The Bicycle Thief 1948 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Bicycle Thief 1948 - Essay Example In this way, a social commentary is housed within what one might otherwise see as a simple story of loss and redemption. It is necessary to note, prior to examining such constructs, that the subject matter was born out of two primary factors which will be discussed at some length within this essay: the destruction and hardships that the Second World War had affected on Italians and the recent freedom of expression that had been granted due to the demise of the fascist party in Italy. Upon the conclusion of the Second World War, Italy, like much of the rest of Europe, lay in ruins. The infrastructure was effectively paralyzed, severely damaged, and outdated. Similarly, the nation’s economy experienced a period of extreme high unemployment, rapid and prolonged inflation, and a series of unstable political unions that existed shortly after the war. In this way, the time in which the film was created has an extremely important bearing on the way in which the material is presented in the subject matter which his discussed as a function of the influences that have been mentioned. The effects of these factors of course cannot be underemphasized with relation to the way in which the subject matter is dealt with. ... Artists during the post World War I years also sought to develop new mediums and new forms of expression to engage their audience with the new â€Å"realities† that faced the world as a result of the loss of innocence and industrial carnage that defined such a struggle. In this way, directors such as Vittorio De Sica sought to express the realities that greeted Italians in the post-war era in a way that directors of previous films had not engaged. Rather than focusing on a noble struggle that defines a hero through power of will and acknowledgement of a higher ideal, the viewer is greeted with a character that is merely trying to make ends meet for his family. Therefore, the action and drama is concentric around the daily struggle that the common man faces as a result of the surroundings in which he is placed. Although this model itself is not greatly different from the other models of analysis which previous and successive film directors have chosen to employ, it is noteworth y due to the fact that the action is concentric upon the humble worker who is struggling to survive the situation that has been placed upon him and his family. Although the effect of the devastation and near collapse of society cannot be underestimated or understated, it should also be noted that the Italian directors of the time experienced a different type of stimuli than many of the other European post-war directors (Ben-Ghiat 109). This was the result of the fact that during the Fascist regime that had ruled Italy for over 20 years, all art forms were brought under the dominance and supervision of the fascist regime. As such, writers, artists, and filmmakers, as well as a host of others, were

Letter to Isle of Wight County Press Essay Example for Free

Letter to Isle of Wight County Press Essay As an adolescent and Islander I can fairly say there are few activities for children to partake in, however due to mass demand a skate park has been recently built in one of the parks in Cowes, my local town. Although this new facility is considered to be very good for local children there has been widespread opposition from local residents and council officials, due to the appearance and conduct of a number of children. There are also acute problems with noise for local residents, who complain it goes on all-day and late at night, especially in the school holidays. Whilst Ive neither visited the skate park, nor plan to do so, I have many constructive and supportive arguments for the retention of the facility, but on the other hand, those negative unsupportive opinions. As an adolescent I can see why so many children are enthusiastic about such a provision, generally as there are few such services on the Island. However I do not support the council in such a controversial decision and feel the money could have been spent more wisely. Similarly I can see why there is such harsh opposition from local people. Moreover, I support the idea that skateboarding is another of the child fashions, and is likely to become out of date soon in the future; subsequently the funds spent on such a package, could be another misuse of taxpayers money. Inevitably, drugs are ubiquitous in the park and there have been criticism from the parents of younger children who use the park, this is the most compelling piece of evidence for the closure of the park. Correspondingly, there is a possibility that drugs could become even more prominent in the local town. In conclusion, I think that however much the provision is used the problem of drugs and violence is unacceptable, consequently in my opinion though much fun is enjoyed at the skate park, such things are deplorable and though this may seem harsh, I believe the skate park should be either disbanded or assisted with adult supervision.

What Is Truth :: essays research papers

What is Truth?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Four values above all are the key to ultimate happiness and contentment and are evident in the first paragraph of 'The Sound of Laughter';. Here it reads: 'My memory when I'm gone will be colorful, rich, full of happiness and light.…they will see a bright smiling picture with trickles of laughter in the background and the chirp of peace echoing throughout my aura.'; Here my value of optimism is shown through being vulnerable to having your heart filled with color, richness, and light. If you can do this it enables you to overcome the nasty demons that destroy such powerful things as optimism and vulnerability. If you hold the capacity to instill such values within yourself you will finally see the truth in the phenomenon that says light always overcomes such demons as darkness and seclusion. To be peaceful is another value I paint by saying '…a bright smiling picture with trickles of laughter echoing throughout the background.'; To be peaceful is to reside where such light is resonated. When you reach such an elevated state of consciousness such light will resonate through you enabling your inner peace be your amour, protector of any outside hurt rising you out of pain. To see beauty is another value I uncover to you by giving you an optional lucid dream. This dream is hinted in the background meanings of descriptive, and almost poetic suggestions like, ';My memory when I'm gone will be colorful, rich and full of happiness and light…they will see a bright smiling picture with trickles of laughter in the background…chirp of peace echoing throughout my aura.'; If you can remain optimistic and peaceful it would only be natural to see the poetic beauty and the movement of the words used for description in the above excerpt because your higher level of consciousness breaks away such chains of fear and hurt and gives you a holy armor. Finally the last hidden value of truth is my final and most important moral value. It rises above the rest because it is the only one that will insure complete an angelic state. It is a universal truth that lives within each of us.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Truth is universally important. Without truth nothing is real, all would be an illusion of lies and fables steering us into the confusion and chaos of a complex mirage. Who is to know what really exists, what is really pure and what is completely uncontaminated by lies?

The Medias Degradation of Women Essay -- Media Exploitation of Women

Women have been fighting for the right to be equal members of society for centuries. In the past women were treated as second class citizens and didn’t have the same rights as men did. Women later lead a movement to change these ways. Although some drastic changes did come about from these movements, equality wasn’t fully attained. In this day and age, equality between men and women still hasn’t been achieved and the media is to blame for that. For decades, the media has dominated society’s views and perspectives of others. Due to recent media, it has been difficult to regulate how women are being influenced and treated by other people in society. The media influences society tremendously and subconsciously steers the way we treat and think of others. Advertisements, television shows, movies, the internet, magazines and other forms of the media have all targeted women in a very erroneous manner. Women are still being highly misrepresented and misunderstood through media all over the world. Increasingly, real women are being under represented, misrepresented, sexualized, discriminated, stereotyped and in many cases violence and abuse against women has also been glamorized. Although we feel that we’ve come a long way, women still aren’t being treated as equal members of society. Going back to the 1950’s, women were expected to be stay at home mothers and housewives. â€Å"This was also the era of the "happy homemaker." For young mothers in the 1950s, domesticity was idealized in the media, and women were encouraged to stay at home if the family could afford it. Women who chose to work when they didn't need the paycheck were often considered selfish, putting themselves before the needs of their family† (Daniels 2002)... ...resentation. DVD. Dallas, TX: Assemble. Retrieved May 5, 2014(http://film.missrepresentation.org/) Research Article) Silverstein, Brett. 1996. "The Role of the Mass Media in Promoting a Thin Standard of Bodily Attractiveness for Women." Sex Roles:519-520. Retrieved May 6, 2014(http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00287452#page-1) (Research Article) Stankiewicz, Julie. 2008. "Women as sex objects and victims in print advertisements." Sex Roles:579-589. Retrieved May 5, 2014(http://www.skidmore.edu/classics/courses/2011spring/gw101/Women%20As%20S ex%20 Objects%20and%20Victims%20in%20Print%20Advertisements.pdf) (Research Article) Wood, Julia. 1994. "Gendered Media: The Influence of Media on Views of Gender." Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture:231-244. Retrieved May 6, 2014(http://www.udel.edu/comm245/readings/GenderedMedia.pdf)

Medication Administration Essay

The intended use of medications is meant to improve a person’ health, it is very important the individual administering medication or self-medicating use the drugs correctly, by following the doctors’ instruction for the medication prescribed. Medication is given to diagnose, treat, and prevent illness. Medication can be very dangerous, which can potentially cause harm or even deaf if it’s not used properly. Administering medication requires the understanding of how the medication is to enter the body such as orally, transdermal, or intravenous. It also requires the knowledge of when the medication needs to be administered, the possible side effects, and its toxicity. Doctors, nurses, and a few other professionals are trained and licensed to safely give medication and it is imperative they do it without harm. Training for professionals also includes proper storage, handling, and disposal of the drugs. Nursing responsibilities for drug administration includes the Three Checks and the Rights of Medication Administration. The nurse also has the responsibility of the medication to be given. Before administering any medication, rather the medication is known or unfamiliar it is the issuer responsibility to know about or why the medication is to be given. Knowing the mode of action will ensure that the medication given is appropriate for the patient’s diagnosis. It’s also the nurse responsibility to know the side effects of and the contraindications for the medication, as well as the antagonist, safe dosage range, interaction, with other drugs, precautions to take before administering, and the proper administration techniques. The Three Checks states that the label on the medication package or container to be given should be checked three times during the preparation and administration. First check, read the label when reaching for the medication. Second, after retrieving medication from the drawer and compare it to the CMAR. And thirdly, read the label when replacing the medication or before giving the unit dose medication to the patient. Medication error is due to the wrong drug, the wrong timing, the wrong dose, and the wrong route. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA 2009), the wrong route of administrating medication accounts for 1.3 million injuries each year. Read more:  Administer Medication and Monitor the Effects An article published in September issue of the Journal of Patient Safety estimates there are between 210,000 and 400,000 deaths per year associated with medical errors. This makes medical errors the third  leading cause of deaths in the United States, behind that comes heart disease and cancer. To prevent medical errors always follow the Three Checks and most importantly the Rights of Medication Administration. The â€Å"Rights of Medication Administration† helps to ensure accuracy when administering medication to a patient. When administering medication the administer should ensure they have the Right Medication, Right Patient, Right Dosage, Right Route, Right Time, Right Route, Right Reason, and Right Documentation. Also remember the patient has the right to refuse, assess patient for pain, and always assess the patient for signs of effects. Medication administration is not just giving medicine to a patient; it also involves observation of how the patient responds to the drug after administration. As a nurse or health professional we’re trained to know medication effects. Knowing how medication move through the body and what effects the medication has or what adverse effects may occur is most important when preventing medication errors. Medication mishaps can occur anywhere in the distribution system such as monitoring, administering, dispensing, repacking, or prescribing. The most common cause of errors occur when administering a drug happens when there is poor communication, problems reading directions, medical abbreviations or hand writing misunderstood, poor procedures or teachings, job stress (most common), and lack of product knowledge. It is difficult to reduce or eliminate medication errors completely when information is absent, inaccurate, contradictory, or simply not reported. It is not exact that every medication error will cause harm, but think about the undetected errors that will. The undetected errors administering medication makes assessing the effectiveness of medications errors challenging and hard to prevent. Any nurse that has made a drug error knows how stressful the situation can be. The increasing demands and the amount of patients during work load can increase the chances to drug errors. Being overworked can affect concentration and competence, which can be exacerbated by erratic working hours and stress, while complacency can also lead to mistakes. While nurse fatigue is commonly cited caused of drug errors, others include illegible physicians’ handwriting. Drug errors also miscalculations, over-dosing and under-dosing. Checking calculations and identifying any shortfall in your knowledge i s a qualified ensures to keep  from making a mistake. In 1995, the FDA established the black box warning system which alert the prescribers to drugs or drug products with increased or serious adverse reactions or potential safety hazards, or those that may cause serious harm or death. It appears on the prescription drug label to call attention to the seriousness or life-threatening risks of the drugs being used. Before a drug can be used in the United States, the drug manufacturers and other research organization that develops a drug must show the FDA results of testing of the drug developed before it used by patients. The Barcode Medication Administration system (BCMA) is an electronic program used by the nursing department. The nurse is able to validate and document the administration of medications by using a computer and barcode scanner, which is linked by a wireless network to the electronic MARS. BCMA is an integral part of the health record; all information is documented with a time stamp for improved accuracy of clinical information. An alert is sent if the scanned medication does not match the medication order for the patient. Another method used is automatic medication dispensing system, which are computerized systems that allow nurses to access client medication by using a password to enter the system. The computer controls and manages the distribution of drugs. References 1. Comprehensive Nursing Care, Revised 2nd Edition. (2012). Ramont, Reberta P.; Niedringhaus, Dolores M.; Towle, Mary A. 2. Medication Error Reports. (2009). Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved May 19, 2013, from www. Fda.gov/Drug Safety/Medication Errors 3. Medication errors, handoff process and information quality. Chiru, Alina M; Baxter, Ryan. Business Process Management Journal 19.2, (2003): 2011-2016

