A Description of Cultural Patterns Essay Example for Free

A Description of Cultural Patterns Essay Cultural patterns are described as the preferred set of responses to different life situations. According to Kluckhohn and Strodbeck’s description of cultural patterns there are 5 dimensions or elements that address the manner in which a culture orients itself to activities, social relations, the self, the world and the passage of time. In the following reflection I will identify each one of these dimensions with the cultural patterns shown in my country. Starting with the activity orientation, which defines how the people of a culture view human actions and the expression of self through activities, we can identify the Puerto Rican culture as a â€Å"becoming† one. A â€Å"becoming† orientation refers to people who are predisposed to think of ways to change themselves as a means of changing the world. Although I do not fully agree on this identifying the Puerto Rican culture, I do agree on other views that the â€Å"becoming† cultures have toward work and play. For example Puerto Ricans do not have a â€Å"clear-cut† separation between work and their social lives. Often you can go into an office and find employees chatting with each other, talking with relatives over the phone or talking about their private lives in a business meeting. The Puerto Rican culture is more relaxed in terms of work compared to the Mexican, Colombian or European American culture, we specifically work for a means to an end and appreciate every second of our leisure time. The social relations dimension describes how the people in a culture organize themselves and refer to one another. In Puerto Rico the degree of importance we place on formality has changed through the years as different generations modify the way we address people. For example teenagers often refer to their elders as â€Å"you† instead of â€Å"sir† or they will say to someone who is serving them â€Å"give me† instead of â€Å"may I have†. The Puerto Rican culture generally does not give much importance to tittles, as they believe that relationships best develop when those involved can address informally to one another. Another thing that cultural patterns prescribe are the social interactions people have between them. In the Puerto Rican culture we have African heritage so it’s no surprise when both our cultures prefer indirectness in conversations with other people of our country but do not require an intermediary to do so. Generally, people in Puerto Rico will â€Å"sugar coat† demands or favors in conversations as a way to ask for something but in a indirect approach so the person won’t perceive us as rude or ill mannered. The self-orientation of cultural patterns describes how people’s identities are formed, whether the culture views the self as changeable, what motivates individual actions, and the kinds people who are valued and respected. Puerto Ricans can easily associate with each other, as our individual self-definition is very similar. On the contrary of the European American culture, Puerto Ricans make decisions for their children based on traditions, values and what they believe to be best for them. Although individuals make their own decisions as they mature and grow up when we evaluate from a group perspective it can be said that there is a heightened sense of interdependence and what happens to the group happens to the person. An example of this can be shown in cultural linguistic tendencies, as individuals modify their usual language others do so as well; also the fact that when national catastrophes occur everyone feels identified with the loss or the pain of the others. Because Puerto Rico is such a small island it is almost predictable that individuals can associate their identity with others from the same country even if there is a social status, age, town etc. aspect that differs between them. One of the most interesting dimensions is the world orientation, which tells people how to allocate themselves in relation to the spiritual world, nature and other living things. As we know Puerto Rico has different heritages because of the cultures that have influenced us trough the colonizing process, so it is not strange that our spirituality relates mostly to the European American beliefs. The general belief in our culture is that human beings can prevent, postpone or overcome natural events such as earthquakes by making buildings stronger, finding cures for illnesses and prolonging the time of death of a sick person. As technology constantly â€Å"improves† individuals believe they have the power to control nature instead of nature controlling them. Despite the fact that we are most influenced by this belief we still have the Latino influence which leads us to believe that we will be measured by our actions in the spiritual world where our souls will rest. The final approach of these cultural patterns is the time orientation, which can be defined as the way individuals conceptualize time. The cultural frame to which the Puerto Ricans relate is the Latino; even though we do not think time is endless we don’t take time as seriously. That is the reason why people are constantly late for everything, from a birthday party to work and even to Sunday mass. Time is mostly seen as ongoing and useful to maintain order, but not of the utmost importance. Analyzing these cultural patterns one can have a more accurate sense of how culture determines the identity of a country and how things like the importance of work and social time can influence so deeply the way a whole culture behaves. Also it gives you the opportunity to compare and contrast with other countries and learn how other people can have a completely different share of values and see life in such a contrasting way. Most importantly I believe that by studying these cultural patterns one can be more sensible to other people’s needs and have more respect for their culture instead of wanting to impose ours.

