Postcolonial Gothic texts? Essay

Before starting this essay, it is important to acknowledge the fact that the term ‘postcolonial gothic’ is quite difficult to define accurately. For the most part of this essay, I will be taking for granted the fact that these texts are essentially postcolonial in form, in so far as they are texts that have ’emerged in their present form out of the experience of colonization and asserted themselves by foregrounding the tension with imperial power. ‘1 It is with this certainty in mind that I will be looking more specifically at the gothic elements of the pieces, which separate the texts from other typically postcolonial works. Nevertheless, certain distinguishing postcolonial features will arise throughout the essay and this will be especially explicit when I look at the contextual aspects of the pieces. Turcotte identifies the fact that ‘it is certainly possible to argue that the generic qualities of the Gothic mode lend themselves to articulating the colonial experience in as much as each emerges out of a condition of deracination and uncertainty, of the familiar transposed into unfamiliar space. ‘2 As such, the idea of displacement presents itself clearly though the two texts. In Wide Sargasso Sea for instance, we feel a strong sense of Rochester’s alienation in Jamaica: †Is it true,’ she said, ‘that England is like a dream? Because one of my friends who married an Englishman wrote and told me so. She said this place like London is like a cold dark dream sometimes. I want to wake up. ‘ ‘Well,’ I answered annoyed, ‘that is precisely how your beautiful island seems to me, quite unreal and like a dream. ‘ ‘But how can rivers and mountains and the sea be unreal? ‘ And how can millions of people, their houses and their streets be unreal? ‘ (67) He finds it impossible to feel comfortable in Jamaica and it is Antoinette’s equivalent inability to understand England that forms a barrier between the couple. The gulf between their different backgrounds and upbringings is particularly evident through this conversation and it becomes increasingly clear that Rochester sees Antoinette as alien and inaccessible to him: ‘I felt very little tenderness for her, she was a stranger to me, a stranger who did not think or feel as I did. ‘ (78) Therefore, we see the postcolonial notion of the ‘other’ featuring in the novel. When we learn that Rochester views Antoinette in such a manner – as ‘that which is unfamiliar and extraneous to a dominant subjectivity’3 – a certain unease is created, which amplifies the gothic tone of the novel. The reader senses his discomfort with her ethnicity, as he talks derogatively about her: ‘I did not relish going back to England in the role of rejected suitor jilted by this Creole girl. ‘ (65) This prejudice seems to develop into a deep-seated fear of contamination from the Creole woman with ‘long, dark, sad alien eyes†¦ [who] looked very much like Amelie. ‘ (105) Further supporting his discomfort with her ethnic origin is the fact that he insists upon calling her Bertha, despite her objections: ‘Bertha is not my name. You are trying to make me into someone else, calling me by another name. ‘ (121) His renaming of Antoinette suggests that he wants to make her sound more English and, since she shares her name with her mother, he also appears to want to detach her from her family and her creole heritage. Antoinette is a white creole and throughout the novel, the reader senses that Rochester feels betrayed by his experience – he has gone to Jamaica in order to marry a wealthy heiress, whose skin is white like his own. As such, at first sight, things do appear to resemble normality for him and it is only when he gets to know her better that the differences in their make up show through. To pinpoint this sensation more precisely, we need to look at an idea stemming from displacement, that Freud identified as ‘the condition of the uncanny, where the home is unhomely – where the heimlich becomes unheimlich – and yet remains sufficiently familiar to disorient and disempower. ‘4 This is certainly the situation in which Rochester finds himself and this is epitomised when Rochester begins to see Antoinette as a doll: ‘She lifted her eyes. Blank lovely eyes. Mad eyes†¦ I scarcely recognised her voice. No warmth, no sweetness. The doll had a doll’s voice, a breathless but curiously different voice. ‘ (140) Freud claimed that a favourable condition for the uncanny is when there is uncertainty as to whether an object is alive or not and this is certainly the way in which Rochester views Antoinette. Therefore, although on the surface everything appears to be normal, all the things around Rochester have a peculiar unfamiliarity for him. The character of Antoinette also suffers such alienation when she arrives in England and is confined to her room: ‘Now they have taken everything away. What am I doing in this place and who am I? ‘ (147) The reader senses that without her country and the things around her that are familiar to her, she has lost her own identity. The notions of displacement and the uncanny are very disturbing in essence. They infuse the novel with a sense of unease and a sense of disturbance in the characters that the readers can relate to. Similarly, in Ovando many of these features of displacement and the uncanny are evident and the anxiety and dread that this imposes on the reader is what gives this story its gothic overtones. The character of Ovando symbolises the imperial power in the story and the narrator represents the native peoples, crushed by the colonisers. The impact of Ovando on the narrator’s land is profound and the imposition of his European culture appears to contribute to this effect: ‘He carries with him the following things: bibles, cathedrals, museums†¦ libraries’ (3) Although these things represent the treasures of culture in their European environment, the narrator appears to be recognising the fact that these things do not belong in their New World environment. Through enforcing these things on the new land, Ovando is conforming to what is described in â€Å"The Empire Writes Back† as ‘the political and cultural monocentrism of the colonial enterprise†¦ of the European world. ‘5 Furthermore, Ovando enforces his religious beliefs on the natives and this becomes clear when he tries to justify his actions by referring to ‘fate’ and the narrator states: ‘I could have brought a stop to what was an invasion to me, a discovery to him; after all, I too knew of divinities and eternities and unalterable events. ‘ (4) Ovando fails to see that the natives have their own belief systems in place and his ignorance is exemplified by the fact that the narrator appears to realise Ovando’s downfall, acknowledging his ignorance. Although he does not condone the colonisers’ actions in any way, there is a degree of understanding on the part of the narrator -who represents the natives – that does appear to be present in Ovando: ‘To the stranger’s eye (Ovando’s) everything in my world appears as if it were made anew each night as I sleep, by gods in their heavenly chambers’ (7) The narrator is acknowledging the fact that Ovando and the Imperial powers on the whole failed to realise that the New World – ironically named by the imperialists – was not in fact ‘new’. These countries had their own pasts and their own traditions that the narrow-minded colonisers, who had their eyes ‘half-shut’ (6), failed to recognise or appreciate. Although of course this narrative is written from the biased perspective of the natives (Kincaid’s background supports this fact) the historical accounts of colonisation do essentially support the notion of the blinkered imperialists. As a consequence of this and the lack of integration into native lifestyle by the colonisers, they fail to see that their European traditions are displaced in this new environment and, through imposing them, they create a rift between themselves and the natives. More obviously present in Ovando is the notion of the uncanny. Standing alongside this sense of displacement, the presence of the uncanny promotes a very daunting and disturbing feel in the piece. Turcotte directs the notion of the uncanny in postcolonial literature in particular to the notion of ‘physical perversion†¦ [where] nature, it seemed to many, was out of kilter. ‘6 Throughout this short story, everything is out of kilter in effect. For instance, when Ovando is looking at the map, Kincaid distorts reality and time: ‘Using the forefinger of his left hand, he traced on his map a line. Months later his finger came to a stop. It was a point not too far from where he had started. ‘ (6) This distortion of time is disorientating to the reader and the narrator describes other events, which are equally impossible. When for instance the narrator describes the protest put to Ovando about his unfair treatment of the natives, he undergoes a process of metamorphosis: ‘But Ovando could not hear me, for by this time his head had taken the shape of a groundworm, which has no ears. ‘ (10) Although the narrator is clearly illustrating his refusal to hear the pleas of the natives, it becomes clear that nothing is impossible in the story. Kincaid writes: ‘The moment in which the words could be said was the moment in which the words would be true. ‘ (8) – and the reader recognises that whatever is said in the story simply has to be accepted as the truth. The author gives words an enormous amount of command and authority and, as such, the power of words in this story exceeds the influence of the reader to interpret the events for themselves. Therefore, it could be deemed that Kincaid is confiscating the power of interpretation from the reader in order to highlight the way in which power was taken away from the natives – and the unease and discomfort that this creates adds to the gothic effect of the story. Morrow and McGraph acknowledge that after the 1830 and ’40s the gothic became ‘increasingly fascinated with the psyche of the gothic personality. ‘7 This is particularly obvious in Ovando, with Kincaid’s in-depth exploration of the mental workings of the coloniser. The supposed superiority of the European colonisers, over the natives is apparent through the character of Ovando, who insists upon ‘possess[ing]’ the natives. Similarly, we have insight into the workings of the colonised people. We see their bitter retrospection at their welcoming attitude towards the colonisers: ‘†Ovando,† I said, â€Å"Ovando,† and I smiled at him and threw my arms open to embrace this stinky relic of a person. Many people have said that this was my first big mistake, and I always say, How could it be a mistake to show sympathy to another human being, on first meeting? ‘ (3) Although this is not symbolic of the ‘gothic personality’ in the same way that Ovando’s thoughts are, the juxtaposition of this welcoming, warm attitude highlights the deviousness of Ovando’s thinking, as he deliberately takes advantage of people who were prepared to share their land with him. In Wide Sargasso Sea, there is no equally explicit demonic gothic personality as there is in Ovando. However, there are dark qualities lurking in both Antoinette and Rochester. With Antoinette, of course, her personality creates an amount of unease in the reader, particularly since we aware of the fate of the character she is rooted in from Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. Additionally, with Rochester’s unease about the fact that ‘her mother was mad’ (129), the reader is constantly haunted by the notion that she will turn out like her mother. Obviously, these anxieties turn out to be justified as we see her realisation of her supposed responsibility: ‘I was outside holding my candle. Now at last I know why I was brought here and what I have to do. ‘ (155-6). Antoinette burns down the house, believing in her misery that this is her destiny. This, in itself, is quite a morbid notion that amplifies her state of despair and gloom. McGraph and Morrow acknowledge that ‘the new gothicist would take as a starting place the concern with interior entropy – spiritual and emotional breakdown†¦ ‘8 Therefore the recognition of Antoinette’s despair means that, although this insight into her psyche does not mirror the horror and gruesomeness of the gothic personality in Ovando, the extent of her despair instils a deep sense of dismay in the reader and supports the gothic nature of the text. The respective writers also employ various literary techniques in the pieces, which indicate that the texts are postcolonial gothic in nature. For instance, the entire notion of gothic literature is suggestive of ‘horror, madness, monstrosity, death, disease, terror, evil and weird sexuality’9 and many of these qualities are prevalent in Ovando. The imagery used in Ovando conforms to these horrific characteristics customary in gothic literature and the physical appearance of Ovando corresponds to this in particular: ‘Not a shred of flesh was left on his bones; he was a complete skeleton except for his brain, which remained, and was growing smaller by the millennium. He stank’ (3) This gruesome image of Ovando can only provoke horror and disgust in the reader and the nightmarish qualities of such gothic literature present themselves clearly here. Similarly, the physical appearance of Ovando continues to worsen into the form of the devil: ‘He had also grown horns on either side of his head, and from these he hung various instruments of torture; his tongue he made forked. ‘ (9) This demonic image is possibly one of the darkest images that can be drawn upon and, as such, Kincaid is portraying the character of Ovando in the most evil way possible. The idea that he personally ‘made’ his tongue forked also draws to mind images of masochism that, again, are dark in nature. This use of graphic and disturbing imagery draws all the qualities of ‘horror, madness, monstrosity†¦ ‘ together to form a deeply disturbing text conforming to the conventions of gothic writing. The structure of Ovando also allows the piece to fit into the genre of gothic literature successfully. The piece is dreamlike in that it has no fixed structure and it moves through the action with no real sense of succession at all. Events do not lead into one another, but the reader gets the sense of dreamlike disorder with the physical world constantly changing. It is this constant flux in the story that creates a disturbing sense of disorder in the piece, which, no doubt, reflects the disorder created by the invasion of the colonisers. In Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys uses some very graphic images that are disturbing in nature and as such conform to the gothic style. During the fire, we hear Antoinette’s retelling of events, as she realises that their pet parrot is stuck in the burning house: ‘I opened my eyes, everybody was looking up and pointing at Coco on the glacis railings with his feathers alight. He made an effort to fly down but his clipped wings failed him and he fell down screeching. He was all on fire. ‘ (36) This horrific image of the bird being burned alive equates to the burning images of the devil in Ovando and highlights the notion of suffering in the text. The colonial experience clearly caused suffering and anguish and this conveyance of pain is an effective means of expressing this. Rhys also refers frequently to the notion of obeah, which relates to black magic and spirit theft. Antoinette accuses Rochester of obeah, through trying to change her name, but she is also guilty of its practice when she puts a love potion in his wine. This exploration of the unknown and the ghosts that Christophine knows about, although ‘that is not what she calls them’ (113) creates an eerie and supernatural dimension in the piece. The use of such ideas by Rhys is concordant with the daunting elements that define the gothic genre. In Ovando in particular, the gothic literary technique of inversion is also employed throughout. McGraph and Marrow identify the use of inversion as a gothic effect, ‘where terror and unreason subverted consensus and rationality, where passion was transformed into disgust, love turned to hatred and good engendered evil. ’10 The narrator appears to acknowledge throughout that good can engender evil. When Ovando arrived on the island, of course, the narrator was eager to accept him: ‘For I loved him then, not the way I would love my mother, or my child, but with that more general and spontaneous kind of love that I feel when I see any human being. ‘ (3) The good in Ovando, however, is overtaken by greed and self-love, epitomised in the masturbation episode where ‘Ovando gently passes his hands down his own back, through the crevices of his private parts†¦ ‘ (11-12). Therefore, the reader senses that the imperial powers were all subjected to this inversion driven by greed in effect, and this literary technique is an effective way of mirroring this inversion of good to bad in human beings. Similarly in Wide Sargasso Sea, some of these features of inversion can also seen to be employed by Rhys. Rochester’s worsening feelings towards Antionette indicate this and such an overturn in emotions that epitomises the gothic tone and alteration from passion to disgust can be seen when Rochester sleeps with Amelie. No sooner has he slept with her, did he begin to feel discontented with her appearance: ‘†¦ her skin was darker, her lips thicker than I had thought†¦ I had no wish to touch her and she knew it, for she got up at once and began to dress. ‘ (115-6) His darkest fears appear to surface through her, with his acknowledgement of how native she looks and the hint that he worries further that she could be related to Antoinette. Having previously stated: ‘Perhaps they are related, I thought. It’s possible, it’s even probable in this damned place. ‘ (105) -the way in which he sees her this morning strongly rouses the deep-seated fear of incestuous relations in him. These issues in themselves are dark and gothic in that sense, although the fact that these issues are only hinted at makes them far more ominous in some respects. Looking at the works from a contextual perspective, it is interesting to see that Gelder concludes that ‘Postcolonial nations can re-animate the traumas of their colonial pasts to produce Gothic narratives. ’11 This can be seen explicitly in Ovando through the character of Frey Nicolas de Ovando. Although he appears to be a fictitious character, he was undoubtedly named after a sixteenth century governor in the Dominican Republic. Friar Nicolas de Ovando was governor from 1502 to 1509 and during this time, he was renowned for his cruel treatment of the native Taino tribe. It is reported that, in order to gain more power over the tribes, he arranged a feast for the tribe chiefs and then burnt down the house where it was held. Furthermore, any people who survived the fire were tortured and killed. There is no question that Kincaid’s character was created in direct reference to him and the cruelty of the character of Ovando in her novel supports this fact: ‘One morning, Ovando arose from his bed. Assisted by people he had forcibly placed in various stages of social and spiritual degradation†¦ ‘ (9) This demonstrates explicitly the blame that Kincaid attributes to Ovando for the pain and suffering caused. She dispels any notions of fate or necessity and lays the burden on the shoulder of the one character who, in addition to clearly being the general described above, broadly represents the imperial nations. It is clear that Kincaid is drawing upon real life horrors for her story and Turcotte identifies this technique: ‘From its inception the Gothic has dealt with fears and themes which are endemic in the colonial experience: isolation, entrapment, fear of pursuit and fear of the unknown. ’12 Therefore we see that the gothic genre is particularly apt for expressing the distresses caused by the process of colonisation. This process of the re-animation of traumas from people’s colonial pasts is repeated in a sense through Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea. She is retelling a Gothic story that already exists in Jane Eyre, giving depth and, indeed, a life to Rochester’s mad wife in the attic. Spivak recognises that Rhys takes Bronte’s Jane Eyre and ‘rewrites a canonical English text within the European novelistic tradition in the interest of the white Creole rather than the native. ’13 This would suggest that, just as the madwoman in the attic has no voice in Jane Eyre, neither does the colonised persons in colonial and postcolonial literature. Therefore, Rhys is giving them the voice they have been deprived of. Many things point to the fact that this was her deliberate intention and we can assume that her personal reward from doing such a thing is clear when we hear other accounts of prejudice in her works: ‘I had discovered that if I called myself English they would snub me haughtily: ‘You’re not English; you’re a horrid colonial. †14 Jean Rhys was a white Creole like this character and, as such, the closeness of the character to the novelist makes it difficult to detach the two. Therefore, it is clear that the gothic genre for Rhys is an effective means of conveying the personal trauma she has experienced as a result of prejudice, stemming from colonisation. In conclusion, it is clear to see that these texts can be defined as postcolonial gothic. As postcolonial texts, they also possess many of the distinguishing features of gothic texts. The aptness of the gothic genre as a means of reiterating colonial pasts is evident throughout, as the horror and disruption that it conveys so well is symbolic of the anxiety and heartache that the process of colonisation created for those people ensnared in its progression. Bibliography:   Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, Helen Tiffin. The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Postcolonial Literatures. London: Routledge. 1989.   ed. Athill, Diana. â€Å"The Day They Burned the Books† in The Collected Short Stories of Jean Rhys. New York: W. W. Norton. 1968.   Boehmer, Elleke. Colonial and Postcolonial Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1995. Ed. Childs, Peter. Post-Colonial Theory and English Literature: A Reader. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 1999.   Gelder, Ken. â€Å"Postcolonial Gothic† in The Handbook to Gothic Literature. ed. Mulvey-Roberts, Marie. Basingstoke: Macmillan. 1998.   Kincaid, Jamaica. â€Å"Ovando† in The Picador Book of the New Gothic. A Collection of Contemporary Gothic Fiction. ed. Mcgraph, Patrick; Morrow, Bradford. London: Picador. 1992.   ed. McGraph, Patrick, Bradford Morrow. The Picador Book of the New Gothic. A Collection of Contemporary Gothic Fiction.

