Introduction The past several decades have witnessed some profound changes in American society, with women and minorities making enormous inroads into the institutionalized racism and white male-domination that had characterized the country for generations. Indeed, it is reasonable to assert that women of all ages and races enjoy unprecedented opportunities and legal protections in the West in general and in the United States in particular today, but the sad reality is that these opportunities and legal protections still do not extend to all segments of American society. One of the major issues that continues to haunt the Islamic community in the United States is the abusive nature of many Muslim marriages, wherein females remain subjugated to their husband's whims by virtue of historic and religious mandates that have not been left behind in the Muslim world. Moreover, the growing body of evidence suggests that the problem is getting worse instead of better, and the secretive n

A great deal of the tragedy and achievement that is displayed in the work Things Fall Apart is demonstratively representative of the a statement that Achebe is reported to have made, which is recounted in Gikandi's introduction essay in the work. In Chinua Achebe and the Invention of African Literature Gikandi states that Achebe's self professed role as an African writer was "to help my society regain belief in itself and put away the complexes of the years of denigration and self-abasement" the work according to Achebe was a, "retrospective attempt to understand the origins of the current crisis- 'to look back and try and find out what went wrong, where the rain began to beat us." (xi) This essay will discuss the details of this commitment to Igbo society and culture, made by Achebe, why he felt he had to make it through a very brief literary analysis and through a more extensive analysis of the work itself, discover how successful Achebe is in ach

The relationship between the single parent Amanda Wingfield and her two children is one of the central concerns of The Glass Menagerie. The same importance is placed on the relationship between parents and children, starting with Henry and Lila Wingo and their three children, but also spreading to the parent-siblings relationships that generally affects everyone's personal life without any possibility of escaping positive or negative effects. The relationship between Amanda, once a Southern belle who was extremely courted by "gentlemen callers" as she refers to them, is now a single parent with two grown children, who appear to be the main cause of her general disappointment. On a closer look however, the two socially inapt and extremely sensitive children, Tom and Laura, are the result of the tyranny of their mother. Thus, as it shall be seen, the narcissistic and egocentric Amanda is the one who has instilled the negative self-consciousness in her own children, by her

Though these two works were created just five years apart these two works related in time as well as content regardless of their differing medium as well as purpose. The painting American Gothic, by Wood (1892-1942) depicts farmers in 1930, before the Great Depression was fully underway. While the photo Rural Rehabilitation Client, by Shahn (1899-1969), depicts recipients of s federal aid program in Arkansas in 1935, at the Depression's lowest point. Taking the works together one might assume that the photo was taken as a study for the painting, with the only striking difference between them the placement of the wife to the left or to the right and the ages of the subjects in the works. The similarities are much more evident, as each work depicts a man and presumably his wife, in a rural setting wearing what was likely his and her best clothing and standing before their home. The participants all have similar facial expression, similar attire, and similar continence. As one looks more closely, clearly in the Wood painting the

An accountant's Integrity is a crucial component of his worth in the industry. Integrity is what public trust is built upon. Without adherence to the strict moral and ethical guidelines of the profession, there is no value to the accountant's work. He can have all the skill, knowledge and experience in the world, but without Integrity, and therefore trust, his work becomes questionable and is worth less than the paper his figu

The purpose of this paper is to introduce and analyze the topic of cloning. Specifically it will discuss why the biotechnology of cloning of animals and humans should not be supported; instead, it should be stopped. Cloning is a controversial issue that faces the world today. Since the turn of the 21st century, (and before), scientists have been cloning animals, and many people believe this cloning will eventually lead to cloning humans. This is wrong, and the practice should be stopped altogether, before it leads to human cloning, which would be morally and ethically wrong. In 1996, "Dolly" the sheep made worldwide headlines when Scottish scientists announced they had successfully cloned her. Dolly is a sheep, but she is not a normal sheep, and her condition several years after the initial cloning indicates this. In fact, Dolly suffers from numerous health issues, and is aging faster than other comparable sheep. One reporter writes, "The illnes

