Discover William Inges Play Picnic

Discover William Inge's Play 'Picnic' Picnic is a three-act play written by William Inge, the author of Bus Stop and Come Back, Little Sheba. Set in a small town in Kansas, Picnic details the lives of ordinary Americans, from hopeful widows and embittered spinsters to idealistic teenagers and restless wanderers. The play was first performed on Broadway in 1953 and was adapted into a motion picture in 1955, starring William Holden and Kim Novak. The Basic Plot Mrs. Flora Owens, a widow in her forties, runs a boarding house with the help of her two teenage daughters, Madge and Millie. Madge is constantly admired for her physical beauty, but she longs to be acknowledged for something more substantial. Her younger sister, on the other hand, has brains but not a boyfriend. A young stranger (who at first seems like a vagrant) is passing through town, working for food at the neighbors house. His name is Hal, a strong, shirtless, sometimes shifty hero of the play. Nearly all of the female characters are entranced by him, especially Madge. However, (and heres where the conflict starts to come into play) Madge has a serious boyfriend named Alan, an up-and-coming college student who leads a life of privilege. In fact, Hal has breezed into town hoping that Alan (his old college buddy) will be able to use his connections to land him a job. Alan is happy to help, and for a short time, it seems that Hal might be able to give his aimless life direction. Although handsome, Hal isnt the most cultured of young men. During the Labor Day festivities, he feels very awkward while socializing with others. Mrs. Owens and her tenant Rosemary, an aging school teacher, do not trust Hal, maintaining their first impression that deep down he is merely a bum. The communitys perception of Hal worsens when he allows Millie to drink whiskey. (Although in Hals defense, the illegal booze is supplied by Rosemarys boyfriend, Howard the traveling salesman. While Millie is getting drunk, Rosemary (also under the influence) makes a move on Hal while dancing. When he is uncomfortable with the school teachers advances, Rosemary viciously insults Hal. Millie then becomes sick and Hal is blamed, incurring the wrath of Mrs. Owens. The Plot Thickens: (Spoiler Alert) The increasing animosity toward Hal softens Madges heart. She feels both empathy and desire. When Alan isnt around, Hal steals a kiss from Madge. Then, the two lovebirds (or lust birds?) have sex. The copulation doesnt occur onstage, of course, but a sudden natural portrait of premarital sex demonstrates how Inges dramatic work was a harbinger of the sexual revolution of the 1960s. When Alan finds out, he threatens to have Hal arrested. He even throws a punch at his ex-friend, but Hal is too fast and strong, easily defeating the book-wormish college boy. Realizing that he must catch the next train (hobo style) and leave town before the cops toss him in jail, Hal departs - but not before announcing his love for Madge. He tells her: HAL: When you hear that train pull outa town and know Im on it, your little hearts gonna be busted, cause you love me, God damn it! You love me, you love me, you love me. Moments later, after Hal has caught the train headed for Tulsa, Madge packs her bags and leaves home for good, planning to meet up with Hal and begin a new life together. Her mother is shocked and despondent as she watches her daughter head off into the distance. The wise neighbor Mrs. Potts consoles her. FLO: Shes so young. There are so many things I meant to tell her, and never got around to it. MRS. POTTS: Let her learn them for herself, Flo. The Sub-Plots As with other plays by William Inge, an ensemble of characters deal with their own squashed hopes and wistful pipedreams. Other storylines that run throughout the play involve: Rosemary and her reluctant boyfriend: By the end of the play she coerces Howard into marriage, allowing her to shed her old maid lifestyle.Mrs. Potts and her elderly mother: Surprisingly optimistic about life, Mrs. Potts is often tied down by the demands of her severely debilitated mother.Millie and Alan: After Madges relationship with Alan falls apart, Millie finds the courage to admit that she has always had a crush on the young man. (And who can blame her? The original Alan was played by Paul Newman.) Themes and Lessons The prevailing message of Picnic  is that youth is a precious gift that must be savored instead of squandered. In the plays beginning, Flo speculates that her daughter might be working at the towns dime store well into her 40s, a depressing idea for Madge. In the plays conclusion, Madge embraces adventure, thwarting the convention wisdom of older characters. Throughout the play, the adult characters envy the young. During her tirade aimed at Hal, Rosemary vehemently declares: You think just cause youre young you can push people aside and not pay them any mind... But you wont stay young forever, didja ever thinka that?