Poverty Elimination by NGOs

Poverty Elimination by NGOs Assessing NGOs performance in poverty reduction is a difficult task. However, it is worth learning from other observations conducted on NGO performance in alleviating poverty NGOs have increased the scale on the type of roles they play. In this contemporary time, NGOs are tremendously working, and helping government, institutions, and the rural poor in the fight against poverty in Sub-Saharan African, which was their traditional role during the World Wars. Although NGOs are appraised for their tremendous work, other scholars have opined that they do not see their essence due to the fact that many have fallen below expectations. In this Chapter, however, researchers task is to review the literature of other scholarly works as it relate to NGOs roles in poverty alleviation. Desai (2005) has mentioned that NGOs have an important role to play in supporting women, men and households, community groups, civil society groups and expected that they can meet the welfare. She accounted some role and functions for NGOs, such as counseling and support service, awareness raising and advocacy, legal aid and microfinance. These services help the people to achieve their ability, skill and knowledge, and take control over their own lives and finally become empowered and self-reliance. I agree with the author, because if a project like microfinance is enforced, the living standard of people will be improved. This evidence will be seen in the next chapter. Strom quits (2002) has also noted three major functions for NGOs such as (service delivery (e.g. relief, welfare, basic skills); educational provision (e.g. basic skills and often critical analysis of social environments); and public policy advocacy as this is the case with NGOs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Baccaro (2001), in his writing depicted how particular NGOs with a definite mission statements can promote the organization and empowerment of the poor, particularly poor women, through a combination of micro-credit, awareness-raising, training for group members which is capacity building and other social services, with an aim to reduce poverty among societies. NGOs general aim is to alleviate poverty through activities that promote capacity building and self-reliance. Langran (2002) has mentioned that NGOs through capacity building help to sustain community development assist government in the provision of basic social amenities. NGOs are often created in order to expand the capacities of people and government there by breaching the gap of poverty (Korten 1990). NGOs are praised for promoting community self-reliance and empowerment through supporting community-based groups and relying on participatory processes (Korten 1990; Clark 1991; Friedmann 1992; Fowler 1993; Edwards and Hulme 1994; Salamon 1994).In Sub-Saharan Africa for instance where survival for daily bread is a major hurdle, NGOs have been seen as liberators of human suffering the evidence is in Sierra Leone were sixty percent of citizens survival dependent upon donors. Sustainable development, on the other hand, has emerged over the past few decades as an important paradigm for poverty alleviation. As Bradshaw and Winn (2000) have noted, sustainability is rooted largely in an environmental approach, particularly in the industrialized countries. But, the goal of sustainable development is to find a balance between three pillars social, economic and environmental of communities (Sneddon 2000). Hibbard and Tang (2004) in their study in Vietnam have noted the importance of NGOs roles in sustainable community development. One of the roles was that NGOs balance the social, economic and environmental factors in promoting sustainable development. Another important role of NGO that they discovered was decentralization of the central government which helps the local communities to acquire more power in order to make their own decisions. As in the case of Sierra Leone where civil society groups and other NGOs like MERLIN, Caritas and CRS, have succeeded in winning bills for decentralization in the Health ministry. But, sometimes the local communities lack specialists to do professional work and resources that are important for the particular projects. In this situation, NGO assists local staff with drafting sustainable development plans that are functional under the umbrella of a central government policy. Finally, they concluded that poverty alleviation is process-oriented, and it requires extensive community participation and relies on network to share resources, knowledge and expertise. From the literatures, it could be summarized that NGOs play an important function in fighting poverty via promoting sustainable community development. Sustainable community development emphasizes on a balance between environmental concerns and development objectives, while simultaneously enhancing local social relationships. Sustainable communities meet the economic needs of their residents, enhance and protect the environment, and promote more human local societies (Bridger and Luloff 1997). Through the functions of providing microfinance, initiating capacity building and self -reliance, peace building projects, relief services during emergencies, NGOs could bridge the gap of poverty in Sub-Saharan African. Below are the reviews of NGOs roles, functions and strategies they used to fight poverty. 2.1- NGOs MICROFINANCE ROLE A STRATEGY FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION Microfinance is another important sector that NGOs have fully ultilised in reaching out to the poor. Their roles in this sector, has immensely contributed to alleviating poverty among the poor. The purpose of using microfinance to alleviate poverty is as a result of what role microfinance can play and what impact it created on the beneficiaries. Microfinance has a very important role to play in development according to proponents of microfinance. In the 1990s, scholars have increasingly referred to microfinance as an effective means of poverty reduction (Rekha 1995; Cerven and Ghazanfar 1999; Pankhurst and Johnston 1999). The microfinance has long existed in Africa, but saw it decline when government established banking institutions took over Oxaal and Baden (1997). The World Bank found, in 1998, that the poorest 48% of Bangladeshi families with access to microcredit from Grameen Bank rose above the poverty line. In Peoples Republic of China (PRC), for instance, microfinance programs have helped lift 150 million people out of poverty since 1990 (UNHDR, 2005). Similarly in, in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Liberia, MkNelly and Dunford (1998) Mansaray (1998-99), found that microcredit beneficiaries increased their income by $36, compared with $18 for nonclients. Clients of microfinance generally shifted from irregular, low-paid daily jobs to more secured employment in India (Simanowitz, 2003) and Bangladesh (Zaman, 2000). Otero (1999, p.10) illustrates the various ways in which microfinance, at its core combats poverty. She states that microfinance creates access to productive capital for the poor, which together with human capital, addressed through education and training, and social capital, achieved through local organization building, enables people to move out of poverty (1999). By providing material capital to a poor person, their sense of dignity is strengthened and this can help to empower the person to participate in the economy and society (Otero, 1999). The aim of microfinance according to Otero (1999) is not just about providing capital to the poor to combat poverty on an individual level, it also has a role at an institutional level. It seeks to create institutions that deliver financial services to the poor, who are continuously ignored by the formal banking sector. Mayoux (2000) and Cheston and Khan (2002) have pointed out the importance of microfinance in empowerment, particularly women empowerment. Microfinance is defined as efforts to improve the access to loans and to saving services for poor people (Shreiner2001). UNCDF (2001) states that studies have shown that microfinance plays key roles in development. It is currently being promoted as a key development strategy for promoting poverty eradication and economic empowerment. It has the potential to effectively address material poverty, the physical deprivation of goods and services and the income to attain them by granting financial services to households who are not supported by the formal banking sector (Sheraton 2004). Microcredit programs provide small loans and savings opportunities to those who have traditionally been excluded from commercial financial services. As a development inclusion strategy, adopted by NGOs through the provision of funds to both locally established groups and government and private institutions, microfinance programs emphasize womens economic contribution as a way to increase overall financial efficiency within national economies. This is because in