Essay about Shakespeares Sonnet 30 and Tennysons In...

Loss has been experienced over centuries and many poets have written on the subject. William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 30 and Alfred Lord Tennyson’s In Memoriam are two poems from different eras that express the idea of loss. Both were written after the loss of a close male friend, and both are only one poem from a series of poems. Shakespeare lived in England where he was born in 1564 and died in 1616 and Tennyson also lived in England where he was born in 1809 and died in 1892, the poems being written in 1609 and between 1833 and 1850 respectively. Whilst the poet’s historical and cultural contexts are different, and there are differences in structure and poetic devices used in the two poems, there are also similarities in the expression and†¦show more content†¦Also during this era, many people were questioning their religious beliefs. In Memoriam has been said to reflect the Victorian feelings. (Victorian Contexts, class notes: page 102) This era influenc ed Tennyson along with his poor mental state, it also mediates on the Victorians’ deepest concerns about religious doubt, such as death, creation and evolution. In Memoriam touches on many intellectual issues and the poet searches for the meaning of life and death while trying to come to terms with his sense of loss. (Victorian Context, class notes: page 110) In Memoriam reflects the struggle to reconcile traditional religious beliefs and faith which was a popular Victorian aspect of literature at the time. The poem shows the development over three years of Tennyson’s acceptance and understanding of his friend’s death. (Robson, W., 2013) With this cultural context, In Memoriam could be seen to be written in a time of advancement and hope, however this contradicts the theme of loss of the poem. The purpose of both poems is similar, both are about the loss of a male friend. The loss in Sonnet 30 is about the loss of a possible lover and the speaker is grieving this love. An example of the friendship is â€Å"And with old woes new wail my dear time’s waste† this can be translated that he his sorrowful that

Native American Movement Free Essays

To most experts, the 1950’s was a defining period for the Americans; one which saw the emergence of the United States as a global superpower, whose clout and influence extended to the far reaches of the globe. America’s glorious victory in World War II has paved the way for a leadership role that the United States took to with effortless skill. This newfound sense of economic and political power changed the lay of America’s land. We will write a custom essay sample on Native American Movement or any similar topic only for you Order Now While World War II ended successfully for the United States, its end meant the beginning of a new struggle for the Americans, or to be more accurate, the continuation of a struggle that started when the Pioneers first settled in America. The Native Americans, as first settlers of the United States before it was called as such, have always been reluctant to welcome the Pioneers. This has led to several violent battles, but eventually to an uneasy compromise. This tenuous peace was threatened once again after the war, as renewed prosperity encouraged the United States government to attempt the re-assimilation of the Native Americans into mainstream society. This brought about an upheaval among Native Americans as they considered this move a threat to their culture and way of living which they have furiously fought for. Most of the uprooted Native Americans were unable to adapt to urban life, and ended up worse than where they started. Clearly while the United State government meant well, the move to urbanize Native Americans failed miserably. The 1960’s brought with it a legacy of â€Å"assimilation and cultural legitimization† (Benham, 2002, 3), and it left on its heels a nation of Native Americans who are more aware of their rights and became more assertive in pushing for those rights. The 1960’s saw the Native American Movement taking off led by a new generation of well-educated leaders fighting to restore Native Americans lands that have been taken away from them. All across the United States, these Native American leaders disputed violations and successfully negotiated for expanded rights for the American Indians. This movement culminated in the establishment of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in 1968 which was founded with the initial purpose of placing state-mandated subsidies in the hands of locally-controlled American Indian organizations, and then channel these funds to Native Indians who needed them the most. However, in the 1970’s the American Indian Movement evolved into a secessionist group which aggressively promoted â€Å"self-governance and return to tribal ways† (Patterson et al, 2005, 77) This fervor spread like wildfire across the United States. American Indians took their cause to the streets, to the courts, to the media, and to all other possible venues where they can express their indignation and press for their rights. In an effort to recover ancestral land, they sued the states that have forcibly taken American Indian territories. They have also been able to protect their land against development. Needless to say, all of these militant protests paid off, with the government granting them concessions. In the 1970’s, there was a succession of legislation passed ensuring better treatment for the Native Americans. In 1972, the Indian Education Act gave Native American greater options over the schools that they can choose to send their children. In 1976, the Indian Health Care Act was passed to provide better health care for American Indians. In 1978, in acknowledgement of Native Indian ways, the Indian Child Welfare Act was enacted which gave Indian tribes the authority to deliberate and decide custody issues involving Indian children. (Mintz, 2007) Indeed the late 1960s and early 1970s was a period of political enlightenment and activism, not just among Native Americans, but among disenfranchised groups such as the African Americans and women’s rights groups. In the case of the Native Americans, the activism was spurred by poverty and lack of support from the government. By the 1960s, while most of the United States was experiencing prosperity, American Indians have remained among the poorest of the country’s minority groups, and the government has remained largely indifferent to their plight. This resurgence in Native American Nationalism resulted in armed confrontations and death, but it managed to bring desired results as well. Sometimes it does take militant action to compel a government to pay attention and take action. Other Americans, who did not know any better, became more aware of Native Americans and their plights, and some became active supporters to their cause. Elected officials such as senators and congressmen were compelled to support legislation that protected the rights of the American Indians and ensured their equal protection. Indeed it might be said that the Native American movement was a movement that has been a long time in the making. But when it did take place, it did so at the best possible time. The movement came at a time when Americans were becoming aware of the rights of others, and thus American society was only too willing to heed the call of a people who have been in the land long before anyone else did. References: Benham, K.P. (2002). The Renaissance of American Indian Higher Education: Capturing the Dream. Edited by Wayne J. Stein. NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. P. 3. Mintz, S. (2007). America in Ferment: The Tumultuous 1960s. The Native American Power Movement. Digital History. Retrieved October 10, 2007 from http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=387 Patterson, J. T., et al. (2005). The Oxford history of the United States. Oxford University Press. p. 77.    How to cite Native American Movement, Essay examples

Censorship Of The Net Essay Example For Students

Censorship Of The Net Essay As a professional Internet publisher and avid user of the Internet, I have become concerned with laws like the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA) that censor free speech on the Internet. By approving the CDA, Congress has established a precedent which condones censorship regulations for the Internet similar to those that exist for traditional broadcast media. Treating the Internet like broadcast media is a grave mistake because the Internet is unlike any information medium that has been created. My concerns about Internet censorship prompted me to write Internet Censorship is Absurd and Unconstitutional. In the essay, I outline why I believe that the Internet should not be censored in any way for two reasons. First, any law advocating censorship of the Internet is too broad and unenforceable on this global information medium. Second, Internet censorship is a breach of First Amendment rights for those users residing in the United States. The essay will provide insight into why self regulation is the only viable solution to the problems that have and will be presented to the Internet. Should it be illegal to publish literature with indecent content on the Internet but perfectly legal to publish that same work in print? This question has spawned the debate over Internet censorship, which is currently raging in the United States Congress as well as in other political forums around the world. The question as to whether the Internet should be censored will continue to be debated for many years to come. As with any political topic, the debate over Internet censorship has its extremes. Many proponents of Internet censorship want strict control over this new information medium. Proponents of Internet censorship such as Senator Jim Exon (D-NE), co-author of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), are in favor of putting strict laws into place regulating the Internet in order to protect children: The Decency Act stands for the premise that it is wrong to provide pornography to children on computers just as it is wrong to do it on a street corner or anywhere else (Exon). Thes e proponents suggest creating laws for the Internet similar to those now in place for television and radio. Those strongly opposing Internet regulations, such as the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition (CIEC), assert that the Internet is not like a television and should not be regulated like one. Both sides base their respective arguments on how they view the new information medium. Though the laws that Congress are proposing to regulate the Internet are well intentioned, I strongly believe that the Internet should not be censored because any law encroaching on the peoples right to free speech is a obvious breach of First Amendment rights and because laws limiting Internet speech are too broad and unenforceable on this global medium. To understand why legislators are attempting to censor the Internet despite the fact that it is absurd and Unconstitutional, one must first understand how the Internet came to be and how it conceptually works. According to Internet historian Dave Kr istula, the first inklings of the Internet began in the United States in 1969 as a network of four servers called the APRANET. ARPA (the Advanced Research Projects Agency), a division of the Department of Defense, created the ARPANET for military research so that the information on the network would be decentralized and could survive a nuclear strike. The network continued to grow in size and speed as technology increased over the next two decades. Standards began to set in such as the TCP/IP protocol for network transmission of data. By 1990 the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) had been created to standardize the way in which Internet documents are sent and received (Kristula). By 1994, the APRANET was disbanded, and the Internet became a public network connecting more than 3,000,000 computers together worldwide. Commercial organizations began to offer services over the Internet such as online ordering of pizzas (Kristula). At present, millions of companies are now online offerin g products and services such as software, hardware, books, games and adult oriented photographs. Though estimates vary, the consensus is that the amount of providers and users of the Internet has nearly doubled each year since 1987 (Kristula). Since the Internet grew into

Staff Nurse Appraisal free essay sample

There is a greater chance that the performance appraisal will have a positive outcome if certain conditions are present before, during, and after the interview. Before the Interview * Make sure that the conditions mentioned previously have been met (e. g. , the employee knows the standard by which his or her work will be evaluated), and she has a copy of the appraisal form. Select an appropriate time for the appraisal conference. We will write a custom essay sample on Staff Nurse Appraisal or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page * Be prepared mentally and emotionally for the conference yourself. * Schedule uninterrupted interview time. * Plan a seating arrangement that reflects collegiality rather than power (placing the chairs side by side) During the Interview * Greet the employee warmly, showing that the manager and the organization have a sincere interest in his or her growth. * Begin the conference on a pleasant, informal note. Ask the employee to comment on his or her progress since the last performance appraisal. * Avoid surprises in the appraisal conference. * Use coaching techniques throughout the conference. * When dealing with an employee who has several problems select the major ones. * Listen carefully to what the employee has to say. Focus on the employee’s performance and not on his or her personal characteristics. * When delivering performance feedback, be straightforward and state concerns directly. Never threaten, intimidate, or use status in any manner * Let the employee know that the organization and the manager are aware of his or her uniqueness, special interests, and valuable contributions to the unit. * Use terms and language that are clearly understood and carry the same meaning for both parties. Avoid words that have a negative connotation. * Mutually set goals for further growth or improvement in the employee’s performance. Plan on being available for employees to return retrospectively to discuss the appraisal review further. After the Interview Both the manager and employee need to sign the appraisal form to document that the conference was held and that the employee received the appraisal information * End the interview on a pleasant note. * Document the goals for further development that have been agreed on by both parties. * If the interview reveals specific long-term coaching needs, the manager should develop a method of follow-up to ensure that such coaching takes place. Reference: Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing Theory and Application.