Cuánto es la cuota por solicitar la visa americana

Cunto es la cuota por solicitar la visa americana Al solicitar una  visa  americana no inmigrante  se debe pagar una cuota, conocida en algunos paà ­ses como arancel, al inicio de los trmites. Este dinero no se recupera si la visa es negada. En este artà ­culo se lista la cuota a pagar segà ºn el tipo de visa,  los 3 casos en los que se dispensa del cobro de la cuota. Adems, como saber por cunto tiempo dan la validez de la visa segà ºn el paà ­s en el que se aplica. Monto de la cuota de las visas americanas Segà ºn el tipo de visados, la cantidad a pagar es la siguiente: A, para diplomticos: gratuitaB1, B2, B1/B2, de negocios, turista, o combinada de ambas, tratamiento mà ©dico: $160C1, de trnsito: $160D, tripulacià ³n de barcos y aviones: $160E-1 y E-2 de inversià ³n: $205F, estudiantes acadà ©micos: $160G, para trabajar en organizaciones internacionales: gratuita H1-B para profesionales y H-2A y H2-B para trabajos temporales sin estudios: $190I, periodista, reportero: $160J, de intercambio: $160, excepto en el caso de programas culturales o educativos patrocinados por el gobierno de los Estados Unidos. En estos casos la solicitud de la visa es gratuita.K, de novio de ciudadano americano: $265L, para transfers dentro de una compaà ±Ãƒ ­a multinacionalM, estudiantes vocaciones: $160NATO, para miembros de esa organizacià ³n militar: gratuitaO, de trabajo para personas con habilidades extraordinarias: $190P, para artistas, atletas y profesionales en un espectculo: $190Q, de intercambio cultural internacional: $190R, para religiosos: $190 Tarjeta de cruce, tambià ©n conocida como visa lser: $160, excepto para los menores de 15 aà ±os que aplican con un progenitor o guardin o à ©ste ya la tiene. En estos casos: $16 TN, de trabajo temporal para profesionales mexicanos: $160T, para và ­ctimas de trfico humano: $160U, para và ­ctimas de violencia: $160 En el caso de turistas o personas de negocios con un pasaporte de un paà ­s incluido en el Programa de Exencià ³n de Visados deben pagar la cuota de la ESTA si llegan a Estados Unidos por avià ³n. En la actualidad el costo es de $14 si es aprobada. Si es denegada se pagan $4 en concepto de trmites. La visas no inmigrante pueden ser negadas por muchas causas que son clasificadas en dos grandes categorà ­as. En primer lugar, las que convierten al solicitante en inelegible para la visa. Y, en segundo lugar, las que lo convierten en inadmisible para ingresar en Estados Unidos. Si la visa es negada por una o varias causas, el costo pagado por la cuota de la visa no se recupera.   3 casos de dispensa del pago de la cuota de la visa americana Las leyes migratorias establecen que se puede dispensar del pago de la tarifa en cualquiera de las situaciones siguientes: En primer lugar, cuando el viaje a los Estados Unidos tiene como fin brindar un servicio caritativo. En segundo lugar cuando son empleados del gobierno americano y viajan por razà ³n de su trabajo. Y, en tercer lugar cuando se trate de familiares de un empleado del gobierno y que fallecià ³ o fue herido en combate o en su trabajo cuando se desea ingresar a Estados Unidos para asistir al funeral o para visitarle en el hospital. Cuotas adicionales por tratados de reciprocidad y plazos validez Una vez que la visa ha sido aprobada, los ciudadanos de determinados paà ­ses deben abonar un cargo adicional por algunos tipos de visado. Esto se debe a que Estados Unidos aplica el principio de reciprocidad y, si a un ciudadano estadounidense le cobran por una visa similar una cantidad superior a la que carga EEUU, entonces habr ese cargo adicional. Por ejemplo, por una visa H-1B para profesionales o modelos, un argentino pagar la cuota estndar d de $190 pero un brasileà ±o deber abonar a mayores otros $100. El Departamento de Estado en su pgina de internet publica un listado de la reciprocidad por paà ­ses. Se llama country reciprocity Schedule y para consultarlo basta con hacer click en seleccionar y buscar el paà ­s de la nacionalidad del solicitante de la visa (no su paà ­s de residencia). Esta lista de reciprocidad tambià ©n se utiliza para ver quà © paà ­ses tiene como plazos de validez de las visas un programa diferente al estndar. Asà ­, mientras que para los estudiantes cubanos la visa F-1 se concede por tres meses y sà ³lo una entrada a Estados Unidos, para los mexicanos la misma visa tiene un periodo de validez de 48 meses y posibilidad de mà ºltiples entradas a EEUU. Es muy importante tener claro que el plazo de validez de la visa es una cosa muy distinta al plazo mximo de estancia permitida. No se pueden confundir ya que las consecuencias son muy serias. Cà ³mo evitar problemas con las visas no inmigrantes Lo principal es seguir escrupulosamente las reglas de cada visa y abstenerse de hacer cosas que no estn permitidas. En el caso de las visas de turista, llamadas de placer o paseo en algunos paà ­ses, es muy importante saber que ingresar con demasiada frecuencia puede ser causa de problemas. Y en todas las visas mencionadas el quedarse ms tiempo del permitido va a dar lugar a su cancelacià ³n. Por lo que antes de tomar decisiones que parecen que no son serias es muy conveniente informarse debidamente.   Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

F.B.I. Says Records Demands Are Curbed Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

F.B.I. Says Records Demands Are Curbed - Essay Example Among its many extraordinary provisions, the law canceled habeas corpus rights for non-citizens (which amounted to twenty million people in the United States). According to the New York Times article, "The Federal Bureau of Investigation improperly obtained personal information on Americans in numerous terrorism investigations in 2006, but internal practices put in place since then appear to have helped curtail the problems, Bush administration officials said Wednesday. The US government was unable to identify and to directly attack the enemies. Because of the strengthened paranoia of terrorist attacks, every person is considered a potential suspect. With the goal of ending international terrorism, civilians are also affected. The ethical issue that may be considered relevant to the topic is terrorism and double standards My concern is that if we don't have a good answer we may not have a justification to accept, or even promote, one country's "war on terrorism" while rejecting another's. And nobody likes double-standards when it comes to the justification of international policies.. There was no assurance that there should be no detention-without-trial, no suppression of free speech and there should be increased checks or evaluations on police power. There should be no double-standards and all countries will receive equal treatment. This means Pakistan and Ira... Military troops should be sent to both countries in search for these alleged terrorists. There should be no hesitation with investigating Pakistan regardless of Pakistan's exportation of nuclear technology in North Korea. There should also be no indecision with challenging the sovereignty of Pakistan as well as with Iraq. It isn't surprising, then, that one wonders whether "terrorism" names a definite and identifiable kind of act, or if it is a politically charged term used selectively to capture an arbitrary set of events. In the Fatosphere, Big Is In, or at Least Accepted By RONI CARYN RABIN Published: January 22, 2008 Recent studies show that the consumers have also considered skipping fast-food eating for this can be a reason for gaining more calories due to the fat content as well as less availability of healthier food options. Almost every magazine or book that talks about losing weight or maintaining healthy lifestyle advice readers to eat at home instead of eating at fast-food restaurants for this can give them the opportunity to prepare nutritious and healthy meals for the family as well as save money. There have been some notions that fast-food meal tends to have more fat than home-cooked meal and that you can gain more calories just by eating out. Dining at fast-foods can be healthy as long as we prepare ahead as to what food we want to order and consider its nutritional value as well. In the book entitled Competitive Advantage by Jaynie Smith, she stated that there is an increasing need for Americans to eat healthy food. Since fast-foods are their usual first option for getting access to ready food, the fast foods have to think of new ways and strategies to offer healthy