Sub-Saharan Africa, as whole women are said to be bread winners and care takers of their families. It should be noted that women are always at mercy regarding social misshapes .According to Cheston and Khan (2002), one of the most popular forms of economic empowerment for women is microfinance, which provides credit for poor women who are usually excluded from formal credit institutions. This issue of gender discrimination in the microfinance sector have been researched and debated by donor agencies, NGOs, feminists, and activists (Johnson and Rogaly 1997; Razavi 1997; Kabeer 1999; Mayoux 2001; Mahmud 2003). However, underneath these shared concerns lie three fundamentally different approaches to microfinance: financial sustainability, feminist empowerment, and poverty alleviation. All three microfinance approaches have different goals coupled with varied perspectives on how to incorporate gender into microfinance policy and programs (Mayoux 2000). The microfinance empowers women by putting capital in their hands and allowing them to earn an independent income and contribute financially to their households and communities. This economic empowerment is expected to generate increased self-esteem, respect, and other forms of empowerment for women beneficiaries. Some evidence show that microfinance would empower women in some domains such as increased participation in decision making, more equitable status of women in the family and community, increased political power and rights, and increased self-esteem (Cheston and Kuhn 2002). Well-being as an output of microfinance not only covers the economic indicators, but also other indicators such as community education, environment, recreation and accessibility to social services. It is related to the quality of life (Asnarulkhadi 2002). In order to gain economic sustainability, NGOs through microfinance help the communities to reduce poverty, create jobs, and promote income generation. In the developing countries, sustainability is linked more closely to issues of poverty and the gross inequalities of power and resources (Hamnett and Hassan 2003). This is due to the fact that in the Third World countries like sub-Saharan Africa, the ecological system, climate, sometimes conflicts with the socio-economic needs of local people who depend on a local ecosystem for their survival (Nygren 2000). In contrast, in the developed countries, as Bradshaw and Winn (2000) have noted, more priority is given on environmental aspect of sustainable development. Despite the importance attached to microfinance as an effective tool for poverty alleviation, yet it cannot be over ruled that this sector do have many problems. This has even led some scholars to doubt it usefulness, there by suggesting that NGOs still need to do more to reach out to the poor. Littlefield, Murduch and Hashemi (2003), Simanowitz and Brody (2004) and the IMF (2005) have commented on the critical role of microfinance in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Simanowitz and Brody (2004, p.1) state, Microfinance is a key strategy in reaching the MDGs and in building global financial systems that meet the needs of the most poor people. Littlefield, Murduch and Hashemi (2003) state microfinance is a critical contextual factor with strong impact on the achievements of the MDGsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦microfinance is unique among development interventions: it can deliver social benefits on an ongoing, permanent basis and on a large scale. Referring to various case studies, they show how microfinance has played a role in eradicating poverty, promoting education, improving health and empowering women (2003). However, other scholars are not enthusiastic about the role of microfinance in development because of it lapses, and it is important to realize that microfinance is not a all done strategy when it comes to fighting poverty. Hulme and Mosley (1996), while acknowledging the role microfinance can have in helping to reduce poverty, concluded from their research on microfinance that most contemporary schemes are less effective than they might be (1996, p.134). They state that microfinance is not a total solution for poverty-alleviation and that in some cases the poorest people have been made worse-off by microfinance. Wright (2000,p.6) states that much of the skepticism of MFIs stems from the argument that microfinance projects fail to reach the poorest, generally have a limited effect on incomeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦drive women into greater dependence on their husbands and fail to provide additional services desperately needed by the poor. In addition, Wright says that many development practitioners not only find microfinance inadequate, but that it actually diverts funding from more pressing or important interventions such as health and education (2000, p.6). As argued by Navajas et al (2000), there is a danger that microfinance may siphon funds from other projects that might help the poor more. They state that governments and donors should know whether the poor gain more from microfinance, than from more health care or food aid for example. Therefore, there is a need for all involved in microfinance and development to ascertain what exactly has been the impact of microfinance in combating poverty. Considerable debate remains about the effectiveness of microfinance as a tool for directly reducing poverty, and about the characteristics of the people it benefits (Chowdhury, Mosley and Simanowitz, 2004). Sinha (1998) argues that it is notoriously difficult to measure the impact of microfinance programmes on poverty. 2.2. NGOs CAPACITY BUILDING ROLE A STRATEGY FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION Capacity building is another NGOs strategy and role that helps to bridge a gap between the haves and have not in society. Capacity building is an approach to development that builds independence. It can be: A means to an end, where the purpose is for others to take on programs. Is a process, where the capacity building strategies are routinely incorporated as an important element of effective practice (NSW Health 2001). Langran (2002) has defined capacity building as the ability of one group (NGOs) to strengthen the development abilities of another group (local communities) through education, skill training and organizational support. Capacity building is a strategy used to develop not a set of pre-determined activities. There is no single way to the build capacity of an individual or groups of individuals. Although experience tells us that there is a need to work across the key action areas, practitioners approach each situation separately to identify pre-existing capacities and develop strategies particular to a program or organization, in its time and place. Before beginning to build capacity within programs, practitioners need to identify pre-existing capacities such as skills, structures, partnerships and resources. Frankish (2003) has counted a number of dimensions for community capacity including financial capacity (resources, opportunities and knowledge), human resources (skills, motivations, confidence, and relational abilities and trust) and social resources (networks, participation structures, shared trust and bonding). UNDP (1997-2009) has introduced capacity building as the process by which individuals, groups, and organizations increase their abilities to first, perform core functions, solve problems, define and achieve objectives; and second, understand and deal with their development needs in a broad context and in a sustainable manner. NGOs, through the provision of education, skills and knowledge, develop the capacity of community towards achieving sustainable development. In fact, NGOs act as a capacity builder to help the communities to develop the resources, building awareness, motivating to participation in project and finally improving the quality of communitys lives. Inger Ulleberg (2009) has supported the view that NGOs play important role through the provision of skills for the rural poor. He has maintained that through capacity building, NGOs have been able to reach the poor, and has contributed to the development of the beneficiaries through skills training, the given of technical advice, exchange of experiences, research and policy advice which is key to todays development. Through the case study of Afghanistan NGOs, it suggested that these areas of interest have yielded fruit for the intended beneficiaries. The activities have usually strengthened the skills of individuals, as it was intended but have not always succeeded in improving the effectiveness of the ministries and other organizations where those individuals are working. This according to Kpaka (2007) considered it as a failure on the part of the implementers because of improper allocation of stratetigies and argues that they failed because of poor planning and poor implementation strategy. 