Compared Writing Styles of Rowlandson, Bradford, and Byrd

The writing styles of Rowlandson and Bradford are very similar, while Byrd's writing style is different from the other two. Rowlandson's journal is a narraritive of her captivity, and Bradfords journal is a narrative of his journey to and arrival at his destination in the New World. Byrd's journal was was written as a satire, to essentially make fun of Rowlandson and Bradford's religious views. Mary Rowlandson kept the journal of her captivity to inform future generations of her experiences while being held captive and used as a slave by the Indians whom kidnapped her and her children. Rowlandon's main purpose in this passage is to show how her experiences revealed Gods purpose. Throughout the passagee Rowlandson makes reference to how God helped her through this difficult time. She was very stong in her religion and her views on her faith in God. In the passage Rowlandson expressses her gratefulness that her belief in God kept her from committing suicide. â€Å"I cannot but take notice of the wondrful mercy of God to me in those afflictions, in sending me a Bible. The above quote is one of the many times she makes regerence to how appreciative she is of God in her tine of trouble. As Rowlandon writes, she uses multiple strategies throughout her passage. On one many being allegory. Rowlandon uses allegories by placing biblical quotations to give symbolic meaning to her experiences. William Bradford's writing techniques and purpose are very similar to that of Rowlandson. Bradford writes about his voyage to the New World and experiences that take place once they reached land. Just like Rowlandon, Bradfords writing is to inform future generations of his experiences in the New World. Bradford give account of his voyage to the New World on the Mayflower, landding in the New world, and the hardships that he battled throughout it all. Bradford, much like Rowlandon, talked about how grateful he was for God to provide fot him and bring hin through his trials,. â€Å"But it pleased God before they came half seas over†¦. † In many instances, such as the above, Bradford gave God credit, and was very appreciative of it. William Byrd, unlike Bradford and Rowlandon, did not write a captivity nattatiive, but instead just kept an account of events. He did not give God credit for everything, but instead, used satire to make fun of Rowlandon and Bradford. Byrd was not saying that God meant nothing and he did not believe in him, but he did not constantly credit him with everything. As it is implied, Rowlandson and Bradford have very similar writing techniques, while Byrd had a different style than the other two.

Life

Unique super shop is going to be launched as a partnership super shop business. The company owns and operates an industrial plant and is engaged on the business of making food products and is marketed through its own show room and agents all over Bangladesh.. Here we all will work as a group & contribute capital and management expertise to the business enterprise and perform Joint responsibility for the operation of the business and for its debts.Unique Super Shop's principal ctivities are to collect cow milk from dairy firm, manufacture it by value change through proper process and modern technology so that it can meet the existing demand of milk among consumers. We are going to launched our business in urban area where people can not get fresh food particularly milk. Day by day they are losing their health stratus by taking unhealthy food. Our aim is to provide fresh food (Milk) to them which will be collected from various rural firms.To serve its customer with highest level of sat isfaction the company always give emphasis on meeting latent emand of the customers by introducing new and innovative products in the market. This is first time in Bangladesh we are introducing a super shop where all types of milk product or food is available in a single platform. Business description General description of the venture: for making a profit, we are some friend launching Unique Super Shop so this is the general partnership business. Our business can be based on written contact and legal oral agreement.Where included name of the partner, Purpose of the partner duration of the business, how profit and loss will be istributed, salaries, absence contribution of each partner to the business etc. The Reasons of Choosing Partnership: – Ease of formation: A partnership is fairly easy to start. It is nearly as free from government regulation as a sole proprietorship. The cost of starting a partnership is low. It usually involves only a modest legal fee for drawing up a written agreement. Which in a highly desirable. An oral agreement is sufficient but not recommended.And that will be easy for us to establish our business. So we have chosen partner ship business. 2. More funds available: – In a sole proprietorship, the amount of capital is limited to the personal wealth. ; credit if the owner. In a partnership the amount of capital may increase significantly. A person with a good idea but little capital can look for a partner with the capital and lor credit standing to develop and market the idea. And we all have brilliant ideas with a little capital. So we have chosen partner ship business 3.Combined managerial Skills: – In a partnership, eople with different talents and skills may Join together. One partner may be good at marketing; the other may be expert at accounting ; financial matters. Combining these skills could provide a greater chance of success. So we have chosen partner ship business. 4. Tax Advantage: – It has som e potential tax advantages over a corporation. Ina partnership as in a sole proprietorship, the owners pay taxes on their business earnings. But the partnership as a business does not pay income tax. So we have chosen partner ship business.

The doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty Essay

The doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty - Essay Example The urgent question is whether the existing doctrine may assist in adopting the constitution, which would be entrenched against the future amendments and would effectively limit the executive and legislative power in Britain. In this connection it should be mentioned, that despite the fact, that the doctrine is supposed to be the basic principle of the British constitutionalism, it has been recently admitted, that the doctrine becomes more and more inappropriate and unacceptable in the constitutional context, changing because of the British membership in the European Union, higher accents at the human rights and the transition of the legislative rights to the regional legislatures. Despite the absence of the fixed constitutional frames in the written form, which would limit the British Parliament' activity, it has long been admitted that it is impossible to take any political measures for limiting legislative or executive powers. However, it is essential to note, that the British Par liament is now more limited in its rights not on the judicial, but on the political reasons, and the sphere in which it is not able to implement its unlimited powers is increasing. 'When Dicey published The Law of the Constitution in 1885 he defined parliamentary sovereignty as meaning that, 'Parliament has, under the English constitution, the right to make or unmake any law whatever; and further that no person or body is recognised by the law of England as having a right to override or set aside the legislation of Parliament.' (Elliott, 2002) Simultaneously, it is essential to note, that any constitution without future amendments can hardly be adopted in the light of the existing Doctrine. The possible proof for such assumption may lie in the explanation as for the role of courts in the doctrine of Parliamentary sovereignty, which shows that the courts are not able to protect the absurd laws from being adopted, if the process of passing it through the both houses of Parliament has been transparent and legal. 'It has therefore been established that Dicey's doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty is, in theory, true. Parliament, it seems, can make or unmake any law it wishes and no person or body can set aside or override such legislation. However, whether this is actually true in practice remains to be seen.' On the other hand, it is also notable, that when the judges find enough competence and ability to interpret the Parliamentary statutes and acts, it hardly serves for the benefit of the society, as the laws and acts are usually written in such ambiguous wording as to adopt its interpretation to the specific situation; though taking into account the

International Finance Course project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Finance Course project - Essay Example This write-up will look into among other things, the motivation behind the introduction of the URR, Impact of URR provision on the exchange rate of Thai Baht, impact of URR on Thai financial markets and finally impact of URR on neighboring financial markets such as Malaysia, Philippine, Singapore and Korea. Motivation behind introducing the URR provision The motivation, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand (2008) was the need to â€Å"deter short-term capital inflows.† Simply put, the Unremunerated Reserve Requirement was motivated by the need to discourage people; particularly investors from undertaking short-term investments that only bring about short-term capital inflows. The Deardorffs' Glossary of International Economics (2010) notes that short-term capital flows are â€Å"of interest because such capital flows are likely to be very liquid and therefore easily reversed and sources of instability in exchange markets.† This is to say tha t the Thai government was motivated by the need to ensure that investments undertaken in the country through the country's banks and other financial institution were going to be long-term and trustworthy for solid future benefits. This is because short-term investments hardly yield any fruitful benefits for the growth of the country's economy. Impact of URR provision on the exchange rate of Thai Baht with other major currencies such as US$ and local currencies The Unremunerated Reserve Requirement is believed to impact on the exchange rate of the Thai Baht by ensuring stability and growth of the currency as against other major currencies. This is because as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand, (2008) notes, the URR will lessen the pressure of Baht speculation rather become instrumental in â€Å"ensuring the Baht stability and its movement more in line with regional currencies.† Such stability against major currencies is assured because there would no longer b e extreme volatility of the Thai Baht: a situation that causes long term economic instability (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand, 2008). The stability of the currency would also be achieved because the Bank of Thailand will â€Å"buy up the incoming dollars and other major currencies† (Bangkok Post, 2010). As a matter of fact, the growth of the currency of any country is of prime interest to the economic and finance planners of that country. This is because with the growth of a particular country's currency, investors and business personnels in that country are put in a better position to competing in global and international trade without fear of rampant foreign exchange rates. The government on the whole also benefits because it is put in a better position to compete globally and economic growth and stability is assured. For instance with a very stable currency, the government is not put in a position where it has to spend so much local currency in a bid to u ndertake foreign trade because of the weak value of the government's trading currency. It is against this background that the government introduced the Unremunerated Reserve Requirement. In two Graphs below represents the monthly exchange rate for the years 2005 when the URR was not in force and 2011 after the URR had been in force. Figure 1: 2005 Average Monthly Exchange Rate for US Dollar Against the Thai Baht from January to

Virtual Learning Environments Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Virtual Learning Environments - Research Paper Example These learning tools are taken into consideration primarily because they fulfill the standards for a Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) by virtue of their usability and functionality. However, the evaluation of these learning tools is quite different in their methodologies. Evaluation can be done by considering several key components including the easiness of utilization, extensibility, distribution, maintainability, interactivity, functionality such as E-tutoring, security issues, service management, ease of interface and simplicity of accessibility features and the extent of using such tools in Higher Education. The application server of Blackboard works on Windows and Unix platforms in association with a cross-platform browser support for Windows, Macintosh and Unix settings. One of the most important features, which I have noticed while using this learning tool is that, is of course to include the support for IMS. While considering the flexibility system, the provision of contribution by Blackboard application as a learning tool is quite up to the mark especially with its easy-to-use interface. Conversely, the interface may attribute to some debatable aspects considering its applicability in practice as I find it beneficial with a steady and dependable interface while some consider it as a restriction or constraint and having limited option to interact as such. However, the Blackboard learning tool has a significant implication in the segment of Higher Education with high-end and highly-developed components like training materials and workshop templates such as Netskills. The learning tool Desire2Learn is considered as having the potential to be used as a course-delivery device in the regime of Higher Education. An evaluation was conducted to assess the potentiality in relation to increasing popularity and use. A user of Desire2Learn does not require downloading any application; rather the company's server consists of all the required software in order to support their LMS platform with an exception of JAVA as it is used under the license. This product environment provides to create conferences for the members within a class-setting or its sub-groups. It also supports basic chat function in association with HTML based chat tool. When conferences are prepared in order to proclaim an individual course, new conferences can easily be accommodated for consecutive declarations of the course. A user has the privilege to edit or modify a thread and can control the access option for a user or user group at different levels. The threaded messages can be seen in clear and user may perform search option and may be able to find out results sorted by date, topic, and sender. There are other significant features too e.g., incorporate saving, printing, editing and deleting of postings. D2L uses a 'learning storage' approach that let the users to store objects like pages, graphics and test-item banks, etc., and it is XML standard-based. These objects can be shared across several courses or programs. A context-sensitive help aspect endows with help on each one of the most important tools. The product is in accordance with the most important standards of course-sharing globally that is counting SCORM and IMS, and assembles global standards for the right to use.