Broadly understood, ethics consist of principles, which direct the conduct of individuals, groups or professions (Wilkins 2007). Nurses as professionals make independent decisions on the care of patients. But they are still answerable to their profession as a whole as regards these independent decisions. A nurse's conduct has been under scrutiny from the start. The famous Florence Nightingale pledge in 1893 included the vow to "abstain from anything deleterious and mischievous... or harmful drug." The profession evolved into a very complex arena in the last century. Nurses now must confront life-and-death decisions and in short periods, even on an hourly basis. Medical advancements in new technology have the equal potential of benefit and harm. Today's nurse makes her own decisions, that is, without the influence of her employer. But how she does is under the control of a Code of Ethics to which she swears (Wilkins). In general, nurses are employed by

The second French colonial empire lasted from late 1800s until the 1960s and included Northern Africa, a large part of Western and Central Africa, Indochina and a number of islands all over the world. The existence of its colonial empire was an immense help to France in World War II when her colonies provided Mother France with territory, an army and a fleet thanks to which she was able to re-enter the war in its final phase. In fact, Leuthy argues that it was thanks to her colonial empire that France could maintain its independence (Leuthy: 204). Nevertheless, he continues, after the end of World War II there was a great amount of ink dedicated to the heroic deeds of the French resistance which despite its heavy moral value, was "terribly light in a material sense". Leuthy's main assertion regarding the existence of the French colonial empire is that the history of the French Republic and that of the French colonial empire were propelled by different forces which could

Dear Martin, First off, I just wanted to let you know that I love you very much. Despite our differences in recent times, you are still my son, whom I love dearly. I remember when you were young you wanted to be just like me; listening to every word and following all my advice with a passion. I have watched you grow to a young man of eighteen, and am still just as proud of you as the day you were brought home from the hospital. In recent years, you have come into your own right, and my opinion has come to matter much less in your decisions. As much as it hurts me, I know that at your age you need to stand on your own feet. However, as you approach the end of your senior year in High School, I must disagree with your current path to start directly working rather than enroll in school. College is essential in our world today. I know that school seems dull, but I don't think you understand how essential it is for a successful and financially stable life in future years. Gro

The terms "postmodernism" and "postmodernity" have emerged as buzz words in recent years and are often used interchangeably. While they are related in certain ways, it is important to understand each term's contextual implications. In this essay, we will explore the various meanings of both postmodernism and postmodernity, specifically in reference to Don DeLillo's novel White Noise, which is in many ways emblematic of both phenomena. Thus, while beginning with a delineation between postmodernism and postmodernity, I intend to show how the two concepts unite within the course of White Noise, a postmodernist novel encompassing the postmodern condition. Postmodernity can be thought of as a social or historical condition, whereas postmodernism is meant to refer to a period in art, culture, and philosophy that follows upon the heels of modernism. Postmodernity, or "the postmodern condition," as it is often called, is often used synonymously with "late capitalism" to describe the era we

In the tragedy "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles, Oedipus's brother-in-law (Jocasta's brother) Creon is a good example of the modern-day saying "Don't shoot the messenger" particularly in terms of Oedipus's reaction to Tiresias's prophesy that Oedipus would kill Laius and marry Jocasta. Oedipus and Creon are opposite of one another in their attitudes, behavior, and piety. Although Creon eventually develops into a more complex, even wrathful character in the two later tragedies by Sophocles built on Oedipus the King (Antigone and Oedipus at Colonus) Creon in this first of the three plays is calm, reasonable, matter-of-fact, and uninterested in exercising power by being King; while Oedipus is quite the opposite: anxious; unreasonable; prideful; interested in maintaining power, and disrespectful of the Gods. Throughout the play Oedipus shows hubris while Creon shows humility. A symptom of the

There have been many "coming of age" novels throughout the decades and Robert Newton Peck's A Day No Pigs is one of these great literary classics. The difference with Peck's novel is not its rural Vermont setting, or it is another story of a twelve-year old boy awakening to the realities of his surroundings, but it is about a boy who grew up in a community with the ideals and beliefs of Shakers. Robert decides one day to skip school not for the fun of it but he felt bad because a boy at school tease

Subprime mortgages are by definition the pervasive practice of making loans at higher interest rates and more aggressive payback terms to those with lower credit, typically to borrowers with credit scores significantly below 620 on the FICO score scale. Subprime mortgages also include escalation clauses and have highly creative features including balloon payments to entice borrowers into exceptionally low payments at the beginning of the loan period only to exponentially grow over time to three or more times the original amount. As these subprime mortgages are initially very affordable for many middle class Americans, today approximately 10% of all mortgages in the U.S. today are of this type. Consumer rights advocates have argued that due to th

