How far do the values of Kino Essay Example for Free

How far do the values of Kino Essay A. The Novelette, The Pearl was written by John Steinbeck in 1944. Steinbeck is a magnificent author who uses dramatic, narrative and musical themes all together . e. g. the song of evil and the song of family to convey his idea effectively. He is able to attain an effect on the reader without lengthy details on emotions, places etc. All his novels are set in Salinas Valley and the main themes of his novels are on man versus nature and how man abuses it. Drama, visual effects and music all blend together in Steinbecks novel making it an all time classic. The Pearl is the story about Kino (Main character Mexican pearl diver) who is the leader of his tribe. In the story he goes on to finding a pearl, which affects him greatly. The pearl of the world gives him dreams of wealth and prosperity but all this changes when things dont turn out the way he planned them to. The pearl gives him suffering and brings out the evil in man. At the beginning of the novel we see the Mexicans oneness with nature as they made songs about it which brought them happiness. The fisherfolks lives were very simple as they lived in poverty and yet they enjoyed the fruits of nature. They lived in brush houses and ate simple food like hot corn-cake. Their sense of unity in the family is shown as they hardly communicate through words because they know what and how one another thinks. (Page 10)- They had spoken once, but there is not need for speech if it is only a habit anyway. Songs were important in their culture as they linked everything to music. The tribe was so closely united and were always ready to help each other. We see this when all the neighbors assist Kino when he takes Coyotito to the doctor for the scorpion bite as a child was a most important thing in life. Another example of closeness is when the tribe goes with Kino to sell the pearl as it a historic event as one of their members are going to get a lot of money. This all shows the loyalty of the neighbors. The tribe is superstitious and at the same time religious, as it is shown to us when Juana prays and chants magic at the same time when seeing the scorpion. They had experience in treating the dangers of nature . e. g. scorpion bites. Both Kino and Juana are superstitious and this is evident when they find the pearl of the world, they hid excitement and the pageant Gods were angry at them. The only thing that made the tribe unhappy was the whites treatment towards them which they thought was unjust. The whites brought fear and distrust . e. g. the way the doctor looks after and treats the rich rather than the poor. The poor lived in brush houses while the rich lived in stone and plaster houses. The whites poison the minds of the tribe as they are victims of ignorance and illiteracy. They were made to believe that their remedies were inferior to those of the white when in most cases they were not. The corrupted values of the whites are seen when the doctor misuses his skills and knowledge to make the baby sick instead of curing him. There is also ill-treatment of the beggars; we see this when they dont help Kino in finding a doctor and they feel it is a source of entertainment when a fisherman comes for help in the city. Eg:(When Kino wants to find a doctor for his son as he got bitten by a scorpion, and instead of the beggars helping Kino finding one, they made fun of him) The irony is that the beggars have no dignity compared to the fishermen who work for a living. When the tribe found the pearl they never thought of riches, only things that will help them where as compared to the whites they only thought of riches and themselves e. g. the doctor was fond of rich silk and expensive clothes compared to the fisher folks who just wore rags. Here a sense of irony is shown as the fisher folks are the whites main source of income and despite this, they still feel disgusted by the fisher folks. The priest was also a disgrace to religion as he too only thought about himself and riches as they wanted materialistic things. We also see how the whites treat their culture as to be very inferior and at the same time exploit them because the tribe is illiterate. Kino represents all the men in the tribe, he was the head of the family and showed the superiority of men e. g. when he eats first in his family and makes decisions. He is a protective father. This is evident when we see him confront the three trackers and when he tries to save his son from the scorpion bite. We see how the pearl changes him from a dependable, hard working man to a man who wants power. The main thing of