The Oppressors and Heretics of Animal Farm

The Oppressors and Heretics of Animal Farm Free Online Research Papers Animal Farm is a political allegory written by George Orwell and about the animals taking over the farm, which was originally owned by a human. Albert Camus quoted, â€Å"Every revolutionary ends up either by becoming an oppressor or a heretic.† There are always two types of revolutionaries: revolutionaries who want to have power and revolutionaries who just want the happiness of people. Camus’s quote is very true, because there are great examples like Napoleon, Snowball and the other animals in this book. In Animal Farm, Napoleon and the pigs became oppressors and Snowball and the other animals became heretics. The quote by Albert Camus explains that a revolutionary could become an oppressor. In Animal Farm, Napoleon and the pigs became oppressors. There are many evidences in the book. After the rebellion, all animals had to work in the farm and fields. However, the pigs believed that they were the smartest among all the other animals, so they insisted that they should not work in order to work with their brain for Animal Farm, which they said is very tiring. Also, when the cows had to be milked, the pigs milked them and drank the product themselves, not sharing with the other animals. In addition, apples were reserved for the pigs only. After Napoleon became the leader of the Animal Farm with Snowball, Napoleon wanted to have the whole control of the Animal Farm to himself. So Napoleon used his privately raised dogs to run after Snowball and expelled him. After Snowball got expelled, Napoleon began the windmill plan, which was originally planned by Snowball, even though he was against it w hen Snowball came up with this idea. Also, he oppressed other animals to fulfill his desire. He executed the hens and other animals for contacting with Snowball. As the time pass, he became more and more like humans. For example, he drank alcohols that he got from selling Boxer to the horse slaughterer. The next day, he got a hung over and the pigs thought that Napoleon was dying. They began to get used to Mr. Jones’s possessions. They slept in beds and wore clothes which weren’t allowed by the original seven commandments. However, the pigs began to change the seven commandments. At the end, the commandments became â€Å"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others,† which actually means that the pigs are better than other animals. The pigs abused their power for their own good. The quote by Albert Camus also explains that a revolutionary could end up becoming a heretic. Even though all pigs abused their power, Snowball was way better than the other pigs. He ended up becoming a heretic. There are various evidences of Snowball becoming a heretic. He worked very hard for the animals and didn’t abuse his power compared to Napoleon and the other pigs. For instance, he flung himself to Mr. Jones during the battle of Cowshed even though he got shot by Mr. Jones and got a bloody streak on his back. Also, he planned the windmill project so that the animals could have better lives. However, Napoleon expelled him by abusing his power. He made fierce dogs chase Snowball out of the farm, which was unfair for Snowball. Napoleon made the animals think that Snowball was an awful leader, even though what Snowball did was to make the Animal Farm better. Other than the pigs, there are many revolutionaries behind the rebellion. Most of the animals participated in the rebellion against Mr. Jones. After the rebellion, they all worked very hard for their farm. They had to harvest rice and work on the windmill project. Among all the animals, Boxer was the hardest working animal in the farm. His two personal mottos were â€Å"Napoleon is always right† and â€Å"I will always work harder.† Boxer came out to work an hour earlier than other animals and went back to the farm an hour or more later than others. One day, he worked to his limit and collapsed. The pigs told the animals that Boxer was being sent to a hospital, but they were actually selling him to a horse slaughterer. Benjamin, a close friend of Boxer, knew that he was sent to a horse slaughter but he couldn’t do anything. Boxer was the hardest working animal in the farm, but was sent to a horse slaughter instead of getting compensation. In conclusion, Napoleon and the pigs abused the power for their own good and Snowball and other animals did not. Therefore, animals except the pigs were working really hard and starving, not enjoying the fact that Mr. Jones is not ruling them. Just like Albert Camus quoted, every revolutionary in the Animal Farm became either an oppressor or a heretic. The animals should have found a way that every animal could be happy an enjoying their lives. Research Papers on The Oppressors and Heretics of Animal FarmGenetic EngineeringNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceThe Spring and AutumnHip-Hop is ArtEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenQuebec and Canada19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraDefinition of Export QuotasBringing Democracy to AfricaAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2

Siege of Acre in the Crusades

Siege of Acre in the Crusades Siege of Acre - Dates Conflict: The Siege of Acre took place August 28, 1189 to July 12, 1191, during the Third Crusade (1189-1192). Commanders Crusaders Guy of LusignanRobert de SableGerard de RidefortRichard the LionheartPhilip Augustus Ayyubids Saladin Siege of Acre - Background: In the wake of his stunning victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1187, Saladin swept through the Holy Land capturing Crusader garrisons. This culminated with the successful Siege of Jerusalem that October. One of the few Crusader cities to withstand Saladins efforts was Tyre which was administered by Conrad of Montferrat. Unable to take Tyre by force, Saladin attempted to obtain it through negotiation and treaties. Among the items he offered was the King of Jerusalem, Guy of Lusignan, who had been captured at Hattin. Conrad resisted these entreaties, though Guy was ultimately released. Approaching Tyre, Guy was refused admission by Conrad as the two had argued over the formers ascension to the throne. Returning with his wife, Queen Sibylla, who held legal title to the kingdom, Guy again was refused entry. Lacking options, Guy established a camp outside of Tyre to await reinforcements from Europe who were responding to the call for a Third Crusade. These arrived in 1188 and 1189 in the form of troops from Sicily and Pisa. Though Guy was able to sway these two groups into his camp, he was unable to come to an accord with Conrad. Requiring a base from which to attack Saladin, he moved south to Acre. Opening Stages: One of the most heavily fortified cities in the region, Acre was located on the Gulf of Haifa and was protected by large double walls and towers. Arriving on August 28, 1189, Guy immediately moved to assault the city despite the fact that the garrison was twice the size of his army while Sicilian ships began a blockade offshore. This attack was easily defeated by the Muslim troops and Guy began a siege of the city. He was soon reinforced by a variety of soldiers arriving from Europe as well as by a Danish and Frisian fleet which relieved the Sicilians. The Battle of Acre: Among the arrivals was Louis of Thuringia who convinced Conrad to provide military aid. This development concerned Saladin and he moved to strike Guys camp on September 15. This attack was repulsed though the Muslim army remained in the area. On October 4, Saladin again approached the city and began the Battle of Acre. In a day of bloody fighting, the strategic situation changed little as he was unable to dislodge the Crusaders from in front of the city. As the autumn passed, word reached Acre that Frederick I Barbarossa was marching to the Holy Land with a large army. The Siege Continues: Seeking to end the standoff, Saladin increased the size of his army and laid siege to the Crusaders. As the double siege ensued, the two sides contested control of the waters off Acre. This saw both sides exert control for period which allowed additional supplies to reach the city and the Crusader camp. On May 5, 1190, the Crusaders attacked the city but achieved little. Responding, Saladin launched a massive eight-day attack on the Crusaders two weeks later. This was thrown back and through the summer additional reinforcements arrived to bolster the Crusader ranks. Though their numbers were increasing, conditions in the Crusader camp were deteriorating as food and clean water were limited. Through 1190, disease ran rampant killing both soldiers and nobles. Among those who died was Queen Sibylla. Her death reignited the succession debate between Guy and Conrad leading to increased dissention in the Crusader ranks. Sealed in on land by Saladins army, the Crusaders suffered through the winter of 1190-1191 as the weather prevented receiving reinforcements and supplies by sea. Attacking the city on December 31 and again on January 6, the Crusaders were again turned back. The Tide Turns: On February 13, Saladin attacked and succeeded in fighting his way through to the city. Though the Crusaders ultimately sealed the breach, the Muslim leader was able to replenish the garrison. As the weather improved, supply ships began reaching the Crusaders at Acre. Along with fresh provisions, they brought additional troops under the command of Duke Leopold V of Austria. They also brought word that King Richard I the Lionheart of England and King Philip II Augustus were en route with two armies. Arriving with a Genoese fleet on April 20, Philip began constructing siege engines for assaulting Acres walls. He was joined on June 8 by Richard who landed with 8,000 men. Richard initially sought a meeting with Saladin, though this was cancelled when the English leader fell ill. Effectively taking control of the siege, Richard pounded away at Acres walls, but attempts to exploit the damage were thwarted by diversionary attacks by Saladin. These allowed the citys defenders to make needed repairs while the Crusaders were otherwise occupied. On July 3, a major breach was created in Acres walls, but the subsequent assault was repulsed. Seeing little alternative, the garrison offered to surrender on July 4. This offer was refused by Richard who rejected the terms offered by the garrison. Additional efforts on Saladins part to relieve the city failed and following a major battle on July 11, the garrison again offered to surrender. This was accepted and the Crusaders entered the city. In victory, Conrad had the banners of Jerusalem, England, France, and Austria raised over the city. Aftermath of the Siege of Acre: In the wake of the citys capture, the Crusaders began quarreling amongst themselves. This saw Leopold return to Austria after Richard and Philip, both kings, refused to treat him as an equal. On July 31, Philip also departed to settle pressing issues in France. As a result, Richard was left in sole command of the Crusader army. Crushed by the citys surrender, Saladin began gathering resources to ransom the garrison and conduct a prisoner exchange. Displeased by the exclusion of certain Christian nobles, Richard refused Saladins first payment on August 11. Further talks were broken off and on August 20, feeling that Saladin was delaying, Richard ordered 2,700 prisoners executed. Saladin retaliated in kind, killing those Christian prisoners in his possession. Departing Acre on August 22 with the army, Richard moved south with the intention of capturing Jaffa. Pursued by Saladin, the two fought the Battle of Arsuf on September 7 with Richard achieving a victory. Selected Sources History of War: Siege of AcreHistoryNet: Siege of Acre Medieval Sourcebook: Siege and Capture of Acre