There is a common cultural perception of women as being less "leader-like" within power positions because how we know and define women is different than how we know and define men – and "leadership" is one of the domains of our lives that continues to be associated with men. Therefore, we cannot define women with the word leadership without having to come to some form of internal reconciliation – we must adjust our perception of the concept of leadership either to adjust for women to be encompassed within the same rhetorical umbrella of the word, or to completely redefine what leadership is. There have been a significant number of recent challenges to the status quo when it comes to the definition of leadership and who it can be applied to. Joyce Fletcher's book, Disappearing Acts: Gender, Power, and Relational Practice at Work, presents exactly this form of debate – what exactly is it that defines leadership? For Fletcher, it isn't a

In both A Pattern Language and The Nature of Order Christopher Alexander endeavors to create authentic and "alive" spaces through an organic process of design. His mathematically reinforced patterns, based on ideal function and conceptions of beauty, can be applied to areas as large as cities and as small as individual shelving units. Alexander posits that the patterns allow for optimized design, where desirable relationships between each piece work in perfect unison. Within this theoretical framework, Alexander has outlined his own art of building that can, hypothetically, be followed by others who wish to use it. Most of his theories and writings in this area contain strong points for consideration; this being said, the forced patterns of desirable relationships described by Alexander are also restrictive. Additionally, his ideas about definable beauty make individual creativity irrelevant in his designs, making his methods somewhat flawed in respect to varying taste. Th

Abstract In today's increasingly competitive marketplace, strategic planning is tantamount to success. Staying one step ahead of the competition means industry leadership. Co-evolutionary gaming is a nontraditional form of scenario planning utilized by the U.S. Department of Defense, in strategic planning. Through co-evolutionary gaming, complicated strategic horizons can be better anticipated, and strategies can be altered to address what would typically be unexpected responses, to counter these challenges before they even happen, thereby blocking their adversaries. Utilizing this same technique can facilitate group decision making by taking advantage of group diversity and overcoming much of the challenges typically associated with the decision making process, through the technique's acknowledgment of the widest variety of potential scenarios and the ability to use the best knowledge possible to make the best decisions possible. Managing Groups Introduction: In today's in

In their article, "Interior design education within a human ecological framework," Kaup, Anderson and Honey (2007) argue for an interdisciplinary model of interior design education that would incorporate the study of human ecology. Kaup, Anderson and Honey contend that such an approach would enhance the overall skill set of interior designers, allowing them to provide a greater benefit to businesses, homeowners and communities, while also addressing some of the perceived training gaps in current interior design education. While Kaup, Anderson and Honey (2007) structure their article as an argumentative essay, they rely heavily on a literature-review format to help cement their points. To begin their argument, Kaup, Anderson and Honey define human ecology as the study of "human beings, their environments and human-environment interactions from a holistic perspective (p. 45)." Human ecology incorporates the science of human behavior study with the art of creating functional design to en

Within the last decade, the Office of the President of the United States Federal Government, part of the triad of the Executive, Legislative (US Congress) and Judicial (the Supreme Court) branches, has come under fire, due to the views of some Americans who consider the Executive branch to be far less important than the other two. However, the Office of the President of the United States bears much responsibility for the ways things are decided related to American society and how "the laws of the land are interpreted and acted upon in times of great prosperity and economic/political turmoil" (McCague, 56). Generally, the Executive branch of the U.S. government "is responsible for enforcing the laws of the land" and was originally created during the Presidency of George Washington in the late 1700's. Much like other entities, this office could not function properly if not for the presence of other entities, such as the Vice President, department heads (i.e., t

Introductory Analysis In this situation, the CEO of Wal-Mart should be aware on how employees should be treated since he should be required to treat employees as a partner in his business. From there, there, he should use Emotional Intelligence, which is a theory that managers and CEO's understand their employees emotions. This helps them to communicate effectively and it makes the employees feel they are on the page. This approach generated loyalty and challenged the employees to make the business a success. Each employee should be offered stock options and given a portion of the profits as an incentive to keep working toward higher customer satisfaction. Motivation and communication are additional ways the CEO could create happy employees. Challenging employees allows him or her to be creative and generate new ideas or product lines that will increase sales and or customer satisfaction. Listening to employees opinions is vital to success. The people who work the frontline