How to Pronounce Deng Xiaoping

How to Pronounce Deng Xiaoping In this article, we will look at how to pronounce Deng Xiaoping (é‚“å ° Ã¥ ¹ ³), the name of one of the most important politicians in China during the previous century and one of the main forces behind Chinas economic development. Below, I will first give you a quick and dirty way if you just want to have a rough idea of how to pronounce the name. Then I’ll go through more detailed description, including the analysis of common learner errors. Pronouncing Deng Xiaoping if You Don't Know Any Mandarin Chinese names usually consist of three syllables, with the first being the family name and the last two the personal name. There are exceptions to this rule, but it holds true in a vast majority of cases. Thus, there are three syllables we need to deal with. Deng - Pronounce as dang, but replace a with the e in theXiao - Pronounce as sh plus yow- in yowlPing - Pronounce as ping If you want to have a go at the tones, they are falling, low and rising respectively. Note: This pronunciation is not correct pronunciation in Mandarin. It represents my best effort to write the pronunciation using English words. To really get it right, you need to learn some new sounds (see below). How to Actually Pronounce Deng Xiaoping If you study Mandarin, you should never ever rely on English approximations like those above. Those are meant for people who dont intend to learn the language! You have to understand the orthography, i.e. how the letters relate to the sounds. There are many traps and pitfalls in Pinyin you have to be familiar with. Now, lets look at the three syllables in more detail, including common learner errors: Dà ¨ng  (fourth tone): The first syllable rarely causes serious problems for speakers of English. The only things you should pay attention to is the initial, which is unaspirated and unvoiced. The vowel sound is a relaxed central sound close to the schwa in English the.  Ã‚  XiÇŽo  (third tone): This syllable is the hardest of the three. The x sound is produced by putting the tongue tip just behind the lower teeth and then pronouncing an s, but slightly further back than a normal s. You can also try to say shhh as when telling someone to be quiet, but place your tongue tip behind the lower teeth. The final isnt all that difficult and sounds close to what I mentioned above (yowl minus the l).  Pà ­ng (second tone): This syllable is relatively close to the English word with the same spelling. It has slightly more aspiration on the p and sometimes have an added, light schwa (central vowel) between the i and the ng (this is optional). The are some variations for these sounds, but Deng Xiaoping (é‚“å ° Ã¥ ¹ ³)  can be written like this in IPA: [təŋ É•jÉ‘ÊŠ pÊ °iÅ‹] Conclusion Now you know how to pronounce Deng Xiaoping (é‚“å ° Ã¥ ¹ ³). Did you find it hard? If you’re learning Mandarin, dont worry; there arent that many sounds. Once you’ve ​learned the most common ones, learning to pronounce words (and names) will become much easier!

Ship Burial at Sutton Hoo Essays

Ship Burial at Sutton Hoo Essays Ship Burial at Sutton Hoo Paper Ship Burial at Sutton Hoo Paper When was the discovery at Sutton hoo made? How did international events complicate the first excavation? What were some later findings? Studies show that the discovery at sutton hoo made in 1939. It contained lots of wealth and artifacts. International events complicate the first excavation because the original excavation of the mounds was destroyed in World War 2. The only evidence was the picture of the reverts in the sand. Included in the treasure are some of the finest pieces of barbarian metalwork such as large gold belt buckle. There was also found a pair of cloisonne shoulder clasps, and the remains of a warriors helmet. 2. What was the burial ship? What were some items found in the excavation? Ship burial or boat grave is a burial where a ship or boat is used as a container for the dead and the grave goods. It also used as a part of the grave goods itself. If the ship is very small, it is called a boat grave. There were lots of items established in the excavation. In the burial site there were 41 items of solid gold. The ship also contained 37 coins, three unstuck coin blanks, and two small ingots, all of gold. The gold coins and jewelry, the silver utensils, potted in the sand, of an exceptionally large ship, as well as other valuable items, were intended to accompany a powerful individual on his final journey. The Sutton Hoo ship shows both master craftsmanship and major technical modernism such as a fixed steering position and shorter and narrower board for more elasticity. 3. Examnie one of the remains of the Anglo-Saxon weaponry containers and compare it to a quote in Beowulf describing a similar object. The similarities the Helmet from Anglo Saxon and Beowulf, Beowulf’s helmet. Sutton. Hoo Anglo Saxon Helmet The helmet which was found in the Sutton hoo ship was a remarkable discovery and the artifacts indicate that the grave was of a high status, but not conclusively royal. â€Å"Ancient Saxon tomb yields royal treasures is misleading in the claim that a boar motif on the helmet indicates that this was a royal grave of an Anglo- Saxon king†. Similar to the Beowulf helmet, the Beowulf helmet is besette swin-licum, set around with boar images, and in another instance, sweord swate fah swin offer helmet the sword stained with gore the swine above the helmet, which brings to mind the free-standing boar on the Benty Grange helmet the closest parallel to the Northamptonshire find. † The quotes of the is written, The Independent. London (UK): May 2, 1997. pg. 21 4How does the discovery at sutton hoo confirm the Anglo-Saxon culture’s mixture of paganism and Christianity? The discoveries at Sutton Hoo confirm the Anglo-Saxon cultures. It was important for the expansion of our knowledge and awareness of the magnificent art and culture. For the first time, we can see Anglo-Saxon art and material culture on the royal level. Sutton Hoo confirms an interesting mixture of Christian and pagan traditions that have done much to shed light on passages from Anglo-Saxon poetry dealing with the burial process. Episodes in poems such as Beowulf now have solid, archaeological evidence to add creditability to the often strange blend of customs presented in the text.

Sum of Squares Formula Shortcut

Sum of Squares Formula Shortcut The calculation of a sample variance or standard deviation is typically stated as a fraction. The numerator of this fraction involves a sum of squared deviations from the mean. In statistics, the formula for this total sum of squares is ÃŽ £ (xi - xÌ„)2 Here the symbol xÌ„ refers to the sample mean, and the symbol ÃŽ £ tells us to add up the squared differences (xi - xÌ„) for all i. While this formula works for calculations, there is an equivalent, shortcut formula that does not require us to first calculate the sample mean. This shortcut formula for the sum of squares is ÃŽ £(xi2)-(ÃŽ £ xi)2/n Here the variable n refers to the number of data points in our sample. Standard Formula Example To see how this shortcut formula works, we will consider an example that is calculated using both formulas. Suppose our sample is 2, 4, 6, 8. The sample mean is (2 4 6 8)/4 20/4 5. Now we calculate the difference of each data point with the mean 5. 2 – 5 -34 – 5 -16 – 5 18 – 5 3 We now square each of these numbers and add them together. (-3)2 (-1)2 12 32 9 1 1 9 20. Shortcut Formula Example Now we will use the same set of data: 2, 4, 6, 8, with the shortcut formula to determine the sum of squares. We first square each data point and add them together: 22 42 62 82 4 16 36 64 120. The next step is to add together all of the data and square this sum: (2 4 6 8)2 400. We divide this by the number of data points to obtain 400/4 100. We now subtract this number from 120. This gives us that the sum of the squared deviations is 20. This was exactly the number that we have already found from the other formula. How Does This Work? Many people will just accept the formula at face value and do not have any idea why this formula works. By using a little bit of algebra, we can see why this shortcut formula is equivalent to the standard, traditional way of calculating the sum of squared deviations. Although there may be hundreds, if not thousands of values in a real-world data set, we will assume that there are only three data values: x1 , x2, x3. What we see here could be expanded to a data set that has thousands of points. We begin by noting that( x1 x2 x3) 3 xÌ„. The expression ÃŽ £(xi - xÌ„)2 (x1 - xÌ„)2 (x2 - xÌ„)2 (x3 - xÌ„)2. We now use the fact from basic algebra that (a b)2 a2 2ab b2. This means that (x1 - xÌ„)2 x12 -2x1 xÌ„ xÌ„2. We do this for the other two terms of our summation, and we have: x12 -2x1 xÌ„ xÌ„2 x22 -2x2 xÌ„ xÌ„2 x32 -2x3 xÌ„ xÌ„2. We rearrange this and have: x12 x22 x32 3xÌ„2 - 2xÌ„(x1 x2 x3) . By rewriting (x1 x2 x3) 3xÌ„ the above becomes: x12 x22 x32 - 3xÌ„2. Now since 3xÌ„2 (x1 x2 x3)2/3, our formula becomes: x12 x22 x32 - (x1 x2 x3)2/3 And this is a special case of the general formula that was mentioned above: ÃŽ £(xi2)-(ÃŽ £ xi)2/n Is It Really a Shortcut? It may not seem like this formula is truly a shortcut. After all, in the example above it seems that there are just as many calculations. Part of this has to do with the fact that we only looked at a sample size that was small. As we increase the size of our sample, we see that the shortcut formula reduces the number of calculations by about half. We do not need to subtract the mean from each data point and then square the result. This cuts down considerably on the total number of operations.