a man is to have a canoe, as it was a sign of life. The tribe was of fishermen and they depend on canoe to fish in. Here we see Kinos loyalty to the family and family possessions as we see how he valued his canoe which he got from his grandfather-(Kinos grandfather had brought it from Nayarit, and he had given it to Kinos father, and so it had come to Kino) This is how the canoe is passed down from generation to generation.. A canoe was passed down from ancestors and without one they wouldnt be able to get married as it would be hard to support a family. The canoe was a symbol of livelihood, prosperity, independence and survival. Many things were passed down from generations such as Pearl diving, fishing and use of seaweed for remedies. Kinos life is focused on his family whom he loved a lot. His love for Juana is shown when he wants the pearl to help them in getting married. The closeness and the sense of brotherly unity between Kino and his brother Tomas, they gain from the values of their forefathers, as we see how Tomas advises him about the pearl and also helps Kino when the pearl brings bad luck to him. Kino shows his care for the races when he wants the pearl to bring prosperity to the tribe rather than to himself alone we see how he wants education for his son as with education they wouldnt be victims to the whites, he wants his son to spread knowledge and understanding to his tribe in the future through the things he learned. Kino is a skilled fighter where his response to danger is fierce and quick. It is a primitive instinct of the tribe. He is known as a noble savage; he is uncorrupted by a false coating of civilization that we see through the behavior and character of the doctor, priest and the pearl trader. The primitive violent reaction is shown when he attacks the thief that comes and robs him and when he murders one of the attackers in self-defense. When Kino finds a big hole in his canoe there is anger and deep sorrow as without a canoe a man is helpless. He is like a machine when he flees from the attacker to high ground like an instinct of an animal. There is stubborn courage in Kino; he displays a tragic courage for he is a man opposing all the forces against him. We see Kino is a man constant struggle against any prison that binds him. We see at the end of the story Kinos emotion when he loses his son and everything he owns because of the evil pearl and so a result he throws the pearl where it belongs. The situation of Kino could have happened to anyone in the tribe as all he imagined was that everyone would share his joy, but he was wrong. Juana represents all the females in the tribe as a womans character was obedient and respected. Her femininity was shown when she waits for Kino to finish eating and then she would start eating. She respected her husband by making him choose decisions. Juana is an ideal partner for Kino like her instincts when she wants to throw the pearl, and by showing unquestionable loyalty by wanting to stay with Kino and refuses to leave him even though it meant life or death for her and her baby. She shows strength when Kino is weakened by the evil of the pearl. Because of this action Kino draws strength to her loyalty. When Kino said to Juana I am a man he meant that he was half insane and half god and she knew in her womans soul that the forces of nature and society would crush him in the end, yet she needed such a man. Sometimes the female makes decisions for the men as a desperate measure like when she tells Kino to throw away the pearl. Both Kino and Juana were superstitious when finding the pearl and hence both of them suffered from the evil it brought as their simplicity and gullibility made them unaware about the pearls poison and the pain it brought as they suffered a terrible loss and were neglected by society. The dream Kino conjured from its shiny surface was to bring sorrow and death, as too much good luck gave them something bad at the end. But at last he had learnt his lesson and throws the pearl back into the sea where it belongs. There is always a limit to which you can make use of something. Once you begin to abuse it you pay the consequences and this is what happened. Culture is a very important aspect of life as not only is it a symbol/identity but it is also something which no body can take away from you as it becomes part of you. Every culture has its own occasions, celebrations, beliefs, dress etc. In The Pearl John Steinbeck used Kino and Juana very specifically to portray the importance of culture and the way things go about in a particular culture. Eg: the way the canoe was passed down from generation to generation etc.