Composition The composition of the print is very realistic, probably created from a photograph. It is dominated by a large window that serves as the focal point. The text is also written over the window and serves as the most important part of the work in terms of its message. The window contrasts with the rest of the picture in terms of light and shade. To the left of the window is a young dancer, who appears to balance herself effortlessly on the tips of her toes. She seems to embody the central message of the text: she chooses to make herself strong. Elements of Art The forms, lines, and shapes in the picture are simple and uncluttered. The arched window and the girl are the largest shapes in the work. The lines of the window, floor, and print on the wall are all straight and simple. The colors are also simple, with the contrast between light and dark playing a more important role than different colors. As such, the hue is soft, with a predominantly mauve color throughout the prin

Competition and compassion, contrasting Brad Manning's "Arm Wrestling with My Father" and Sarah Vowell's "Shooting Dad" Learning to regard a parent as a human being, not just as a father or mother, is one of the most formative emotional developments in an adolescent's life. Both Brad Manning's "Arm Wrestling with My Father" and Sarah Vowell's "Shooting Dad" deals with the authors' relationships with difficult, patriarchal, male authority figures. Their conflicts with their fathers are waged through violence; physical in Manning's case, and emotional in Vowell's case. And paradoxically the eventual compassion the writers are able to show towards their parent is also extracted through violence. The authors of both essays have almost warlike and combative relationships with their fathers. This is expressed with military language, in the case of Manning, that of arm wrestling and other athletic activities

Globalization is a generic term used to encompass the changes that take place at all life levels, including economy, politics, business and even culture. It is undoubted that the United States of America played a key role in the expansion of the concept. Proof of this stand the American firms that have become international symbols, such as IBM, Microsoft or McDonald's. The two articles present rather opposite view points in regard to Americans' expansion and influence over the Asian and European continents and consequently life styles. China's Big Mac Attack presents the globalization issue from a more understanding view point, emphasizing the advantages and current features that support globalization. On the other hand, The World: Heartburn; Fearful Over the Future, Europe Seizes on Food presents a more drastic view point and emphasizes on the disadvantages of American interventions. Globalization is the new era of marketing, international growth and expansion and th

Both Asoka in India and Augusta in Rome brought a period of peace through their rule as emperors. These periods of peace were both implicated after military victory. Asoka, conquered new lands for ancient India, but unlike Augustus saw the horror and destruction his war brought. After seeing what his actions had caused, Asoka converted to Buddhism and instituted a series of religious edicts which were to ensure the peace and prosperity of his nation. Augustus, on the other hand, believed that peace was a natural part of military victory. Unlike Asoka, who saw his military conquests as a corruption of peace, Augustus believed that peace could only be achieved and sustained through military might. Asoka was the son of the famous Bindusara and ruled over India from 269 to 232 B.C.E. The beginning of his reign followed suit with his predecessors. He set out to conquer

Abstract This sociological and historical article is presenting the comparative analysis of traditional values in religion and intentional communities. Hence, it is shedding light on the formation of Amish Community, Common values of Amish community which bonds them. It's also demonstrating comparison between Amish family values and Traditional American 50's family and determining if traditional values exist in all families. Moreover, the function of community as family, the values which has raised Amish community, an influence of traditional family values on communities and the vast difference between traditional family values and community values, are also briefly mentioned in this article. Traditional values in Religious and Intentional Communities Introduction This sociological and historical article is presenting the comparative analysis of traditional values in religion and intentional communities. Hence, its shedding light on the formation of Amish Community

The Cloak by Nikol Gogol is a Russian narrative that speaks for the poor and the underprivileged. Those who are basic, decent, hard working, misrepresented, and ridiculed for having no aspirations of anything more than living out their ordinary lives to the best of their abilities-however humble that may be. The author clearly conveys how cruel humans can be in their ability to mock the spirits of those who are defenseless, less inclined to be egotistical, greedy, self-absorbed, or frivolous. Metaphorically, the cloak represents protection: protection from the elements of human behavior towards those who are powerless and exposed. The story revolves around Akakiy Akakievitch, who is a simple man of simple means who works as a civil servant for the Russian government. He is meek, shy, gentle in nature, socially inept, and socially ostracized. His co-workers struggle for power within the social and bureaucratic structure, and one might symbolica