of years Slight Sports had to cut back from all the major foreign deals and limited their operations to the local market. It is imperative to note that leadership is a key aspect in deciding a f irm’s success. The strategy, order management, client handling, etc, are important parts of any business, but there is no denying that they all come under the umbrella of leadership (Karni, 59). A firm with strong leader and few resources can attain the unattainable but a firm with huge resources and a weak leader cannot even attain the attainable. Findings, Recommendations & Conclusion The new owner did not realize the actual potential of slight sports. Her inexperience decided the firm’s downfall. She looked for new customers not realizing the company was not in the position to fulfill orders exceeding its capacity. She also cut down the unique characteristic Slight Sports had of â€Å"handmade† products by installing new machines. The installation of machines which should have been a good step proved damaging for them as it eliminated their point of major strength (Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson, 75). The new owner needs to focus on constant quality management t echniques such as implying six sigma concepts in the business after the business gets stable. This is important because for quality to remain consistent, it needs to be maintained on a constant note by strong supervision of policies and procedures. Six sigma concepts may take time to embed in the firm's policies but nevertheless it should be implied as soon as

Midterm Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Midterm - Term Paper Example Pro-choice According to consequentialist theory, the results or consequences of actions (i.e. pain versus pleasure) are the primary relevant feature in evaluating actions. Consequentialist defending abortion rights typically argue that without the opportunity to decide independently issues essential to one's being and existence, such as reproduction, one's critical faculties and moral enlightenment are compromised. Reproductive choice is a freedom so fundamental to one's being that to withhold it from women is also to threaten their personhood by suppressing precisely those abilities that make one human: the conscience and the intellect (Luker 77). Put another way, denying women reproductive choice--turning the fact that women can bear children into the assumption that they (legally or quasi legally) should--will make them in some measure less human by essentially turning off their intellect and moral faculties, the sine qua non of humanness. In Beauvoir's terms, a capable actor is o ne possessed of moral and intellectual freedoms. Without these freedoms, political participation, democracy's modus operandi, is either hampered by a diminished quality of participation, as certain disadvantaged groups participate less effectively, or is altogether impaired, as these groups are so reduced in their humanity as to feel incapable, or excluded or alienated from the process. Without reproductive rights, including the right to choose or not choose abortion, individuals are denied freedoms so fundamental to their humanity, their intellect and morality, as to be ill-served to undertake any effective political and social engagement. The control of one's body denied by abortion prohibitions is the most basic civil right in democratic society, with deep roots in American political life. In 1891, the Court stated: "The right to one's person may be said to be a right of complete immunity: to be let alone" (Union Pacific, R. R. v. Botsford, 251). In her exhaustive analysis of abo rtion rights, Christine Luker borrows from Herbert Marcuse to argue that control of one’s body is a precondition of conscious engagement in social life (Christine 74). Marcuse posits that a connectedness with one's body is a precondition for the development of personality and the participation of individuals in social life (Herbert 72-78). Luker writes, drawing on Marcuse's theory of the body and political activity, that "control over one's body is a fundamental aspect of this immediacy, this receptivity [that is open and that opens itself to experience] ," which is a requirement of being a person and engaging in conscious activity (Luker 4). Thus the right to chart one's reproductive destiny helps to ensure that women's humanity comprising their feelings, intellect, and spiritual nature is not being suppressed, that they are not being relegated to the status of other where they languish in immanence and stagnation. In being denied the right to make the choice of whether or n ot to bear a child by being deprived of a right to abortion, women are not only denied the right to undertake the complicated moral reasoning and critical thought necessary for a decision in this important matter, but they are, more fundamentally, diminished as people. The reproductive choice is left, entirely in the hands of doctors (who decide as they see fit whether or not bearing a child will harm the pregnant woman). For this