2.3.NGOs ROLES OF SELF-RELIANCE AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT A STRATEGY FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION Self-reliance is another strategy that affects sustainable community development. Effective community development sits on the foundation of self-reliance. The concept of self-reliance is strategically situated within the essence of community development and is related to other concepts like mutual-help, self-help, participation of the indigenous people and rural progress. Self-reliance encourages the necessity for people to use local initiatives, their abilities and their own possessions to improve their condition. Fonchingong and Fonjong (2002) have pointed out that self-reliance is increasingly being adopted as modus operandi for community development. Therefore, to attain self-reliance, NGOs and community groups must discover their own potential and look for ways to innovatively develop such discovered potential to use as sources of wealth for the development of the community (Ife and Tesoriero 2006). Motivating and mobilizing people to be self-reliant and to participate in development activities become an important objective of the NGOs. According to Kelly (1992), self-reliance means that the people rely on their own resources and are independent of funds sourced outside the community. Self-reliant strategy relies on the willingness and ability of the local people to depend on their own available resources and technology which they can control and manage. A self-reliant strategy requires the optional use of all available human, natural and technological resources (Agere 1982). Although dependence on the state maybe desirable in the short term, it should not be a long term objective, because the aim of the community development must ultimately be self-reliance. Mansaray (1982) has maintained that reliance on external resources will lead to the loss of autonomy and independence of the community, therefore communities should be bound to carry out autonomous programmes. This according to him, autonomous communities can flourish only in the absence of such external dependency. According to Korten (1990), the second strategy of the NGOs focuses on developing the capacities of the people to better meet their own needs through self-reliant local action. In the second generation strategy, Korten (1990) mentioned that the local inertia is the heart of problem in a village or community. There is a potential energy in a community but remains inactive because of the inertia of tradition, isolation and lack of education. But this unwillingness on the part of the local beneficiaries can be broken through the intervention of an outside change agent, who supposedly are to be NGOs, whose role is to who help the community realize its potentials through education, organization, consciousness raising, small loans and the introduction of simple new technologies. It is the stress on local self-reliance, with the intent that benefits will be sustained by community self-help action beyond the period of NGO assistance (Korten 1990). Therefore, NGOs, through the strategy of self-reliance, has facilitated sustainable development of the community through its participation in the community actives, project sponsorship, monitoring and evaluation processes. 2.4. NGOS PEACE BUILDING ROLE A STRATEGY FOR POVERTY FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION NGOs roles are extended to peace building in Africa. The crucial role played by NGOs in the restoration of peace in war affected zones, is one seen as important. Many African countries have witnessed war and are still going through the trauma of war. Countries like Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola, Somalia and many are witnesses of NGOs intervention in peace building. From the evidence of the current conflict in Afghanistan, Richard Barajas, Rachel Howard, Andrew Miner Jeff Sartin, Karina Silver (2000), have maintained that NGOs can play peace building roles. The presence of NGOs in Afghanistan according to them have led to the restoration of fair peace as their propagation of the human rights law, and their involvement in the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes, is fostering cooperation among the warlords. I am in total agreement with them. The role of Peace Wing in Sierra Leone, for instance, justify the effectiveness of peace building NGOs through their organizat ional strategies which was able to bring the rebels out of the bush and negotiating between the government and war factions to negotiate a peace talk rather using guns and bullets to cease war. 2.5. NGOs HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE/RELIEF SERVICES ROLES FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION The provision of food and non-food items during emergency periods and war time and other disasters periods, often see NGOs functions as important one. The provision of these items is short run but very significance in alleviating poverty. According to Kpaka (2007), humanitarian assistance is a fastest means to fight poverty and ensure sustainability in todays society. During emergency period, governments are unable to settle their displaced and refugee population, because of inadequacies of resources. As a result of the shortcoming of the government, the issue of NGOs influx into a country becomes unquestionable Kpaka (2007). Conflict and other disasters that occurred in society always left a strong poverty bench mark. During these conflicting periods, lives, properties, and physical infrastructures, diseases, and other hazardous issues are left as strong legacy in our society. To remedy these legacies, Humanitarian NGOs have different strategies to implement their relief programmes. Generally, the roles of NGOs are still debatable as many sees their roles as positive and others sees these roles as not proper. It has been noted that, NGO contributions in poverty reduction are limited. Edwards Hulme (1995:6) stated that it is difficult to find general evidence that NGOs are close to the poor. There is growing evidence that in terms of poverty reduction, NGOs do not perform as effectively as had been usually assumed by many agencies. More specific evidence is provided by Riddell and Robinson (1995) who conducted a case study on sixteen NGOs undertaken in four countries in Asia and Africa. They found that while NGO projects reach the poor people, they tend not to reach down to the very poorest. NGO projects also tend to be small scale. The total numbers assisted are also small. Furthermore, it is also rare for NGO projects to be financially self sufficient. Finally, although NGOs execute a number of very imaginative projects, many of them appear to be unwilling to innovate in certain areas or activities. Therefore, because of these limitations, the roles of NGOs in alleviating poverty cannot be exaggerated. 2.6. CONCLUTION The literature established the important roles played by of NGOs in the fight against poverty through micro-finance, capacity building, self-reliance, peace building, sustainable community development, and empowerment especially womens empowerment all aiming at poverty alleviation. NGOs through the micro-finance help members of community to access jobs, income-generation and improve economic situation there by alleviating poverty from the poor. And then they would become empowered economically. NGOs developed the capacities of community such as skills, abilities, knowledge, assets and motivates the community to participate in the project to improve the quality of their lives. NGOs act as capacity builders that help the community to achieve the empowerment particularly individual empowerment. Since the philosophy of community development is independent from any outside agents, thus the community must rely on their own resources. NGOs do assist the community to discover their potentials and also mobilize community to be self-reliant. Therefore, the final outcome of community development is the independence of the community from external agents in formulating its agenda and managing its affairs. This process involves capacity building, where people get involved in human capital training, transferring of authority from donor to recipient and receive supports from stakeholders (World Bank group 1999). When people become fully empowered, they are able to contribute toward sustainable development (Lyons et al. 2001). Therefore, NGOs through some programs and functions, such as microfinance, capacity building and self-reliance help community to be empowered, and finally contribute towards sustainable community development. However, though many dont see a need for NGOs in the fight against poverty alleviation in Sub-Saharan Africa, I strongly believed that presence in black Africa is importance. Their strategies and approaches they use to fight this disease is one that should not be neglected. Having looked into all the literature NGOs, in the next chapter, researcher will be discussing the strategies adopted by some NGOs in the fight against poverty.