IT Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IT Management - Essay Example So, rather than the website author being the center of knowledge, and disseminating the knowledge on the website, in Web 2.0, the users constantly add to the website, changing it and making it new. Facebook is often given as an example of Web 2.0 computing. It is a site that many people use, and add to, but no one owns or controls the information on. Web 2.0 computing is relevant because it represents a rebirth of computing and internet use, after the initial dot com bubble. Most people today are part of some sort of social networking site, and this is Web 2.0. The concept is relevant because it affects IT change and standardization. The implications of Web 2.0 for governments and organizations are multiple. First of all, there is the idea of connectivity that Web 2.0 creates; there is also the elimination of a top-down command structure. These are liberating settings in which the user becomes the controller. It can be used to show how people in a community can become a part of a larger community, through Web 2.0 government. â€Å"Whats more, two of our initial Web 1.0 exemplars, DoubleClick and Akamai, were both pioneers in treating the web as a platform. People dont often think of it as "web services", but in fact, ad serving was the first widely deployed web service, and the first widely deployed "mashup" (to use another term that has gained currency of late)† (Web, 2008). Web 2.0 is important to understanding changing IT trends, and is something of which governments should take advantage. The government can enable Web 2.0 sharing among employees. â€Å"Apparently, web-enabled collaborative tools that can improve productivity are of great interest among an increasingly mobile workforce. With that in mind, enterprises are likely to further invest in collaborative tools like unified communications in the next few years† (Poon, 2009). Some worry about the lack of privacy with