The Skeletal System Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Skeletal System - Assignment Example The appendicular skeleton, on the other hand, as the name implies, consists of the appendages, which include the upper limbs and the lower limbs. The upper limbs include the humerus, the radius and ulna, and the carpals and metacarpals. The lower limbs include the femur, the tibia, the fibula, the tarsals, and the metatarsals. Other components of the appendicular skeleton include the shoulder girdles, consisting of the scapulae and the collar bones, or clavicles, and the pelvic girdle, made up of the coxal or hip bones, which include the ilium, ischium and pubis. The appendicular skeleton functions for helping the various joints of the body perform better and make the body run in a smoother fashion. The appendicular skeleton too functions for movement, locomotion and the performance of any tasks done by the arms, hands, legs and feet (â€Å"Axial and Appendicular Skeleton†). Detailed Functions of the Skeleton The functions of the skeleton include providing support for soft tissues, production of red blood cells, storage of minerals and lipids, and coordination of the muscular system to effect movement and support for the body, in order to carry out the will of the individual concerning any activity that requires physical movements (â€Å"The Skeletal System† 2013). As for support and physical movement, the structure of the bone in the form of a tubular shape with a hard and dense circumference and a hollow center is the one that efficiently and effectively affords maximum support for the body. ... As for support and physical movement, the structure of the bone in the form of a tubular shape with a hard and dense circumference and a hollow center is the one that efficiently and effectively affords maximum support for the body. Moreover, in terms of the protective support that it gives the soft organs, the skull protects the brain; the rib cage and sternum protect the lungs and the heart; and the pelvis and the pelvic girdle provide protection for the reproductive system. In terms of movement, the bones provide anchorage for the muscles. The origin is where the muscle is fixed to a bone, and the insertion is the moving point of attachment. Finally, still in terms of the movement function, bones meet other bones at joints in order to allow varying degrees of movement (â€Å"The Skeletal System – Introduction† 2013). Another function of the skeletal system, particularly the bone marrow, is to carry out hematopoiesis, or the process by which a single type of stem cell gives rise to all types of mature red blood cells in the body. In the adult human being, this is carried out by the bone marrows of the skull, and those of the ribs, sternum, vertebra, pelvis, and the proximal ends of the thigh bones or femurs (Ownby 2002). In terms of the storage of minerals and lipids, the bone is where several metabolically active minerals are stored, especially calcium, which is the most abundant mineral in the human body. Calcium is essential in regulating the intracellular activities of muscle cells and neurons. Moreover, lipids are stored in the yellow marrow of the bone. These lipids are essential in the regulation of body heat, for providing heat, and as a structural component of cell membranes (â€Å"Osseous Tissue and Bone Structure† 2013). 1.3 Structure of Bone Tissue

How The Role Of Women Has Changed History Essay

How The Role Of Women Has Changed History Essay The role of women has greatly changed since 1840. One of the most significant changes for women has been with the power to have control over their bodies. In the 1840s women had the idea that they were only housewives and that was their duty. This idea is significantly different from that of the 20th century. The ideology of true womanhood was a widespread idea that women and men were complete opposites with almost no common traits that transcended the differences of gender in 1800s. There were two separate spheres; women were in charge of the private sphere, or the family sphere, while the men controlled the public sphere, which contained all the politics. Women had the responsibility of teaching their young children, especially educating their young sons to be prominent members of society. This mainly was an ideology that was embraced by the middle-class white women. Working class women did not fit into this category. Some women began to work in factories instead of doing domestic housework, such as the mill girls of Lowell. Black slave women were also exempt from this category. Slave women were not allowed to live with their families, be educated, marry, or raise children-all of which are some of the basic needs to fulfill the ideology of true womanhood. Even though the ideology of tru e womanhood was a widespread idea, it does not include all women. 1843 saw the beginning of the westward movement of Americans. The role of women has not changed in recent years. On the trail, women had the responsibilities of childbearing and childrearing. These women lived out of wagons for half a year or longer, where they cooked and cleaned and raised the children as best they could. This decision to uproot and make the journey to the west caused a great deal of domestic tensions. One woman, Keturah Belknap, recorded a fight between a wife and a husband from a near-by wagon, She wants to turn back and he wont, so she says he will go and leave him . . . with that crying baby. She wrote, [I heard a] muffled cry and a heavy thud as if something was thrown against the wagon box. She then heard the woman cry. Oh youve killed it, to which the husband replied, he