An Analysis of Up in Michigan Essay -- Up in Michigan Essays

An Analysis of Up in Michigan My choosing this story for an analysis is based on what I think is the very American feeling there is to this short story. The title alone has this American ring to it: Up in Michigan. From the start settling the story deep into the soil of the country. The title seems like the beginning of an old tale, once upon a time up in Michigan†¦it ends there and propels the "unfinished", never settled way of the story along. And at the same time it signifies that this is just another story, told a hundred times before. The story is set in a very small town, which plays a great role in the way the characters interact with one another. The two main characters of the story get presented each in their little paragraph in the beginning of the story. Their way of meeting each other is, one gets the feeling, not by chance, but rather because the town is so small that they could never avoid meeting each other. A phrase like "One day she found that she liked it he way the hair was black †¦"(p.59) indicates that the girl Liz' falling in love with Jim the blacksmith is not the falling in love of a metropolitan person who is marked by the many choices of a bigger environment. Liz's love or interest in Jim comes from there being no other it seems and so with time she has developed an interest in him that is totally based on a picture she makes of him in her mind. What is significant here is the obvious difference in the way the two characters are described by Hemingway. Liz likes Jim very much; Jim just likes her face. She thinks about him all the time; he never thinks of her. There is a basic unbalan... ... the death of a young girls dreams, it is at the same time the initiation of a life. It is the simple act of growing up, moving into another world, where nothing is as you dream it will be. Where bitterness is an unescapeable part of your life. Where your hair can not always be neat and your clothes might get dirty sometimes. The fact that Jim lies unconscious on the dock as if he now has the role of the dead buck, just emphasizes Liz coming to consciousness about her own life. She rises from the battlefield like a heroine, at first she shakes Jim in the fainting hope that there might be a way to get back. ("†¦shook him once more just to make sure"), but then realizing her fate she stoically takes of her coat and as an imitation of the Pieta-figure puts her coat over her past life, that in the figure of the drunken Jim, has passed away.

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Christopher Columbus, reflecting on his voyage which led him to the discovery of America, said, "Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World." I am sure that after four years of high school, we have all formed our own opinion of Christopher Columbus - especially if you had Mrs. Powers - but whether you view him as a genocidal rogue or the first American Hero, I find his quote fitting for where we stand today. As we set sail, leaving behind the Old World of Coleman High School, there are many things that I am sure none of us will miss. We will enter a world without Scholarly Papers or Culminating Exhibitions; a world where we can use our cell phones freely and urinate without the permission of our teacher. In the real world, Sareth won't throw away your lunch before you've taken your first bite. Of course, if you've made it this far - if you are graduating here tonight - there are surely things you will miss about this Old World as well. Maybe you'll miss coming to school early and being surprised by free hot chocolate, or that third period teacher who would always let you turn in your assignments late. It might be that coach that never let you quit and always pushed you to your limits, or that gorgeous girl (or guy) that you got to sit next to freshman year. It could be walking with your best friend to class everyday, or that giant excuse of a bear that sits in front of the cafeteria. Wha tever it may be, we will all leave this place with something that we will miss and cherish forever, even if we don't fully realize what that is today. We will also leave behind a number of beloved teachers, counselors, and other staff persons - many of whom have had huge impacts on getting us here tonight. We will surely miss the... ...ves: whose advice do we take - Martin Luther King Jr.'s or Homer J. Simpson's? Do we put our brooms in the closet of futility and go inside and watch TV, or do we take them out and sweep like no sweeper has ever swept before? No matter where our passage takes us, we must navigate it to the best of our abilities, or we will fail. In conclusion, I will leave you with one last thought from the founder and President of Habitat for Humanity, Millard Fuller, who put it best when he said: "It's not your blue blood, your pedigree or your college degree. It's what you do with your life that counts." I would like to thank you all and congratulate you for surviving four years of my speeches and suffering the pangs of my voice on the announcements nearly everyday this year - but you have heard my voice for the last time so clap loud. Let's graduate. Thank you and God Bless.