Importance of Family Essay Example for Free

Importance of Family Essay THE FAMILY AS THE BASIC UNIT OF SOCIETY The family unit – principally a man and a woman living together in harmony and peace – is and always will be the basic social organization or unit of any society. This relationship alone provides stability in a sexual, emotional, intellectual and social way as no other can. This statement may seem prejudiced or biased against other forms of social organization, but it has proven true over hundreds and even thousands of years. Other forms of societal organization include most people remaining single or unattached, homosexuality, or various forms of collective living arrangements that are called free love societies, communes, kibbutz living in some cases, and others. To the best of my knowledge, none of these have worked out on a large scale nearly as well as what is called a monogamous man-woman relationship in terms of stability and happiness for the couple, and for the society as a whole. When the families are strong, society is strong, as a rule. When families are weak, societies begin to break down. This is the important concept of this article. EXACTLY WHAT IS MEANT BY A FAMILY? A family is a unit of two dedicated to healing, even if they do not enunciate it or even understand it fully. It means two who are happy to be together, who want to be together, and who deeply love one another, even though it can just be friends, for example, or a parent and a child. This is what is meant by a family in this article. Stated differently, the definition of family is two living in a close personal relationship. Close relationships most often exist between family members, but not always by any means. Couples may live together for years and not be that close, for example. In fact, close relationships often develop among friends of either sex, work colleagues, and perhaps in other situations such as members of a sports team who work and play together constantly, for example. This is important to understand. They don’t even need to live in the same town or know each other personally, as long as they love each other enough. Also, those living under the same roof must be in a close relationship. Just because two are roommates, for example, or even sexual partners living together, married, church-going, or just â€Å"shacking up†, as they call it, does not mean they are a family because they must be in a close, loving relationship with each other. One in relationship with the other, if it is not returned, is not good enough. They both must feel the same way about each other, and this is the key. The rest of this article deals with various topics related to those living in families, or in close relationships, as explained in the preceding paragraphs. HEALING WITHIN FAMILIES – EMPATHIC BLENDING IN FAMILIES An interesting phenomenon that can be used for healing, but which can also have negative effects, is called empathic blending. It occurs in all close relationships, including, of course, within many families. It is a slight blending of the aura or energy fields of individuals who live together or even those who just work together or recreate together. However, it is much stronger in those who are in intimate relationships and having sex together. This interesting phenomenon has been known for thousands of years, but is rarely discussed. It can help bind a family or relationship together and help heal all members of a family. Unfortunately, it sometimes also causes problems in families if the man and woman are not that compatible. What  this means is that at times, two in a relationship have issues that do not blend well. Each can bring out the worst aspects of another, for example, instead of the best. For more on this topic, read Empathic Blending on this website. MALE-FEMALE BLENDING IN FAMILIES This is a subset or type of empathic blending that occurs only between members of the opposite sex. It does not occur in homosexual relationships, and it is one reason these relationships are always inferior to a good man-woman relationship. Two of the same sex may blend empathically, and often do. But only a man and a woman can blend in a very special way. For the same reason, it will not occur in members of an all-male or all-female sports team, work team, etc. This type of blending is similar to other empathic blending, but much stronger and much more able to cause healing in both parties. It is a powerful advantage to having friends of the opposite sex, a wife or husband, and even having children, at times. Children and parents. Interestingly, this type of blending can be done between a male parent and a female child, and conversely, between a female parent and a male child. It can even occur between siblings of the opposite sex, too, although this is not nearly as common. To read more about this very exciting method of healing, read Male-Female Blending on this website. OTHER TYPES OF UNUSUAL HEALING IN FAMILIES AND IN OTHER CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS A phenomenon we observe within families, and within all close relationships, is that when one person begins to heal, particularly a parent, often the partner and the children also experience a degree of healing. This occurs even when the others are not following a nutritional balancing program at all. I call it healing by osmosis, because I don’t know what else to name it. This phenomenon may be due to empathic blending, described in a paragraph above. However, it may be also be due to other factors, such as less stress in the home, better food in the home, more of a healing atmosphere in the home, or something else. In addition to these reasons, other reasons help explain unusual healing in those who in close relationships such as in families. For example, as one heals, he or she serves as an example to the other and perhaps as an inspiration to the other. As one heals, the body becomes more capable of love, and this felt by the other As one heals, some nutrients are actually transferred to the other in sexual fluids, for example, or in saliva in kissing. This may sound odd, but these are factors in healing within families or close relationships only. THE TRADITIONAL FAMILY UNDER ATTACK EVERYWHERE For the past 100 years of so, the family unit in America and Europe, in particular, has been under constant attack. The attack has been coming from work outside of the home, two parents having to work, the school system that takes away authority of parents, and a much more intrusive government that also takes away the rights and powers of parents to control their children and even their homes. Unemployment is very hard on families, and there is plenty of that in Europe, particularly. Pressure from Anti-Christian groups such as gay rights advocates and even some women’s advocate groups has also forced the passage of laws that discourage marriage. The growth of the welfare system is another anti-family factor. These systems often contain incentives to have children out of wedlock, for example, in order to collect more money from the government. Asia has much less of these pressures, but they are growing on a daily basis. Communism, for example, practiced still today in Russia, China, and other large nations, has a devastating effect on the family. Also, Asia has other problems, such as a traditional hierarchical male-dominated culture that may  seem to support the family, but really is very hard on women, and impedes the development of deep love between men and women among the population. Other nations, such as those in the Middle East, insist on rules and regulations that are so rigid and strict that they may hold society together, but they stop love from developing because the roles of man and wife are too rigidly defined. The Muslim world has some serious family problems. Here the family unit is strong, but in some homes the male dominates and the women are treated so badly that they cannot love their husbands and children correctly. I hope someday soon this will stop. Some of the best family units are found among the Jewish families and some of the Asian cultures, such as the Chinese and Koreans. Even here, however, divorce rates are rising and the traditional family is under attack. THE NEED TO RESTORE THE INTEGRITY OF THE FAMILY The above leads us to the need to clarify, correct and realize the importance of the traditional family unit and restore it legally, culturally, socially, and in every other way as well. This is also a goal of nutritional balancing science. It must begin with each person understanding the need for very high-quality relationships, and then acting at all levels of society to push for a more family-friendly society. The kind of reforms needed in society include: 1. Legislative action and tax reform to encourage marriage. This means that married couples should have tax advantages, which is not true today. Often it is the opposite. Also laws must clearly define marriage as the relationship between one many and one woman. All other arrangements of living and sexuality must not be given equal recognition or equal treatment under the law. This means no gay marriage, no homosexual or gay rights laws, and no gay-friendly legislation at all. This sounds harsh, but gay rights laws are the worst thing for the traditional family today. It also means that polygamy must be banned altogether. It does not matter if all members of a polygamous community like the arrangement. It does not work well and it is usually a cult. For more on this topic, read Cults and Terror Societies on this site. Tax credits should be given for having children, but only if a couple is married and filing jointly. Society should not be giving tax credits to single parent households of the same magnitude, as it encourages promiscuity and single-parent households. I know this is a difficult area, but it is important to strengthen and protect traditional marriage. 