would give her more of the same. When women had to deviate from their distinct responsibilities, such as keeping house, and help the men with their responsibilities, they were reluctant rathe r than seizing the chance to show that they could do a mans job. Women did not complain that the work was difficult, but more that it was unladylike. White women were not the only women that suffered along these journeys. Mexican women that were living in the south were pushed aside as American women moved their way into their lands. These self-identified respectable white women shunned prostitutes and female adventurers. Indian women were degraded to the status of domestic servants and at the time of the outbreak of the civil war, Mexican women were beginning to be of the same status. Womens sexuality was heavily suppressed during these time periods. The average period between births for whit women specifically in 1850 was twenty-nine months, it is a reasonable assumption that many, possibly most, women were either pregnant, nursing or caring for infants while living on the wagons. However, pregnancy was not discussed publicly even though confinement of the pregnant women was not possible while living on the wagons. Historians can only deduct that a woman was pregnant was through a womans references to getting sick, followed soon afterward by mention of a new child. An example of this comes from the writing of Amelia Stewart Knight in her 1853 trail diary. She wrote, Got my washing and cooking done and started on again . . . (here I was sick all night, caused by my washing and working too hard). Then, within two weeks and her trip almost to an end, she gave birth to her eighth child. The entire time she had been pregnant and had not directly referred to it in her diary. Once the journey was at an end and the white Americans begin their lives in the West, the Native Women and Mexican citizens were not fairing so well. They were pushed aside in the beginning were violently pushed to the side, were now experiencing conquest and displacement. This expansion set women against each other on the basis of race, culture and ethnicity. Hunger and diseases that were brought by the emigrating white Americans were spreading through the Plains Indian tribes. The Indian women were forced to beg for food and money. Many Native women began to hang around US Army forts and trade posts where they had informal sexual and domestic unions with white men. Unfortunately, these relations never worked out. Once the white men found a white woman he wanted to marry, he abandoned the Native woman. In many cases this happened and the womans Native communities would not allow them to return, so they ended up on the edge of white culture, serving as domestic servants to white wome n and prostitutes to white men. As prostitutes, these women were often met with scorn and called a black dirty squaw. The word squaw was originally used as a name for Indian Woman but had come to have a negative implication of sexual degradation and unrelenting, unrewarded, and unskilled female labor. The Antebellum reforms came in 1840 and continued up until the Civil War. These reformers pushed beyond established social and cultural norms in their attempts to improve, even perfect, both the individual and society. Women played a prominent role in these reforms. Their modest efforts on behalf of their communitys welfare were compatible with domesticity and female respectability. Over time their dedication to moral and social causes pushed them beyond their homebound roles and allotted sphere. Some women even made the step into new gender territory. Womens enthusiasm for moral reforms suggests that family and sexual life were important concerns to women antebellum reformers. The nuclear family that was central to the idea of domesticity was also a place of domestic violence, sexual abuse and female disempowerment. Many women antebellum reformers called for more radical changes in womens sexual and reproductive lives. Womens menstrual, reproductive and sexual dissatisfaction made t hem eager advocates and consumers of health reform. These women did not trust the questionable diagnoses of regular physicians so many health activists developed alternative therapeutic methods to increase body vitality using only natural and non-evasive approaches. They also urged women to take cold water baths and wear loose-fitting clothing which would offer comfort to those women who were worn out from too many and too frequent pregnancies. Mary Gove Nichols was an outspoken critic of the sexual abuses hidden with in marital life. She gave speeches about womens sexuality, their frustrations and sufferings in marriage. Few nineteenth century women ever encountered such direct speech about female sexuality. Womens rights were talking a big stride during this time period and women were being more outspoken about their bodies and their sexual well-being. There was a great reconstruction period from 1865 until the 1900. During this time there came a great change in womens lives. In the North, women were challenging the government and looking for equal rights for women. Black women in the South were confronting the challenges and dangers of their newfound freedom. After the defeat of the Confederacy in the Civil War, slaves were beginning to become educated and have families of their