Social Exclusion Of Different Types Of People Social Work Essay

Social Exclusion Of Different Types Of People Social Work Essay To what extent are EITHER children OR people with disabilities OR older people OR people with illnesses socially excluded? Social exclusion is a blend of multi-dimensional and mutually reinforcing processes of deprivation associated with a progressive dissociation from social milieus, resulting in the isolation of individuals and groups from the main-stream of opportunities society has to offer (Vleminckx and Berghman, 2001, p6) In this piece of work I am going to discuss the notion of social exclusion using the service user group of people with learning disabilities to give examples of social exclusion and to show what the Government is doing to tackle social exclusion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The quote above is a complex description of the term social exclusion, and perhaps a simpler explanation would be the definition given by BMJ Journals (2001) which defines social exclusion as the inability of our society to keep all groups and individuals within reach of what we expect as a society and the tendency to push vulnerable and difficult individuals into the least popular places (p1).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Exclusion is linked to a persons identity, and the identity of a person that has been excluded becomes oppressed, which in turn leads to the person finding it difficult to control their own life, and which inevitably leads to further exclusion from society (Dominelli, 2002). It is also important to realise that when discussing exclusion you must also need to take into account the Government initiatives on inclusion, as these initiatives are proactive rather than reactive, which means they react to the problem instead of trying to prevent the problem before it arises (Thompson, 2001). The report, Inclusion through Innovation: Tackling Social Exclusion Through New Technologies is a good example of how exclusion and inclusion are linked together (www.socialexclusionunit.gov.uk, 2006). This report explores the improvement of the quality of life for the most excluded groups in society by using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to meet their complex needs (www.socialexclusionunit.gov.uk, 2006). The Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion, that was published by the EU in 2005, tells us how a well designed social protection system not only leads to good economic development but helps to combat the problem of social exclusion (www.europa.eu.int, 2006). A significant piece of legislation that affects the whole population is the Human Rights Act 1998, and Mind (2006) makes us aware that there are articles within this Act that are specific to people with learning disabilities; these articles include the right to life, prohibition of inhumane or degrading treatment, prohibition of discrimination and the right to education. Whilst this piece of legislation is in place, our society should not be facing the problem of social exclusion, let alone having to produce and implement more initiatives in a bid to control the problem (Mind, 2006).   People with learning disabilities are one of the most vulnerable groups in society, and the Government is committed to improving their life chances (www.dh.gov.uk, 2006) The Government in various ways is dealing with social exclusion, although this is difficult because social exclusion comes in many different forms. Despite this, the Government is dedicated to tackling these problems, although many initiatives come late in the process, addressing consequences rather than causes (www.mind.org.uk, 2006, p1). Mind (2006) also informs us that in our society it is the learning disabled that are amongst the most isolated groups.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thompson (2001) tells us that disabled people have never had priority status in social work, and this particular area has often been given very little attention on training courses for this profession. This in itself can be seen as discriminatory and leads to what is now known as disablism (Thompson, 2001). Thompson (2001) describes disablism as referring to the combination of social forces, cultural values and personal prejudices which marginalizes disabled people, portrays them in as negative light and thus oppresses them. This combination encapsulates a powerful ideology which has the effect of denying disabled people full participation in mainstream social life (p112).   Ã‚   When discussing the exclusion of learning disabled people from society it is important to take into account the medical model of the disability and the social model of the disability; the medical model of disability looks at the person and their difficulties in terms of their condition and looks to repair the person, whereas in contrast the social model of the disability looks towards the society being disabling as society is not making enough provisions to enabled the disabled person to lead what we consider to be a normal life (Thompson, 2001).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is an important link between social exclusion and poverty; because of benefit rules people with learning disabilities are effectively unable to gain employment which means that they have to rely on benefits to survive, which rules out the chance of them ever owning their own home which is a common goal for much of the nation (Davies, 2002). Although education is becoming increasingly available for people with learning disabilities, especially opportunities for further education, the reality is that there are still no jobs available for people that are learning disabled, and inevitably this group of people end up re-entering education again as there are no other opportunities for them (Davies, 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   People with learning disabilities often struggle to find relationships; if they are still living with their parents they very rarely spend time with other people of the same age, and