Examine the links between poverty and literacy in the developing world Essay

Examine the links between poverty and literacy in the developing world - Essay Example From here, we can now try to discuss the link between the two in a deeper fashion. This paper will revolve around the relationship between poverty and literacy. It will discuss on how literacy can be used to reduce the poverty level in the developing world. On the other hand, it will deal with how lack of literacy can lead rise in poverty level in developing world. Abdi and Cleghorn (2005), state that developing countries are known to be the poorest countries in the world. These countries are going through many economic issues. The countries have poor infrastructure, lack of clean water, high mortality rates, poor governance etc. They are known to have the largest number of the illiterate people. Majority of the illiterate people are women. The question is, why do these countries have the largest number of illiterate people? One of the possible answers is that they lack good education sectors that can provide the relevant education systems. Lack of funds is the main reason for the poor education systems. This increases the level of illiteracy. Literacy is one of the tools that can be used for economic, political, cultural and social drives. This means that if this tool is not incorporated well, then the poverty level will rise. It is, therefore, true that literacy can be used to eliminate poverty levels in the developing world. This can only t ake place if people are educated well. Children should be given freedom to learn in order to reduce the illiteracy level in the near future thus, reduced poverty (Abdi &Cleghorn, 2005, p.45). Developing country like India is known to be poor not because of lack of resources but it is due the corruption that takes place in the government. When the government allocates resources for the education sector, these resources are stolen by most of the government officials. These officials are supposed to ensure that the resources reached education sectors but they are lost on the way. The education system becomes

Writting comparison and contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Writting comparison and contrast - Essay Example The pre-lapserian innocence is an affordable luxury for Belloc and his contemporaries, but to the generation of McCarthy there is no reason to be incurably optimistic; this is perhaps the most visible of contrasts between the two writers. The locale of the "The Path to Rome" is more or less homogenous topography of Europe that is connected by climate, by the predominant European ethnicity and the Christian religion in different form. In contrast, McCarthy's "The Road" has the whole world for its locale. The world of the "The Road" is varied in climate, barren by the work of man himself and had been home to divergent ethnicity and religious faith. Though both McCarthy and Belloc share the same Catholic heritage, the traces of the former's Catholic loyalty are hardly visible while that of the latter stands out as a champion of Catholicism. There is convergence in the attitudes of both writers that the ultimate solutions to the problems of the world would come through man's faith in God. The faith in God, which Mathew Arnold lamented in the "Dover Beach" as an eroding phenomenon, is perhaps the only sustaining power in a world is the key point iterated by Belloc and McCarthy. Though both works, by their title might evoke a feeling of a travelogue through the roads, Belloc's work is the recapture of a genuine journey that he made to Rome. " The Path to Rome" is the story of the pilgrimage made on foot to fulfill a vow he made "to see all Europe which the Christian faith has saved" In Christian tradition such pilgrimages were not adventure trips but exercises in faith. The path to Rome that too on foot, in a spirit of contemplation and prayer made Belloc see the Europe that Christian faith had made. There is a quality of innocence in his musings and the language is naturally poetic as he makes his ruminations of the places that he saw and the experiences that he relished. "Beneath the bridge there tumbled and swelled and ran fast a great confusion of yellow water: it was Tiber. Far on the right were white barracks of huge and hideous appearance; over these the Dome of St.Peter's rose and looked like something newly built. It was a delicate blue, but made a metallic contrast against the sky". In contrast to this McCarthy's "The Road" is not the literary production of a man of faith or that of the zealot of Catholicism. If the vignettes painted by Eliot in "Wasteland" shocked and disturbed the sensibilities, "The Road" of McCarthy gave the apocalyptic vision of the final days. While, Belloc glorified the achievements of Christendom in a narrow region of the world, McCarthy's arena is the whole would at the final days of man's existence. Belloc's colorful vision of the Europe as it unfolded before him made him poetic, McCarthy also makes brilliant poetry out of material that are grim, gruesome and bizarre. Though he has never celebrated the sunny side of life in his fiction, in "The Road", he crafts the delineation of hell on earth and by the use of his brilliant prose he makes the grim material models of enduring poetry. Unlike, the journey of Belloc through snow covered mountain passes, fringed by the vineyards of Italy, where hospitable rustic flock greeted him, gave him warmth of human company, freshly baked bread, the wine to

Prep 7 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Prep 7 - Coursework Example The environment has a strong influence when it comes to gene expression. For example, the mixture of genes he inherits and the environment, he interacts with determines the personality of an individual. Various environmental cues can alter the gene expression. They are the extracellular and intracellular concentrations of different ions (Dawkins, 1999). Reaction norms could be used to understand phenotype plasticity in the below manner. Phenotype plasticity shows the degree to which the phenotype of an organism is. The response patterns display the relationship between the genotype and phenotype (Dawkins, 1999). The variability could be structural variations and copy number variations. The difference between broad sense and narrow sense heritability is that the general sense shows the genetic contributions to the phenotype variance of a population and the strict sense does not reflect genetic contributions. Heritability is measured by coming up with the relative contributions of non-genetic and genetic differences to the total phenotypic variation in a population (Dawkins, 1999).The narrow sense heritability and the strength of selection work together in a manner that their response is since they are necessary for selecting (Dawkins,

Service product analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Service product analysis - Essay Example Rebak Island Resort, a five star category hotel in Rebak Islands also presents to the visitors a natural viewing treat in terms of creating an underwater aquarium in addition to the room and dining facilities. The paper focuses to evaluate the services provided by the Resort through analysing based on the Seven Ps of Services Marketing. Finally after conducting the needed evaluation the paper concludes through rendering useful recommendations for the Rebak Island Resort to help gain a larger potential in the realm of their hospitalisation activities rendered to the visitors and tourists visiting the island from different corners of the world. Rebak Island Resort-A Taj Resort The Taj Group is the constituent or collective name for the large group of hotels, resorts, spas and other hospitality units of The Indian Hotels Company Limited. Further the Taj Group that holds to be one of the largest and most popular hotel companies in the Asian market in terms of service standards, aesthetic s and other parameters stands out to be the glowing symbol of Indian hospitality. Taj Group internationalises through the opening of 16 hotels in several international locations like Maldives, Malaysia, in other developed countries like United Kingdom and United States and similarly along emerging economies like Africa, the regions of Middle East and Sri Lanka (Taj Group, 2012). In the context of the project the company chosen is Rebak Island Resort situated in Langkawi, Malaysia. This hotel company is the international wing of Taj Group in the Malaysian region. Rebak Island Resort got its name from the native Rebak Tree found in the Rebak Islands. The Rebak Islands is one of the 99 islands that constitute the Langkawi region. The region holds a pristine glory in terms of the natural exhibits found pertaining to forests, mountains and a large number of beaches. The Rebak Island Resort can be reached by the visitors by taking a five minute ride from Langkawi Airport to Langkasuka Por t and subsequently taking a fifteen minutes ride on a boat to the Resort. A host of facilities and services await the visitors at Rebak Island Resort that promises to serve the best based on standards set by the Taj Group (Rebak Island Resort, n.d.). The report tends to conduct a total analysis of the Taj Group based on the Seven Ps of Services Marketing concept. Based on the analysis conducted it would focus on rendering needful recommendations related mainly along Four Ps including the Physical Environment of the Services Group. These set of recommendations would be furnished to contribute to the development of the services standard of the company. Background of the Service Location of Rebak Island Resort Rebak Island Resort is located in Rebak Island a member of the large number of Islands forming the Langkawi region in Malaysia. The Resort is located at a distance of 4 Kilometres from the Langkawi Island while it can be reached by taking a boat ride of around 15 minutes from the Langkasuka Port. Span and Size of Rebak Island R

A paper proposal on the the Rhetoric of Sugar Sweetened Beverages Assignment

A paper proposal on the the Rhetoric of Sugar Sweetened Beverages - Assignment Example In this literature review, I intend to analytically review a variety of literature on Sugar Sweetened Beverages. Thus, I will put emphasis on a wide range of SSBs. These include, but not limited to soft drinks (soda), flavoured waters, sweetened teas, ready to drink coffees, sports drinks, and juices. Babey, Wolstein & Goldstein(2013) contend that the increase in consumption if drink that have added caloric sweeteners is attributed to less healthy diets as well as health concerns such as overweight and obesity. What is the problem addressed in the literature review? The problem addressed is that there is the increased consummation of SSBs and consequently increased rates of obesity and overweight. Overwhelming research as presented in a wide range of literature has specifically cited increased consumption of SSBs as the main cause of the increased rates of obesity. Over the last four decades for instance, the rates of obesity and weight gains have tripled. Statistics of study carried out by Ogden & Carrrol (2010) between 2007 and 2008 established that one in every six children and adolescents aged between 2 and 9 is obese. These statistics are worrying. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (1998), obesity increases the risk of coronary heart disease, hypertension, stroke, type 2 diabetes, various cancers, and many other chronic diseases. As such, the increased rates of consuming SSBs have the risk of escalating the already increased cases of obesity. This will consequently case a major strain to the public health care system. Currently, the U.S government spends more than $174 billion annually in treating obesity. It also spends more than $147 billion annually in treating health problems related to obesity and overweight. According to Wang et al. (2012), this accounts for more than 9.1 percent of the government’s health care expenditure. This has led to widespread concerns over the need to control the major causes of diabetes and ove rweight. What are the questions addressed in the literature review? The questions addressed in my literature review are: 1. What can be done to reduce the rate of SSBs consumption? 2. What role can the media play in reducing the rate of SSBs consumption? What gaps have you discovered in the literature? An analytical review of the literature on SSBs consumption reveals that there exists a large gap between the increasing rate of SSBs consumption and the measures that can be used to reduce these rates. There is also a large gap in regard to the role played by the media and the increased rates of SSBs consumption. There also exists a gap on the approaches to be used on reducing SSBs consumption. Generally, the approaches to reducing intake have varied. Some literature proposes a tax on sugar sweetened beverages, while other literature advocates an extreme tax on SSBs. On the other hand, some literature argues that a tax will not suffice at all. Most literature argues that there is stro ng link between the high levels of consumption of sugar sweetened beverages and obesity and adverse effects on the public health care system. Babey ,Wolstein & Goldstein H (2013) claim that soda and other SSBs, such as energy and sports drinks, are the largest source of added sugar in the diets of both children and adults in the U.S. It is argued that liquid calories do not satisfy as well as solids, and SSBs add calories instead of replacing them. It is suggested

Service product analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Service product analysis - Essay Example Rebak Island Resort, a five star category hotel in Rebak Islands also presents to the visitors a natural viewing treat in terms of creating an underwater aquarium in addition to the room and dining facilities. The paper focuses to evaluate the services provided by the Resort through analysing based on the Seven Ps of Services Marketing. Finally after conducting the needed evaluation the paper concludes through rendering useful recommendations for the Rebak Island Resort to help gain a larger potential in the realm of their hospitalisation activities rendered to the visitors and tourists visiting the island from different corners of the world. Rebak Island Resort-A Taj Resort The Taj Group is the constituent or collective name for the large group of hotels, resorts, spas and other hospitality units of The Indian Hotels Company Limited. Further the Taj Group that holds to be one of the largest and most popular hotel companies in the Asian market in terms of service standards, aesthetic s and other parameters stands out to be the glowing symbol of Indian hospitality. Taj Group internationalises through the opening of 16 hotels in several international locations like Maldives, Malaysia, in other developed countries like United Kingdom and United States and similarly along emerging economies like Africa, the regions of Middle East and Sri Lanka (Taj Group, 2012). In the context of the project the company chosen is Rebak Island Resort situated in Langkawi, Malaysia. This hotel company is the international wing of Taj Group in the Malaysian region. Rebak Island Resort got its name from the native Rebak Tree found in the Rebak Islands. The Rebak Islands is one of the 99 islands that constitute the Langkawi region. The region holds a pristine glory in terms of the natural exhibits found pertaining to forests, mountains and a large number of beaches. The Rebak Island Resort can be reached by the visitors by taking a five minute ride from Langkawi Airport to Langkasuka Por t and subsequently taking a fifteen minutes ride on a boat to the Resort. A host of facilities and services await the visitors at Rebak Island Resort that promises to serve the best based on standards set by the Taj Group (Rebak Island Resort, n.d.). The report tends to conduct a total analysis of the Taj Group based on the Seven Ps of Services Marketing concept. Based on the analysis conducted it would focus on rendering needful recommendations related mainly along Four Ps including the Physical Environment of the Services Group. These set of recommendations would be furnished to contribute to the development of the services standard of the company. Background of the Service Location of Rebak Island Resort Rebak Island Resort is located in Rebak Island a member of the large number of Islands forming the Langkawi region in Malaysia. The Resort is located at a distance of 4 Kilometres from the Langkawi Island while it can be reached by taking a boat ride of around 15 minutes from the Langkasuka Port. Span and Size of Rebak Island R