own. However, there were many racial conflicts in the aftermath of slavery. Whites charged that black men were sexual predators seeking access to white women. The irony to these accusations was that under slavery, it was the white man who took advantage of their slaves and had unrestricted access to black women. Middle class and upper class women created today what is called the Womens Era as they pursued new opportunities in education, civic organization and public authority. As the industrial society grew, more women wage earners entered the system and brought with them their determination to join in the efforts to bring democracy to American class relations. Immigration was a big change that came in the nineteenth century as well. Immigrant mothers stayed at home while teenage daughters became their familys secondary wage earners. Young daughters tried to move toward modern society while their mothers tried to keep them in the Old-World traditions. These women also often became domestic servants for white women and they had no choice but to do this degrading work because of poverty. In 1914, there was a great surfacing of feminism. As the votes-for-women campaign gained momentum, the idea of modernizing womanhood and feminism began to grow. The agenda of these feminists, who were suffragists-but not all suffragists, were feminists- was to embrace female individuality, sexual freedom and birth control. This feminism was more of a cultural development rather than a movement. Rheta Childe Dorr wrote, Feminism was something with dynamite in it. It is the state of mind of women who realize that their whole position in the social order is antiquated . . . made of old materials, worn out laws, customs, conventions, fetishes, traditions and taboos. This feminism brought along with it the birth control movement. Earlier womens rights campaigns had urged women to undertake pregnancy only voluntarily. Harriot Stanton Blach said in her speech in 1891 that, Motherhood is sacred-that is, voluntary motherhood; but the woman who bears unwelcome children is outraging every duty she owes the race . . . [Women] should refuse to prostitute their creative powers, and so jeopardize the progress of the human race. (pg.349). Margaret Sanger, a daughter of Irish immigrants, opened the first American birth control clinic. Days after it opened she was arrested for promoting birth control. When she was released, she continued to dedicate herself to the cause. Contraception became more acceptable and more widely advertised in the 1920s. But in the prewar years, birth control was a radical idea that challenged traditional ideas of womens sexuality and reproduction. During the Cold War years, another great emphasis was put on domesticity and family life because of the red scare, or the scare of communists. During this time the idea of feminine mystique was brought about. One woman, Betty Friedan, captured this idea. She attacked mass media for encouraging women to gain a sense of personal creativity through the use of cake mixes and floor waxes. She criticized popular magazines for psychologists for prescribing tranquilizers for neurotic women instead of examining the social bases of their unhappiness. In her book, The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan wrote, . . .the problem that has no name stirring in the minds of so many American women today is not a matter of loss of femininity or too much education, or the demands of domesticity. . . It was in these women that I first began to notice the tell-tale signs of the problem that has no name; their voices were full and flat, or nervous and jittery; they were listless and bored, or frantically busy around the house or community. They talked about fulfillment in the wife-and-mother terms of the mystique, but they were desperately eager to talk about this other problem with which they seemed to be familiar with. The ideology of feminine mystique is best understood as a prescription for female behavior indicted by those Americans eager to reinforce strict gender roles, and therefore find a means of social order. The feminist movement also encouraged women to exercise control over their bodies. Women liberation groups particularly addressed womens health and reproduction along with the issues of abuse and violence. A major concern was rape and other sorts of violence towards women and to bring it to the attention of the public. Before womens liberation groups, rape victims were accused of dressing provocatively and asking for it. As they women brought this problem forward, it came clear how many sexual assaults went unreported. This campaign by women liberators gave women more control over their bodies and focalized also on womens quest for sexual self-determination and its relationship to abortion. As you can see, the idea of control over a womans body and its reproductive rights has greatly changed over since the 1840s. Women used to believe that their only responsibility was childbearing, childrearing and keeping house. Also, that they were subject to their husbands and had no voice. Reforms that began at the beginning of the century allowed women to have a voice and gain the control they rightly deserved over their own bodies. If these women were not brave enough to make the steps toward individualism, we would not be where we women are today.