Overcrowding and Inmigration in Miami Dade-County and USA Essay

Overcrowding and Inmigration in Miami Dade-County and USA - Essay Example The arrival of Cuban refugees in the 1960s created a foundation for Miami as the gateway for Latin America. Lucrative trading, banking, and investment opportunities have made Miami a hot destination for the population of Central and South Americans as well as Caribbean Island. It is fact that the fast growth of immigrations and overcrowding has transformed the social environment. And this creates pressure for the government to understand the significance of social tensions within a planning framework by considering how growth management policy is primarily concerned with the potential environment. (Gans, 1991) After Los Angeles and New York, Miami-Dade County is the third leading metropolitan area in terms of immigrants and overcrowding. In 1997 Miami-Dade County had one million foreign-born populations and now it has 48 percent of its population comprised of immigrants. After 1960s Miami has become the important destinations for immigrants as the ethnic change has greatly influenced the characteristics of the county as well as the United States. (MiamiHerald.com) Different opinions about the immigrants were doing round the corner since 1960s. Some believe that immigrants in some counties of USA are using welfare services disproportionately and paying low taxes because they are poor. Others argue that immigrants today are economically assimilating into the American mainstream. Then there are some who believe that immigrants are making positive contribution to the economies of these counties. Legal hawks claim that the immigrants to these counties not to use welfare, but because they are ambitious and want to work hard to achieve a higher standard of living. (Research Perspectives on Migration, 2001) From 1980 to 1981 the health centers in Miami were filled with Cuban and Haitian refugees. According to the Miami Health Center more than 5,000 refugees were

European Integration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 3

European Integration - Essay Example It was through this European Integration Roundtable of Industrialists is that the transnational corporations tried to influence the European integration process, the nineteen eighties. It was this ERT forum from where a number of industrialists of Europe helped in the forming of agenda and the re-launching of the single market program. This also led to the development of transnational elite capitalists you brought in a number of neo-liberal concepts and ideas which eventually helped the formation of a single market program. Adriaan H. Dierx(2004, p. 237) states ‘The process of European integration and the past decade has been closely associated with the single market program (now evolved into the internal market strategy) and economic and monetary union. This process has been pushed forward by highly publicized deadlines and target dates giving the first impression of abrupt change in the economic environment. In practice, however, businesses and consumers tend to anticipate such change and modify their behavior even before the formal change is made. On the other hand, often the full impact of the economic reform is felt only years after their introduction. This implies that European integration as a continuous process, one in which the speed of progress may be affected by policy initiatives such as the SMP and the EMU and which takes place in conjunction with other events influencing the behavior of economic agents and the performances of the economy, such as globalization or the ICT revolution.à ¢â‚¬â„¢ The ERT can be viewed as an elite comprising of trans-national capitalists who have neoliberal concepts and who occasionally takes part in the social struggle for dominance in the European culture. Europe is not is becoming a part of the global economy, politically and financially. Therefore the businesses in Europe are transforming to globalized and transnationalised businesses. There are basically three large economic blocks in the world:  USA, Japan, and Europe.  

Shared Truths Among Law and Religions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Shared Truths Among Law and Religions - Essay Example On the basis of this perspective, ideas and considerations that Christians, Buddhists, and atheists might commonly accept include imposition of rules and regulations to deter discrimination on the basis of caste, gender, color, or origin; deterrence of fraud; deterrence of lies; deterrence of violence and bullying; deterrence of rape; and imposition of all such rules that are directed at the well-being of the society at large. Evidence of this can be witnessed in that all societies have a system of law and order that is directed at the promotion of justice and deterrence of injustice and violence, whether that is a predominantly Christian society like America, a predominantly Buddhist society like Burma, or a predominantly atheist society like Japan. People of all religions want legal freedom to pray in their religious ways; â€Å"Because the Establishment Clause does not apply to purely private speech, students enjoy the right to read their Bibles or other scriptures, say grace bef ore meals, pray before tests, and discuss religion with other willing student listeners† (â€Å"Joint Statement†). The laws and government supported by the shared ideas and considerations of Christians, Buddhists, and atheists are such that allows their respective followers to complete freedom to practice their religions without conflict. Such a governmental setup has to be democratic and considerate of the individualistic needs and desires of the people following different religions. â€Å"The word democracy means only that the people rule. Other than, perhaps, requiring freedom of speech and equal access to the ballot, indispensable requirements of self-rule, the notion of democracy sets no limits on what the people may do in their sovereign capacity† (Stern). Such a system of law and government cannot, in any way, be biased toward people of a certain religion.

Modernism Visual Comical Strips Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Modernism Visual Comical Strips - Research Paper Example The essay "Modernism Visual Comical Strips" discovers modernism and visual comical strips. The modernism arts focused on freedom and individuality as evidence from Pablo Picasso’s art works. Modernism art, therefore, saw the emergence of some new media especially photography thus it emerged during the eras of history of photography and this explains why history records the photographers of 19th century. Modernism also marked the beginning of the new art forms like animation, assemblage, cinematography and even the avant-garde art, including the earliest conceptual art forms and the same style was used on comic strips as the same themes are portrayed in the modernism cartoons and other visual comedy. Style and setting of modernism comical strips used backgrounds that showed how the society evolved to become civilized. In most modernism comedies, the artists used black and white backgrounds to show an evolving society unlike the postmodernist artists that have used technology to affect the backgrounds to the desired colors. On the other hand, most of the modernism comedies centered on war and how servants served their masters. Moreover, modernism visual comedy shows the activities of social organization, architecture, and economic situations in the modernist era that become outdated as industrial revolution took over the world. Post modernism art came about after the emergence of modernism arts and as such, contradicted the aspects of the modernism art. Post modernism in visual art includes general aspects.

123 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

123 - Essay Example The family atmosphere is also not conducive to sharing of secrets. Jack’s dad married soon after the passing of Jack’s mother without even informing him that he would do that. It is a fact that in Native American society men do not share deep feelings; however, this fact just served to worsen the relationship between Jack and his father. Jack felt a sense of abandonment when this took place and went to reside with his aunt. The older generation in this tale, which is made up of the narrators’ father, Aunt Greta and the extended family reside in the Indian reservation, but Jack makes the decision to further his education and moves out of the reservation. Owing to this decision to improve his life, his connection with his family members is weakened. In Native American families, it appears that in most households, there is a lot of adjustment that is accepted as being normal. Gerstel and Sarkisian state that "Black and Latino families are more disorganized than White families" (Gerstel and Sarkisian, 62). This may not be a reality in all families of non-White ethnicities, but it occurs more often in these families than in White families. Aunt Gretas household was altered significantly many times in the course of her life. Her husband passed away, and thus she had to look after her grandfather in his old age, along with her nephew. Prior to going to university, Roger is invited to a party in which he gets inebriated and is involved in a fight. The lack of boundaries that would have resulted from being a part of a fully functional family may have prevented this. Jack was mainly brought up by his aunt. There are boundaries that will only be respected by children when the father of the family enforces them. Jack, coming from a dysfu nctional family, lacked such boundaries. He is imprisoned as a result of the fight, but still does not appear to understand the importance of taking