Turandot Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Turandot - Essay Example Happy ending of the opera, as opposed to the play, was gloomed by sacrificial death of Liu. This touching image was created by Puccini, who rethought the original image of Gozzi’s heroine - a captive princess, energetic and insidious, secret rival of Turandot, who revealed the secret of the hero by trick and betrayed him. While Calaf and Turandot occur in Puccini's sources, Liu does not exist in either Gozzi’s or Schiller’s versions of the story. Adami and Simoni, the librettists for the opera, created her at Puccini's insistence and based her somewhat on Gozzi’s character Adelma, who is not very similar.  (Digaetani 57) Puccini opposed two contrasting women images: cold, cruel, alien to human senses, princess Turandot and fragile, delicate slave girl Liu. In their spiritual fight the victory remains with Liu, who, with her death, proved the invincible power of love. The idea of creating an opera struck Puccini suddenly in November 1919. He took an activ e part in writing of the libretto, suggesting scenic and dramatic situations, their motives, to his librettists - prolific playwright Giuseppe Adami (1878-1946) and poet Renato Simoni (1875-1952). In 1921, he started to compose music. Feeling that it was his last work, the composer was in a hurry, nevertheless, the work on the opera stretched for several years - the librettists could not finish the last act until 1924. The final duet and finale of Turandot, after Puccini’s death, was completed by his pupil, composer Franco Alfano, who used Puccini’s drafts. Final acts were often very difficult for Puccini, and he often struggled to complete the final acts of his previous operas—a pattern which became tragic in the case of Turandot as his work on the third and final act of this opera was interrupted by terminal cancer.  (Digaetani 31) The opera was premiered on April 25, 1926, in Milan, under the direction of Toscanini. When the last chords written by Puccini s ounded, the conductor lowered his wand, stopped the orchestra and said, â€Å"Here the Maestro laid down his pen.† The curtain slowly fell; loud applause changed, in some minutes, to complete silence when performers and the audience were leaving the theater. Opera was played completely only the next day. Turandot is a drama of strong passions, unfolding against the colorful background, where oddly mixed are oriental splendor and bloody violence, reality and symbolism. Small lyrical ariosos, depicting the feelings of the main characters, are mixed with grandiose crowd scenes with powerful choruses and colorful orchestral episodes. Musical language of the opera is complex. It used many of the achievements of modern harmony and the vocals of the two main characters demand prominent voices. Maybe that is why the last opera by Puccini has not won wide popularity, as his previous works and early creations. In fairy, legendary times lived in Beijing the princess - Turandot. She coul d only belong to someone of the royal retinue, who could solve her three riddles. A candidate, who fails, will be, like all previous ones, put to death and his severed head will decorate the walls of the palace. The opera begins with a stage of preparation for execution of the Persian prince, who was unable to solve the puzzles. He ought to die with the rising of the moon and

Debate on School Uniform Essay Example for Free

Debate on School Uniform Essay Today we are seeing that the younger generations are becoming more preoccupied with fitting into the latest fashion trends. School administrations have noticed that dress code violations could be an attribute to the lack of performance in the classrooms. Public schools across America are searching for answers to enhance a better learning environment for the students. Taking all this into consideration, school uniforms would be a great idea to alleviate some of the negativity kids face due to societies apparel obsessions. In addition to what has been mentioned, studies have shown positive results with the use of public school uniforms. If it means that the schoolrooms will be more orderly, more disciplined, Mr. Clinton said, and that our young people will learn to evaluate themselves by what they are on the inside instead of what theyre wearing on the outside, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms (Mitchell, 1996). I believe a requirement of school uniforms should be implemented in all public elementary and middle schools. Read more: Should uniforms be mandatory essay In the name of putting â€Å"discipline and learning back in our schools† President Clinton instructed the Federal Education Department today to distribute manuals to the nation’s sixteen thousand school districts advising them how they can legally enforce a school uniform policy. If it means that the schoolrooms will be more orderly, more disciplined,† Mr. Clinton said, â€Å"and that our young people will learn to evaluate themselves by what they are on the inside instead of what they’re wearing on the outside, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms† (Mitchell, 1996). â€Å"It’s a fashion trend that’s spreading from Los Angeles to Louisiana, from Maryland to Miami, public schools are discussing, and in many cases adopting, the old private school idea. School uniforms are designed to help kids focus on algebra instead of high-tops; to make students compete for grades rather than jackets (www. pbs. org). In 1987, the first public school Cherry Hill Elementary in Baltimore, MD instituted a school uniform policy. Later in 1994, the Long Beach Unified School District in California adopted a mandatory uniform policy in some of its schools, making it the first urban district to do so. Before long there was a considerable increase in the use of uniform. For example, ninety-five percent of New Orleans’ public schools require uniforms, eighty-five percent of Cleveland, eighty percent of Chicago, sixty-five percent of Boston, sixty percent of Miami, and fifty percent of Cincinnati’s public School changed to uniforms (www. education. org). New York City, which is the largest school district in the US, has adopted the school uniform policy. The largest school district in the U. S. has adopted school uniforms. Over a half-million elementary-school students in New York City will have to adhere to a dress code by the fall of 1999. The president of the school board said the policy is â€Å"important to diminish peer pressure and promote school pride,† but that it’s not â€Å"an act of magic to transform schools overnight†¦ It isn’t going to replace a good teaching, good principals, and small classrooms. †(www. pbs. org). The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) conducted a phone survey of seven hundred and fifty five principals in 2000, which revealed that twenty one percent of all public schools had a uniform policy (www. education. org). Another reason that schools have decided to conform to uniform policy is because some students arrive at school in T-shirts that bear slogans or graphics promoting drugs and alcohol, or that display a variety of messages that conflict with values the schools are trying to promote. Others may swagger around the halls in gang-related garb. Also, others may show up in sexually provocative clothing. These issues, as well as a desire to minimize socioeconomic tensions between the â€Å"haves† and â€Å"have not’s†, have spurred some schools to adopt more stringent dress codes or to require students to wear uniforms. As the Department of Education’s Manual on School Uniform notes, â€Å"Uniforms by themselves cannot solve all of the problems of school discipline, but they can be one positive contributing factor to discipline and safety† (Lumsden, Miller, 2002). Some authors contend that uniforms lessen emphasis on fashion, reduce the financial burden of low-income families, and promote peer acceptance, school pride, and learning. In a ten-state survey of elementary and middle school principals conducted two years ago by the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the clothing company Lands’ End, eleven percent of respondents said that their schools mandate uniforms, and another fifteen percent were considering such a policy. Others recent survey indicated that support for uniforms are growing among parents as well. In one survey, fifty-six percent of parents said they would support a school uniform policy (Lumsden, Miller, 2002). School uniforms also take the pressure off students to pay top dollar for clothes, according to Reginald Wilson, a senior scholar at the American Council on Education in Washington, D. C. I think it does lower the cost of clothes, and kids dont emphasize clothes as much when theyre all wearing the same thing, Wilson said. Certainly the competition to wear the best shoes or the best sweaters and so forth has been prevalent in school ever since I was in school, and the poor kids felt inferior (www. pbs. org). Deborah L. Elder wrote about an evaluation of school uniform policy at John Adams and Truman Middle Schools for Albuquerque public schools. In the beginning in the fall of 1998 under a policy started by parent’s students at John Adams and Truman Middle Schools in Albuquerque were required to wear tuck-in polo shirts and khaki pants or skirts. Elder reports on an evaluation of this policy that used interviews, focus groups, and surveys, along with data on discipline referrals and numbers of students achieving honor-roll status. During the first semester of the 1998-1999 school year, both schools experienced a clear improvement in student conduct from the previous year. At John Adams Middle School, discipline referrals fell from one thousand five hundred and sixty-five during the first semester of the previous year to four hundred and five. At Truman, referrals dropped from one thousand one hundred and thirty-nine to eight hundred and fifty. Students, teachers, and parents stated in interviews â€Å"uniforms place all students on an equal level,† Elder writes, â€Å"Students who may be immediately labeled by peers and staff no longer stand out. † Survey data showed that seventy-five percent of parents and eighty-nine percent of staff supported uniforms and believed they decreased violence, theft, and gang activity, Although only fifteen percent of students supported uniforms, fifty-nine percent agreed that â€Å"school uniforms help school officials identify trespassers on campus. † Concerns about school violence have led to increased interest in and acceptance of uniform policies. In the wake of school shootings, communities and schools are much more willing to embrace uniforms as well as a number of other strategies to enhance student safety. Curbing gang-related violence was the primary goal of the Long Beach (CA) Unified School District when, in 1994, it began requiring students in all its elementary and middle schools to wear uniforms, In the Dysart Unified School District outside Phoenix, Arizona, eliminating some of the stigma associated with clothes was the main motivation behind the adoption of uniforms. Even before the recent series of school shootings, a survey of principals conducted by the National Association of Secondary School Principals found strong support for uniforms. In addition to having a sense that uniform may aid in violence prevention, many administrators believe that uniforms will reduce discipline referrals, while improving attendance, achievement, self-esteem, and school climate. A study of middle school students in the Charleston (SC) School District fount that school uniforms did appear to alter students’ perceptions of school climate. Students attending district schools that required uniforms viewed their school climates more positively than did students enrolled in schools where uniforms were not mandatory. Additional benefits credited to school uniforms include improved discipline, increased respect for teachers, increased school attendance, fewer distractions, improved academic performance, increased self-esteem and confidence, lower overall clothing costs, promotion of group spirit, reduction in social stratification and fashion statements, improved classroom behavior, lower rates of school crime and violence, and easy identification of nonstudents (Lumsden, 2001). Many opponents believe that dictating what students wear to school violates their constitutional right to freedom of expression (Lumsden,Miller, 2002). People oppose uniforms point to unnecessary violations of students First Amendment rights, authoritarian regimentation, extraordinary expenditures on special clothing, an environmental tone that is harmful to education and learning, and cosmetic solution to deeper societal problems. Students First Amendment right to freedom of expression, and whether it is being abridged, is one of the fundamental issues raised, Several legal challenges have asserted that students freedom to select what to wear to school is a form of self-expression that schools are not entitled to interfere with (Lumsden, 2001). In a recent case, Littlefield v. Forney, parents challenged a school uniform policy adopted by the Forney, Texas school board. The policy required students to wear polo shirts, oxford shirts, or blouses in any of four specified solid colors, with blue or khaki pants, shorts, skirts, or jumpers. Denim, leather, suede, vinyl, and spandex were off-limits, as were baggy clothes and specific types of shoes. The parents claimed that the district’s policy violated â€Å"the right of parents to control the upbringing and education of their own children. † The plaintiff also argued that the policy interfered with students’ freedom of expression and forced them to express ideas with which they might disagree. In addition, they also declared that the procedures for opting out of the policy violated their religious freedom by allowing school officials to assess the sincerity of people’s religious belief. The federal district court dismissed the suit without a trial, but the plaintiffs then appealed to the 5th Circuit Court, where the ruling of the lower court was upheld. In its decision, the 5th Circuit Court indicated that students’ free-speech right to select their own clothes is â€Å"not absolute,† and that this right must be balanced against a school board’s stated interests in adopting a dress code or uniform policy. To decide whether a specific uniform or dress code policy is permissible under the Constitution’s free-speech clause, the court used a four-pronged test it had previously applied in another school uniform case, Canady v. Bossier Parish School Board. The court looked at four criteria: the school board must have the power to make a policy, the policy must promote a substantial interest of the board, the adoption of the policy must not be an attempt to censor student expression, and the policy’s â€Å"incidental† restrictions on student expression must not be greater than necessary to promote the board’s interest. In this case, the 5th Circuit found that all four criteria were satisfied and that the district’s school uniform policy therefore did not violate students’ right to free expression. The court also ruled that parents’ rights to control their children’s upbringing, including their education, cannot override school rules that are considered â€Å"reasonable† to maintain an appropriate educational environment. In this case, the court concluded that the uniform policy was â€Å"rationally related† to the interests of the school board in â€Å"promoting education, improving student safety, increasing attendance, decreasing dropout rates, and reducing socioeconomic tensions among students. † The parents’ argument that the opt-out procedure violated religious freedom because if gave school officials the authority to judge the sincerity and content of families’ religious beliefs was also rejected by the court. Their decision was based on the policy not containing any religious goals; they did not have the effect of advancing or hindering any particular faith over any other; and did not excessively â€Å"entangle† school officials in religious beliefs (Lumsden, and Miller, 2002). Public schools that have already put uniform into place have seen improvement. Kids are less focus on what they are wearing, and more focus on schoolwork. Kids are not focused on what they should wear the next day for school and you won’t have kids up early looking for clothes to wear to school. Elementary and Middle Schools will see significant change once uniforms are put into place. School uniforms are a great way to preserve the level of social equality amongst the students. The thought of knowing the social background is prevented. It makes kids treat each other equally; not judging by what clothes they wear. Students will learn to respect each other on the foundation of how they get along and not how sexy they look. Humiliating or bullying other kids will decrease or stop altogether. The level of distraction is considerably reduced. Since students will be dressing in similar clothing, which will be distinctive to the school, the students will build up a sense of belonging and loyalty to the school. School uniforms will help avoid incidents of complicated situations (inferiority and superiority). Students will not be known by what they wear, but by how they perform. Kids can build team spirit. When you wear specific colors, a sense of unity can be developed. Similar clothing promotes team spirit. School uniforms encourage a sense of ownership and discipline. Therefore, I strongly believe school uniforms should be a requirement for public school students in the elementary and middle schools. Overall, implementing school uniform in elementary and middle public school will be beneficial, as I have mentioned above. Kids may not be happy about it at first, but they will eventually catch on. I personally work with middle school kids who go to public school and wear uniforms. They did not like it at first, but what they all agree on is how they don’t have to decide on what to wear. References Lumsden, Linda and Gabriel Miller. Dress Codes and Uniforms. 2002. National Association of Elementary School Principals, Alexandria, VA. 19 6 2012 . Lumsden, Linda. Uniforms and Dress-Code Policies. Eugene, May 2001. Mitchell, Alison. New York Times: Clinton Will Advise Schools on Uniforms. 25 February 1996. 23 June 2012 . Public School Uniform Statistics. 2012. 19 6 2012 . School Uniforms. 21 6 2012 .