Criticism of Organized Religion in Little Boy Lost and Little Boy Found

Criticism of Organized Religion in Little Boy Lost and Little Boy Found Organized religion and its adversity to the natural world is a topic that William Blake addresses quite frequently in his writings. In "Little Boy Lost," from Songs of Innocence, Blake presents a young child, representing the fledgling mind, getting lost in the dark forest of the material world. The illustration at the top of the page shows the little boy being led by a light or spirit of some kind, the "vapour" that Blake later speaks of. The boy cries out to his father, not his biological father, but the priest that has been guiding him on his education of the world thus far. The priest is moving too fast for the boy and leaves him behind to wander through the thick mire of the world of man alone. In the next plate, "Little Boy Found," Blake reconciles the negative image of the priest and religion that was presented in the previous work. It begins by recounting the tale of the boy who got lost by following the "wandering light" of the priest's version of religion. God hears the boy's cries and comes to his rescue "like his father in white." This could be referring to God appearing as human, or Jesus, or in the image of his father, the priest. God leads the child back to his mother, the mother earth, depicted at the right of the stanza, perhaps with wings. The mother earth had been seeking her natural child who had been led astray by the misconceptions of man-made religion. The illustration at the top of the plate shows the little boy and a female figure, presumably the mother earth, both with halos, walking through the forest hand in hand. This hints at the divination of man in his proper natural context. Blake is making a statemen... ...nity of all living things, including himself. The harsh reaction of organized religion to this idea is illustrated in the second "Little Boy Lost," in which the youth is actually burned for his rebellious thinking. The first set of poems tells of the boy's lack of success in a religious system in that did not seem to really care about the boy, and left him floundering. It then describes his introduction to God in the forest, who brought him back to his mother, the earth, which showed him proper reverence of God through nature, not priestly education. The second poem captures organized religion's harsh reaction to this unorthodox and rebellious thinking, and destroys the boy for trying to reach outside of the accepted normal teachings. Together, the poems show an evolution from Blake's dissatisfaction with organized religion to an outright indictment of its practices.

Workplace

Workplace ShiftsSherry BestGrantham University March 20, 2018 The workforce is contingent with the teamwork of personnel and state. The workforce remain the main concern of employers everywhere. All areas of employment are touched by economics and its affected by births, plus the quality of training each person receives. 100 years ago, jobs were manufacturing in nature, what I mean is that individuals worked in factories or on an assembly lines. These types of positions weren't very challenging because it's a situation that was repetitious as the worker repeat steps. Subsequently new technology happens to be more demanding, very aggressive and creative. Women are employed within position that once was considered â€Å"only men were productive in. Work shifts are divided into three shifts for several organizations. They're basically eight hours a shift and the employee usually work forty hours a week. Over the years the workforce has added four generation of workers. This has caused a distinctive effect on the workforce causing them to face the age differences. The HR knows the older generation of the past consequently will sway the future of various organizations. They know that achieving their goal depends on how workers. Also, the facts show that countless people are not retiring but are carrying on working well past the age of 65. HR specialists find that they're having to formulate additional resolutions to link the demands relating to the workforce with the aging workers. Which requires HR specialists to understand and be able to execute ways to create jobs and to fill them with acceptable workers. Meanwhile workers and jobs are always transforming so organizations realize that they have diversity and the skill to maintain a balanced workforce being competent to accomplish their goals for the future of the organization. Also, companies have moved to global level with improved technology and communication. Besides more women employees entered the workforce which was not the state 100 years ago where women lives tended to be centered around their families. During WWI changed who the workforce would use once the men were either volunteering or being drafted to serve in the military which resulted in there was no one to fill the positions. So businesses hired the women to work in the men's place. After showing the factories that the women were capable to carry out the duties that the men could do, but they were paid less for the same job. Since