Global City-Regions Essay Example for Free

Global City-Regions Essay Regional geography usually concerns the evident similarities and differences of the various regions of the world (Martin and Thompson 2006). One of the concerns of such field of geography is the ever-changing geographical urbanization throughout the globe. Urbanization can come in different forms, thus, in the article by Scott, urbanization in the form of expanding globalization that beset different regions is discussed together with the many effects and challenges that comes with it (2001). In the article, the author tries to indicate that rather than obliterate the concept of geographical divisions, globalization enhances the regional entities currently existing in society to the point that certain global city-regions are created and are faced with the challenges of coping with the mentioned globalization trend (Scott 2001). Article Summary One of the many fruits of globalization is the creation of wider political-economic regional units called â€Å"global city-regions† (Scott 2001, p. 813). In the so-called city-regions, new political and economic structures arise. Due to the many transformations and modifications that have happened during the centuries, a new system has emerged via globalization. Such condition of society creates four aspects that should be addressed by the new civilization. These four aspects namely are: (1) the increasing large quantities of economic activity can now occur in the form of long-distance as well as inter-border relationships between regional units, (2) the number of established multinational organizations is ever-increasing to answer such economic pressures, (3) previous regulatory functions of the national administrations are now being performed by regional units, and (4) the revival of past economic and political regions have sprouted creating new geographical boundaries (Scott 2001). The fourth aspect discussed by Scott was then further elaborated to give emphasis to its importance and significant consequences. It is in this elaboration of the fourth aspect that the concept of city-regions is introduced. The institution of globalization is therefore the initiator of the necessity of implicitly founding city-regions. Upon verifying the fact that global city-regions exist, the author now tries to analyze the political and economic structures that could possibly be established to answer the needs of the new city-regions. Two budding political principles thus appear; the first is a neo-liberal political view. In this view, government interference is at a minimum while economic activity is maximized through market organization (Scott 2001). This view is remarked as a risky one and thus should not be the structure that could be applied to developing city-regions. The second political principle which the author recommends is that of renascent social democracy which is also called the social market approach (Scott 2001). Such approach is appropriate for economic efficiency and at the same time can selectively commence intervention whenever necessary (Scott 2001). Furthermore, democracy will be an effective means of addressing the social and political tensions of a diverse population which is apparent in city-regions where most people try to earn a living, mainly due to its reputation as a site for capitalism and globalization (Scott 2001). As a conclusion of the article, the author tries to propose a new definition for citizen and citizenship. Since the new geographical partitions throughout the globe will be like those of the city-regions, new concepts on citizenship thus surface. Citizens will no longer be bound by birthright to a particular geographical location but rather becoming a citizen will be based on the functional contributions an individual possesses. Furthermore, citizenship will take on a whole new level. Individuals in the ever-increasing mobile world can freely obtain the title of citizenship as many as possible depending on the movements of each person as one travels through different city-regions situated in the vast world (Scott 2001). In the end, the author shares his afterthoughts regarding the subject matter. Similar to the varying consequences of globalization, the emergence of city-regions in society also has diverse outcomes. Summarily, though the emergence of such global city-regions revives the geographical entities and the need for distinctiveness, its materialization also poses new and fresh political and economic problems and challenges (Scott 2001). Throughout the article, the author tries to back-up his arguments and deductions as well as his predictions by citing different outside references. His use of examples such as naming international organizations and cities considered city-regions in the world strengthens the thesis of his article. Information cited from other authors also imparts the well-researched foundation of the author’s arguments. Organizational Analysis The organization and structure of the article is quite impressive. The author uses deductive as well as inductive reasoning in presenting and defending his thesis statement and arguments. The style of writing is also well-organized. This is evident on the flow of the whole article. At the opening of the article, the author communicates what he believes is going on in the society. He incorporates new ideas to explain what has come to pass, thus the use of the term â€Å"global city-regions†. Following his conceptual presentation, he proves the certainty of his inferences. To give significance to his article, he then recommends solutions and steps that can be taken to resolve the issues at hand. Furthermore, he offers the readers explanations to the current situation. In the end, he lays down his conclusions and deductions only after weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the solutions to the issues. His effort to refer back to the effects of globalization in geography is a very competent way of leaving a lasting thought to the readers. Thus, by doing so, he creates an appealing atmosphere whose effect is persuading and convincing. Furthermore, the urgency in his article is apparent by his use of situational events. It makes the reader feel the need to address the matter at hand. Personal Analysis Although the article is exceedingly academic and formal, the ideas presented by the author are quite revolutionary, thus making them interesting. It is enjoyable in a sense that it offers innovative concepts and principles not just in regional geography and globalization, but also on economics and politics. The principle of city-regions is a noteworthy contribution to the field of geography. Furthermore, his defense of the existence and importance of the study of geography brought new light to the study. This is the most striking effort the author has produced. By addressing the argument that geography is becoming obsolete, he established geography’s status in the academe and the sciences. Moreover, by his struggle to affirm the relevance of geography, he constructed a new concept in geography. In summary, he renewed the necessity to study geography, particularly in relation to that of the current worldwide condition of society. Relevance and Conclusion In connection to urban political geography, the article is actually all about it. The focus of the article is that of globalization which is a form of urbanization. The author thus tries to give a glimpse of the concerns of urban political geography. This is achieved by the by discussion of political principles that are appropriate for the newly-discovered global city-regions. By generating an image of regional geography, the author imparts an understanding of the subject. The article however has not yet been tackled in classroom discussions since it will be talked about in later topics in the course of the class. Scott reveals new conceptual geography that not only deals with regional and physical geography but also with political geography in the midst of globalization. Through conversing about the matter, the author revitalized the significance of studying geography and the varying concerns it deals with. References Martin, G. J. Thompson, J. H. (2006). Geography. Microsoft Encarta 2007 [CD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation. Scott, A. J. (2001). Globalization and the Rise of City-Regions. European Planning Studies 9 (7): 813-826.