Financial Accounting Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Financial Accounting - Coursework Example It was also decided that the auditors would also have to follow the International Standards of Auditing (ISA), so that it would be easier to analyze the financial statements of the company on a global platform. The objective of this study is to discuss the improvement in the quality of information that users of financial statement get in IAS environment. Developing a strong accounting system is of significant importance because ability of the investors and the banks to calculate and assess the financial strengths and the performances of the companies depends on the transparent corporate accounting system. There should be mandatory consolidation of accounts along with the subsidiary accounts for ascertaining the true profitability. There was lack of segmented reporting of income, other disclosures, extent of deferred tax liabilities, etc. These were few reasons for which a common accounting standard was introduced. The Regulatory Framework for Financial Reporting All the companies in UK have to comply with the company laws regardless of its size. It was also important for companies to develop financial statements for the investors to analyze the financial position of the company. It is also the legal responsibility of the directors to see that the company is working in compliance to the accounting standards. According to the Companies Act of 1985, companies must represent a true and fair view of their accounting statements. In 1990s, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) was set up for setting the accounting standards in UK. It was a solely independent body set up by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the City institutions. In the year 2000, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) reviewed the IAS. It was proposed that all the EU companies would have to prepare their accounts or financial statements by following the IAS standards. It was estimated that about 7000 companies in EU were accountable for using IAS, whereas there w ere only 275 companies who were using IAS till then. All the measures required were taken to establish IAS as a law in EU. This regulation was applicable for the detailed accounting provisions. It was on the member states to choose whether they wanted to permit their unlisted companies to follow the IAS standards. However the UK Accounting Standard Board (ASB) did take several initiatives to narrow down the gap between IAS and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). IAS is still being modified and it has become IASB in the process of converging IAS and GAAP. A survey was conducted by Pricewaterhouse Coopers in the year 2002 among 650 Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), all across the European Union to find the response of the companies towards the usage of IAS. It was found that 62 percent of the CFOs agreed to the fact that IAS would help in establishing an effective and transparent accounting system for them. 85 percent of the companies still did not use IAS, 92 percent of t he CFOs were confident of meeting their deadlines of 2005 and about 60 percent did not even begin their planning for transition. International Accounting Standards (IAS) The study aims at discussing the different aspects of IAS, in order to analyze the improved quality of

Strategic Leadership Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Strategic Leadership - Coursework Example e the resources of the company are correctly and effectively being used and activities are being correctly and accurately being reported (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2012). Some of the examples of these controls include budgets, bank reconciliations, cross segregation of duties e.g. for book-keeper posting cash and the receiver of mails, etc. Therefore, from the definitions and examples above, it is evident one major difference between the two is that, strategic controls affect the whole company activities (internal and external) while financial control focus on the internal environment more specifically, the financial resources of the company (Bert, n.d.). It is important to note that a leader’s influence can only be felt within the organization if such a leader behaves ethically. Therefore, given that the human capital play a significant role in determining the company’s success, then there is need for me as a manager responsible for developing and training employees to behave ethically in order to cultivate a better culture in the subordinates. Moreover, I believe that my position is in tandem with many strategic leaders because of the changing workplace environment due diversity in culture, attitude and work ethics. Therefore, to be able to retain better and efficient talent within the organization, many strategic leaders have started investing huge resources in developing and nurturing the talent of subordinates by ensuring that they behave ethically to be able to exercise maximum influence on the

War Poets and the five senses Essay Example for Free

War Poets and the five senses Essay Poetry can evoke a wide spectrum of emotions ranging from sadness to exultation through the poets manipulation of the 5 primal senses; sight, sound, taste, smell and touch. This essay shall explore the emotive language used by Great War poets in order to evoke the senses in the reader, so that the more abstract issues in war can become tangible in those who are lucky enough to have never experienced battle. All forms of imaginative literature, including drama and film, follow the same principle, which can be summed up in the slogan, Show, dont tell. This quote definitely also applies to poetry, for it is often said that to directly tell the reader the tone or the imagery in poetry is heavy-handed. Wilfred Owen, in his poem Dulce Et Decorum Est, uses imagery to brutal effect. Bent double like old beggars under sacks this simile brings to mind the poor, crippled, dirty beggar that has been through hardship after hardship. Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, as under a green sea, I saw him drowning This image of a man drowning under the horrific mustard gas employed in World War One is a powerful one, and makes the reader, who likely doesnt know of mustard gas, understand the horror Owen went through. Siegfried Sassoon also used the Great Wars terrible imagery in his poetry. In his poem Prelude: The Troops he uses short, simple descriptive words spread throughout a stanza to constantly reinforce the drudgery of the image he is trying to instill in the reader. Shapeless gloom drizzling daybreak stamp their sodden boots dulled, sunken these. Dispersed throughout a stanza, these words are certainly effective while not being obvious. Sight is the most useful and oft-manipulated sense that poetry uses to construct mental and tangible images that speak to the reader from abstract ideas, situations or feelings. Sound is often referred to as the secondary sense, after sight, though it has just as much power and influence when described correctly. Sound specifically in war poetry has a very prominent place. Anthem for Doomed Youth fully utilizes sound, though the language Owen uses is simple and poignant. stuttering rifles rapid rattle shrill, demented choirs of  wailing shells these quotes, when read, immediately evoke the sounds of artillery and gunfire, common sounds in the Great War. Owen utilizes this to give the sense of overbearing, foundation shaking explosions and to give the reader an auditory feeling of being in the trenches. Arbitrary and abstract ideas expressed in this way become very real when reading them out loud to yourself. Smell is perhaps the most primal of all the five senses. Though imagery and sound are used most often in film and other media, smell is forgotten. However, smell is one of the most powerful of all the senses in its ability to affect the reader. Who has ever forgotten the stench of rotting meat, or of gunpowder. Siegfried Sassoons the rank stench of those bodies haunts me still is indicative of this. By using the primal sense of smell poets can access the deeper parts of the human psyche, and instill deep emotions in the reader without the reader even realizing it. Owen and Sassoon knew this and both utilize it often in their poetry. Relating to the topic, tangible means to be perceptible by the senses; Earlier on in the evolutionary sense we evolved from animals whose primary sense was smell, and to become tangible, an abstract issue must affect the primary or base emotions. Smell is the most effective in this. Taste is lesser known in poetry because it is so difficult to adequately describe, though Owen tries in Dulce Et. Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues Taste is perhaps the most difficult of the senses to accurately describe, thus is also harder to use to make abstract ideas less so. Touch is one of the most effective senses a poet can manipulate to make abstract ideas more tangible. Through invoking the sense of touch, a poet can stir the reader to easily imagine what the poet wants. Most of all in war poetry, touch is embodied in the sense of pain, for war is the cause of more pain than anything else. Wilfred Owens poetry almost always speaks of pain, death and suffering, and indeed this is true in almost all war poetry. Everyone has experienced physical pain at some stage in their life thus the usage of pain in poetry is always going to affect the reader, for every  reader understands pain. Pain is perhaps the primary feeling during wartime. Emotional or physical, none leave the trenches without experiencing it and by using it in poetry, the reader understands with perfect clarity what the poet is describing, just by imagining their own pain. The five senses are the most important things in poetry, for while an abstract idea may be perfect in its conception and tone, it cannot truly speak to a reader without allowing the reader to feel the poetic message in a more primal way. Wilfred Owen and Sigfreid Sassoon surely understood this as the senses are strong components of their respective works. This allows their poetry to speak to any reader, and explains their huge popularity among the poetic world. The five senses are difficult to describe and harder to use, but without them abstract issues such as in Dulce Et Decorum Est would be difficult indeed to appreciate.

Punk :: essays research papers

Punk is the best. It rocks. And now, fjfdsl sdjfh dfhasdfh alhfasljkdh sdfhaskjh fahdsflkasjdh flksdahf lahdsflkjsadhf lkashdflkjasdhf lkadshflkjasdhflkahdskfhksdhfka dshfhsadlkfh lksadhflkasdhflkjhlkj hlkjf hlkjsdh flkjashlf kjlhdsafkj hlaskdjh fakjdshfl jdsf dbn dnasdf adsnfasdnfansdnfnadf nsadf nsdfnsadf ndsf nasdfnsdf nsdfnsadfnasdfansdf nsadfasdnf andsf sdnfasdnfn andsf nsdafand fnsadfnsdaf nasdf nsadfnsadfndsf nsadf nsadfnsdanf nsadfnasdf ansdf nasdf nasdfnsafnasdnf nasdfnasfnsfdan andsf snadfsandf nsadf nsadf sndf nasdfnd fnasfdnasfndf ansdf nsadf nsadfnsadfa ndsfsadf nasdf ansdf ansdf ansdf nsadf snadf asndf asndf ansdf nasdfndsaf sdnfndfa ndsf asndf ndasf ndsf ansdf andsf adasnf andsf nasdf nasdf sadnf ajdf fjasd fa. fjngsdjf gjsdf gsdmf gsfdg sfdjg jfdsg jf gjsdfgjsdgjsdfgjsfdjgfd g fd gndg ndsgsndgnsdgnsdg g nsg nsdg nsdg nsdg nsdg nsdg nsdg jnsdgsdf gj sfdg mnsg mnsg nmsdg ,nmdsg ,mndg ,mnsgd f g,dsfg sdnmg ,mnsdg ,smndg ,mndsg ,mnsg hbdvg bsgmdg mn sgmg smf gmfd mg gmgd mmnbsg mnbsmg mmgb gbmdgmng nbf gmnbg smnsdg g sbmnbg smfgb gfsgmnbg msgbgssgbngd g sbg mg gfbgfb gf mgsgbd dg gfbmbgsdmfg msfbg smdgsmg bf fjfdsl sdjfh dfhasdfh alhfasljkdh sdfhaskjh fahdsflkasjdh flksdahf lahdsflkjsadhf lkashdflkjasdhf lkadshflkjasdhflkahdskfhksdhfka dshfhsadlkfh lksadhflkasdhflkjhlkj hlkjf hlkjsdh flkjashlf kjlhdsafkj hlaskdjh fakjdshfl jdsf dbn dnasdf adsnfasdnfansdnfnadf nsadf nsdfnsadf ndsf nasdfnsdf nsdfnsadfnasdfansdf nsadfasdnf andsf sdnfasdnfn andsf nsdafand fnsadfnsdaf nasdf Punk is the best. It rocks. And now, fjfdsl sdjfh dfhasdfh alhfasljkdh sdfhaskjh fahdsflkasjdh flksdahf lahdsflkjsadhf lkashdflkjasdhf lkadshflkjasdhflkahdskfhksdhfka dshfhsadlkfh lksadhflkasdhflkjhlkj hlkjf hlkjsdh flkjashlf kjlhdsafkj hlaskdjh fakjdshfl jdsf dbn dnasdf adsnfasdnfansdnfnadf nsadf nsdfnsadf ndsf nasdfnsdf nsdfnsadfnasdfansdf nsadfasdnf andsf sdnfasdnfn andsf nsdafand fnsadfnsdaf nasdf nsadfnsadfndsf nsadf nsadfnsdanf nsadfnasdf ansdf nasdf nasdfnsafnasdnf nasdfnasfns fdan andsf snadfsandf nsadf nsadf sndf nasdfnd fnasfdnasfndf ansdf nsadf nsadfnsadfa ndsfsadf nasdf ansdf ansdf ansdf nsadf snadf asndf asndf ansdf nasdfndsaf sdnfndfa ndsf asndf ndasf ndsf ansdf andsf adasnf andsf nasdf nasdf sadnf ajdf fjasd fa. fjngsdjf gjsdf gsdmf gsfdg sfdjg jfdsg jf gjsdfgjsdgjsdfgjsfdjgfd g fd gndg ndsgsndgnsdgnsdg g nsg nsdg nsdg nsdg nsdg nsdg nsdg jnsdgsdf gj sfdg mnsg mnsg