then women have demanded rights for equal pay and equal treatment. Because the workforce have become more diverse with gender, age, and culture it has caused organizations to change how they attain workers and maintain their numbers. The older workers are still present in the workforce is making HR to consider alternative ways for hiring, training, and what type of benefits plans to offer as enticements.Today HR managers needs to spend considerable time and money in training in new technology and keep them updated. The future US workforce groups in 2025 would be mostly aged population over 60 years. The workforce I filled with many kinds of technology such as computers, internet, smart phones and many mobile devices that has opened communication where everything seems to move at the speed of light. Therefore, HR will need to be on their toes to meet every task in the future. ReferencesAnderson, B. E. (2000). Journal of Economic Perspectives. Worker Protection Policies in the New, 207-214.DeCenzo, D. A. (2016). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management. Danvers, MA: John Wiley ; Sons.Effortless HR. (2018). Retrieved from The Past, Present and Future Workforce: https://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/present-future-workforce-generations/Huczynski, A. ;. (2010). Organizational behaviour. London: Financial Times Prentice Hall.Khan, A. H. (2012). Impact of job satisfaction on employee performance: An empirical study of autonomous Medical Institutions of Pakistan. African Journal of Business Management, 2697.Micheal Bailey. (2018). Retrieved from Demographic shifts and the HR challenges of the future: https://www.michaelbaileyassociates.com/news/hr/demographic-shifts-and-the-hr-challenges-of-the-futureWomen in the Workplace. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-09-15/edit-page/28241044_1_indian-women-chinese-women-chinese-counterpart

Sociolinguistics - Language, Dialects and Society

Sociolinguistics - Language, Dialects and Society Language is central to social interaction in every society, regardless of location and time period. Language and social interaction have a reciprocal relationship: language shapes social interactions and social interactions shape language. What is Sociolinguistics? Sociolinguistics is the study of the connection between language and society and the way people use language in different social situations. It asks the question, How does language affect the social nature of human beings, and how does social interaction shape language? It ranges greatly in depth and detail, from the study of dialects across a given region to the analysis of the way men and women speak to each other in certain situations. The basic premise of sociolinguistics is that language is variable and ever-changing. As a result, language is not uniform or constant. Rather, it is varied and inconsistent for both the individual user and within and among groups of speakers who use the same language. People adjust the way they talk to their social situation. An individual, for instance, will speak differently to a child than he or she will to their college professor. This socio-situational variation is sometimes called register and depends no only on the occasion and relationship between the participants, but also on the participants’ region, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, and gender. One way that sociolinguists study language is through dated written records. They examine both hand-written and printed documents to identify how language and society have interacted in the past. This is often referred to as historical sociolinguistics: the study of the relationship between changes in society and changes in language over time. For example, historical sociolinguists have studied the use and frequency of the pronoun thou in dated documents and found that its replacement with the word you is correlated with changes in class structure in 16th and 17th century England. Sociolinguists also commonly study dialect, which is the regional, social, or ethnic variation of a language. For example, the primary language in the United States is English. People who live in the South, however, often vary in the way they speak and the words they use compared to people who live in the Northwest, even though it is all the same language. There are different dialects of English, depending on what region of the country you are in. What Sociolinguists Study Researchers and scholars are currently using sociolinguistics to examine some interesting questions about language in the United States: There is vowel shift occurring in the North, in which pattered alterations to vowels is occurring in certain words. For example, many people in Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago are now pronouncing bat like bet and bet like but. Who is changing the pronunciation of these vowels, why are they changing it, and why/how is it spreading?What parts of African American Vernacular English grammar are being used by white middle-class teenagers? For example, white adolescents might compliment a peer’s clothes by saying, she money, a phrase associated with