An Adolescent Smoking Prevention Health And Social Care Essay

An Adolescent Smoking Prevention Health And Social Care Essay The rate of smoking is increasing in the United States among adolescents and the cause of leading preventable death in the United State (Husten, 2009). Smoking cause many health problems such as cancer of the lung, esophagus, larynx, bladder and oral cavity (Stephenson Allen, 2007). The goal of the Healthy People 2020 Objectives focus is to reduce tobacco use by adolescent, establish laws on smoke-free indoor air that prohibit smoking in public places, worksites and increased adolescents disapproval of smoking( Healthy People, 2020). This will be discussing the factors that predispose adolescent to smoking, the national, state and local prevalence of smoking. The paper will also be discussing the principals of health promotion and disease prevention in primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. This paper will have examples of national, state and local initiatives leading to achieving the Healthy People 2020 objectives. This paper will discuss the roles of the professional registere d nurse in providing care for adolescents who smoke. Many health problems results in smoking and the earlier individuals start smoking the higher risk they have in developing these health problems in later life. To understand the etiology of smoking, one must understand the factors predisposing the adolescent to behave in this manner. These factors are peer pressure, parents who smoke the mass media and movies all influence smoking behavior in adolescent. Other factors that may also contribute this behavior include having a low self-esteem, and having a problem controlling weight (Tingen, Andrews Stevenson, 2009). Adolescents who are starting smoking at the start of early age would most likely to become heavy smoker when they get older (Lewis, 2008). With the proper preventive measures and educating adolescents about the importance of not smoking can aid in reducing smoking rate among adolescents in the United States. Counseling, community programs and state laws prohibited smoking, promote a tobacco free environment. There are five stages of smoking initiatives occurring in adolescents. Precontemplation is the first stage, this is when the adolescent has not even thought about smoking. The second stage is contemplation, in this stage, the adolescent start to learn about smoking and is thinking about smoking. The next stage, preparation is when the adolescent is experiment smoking with other people smokers. The action stage last for about a month and is when the adolescent starting smoking on every day basis. The last stage is maintenance, which last more than more six month. In this stage, the adolescent is already smoking regularly and smoking make smoking as a habit. Nicotine is the chemical in tobacco that cause nicotine dependence, which cause smoking addiction. A study has shown that adolescents who smoke less frequently than adults would both exhibit the same nicotine dependence withdraw symptoms. Study also has shown that the nicotine play a big role in smoking cessation in adolescents. Adolescents who are willing to quit smoking are less likely to succeed as a result of nicotine dependence. Adolescents who smoke at early age would also have less successful smoking cessation ( Heikkinen, Pitkaniemi, Koskenvuo Merman, 2009) Research suggests that nicotine is as addictive as heroin, cocaine or alcohol ( CDC, 2010). Smokers who are experiencing nicotine withdrawal symptoms often have anxiety, increased appetite and difficulty concentrating ( CDC, 2010). Adolescents who smoke are not aware with associated health problems caused by smoking. Some adolescents believed that they would not be addicted to smoking and that they would be able to quit whenever they want. They do not think about how the nicotine in cigarette, which causes addiction, could affect them and make it harder for them to quit. Many adolescents reporting smoke as a way to solve their personal problems. They feel better when they smoking during emotional times, when they are feeling depress and as stress reliever (Fritz, Wider, Hardin Horrocks). It is important to understand what factors predispose adolescents into trying smoking cigarettes. Intrapersonal and interpersonal are some environmental factors that influence smoking behaviors in adolescents. An example of intrapersonal behavior is a smoking behavior that is influence by self-esteem, knowledge and intentions (Tingen at el., 2009). These behaviors are influence by the interactions in the environment, which leads to smoking initiations. Interpersonal behavior is the behavior influence by act of family members and friends. Children portray the behavior of the adults as being normal and act in the same manner. If a member in the family smoke, the adolescent would observe that behavior and start smoking themselves. Childrens exposures to socialization factors in the home that promote risk-taking behaviors are associated with early experimentation with tobacco (Tigen at el., 2009). The behavior in the household has a huge effects on how children behavior outside of the home. Watching the other people in the household smoking would influence the adolescent to experiment smoking. Children also observed the behavior of their friends and model that behavior. Friends also pressure each other to behaving like them. Peer pressure may play strong role in smoking behavior, but Benchmark studies have shown that parent and home influences are stronger than peer influences in the earliest phases of smoking ( Tigen et al,. 2009). National, State and Local Data Every day, about 4,400 youths in the United States smoke their first cigarette. One- third of youths will die prematurely of smoking associated diseases, if this trend continues (krainuwat, 2005). The goal of New York State is to reduce the youths smoking prevalence to 10% by 2010. Smoking prevalence has been reducing dramatically in adolescents. The NY prevalence for smoking in 2000 was 27.1% compared to the smoking prevalence in 2005, which was 23%. The national smoking prevalence in 2000 was 28.4, slightly higher than the NY. In 2005, the national smoking prevalence was 16.2% compared to 2000 (New York State Tobacco Control Program, 2008-2010). In 2009, the smoking prevalence for national increased to 19.5% and 14.8% for NYS (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). After researching for many hours, could not find the local statistic data on smoking for adolescents. More than 3 million youths are current smoker in the United States. Male smokers have higher smoking rates than female smokers. Smoking accounts for 30% of all cancers deaths and 87% of lung cancer deaths ( Krainuwat, 2005). For the past month, the national average for youths that smoke was 10.1%, 8.2% and range 6.5% to 15.9% across the states. The average exercise tax for national was $ 1.34 per pack and $2.7, but $ 0.07 to $3.46 per pack was the range for states in 2009 (CDC, 2010). According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the median funding for smoking in the state was 17.2% and 34.8% in 2007 was more than recommended CDC amount. As a result, the recommended state spending amount ranged from 1.1% to 8.5% for cigarettes. In 2006 through 2007, the United States percentage for homes with no rules in was 77.6% and 75.3% in New York. A health promotion activity is an important part of preventing smoking in adolescents because many health problems are raised from smoking. Health promotion would focus on educating adolescents about smoking cessation. The earlier the adolescent quit smoking, the better the chance they have in reducing the health problems they would encounter in later life. The professional nurse has an important role in preventing smoking in primary, secondary and tertiary prevention strategies. It is important to understand some of the reasons that predispose the adolescents into trying smoke. Intrapersonal and interpersonal are environmental factors that influence smoking behaviors in adolescents. An example of intrapersonal behavior is a smoking behavior that is influence by self-esteem, knowledge and intentions (Tingen at el,. 2009). These behaviors are influence by the interactions in the environment, which would lead to smoking. Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Prevention Primary, secondary and tertiary health promotion is an important part of preventive measures when it comes to educating adolescents about smoking prevention. Primary prevention focuses on the efforts to educate and prevent adolescents from smoking. By making smoke- free laws in every state, the selling of tobacco to minors and tobacco product production could be stopped schools have large number of youth populations and are an important place to educate youths about primary smoking prevention (Tigen at el., 2009). Guess speaker coming to schools to speak to students about the health risks associated with smoking and emphases the importance of not smoking is a preventive initiatives. Other primary preventive initiatives include programs at schools that discourage the initiation of smoking and support group to help students with personal problems. Encourage parents to have talked with their children about not smoking and health problems. Nonsmoking parents living in an area, where smoking is not allowed; will increase the changes of their children not smoking (Tigen at el., 2009). Secondary prevention focuses on screen anyone who may be at risks for certain disease or disorder, but in this case, it will focus on screening adolescents who may be at risk for smoking initiation. Some of the risk factors that may lead the adolescent to smoking initiation are adolescents who have at least one person in the household who smokes, peer pressure, Parent involvement is important is important. Parents having talk to their children about not smoking, especially if they hang with friends who are smokers. Encourage peers at school who may be thinking about smoking to get help (Tigen at el., 2009). Adolescent who live with parents who smoke should be encourage quitting. Adolescents that live with parents who smoke should be encourage to quitting smoking. Adolescents who parents smoke have weaker parenting role in preventing their children from smoking than nonsmoker parents (Tigen at el., 2009). School nurses have an important role in secondary smoking prevention. Tertiary prevention focuses on treating adolescent who already starting smoking and educating them about programs that can help them quit smoking. School and community counseling programs are other helpful preventive strategies to help adolescents in dealing with tobacco withdraw symptoms and providing social support system to help with smoking cessation. Nicotine patches can be useful in helping adolescents stop cigarette cravings. Chewing gum also has been effective with strategies in stopping cravings. A study has shown other effective smoking strategies, included exercising, deep breathing, sucking on a straw, drinking water, meditating, brushing teeth and listening to music( Fritz at el., 2008). The New York State Smokers Quitline has also been effective in smoking cessation (New York State Tobacco Control Program, 2008-2010). Smoking programs have been effective in promoting smoking cessation in adolescent. A study has shown educating adolescent on the effects cigarette have on the health and providing them with information has been effective in quitting smoking (Fritz at el., 2008). Health Behavior Change Models For adolescents to become motivating in participating in smoking cessation program, they must understand their perception of smoking and the reason to stop. They must also understand how serious they putting their health at risk. Barriers play an important role in behavior change models in promoting smoking cessation in adolescents. Many adolescents start smoking for many reasons, which makes quitting difficult for them. Other problems that could affect smoking prevention in adolescent is that they dont think about the health problems that are associated with smoking. Nicotine addiction poses difficulty when trying to quit, which is a barrier to smoking. Being addicting to the nicotine in cigarette can prevent the adolescent from trying to quick smoking. The strong nicotine addiction causes withdraw symptoms and craving, which makes it hard to quit (Lewis, 2008). Some adolescents had reporting using alcohol as barriers to stop smoking. (Fritz at el., 2009). Other barriers include being in denial of the health risks associated with smoking and thinking that it would never happen to them and can quit anytime when they want. The difficulty with preventing adolescents from using tobacco is that often they do not considered the long-term effects of tobacco use (Lewis, 2008). National, State and Local Health Promotion Initiatives As mention earlier, smoking cause many health problems later on in life. It is important to start health promotion initiatives as soon as possible to decrease these health risks by promoting smoking cessation. An example of national and New York State initiative aimed in preventing smoking in adolescent include community action to increase the price of tobacco. Raising the price of cigarette can help in many ways, including individuals stop buy cigarettes because they cannot afford it. The New York State Smokers Quitline was developed to help people who are willing to quit smoking. Anyone that wants to quit smoking can call the number and can be directing to place where they can be help. State and communities have come together to increase the use of the New York State Smokers Quitline (1-800-QUIT NOW). Other initiatives includes encourage Smoking prevalence would also be reduced if people living in homes where smoking is now allowed, which would decrease the smoking prevalence among adolescents (New York State tobacco control program, 2008-2010). Most movies they make today have many smoking scene in them and adolescent are likely to portray this as a normal behavior and might want to try smoking. One other initiative is to making PG movies that does not have smoking scene in them. Other strategies includes increasing the number of tobacco free areas, including parks, recreation areas, building entryways and health care, business and education campuses( New York State Tobacco Control Program, 2008-2010). Other initiative includes using the mass media to promote smoking cessation by focusing on the smoking health risks. Health care organizations are urging health care professionals to screen any patients that is using tobacco and offering them help in quitting. This would be effective in ways that if the nurse is caring for adolescents and they smoke, the nurse can teach them about quitting and providing interventions that would lead to smoking cessation (New York State Tobacco Control Program, 2008-2010). Westchester County have come up with efforts in preventing smoking initiatives in youths and adults and those who are at a higher risk for smoking relating diseases. The Westchester Countys mission is to create a cultural norm to be embraced by every community which clearly and strongly discourages all use of tobacco by all populations (Westchester County, 2010). To make this into effect in preventive smoking cessation, Westchester County provided smoking cessation programs that would be available to all the residents in Westchester County including schools, youth centers and minorities organization communities (Westchester, 2010). The Professional Nurses Role The role of the professional nurse in providing care for the adolescent in smoking cessation includes educating the adolescents about the importance of smoking cessation to reducing smoking relating health problems. It is also important that the professional. This would help the adolescent have trust in the nurse for advising and assistance for quitting (Lewis, 2008). The professional nurse should recognize all attempts as a positive during smoking cessation period. The professional nurse needs to set realistic achievable goals for the individual because this is important part of the quitting process. This gives the client the opportunity to evaluate their own goals and motivates them to work harder in achieving the next goals. Praising the adolescent and giving a positive feedback can motivate them to work harder towards achieving the next goal (Quinlivan, 2008). The professional nurse also need to referral the client to attend programs offered by the hospital or the clinic for helping patients quit smoking, such as a support group or counseling program. During discharge, the nurse should include teachings about smoking cessation and provide information to take home when the client is ready to quit if not now (Lewis, 2008). In conclusion, many health problems are the result of smoking in the United States. Adolescents starting smoking initiations at early age have greater chances acquiring these health problems. Nationals, states and local had come up many smoking initiations to prevent smoking in adolescents and to decrease the health risks. The professional nurse has an important role in smoking prevention. The professional nurse can educate the adolescent about smoking health problems and providing help to quit. Counseling programs and support groups also has been effective in preventing smoking.