Physiological Psychology and Ocd Essay

Physiological Psychology is as described by Kalat (1998) as the study of the physiological, evolutionary, and developmental mechanisms of behaviour and experience. It is devoted to the study of brain functioning, how Neurons and Glia convey messages to one another and other parts of the body for it to function and work accordingly. Future studies of physiological psychology will help predict behavioural patterns in society and how brain functions can be â€Å"rewritten† through cognitive therapies .e.g. alcoholism, drug addictions. Kalat (1998) further goes onto explain that a Biological psychologist (physiological psychologist) try to answer four types of questions about any given behaviour, how it relates to the physiology of the brain (what parts of the brain are active) and other organs, how it develops within the individual, how did the capacity for this behaviour evolve and why did this behaviour evolve. Without the physiological understanding of how brain process work in relation to behaviour it is difficult to correctly diagnose a behaviour pattern and its cause. Kalat (1998) describes that â€Å"having a little anxiety can be useful†, however OCD is a condition in which there is excessive anxiety. OCD can be explained to a patient in simple physiological terms explaining the behaviour of the brain, for example: OCD patients often have a broken mechanism (being a synapse interaction) in their brain that would usually stop a thought once you have it. In an OCD patient it does not (stop the thought) – so the thought is allowed to revolve. This seems in description that it would sound more like a broken record than OCD really does, but that isn’t what really happens. OCD can be genetic but is most certainly physiological in nature. Without an understanding of brain functioning and how these neurons interact, how can psychologists work to alleviate the symptoms of the disorder? Research into the biological causes and effects of OCD has revealed a link between OCD and insufficient levels of the brain chemical, serotonin. Serotonin is one of the brain’s chemical messengers that transmit signals between brain cells. Serotonin plays a role in the regulation of mood, aggression, impulse control, sleep, appetite, body temperature and pain. For example persons with unregulated serotonin lead to destructive antisocial behaviour patterns, which society commonly experiences on a growing scale. All of the medicines used to treat OCD raise the levels of serotonin available to transmit messages. Without physiological psychological research into the effects that these medicines have on the brain society would lack the knowledge and understanding of how to diagnose and appropriately treat disorders such as OCD. Modern brain imaging techniques have allowed researchers to study the activity of specific areas of the brain. Such studies have shown that people with OCD have more than usual activity in three areas of the brain. These are: The caudate nucleus, specific brain cells in the basal ganglia, located deep in the centre of the brain this area of the brain acts as a filter for thoughts coming in from other areas. The caudate nucleus is also considered to be important in managing habitual and repetitive behaviours. When OCD is successfully treated with drugs or therapy, the activity in this area of the brain usually decreases. This shows that both drugs and a change in â€Å"thinking† can alter the physical functioning of the brain. The prefrontal orbital cortex, located in the front area of the brain the level of activity in the prefrontal orbital cortex is believed to affect appropriate social behaviour. Lowered activity or damage in this region is linked to feeling uninhibited, making bad judgments and feeling a lack of guilt. More activity may therefore cause more worry about social concerns. Such concerns include: being meticulous, neat and preoccupied with cleanliness, and being afraid of acting inappropriately. All of these concerns are symptoms of OCD. The cingulate gyrus, in the centre of the brain the cingulate gyrus is believed to contribute the emotional response to obsessive thoughts. This area of the brain tells you to perform compulsions to relieve anxiety. This region is highly interconnected to the prefrontal orbital cortex and the basal ganglia via a number of brain cell pathways. The basal ganglia, the prefrontal orbital cortex and the cingulate gyrus all have many brain cells affected by serotonin. Researchers believe that medicines that raise the levels of serotonin available to transmit messages may change the level of activity in these areas of the brain. Kalat (1998) offers the idea that drugs intended to control anxiety alter activity at amygdale synapses. â€Å"One of the amygdala’s main excitatory neuromodulators is CCK (cholecystokinin), which increases anxiety, and the main inhibitory transmitter is GABA, which inhibits anxiety.† Without physiological research into the how and why of brain function, people with disorders such as OCD would not be able to function â€Å"normally† within society. However this type of research and study is not limited just too diagnosing disorders in those with suspected behavioural problems but also allows insight into society as a whole and its interaction socially, emotionally and habitually. New and innovative studies through physiological research have shown that cognitive behavioural therapy can change activity in certain areas of the brain. The discovery could have important clinical implications on how talk therapies improve brain function and advance mental health. Researchers discovered significant changes in activity in certain regions of the brain can be produced with as little as four weeks of daily therapy in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder as published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. â€Å"The study is exciting because it tells us more about how cognitive-behavioural therapy works for OCD and shows that both robust clinical improvements and changes in brain activity occur after only four weeks of intensive treatment,† said Saxena. Past studies using functional brain imaging studies of patients with OCD have demonstrated that elevated activity along the frontal-sub cortical circuits of the brain decreases in response to treatment with serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) medications or cognitive-behavioural therapy. However, clinical improvement of OCD symptoms was expected to require up to 12 weeks of behavioural therapy or medication treatment, the standard treatments for OCD. Only a handful of studies have looked at how therapy affects brain function, and all previous studies had examined changes over several months of treatment. Continual studies into physiological psychology will enhance clinical practises and provide a platform for more effective treatment of the symptoms related to this disorder. Saxena and colleagues at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA made two novel discoveries in their study of 10 OCD patients and 12 control subjects. â€Å"First of all, we discovered significant changes in brain activity solely as the result of four weeks of intensive cognitive-behavioural therapy,† said Saxena. â€Å"Secondly, these changes were different than those seen in past studies after a standard 12-week therapeutic approach using SRI medications or weekly behavioural therapy.† The researchers obtained positron emission tomography (PET) scans of the ten OCD patients both before and after they received four weeks of a therapy known as â€Å"exposure and response prevention,† which gradually desensitizes patients to things that provoke obsession fears or worries. However, the PET scans in this study also showed a significant increase in activity in an area of the brain called the right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, a region involved in reappraisal and suppression of negative emotions. Increasing activity in this region corresponded to the OCD patients’ improvement in clinical symptoms after the four-week course of intensive therapy. It is possible to see the huge amount of information that physiological research has bought forth to society through just these examples alone. Physiological psychology is the study of the physiological basis of how we think, connecting the physical operation of the brain with what we actually say and do. It is thus concerned with brain cells, brain structures and components, brain chemistry, and how all this leads to speech and action. Further research as to how growing debilitating disorders such as OCD could be eliminated or drastically reduced in severity has weight in its importance. The research however does not stop with OCD diagnosis but has relevant importance to understand how we take in information in general from our five senses. Future studies based on OCD research could be more relevant than we think to other major issues facing society such as depression, drug addiction and mental health. It is imperative for governing bodies to fund education and research into the study of physiological psychology for this very reason. References: Kalat 1998 Biological Psychology Molecular Psychiatry Molecular Psychiatry 14, 197-205 (February 2009) | doi:10.1038/sj.mp.400213