Democracy in 19th Century Western Europe

Democracy in 19th Century Western Europe Democracy in 19th century western europe â€Å"How democratic were France, Germany and Britain by 1900?† Table of contents: Part I: Summary; Part II: Outline; Part III: Limitation of this study; Part IV: Democracy in France; Part V: Democracy in Germany; Part VI: Democracy in Britain; Part VII: Conclusion. Part I: Summary: Just over a century ago, the kind of government that existed in these frontline western European states was a far cry from what is seen today. The political earthquake called the French Revolution had its epicentre in France, but its rumblings were felt through most of the continent, as well as in faraway colonies, leaving the politics of most European countries in a state of flux. But the intended harvest of this revolution, an obliteration of monarchy and the rule of law, the indispensable elements of a democracy, took its time to get ingrained in the political systems of these countries, and evolved as a form of government very differently in each of the three countries taken up in this paper. If the advent of Napoleon affected these three countries, and the Vienna Congress stunted France and Germany’s graduation to democracy, the internal political dynamics in all these countries were different from each other’s. In Britain, whose brand of democrac y was mixed, the Reform Acts turned out to be milestones on the road to democracy. Such serious and well-intended steps to democracy were not taken in the other two countries. This is mainly because France kept seesawing between monarchy and autocracy through most of the 19th century, while Germany was a disparate state for most of that century. In sum, in Britain, by the end of the 19th century, a parliamentary democracy, which the nation had been having for a long time, was fairly well established, although under a monarchy. The same was not the case with the other two; in all, Germany enjoyed the least democracy. The reasons for this discrepancy form the backbone of this paper. Part II: Outline: This paper takes up separately the extent to which democracy was ushered in into these three countries. In each of these cases, a narration is made of how democracy developed. Since the nature of this paper is analytical, too much detail is not made of this aspect; this explanation is given only to reinforce the thesis question. The starting point for the evolution of democracy in each of these countries is taken up separately. This is for the simple reason that while the French Revolution happened in France, such an event did not take place in the other two countries. For these, appropriate historically important dates or events are taken up. Part III: Limitation of this study: While 1789 may be termed a signal event for modern democracy, no event of such importance concerning democracy happened in 1900, the cut off date for this paper. However, since this is the period up to which this paper is concerned, it restricts itself to developments in most parts of the 19th century, in which the major themes were unification for Germany, political uncertainty for France, and the reform of the parliamentary system in the Victorian Era for Britain.    Part IV: Democracy in France: France was home to one of the watershed political events of modern Europe, the French Revolution, in which the people rose in revolt with the slogan, war to the chà ¢teaux, peace to the cottages. The gravity and repercussions of this event are far too great to bear banal repetition; however, while the essential aim of the Revolution was to bring an end to the autocratic and inept regimes that misruled the nation, (Frey Frey, 2004, p. 57) the result it sought to instil, democracy, did not have a smooth inception or development, either, suffering from several long and enduring birth pangs. Strangely, for most part of the 19th century, it seemed as if the great revolution had turned out to be no more than an isolated, standalone event. The dividend the Revolution sought to pay, democracy, had to wait for a seemingly interminable period of time to fructify and get implanted in the nation’s political system, because the succession of governments it brought were anything but democratic. Leading political figures of the day, such as Robespierre feared that the system the revolution put in place was one which had a penchant for forgetting â€Å"the interests of the people†, would â€Å"lapse into the hands of corrupt individuals†, and worst of all, â€Å"reestablish the old tyranny† (Cohen, 1997, p. 130) Later decades showed that his prognosis was not far off the mark. The decades following the Revolution saw a chain of events, none of which took the country anywhere near democracy, the avowed aim of the Revolution. The years from the Revolution to the Franco-Prussian War saw political fissures of one or another kind, which had no semblance of democracy, starting with the ascent of Napoleon, perhaps the most powerful dictator the country had ever produced. His defeat was followed by the Restoration of the monarchy; this gave rise to the Revolution of 1830, and the rule of Louis Philippe, till 1848. It took another revolution to bring down his regime, this time in 1848. Finally, this heralded the era of the Second Republic, and the tenure of the fickle Napoleon III, leading to another event of seminal importance for the nation, the Franco-Prussian war, to be followed by yet another Republic, the Third. (Haine, 2000, p. 97) This regime, too heavily weighed down by palace intrigues, scandals, wars and renewed national pride in the wake of a highly rec harged and resurgent neighbour, Prussia, (Wright, 1916, pp. 2-4) was left with little room or time for democracy. Nothing of import happened in the period till the end of the 19th century to necessitate the emergence of a democracy. Part V: Democracy in Germany: Germany’s tryst with democracy in the 19th century needs to be seen in circumstances that were peculiar and unique to the nation’s history. This was when the German people united as a nation for the first time.   They had been a loosely knit confederation of princely states that owed its allegiance to the Holy Roman Empire by the time of the French Revolution; yet, in about a century of this event, they had been cobbled together almost magically under the Prussian banner. A series of moves replete with uninhibited daredevilry, gamble, deceit and sheer diplomatic astuteness on the part of its Chancellor, Otto Von Bismarck had united the German people, ridding them of the yoke of Austrian domination of its peoples. (Snell, 1976, pp. 3, 4) However, Germany had only been united, resulting in the realisation of a long-lasting and cherished dream of a German nation; this did not in any way mean that a democracy had been put in place. Even so, the newly-knit entity did not have the prerequisite groundwork for democracy, suffering from a basic flaw –it â€Å"was constructed by its princes, not by its people. That important fact distinguished Germany from nations like England, France, and the United States, where the constitutions were designed with the consent of the governed. The German Empire was a federation of sovereign states, its constitution created by a treaty among the hereditary rulers of those states. The wars of unification were not revolutionary popular movements; they were narrowly focused international conflicts designed by Bismarck to help Prussia eliminate Austrian power within Germany and to create a new Prussian-led German nation within Europe.†Ã‚   (Turk, 1999, pp. xvii-null22) Whatever spattering of democracy the nation had towards the fag end of the century was limited to social democracy, in which it was confined to labour unions. (Berghahn, 1994, p. 160) Part VI: Democracy in Britain: The year 1815 is considered a benchmark for the politics of Britain, as it was for several other European countries, for the simple reason that this year saw the end of the power and influence of one of the greatest nemeses it ever saw, Napoleon. However, while this was the major issue for the nation externally, Britain had its share of internal problems, as well, during this century. The Industrial Revolution brought in its wake dramatic changes which the nation had to ingest, with both the promises and the pitfalls it spawned. Among the most important social effects the Industrial Revolution had on the nation was a near-explosion in population, and the drawbacks of nascent industrialisation, at which it had no forerunners from any part of the world. Thus, the greatest priority at that time was a set of policies that gave the country social solidity and some element of peace. (McCord, 1991, p. 1) With the high rates of population growth and their atte ndant problems such as high infant mortality being great priorities during the early part of the 19th century, (Brown, 1991, p. 30) the air of politics was abuzz with the question of which of the institutions the British had so assiduously built up over the previous centuries was best suited to give coherence to the society that was changing at a feverish pace. In this milieu, the emphasis for British politics was more over what kind of reform was suited and needed for the society, polity and the economy, rather than which form of government was best suited to carry these changes out. Opinion was sharply divided among the Conservatives and the Liberals about which of its institutions could carry the day for Britain. The unshakable British faith in the monarchy was as firm as ever, not diluting or eroding even slightly on account of these changes. (Park, 1950, pp. 3-5)   In essence, the 19th century, during whose most part Britain was under the rule of one of its longest-reigning monarchs, Queen Victoria, saw the emergence of a peculiarly hybridised, yet often contradictory system of governance. Quintessential democratic institutions, such as the parliament, the judiciary, the cabinet and the local government were alive and well, but functioned under a monarchy. On the one hand, fair and free elections, the ultimate identifier of a democracy, were being held with amazing regularity; on the other, it could not be denied that participation in these elections was limited to the handful of rich and powerful. It was to correct this set of imbalances and to draw more people into the electorate that the Reform Acts were passed. The basic intent of these sets of legislation was the promotion of greater democracy, by drawing the excluded and marginalised sections of society into the electorate. (Pugh, 1999, p. 20) The nation went through three Reform Acts, passed in 1832, 1867 and 1884, whose central aim was increasing the numbers of the electorate. (Hammond Foot, 1952, pp. 212-214) At about the time these Acts were passed, a parallel social and political reform movement, Chartism, was very active. The basic demand of this radical, unionised movement was greater political participation for the working classes, so that the fruits of the Industrial Revolution percolated down to the labour class, too. (Maccoby, 1935, p. 33) However, in the light of the needs of the day, and the priority these Acts had, they met with little success in actually bringing in democracy to the country. What has been said about the Reform Act of 1832, perhaps holds good for the other Acts, too –that they were â€Å"†¦an excellent example of the British skill of muddling through. An aristocracy muddled through to a democracy, taking many of the aristocratic virtues with them; and they muddled through from an age of privilege to an age of numbers. The democratic implications of the act(s) were not in fact revealed for more than a generation†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Smellie, 1962, p. 164) As a result, through most of the Victorian Era, although efforts were made haltingly towards bringing in more democracy, there was no more than a sprinkling of democracy; even this happened at the grassroots level, being restricted to the municipal level, as a series of Acts were passed at the local government level. (Harrison, 1996, p. 20) Part VII: Conclusion: A study of the thesis question throws up a mixed picture. Overall, democracy, so essential a feature of these countries today, had had to make a bumpy and potholed journey. In all these countries, democracy was nebulous and uncertain in the 19th century, albeit in varying degrees. In Britain, a parliamentary democracy was very much in full bloom, but the inherent love and pride of the British people for their monarchy pre-empted a switch to a full-fledged democratic form of government. As a result, these democratic institutions functioned under a monarchy that controlled the largest empire of the day. In France, the scene was different. In the absence of democratic institutions of the kind Britain had nurtured, the governance the French Revolution brought about vacillated between various kinds, with the result that democracy took a backseat. In Germany, the struggles inherent in a newly unified nation, coupled with its naivety in running its newly developing imperialism resulted in too many squabbles and bottlenecks for democracy. The nation that Bismarck had welded together had the ingenuity to only work under a newly consolidated empire, not having been inculcated the necessary mindset for a democracy. It was never going to be easy for these fissiparous peoples to be administered a sudden dose of democracy, as by definition they had been inured to centuries of localism. By the end of that century, democracy was nowhere registered in the average German psyche. Of all these nations taken up for this study, it can be said that Britain had the highest form of democracy by the end of the 19th century; yet, here too, despite the Reform Acts, which could not be termed a great harbinger of democracy, it was nowhere near what may be termed a pure democracy, something that came so naturally to some of its colonies, principally America.