those who have left their parents home tend to have only a small social group of people with similar disabilities to their own (Davies, 2002). Because of the protectiveness of parents of children with learning disabilities their children become very dependant on them so when they get older they find it difficult to cope on their own which in turn leads to further segregation for society (Davies, 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another aspect that excludes people with learning disabilities is that they have a lack of information of the range of services that they are entitled to, from health to housing, although Mencap has produced a picture bank of information to help resolve this problem. The picture bank is a range of visual explanations that can be accessed by people with learning disabilities (www.mencap.org.uk/html/accessibility/accessibility.asp, 2006), and has also helped the Guardian newspaper to publish a news stories with easy to read words and pictures. Watt (2001) tells us that it is in the past 20 years that society has become immensely unequal in the UK, where some people have done extremely well and others have not. It appears that the Government has recognized the issues surrounding social exclusion for many years, but their proposed solutions are small for the problems that apply to the whole of society (Watt, 2001). The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2006) emphasizes the fact that people who have become socially excluded often become part of a vicious cycle of related problems which include unemployment, low incomes, poor housing, bad health and family breakdown, and its focus is to prevent this from happening in the future by fighting the problem now. The Social Exclusion Unit repeatedly tells us that it is critical to implement early preventative action, and children and young people are especially vulnerable to the effects of social exclusion (www.socialexclusionunit.gov.uk, 2006, p1). Valuing People (Department of Health, 2001)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The white paper called Valuing People: a new strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century was published by the Government on 20th March 2001, and was a key turning point for people with learning disabilities, and not only addressed their needs, but proposed a way of trying to make their lives better (www.mind.org.uk, 2006). Four of the key principles in this white paper were civil rights, independence, choice and inclusion things that people born without disabilities take for granted (www.mind.org.uk, 2006). The main aim of Valuing People was to give people with learning disabilities a chance to have a real say in where they live, what work they should do and who looks after them (Department of Health, 2001a). Valuing People sets out proposals from the Government to improve the life chances and opportunities for people with learning disabilities and their families, and looks towards collaboration between different agencies in order to ac hieve this (Niace, 2003).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nothing about us without us (Department of Health, 2001b) This report was published by the Department of Health regarding the rights of people who have learning disabilities, and the report says that a person with learning difficulties cannot have their lives discussed without them being present so that they are involved in making the decisions about their life (Department of Health, 2001). The report also says that if decisions are being made that could affect people with learning disabilities then there must be people present that have learning disabilities (Department of Health, 2001). A report called Hidden Lives was published by the charity Turning Point, in which they examined how effective legislation had been in tackling social exclusion (Batty, 2004). The results of the report were quite alarming, with many service users claiming that improvement had been very slow, and the charity fear that people with learning disabilities are facing social exclusion forever (Batty, 2004). The solution to social exclusion lies not in myriad attempts ro repair society at points of breakdown, but in persuading relatively affluent groups that social inclusion is worth paying for (Watt, 2001)

Product Life Cycle Of Cadbury Dairy Milk

Product Life Cycle Of Cadbury Dairy Milk Cadbury chocolates was started in Birmingham in 1824 by John Cadbury. Chocolate in those days was a very elitist product. Cadbury Dairy Milk came up with the mix of milk and chocolate tray which is pretty much how the product still is. There has been no drastic change in the recipe of the product but the packaging and the representation and prominence of the glass and half of milk logo has changed over a period of time. Cadbury India began its operations in 1948 by importing chocolates and then re-packing them before distribution in the Indian market. Today, Cadbury has five company-owned manufacturing facilities at Thane, Induri (Pune) and Malanpur (Gwalior), Bangalore and Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) and 4 sales offices (New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkota and Chennai). Its corporate office is in Mumbai.Worldwide, (http://www.iloveindia.com/economy-of-india/top-50-companies/cadbury-india.html) A Timeline: 1904   A new recipe is perfected by George Cadbury for milk chocolate. 1905   Cadbury launches Dairy Milk onto the market a new milk chocolate that contains far more milk than anything previously tasted and with a unique creamy taste. 1913   Dairy Milk becomes Cadburys best selling line. Mid 1920s   Dairy Milk becomes UK brand leader a position it still enjoys today. 1928   Fruit Nut is introduced as a variation of Dairy Milk. The glass and a half advertising slogan is introduced. 1933   WholeNut is added to the Dairy Milk family. 1948   Cadbury Dairy Milk is sold in India 1998   Dairy Milk is re-launched with the new and modern pack design, but its recipe and unique taste are still very similar to the original recipe. 