Strategic Quality Change for Construction Company

Strategic Quality Change for Construction Company Gill Construction Ltd, is currently based in Alberta state, and running different construction projects all over the state. Most of the construction projects are residential based, however they have also participated in commercial projects in Lacombe, which includes Fountain Tire, Lacombe Action Group, Wilsons Funeral Chapel and numerous shops. In the recent time Mr. Amar Geet Jill believes that it is time for their company to move on and expand the business to other states and also do more projects in commercial sector. The current quality systems in place have many loopholes which allow the wastage of raw materials, high costs, untrained staff and lack of machinery. Mr Jill believes that before he expands the business he wants to gain NQI award for excellence in quality, which will add more to the business reputation and will also help them to improve quality management system and sustain growth. In order to gain the NQI Excellence award it is important to have effective quality management systems in place which requires a systematic approach. It involves following steps. Gap Analysis A technique utilized by the managers to compare the actual performance with the potential or expected performance in order to determine the whether the goals are met or not, and if resources are used effectively. It involves two questions Where are we? and Where do we want to be? Gap in actual and expected performance With the help of Gap Analysis Report, Manager will be able to identify the problem easily, Gap analysis report shows that problem is everywhere so its big task to cover all areas and rectify all problems to make a smooth system as per quality system. Depending on the situation, Gaps are classified into four types: The customer-operations specification gap: the gap identified between what customers expect and what is the outcome of the operations, For- example, Customer expects a car to give service after 15000km, but the operations specification states 10,000, At Gill Construction, customer expects the project to be completed in 3 months time, but company specifies 4 months time, same can be the concern for the costs. The concept-specification gap: the gap identified between the concept and the operations specification of a product or a service. For-example, keeping the costs low for the customer but use of low quality material to keep the costs low has compromised the quality. The quality specification-actual gap: When there is a gap between, quality specified by the organisation and the actual outcome of the operations. For-example: the specified standard was that the wall will be built using concrete blocks and mortar, but due to certain reason it was built using brick and mortar. In another case, it was specified that the wall will be at 90 degree straight but due to human error, it is not a straight wall but a slightly tilt. The actual quality- communicated image gap: The gap between, the image marketed, or communicated to the customer and the actual quality of the product or service. For-example it was advertised that the workers at Gill Construction are highly skilled and trained, and latest technology is used however that is now the case. The gap analysis report generated for a newly built house, which has 5-bedrooms with attached toilets, a sitting lounge, dining room, kitchen, and 2 car garage: A very significant gap was noticed in the report between the actual resources utilized and the expected resources. The gaps identified under each type, can lead to poor and perceived quality, and hence it is the responsibility organisation to eliminate these gaps, and come as close to the specified quality and as they. Degree of Change: In order to close the gaps, and meet the quality standard, a companywide change is required. The planned change is a continuum ranging from incremental changes, which involves the improvement in the processes and operations to a limited dimension to fundamental changes that involves the complete redesigning of its operations. Incremental changes involve the changes to decision-making process of the organisation, which exist between the business strategy and culture. Employee Participation: Employee Participation is very important to improve the quality. Managers need to encourage workers to take responsibility for the quality they provide, and meets the customers expectations. Employees are the internal customers for the organisation, who receives the product of service by their supplier. Before planning and implementing a companywide change, it is important to get their employees on board. There suggestions are very important to the management. It is in human nature that it is always afraid of uncertainty, something which is unknown and un seen. It is the job of managers to manage this uncertainty. They need to involve the employees in decision making process and take their suggestions, this increases their confidence level and motivates. If the organisation is going to get new cement mixers, then first they need to train the staff in order to operate that mixer. It is important that work-force needed to be trained to operate the new machinery so that the specified quality standard can be achieved. Resource Requirements: Following resources and tools are required to implement the new quality improvement plan. Technology In todays modern age, technology sector is growing rapidly, and everyday new machinery is invented for human comfort. If Gill Constructions, wants to improve their work build quality and speed up the construction process they need to utilize the new technology. In current process, mortar was prepared using the large mixer. This mixer was operated using the belt connected to the truck shaft, which was used to transport the mixer. This was adding an extra fuel cost. They had to use the same mixer for smaller projects. A new mixer is available in the market, which is small and portable and easily fit in the back of minivan. It also has a small generator attached to it, to power it up. Worker were using the old water-bubble scale to align walls and doors straight and levelled,. However they are not always correct. A new digital scale is required for this purpose. Training and Development It is seen that most of the work-force is from Indian Punjab, hence not very skilled and qualified to operate the new machine. In the previous construction projects, it was seen that accident rate was very high, which was also adding extra cost to the organisation. With old bigger, mixer, there was no cover to the belt connected to shaft of the truck and mixer, and many workers, got their hands stuck in their, which caused the injuries. It was also noticed that they were working without any protective gear e.g safety helmet, masks, gloves. Hence they need to be aware of health and safety hazards at work place. They also need to be trained to operate the new machinery. Transportation In the previous projects, the cost was very high due to high waste material. This was due to the over stock of the material. They were ordering material which was more than required. In order to lower the costs they need to utilize the idea of JIT ( just in time ) . This means that material should be stocked just when it is needed. For this approach to be effective, they need to have a good transportation system and good relationship with the supplier. They need to check with the supplier to provide the material when it is needed, they also need to negotiate the on the quick transportation of the material as well. Quality System   Quality Systems will be in place to ensure that quality objectives are met. The first step in this system is to identify what our customers want. At Gills Construction, customer satisfaction is very important. Customer expects the work to be done and time, and the build quality should be strong and, reliable and durable. The next step is to identify the service or product which responds to the customers need. They need to develop processes which will respond to that need. They need to give a quality and reliable build to the customers. Quality Circle: These are a group of worker or employees who work together to improve the quality and give solution to the problem. Quality Circle will be formed in order to help workers participate in the improvement process. For-example, workers can suggest the amount or type of material required. Depending on their experience they can also suggest what type of paint can be used. Total Quality Management: TQM is a philosophy of management, which addresses the means of raising the quality performance to unprecedented levels. TQM involves the participation from whole organisation and demands to be implemented in all aspects of the business processes. It focuses on the involvement of the management, workforce, suppliers and business process. This means that if the problem lies in any of the business sector that has to be addressed in order to sustain growth. Benefits of Quality Change: Following benefits can be gained with quality change Improved business performance: With the help of this quality change, Gill Construction will be able to see a improved business performance. They can keep their costs low and keep the profit margin high. They will be able to expand their business to a higher level. Training and Development of the staff will help them to get a skilled work force which will be highly motivated and professional. This way they can also keep the accidents rate low. Corporate Image: Since Canadian market is very competitive, the new improved processes and systems will also create a good image for the organisation. With the use of new machinery and training staff, they will have a competitive advantage. They can promote their business in a better way. Motivated Work Force: The use of new machinery and training and develop will assist employees to develop their new skills this will act as a motivating factor and build their confidence level. It will also make them feel empowered. Hence Gill construction will have a highly skilled and motivated work force on board. They can also assist the management to further improve the business processes. Customer satisfaction: The quality improvement technique will also help them to get customer satisfaction on a higer level. They will be able to address their customers needs in a more efficient and effective way. With this they can rebuild customer relation and help maintain business Performance measurement Even though, quality systems are in place and operations are running as per specified, but that doesnt mean, that job of manager is finished. All the operations, regardless of the fact how well they are managed and running, need to be monitored all the time. This ensures that if the Quality System has given the desire result or not. Performance can be measure using five performance objectives, it is the degree to which operations fulfil these objectives Cost Speed Quality Dependably Flexibility Total Quality Management Principles: TQM is a management approach which involves the strategy, data and effective communication to integrate quality principles into the organisation. Customer focused: The very first principle of TQM is to be customer focused. Whatever done for the quality improvement, is to gain customer satisfaction. If Gill Construction will training the work force so that they can operate the new machinery, that will be done keeping in mind, customers demand. Employee Participation: The next principle is that managers need to ensure that they have employees on board. Managers need to ensure that they have complete participation from employees Process Focused: This involves the complete focus of the management centred towards the process thinking, so that two key principles can be achieved: Prevention: the first step to improve quality is to prevent errors. It is better to train staff and avoid accidents rather than finding ways out of it Zero defects: The ultimate aim should be to provide a service with zero defects, that means no comprise at all. The mortar should be prepared by missing the correct ratio of cement and sand. Getting things right first time: The idea of zero defect gives rise to getting things right first time. This means that things need to be done in right way first time. Rather than mixing the preparing the mortar in wrong ratio in first attempt and expecting it to be correct in next attempt should be prevented, For an organisation to successfully implement a strategic quality change it is important to manage six key supporting factors: Action Planning The very first step for organisation is to devise a detailed implementation action plan. This includes chronological lists of actions (tactics) which add the necessary detail to their strategies. And assign responsibility to a specific individual for accomplishing each of those action steps. Also, they set a due date and estimate the resources required to accomplish each of their action steps Organization Structure Next step is to sort the organizational structure according to the action plan and strategy. It is very important that managers must align the strategy with organizational structure. They manage the question Is the organizations current structure appropriate to the intended strategy? Human Resources Organizations successful at strategy implementation consider the human resource factor in making strategies happen The Annual Business Plan Organizations successful at implementation are aware of their need to fund their intended strategies. And they begin to think about that necessary financial commitment  early  in the planning process Monitoring and Control Monitoring and controlling the plan includes a periodic look to see if  were on course. It also includes consideration of options to get a strategy once derailed back on track.   Linkage Many organizations successfully establish the above five supporting   factors. They develop action plans, consider organizational structure, take a close look at their human resource needs, fund their strategies through their annual business plan, and develop a plan to monitor and control their strategies and tactics. And yet they still fail to successfully implement those strategies and tactics. The reason, most often, is they lack  linkage. Linkage is simply the  tying together  of all the activities of the organizationto make sure that all of the organizational resources are rowing in the same direction. After the critical analysis of the current business situation and thorough strategic planning, it is time to implement it. Managers have planned the project to be implemented in a course of time, so that it is easy for them to manage it and also for organisation to adopt it. Staff Training: Before the strategic change is implemented, it is important to get staff on board; hence it is important to train the staff. Workers will be given training on operating the new machineries. 2 hour workshop will be held over the weekend, without affecting the daily construction work. They will be given training on importance of health and safety at work place. Transportation: To utilize the idea of JIT efficiently and effectively, it is important to have a good transportation system in place. Contract with the transportation company who transports the material from supplier to the construction site will be review. It need to be on time and as and when required basis. A penalty will be charged for late delivery. Also try to negotiate on charges, since the current charges are higher than the market rate. Supplier: Once the transportation system is in place, next is to negotiate with material supplier to provide materials on as and when required basis, this is called Just In Time. The supplier will provide the material as required by the organisation. This will help to keep the stock and inventory costs low. Good relationship will be maintained with suppliers as this will help to get good service in return. Communication: In order to keep the gaps close due to communication errors, an effective communication system will be adopted. Project Managers will be placed in organisation, which will supervise their respective construction site. Everything including the material supply and HR will be managed by them. All the workers working on that site will be answerable to the Project Manager. They will also be in direct contact with the client so that customers demand and requirement is passed down the line more effectively. Project Managers will than answer to Mr. Amaar Jeet Gill, who will supervise and discuss the issues with them on the wider perspective. Quality Culture: Before a quality change is implemented in the organisation, it is important to implement a quality culture first. A cultural and behavioural shift in the mind-set of all participants in the construction process especially top or senior management is necessary if the construction industry is to improve its performance (Kanji and Wong, 1998; Love and Heng, 2000; Haupt and Whiteman, 2004). Culture in context of organization is the ways institutes and businesses implicit beliefs, norms and values and premises which underline and govern the behaviour. Hence a quality culture in an organization can be stated as one having clear values and beliefs that foster total quality behaviour. Quality Culture in Gill Construction can be adopted in following ways: Top Management Commitment It will be important for management to commit their self in the implementation of Quality Change, since it requires everyone to work to satisfy the customers needs continuously. Without the clear commitment from top management and leadership it will be hard to get others on board. Leadership has to make this change their strategic objective. Hence Leadership will be able to provide suitable environment to the members of the organisation to improve performance. Top Management will have to put forward quality over costs and other factors, and it is due to this reason, their commitment is required. Customer Management It is important to focus the result of all the processes towards customer satisfaction. When the focus is towards customer satisfaction then it will be easy to prioritize thing. Customer oriented culture will help them to gain service and product with zero defect and right first time. Employee Participation: Employee participation is very important if quality is the goal. This will help to break down many barriers to achieve quality. They also need to be encouraged to work in a team. Team-work will help encourage them to help each other and come up with solution many problems. The use of Quality Circle will also help them to pass on their suggestions to top management. Self-Managed Teams: A self-managed team is defined as a group of employees or staff who is responsible for the management of themselves and the daily operations carried out by them. Work carried out by a typical self-managed team is handling job assignments, plan and schedule work, make decisions related to production and deal with problems. At Gills construction similar teams will be made on the operational level, they will be different from labour union. The teams will be made based on the project and the department related. Each team will have a group manager/ team leader who will be electeed by all the team members however final authorization will be from project manager. A self-managed team is different from quality circles. Quality Circles: Quality Circles are informal group of employees / team members / staff, who meet together voluntarily to discuss their work related issues. Their aim is to identify, define, analyze and solve work related problems. At Gills Construction staff will be encouraged to make quality circles, which will help them to share their knowledge and experience. They can give their suggestions to improve quality or service which will be formally submitted to group manager/ team leader who will pass it on to project manager. Monitoring and Evaluation The final step is monitoring and controlling the implementation. This step is performed throughout the life of the project and ensures that the work results lines up with the schedule plan. Schedule control requires the use of progress reporting, schedule change control systems, such as the use of project change requests, performance management, and variance analysis to determine if additional action is required to get the schedule back in line with the plan. Internal Auditing Professional Auditors will be appointed for the purpose of monitoring and evaluation. Their task will be to assist with the corrective action and investigating problems that have occurred, and taking action to prevent them from reoccurring within the process or organisation. The first step will be to identify the root cause and what really made this happen? What can we do to prevent it from happening again? Once the solution is devised for the problem, the follow up will be done to ensure that it has worked and positive results are achieved. Auditors will revisit the issue and check if it happening again. For sake of record, the problem, its root cause, the action taken, its effectiveness and the actual results will be recorded. Record the problem, the root cause, the action taken, the effectiveness of the action, and the actual results of the corrective action. Did the problem occur again? Were they able to see measurable improvement? If so, how much? What date did the problem disappear? Record the results that they observed when following up on the corrective action to determine effectiveness.