Determinism Vs. Free Will Essay -- Choices, God, Determinism

Many people often wonder what influences their choices, why they do the things they do, and why the world functions the way it does. Many like to argue that people make the choices they make because things are determined by nature and nurture, no other factors. Others like to argue that people have full control over the choices they make and there are no constraining factors. In this paper I will demonstrate that determinism is false and people are not typically determined by nature and nurture to perform the evil actions they do. I will identify what determinism is, the different forms of determinism, why people find it to be true, why I find it false, and show different examples of why. I will then go on to discuss free will, the different forms of free will, and why people do things out of free will. The definition of determinism â€Å"The world is governed by (or is under the sway of) determinism if and only if, given a specified way things are at a time t, the way things go thereafter is fixed as a matter of natural law.† The root of the philosophical idea is that everything can be explained or that everything has a reason for being and being as it is and nothing else. There are also different types of determinism that people believe in. Soft, hard, and casual determinism are the three different types of determinism. Soft determinist believe that free will is compatible with determinism. They believe in determinism, but believe free will can be present. â€Å"According to this soft determinism perspective, a person’s behavior may be caused by internal psychological states that, in turn have causes, but if no immediately pressing external agent affects the behavior, the person is said to have free will,† (Ogletree&Oberle, pg.98... ...Matile Ogletree and Crystal D. Oberle, Behavior and Philosophy , Vol. 36, (2008), pp. 97-111 The Problem of Evil and Moral Indifference,Tim Mawson, Religious Studies , Vol. 35, No. 3 (Sep., 1999), pp. 323-345 Hoefer, Carl, Hoefer,. "Causal Determinism." Stanford University. Stanford University, 23 Jan. 2003. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. McKenna, Michael, McKenna,. "Compatibilism." Stanford University. Stanford University, 26 Apr. 2004. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Moral Responsibility, Determinism, and the Ability to Do Otherwise, Peter Van Inwagen, The Journal of Ethics , Vol. 3, No. 4, The Contributions of Harry G. Frankfurt to Moral Responsibility Theory (1999), pp. 341-350 "Two-Stage Models for Free Will." Two-Stage Models for Free Will. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. The Organization of Evil, C. Fred Alford, Political Psychology , Vol. 11, No. 1 (Mar., 1990), pp. 5-27 Determinism Vs. Free Will Essay -- Choices, God, Determinism Many people often wonder what influences their choices, why they do the things they do, and why the world functions the way it does. Many like to argue that people make the choices they make because things are determined by nature and nurture, no other factors. Others like to argue that people have full control over the choices they make and there are no constraining factors. In this paper I will demonstrate that determinism is false and people are not typically determined by nature and nurture to perform the evil actions they do. I will identify what determinism is, the different forms of determinism, why people find it to be true, why I find it false, and show different examples of why. I will then go on to discuss free will, the different forms of free will, and why people do things out of free will. The definition of determinism â€Å"The world is governed by (or is under the sway of) determinism if and only if, given a specified way things are at a time t, the way things go thereafter is fixed as a matter of natural law.† The root of the philosophical idea is that everything can be explained or that everything has a reason for being and being as it is and nothing else. There are also different types of determinism that people believe in. Soft, hard, and casual determinism are the three different types of determinism. Soft determinist believe that free will is compatible with determinism. They believe in determinism, but believe free will can be present. â€Å"According to this soft determinism perspective, a person’s behavior may be caused by internal psychological states that, in turn have causes, but if no immediately pressing external agent affects the behavior, the person is said to have free will,† (Ogletree&Oberle, pg.98... ...Matile Ogletree and Crystal D. Oberle, Behavior and Philosophy , Vol. 36, (2008), pp. 97-111 The Problem of Evil and Moral Indifference,Tim Mawson, Religious Studies , Vol. 35, No. 3 (Sep., 1999), pp. 323-345 Hoefer, Carl, Hoefer,. "Causal Determinism." Stanford University. Stanford University, 23 Jan. 2003. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. McKenna, Michael, McKenna,. "Compatibilism." Stanford University. Stanford University, 26 Apr. 2004. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Moral Responsibility, Determinism, and the Ability to Do Otherwise, Peter Van Inwagen, The Journal of Ethics , Vol. 3, No. 4, The Contributions of Harry G. Frankfurt to Moral Responsibility Theory (1999), pp. 341-350 "Two-Stage Models for Free Will." Two-Stage Models for Free Will. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. The Organization of Evil, C. Fred Alford, Political Psychology , Vol. 11, No. 1 (Mar., 1990), pp. 5-27

From a Game of Polo with a Headless Goat Notes Essay