Democratic Party Essay

Running as the Speaker of the House for the Democratic Party, we will ensure children will be receiving their education from a strong and healthy school. The Michelle Obama fitness plan promotes a healthier lifestyle for children in school. Her campaign is called â€Å"Let’s Move† and she has a lot to offer to families. This campaign offers all of the necessities needed in order to make healthy choices. This campaign also promises healthier food choices in the nations schools along with affordable, attainable, healthy food in their communities. Her plan motivates kids to be active in and out of school. We will also promise that students learning will be tested differently. Instead of multiple choice tests, which some students do not perform well, we will have more hands on tests. These types of tests will determine the placement of classes for students. Running as the Speaker of the House for the Democratic Party, we will ensure children will be receiving their education from a strong and healthy school. The Michelle Obama fitness plan promotes a healthier lifestyle for children in school. Her campaign is called â€Å"Let’s Move† and she has a lot to offer to families. This campaign offers all of the necessities needed in order to make healthy choices. This campaign also promises healthier food choices in the nations schools along with affordable, attainable, healthy food in their communities. Her plan motivates kids to be active in and out of school. We will also promise that students learning will be tested differently. Instead of multiple choice tests, which some students do not perform well, we will have more hands on tests. These types of tests will determine the placement of classes for students. Running as the Speaker of the House for the Democratic Party, we will ensure children will be receiving their education from a strong and healthy school. The Michelle Obama fitness plan promotes a healthier lifestyle for children in school. Her campaign is called â€Å"Let’s Move† and she has a lot to offer to families. This campaign offers all of the necessities needed in order to make healthy choices. This campaign also promises healthier food choices in the nations schools along with affordable, attainable, healthy food in their communities. Her plan motivates kids to be active in and out of school. We will also promise that students learning will be tested differently. Instead of multiple choice tests, which some students do not perform well, we will have more hands on tests. These types of tests will determine the placement of classes for students. Running as the Speaker of the House for the Democratic Party, we will ensure children will be receiving their education from a strong and healthy school. The Michelle Obama fitness plan promotes a healthier lifestyle for children in school. Her campaign is called â€Å"Let’s Move† and she has a lot to offer to families. This campaign offers all of the necessities needed in order to make healthy choices. This campaign also promises healthier food choices in the nations schools along with affordable, attainable, healthy food in their communities. Her plan motivates kids to be active in and out of school. We will also promise that students learning will be tested differently. Instead of multiple choice tests, which some students do not perform well, we will have more hands on tests. These types of tests will determine the placement of classes for students. Running as the Speaker of the House for the Democratic Party, we will ensure children will be receiving their education from a strong and healthy school. The Michelle Obama fitness plan promotes a healthier lifestyle for children in school. Her campaign is called â€Å"Let’s Move† and she has a lot to offer to families. This campaign offers all of the necessities needed in order to make healthy choices. This campaign also promises healthier food choices in the nations schools along with affordable, attainable, healthy food in their communities. Her plan motivates kids to be active in and out of school. We will also promise that students learning will be tested differently. Instead of multiple choice tests, which some students do not perform well, we will have more hands on tests. These types of tests will determine the placement of classes for students. Running as the Speaker of the House for the Democratic Party, we will ensure children will be receiving their education from a strong and healthy school. The Michelle Obama fitness plan promotes a healthier lifestyle for children in school. Her campaign is called â€Å"Let’s Move† and she has a lot to offer to families. This campaign offers all of the necessities needed in order to make healthy choices. This campaign also promises healthier food choices in the nations schools along with affordable, attainable, healthy food in their communities. Her plan motivates kids to be active in and out of school. We will also promise that students learning will be tested differently. Instead of multiple choice tests, which some students do not perform well, we will have more hands on tests. These types of tests will determine the placement of classes for students. Running as the Speaker of the House for the Democratic Party, we will ensure children will be receiving their education from a strong and healthy school. The Michelle Obama fitness plan promotes a healthier lifestyle for children in school. Her campaign is called â€Å"Let’s Move† and she has a lot to offer to families. This campaign offers all of the necessities needed in order to make healthy choices. This campaign also promises healthier food choices in the nations schools along with affordable, attainable, healthy food in their communities. Her plan motivates kids to be active in and out of school. We will also promise that students learning will be tested differently. Instead of multiple choice tests, which some students do not perform well, we will have more hands on tests. These types of tests will determine the placement of classes for students.

All About Americas Gilded Age

All About Americas Gilded Age The Gilded Age. The name, popularized by American author Mark Twain, conjures images of gold and jewels, lavish palaces, and wealth beyond imagination. And indeed, during the period we know as the Gilded Age - the late 1800s to the 1920s - American business leaders amassed huge fortunes, creating a suddenly-rich baron class with a fondness for ostentatious displays of newfound wealth. Millionaires built palatial and often gaudy homes in New York City and summer cottages on Long Island and in Newport, Rhode Island. Before long, even refined families like the Astors, who had been wealthy for generations, joined in the whirlwind of architectural excesses. In large cities and then in upscale resort communities, noted established architects like Stanford White and Richard Morris Hunt were designing enormous homes and elegant hotels that mimicked the castles and palaces of Europe. Renaissance, Romanesque, and Rococo styles merged with the opulent European style known as Beaux Arts. The Gilded Age of architecture usually refers to the opulent mansions of the super-wealthy in the United States. The well-to-do built elaborate second homes in the suburbs or in rural settings while at the same time many more people were living in urban tenements and the decaying farmlands of America. Twain was being ironic and satiric in naming this period of American history. Americas Gilded Age The Gilded Age is a time period, an era in history with no specific beginning or end. Families had accumulated wealth from generation to generation - profits from the Industrial Revolution, the building of the railroads, urbanization, the rise of Wall Street and the banking industry, financial gains from the Civil War and Reconstruction, the manufacturing of steel, and the discovery of American crude oil. The names of these families, such as  John Jacob Astor, live on even today. By the time the book The Gilded Age, A Tale of Today was published in 1873, authors Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner could easily describe what  was behind the ostentation of wealth in post-Civil War America. There is no country in the world, sir, that pursues corruption as inveterately as we do, says one character in the book. Now here you are with your railroad complete, and showing its continuation to Hallelujah and thence to Corruptionville. For some observers, the Gilded Age was a time of immorality, dishonesty, and graft. Money is said to have been made off the backs of an expanding immigrant population who found ready employment with men of industry. Men such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie are often considered robber barons. Politcal corruption was so pervasive that Twains 19th century book continues to be used as a reference for the 21st century U.S. Senate. In European history this same time period is called the Belle Époque or the Beautiful Age. Architects, too, jumped on the bandwagon of what is often called conspicuous consumption.  Richard Morris Hunt (1827-1895) and Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-1886) were professionally trained in Europe, leading the way to making architecture a valued American profession. Architects the like of Charles Follen McKim (1847-1909) and Stanford White (1853-1906) learned opulence and elegance by working under the leadership of Richardson. Philadelphian Frank Furness (1839-1912) studied under Hunt. The sinking of the Titanic in 1912 put a damper on the boundless optimism and excessive spending of the era. Historians often mark the end of the Gilded Age with the stock market crash of 1929. The grand homes of the Gilded Age now stand as monuments to this time in American history. Many of them are open for tours, and a few have been converted to luxury inns. The 21st Century Gilded Age The great divide between the wealthy few and the poverty of many is not relegated to the end of the 19th century. In reviewing Thomas Pikettys book Capital in the Twenty-First Century, economist Paul Krugman reminds us that It has become a commonplace to say that we are living in a second Gilded Age - or, as Piketty likes to put it, a second Belle Époque - defined by the incredible rise of the one percent. So, where is the equivalent architecture? The Dakota was the first luxury apartment building in New York City during the first Gilded Age. Todays luxury apartments are being designed all over New York City by the likes of Christian de Portzamparc, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Jean Nouvel, Herzog de Meuron, Annabelle Selldorf, Richard Meier, and Rafael Vià ±oly - they are todays Gilded Age architects. Gilding the Lilly Gilded Age architecture is not so much a type or style of architecture as it describes an extravagance that is not representative of the American population. It falsely characterizes the architecture of the time. To gild is to cover something with a thin layer of gold - to make something appear more worthy than it is or to attempt to improve that which needs no improvement, to overdo, like gilding a lilly. Three centuries earlier than the Gilded Age, even British playwright William Shakespeare used the metaphor in several of his dramas: To gild refined gold, to paint the lily,To throw a perfume on the violet,To smooth the ice, or add another hueUnto the rainbow, or with taper-lightTo seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish,Is wasteful and ridiculous excess.- King John, Act 4, Scene 2 All that glitters is not gold;Often have you heard that told:Many a man his life hath soldBut my outside to behold:Gilded tombs do worms enfold.- The Merchant of Venice, Act 2, Scene 7 Architecture of the Gilded Age: Visual Elements Many of the Gilded Age mansions have been taken over by historic societies or transformed by the hospitality industry. The Breakers Mansion is the largest and most elaborate of Newports Gilded Age cottages. It was commissioned by Cornelius Vanderbilt II, designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt, and built oceanside between 1892 and 1895. Across the waters from the Breakers you can live like a millionaire at  Oheka Castle on Long Island in New York State. Built in 1919, the Chà ¢teauesque summer home was built by financier Otto Hermann Kahn. Biltmore Estate and Inn is another Gilded Age mansion that is both a tourist attraction and a place to rest your head in elegance. Constructed for George Washington Vanderbilt at the end of 19th century, Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina took hundreds of workers five years to complete. Architect Richard Morris Hunt modeled the house after a French Renaissance chateau. Vanderbilt Marble House: Railroad baron William K. Vanderbilt spared no expense when he built a house for his wifes birthday. Designed by Richard Morris Hunt, Vanderbilts grand Marble House,  built between 1888 and 1892, cost $11 million, $7 million of which paid for 500,000 cubic feet of white marble. Much of the interior is gilt with gold. The Vanderbilt Mansion on the Hudson River was designed for Frederick and Louise Vanderbilt. Designed by Charles Follen McKim of McKim, Mead White, the  Neoclassical Beaux-Arts Gilded Age architecture is uniquely set in Hyde Park, New York. Rosecliff Mansion was built for Nevada silver heiress Theresa Fair Oelrichs - not a household American name like the Vanderbilts. Nevertheless, Stanford White of McKim, Mead White designed and constructed the Newport, Rhode Island cottage between 1898 and 1902. Sources Why We’re in a New Gilded Age by Paul Krugman, The New York Review of Books, May 8, 2014 [accessed Jun 19, 2016]Getty Images include Rosecliff Mansion by Mark Sullivan; Biltmore Estate by George Rose; Gold Room of Marble House by Nathan Benn/Corbis; and Vanderbilt Mansion on the Hudson by Ted Spiegel/Corbis