2005   Cadbury Dairy Milk celebrates its 100th birthday. (http://www.innovation.cadbury.com/allaboutus/ourbrands/featurebrands/Pages/CadburyDairyMilk2.aspx?TabIndex=1) Brand Identity : Kapferers model Stage in the Product Life Cycle Cadbury Dairy Milk is in the maturity stage of the product Life cycle. It currently has a market share of 70% in the chocolate market and is way ahead of its competitors. There is a high degree of brand awareness. The colour purple and the glass and half full logo is amongst the most recognised logos and the association of the two with Cadbury Dairy Milk is synonymous. Market Scenario/Challenges According to AC Nielson study of 2007: Facts Figures The Indian Chocolate market is estimated to beat around 1500crores. It is growing at the rate of 18-20% per annum With 72% of the market share in India, Cadbury is the market leader. Companies The 2 main competitors in the Indian market that Cadbury faces any competition from are Nestle and Amul. There are several new and local brands like Candico, Sweet World etc. which are trying to make its presence felt. Consumer Trends The Mithaai or sweet has been the tradition in India so far. Chocolates are noow trying to break into that league and hence faces stiff competition more from this product category than its immediate competitors. Chocolates are more of an impulse buy. Consumers are preferring chocolates to Mithaai because of proper packaging, longer shelf life, mid-range pricing and convenience. Consumers have started showing interest in not just milk chocolates but other varieties like Dark Chocolate etc. One of the major challenges that Cadbury Dairy Milk faces is a decline in sales due to new variants being introduced in the market by other brands which could result in the product moving from maturity to decline stage. Another major challenge comes from a different product category altogether which is the Indian Sweets or Mithaai. Steps taken by brand at each stage- at a communication and product level Introduction Cadbury Dairy Milk advertising has always depicted a rich tapestry of human emotions and relationships. In the 1980s, it was positioned as the perfect expression of love, captured in memorable copy: sometimes Cadbury can say it better than words. During the early1990s, Cadbury Dairy Milk emphasised its international identity, communicating that it was the real taste of chocolate. In 1994 came the path-breaking real taste of life campaign. The ad featuring a woman running on the cricket field celebrating the victory is still strongly etched in our mind even today. This campaign created a dramatic shift in the way chocolates were perceived. Cadbury Dairy Milk has increasingly become trapped as a reward or bribe for children and this campaign unshackled the brand by re-positioning it to the free-child in every adult. Cadbury Dairy Milk redefined itself as the perfect expression of spontaneous, shared good feelings, providing the real taste of life experience. The strategy paid off: Bran d Cadbury grew by over 50% in sales volumes. (Super brands) Growth Then in 1998, the next stage of growth for the brand dealt with popularising consumption in a social context, especially in more traditional settings like weddings. With the campaign Khaanein waallon ko khaanein ka bahana chahiye featuring Cyrus Broacha, Cadbury Dairy Milk aimed to substantially increase penetration levels. The campaign was launched in tandem with the award winning Kuchh khaas haicampaign and the media strategy was to let the two co-exist towards a common vision: A Cadbury in every pocket. The brand penetrated into smaller towns and sales volumes grew by 40% (Source: Internal Sales Data). (Super brands) Crisis Management The worm controversy resulted in Cadburys brand image taking a beating. They had to recall a batch of chocolates. Instead of taking any short term measures, Cadbury used this opportunity to take action and rebuild the trust of people. They launched a project Vishwas which educated retailers and wholesalers on storage and other aspects apart from educating consumers. The other major step was to change the packaging. The companys repackaging exercise, which used a combination of packaging technologies, was unprecedented in the category. With the redesigned packaging in place, the company decided to communicate the measures it had taken to safeguard quality standards. To add credibility to its pitch, Cadbury took recourse to Amitabh Bachchans deep baritone. This was the first time that a celebrity was used to endorse Cadbury Dairy Milk. The commercial did wonders to consumer confidence. A series of ads with Bachchan including Pappu Paas ho Gaya to Miss Palampur brought back the lost credibility of the people. With Bachchan they also launched their new positioning of Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye bringing in the tradition of celebrating a joyous occasion in India with sweets and now Cadbury Dairy Milk in particular. Maturity The focus for a period shifted to taking the concept of Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye further. The Pehli Tareekh Hai campaigns talked about the importance of having Dairy Milk and celebrating on getting your pay on pay-day. The ads had a very retro-feel to it and did click with the audience. But, it is the recent string of Shubh Aarambh ads that have brought back the old charm of Cadbury Dairy Milk with its very interesting insight of mixing the traditional with the new age. Summary Cadbury Dairy Milk has adapted itself to the Indian market quite impressively. From making a sweet eating nation to switch to chocolates to becoming the market leader, Cadbury Dairy Milk has done it all because of the emotional connect it established with the consumers. Its communication also always focused on the emotional aspects and feelings of life apart from spontaneity. Its communication has always showcased its values and personality. In my opinion, the Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye concept is a goldmine which can be used in a variety of ways in a country like India.