2. Legislative action and tax reform to strengthen families. Here are examples of laws and tax arrangements that favor the family unit in society: Smaller government favors families. This is because power in society is always shared between individuals and their families, and the government. The more power and scope of the government, the less power and scope the family will have. Laws that should be abolished to assist the family are all laws that allow schools to give out condoms and birth control pills without parental consent, and all laws that allow minor children to obtain abortions and even driver’s licenses without parental consent. Some states claim they can vaccinate children without parental consent, and some allow medical treatment without parental consent. All these laws destroy the integrity and strength of the family unit and ought to be repealed. I realize that repealing these laws will permit some abuse by uncaring or unthinking parents. However, this is better than an across-the-board rule that damages the family, which is still the best hope for children in the entire world. Government welfare agencies do not do a good job, overall, and I would not expect them to do so. They are too distant and too â€Å"professional† to care deeply enough about the children. Similarly, judges and juries should not have the right to remove minor children from the home unless the abuse is obvious and severe. Low taxes strongly favor the family unit and family integrity. Much higher taxes for everyone today is forcing two parents to work outside of the home and to send children to government or private daycare centers and pre-schools. This is horrendous for families. While in some nations, the poor and even middle classes do not pay income taxes, they pay for taxes that are hidden in every product and service that they buy. This is the case especially in America and Europe where corporate taxes are high. These are hidden taxes on all products that can account for up to half the cost of the product such as a car, food, clothing, building materials and other necessities. This is why corporate tax rates should be zero. Tax income, tax consumption, or tax imports and exports, but do not tax in hidden ways such as corporate taxes that no one can see and that are regressive, meaning they harm the poor much more than they harm the wealthy because the poor must spend a lot more of their income on necessities, while the rich can easily afford the taxes on goods and services such as electricity, etc. Laws that permit, encourage and even pay one parent to stay at home with children and teach them favor the family strongly. Parents should be discouraged from both working outside the home, and young children should be at home. If a parent does not want to raise a child at home, he or she should not become a parent. It is that simple. Home schooling favors the family unit. In the same vein, home schooling must be encouraged, not attacked, as it is in many nations, including the United States of America. Home schooling is the ideal, and should not be considered a deviant or religious or unusual concept. It is far better, according to statistics, than any school situation. Home schooling parents should not have to pay school taxes, for example, and perhaps should be compensated so that a parent can stay home and teach rather than have to take a job outside the home and send the child to public or private schools. No death taxes favor the family. Death taxes are also called estate taxes. They do not allow some families to pass on their wealth to their children,  or anyone else. Instead, the government takes a large portion of their money, even though they have already paid taxes on that income. Families should be permitted to pass on their wealth, as it is theirs and they often worked hard for it. The government has no right to it, having already taxed it once or perhaps twice. Tort reform strongly favors families and employment. It is important that if one is truly injured, that one can sue for damages. However, the situation in America, in particular, but also in Europe in which attorneys are able to sue basically innocent people for all sorts of frivolous reasons places great strain and a huge financial burden on everyone. It raises the price of all goods and services, frightens away many businesses and keeps good products off the market. It also supports a class of parasitic attorneys who make good money often by ruining other people’s lives. There are simple answers for this problem, but the trial lawyers lobby, and their political allies the Democratic party has so far prevented them from being implemented, especially in the United States. The solutions include: 1. Simplify legal proceedings so that people do not need attorneys to represent them and can handle simple cases themselves. This is certainly possible, but judges and attorneys don’t like the idea. It is similar to learning how to take care of your health, which the doctor’s don’t like. Court proceedings, rules of evidence, rules of discovery, motions, and so on can be made simpler. 2. The loser in a suit should pay all court and attorney fees. This is the system in Great Britain and some other nations. It can stop some frivolous lawsuits, especially in the health care area, but also in product safety. 3. Attorneys must not be allowed to disqualify jurors at their whim. The only reason to disqualify a juror should be a direct conflict of interest, perhaps. The current system today allows sharp attorneys to get rid of potential jurors whom they sense they cannot manipulate or influence. This  should not be the way the jury system works and it makes a mockery of the jury system. 4. It may be necessary to place a cap on damages. This is more complex, especially in a class action lawsuit but sometimes juries are talked into awarding far too much money for damages because attorneys take a percentage for themselves. A capitalist economic system, with controls to prevent corporate raiding and cheating, tends to favor families, while socialism is usually even more corrupt and it destroys families. It does this because the government gains so much power that the family becomes secondary to government, which becomes the nanny, the provider, the police force and everything else. This must be taught and the reasons for it thoroughly understood in society. The basic reason is that a large, powerful government always competes for power with the family, so it is inherently inimical to the family. In contrast, a weak government allows the family unit to have more power over itself and over society. It is not an accident that the weakest families occur in communist and socialist nations, while the strongest are found in the capitalist nations. Private and not socialized, nationalized or â€Å"universal† health care helps the family unit. Caring for one’s health and that of the children are extremely important issues that are best handled within families. This is because they have to do with diet, lifestyle, thinking patterns and other personal habits that are learned and practiced in families. In general, when people are forced into a governmental system, the family loses a lot of power and control over this important area of life. If the government system were perfect, it would not be so bad. However, all governmental systems are more costly, the dietary recommendations are often poor, bureaucrats are distant and don’t care as much for people as private doctoring arrangements, and waste and corruption are worse. Also, just turning over control of this vital area of life is a bad idea. Even the HMO or PPO system in the USA, which is based on private insurance but herds people into groups with little choice in health care, is not good for family integrity and strength. This is just one reason why Obamacare, for example, in the USA, will not work and must be repealed at once before it further bankrupts the USA, which it is doing and with no good results. It is just socialism, and that is harmful for families, as explained above. Freedom, in general, is wonderful for the family. Repression in society works against families. Freedoms of religion, of speech, of assembly, the right to bear arms and all the freedoms that some nations permit are helpful for the family as they weaken governmental power and encourage responsibility and power to be centered in the family. Denying the people freedom weakens the family in all cases. Traditional religions and, in general, religious freedom tend to favor the family unit. However, too much repression in the religion harms families by several means. Repressing women, for example, leads to anger and hatred of women for men and for the religious leaders. Also, if the family roles are so rigidly defined, some will rebel and avoid families altogether. They also, of course, may just leave the religion, but this is not always possible, as with Islam. As these legal and other changes occur, and only when they occur, we can expect to see great improvements and restoration of our societies. They will be safer, more sane, healthier, with far more emphasis on spiritual values and the dignity of each individual soul. All will be happier and life will be far more worthwhile and enjoyable for women, in particular, for our children, and for everyone. Easy divorce laws have mixed effects upon families. On one hand, they make it easy for a selfish parent to basically abandon their children or â€Å"steal† them from a partner. They may also leave a former partner stranded without financial support at all, or very little. On the other hand, very strict divorce laws that existed in the past kept families together where there was physical or emotional abuse, or just terrible unhappiness. This is not ideal for families, either. Many people say that the traditional family is dead, as evidenced by the high divorce rates in the Western world, in particular. However, they forget that although the divorce rate is high, the remarriage rate is also very high. In other words, many people do not want to be single. They just want to be with the right type of person. If they are not, then they are more likely today than in the past to split up and move on to what is often, though not always, a better marriage the second time around. When children are involved, the situation is more complex. Children need a stable home and they need love – plenty of it. So it is more complicated. Here one must use good judgment and try to avoid selfishness. Selfishness is often the problem and the reason that a couple does not blend and heal one another. Laws favoring easy abortions probably harm families. This is an ongoing debate in the USA, though not much in Europe. ALL abortions terminate a life, and some women suffer psychological damage from abortions, even if they are not fully aware of it. I particularly dislike the Planned Parenthood approach, often, in which young women are just told they can get their abortion right away, no one needs to know about it, and that is all there is to it. However, those who favor abortions rightly point out that women perhaps should have more control over their reproductive abilities, especially in case of rape, incest, and all conditions in which the health and well-being of the mother or even the father is at stake. So I suspect this issue will be debated for many years. I believe anti-abortion laws are there to protect women in many cases, and this is how they should be â€Å"sold† or promoted. They help women avoid psychological damage that comes with abortions, they help prevent infections and other problems of abortions, and they help the family in many cases, which helps women the most. If the family does not want another child, then put it up for adoption. Encouraging monogamous man-woman relationships is by far best for the family. Sadly, this is not what is taught in schools today. Politically correct teachers often stress that homosexuality, communal living, open marriage and other â€Å"alternatives† are just as good as the traditional one man-one woman relationship. I believe this is a lie in most cases, due to the nature and construction of human beings. I believe there exist certain differences between men and women that are often subtle, but very real. Living together, they tend to balance one another, help one another, heal one another, and love one another better than any other type of arrangement. This does not mean that in a few cases a different type of relationship is best, but I am speaking in general terms of what seems to work best for the great majority of people in our world. I strongly believe that if this were not so, we would see around the world plenty of societies in which marriage is not supported or practiced much, and instead we would see much more of other living arrangements such as homosexuality or just staying single and living alone or in one’s family of origin during one’s entire lifespan. But we do not see this very much among the thousands of human societies of every race and religion. This is not an indictment of other ways to live socially, just an observation. For this reason, I want to suggest that laws should protect, proclaim, educate and demand that the young are taught this truth, and nothing else.