Milton To Pope :: essays research papers

In this essay I will attempt to contrast the type of society that would create a Milton to a society that would create a Pope. Although you may be able to understand what I'm saying from my essay, the depth of what I want to say can not be put into words, and therefore I suggest that you read and compare the same information that I have. I will now explain a bit about Milton and Pope to help you get an understanding. Milton was born into the middle class and grew up in a highly cultured environment. Milton created relatively few poems. Milton was greatly influenced by the puritan cause and Oliver Cromwell with a strong parliament government. Pope was born shortly after Milton's death and was a Roman Catholic. Many restrictions against Catholics. Pope had to struggle for position. Some of the restrictions made Pope move outside London and he could not legally vote, hold office, or attend university. Pope not allowed to attend university would be one of the most significant contrasts between Milton and Pope. Where Milton stayed at University for a long, long time, Pope never went to University. For Milton the society gave him everything he wanted. He had life fairly easy and had the government and the stronger religion backing Milton that Pope did not have. Pope had to fight for everything whereas Milton did not. The society that helped Milton did not help Pope. The society that created Mil! ton was a strong Puritan Parliament Government. Also at the time Milton's society spoke highly of child prodigies like Mozart and Mill. Milton at the age of 23 thought that he had basically done nothing with his life up to that point. Pope was a great poet at a very young age and if he did look back and try to assess his life at age of 23 he would have seen that he had already accomplished a lot. Also Pope was writing just before the Pre-romantic and the romantic poetry there for his poetry would tend to reflect a changing to that style of poetry. The society and what the people want caused the style of writing to go this way. The majority of the writing during 1670 - 1700 at the start of Pope's writing career and right after Milton's has been described as grotesque slanderous writing. This writing reflects the society and what the society wanted. The society that created Milton was strongly religious and wanted all the writing to be perfect in the ways of the church and the ! structure of the poetry whereas the society that created Pope was slanderous most of the time against

Online Innovation :: essays research papers

Project overview: There is a great need for a full service and price competitive on-line meat shop. At this point, we may explain our company nature before and after go online like from â€Å"Blick and Mortar† to â€Å"Click and Mortar†? If we combine this need being met with the feel of shopping at a real â€Å"home town† meat shop our competitive advantage will be far greater than that of our competitors. There are very few alternatives for on-line meat shops. There are notch stores such as Bisonmeat.com that ships bison meat at a premium and targets only a small demographic. Also, there are full product providers like Iowameats.com. However there prices are wildly out of line compared to a â€Å"home town meat shop.† Should we emphasize our low cost of operation and production, which cause our low price offered? It is clear the on-line community is underserved in this area and it is evident that there is much room for growth and profitability in the on-line meat market industry. Value proposition: What we propose is a partnership with local meat shops in the US to achieve maximum shipping savings and product quality. Is this partnership including Delivery Service Company? Since we’ll offer free shipping to customers, we may need to mention about long term relationship or contract with Delivery Company. Practically, we won’t survive if we need to pay high for each shipment, isn’t it? We believe that we can offer the same meats at the same price as walking into the store and picking it off the shelf by offering subscriptions to our customers and creating a commission based service fee to the vendors. The subscriptions and commissions from the vendor (individual customer?) would be our revenue. The vendor would profit by name recognition on the site, increased sales from on-line purchases, and only pays in return for sales. Since we will be working with a â€Å"home town meat shop† we will have a competitive bundle of satisfactions.