Form/ Text type & Purpose: Travel writing, to inform the reader of unknown tradition and concepts and introducing various issues. Levine chooses to explore this using sports and other traditional forms of entertainment. Audience: Emma Levine does not specify her targeted audience although she hopes to appeal to travelers. Not only does she write to inform travelers, her writing style suggests that she attempts to fulfill her reader’s general interests, promoting her travels and the choices they have. Techniques: Levine generally incorporates an informative tone throughout her narrative. Her narrative draws the reader in while providing factual information to satisfy external interest in various aspects of the culture she is exploring. The extract from â€Å"A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat† also consists of a large build up where Levine experiments with first hand pessimism but also includes reassurance. The extract’s pace is changed to build tension during and after the race. Paragraph 1-3 / Build up Paragraph 1 – Optimism, author promotes her own, Yaqoob and Iqbal’s excitement. ‘We’ll open the car boot †¦ we’ll join the cars.’ à   Brief description of what will happen and Levine’s expectations. Builds immediate excitement and enthusiasm for race and the reader’s expectation of instant action. Works effectively with Paragraph 2 – Contrast in tone between â€Å"The two lads†¦suddenly fired up with enthusiasm† in which Levine narrates the creation of new enthusiasm within locals (her guides) to reflect on the reader and the rest of the paragraph Use of â€Å"eternity† – hyperbole to exaggerate impatience and derived emotions such as boredom â€Å"the only action was †¦ gazed around at us.† Hopeless tone, at the point of giving up, is a let down to the reader The contrast emphasises the climax in paragraph 7 Paragraph 3 – Alternatively, Levine builds hope and optimism in paragraph three, â€Å"coming, coming† the locals replied Line 12: â€Å"I was beginning to lose faith†¦ lads remained confident† holds elements of first hand pessimism/ loss in faith and witnessed optimism in the form of reassurance. The effect creates suspense further building the impact of the Climax. Paragraph 4 & 5 / Climactic Beginning Paragraph 4 – Climax appears as an explosion of activity Choice of diction â€Å"revved† prominent v sound creates imagery and the impression of speed. Develops the moment of frisson Change in tone from narrative to informative and factual, now not narrating their journey but provoking the reader’s interest. â€Å"The Kibla donkey is said to reach speeds of up to 40kph† â€Å"Although not cruelly† at the end of paragraph four seems out of place, this is where Levine reveals that she is conscious of her effect on travelers and corrects the imagery she has introduced. She protects the culture and the tradition in order to promote the sport and the traditions. Paragraph 5 – Change in punctuation to speed up the pace of Levine’s writing, overall generating excitement. She begins to use lists and triads (â€Å"horns tooting, bells ringing, and the special rattles used just for this purpose†) and again incorporates an informative tone in order to introduce different aspects of culture. Long, disjo inted sentences imitate the excitement, pace and disorder of the event: â€Å"men standing on top of their cars and vans† Paragraph 6 / Levine Enters Race Use of analogies like â€Å"Formula One† (fast-paced, seemingly chaotic), â€Å"City center rush hour† relates to reader and creates understanding of speed and â€Å"anarchic† disorder. Paragraph 7 Illustrates danger in order to provoke different kind of excitement, â€Å"Survival of the fittest† à   Creates a life and death situation, introduces the animal, hunt theme. Choice of diction creates a sense of importance, desperation and danger. e.g. â€Å"Depended† creates a sense of necessity Animal theme: â€Å"sharp flicks† â€Å"quick reflexes† â€Å"nerves of steel† all phrases associate with an animal during a chase or a hunt. All instinctive. â€Å"Horn† could be interpreted as a pun – car horn or animal horn/ impression of danger, competition, tension even battle â€Å"Yaqoob loved it.† Tone is enthusiastic, describing the fun, excitement. Link to ending. â€Å"Growing more colourful† Euphemistic impression of tension Paragraph 8 / End of Race Levine describes scenery to reflect the atmosphere.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Road straightened and leveled† Tone is calmer, pace has been slowed, longer sentences, wider distribution of punctuation. Effective ending â€Å"The race was over.† Mixture of long sentences with short blunt ending implies immediate end of race and excitement. Paragraph 9 / Another Beginning â€Å"I assumed the winner was the one who completed the race but it was not seen that way by everyone.† Emphasis on alien culture and traditions, so exotic that even common reasoning differs. â€Å"Voices were raised, fists were out and tempers rising† Levine reuses lists and triads to speed up the pace, rebuild the excitement lost at the end of the race. Ending Irony, incorporated humour to reflect on the reality of the danger. Links back to â€Å"Yaqoob loved it.† Where the tone was still expressing shared enjoyment and fun, new realization and understanding is born to recreate an adapted impression of the entire extract.

Business Analysis and Valuation Exam Notes

Topic 7: NOA1=NOA0+OIt – (C1-I1) NFO1=NFO0+NFE1 – (C1-I1)+d1 NFA1=NFA0+NFI1 – (C1-I1)-d1 CSE1=CSE0+OI1 – NFE1 – d1 NI1=OI1 – NFE1 (C1-I1) = d1+F1 d1=div+ share buyback – share issues F=net purchases of FAs – interest on FAs – net issue of debt + Interest on debt d=C-I+NFI-NFA d=C-I-NFE+NFO FCF=OI-NOA (Method 1) FCF=NFA-NFI+d (Method 2) FCF=NFO+NFE+d CSE=NOA+NFA/(-NFO) CSE1=CSE0+Earnt-dt Net Operating Accruals = OI1 – C1 or NOA – I1 If C-I-i > d: lend or buy down debt. If C-I-i < d: borrow or reduce lending. The rate of return from investing in a firms’ stock is its holding period return. [(div+P1)/P0]. Topic 8:Reformulated CSE Statement CSE0 +Net transactions with s/holders +Share issues – Share buy backs – Dividends +Comprehensive Income +NI reported +/- securities avail. For sale +/- currency translations +/- hedging +/- prior earnings restatements CSE1 Table 8. 