A Comparison of Beloved and Don Quixote Essay example -- comparison co

On reading Beloved by Toni Morrison and Don Quixote by Kathy Acker, there seem to be quite a few similarities in themes and characters contained in these texts, the most prevalent of which seems to be of love and language as a path to freedom. We see in Acker’s Don Quixote the abortion she must have before she embarks on a quest for true freedom, which is to love. Similarly, in Morrison’s Beloved, there is a kind abortion, the killing of Beloved by Sethe, which results in and from the freedom that real love provides. And in both texts, the characters are looking for answers and solutions in these "word-shapes" called language. In Acker’s Don Quixote, the abortion with which the novel opens is a precondition for surrendering the "constructed self." For Acker, the woman in position on the abortion table over whom a team of doctors and nurses work represents, in an ultimate sense, woman as a constructed object. The only hope is somehow to take control, to subvert the constructed identity on order to name oneself: "She had to name herself. When a doctor sticks a steel catheter into you while you’re lying on your back and you to; finally, blessedly, you let go of your mind. Letting go of your mind is dying. She needed a new life. She had to be named" (Don Quixote 9-10). And she must name herself for a man – become a man – before the nobility and the dangers of her ordeals will be esteemed. She is to be a knight on a noble quest to love "someone other than herself" and thus to right all wrongs and to be truly free. In another of Acker’s works she writes: "Having an abortion was obviously just like getting fucked. If we closed our eyes and spread our legs, we’d be taken care of. They stripped us of our clothes. Gave us white sheets... ... the end of the text by a community getting in touch with a "language of their own," while Acker’s protagonist is subverting texts to find or create something this "primal." Don Quixote is far more easily paired with the ghost of Beloved. They both are searching for a language they can use and understand and know with the "word-shapes" that they are given. They are both on quests to find love and freedom that are not a product of "slavery." They both are in search of a name, an identity, that is not a product of an "abortion." They are both childlike yet adult, trying to understand. And neither of them are asking for, or offering, forgiveness. Works Cited: Cervantes, Miguel De. Don Quixote. Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed Mack, Maynard et al. WW Norton and Co. New York, NY. 1992. Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York, Penguin Books USA Inc, 1988.

Philippine Presidential Elections 2016 Essay

The 2016 presidential election is one of the most talked about topic of today. To date, just more than a year from now we will again be having our new set of national leaders. It is again the time when we can use our power to vote and elect the deserving person that will eventually rule our country. The scheduled date will be on a Monday, 9th day of March, 2016. As we all know, the incumbent president Benigno Aquino III is barred from seeking re-election pursuant to 1987 Philippine Constitution. Therefore, this election will determine the 16th President of the Philippines. In recent months, we have heard so many big names that can potentially be our next Philippine president. Two of the most prominent Filipino politicians has officially declared their candidacy over presidency, both with strong will and competitiveness. Without any surprise, the current Vice President Jejomar â€Å"Jojo† Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), our first guy on the list, confirmed his plans of running as president during an interview back in September 2011. The longest-serving Makati City Mayor, now the Vice President of the Philippines not only created a strong political dynasty but he also realizes his colossal visions. While VP Binay effortlessly made it to the list of possible and feasible presidential candidate, our next guy, a potical rival of the former, and the current Senate Majority Leader, Sir Alan Peter Cayetano, needed to closely monitor surveys to make sure he’s still in the running and viewed by the Filipinos as a viable candidate, according to a source familiar to Cayetano. The 43-year-old Senator from the Nacionalista Party (NP) is serious about running that he has to put together a team to work on campaign preparations. In a March 2013 interview on Morning’s @ ANC he said â€Å"I want to be the president of this country. I think I can do something great for God and his people.† Among other politicians who would possibly run, one is Sen. Ferdinand â€Å"Bongbong† Marcos Jr. of Nacionalista Party.

Functionalist And Marxist Perspective On Religion Essay

Also known as the social conflict approach, critique of capitalism. According to Marx, in a capitalist society, religion plays a critical role in maintaining an unequal society, in which certain groups of people have more resources and power than other groups of people. For Marx, Ideology is a belief system that changes people’s perception of reality in ways that serves the interest of the ruling class. He argues that the class that control economic production also controls the production and distribution of ideas in society, through institutions such as churches, education system etc. In Marx’s view religion operates as an ideological weapon used by the ruling class to justify the suffering of the poor as something inevitable and God-given. The Marxist perspective, persist that religion operate as a drug to dull the pain of exploitation, because religion is a distorted view of the world, it can offer no solution to earthly misery. Instead, it promises rewards in the afterlife that creates an illusion of happiness which distracts attention from the true source of suffering, namely capitalism. Marx argued that the ruling class used religion as a tool to keep the less powerful proletariat pacified. He argued that religion was able to do this by promising rewards in the afterlife, instead of in this life. Marx was calling for the proletariat to  discard religion and its deceit about other worldly events, only then would this class of people be able to rise up against the ruling class and gain control of the means of production and only then would they achieve real rewards. Here we can see the social-conflict approach to religious highlights how religion, as a phenomenon of human behaviour functions to maintain social inequality by providing a worldview that justifies oppression. Because Marx was committed to criticizing the prevailing organization of society during his time, he took a particular stance towards religion. He believed that this was a tool of social control used to maintain an unequal society and that it should be abolished. Functionalist perspective on religion (Emile Durkheim) Durkheim outline that all religion share three elements: 1. Beliefs are held by a follower. 2. Practices and Rituals. 3. Moral community. The functionalist perspective states that religion is universal, there are functions that it fulfils for society. It satisfies individual needs and religion give people a sense of identity. These functions are: 1. It provide social unity to help maintain social solidarity through shared rituals and believes. 2. Social control to enforce religious-based morals and norms to help maintain conformity and control in society. 3. Religion offers meaning and purpose to answer question of existence. Durkheim argued that religion acted as a source of solidarity and identification for the individuals within a society. Religion provided a meaning for life, it provided authority figures, and most importantly for Durkheim, it reinforced the morals and social norms held collectively by all within a society. Functionalist saw it as a critical part of the social system, as it provides social control, cohesion, and purpose for people, as well as another means of communication and gathering for individuals to interact and reaffirm social norms. Secondly, Functionalist approach identifies certain elements of religious beliefs that are common across different cultures. A belief in a supernatural realm is not necessary or common among religions, but the separation of different aspects of life, physical things, and certain  behaviors into two categories: 1. Sacred – Objects and behaviors that are considered part of the spiritual or religious world. Knowable through extraordinary experiences. 2. Profane – Everything else in the world that do not have a religious function or hold religious meaning. Knowable through normal empirical observation. Functionalists believe that religion is an agency of socialization, and the role of socialization religion plays is that of cultural learning. It believes that society represents an external limitation as norms and values regulate and limit our behaviour. Both Marxism and Functionalism theories take the macro world view and that elements of human culture must be understood in terms of their relationship to a larger structure. It studies the frameworks of society and how society shaped our behaviour. Marx’s theory of religion needs to be seen in the context of his general view of society, capitalism dominates the working class. Whereas functionalism sees religion as a unifying force and a feature all societies. Marxism sees religion as a feature only of class – divided society.