Philippine Literature Essay

Literature 1. Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources. The word literature means â€Å"acquaintance with letters†. The two most basic written literary categories include fiction and non fiction. a) Etymology- late 14c. , from L. lit(t)eratura â€Å"learning, writing, grammar,† originally â€Å"writing formed with letters,† from lit(t)era â€Å"letter. † Originally â€Å"book learning† (it replaced O. E. boccr? ft), the meaning â€Å"literary production or work† is first attested 1779 in Johnson’s â€Å"Lives of the English Poets† (he didn’t include this definition in his dictionary, however); that of â€Å"body of writings from a period or people† is first recorded 1812. b) Types: * An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. * Lyric poetry is a form of poetry that expresses personal and emotional feelings. In the ancient world, lyric poems were meant to be played to the lyre. Lyric poems do not have to rhyme, and today do not need to be set to music or a beat. * Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning â€Å"action† , which is derived from â€Å"to do†. * Romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. * Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement. * Comedy is any humorous discourse intended to amuse, in television, film, and stand-up comedy. * Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. 2. Literary Forms based on Philippine Historical Period a) Ancient Literature of Folk Literature. Compared to other Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines has very few artifacts that show evidence of writing. It is known that the Filipinos transferred information by word of mouth so it is not a surprise to know that literacy only became widespread in 1571 when the Spaniards came to the Philippines. But the early script used by the Filipinos called Baybayin or Alibata became widespread in Luzon. The Spaniards recorded that people in Manila and other places wrote on bamboo or on specially prepared palm leaves, using knives and styli. They used the ancient Tagalog script which had 17 basic symbols, three of which were the vowels a/e, i, and o/u. Each basic consonantal symbol had the inherent a sound: ka, ga, nga, ta, da, na, pa, ba, ma, ya, la, wa, sa, and ha. A diacritical mark, called kudlit, modified the sound of the symbol into different vowel sounds. The kudlit could be a dot, a short line, or even an arrowhead. When placed above the symbol, it changed the inherent sound of the symbol from a/e to i; placed below, the sound became o/u. Thus a ba/be with a kudlit placed above became a bi; if the kudlit was placed below, the symbol became a bo/bu. Owing to the works of our own archaeologists, ethnologists and anthropologists, we are able to know more and better judge information about Philippine pre-colonial times set against a bulk of material about early Filipinos as recorded by Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and other chroniclers of the past. Pre-colonial inhabitants of our islands showcase the Philippines’ rich past through their folk sayings, folk songs, folk narratives and indigenous rituals and mimetic dances. The most seminal of these folk sayings is the riddle which is tigmo in Cebuano, bugtong in Tagalog, paktakon in Ilonggo and patototdon in Bicol. There are also proverbs or aphorisms that express norms or codes of behavior, community beliefs or values by offering nuggets of wisdom in short, rhyming verse. The folk song, is a form of folk lyric which expresses the hopes and aspirations, the people’s lifestyles as well as their loves. These are often repetitive and sonorous, didactic and naive as in the children’s songs or Ida-ida (Maguindanao), tulang pambata (Tagalog) or cansiones para abbing (Ibanag). A few examples are the lullabyes or Ili-ili (Ilonggo); love songs like the panawagon and balitao (Ilonggo); harana or serenade (Cebuano); the bayok (Maranao); the seven-syllable per line poem, ambahan of the Mangyans that are about human relationships, social entertainment and also serve as tools for teaching the young; work songs that depict the livelihood of the people often sung to go with the movement of workers such as the kalusan (Ivatan), soliranin (Tagalog rowing song), the mambayu, a Kalinga rice-pounding song, and the verbal jousts/games like the duplo popular during wakes. The folk narratives, such as epics and folk tales are varied, exotic and magical. They were created to explain the phenomena of the world long before science came to be known. They explain how the world was created, how certain animals possess certain characteristics, why some places have waterfalls, volcanoes, mountains, flora or fauna and, in the case of legends, the origins of things. Fables are about animals and these teach moral lessons. The epics come in various names: Guman (Subanon); Darangen (Maranao); Hudhud (Ifugao); and Ulahingan (Manobo). These epics revolve around supernatural events or heroic deeds and they embody or validate the beliefs and customs and ideals of a community. They are performed during feasts and special occasions such as harvests, weddings or funerals by chanters. Examples of these epics are the Lam-ang (Ilocano); Hinilawod (Sulod); Kudaman (Palawan); Darangen (Maranao); Ulahingan (Livunganen-Arumanen Manobo); Mangovayt Buhong na Langit (The Maiden of the Buhong Sky from Tuwaang–Manobo); Ag Tobig neg Keboklagan (Subanon); and Tudbulol (T’boli). b) Philippine Literature under Spanish Period The arrival of the Spaniards in 1565 brought Spanish culture and language. The Spanish conquerors, governing from Mexico for the crown of Spain, established a strict class system that was based on race and soon imposed Roman Catholicism on the native population. While it is true that Spain subjugated the Philippines for more mundane reasons, this former European power contributed much in the shaping and recording of our literature. Religion and institutions that represented European civilization enriched the languages in the lowlands, introduced theater which we would come to know as komedya, the sinakulo, the sarswela, the playlets and the drama. The natives, called indio, generally were not taught Spanish, but the bilingual individuals, notably poet-translator Gaspar Aquino de Belen, produced devotional poetry written in the Roman script in the Tagalog language. Literature from this period may be classified as religious prose and poetry and secular prose and poetry. Religious lyrics written by ladino poets or those versed in both Spanish and Tagalog were included in early catechism and were used to teach Filipinos the Spanish language. Another type of religious lyrics is the meditative verse like the dalit appended to novenas and catechisms. It has no fixed meter nor rhyme scheme although a number are written in octo-syllabic quatrains and have a solemn tone and spiritual subject matter. Secular works appeared alongside historical and economic changes, the emergence of an opulent class and the middle class who could avail of a European education. This Filipino elite could now read printed works that used to be the exclusive domain of the missionaries. The most notable of the secular lyrics followed the conventions of a romantic tradition: the languishing but loyal lover, the elusive, often heartless beloved, the rival. The leading poets were Jose Corazon de Jesus (Huseng Sisiw) and Francisco Balagtas. Some secular poets who wrote in this same tradition were Leona Florentino, Jacinto Kawili, Isabelo de los Reyes and Rafael Gandioco. Another popular type of secular poetry is the metrical romance, the awit and korido in Tagalog. The awit is set in dodecasyllabic quatrains while the korido is in octosyllabic quatrains. An example of this is the Ibong Adarna (Adarna Bird). There are numerous metrical romances in Tagalog, Bicol, Ilonggo, Pampango, Ilocano and in Pangasinan. The awit as a popular poetic genre reached new heights in Balagtas’s Florante at Laura (ca. 1838-1861), the most famous of the country’s metrical romances. Again, the winds of change began to blow in 19th century Philippines. Filipino intellectuals educated in Europe called ilustrados began to write about the downside of colonization. This, coupled with the simmering calls for reforms by the masses inspired a formidable force of writers like Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Mariano Ponce, Emilio Jacinto and Andres Bonifacio. This led to the formation of the Propaganda Movement where prose works such as the political essays and Rizal’s two political novels, Noli Me Tangere and the El filibusterismo helped usher in the Philippine revolution resulting in the downfall of the Spanish regime, and, at the same time planted the seeds of a national consciousness among Filipinos. But before Rizal’s political novels came, the novel Ninay (1885) by Pedro Paterno, which was largely cultural and is considered the first Filipino novel. Although Paterno’s Ninay gave impetus to other novelists like Jesus Balmori and Antonio M. Abad to continue writing in Spanish, their efforts did not flourish. Other Filipino writers published the essay and short fiction in Spanish in La Vanguardia, El Debate, Renacimiento Filipino, and Nueva Era. The more notable essayists and fictionists were Claro M. Recto, Teodoro M. Kalaw, Epifanio de los Reyes, Vicente Sotto, Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, Rafael Palma, Enrique Laygo (Caretas or Masks, 1925) and Balmori who mastered the prosa romantica or romantic prose. c) Contemporary Literary Forms * Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning. * A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. * Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. [1] The term comes from a Greek word meaning â€Å"action†, which is derived from â€Å"to do†. * A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. * A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. 3. Various Geographical Regions and Historical Periods and Literary Genre a) Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, and Cordillera Administrative Regions Pre-colonial Iloko literature were composed of folk songs, riddles, proverbs, lamentations called dung-aw, and epic stories in written or oral form. Ancient Ilokano poets expressed themselves in folk and war songs as well as the dallot, an improvized, versified and at times impromptu long poem delivered in a sing-song manner. During the Spanish regime, Iloko poetry was generally patterned after Spanish models. In fact, the earliest known written Iloko poems were the romances translated from Spanish by Francisco Lopez, an Augustinian friar who, in 1621, published his own Iloko translation of the Doctrina Cristiana by Cardinal Bellarmine, the first book to be printed in Iloko. A study of Iloko poetry could be found in the Gramatica Ilokana, published in 1895, based on Lopez’s Arte de la Lengua Iloca, earlier published in 1627, but was probably written before 1606. Some Iloko writers credit Pedro Bucaneg, who collaborated with Lopez in the translation of the Doctrina into Iloko, for having been the first known Ilokano poet, and as the â€Å"Father of Ilokano Poetry and Literature. † Bucaneg, blind since childhood, authored the popular epic known as â€Å"Biag ni Lam-ang† (â€Å"Life of Lam-ang†) written in the 17th century. The earliest written form of the epic poem was given by Fr. Gerardo Blanco to Isabelo de los Reyes, who published it in El Ilocano from December 1889 to February 1890, with Spanish translation in prose, and also reprinted it in his El Folklore Filipino, under the title â€Å"Vida de Lam-ang. † Iloko literature developed in many ways. During the 18th century, the missionaries used religious as well as secular literatures among other means to advance their mission of converting the Ilokanos to Christianity. The century also saw the publication of religious works like Fr. Jacinto Rivera’s Sumario de las Indulgencias in 1719 and the Pasion, a translation of St. Vincent Ferrer’s sermons into Iloko by Fr. Antonio Mejia in 1845. The 19th century likewise saw the appearance of Leona Florentino, who has since been considered by some as the â€Å"National Poetess of the Philippines†. Her poems which have survived, however, appear to the modern reader as being too syrupy for comfort, too sentimental to the point of mawkishness, and utterly devoid of form. Fr. Justo Claudio Fojas, an Ilokano secular priest who wrote novenas, prayerbooks, catechism, metrical romances, dramas, biographies, a Spanish grammar and an Iloko-Spanish dictionary, was Leona Florentino’s contemporary. Isabelo de los Reyes, Leona’s son, himself wrote poems, stories, folklore, studies, and seemingly interminable religious as well as political articles. The achievement of both Claudio Fojas and de los Reyes is possibly more significant than the critical reader of Iloko literature today is ready to admit. The comedia, otherwise known as the moro-moro, and the zarzuela were presented for the first time in the Ilocos in the 19th century. The comedia, a highly picturesque presentation of the wars between Christians and Muslims, and the zarzuela, an equally picturesque depiction of what is at once melodrama, comic-opera, and the skit interminably preoccupied with the eternal theme of boy-meets-girl-who-always-live-happily-ever-after-seemingly-impossible-odds are still as popular today as they were when first staged in the Ilocos. The comedia was scripted from the corridos like Principe Don Juan, Ari Esteban ken Reyna Hipolita, Doce Paris, Bernardo Carpio, Jaime del Prado. Marcelino Mena Crisologo helped popularize the zarzuela based on the culture and tradition of the Ilokanos particularly those in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. So did Pascual Agcaoili y Guerrero (1880-1958) of Ilocos Norte who wrote and staged â€Å"Daguiti Agpaspasukmon Basi,† and Isaias R. Lazo (1887-1983) of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur who wrote comedia and zarzuela. The year 1892 saw the printing for the first time of the first Iloko novel, written by Fr. Rufino Redondo, an Augustinian friar, titled â€Å"Matilde de Sinapangan. † Another Iloko novel which was written before the end of the 19th century by one Don Quintin Alcid was â€Å"Ayat, Kaanonto Ngata? † (â€Å"Love, When Shall it Be? â€Å") Arturo Centeno of Vigan, Ilocos Sur, also wrote three novels titled â€Å"Apay a Di Mangasawa? † (â€Å"Why Doesn’t He Get Married? â€Å"), â€Å"Dispensara† and â€Å"Padi a Puraw Wenno Naamo a Kibin† (â€Å"A White Priest or a Good Guide†). The 20th century is comparatively more intense in literary activity. Some of the literature in this period are â€Å"Biag ti Maysa a Lakay, Wenno Nakaam-ames a Bales† (â€Å"Life of an Old Man, or a Dreadful Revenge†) by Mariano Gaerlan (1909); â€Å"Uray Narigat no Paguimbagan† (â€Å"Improvement Despite Obstacles†) by Facundo Madriaga (1911); â€Å"Mining Wenno Ayat ti Cararua† (â€Å"Mining or Spiritual Love†) by Marcelino Pena Crisologo (1914); â€Å"Nasam-it ken Narucbos nga Sabong dagiti Dardarepdep ti Agbaniaga† (â€Å"Sweet and Fresh Flower of a Traveller’s Dreams†) by Marcos E. Millon (1921); â€Å"Sabsabong ken Lulua† (â€Å"Flowers and Tears†) by R. Respicio (1930); â€Å"Apay a Pinatayda ni Naw Simon? † (â€Å"Why Did They Kill Don Simon? â€Å") first known detective novel in Iloko by Leon C. Pichay (1935); â€Å"Puso ti Ina† (â€Å"A Mother’s Heart†) by Leon C. Pichay (1936). When the Bannawag magazine, a sister publication of Liwayway, Bisaya and Hiligaynon, hit the streets on Nov. 3, 1934, Iloko literature reached a headland. Many Ilokanos started to write literary pieces. The early Bannawag short stories showed sustained growth. The short stories written in the 1920s were poor imitations of equally poor American fiction. Early short story writers had practically no literary background in their attempts. The growth of the short story was not apparent until Bannawag resumed publication in 1947. Most of the stories published dealt with themes of war; guerrilla activities, Japanese atrocities, murder, pillage and death. By the latter part of the decade, writers of different ages emerged, and from their ranks came stories that were less verbose, tighter,and with more credible characterization than those written previously. While many articles have been written by Ilokanos and non-Ilokanos about the Ilocos Region, few scholarly studies have been conducted. Among these scholars were Leopoldo Y. Yabes of the University of the Philippines, who made a brief survey of Iloko literature in 1934. His findings showed that Iloko literature began with Pedro Bucaneg. In 1940, Thomas B. Alcid of the University of Santo Tomas made a study on the Iloko prose fiction and discussed the Iloko short story and the Iloko novel and their possibilities in Philippine literature. His study showed that the short stories and novels at that time were still young and needed more improvement. In 1954, Mercedes F. Guerrero of the Manuel L. Quezon Educational Institution (now MLQU) made a masteral thesis titled â€Å"Critical Analysis of the Outstanding Iloco Short Stories Published in the Bannawag from 1948 to 1952. † Her findings showed that the Iloko stories offer a mine of information about the ideals and customs of the Filipino people. In the display of emotions and feelings, the Iloko author has been free or spontaneous in dealing with the life he portrayed. Most often he has been compassionate with his characters. He has treated a wide variety of subjects that there is no important place of Filipino life that has not been depicted. There are stories on mere trifling matters as well as their own nation-slaking subjects. These are stories about persons, about animals, about places and about events. Guerrero also found out that the Ilokano author served his society by: 1. ) Preserving the ideals, customs and traditions of the people. 