1 of Dirty Surplus Item s: OI Items Changes in accting for contingencies Additional minimum pension liability Tax benefits of loss carry-forwards acquires Tax benefits of dividends paid to ESOPs Unrealized gains and losses on equity securities avail. For sale Some adjustments of deferred tax valuation allowances funding status of pension plans Financing inc (or exp) itemsPreferred dividends Unrealized gains on losses on debt securities avail. For sale Operating or Financing inc items F. C. translation gains (losses) Gains(losses) on derivative instruments for hedging purposes Restatement of prior years’ income due to accting principles. Bal/sheet items to be reclassified Credits to s/holders’ equity for stock compensation exp. Dividends payable. Topic 9: Effective tax rate for operations Tax on OIOI before tax ReOI1=OI1 – ( – 1) NOA0 Operating PM from sales OI from Sales (after tax)Sales Net CI Margin = CI/Sales RNOA = OI/Ave. NOA NBC = NFE/Ave. NFO RNFA = NFI/Ave. NFA ROCE = Ea rn (CI)/Ave.CSE OLLEV = OL/NOA Capitalization Ratio = NOA/CSE FLEV = NFO/CSE SPREAD = RNOA – NBC Reformulated Bal/sheet FAs: Cash equivalents S/T investments S/T notes receivable* L/T debt investments FLs: S/T borrowings Current maturities on L/T debt S/T note payable* L/T borrowings Lease obligations Preferred stock OAs & OLs: All else Minority Interest CSE *notes are FA/Ls if they bear the mkt rate of interest. L/T equity investments are usually OAs if they are a >20% holding, recorded at mkt value if avail. for sale or, at cost if held to maturity. S/T equity/marketable investments are OAs if part of a trading portfolio.If used mop up excess cash = FA. Minority interest is a separate line item. And NOA – NFO = CSE + Minority Int. Reformulated Income Statement Net sales -Expenses to generate sales =OI from sales (before tax) -Tax on OI from sales +Tax as reported +Tax benefit from NFE – Tax allocated to other OI =OI from sales (after tax) Other OI (exp) requir ing tax alloc. Restructuring charges and asset impair. Merger exps Gains/Losses on asset sales Gains/Losses on security transactions -Tax on other OI After-tax operating items Equity share in subsidiary income Operating items in extraordinary inc Dirty surplus op. items in Table 8. Hidden dirty surplus op. items OI (after tax) -NFE (after tax) +Interest exp -Interest inc. Realized gains/losses on FAs =NFE before tax -Tax benefit from NFE =NFE after tax Gains/loss on debt retirement +unrealized holding loss D-S items in Table 8. 1 (incl. Pref. dividends) Hidden d-s financing items -Minority Interest =Comp. Income to common Topic 10: Reformulated CF Statement CF from operations +Reported cash from op. Net cash interest payments after tax – CF from investing +Reported cash from inv. +Liquidation of assets +Sale of assets +Maturities of assets – Purchases of Assets Working Cash =FCF from op. ctivities Net Dividends +Dividends +Share buy back – Share issue +Net Debt Financing Cash and Cash Equivalents + net payments to d/holders and issuers =Cash paid for financing activities Topic 11: ROCE = RNOA+[FLEV(RNOA-NBC)] Implicit int. on OL= S/T borrowing rate (after tax) OL ROOA=OI+Implicit Int. (aft. tax)OA RNOA=ROOA+(OLLEVOLSPREAD)OLSPREAD = ROOA – S/T borrowing rate (after tax) ROA=NI+Int Exp (aft. tax)Ave Total Assets Minority interest is added to numerator if any. 2 Drivers of RNOA: RNOA = PM ATO PM = OI (aft. Tax)/Sales ATO = Sales/NOA (usually expressed as 1/ATO) PM Drivers: PM = Sales PM + other items PMSales PM=Gross margin ratio – Exp ratios =GMsales-Admin. expsales-Sell. expsales-R&Dsales-Operating taxessales Other Op. items PM=subsidiary incsales+other equity incsales+Special itemssales+other gains and lossessales Drivers of ATO (1/ATO) can be broken down into ratios for the individual assets and liabilities. Drivers of NBC is calculated from the weighted average of the costs for different sources of net financing. NBC=FONFO ? aft. tax int. on FOFO-FANFO? aft. tax on FAFA-FANFO? Unrealized gains on FAFA+Pref. stockNFO? Pref. DivPref. stock+†¦ Topic 12: OI = Core OI from sales + Core Other OI + Unusual ItemsRNOA=Core OI from SalesNOA+Core other OINOA+UINOA Core OI from salesNOA=Core sales PM? ATO=Core OI from salesSales? SalesATO NBC=Core NFENFO+UFENFO RNOA1=(core sales PM1ATO0) +(ATO1Core Sales PM1) +(core other OI/NOA)+ (UI/NOA) Changes in core sales PM are driven by variable and fixed costs. Sales PM = (Sales – VC – FC)/Sales Contribution Margin Ratio = 1 – (VC/Sales) OLEV=CM ratio/PM %Core OI=OLEV%Core sales CSE1=(sales11/ATO0) +[(1/ATO1)Sales1] – NFO1 Reformulated OI Core OI Core Sales Rev. Core CoS = Core GM Core Op. Exp. = Core OI from sales bef. Tax Tax on core OI from sales +Tax as reported +Tax benefit from NFETax alloc To core other OI Tax alloc to UI = Core OI from sales + Core other OI + Equity income in subsidiaries + Earnings on pension assets + Other conti nuing inc not from sales Tax on core other OI = Core OI Unusual Items Special charges Special liability accruals Nonrecurring items Asset write-downs estimates Start-up costs expensed P/L from asset sales Restructuring charges P/L from discon operations Extraordinary op items Accounting charges Unrealized g/l on equity investments Gains from share issues Currency gains and losses Derivative g/l (operations) Tax allocated to unusual items = Comprehensive OI Topic 13: Earnings component: i) Operating income (ii) Net financial expense (iii) Earnings Book value component: (i) NOA (ii) NFO (iii) CSE Residual Earnings measure: (i) ReOI1 = OI1 – (F – 1) NOA0 (ii) ReNFE1 = NFE1 – (D – 1) NFO0 (iii) RE1 = Earn1 – (E – 1) CSE0 Value of NFO: V0NFO=NFO+ReNFET? D+CVT? DT Value of NOA: V0NOA=NOA0+ReOIT? F+CVT? FT Value of Equity: V0E=CSE0+ReOIT? F+CVT? FT NFO is usually measured at market value. Therefore forecasted ReNFE are zero. Usually: VoE=V0NOA-V0NF O But with ReNFE = 0, VE = VNOA Drivers of RE: RE1 = [ROCE1 – (E – 1)] CSE0 (1) amount of s/holders’ investment (2) rate of return on investment relative to E.Drivers of ReOI: ReOI1 = [RNOA1 – (F – 1)] NOA0 (1) amount of NOA put in place (2) profitability of assets relative to F. Drivers of ReNFE: ReNFE1 = [NBC1 – (D – 1)] NFO0 (1) amount of net financial debt (2) NBC relative to D. AEG Measure (i) AOIG=[OI1 + (F – 1)FCF0] – FOI0 (ii) ANFEG=[NFE1+(D – 1)F0] – DNFE0 (iii) AEG=[Earn1+(E-1)d0] – EEarn0 V0NOA=1? F-1OI1+AOIGT? F Cost of capital: ?E=? F+VoDV0E? F-? D P/B Ratio: V0ECSE0=V0NOANOA0+NFO0CSE0V0NOANOA0-1 Forward P/E ratio: V0EEarn1=V0NOAOI1+ELEV1V0NOAOI1-1NBC1 ELEV = NFE/Earnings Trailing P/E ratio: V0E+d0Earn0=V0NOA+FCF0OI0 +ELEV0V0NOA+FCF0OI0-1NBC0-1