Marketing Logitech Essay Example

Marketing Logitech Essay Example Marketing Logitech Essay Marketing Logitech Essay This will assist in ensuring security of files, give reservations, check body temperature as well act as a digital photo display. The packing will Include a USB cord to charge the mouse, a pair of AAA batteries to power it up, an instruction manual and a carrying case. 3. Augmented Product A warranty of one year comes with the device, which will replace the mouse in case of malfunction and also provide free maintenance for another 6 months since. Price: We will be pricing the Super Mouse at AS 150 In the Singapore region. This will account for the production, distribution, marketing as well as the RD costs incurred. Cost based pricing strategy is used here keeping in mind that cost of reduction is S$ 100 and targeted profit margin is 50%. Place: we will be using the selective strategy to distribute our product. Stores like Mustang Centre, Best, Courts, Challenger, Audio House and other Electronic shops have been contracted to strategically place our product in their shops in a way that customers notice it. We will be using our well-established distribution lines to ensure there is enough stock In each of the stores. Apart from this the company will be holding a gamers meet where teenage gamers will be given the opportunity to test out the mouse on a more practical environment. This will create awareness as well as a recreational opportunity for the prospective customers. Promotion: we wall De using two moments AT ten Promotion mix to promote our product: 1 . Advertising The main source of our promotion will be advertising which will mean setting up banners and posters in important social gathering places like Orchard, Somerset, Dhobi Aught and Warburton MR. stations and connected malls. We have also contracted buildings to air our advertisements on their big screens so that commuters using buses and personal vehicles also will be made aware of the product. 2. Sales Promotion As mentioned earlier in the Place Mix, we will be conducting a social gamers meet where we will be providing a 10% off on the mouse for those who participate. We will also make available gift vouchers, which can be purchased at the meet. Implementation This product will launch in October of 2013 giving time for pre-launch advertising and production.

7 Simple Ways To Improve Your Email Open Rates

7 Simple Ways To Improve Your Email Open Rates Do you know what your email open rates are? Think about it: youve put the work into the email youre sending. Wouldnt it be nice if people actually opened it and read it? According to Campaign Monitor, a  20 40% open rate for email is typical, depending upon who your audience is.  Higher open rates are associated with religious or sports content (dedicated followers), while e-commerce and marketing tend to hover around 20%. If your emails are less than the average 20% email open rates, what can you do to bring that up and get more eyeballs reading your email content? 1. Treat Subject Lines Like Headlines Creating the subject lines of your email follows similar rules as making great headlines. Like a blog post headline, your email subject line bears most of the responsibility of getting your email open rates up where they should be. Good subject lines have a few characteristics: 1. No trickery.  Your subject line should tell your reader what theyll read, and not use subterfuge to trick them into opening an email. Remember the boy who cried wolf? That kind of email subject line will only work once, if they dont unsubscribe. 2. No yelling.  It should go without saying that using all caps in your subject line is a poor idea. However, both title case and sentence case can work magic. Title case works when you are using a shorter subject line which has headline-like quality (e.g. The 5 Most Important Email Tips Ever). Sentence case works when you have a longer or more conversational subject line (e.g. Have you made these 3 blogging mistakes?) 3. Numbers do work. Using numbers in your headline has shown to increase reader engagement. The same can be said for your email subject lines. Dont shy away from a subject that contains a number. 4. Some words dont work. There are words you should avoid using, even if you arent using them in a scam way. Spam filters are already working overtime to protect inboxes. You dont want to give them something to work with on your emails. There are also words that spam filters leave alone, but so do your human readers. For these,  MailChimp identifies their three worst offenders as Help, Percent Off, and Reminder. Spammers have unfortunately desensitized a lot of readers; be sure you dont sound anything like spam. 5. Hit the ideal length. The general rule of thumb is that your subject line should be around 50 characters. Thats not to say 40 wont work, or that 65 is a bad idea. The key is that you must be aware some email programs might cut characters off and if you have your most important word at the end of a long subject you might lose them. Keep important words at the beginning if you have a longer subject line. 6. Story wins. Whenever possible, approach your subject line as a story. In other words, pique your readers curiosity in your email and get their emotions (fear, humor, curiosity, anger, joy, gain, logic) involved; anything that suggests there is more to be read gets readers to open your email. Our Latest Newsletter is much less interesting than Have You Missed The Biggest News Yet? Sometimes a statement-type subject line is necessary, but do try to ping emotions in the subject line when possible. 2. A/B Test Your Subject Lines We regularly test the subject line of our weekly Content Marketing Update. We do this to find out which subject line will get the most opens and perform the best for a limited number of random users before sending it out to our entire list. In the example below, using A/B testing, our sample group helped us select the most successful headline of the two wed come up with, and increased our open rate by an estimated 70%. Version A carried the subject line of Are You A Content Hacker? which forced the reader to ask themselves a question they likely didnt know the answer to, since it is a new term. They clicked to find out. Its similar to the quizzes we get sucked into in magazines or online; were curious to find out who and what we are. Version B carried the subject line of How To Make A Living Blogging which is a helpful topic with a very specific audience of those who actually wanted to make their living blogging. A/B test your email subject and let your readers tell you what works best.I was the one creating the email, and I thought that Version B would be the more popular option. After all, there seems to be a spate of people concerned about making a living and our list was likely filled with people who wanted to do it with writing and blogging. But I was mistaken. Our list has a broad readership, with many of them serving in professional content marketing and social media marketing capacities. They were less interested in making a living blogging than they were to find out about what a content hacker might be.  The email with Are You A Content Hacker was the winner of our A/B test, and it sent out to our entire list with good success. A/B is based on the very simple idea of having two ideas, and letting your audience tell you which one they like. Most email providers, such as MailChimp and AWeber, offer A/B testing that makes it simple to test your subject lines. 3. Consider The First Sentence Its easy to forget that some email programs show the first few words of the first sentence in the inbox. My Gmail doesnt show me the first sentence and I forget that other email software, such as Sparrow and Outlook, does. Why should that matter? Because some of your readers are going to use both the subject line and the first line to give an indication on whether its worth opening or not. The first line of your email will show in some email software. In the example above, you can see that our recent Content Marketing Update email, in this view, had a truncated subject line and the first sentence had to help sell it. How many bloggers use email software that places a notice at the top that says the reader can click here if the email does not appear correctly? The first words of your email should help sell the email, not take care of maintenance.  This particular situation is the case for my personal blogs RSS-driven email, and that means the great headlines I might come up with are followed by a mundane message that suggests theres a chance my email wont look correctly and might not be worth the hassle. Thats not very enticing.  Maybe it doesnt hurt, if your headline is unbelievably superb, but it certainly doesnt help. Think of the opening line of your email like the next level headline. Do what you can with your template so that the first words are valuable. Change your email template to reflect something that feeds the curiosity that the subject line started. 4. Make Email Personally From You The from portion of your email is a way to humanize your email. When we send out our weekly email, we send it from Garrett, not from . Why? Our emails are by people, from people, for people. They arent from vague brands, apps, or objects with a possible nefarious agenda against humans. People connect with people, not with inanimate objects.