14 Quotes for a Funny Wedding Toast

14 Quotes for a Funny Wedding Toast If youve been asked to give a wedding toast, chances are youre taking your  role seriously. Perhaps too seriously! Often, the best wedding toasts start with a joke, even if they wind up with a sincere wish for the couples future happiness. Why Give a Funny Wedding Toast? Weddings  bring up complicated emotions. For the bride and groom, theres joy along with (in many cases) tremendous anxiety. Sometimes the anxiety is related to the very idea of a permanent commitment; other times its related to aspects of the wedding itself. Will the caterer show up? Will my divorced parents  get into a fight? Will Aunt Jane get drunk and fall into the wedding cake? Similarly, complex emotions come up for parents who are both thrilled and saddened as their child steps into a new role and a new stage of life. Siblings may be delighted, jealous, or even angry about some aspect of the wedding. Best friends may feel left behind. Humor is almost always the best way to break the ice, lower anxiety, and just have fun at a wedding. If youve been asked to give a  wedding toast, chances are you have a close relationship with either the bride, the groom, or both. That means you know which kinds of humor are likely to get a big laugh, and which wont. Funny Wedding Quotes to Choose From Not all of these famous quotes will be right for you, but youll almost certainly find one or two that connect with your particular wedding party! Henny YoungmanThe secret of a happy marriage remains a secret. John MiltonBiochemically, love is just like eating large amounts of chocolate. Henry KissingerNobody will ever win the battle of the sexes. There€s too much fraternizing with the enemy. Cathy CarlyleLove is an electric blanket with somebody else in control of the switch.​ SocratesBy all means, marry; if you get a good wife, youll be happy. If you get a bad one, youll become a philosopher. Rita RudnerI love being married. Its so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life. Mickey RooneyAlways get married early in the morning. That way, if it doesnt work out, you havent wasted a whole day. Henny YoungmanI take my wife everywhere I go. She always finds her way back. Ralph Waldo EmersonA mans wife has more power over him than the state has. Honore de BalzacThe majority of husbands remind me of an orangutan trying to play the violin. Anne Bancroft The best way to get most husbands to do something is to suggest that perhaps theyre too old to do it. Erma Bombeck Marriage has no guarantees. If thats what youre looking for, go live with a car battery! Anonymous A good marriage is one where each partner secretly suspects they got the better deal. Winston  Churchill My most brilliant achievement was my ability to persuade my wife to marry me.

Air Power Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Air Power - Assignment Example The first, fundamental tenet emphasize on attacks on the enemy that a state is fighting. Bombardment must be programmed to occur before the enemy has had a chance to strike. It thus focuses on striking first that would ensure maximum defense. Secondly, there is an emphasis that the planes used for striking or fighting should function in all climatic conditions throughout the year. Thirdly, fighting or bombardment must be done during the day. This would ensure precision that would be aimed at hitting the targets. The fourth tenet is that the training of the operation crew members. It includes those in space and those on the ground that are concerned with the maintenance. The fifth principle entails destruction of the property of the enemy. This involves key areas of the economy such as factories, steel mills, and aluminum plants. It would also include military airbases and even airplane factories. These are the key areas which if targeted, would weaken the enemy completely1. The sixth principle concerns integration of activities that are concerned with bombardment. There should be fighters in the airspace and those on the ground who must coordinate to achieve a certain goal. The seventh principle entails protection of the bombing operations. This would be for the purpose of eluding modern pursuit by the enemy during the bombing action or just immediately after the action has taken place. The eighth principle involves the setting up of facilities that are concerned with carrying research on the latest equipment for fighting. This would ensure efficient carrying out of activities by the troops and in the least time possible. The ninth principle involves a combination of efforts of the ground and air forces. This would provide the necessary support required for the achievement of objectives2. Finally, air power is a complex process made up of various activities such as maintenance team, air

Business Environment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Environment - Assignment Example Fred Smith was the founder of the company. Recently it has been converted into Public Limited Company. The subsequent part of the project would be dealing with the changes that have taken place in the business environment of the computer industry in the form of an informational report. Purpose The main purpose of the organizations like Smith Electronics is offering quality products to the customers so that they can assemble the computer according to their own wish. The company facilitates the customers by offering them a wide range of quality products. These products are manufactured by taking into consideration three main factors: a) Cost Effectiveness, b) Modularity and c) Maximum Reliability. The company aims at achieving customer satisfaction by means of efficient and proficient personnel. The company’s team of professionals has good understanding of the industrial necessities which would help them in upholding the managerial works in an excellent manner. The purpose of th e organization is making consistent performance by manufacturing quality products so that it supports Smith Electronics in having huge acceptance throughout the UK market and European Union. The company plans to perform its functions along with maintenance of smooth cooperation with the valued customers. The latest technologies which are user friendly are implemented within the products in order to increase the demand as well as the customer satisfaction. The goal of the organization is to make the experience of the customers highly satisfactory and convenient. This enables making long term relationship with them. The professionals in the company are employed after proper testing of their skills. In order to provide excellent experience to the customers, the employees are trained specially about how to interact with the customers. The success of an organization depends to a great extent upon the demand of its products and services in the operational market. Smith Electronics focuses on increasing the annual demand of its products which might help it in achieving a global recognition. The organization is committed towards bringing excellent computing experience to the customers in United Kingdom and European Union. The goal of the company would stimulate its performance by guiding the operational activities. However, Smith Electronics holds good position in the computer industry of United Kingdom and European Union in aspects of the customer service, product quality and the store’s design. The extent to which Smith Electronics meets the objectives of the stakeholders The business objectives are those ends which the organizations set out for achieving. The organizations plan for strategies in order to achieve these objectives. The stakeholders are important part of the organization (Phillips 6). The objectives of Smith Electronics are set by balancing the demands of the stakeholders in the organization as maintenance of cordial relationship with them is v ery important (Svendsen 2). The objectives of the organization have been established after blending the interests of all the stakeholders. The stakeholders of Smith Electronics always have an influence in its actions or operations. The major stakeholders include the shareholders, employees, creditors, bondholders and customers (â€Å"American Institutes for Research Capstone Project†

Terrorist Techniques - Strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Terrorist Techniques - Strategy - Assignment Example Therefore, based on the terrorist scenarios, the most applicable and relevant objectives are attrition and threat elimination. Terrorist groups use attrition against a state in an attempt to destroy its resources, leaving the government weak and ineffective. Specifically, this motive is aimed at liberating a territory from the control of the state or acquiring a particular position within the society either politically or geographically (Kydd & Walter,  2006). In particular, attrition is a war based on longevity and the team with the most resources to assume the costs of attacks wins. The conflict between Sri Lanka and the terror group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) utilized this strategy. Specifically, throughout the year 2000, the LTTE employed the attrition war model to suppress and weaken the government with a series of attack on the government, the public, and the military (Kydd & Walter,  2006). However, the application of this strategy by the Tamil Tigers was due to their financial disability that curtails them from a direct involvement in the war with the government. In their attacks, t he terrorists aim at persuading the enemy that it has the financial strength to inflict high-cost tests in order to achieve its desires. As argued by Robert Pape, terrorists use bombing as an attrition strategy due to their financial constraints. Terrorist groups success lies in their ability to influence the behavior of their target group. Specifically, the success of their actions is embedded in threat elimination by attacking the government and any other relevant authority or individual whose influence will aid in the realization of their objectives (Kydd & Walter,  2006). Risk avoidance is a form of intimidation that suppresses target group. According to Drake (1998), the psychological fear or threat created by a terror group helps in the