2. ) Bringing out the social consciousness of the era–its mood, conflicts, struggles, and rehabilitation. 3. ) Awakening man’s sensibilities to the joys, sorrows, loves, hatreds and jealousies of the people. 4. ) Casting away sectional sentiments and prejudices and bringing about fuller understanding of the different ethnic groups. A related literature published by Dr. Marcelino A. Foronda, Jr. in 1967, titled â€Å"Dallang: An Introduction to Philippine Literature in Iloko,† discussed the traits and characteristics of the Ilokanos. Of their literature, he stated: â€Å"†¦ The Ilokano language is so highly developed as to have produced the greatest number of printed works in any Philippine language, next to Tagalog. Bannawag has played and still plays a major role in the development of Iloko literature. At present, it publishes poems (daniw), short stories (sarita), novels (nobela), essays (salaysay), comics, biographies, folktales and many others including what some call avant garde literary output. It is the only magazine where Ilokano writers hope to publish most of their writings. During the magazine’s infancy years in the 1930s, most of its contents were translations from the Liwayway magazine save a novel by Hermogenes F. Belen titled â€Å"Nadaraan a Linnaaw† (Blood-stained Dew) which was serialized in 1947. Other writers at that time included Benjamin M. Pascual, David D. Campanano, Godofredo S. Reyes, Benito de Castro, Jose P. Acance, Benjamin Gray, Marcelino A. Foronda,Jr. In the 1960s, poems, short stories and novels published by the Bannawag became better–in craftsmanship, development of plots and themes, among others. Writers by then, most of whom were college students and professionals, had a bigger library of literary books. To help in the development of the Iloko short story, Bannawag launched a writing contest in 1961. The judges were Prof. Santiago Alcantara of the National University, Prof. Angel C. Anden of the Manuel L. Quezon University, and Dr. Marcelino A. Foronda, Jr. of the De La Salle University-Manila. This contest lasted until 1970. One of the judges said the quality of Iloko short stories was competitive with those written in English. Before the martial-law era, most of the poems, stories and novels dwelt on political unrest and protests, like rallies and demonstrations by students, professionals and workers against the government. Ilokano writers have also published their works in foreign countries. One of the most popular authors of Ilocano ancestry abroad was the late Carlos Bulosan, a California immigrant born to Ilokano parents in Pangasinan. And currently, the most internationally translated Filipino author is an Ilokano from Rosales, Pangasinan–Francisco Sionil Jose, popularly known as F. Sionil Jose. He is famous for his Rosales saga, a five-novel work about an Ilokano clan, virtually documenting Philippine history from Spanish time to the years of the Marcos administration. The novels, translated in about 22 languages, are circulated and read around the world. Back home, many Iloko writers have won major prizes in the annual Palanca Awards, the most prestigious and most anticipated of all literary contests in the Philippines. These famous winners’ names include Reynaldo A. Duque, Ricarte Agnes, Aurelio S. Agcaoili, Lorenzo G. Tabin, Jaime M. Agpalo Jr. , Prescillano N. Bermudez, William V. Alvarado, Maria Fres-Felix, Clarito G. Francia, Arnold Pascual Jose, Eden Aquino Alviar, Severino Pablo, Ariel S. Tabag, Daniel L. Nesperos, Roy V. Aragon, Danilo Antalan, Joel B. Manuel and others. b) Central Visayas Region Cebuano literature, as much as most literature of the Philippines, started with fables and legends of pre-colonial Philippines down to the Mexican (New Spain) and Spanish influences. Although existence of a pre-hispanical  writing system in Luzon is attested, there is little proof that baybayin (sometimes erroneously called alibata) was widespread in the Visayas. Most of the literature produced during was oral. They were documented by the Spanish Jesuit Fr. Ignatio Francisco Alzinal. During Spanish times, the religious theme was predominant. Novenas and gozos, most notably the Bato Balani for the Sto. Nino. The literature during this time was predominantly propagandistic. At this time, the Cebuanos were still seething with resentment at the American betrayal of their hopes and the new colonizers were retaliating with restrictions on the freedom of expressions. The first written Cebuano short story is Maming, by Vicente Sotto, The Father of Cebuano Literature. The story was published in the first issue (July 16, 1900) of his Ang Suga. Two years later Sotto wrote, directed, and produced the first Cebuano play, Elena. During the American period, Ang Suga became the medium for publication of Cebuano writers. A community of writers slowly grow, to include the names of Florentino Rallos, Filomeno Veloso, Marcial Velez, Timoteo Castro, Segundo Cinco, Vicente Ranudo, Dionisio Jakosalem, Selestino Rodriguez, Filomeno Roble, Juan Villagonzalo, Leoncio Avila and Filemon Sotto. (Most of these people were recognized for their achievements by the generation right after them, as evidenced by the use of their names for major streets of the City of Cebu, but their role in the furtherance of Cebuano culture is lost to subsequent generations. ) Four typical novels on the love theme written by popular writers during the American period would represent the pre-war writers’ subconscious but collective efforts in creating a common core of meanings and values in the face of new American culture. These are Felicitas by Uldarico Alviola in 1912, Mahinuklugong Paglubong Kang Alicia (â€Å"The Sad Burial of Alicia†) by Vicente Garces in 1924, Apdo sa Kagul-anan (â€Å"Bitterness of Sorrow†) by Angel Enemecio in 1928-1929, and Ang Tinagoan (â€Å"The Secret†) by Vicente Rama in 1933-1934. While Felicitas and Paglubong assert the value of marital fidelity and Apdo that of feminine chastity, Tinagoan challenges the emergent value that tolerates divorce. Such novels were seen as fictionalized renditions of their writers’ stand or traditions and practices which were subjected to debate in the school stage and within the pages of periodicals. The pre-war period in the Philippines is sometimes referred to as the Golden Age of Vernacular Literature, with the 1930s marking a boundary between two kinds of popular writing: the predominantly propagandistic and the more commercialized escapist literature that proliferated since the Commonwealth. In the year 1930, Bisaya Magasin started publishing. In 1936 Cebuano writers started publishing anthologies; readers engaged in amateur literary criticism; and complaints of plagiarism livened up the weekly news. Periodicals that featured creative writing mushroomed, although most of these were short-lived. The generally considered first feminist Cebuano novel, Lourdes by Gardeopatra G. Quijano was serialized in the period May 26 to September 23, 1939 in Bag-ong Kusog (literary â€Å"New Force†), the most popular pre-war periodical. It has been predicted by no less than the late novelist and Philippine National Artist for Literature N. V. M. Gonzalez that Philippine literature in English will die, leaving the regional literature (Ilokano, Waray, etc. ). In the case of Cebuano literature, this has been the case. Some of the prominent writers and poets in the Visayas and Mindanao who used to write in English have shifted to Cebuano. Among them are Davao-based Macario Tiu, Don Pag-usara, and Satur Apoyon, and Cebu-based Ernesto Lariosa (a Focus Philippines Poetry Awardee in 1975) and Rene Amper (a two-time Palanca awardee for English poetry. These giants of Cebuano literature are now regularly contributing to Bisaya Magasin; their shift to Cebuano writing has influenced young Cebu and Mindanao-based writers in English to follow suit (among them are Michael Obenieta, Gerard Pareja, Adonis Durado, Januar Yap, Delora Sales, Cora Almerino and Raul Moldez). In 1991, Cebuano poet Ernesto Lariosa received a grant from the Cultural Center of the Philippines. He used the grant to introduce the 4-s in Cebuano poetry: social sense, sound and story. The language he used was slack, devoid of strong metaphors. He used the language of the home and of the streets. Writer-scholar Dr. Erlinda Alburo, director of the Cebuano Studies Center of the University of San Carlos noted in a forum sponsored by the university’s theater guild in 2003 that the young writers (those given above) have given a new voice to Cebuano fiction. They have introduced modern writing styles, experimented with the Cebuano language and explored themes which have never been elaborated before by their predecessors. There are now emerging number of publications featuring fiction and poetry in Cebuano. The ownership of the de-facto literary journal, Bisaya Magasin, was transferred from the Chinese-owned Liwayway Publishing, Inc. to Napoleon Rama’s Manila Bulletin Publishing in 2003, ushering a change in layout, acceptance policies, and an increase in contributors’ fees. Aside from the reinvigoration of Bisaya Magasin, Cebu-based publishing houses have also started tabloids in the language (Banat News of Freeman Publications and SunStar SuperBalita of SunStar Publications). This tabloids have bigger circulation than their English counterparts. There are also unconfirmed reports that Dr. Mel M. Allego, a giant in Cebuano literature, will be returning from the United States in 2007 and will start his own broadsheet in Cebuano. The U. P. National Writers Workshop every October and the Iligan National Writers Workshop every summer have reserved slots for Cebuano writers. In every edition of these workshops, there are Cebuano works that are being dissected or discussed by the panelists. In 1998, the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature opened the Cebuano short story category. c) Eastern Visayas Region Modern East Visayan literature, particularly Waray, revolves around poetry and drama produced between the 1900s and the present. The flourishing economy of the region and the appearance of local publications starting in 1901 with the publication of An Kaadlawon, the first Waray newspaper, saw the flourishing of poetry in Waray. In Samar, Eco de Samar y Leyte, a long running magazine in the 1900s, published articles and literary works in Spanish, Waray and English. A noteworthy feature of this publication was its poetry section, An Tadtaran, which presented a series of satirical poems that attacked the changing values of the people at the time. Eco likewise published occasional and religious poems. In Leyte, An Lantawan, which has extant copies from 1931 to 1932, printed religious and occasional poetry. It also published satirical poems of Bagong Katipunero, Luro, Datoy Anilod, Marpahol, Vatchoo (Vicente I. de Veyra), Julio Carter (Iluminado Lucente), Ben Tamaka (Eduardo Makabenta), and Kalantas (Casiano Trinchera). Under these pseudonyms, poets criticized corrupt government officials, made fun of people’s vices, and attacked local women for adopting modern ways of social behavior.. With the organization of the Sanghiran San Binisaya in 1909, writers as well as the illustrados in the community banded together for the purpose of cultivating the Waray language. Under the leadership of Norberto Romualdez Sr, Sanghiran’s members had literary luminaries that included Iluminado Lucente, Casiano Trinchera, Eduardo Makabenta, Francisco Alvarado, Juan Ricacho, Francisco Infectana, Espiridion Brillo, and statesman Jaime C. de Veyra. For a time, Sanghiran was responsible for the impetus it gave to new writing in the language. The period 1900 to the late fifties witnessed the finest Waray poems of Casiano Trinchera, Iluminado Lucente, Eduardo Makabenta, and the emergence of the poetry of Agustin El O’Mora, Pablo Rebadulla, Tomas Gomez Jr. , Filomeno Quimbo Singzon, Pedro Separa, Francisco Aurillo, and Eleuterio Ramoo. Trinchera, Lucente, and Makabenta were particularly at their best when they wrote satirical poetry. The growing acceptance of English as official language in the country strengthened these writers’ loyalty to the ethnic mother tongue as their medium for their art. The publication of Leyte News and The Leader in the twenties, the first local papers in English, brought about the increasing legitimization of English as a medium of communication, the gradual displacement of Waray and eventual disappearance of its poetry from the pages of local publications. Where local newspapers no longer served as vehicles for written poetry in Waray, the role was assumed by MBC’s DYVL and local radio stations in the seventies. Up to the present time, poetry sent to these stations are written mostly by local folk – farmers, housewives, lawyers, government clerks, teachers, and students. A common quality of their poetry is that they tend to be occasional, didactic, and traditional in form. The schooled writers in the region, unlike the local folk poets, do not write in Waray nor Filipino. Most of them write in English although lately there has been a romantic return to their ethnic mother tongue as the medium for their poetry. Waray drama was once a fixture of town fiestas. Its writing and presentation were usually commissioned by the hermano mayor as part of festivities to entertain the constituents of the town. Town fiestas in a way sustained the work of the playwright. In recent years, this is no longer the case. If ever a play gets staged nowadays, it is essentially drawn from the pool of plays written earlier in the tradition of the hadi-hadi and the zarzuela. According to Filipinas, an authority on the Waray zarzuela, the earliest zarzuela production involved that of Norberto Romualdez’ An Pagtabang ni San Miguel, which was staged in Tolosa, Leyte in 1899. The zarzuela as a dramatic form enthralled audiences for its musicality and dramatic action. Among the noteworthy playwrights of this genre were Norberto Romualdez Sr. , Alfonso Cinco, Iluminado Lucente, Emilio Andrada Jr. , Francisco Alvarado, Jesus Ignacio, Margarita Nonato, Pedro Acerden, Pedro Separa, Educardo Hilbano, Moning Fuentes, Virgilio Fuentes, and Agustin El O’Mora. Of these playwrights, Iluminado Lucente stands out in terms of literary accomplishment. He wrote about thirty plays and mos