Business Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business - Coursework Example There are two reasons why I think this is so. The first reason is that despite the crisis, I believe in RBS’ future. The bank has maintained its professional and constructive approach to business. The management seems to have been able to steer the bank out of trouble and there are reports that very soon RBS will opt out of the Government’s Asset Protection Scheme. The bank’s underlying business is stable and profitable while the bad debt ratios have been falling. The second reason is that the bank is working with a redefined strategy to regain customer trust and building itself on even more solid foundation. The global economic scenario is changing but I can see that the bank is maintaining its consistency – the consistency to adapt and offer the best to clients and investors. Joining the GBM markets programme at this stage would allow me to be part of this evolution and contribute to its success in near and long term future. Why do you believe RBS is the Right Place for you? Please use this section to outline what you know about RBS and what makes it an attractive workplace for you. (2048 characters / 250 words max) I love challenges. However, it would be naive to imagine that being ready to face challenges is enough without learning from the experiences of others. I believe RBS is the right place for me because its culture is built around cooperation, challenge, learning, and respect. The GBM Programme offers me the opportunity to learn with my peers and gain from the guidance of experienced colleagues. RBS, in my opinion, offers the best learning opportunities in the industry and the culture is intellectually stimulating. The well structured GBM Programme will offer me a full round exposure to the entire spectrum of products and services in the market. These include trading, sales, currency and interest rates, foreign markets, derivatives, risk, and analysis. This is a great learning opportunity that I would love to show excellen ce in. RBS seems to promote proactive workers and those who love to take the lead in creating solutions for the bank or its clients. This would be the ideal setting for me and I would also have the opportunity to work with the best and the brightest in the industry. Being a person who loves to interact with people, the GBM Markets Programme is the best place for me. I would get the opportunity to work with my colleagues, many of whom I understand come from various locations and cultures, and develop common shared successes. At this point, I feel I would be good in the sales segment of the business. What strengths and experience do you have that make you the Right Person for the GBM Markets Programme? Please use this section to describe your strengths and any experience that you have that makes you the Right Person for the GBM Markets Programme. (2048 characters / 250 words max) I mentioned earlier that I love challenges. RBS would be perfect for me as it requires someone who is able to work in a dynamic market, changing situations, and newer challenges all the time. It also requires that the person is capable of sensing a situation, apply knowledge creatively, make projections, and come up with a win-win solution for both the client and RBS. I strongly feel I have the personal qualities to fit that role. I also understand that one cannot individually offer all dimensions of a product. I am a team player and

The artistic relationship between Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt Essay - 1

The artistic relationship between Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt - Essay Example It was due to her burning passion for art that prompted her to persuade her father to allow her to go to Europe and start her painting career. It was during one of his visits to the salon that Degas saw a painting by Cassatt. Later when they met, he introduced her to the group of artists called The French Impressionists. From this point, an artistic as well as a personal relationship developed between the two artists. Various critics and observers as well as close friends point out that Cassatt’s work was an inspiration of Degas, while Degas relied on her for postures and critics1. To find out the relationship between the two artists, this paper will analyze some of the works by the two artists as well as critic’s thoughts and ideas about their relationship. At the start of her career in France, Cassatt greatly admired the works of Degas and several other artists from the impressionists group. She was mostly impressed by the modernity and the colorfulness of the picture . The freedom and independence in which the artists did their painting captivated her. When their relationship flourished, Degas helped her not only adopt the fresh colors that were central to the new impressionism, but also the light effects that created the picture of modernity paintings. Moreover, Degas’s use of Japanese woodcuts and etchings molded Cassatt to a great printmaker as she constantly borrowed the art from him, making her an equal innovator just like him. Although Degas was classified as an impressionist, he never adopted the color fleck characterized by the impressionists. Instead, he was a classical artist, who was inspected by the wars and their tombs, which he expressed through paintings. On her part, Cassatt’s work was a blend of modernity and classics, especially the manner in which she looked at things, passionately and with compassion2. The impressionists were a group of artists who used color and light to paint that saw the revolution of the mod ern form of painting among the people, a departure from the traditional way of painting. Initially, it was developed by artists from Paris who did not embrace the idea of following painting standards set by the government. They did not have to present their work to the salon in front of a judge who would determine whether they met the standards or not3. Mostly, they painted about modernity and the issues facing the society around them, without the usual allure of traditionalism in the paintings. Critics point out that before she met these artists, Cassatt was experiencing a hard time with her painting career as she used to express it openly. Two of her paintings had been rejected by the judge, which left her devastated and desperate. In what appeared to have been the revolution of her career was her meeting with Degas. She acknowledged that she felt alive when she made the discovery of the impressionists. The two artists were drawn closer by similar ideologies that they shared, espe cially their resentment for the salon and love for modern paintings. The sharing of a common artistic sensibilities and interests by the two artists propelled the growth and development of their working relationship that lasted for forty years. They both shared a similar background, as they all came from upper-class of the rich. Due to this, their works portrayed a form of resemblance and similarity in their thinking and settings. In addition to paintings of each other, some of which