Improving Eye Care In Rural India Communications Essay

Improving Eye Care In Rural India Communications Essay CATARACT refers to the clouding of the lens in the human eye, affecting vision. In the developing world, cataract is the cause for blindness in nearly half the blind population i.e. 50% of the recorded number of blindness cases. While problems of inaccessibility continue to plague many parts of the developing world nearly two-thirds of the population in many developing countries are unable to access quality medical resources infrastructure primarily because quality medical care or eye care in this case is still urban-centric all hope is not lost yet. In India too, where 90% of the cases are treatable, most Indians lack access to quality eye care. In the early 1990s, the country was home to a third of the worlds blind people and here too cataract blindness was the major cause in most cases. The World Bank decided to step in and help the Indian government deal with the problem, spending $144.8 million between 1994 and 2002 on the Cataract Blindness Control Project under which 15.3 million eye surgeries were performed. The World Bank-funded project was largely implemented in northern India and it helped reduce the incidence of cataract, in the states that were covered under this project, by half. But India is a very big country and it definitely needs a more sustainable approach to dealing with cataract blindness given that it has a sizeable ageing population. One such approach is the Aravind Eye Care System, a three-decade old campaign that has been fighting cataract blindness predominantly in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nad u. Working in the same direction is the L V Prasdad Eye Institue, operating from the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh. Both Aravind and LVPEI, setup in the mid 1970s and the mid 1980s respectively, have been focused on taking quality eye care to the rural masses from the very beginning, most of it free of cost. In the larger context, this paper discusses how private entrepreneurship is taking quality Eye Care to the rural masses in India. This paper will discuss the Eye Care delivery model aimed at fighting Cataract Blindness in the context of the Culture-Centered Approach (CCA). The Culture-Centered Approach advoates greater engagment with the local culture, â€Å"through dialogues with community members†, to ensure â€Å"equitable† and â€Å"accessible† healthcare across communities (Dutta-Bergman, 2004a, 2004b; Dutta and Basu 2007 as quoted in Dutta, 2008). Furthermore, this paper will use the Extended Technology-Community-Management (TCM) model (Chib Komathi, 2008) to explain the intersections between technology, community and the management of information communication technologies (ICT) in the context of the CCA and the Eye Care delivery model adopted by the private healthcare players i.e. the non-governmental organisations (NGOs). According to the TCM model (Lee Chib, 2008), the intersection of ICT characteristics of technology, along with the dimensions of software and hardware, project management dimensions of financial requirements, the regulatory environment, and stakeholder involvement, along with local community participation â€Å"will ultimately lead to sustainable ICTD interventions.† Culture-Centered Approach Globalisation has led to an increasing realisation that the Biomedical[6] model of healthcare is limited in scope when engaging in issues of global health (Dutta, 2008). Furthermore, Dutta (2008) says that many societies now feel the need to â€Å"open up the spaces of health communication to the voices of cultural communities† i.e. there is now greater awarness of the need for better engagement with marginalised communities. Culture is dynamic. That culture has an important role to play in health communication is better understood today. But this concept began attracting widespread attention only in the early 1980s, especially in the U.S. when healthcare practitioners felt a need to adopt multiple strategies to address the health-related issues of a multicultural population (Dutta, 208). â€Å"This helped question the universalist assumptions of various health communication programs† aimed at the developing nations and the so called third-world nations   (Dutta, 2008). The Culture-Centered Approach was born out of the need to oppose the dominant approach of health communication, located within the Biomedical model, where health is treated as a â€Å"universal concept based on Eurocentric[7] understandings of health-related issues, disease and the treatment of diseases† (Dutta, 2008). According to Dutta (2008), the CCA is a better alternative to understanding health communication because it is a â€Å"value-centered† approach. The CCA is built on the notion that the â€Å"meanings of health† cannot be universal because they are ingrained within cultural contextsm, he argues.  Ã‚   The CCA has its roots in three key concepts i.e. ‘structure, ‘agency and ‘culture. The term ‘culture refers to the local context within which so called health meanings are created and dealt with. ‘Structure encompasses food, shelter, medical services and transportational services that are all vital to the overall healthcare of various members of a community. ‘Agency points to the â€Å"capacity of cultural members† to negotiate the structures within which they live. It must be noted that ‘structure, ‘agency and ‘culture and entwined and they do not operate in isolation. Dutta (2008), in his book Communicating Health, further elaborates that the CCA throws light on how the dominant healthcare ideology serves the needs of those in power. Powerful members of society create conditions of marginalistaion. Therefore the focus of the CCA lies in the study of the intersections between ‘structure, ‘agency and ‘culture in the context of marginalised communities. To understand better the problems faced by the marginalised, the CCA advocates the healthcare practitioners engage in dialogues with members of the concerned community. Each community has its own set of stories to share and this is vital to understanding the local culture. The CCA also aims to document resistance, of any kind, to dominant ideologies as this helps strengthen the case of the CCA against the dominant healthcare model. The CCA, according to Dutta (2008), provides sufficient scope to study physician-patient relationships, in a bid to ultimately improve the healthcare deli very model. Adopting the CCA is just half your problem solved; the integration of the CCA with the Extended TCM model completes the picture.   The Extended TCM Model The TCM model (Lee Chib, 2008) argues that the larger question of social sustainability depends on both local relevance and institutional support. The TCM Model proposes that the intersection of ICT characteristics of technology, along with the dimensions of software and hardware, project management dimensions of financial requirements, the regulatory environment, and stakeholder involvement, along with local community participation, will ultimately lead to sustainable ICTD interventions (See Figure 1.1). The TCM model was further revised. Community was subdivided to include: modes of ownership of ICT investments and profits; training of community users both in the use and in technology management; and the basic needs of the community. Furthermore, Sustainability was also subdivided into financial and social (see Figure 1.2). Chib Komathi (2009) found that the TCM Model was inadequate as it could not examine the critical issue of vulnerability. Therefore, their study improved on this inadequacy by adding crucial factors and variables relating to vulnerability. They extended the TCM model, and called it the Extended Technology-Community-Management (Extended TCM) model (see Figure1.3).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This new framework on ICT planning accounts for community involvement, the management components, the overall design of technologies such as telemedicine or tele-consultation, and evaluation of existing vulnerabilities in the community where these technologies are implemented. It identifies four dimensions of vulnerabilities influencing technology implementation among the rural poor: economic vulnerability, informational vulnerability, physiological/psychological vulnerability, and socio-cultural vulnerability. Chib Komathi (2009) further explain each dimension of vulnerability: Physiological and psychological vulnerabilities refer to the physical and mental well-being of an affected person, or a specific community. Informational vulnerability deals with the access to and availability of information within affected communities. Informational resources include personal documents, books and critical data, opinion leaders and professional experts,. The lack of such resources affects the capabilities of people who are dependent on them. In a rural setting, informational vulnerability is further augmented by the low literacy levels and lack of pertinent â€Å"technological skills necessary to enable the learning and processing of information.† The economic vulnerability is sparked off by the loss of livelihood i.e. a loss of activities that otherwise financially support households and sustain economic growth in a rural setting. The socio-cultural vulnerability of communities is determine d by â€Å"the structure and values of a given society that define human relationships in communities.† Hierarchies in any society (gender, race, religion, caste, age and class egalitarianism within communities) or a community often dictate access to resources and assets, and the decision-making power of people. Cataract Blindness in India At the outset, one has to understand the sufferings of the blind in India, in a rural setting blindness, irrespective of the cause, results in a loss of livelihood for an individual. In rural India, like elsewhere, this would translate into one less earning member in the family, making the blind person a burden to his/her family. This leads to a loss of dignity and status in the family. In effect, blind people in rural India, like in many other societies, are marginalized. Enter Aravind and LVPEI, who continue to strive to help blind people in rural India and empower them by giving them back their sight. There are many causes of blindness, like Diabetes for instance. But Cataract is one of the leading causes of blindness in the developing world. Records in India show that Cataract is the most significant cause of blindness in the country (Nirmalan et al. 2002 Murthy et al. 2001).Cataract, reports say, is responsible for 50 to 80 per cent of the bilaterally blind (Thulsiraj et al. 2003 Thulsiraj et al. 2002).The elderly are more at risk of developing Cataract. India aims to eliminate needless blindness by 2020 in line with ‘Vision 2020: the right to sight initiative, launched jointly by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). Many organisations worldwide are also working in the direction of eliminating needless blindness (Foster, 2001). The government in India and the World Bank launched the Cataract Blindness Control Project in seven states across India in 1994.From close to 1.2 million cataract surgeries a year in the 1980s (Minassian Mehra 1990), Cataract surgical output tripled to 3.9 million per year by 2003 (Jose, 2003). In 2004, World Health Organization (WHO) data showed that there was a 25 per cent decrease in blindness prevalence in India (Resnikoff et al. 2004) the reason(s) could be the increase in Cataract surgeries countrywide. But there is a larger problem here, that of population growth. The aged population in India (those aged over 60 years) population which stood at 56 million people in the year 1991 is expected to double by the year 2016 (Kumar, 1997). This ‘greying of Indias population only suggests that the number of people ‘at-risk of developing Cataract is constantly on the rises. In the larger sense, this paper aims to show how private entrepreneurship in India is taking quality eye care to the rural masses in that country. This paper aimed to discuss the same through two case studies, that of the Aravind Eye Care system as well as the L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI). Unfortunately, email correspondence with LVPEI failed to elicit responses from this organization. Given the limitations of this study, including time constraints, this paper will explain the Aravind Eye Care system in the context of rural Eye Care in India and the fight against Cataract Blindness all this within the framework of the CCA. Furthermore, this paper will critique the business model of NGOs like Aravind in the context of the Extended TCM model, including whether for-profit organisations are using the rural masses to support their business model. In particular, what is the role of the healthcare provider in this case disseminate knowledge to the grass-roots or live-off their healthcare delivery model? Aravind Eye Care Dr. G. Venkataswamy had a very simple vision when he first setup Aravind Eye Care in 1976: â€Å"Eradicate needless blindness at least in Tamil Nadu, his home state, if not in the entire nation of India.† Aravind began as an 11-bed private clinic in the founders brothers house in the southern Indian city of Madurai. Today, the Aravind Eye Hospital (AEH) at Madurai is a 1,500 bed hospital.   In addition to Madurai, there are four more AEHs in Tamil Nadu (Aravind.org) with a combined total of over 3,500 beds. By 2003 the Aravind Eye Care System as we know it today was up and running. The System continues to operate under the aegis of a nonprofit trust named the Govel Trust it comprises of a manufacturing facility (for manufacturing synthetic lenses, sutures, and pharmaceuticals related to eye care); eye hospitals; education and training (graduate institute of ophthalmology); research facilities (complete with an eye bank);) and a center for community outreach programs (Prahlad, 2004). A typical day at Aravind now has doctors performing about 1,000 surgeries including free surgeries; 5-6 outreach camps in rural areas where about 1,500 people are examined and close to 300 people are brought to an AEH for eye surgery (TED, 2009). How does Aravind do it? The organisation has setup ‘vision centers or clinics in remote villages, fitted with basic eye care equipment. Each clinic is manned by an ophthalmic assistant and â€Å"these clinics perform basic examinations; prescribe corrective lenses and treat minor ailments.† If an eye ailment can be cured by the application of eye drops, these clinics are equipped to do so.   