Fiscal Fallacy: The Political Motives in the Current Union Assualt Essa

â€Å"Once again, Republicans are trying to erase the history of America’s working people† (Connel 1). It is happening in Maine where Republican governor Paul LePage has arranged for a 36 foot long mural depicting the state’s labor movement history to be removed from the Department of Labor. In addition, conference rooms in the Department of Labor named after prominent labor movement officials such as Frances Perkins (Connel 1). The actions of Maine’s Republicans and the similar actions of Republicans across the nation are only the superficial layer of the current attack on a weakened labor movement. The latest siege in the longstanding decline of American unions, conservatives are waging this assault under the guise of fiscal responsibility. In reality, it is nothing more than a political attack meant to undermine one of Democrat’s key supporters. American unions have been regressing since the 1970’s. With private sector unions firmly place d under the corporate heel conservative forces across the nation are now turning their attack on public unions, hoping to eliminate their collective bargaining rights and effectively crush them altogether. Governor Walker and his allies claim fiscal responsibility and balancing budgets as the reason for the long list of concessions they demand from unions. However, in going after the unions’ collective bargaining rights of the unions it shifts from an economic issue to a politically motivated assault that could have long-term economic consequences for the American public, the middle and working class especially. The Republicans currently assert that they have the best interest of the middle and working class in mind with their targeting of state unions. Federal stimulus money is ending; in 2012, ... ...ing their own party, specifically tailored to the needs of unions and the working class. By aligning themselves with Democrats by default, they have given up a large measure of their political power and bargaining ability. Democratic Party needs do not always much up with those of unions and the working class and often the Democrats will force unions to push their needs over the unions own. In establishing their own political party they could, on a state and local level, push forth the working people’s agenda unhindered. Another possible solution would be for unions to reorganize and reenergize their recruiting base, paying special attention in recruiting women, young adults and immigrants around common working class interests. By diversifying their membership, base unions could stand to regain some of the numbers and collective bulk of their negotiating power.

Compare & Contrast The Rocking Horse Winner and The Destructors :: comparison compare contrast essays

Compare & Contrast  The Rocking Horse Winner and  The Destructors In D.H. Lawerence's short story, â€Å"The Rocking Horse Winner†, and Grahm Greene's â€Å"The Destructors, there are many truths to consider.   Although these two stories are considerably different, the message is the same.   Whether in a life-like story, such as â€Å"The Destructors†, or a fantacy, like â€Å"The Rocking Horse Winner†, the seeds of materialism are planted and nourished in lives of the characters.   The aspects of materialism in these two stories develop desired conclusions by its characters.   In order to understand the similar message of Greene short story â€Å"The Destructors† and Lawerence's â€Å"The Rocking Horse Winner†, one must scrutinize the various aspects of each story.   When comparing the themes of each story, surprising similarities arise.   First, both are developed around the lives of children.   In â€Å"The Destructors† a group of boys called the Wormsley Gang have the same view of the world around them.   They have grown up together and share stories about the bombs that destroyed their town.   They also challenge each other to accomplish various tasks.  Ã‚   The house that the boys ultimately destroy represents the greediness of Mr. Thomas, an architect who owns the tattered home.   The Wormsley Gang called him ‘Old Misery’.   In the Rocking Horse Winner†, the story’s plot is thickend by a a young boys obsessive desire to â€Å"become lucky†.   This young boy, Paul, believes that his house is continually whispering, â€Å"†¦there must be more money†¦there must be more money†.   Paul is able to relate the self-proclaimed dissatificatoin of his mothers life with the odd mood of his house.   Paul knows that although his mother appears to have everything together on the outside, she does not love him on the inside.   Paul believes that he can please his mother if he is able to find a way to give her more money.   In both stories, the houses were very symbolic.   When comparing the emotions and feelings of â€Å"The Destuctors† and â€Å"The Rocking Horse Winner†, one will discover how their characteristics affect the plot. In â€Å"The Destructors†, Trevor, who is the more natural leader of the Wormsley Gang, discovers his own anger upon visiting the home of Mr. Thomas.   Trevor then fuels the already burning curiosities of the gang, by challenging them to do something about it.   In â€Å"The Rocking Horse Winner†, Paul’s mother is also angry.   She feels the life she desperately desires, is not being supported with her husbands income.