African Americans.What will be the impact on language in Louisiana due to the loss of monolingual French speakers in the Cajun region of Southern Louisiana? Will the French features of language be sustained even when these French speakers are gone?What slang terms do younger generations use to show their affiliation with certain subgroups and to distinguish themselves from their parents’ generation? For example, in the ea rly 2000s, teenagers described things that they enjoyed as cool, money, tight, or sweet, but definitely not swell, which is what their parents would have said when they were teenagers. Which words are pronounced differently according to age, gender, socioeconomic status, or race/ethnicity? For instance, African Americans often pronounce certain words differently than whites. Likewise, some words are pronounced differently depending on whether the person speaking was born after World War II or before.Which vocabulary words vary by region and time, and what are the different meanings associated with certain words? For example, in Southern Louisiana, a certain breakfast dish is often called lost bread while in other parts of the country, it is called French toast. Similarly, which words have changed over time? Frock, for instance, used to refer to a woman’s dress, while today frock is rarely used. Sociolinguists study many other issues as well. For instance, they often examine the values that hearers place on variations in language, the regulation of linguistic behavior, language standardization, and educational and governmental policies concerning language. References Eble, C. (2005). What is Sociolinguistics?: Sociolinguistics Basics. pbs.org/speak/speech/sociolinguistics/sociolinguistics/.

Dells capital structure Essay Example

Dells capital structure Essay Example Dells capital structure Essay Dells capital structure Essay During the past five years DELL Inc.s debt ratio had been increasing. Even as early as 2002, the company already had a very high debt ratio. It had a debt ratio of sixty-five percent which is way above usual benchmark amount of fifty percent. It shows that the company is heavily reliant to debt financing to support its operation. In 2004, the companys debt ratio made a shallow dip before increasing again in 2005 and 2006. The companys debt ratio increased by   five percent from 2004 to 2005. Meanwhile, there was almost a ten percent increase in the companys debt ratio from 2005 to 2006. All in all, in the past five years, the companys debt ratio has increased by almost eighteen percent. Looking at the companys debt ratio alone will lead the investor to think that the company is very high risk. The debt ratio shows that DELL Inc. more debts than assets. This means that if a liquidation should occur, there might not be sufficient assets to pay all debts of the company, much less enou gh left over for distribution to the companys stockholders.On the other hand, the companys interest coverage ratio is very good and has been steadily improving for the past four years, except for 2006. The interest coverage ratio measures the numbers of times a company earned its interest before interest and taxes. The higher the interest coverage ratio, the company can better justify its borrowings to investors and creditors. It also meant a lower debt burden for the company.   DELL managed a respectable sixty-one percent interest coverage ratio in 2002. The interest coverage ratio of the company made a radical leap in 2003 when it increased to one hundred seventy-nine percent, more than a one hundred percent increase from prior year. Another radical leap was made in 2005 when the companys interest coverage ratio increased by more than eighty percent. The companys interest coverage ratio increased more than ten percent in 2005 before making a sharp decline in 2006. For 2006, the companys interest coverage was merely one hundred sixty-four percent. The figure can be respectable for other company, but since DELL Inc. has been doing a very good job of making its debt earn profits for the company, the figure can be a warning to investors and creditors alike. The decrease in interest coverage ratio can be attributed to the ten percent increase in its debt ratio from 2005 to 2006 which led to an increase in interest expense without a corresponding increase in net income. The company manage to acquire an additional   debt increasing its interest expense by seventy-five percent in 2006 while its net income before income tax barely increased by three percent. As mentioned above, the companys interest coverage ratio for 2006 is still very good. Investors usually considers investing in a company with at   least a one and half percent interest coverage ratio and stay away from companies with less than one percent. The figure for DELL Inc. in 2006 is way beyond thes e benchmark figures.Bond ratings are based on the companys ability to pay interest periodically and the principal amount of the debt when it matures. The January 2005 edition of Business Week reported the increase of DELL Inc.s credit rating from A- to A. Standard and Poors Ratings Services gave the companys rating a boost due to several factors. These factors include DELL Incs improving market position, consistent profitability and continuous product expansion (S;P Boosts Dells Rating para. 2). The analysts also said that DELLs efficient working capital management and consistent EBITDA margin of nine percent generate strong cash flow for the company (S;P Boosts Dells Rating para. 5). A sufficient and consistent cash flow is necessary for the company to make timely interest payments. A strong cash flow means that DELL Inc. is able to pay interest payments on time as well as the principal amount of debt as they come due.   