For more complicated cases, such as Cataract Blindness, the patient consults an ophthalmologist based at an AEH in a nearby city via the videoconferencing route. If the patient needs corrective surgery, he/she is asked to hop onto a bus waiting outside the ‘vision centre that takes them to the nearest Aravind base hospital. The patients are operated upon the following day; they spend a day in post-operative care and then take a bus back to their villages all free of cost (Laks, 2009).[8] But it wasnt all gung-ho in the beginning; more hard work than anything else. There was no specific Outreach team. Everyone in the pool was asked to participate in Outreach programme. â€Å"In the beginning (in 1976-77) Dr. V and a small team would visit villages and conduct eye screening camps. Those who required Cataract surgery would then be advised to visit the base hospital for surgery. But Dr .V found that a majority of those advised to undergo surgery would dropout, owing to socio-economic factors like fear of surgery; lack of trust on restoration of sight; no money to spend for transport, food and post operative medical care and (their) resistance to western medicine,† according to the head of Outreach activities at Aravind, R. Meenakshi Sundaram in his email response to my queries. These barriers were gradually addressed through various strategies. â€Å"We decided to involve village chiefs and local organizations to take ownership of the Outreach programmes, in terms of identifying the right location for the Eye Camp and providing the required support facilities. Their help was key to community mobilization. We organized a team to standardize the quality in Eye Care service delivery. Furthermore, Dr. V focussed his attention on building hospitals like ones home where we normally expect basic culture and values,† said Mr. Sundaram. â€Å"Fear of surgery was a common barrier in addition to other factors. Perhaps the acceptance for surgery was low in the beginning. But it was constantly explained at the community level whenever camps were organized as the programme aims to serve people at large. Particularly, in the year 1992 the Intra Ocular Lens (IOL) was introduced and the rural community did not believe in having a ‘foreign particle in their eyes. We came across a lot of myths. Those issues were addressed thru counselling,† added Mr. Sundaram. Realizing the impact of counselling, a cadre was developed within the System in 1992 and seven counsellors were trained in the first batch of counsellors training. They were given a basic orientation about common eye problems with a special focus on IEC. ‘Patient counsellors i.e. patients who had undergone eye surgery were asked to help the Outreach team. â€Å"They played their role in explaining eye problems in the local language and tried to help others realize the consequences of failing to accept surgery. Considering the myths, a real IOL was used as education material to help the rural folk understand the concept of the IOL,† Mr Sundaram said. The number of counsellors has steadily risen ever since and stands at 179 at present. How is the Aravind Eye Care System possible? Financial self-sustainability was the primary focus from day one at Aravind. Initially, the organization was given a grant by the government to help subsidize the treatment costs for eye camp patients (Prahlad, 2004) and the Govel Trust also pledged properties to raise money from banks in the early days. Prahlad (2004) states that the Madurai AEH, the first, was always self-supporting as far as recurring expenditures were concerned. Within the first five years of operation, the Madurai AEH had accumulated surplus revenues for further development and for the construction of four other hospitals in the Tamil Nadu state. He adds that over the years, the patient revenues generated from its five hospitals located in five cities finance the Aravind Eye Care System to a great extent. Furthermore, Aravind has also taken to the management-contract route and it manages two hospitals outside of its home-state. While city folk are charged market rates for each consultancy and for surgery, patients in remote villages pay just Rs. 20 for three consultancies or SGD 0.60. (TED, 2009). Those who can afford to pay, the urban folk who visit Aravinds hospitals in urban locations on their own, do not get discounted rates. Such a system of cross-subsidies ensures that only 45 percent pay while the rest are not charged at all i.e. about five out of every 10 patients examined at Aravind can be provided free eye care, including eye surgery (TED, 2009). A cross-subsidising financial model is not the only mantra[9] to Aravinds success. Having been in the business of delivering quality Eye Care for over three decades now, the System is well-positioned to leverage on the Aravind brand-name to attract donations. Over the years, the organization has received international recognition for its work and this includes the 2008 Gates Award for Global Health, and this years Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize that carries a US$1.5 million cash award. Last but not the least is the money that flows into Aravind in the form of specific project-funding. One such sponsor is the London-based ‘Seeing Is Believing (SiB) Trust, a collaboration between Standard Chartered Bank and the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). Since 2003, ‘Seeing is Believing has grown from a staff initiative to raise enough money to fund a cataract operation for each member of the Bank to a US$40 million global community initiative. I wrote to Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) asking them why they decided to partner with Aravind and LVPEI. â€Å"LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, as well as Aravind Eye Hospital are premier eye care institutes in the country.   India has a vast geographic spread and both these institutions work in different geographic zones of the country.   LVPEI is prominent in the south-eastern states of the country while Aravind is prominent in the southern states of India,† said Pratima Harite, Manager (Sustainability), Corporate Affairs- India in her email response to my queries. The rationale behind the India Consortium Project is the ‘vision centre concept that a significant proportion of eye problems corrected or detected at the primary care level has substantial savings to the individual and to the communities.   â€Å"Based on the success of LVPEIs Vision Centre model, the India Consortium Project proposed scaling up the development of Vision Centres in a co-ordinated matter in six states across the country.   For this, LVPEI sought support from four key implementing partners premier eye care institutions themselves across the country,† added Ms. Harite. Singapores Temasek Foundation (TF) part-funds SiB activities in India, particularly in capacity building i.e. in enhancing the training component of the SiB programme. Is this a viable business model? Aravind has perfected the model over the last three decades. They have the technology, behind the video consultation, in place â€Å"a low-cost wireless long-distance network (WiLDNet)† put together by the Technology and Infrastructure for Emerging Regions (TIER) research group at the University of California, Berkeley, California, USA.[10] This was done to overcome the issue of zero internet connectivity or slow connections that do not support video consultations in remote villages (Laks, 2009). In 2004, a mobile van with satellite connectivity was introduced to facilitate Tele-Consultations. The Indian Space Research Organisations (ISRO)[11] help was sought to this extent. The ‘vision centres can easily communicate with the base hospital (some 30 to 40 kms.) via satellite. These ‘vision centres effectively address the issue of accessibility, affordability and availability of quality Eye Care. â€Å"A series of centres were started across the Tamil Nadu state. Each base hospital is connected with a group of vision centres. At present, we have 10 ‘vision centres that operate on WiFi. The rest run on BSNL[12] broadband connections,† Mr Sundaram said. Aravind has the delivery system in place. A sound understanding of the local culture that in many cases is averse to western medicine and where modern-day medicine is not the first and only option to treat any disease or ailment. Why would a villager trust a doctor who drives down one fine morning and says he would like to operate upon them? Aravind begins by appointing a volunteer group for each community; some of these volunteers are further trained to serve as ophthalmic assistants and even as nurses in Aravinds hospitals. In a rural setting, rural folk trust their friends, neighbors, and their own people first. It is about creating ownership to the problem, like Mr. Sundaram said, and then partnering with the community to solve the problem. Aravinds financial results for the year 2008-09 were healthy. It raked in (income) US$22 million and spent (expenditure and depreciation) US$ 13 million.[13] Discussion That Aravind and other NGOs working in a similar direction, like LVPEI for instance, use the Culture-Centered Approach, as elaborated by Dutta (2008), in delivering quality eye care to rural India is quite clear. Aravind, in particular, has successfully integrated the CCA with the Technology-Communication-Management (TCM) model, as elaborated by Lee Chib (2008) to create a sustainable model for Eye Care delivery. ‘Accessibility and ‘affordability are the key factors in such healthcare models. In taking this route, one has to ensure that the technologies chosen for the job are cost-effective and easy to implement because capital expenditure and operational expenditure do play a vital role in determining the cost of healthcare services. Aravind has been able to keep the cost of Eye Care delivery considerable low consistently for many years now. Critics argue that organizations like Aravind are feeding-off their model. At this point, it is important to understand the ground-realities. In India, the divide between the urban ‘haves, and the rural ‘have-nots is only getting wider with each passing year. According to UN projections released 2008, India would urbanize at a much slower rate than China and have, by 2050, 45% of its population still living in rural areas (Lederer, 2008). The Government in India is not doing enough to address the plethora of health issues that plague [the various regions and communities in] the country. The flagship scheme to improve healthcare services in rural India, the National Rural Health Mission    launched in 2005 as a seven-year programme has many of its goals yet to be achieved, and the government is now considering extending it to 2015, according to recent media reports. Despite many a government claims and many a government schemes several villages in states across India co ntinue to depend on the private sector for quality healthcare or in this case Eye Care. Given this situation, Aravind and LVPEIs work in the direction of providing affordable Eye Care and free eye surgeries to five out of every ten patients they examine is a commendable feat.   A second question raised in this study is, what is the role of the healthcare provider in this case disseminate knowledge to the grass-roots or live-off their healthcare delivery model? Aravind is doing its part in disseminating knowledge to the grass-roots. Most ophthalmic assistants who man the ‘vision centers are community members trained by Aravind. But one has to understand that the act of knowledge dissemination in a remote rural setting has its challenges i.e. tackling illiteracy, basic awareness among others and these challenges cannot be addressed in just a few years. The India Consortium Project, sponsored by SCB and Temasek Foundation, set a target to set up 40 ‘vision centres by 2010. So far, 32 ‘vision centres are operational and the remaining will be operational this year, according to Ms. Harite.   On the flip side, a study by Murthy et al. (2008) argues that the goals of the ‘Vision 2020: the right to sight initiative to eliminate Cataract blindness in India by the year 2020 may not be achieved. But this should not deter those working in this direction. Both the public and the private sector must continue to fight Cataract Blindness because that is the only way to tackle the problem at hand. Last but not the least, this study recommends that NGOs operating in the healthcare space look at both the CCA and the TCM model to ensure better service delivery. References Chib, A. Komathi, A.L.E. (2009). Extending the Technology-Community-Management Model to Disaster Recovery: Assessing Vulnerability in Rural Asia. Submitted to ICTD 2009. Dutta, M. J. (2008). Communicating Health. Polity Press, Cambridge, U.K. Foster A. (2001).Cataract and Vision 2020 the right to sight initiative. British Journal Ophthalmology, 85, 635-639. Jose R, Bachani D. (2003). Performance of cataract surgery between April 2002 and March 2003. NPCB-India;2:2. Kumar S. (1997). Alarm sounded over Greying of Indias population. Lancet, 350, 271 Lee, S., Chib, A. (2008). Wireless initiatives for connecting rural areas: Developing a framework. In N. Carpentier B. De Cleen (Eds.), Participationand media production. Critical reflections on content creation. ICA 2007Conference Theme Book (pp. 113-128). Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Lederer, E.M. (2008). Mint. Retrieved April 16, 2010, from http://www.livemint.com/2008/02/27231012/Half-the-world8217s-populat.html Laks, R. (2009). Videoconferencing and Low-cost Wireless Networks Improve Vision in Rural India. Comminit.com. Retrieved April16, 2010, from http://www.comminit.com/en/node/301452/307 Minassian DC, Mehra V. (1990). 3.8 Million blinded by cataract each year: Projections from the first epidemiological study of incidence of cataract blindness in India. Br J Ophthalmol, 4, 341-3. Murthy GV, Gupta S, Ellwein LB, Munoz SR, Bachani D, Dada VK. (2001). A Population-based Eye Survey of Older Adults in a Rural District of Rajasthan: I, Central Vision Impairment, Blindness and Cataract Surgery. Ophthalmology, 108,679-85. Nirmalan PK, Thulasiraj RD, Maneksha V, Rahmathullah R, Ramakrishnan R, Padmavathi A,et al. (2002). A population based eye survey of older adults in Tirunelveli district of south India: Blindness, cataract surgery and visual outcomes. Br J Ophthalmol, 86, 505-12. Prahlad, C. K. (2004). The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid. Wharton School Publishing, Pennsylvanial, U.S. Resnikoff S, Pascolini D, Etyaale D, Kocur I, Pararajasegaram R, Pokharel GP,et al. (2004). Global data on visual impairment in the year 2002. Bull WHO, 82, 844-51. TED. (2009). Thulasiraj Ravilla: How low cost eye care can be world class. Retrieved April 16, 2010, from http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/thulasiraj_ravilla_how_low_cost_eye_care_can_be_worl