Recent Scientific and Technological Innovations Essay

The quality of life is normally taken to mean the general well being of people and the environment in which they live in. it is undeniable that recent scientific and technological innovations have enhanced the quality of life for many. However, the developments of today that promise us a better quality of life are also the ones that can worsen the quality of life. Science and technology give their creators and inventors ever-greater supremacy and control, for good or otherwise, over the physical universe. Indeed, the possible dire consequences and impact of misused and misapplied innovations can affect the quality of life drastically. Technological innovations have resulted in an improved and well-established system of telecommunications and satellites. This leads to ease in access of communication system globally. International calls can now be made so readily that two people at separate ends of the world can now stay instantly in contact with a touch of the dial. But, with the onsl aught of the worldwide web and wireless communication devices, technology has in fact, drawn people away from each other. The presence of electronic email and short-text messages, gave busy people of this high-tech society yet another excuse to dismiss the need for face-to-face meetings and interactions. Humans have become overly dependent upon such gadgets and devices to carry out the basic task such as to communicate. What will result from the above phenomenon is that the generations to come will be lacking in inter-personal and interactive skills. Medical scientific and technological innovations have been largely beneficial. Death rates, infant mortality rates as well as diseases of the past that used to lead to alarming numbers of deaths, have been eradicated greatly. Modern drugs and vaccines have eased much physically suffering. But, the discovery of Euthanasia and Genetic Engineering have sparked off a series of moral questioning concerning the supposed death with dignity as well as issues that include abortion as the latter opens up possibilities of misuse. It is true that abortion practices ena ble pregnant women who are at health risk to remove the baby in the course of pregnancy but many have taken advantage of this procedure to rid themselves of the product of irresponsible actions on their part. Also, Euthanasia, despite being said to be death in dignity, nevertheless, opposes many religious and conservative views. Advanced military technological innovations have provided a higher degree of security for citizens in countries. This does actually contribute to enhancing the quality of life as cyber warfare, biological warfare and nuclear warfare help to create a new form of defence mechanism to protect the people. Conversely, advance military technological innovations have also empowered modern armies a great level of destructive potential and selective aiming targets. This results in civilians and innocent people ending up as the greater victims in wars. In addition, the use of chemical and biological weapons has diffused effects that make the clear-cut drawing of battle lines more complex and difficult. Hence, instead of enhancing the quality of life, humans’ vulnerability increases and security decreases in times of war. Another political and legal aspect in which scientific and technological innovations have helped to improve the quality of life for humans is the availability of knowledge. Indeed, the access to information enhances democracy that provides citizens with a more liberal political system. However, it should be noted that technology, though allowing easy access to the supply of knowledge, actually devalues the worth of information and knowledge. Today, knowledge can easily turn obsolete as focus is placed on the survival of the most info and techno-savvy society. Also, what is accessible from the wide pool of resources on the worldwide web does not always provide the correct and morally upright information. For instance, the wide pool of pornography corrupts one’s mind and worsens the quality of life as it presents an improper, inaccurate and unrealistic view towards sex. Next, computers and high-tech machinery have aided in improving many economies, especially those of the developing countries. For example, South Korea went from being a developing country to becoming a newly industrialized country because they have become more capital-intensive and technologically oriented in their industries. Areas ranging from manufacturing processes to the service sector have been made easy by the use of both the computer and machinery. Nevertheless, such gadgets have become such an indispensable and essential tool in modern life that the need for labour-intensive employment has greatly declined. This puts lowly educated and lowly skilled workers out of jobs. Such an over reliance branches into almost every type of human activity and the importance of human resources will eventually be lost with time. How can quality of life be enhanced when the technology is deemed more valuable and useful than human resource? Another area to ponder about is the environmental asp ect of life. Pollution and deforestation have both worsened the quality of life in today’s society. Health problems have resulted from air, water, soil and hazardous waste pollution. Governments of less developed nations, in their eagerness to improve their economies by employing technology in their commerce, are willing to forsake the importance