The article also praised the companys outstanding liquidity which gives it flexibility in its cash requirements despite lack of a committed credit facility (S;P Boosts Dells Rating para. 6).;Cited Work;â€Å"S;P Boost DELLs Credit Ratings.† S;P Ratings News. January 21, 2005. Business Week Online. December 13, 2006. ;businessweek.com/investor/content/jan2005/pi20050121_3300_pi036.htm;

Corn and Ethanol Prices Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Corn and Ethanol Prices - Assignment Example Drought conditions in Lowa resulted in reduced corn output levels, posing significant threats to related activities that use corn in one way or another. The article outlines that due to declined corn harvests as a result of drought, corn prices went up. This scenario pushed up commodity prices of related products, especially processed corn products or complements to corn products (Dvorchak, 2012). Corn producers and corn product manufacturers were faced with critical decisions to make in relation to the appropriate course of action to be taken. While these scenarios were taking place in Lowa, their impacts were bound to be experienced across the entire economy. The first category in this line is the farmers. While their output was low, market prices were going up. The implication of this was that supplies that they demanded became relatively expensive, especially those that were manufactured using corn; like livestock feed. Consequently, the farmers needed to reduce their livestock herds. To do so, they sold their livestock for slaughter. This increases livestock supply for slaughter purposes, triggering a fall in animal protein products in the meat markets. However, prices of processed corn products were going up, responding to low corn supply in the market. Amid the events that had occurred in Lowa, insurance claims were bound to increase. This is more so with the farmers, where their produce is insured against loss. The primary role of insurance companies is to reduce risks by designing measures and policies to mitigate risks at a premium that is charged to clients (intext). Insurance and reinsurance activities heightened, with beneficiaries filing claims accordingly relative to the underlying uncertainties in Lowa and in the national economy at large. Production of ethanol utilizes a significant percentage of national total corn output. The drought conditions in Lowa implied that the supply of corn would be inconsistent as demand rises. This

Analyzing Ethical Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analyzing Ethical Behavior - Essay Example usiness should behave, and this goes a long way in creating an organizational culture which will see the business increase its efficiency (Mallor, Barnes, Bowers & Langvardt, 2010). Business ethics will stipulate how the business relates to its stakeholders to ensure that there is a good relationship hence reduces cases of lawsuits, make high profits and ensure business continuity. In the past, unethical business practices have resulted to various scandals, which have resulted to serious economic disasters. Since firms have the need to increase their profits they will engage in lucrative practices, which will make them earn unfair profits and benefit from unethical practices. For any company to be successful, it has to protect all their shareholders since everyone will feel comfortable in an environment where they see their needs are being considered. Trust created by the business to all its stakeholders goes a long way in increasing the businesses’ success and profitability. This paper will look at the financial events surrounding Bernie Madoff, and ENRON and elaborate on the consequences and implications related to a lack of code of ethics. Enron Corporation was a company in the energy sector located in Texas and had an employee base of 21000 workers in 2001 before it went out of business. The company fell due to false accounting techniques, which made it to be listed as one of the largest companies in the United States with a rating of seventh overall (Lashinsky, 2001). The company was expected to control the market since it had securities in communications, energy and weather portfolios. The company had a well set out fraud plan by using support from political powers to get favors and get an unfair advantage. The company could shut down power plants so that they could get extra money by charging high rates for energy due to the shortages they created. The company used favors from president bush and Clinton to get an unfair advantage, and it is said that