John Quincy Adams :: Biography Biographies Essays

John Quincy Adams Hello, I'm John Quincy Adams. I grew up in Braintree, Massachusetts, and when I became an adult I traveled with my father on his diplomatic missions until I became interested in political journalism at Harvard and eventually became he sixth president of the United States. During my lifetime, from 1767 to 1848, the United States was desperately trying to make allies, as the country was in it's infancy. I followed my father's footsteps, as I was working in foreign relations before I became President. I have experienced many great events, such as when I was appointed as minister to the Netherlands, a mere three days later I witnessed the French invade the country and overthrow the Dutch Republic. This was thought of by many as an attempt for the French to show the United States how strong it was, without exerting any force on them at all. On a different occasion, when I was appointed minister to Russia, I was the leading negotiator for the Treaty of Ghent with the British, which ended the War of 1812. These negotiations gained respect for the United States and me as a diplomat. I am a likable person wherever I go. When I was a kid, our family was very closely knit, as we all helped manage the farm, except for my dad, who was usually away in foreign countries. This didn't affect me very much since I joined up with him when I was 11 on his operations after my persistent asking. As President, I worked scrupulously to work out problems and provide leadership for the country. This was acknowledged by my fellow officials in office and by the country, as I'm thought of as a person with integrity and honesty. Louisa Catherine Adams, my wife, holds a special place in my heart. She has always been trustworthy and nice. As a child she had to deal with ill health frequently, (which often recurs), and as First Lady she held brilliant parties for my Cabinet and friends. Louisa and I had four children, but sadly they all died before they could have children of their own, all for various reasons. My only real enemy to speak of is Andrew Jackson. Before my administration, Jackson and his followers accused me of promising Henry Clay a cabinet post in return for his support. After I was elected, and I appointed Clay Secretary of State, Jackson's strong followers in Congress called it a 'corrupt bargain'.

The Narrator in Ralph Ellisons Invisible Man Essay examples -- racism

The Narrator in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man The narrator in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man views himself as invisible because he believes the world is full of blind men who cannot see him for who is really is. In the beginning of the story, the narrator is treated by white men as the stereotypical black male - sex-hungry, poor and violent. These white men are completely blind to what black men really are. However, as the novel progresses, the narrator finds a way to remain invisible, yet take power from those who previously held it. Later on, we find that the invisible man eventually develops into a man capable of fighting stereotypes and racism in a very visible way. Through this progression, the narrator is able to beat away racist attitudes. In chapter one, we are introduced to the narrator and quickly we see that he is being dominated by white confines of racism and stereotypes. The narrator starts by reminiscing about his class speech during his high school graduation. The speech stressed submission as the way for black Americans to advance in the social structure. The speech was so well received that the town arranged for him to give the speech in front of the town's most influential white leaders. In the narrator's eyes, the white men are rewarding his submissive nature. But the reader is presented with the truth of what is actually going on when he arrives to meet these men. First, the white men bring out a naked blond woman and force the black boys to look at the women. Some become sexually aroused - playing o... ...ible Man. Ellison places himself in the novel because he is showing how a proactive approach can be taken to approach society is a complex individual. By writing this book and tackling complex ideas of racism, he is making a proactive contribution to society. So when the narrator begins to use the dozens and discovers a piece of his cultural heritage, and then he sees in the full light who he really is, he is conveying the idea to anyone reading this book that there is more to African Americans than just violence and slavery. He is forcing others to acknowledge him as well as the existence of other beliefs and behaviors of blacks outside of their prescribed stereotypes. So, we see at the conclusion of this progression that the narrator can emerge from his cloak of invisibility, and make a visible difference in society. The Narrator in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man Essay examples -- racism The Narrator in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man The narrator in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man views himself as invisible because he believes the world is full of blind men who cannot see him for who is really is. In the beginning of the story, the narrator is treated by white men as the stereotypical black male - sex-hungry, poor and violent. These white men are completely blind to what black men really are. However, as the novel progresses, the narrator finds a way to remain invisible, yet take power from those who previously held it. Later on, we find that the invisible man eventually develops into a man capable of fighting stereotypes and racism in a very visible way. Through this progression, the narrator is able to beat away racist attitudes. In chapter one, we are introduced to the narrator and quickly we see that he is being dominated by white confines of racism and stereotypes. The narrator starts by reminiscing about his class speech during his high school graduation. The speech stressed submission as the way for black Americans to advance in the social structure. The speech was so well received that the town arranged for him to give the speech in front of the town's most influential white leaders. In the narrator's eyes, the white men are rewarding his submissive nature. But the reader is presented with the truth of what is actually going on when he arrives to meet these men. First, the white men bring out a naked blond woman and force the black boys to look at the women. Some become sexually aroused - playing o... ...ible Man. Ellison places himself in the novel because he is showing how a proactive approach can be taken to approach society is a complex individual. By writing this book and tackling complex ideas of racism, he is making a proactive contribution to society. So when the narrator begins to use the dozens and discovers a piece of his cultural heritage, and then he sees in the full light who he really is, he is conveying the idea to anyone reading this book that there is more to African Americans than just violence and slavery. He is forcing others to acknowledge him as well as the existence of other beliefs and behaviors of blacks outside of their prescribed stereotypes. So, we see at the conclusion of this progression that the narrator can emerge from his cloak of invisibility, and make a visible difference in society.