of the environment in maintaining the quality of life of their people. Poor air quality in twenty megacities in the world, with population of more than ten million results in an increase in lung, heart and brain cancer. This is the effect of traffic fumes; industrial processes, new sewage systems and even open refuse burning. Water quality is greatly diminished by the pollution caused by petrochemical complex, pesticide and factories. The issue of deforestation is also linked to the worsening of the quality of life as basic needs of recreation, culture and leisure are greatly affected. Thus, it is evident that though busy industries can be an indication of a healthy economy that can increase the monetary aspect of standard of living, actually denies humans their basic right to drink clean water and breathe clean, uncontaminated air. In conclusion, the issues of the quality of life that are affected by scientific and technological innovations are urgent and require much reconsideration. The nuclear power that promised virtually limitless, cheap and non-polluting energy for future generations proved otherwise in the disastrous accidents such as those that took place at Three Mile Island and Chernoblyl. Furthermore, the down sides to the supposed enhancement of the quality of life as depicted by the double-edged sword qualities of science and technology like those presented in this argument have clearly shown that recent scientific and technological innovations can increase the quality of life as well as degenerate it.

Comprises the spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features Essay

It comprises the spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of a society and includes, in addition to the arts and letters, the value systems, traditions, modes of life and beliefs of the society. It also absorbs from other cultures and undergoes changes with time, sometimes beneficial, sometimes regressive. When the word â€Å"culture† is mentioned, we can think of many things as â€Å"cultural†, such as language, clothings†¦ etc, because we classify cultures of different places. However, culture is so valuable that it has to be kept for thousands of years,and passed on by one generation to another. Culture is so important that it is more than its distinct visible features, if we extends this to the inner self of a person, to members within a society, further to the whole community, maybe we can find some answers by finding out how they are affected by culture. Culture represents a whole community, to investigate how culture changes one’s inner values, we have to define some common beliefs, just like clothing that has some features that help distinguish its cultural background. People having the same cultural background, in general, are likely to behave in a similar way, because their education and religion background have also cultural elements. It is true that personalities are different for everyone, but culture can affect people to a certain degree because it provides an environment from which they obtain their values, especially for children at young age. For example, chinese are generally considered to be more respectful but the westerners are more open-minded and outspoken, their education style has played an important role, because in Chinese culture children have to learn to be composed and be polite and there is a border line between teachers and students, whereas in western they tend to be active to be appreciated by the teachers. Therefore people from different cultural backgrounds will have a diversity of ways expressing the same intention. Culture is important because it has some values that are automatically fill in a person’s mind through an environment, which changes one’s deeds. Culture also plays an important role to the interactions between members within a community. When the same culture can cause similarities of values, this can bond people with the same culture together because they will feel comfortable and easier because it confirms their values. On the other hand, they may find other cultures odd if they neglect cultural difference. Culture can pull a person closer, or further away to the majority, therefore culture is very important to the communication network in a society as well, maining the relationship among people. Since culture can form invisible bonds between members in the community, this can hold people with the same cultural background together, passing on the values. This propogation of values is can not only transmit culture knowledge and retain the relationship among people, it also builds up a long term tradition after years and years. Culture is strengthened in this way because it can give background and reference to its later generations of its ability of keeping the long-term tradition, gaining the sense of belonging of people to the country of that culture. It is important in terms of the development of a community as a whole, as it forms cultural groups together which help passing culture on from one generation to the next one, maintaining the existence of some traditional values. Culture contains elements that affect one’s inner values other than just external characteristics, which those values play an important role in his whole life. The communications between people are also based on culture to some extent and this forms cultural groups, passing cultural knowledge on, building up a cultural status to a country for years which people with the same cultural background will find them belonging.