Free Essays on The Best Thing

6:02 a.m., Saturday morning. It’s early but my eyes crack open slightly and I roll underneath my covers. I stretch my arms and legs, making loud groans as my body twists and turns. Half awake, my legs drag me to the window and I pull up the shades. Blinded by the morning light, my fingers feel for the window locks and unlock them. As I pull open the window the cold, winter air fills my room. I shiver, hugging myself to hold in the warmth. My eyes finally adjust and a smile creeps across my face. Winter’s first snow has arrived. I take one last whiff of the morning air and shut my window gently. Everyone is still sleeping, enjoying the comforting warmth of their beds. However, I am wide awake and excited. Slowly, I strip off my pajamas and pull on a first layer of clothing. Heading to the kitchen, I start my parents’ coffee and slide a tray of biscuits into the oven. It won’t be long before everyone is awake. Lightly tiptoeing to the closet and opening the door soundlessly, I rummage through the mess. At last I spot the bag. All the way in the back closet it sits and has been sitting since last winter. I notice my mother as usual, has clearly labeled the outside â€Å"Winter Stuff† and folded all the contents. With a bit of excitement, I tip the bag upside down letting the insides pile onto the floor. Sorting through the items one by one, I separate them into each family member’s belongings. The smell of biscuits has filled the kitchen and is slowly making its way to the bedrooms. It won’t be much longer now. A rustling sounds from my parents’ room and then a creak from the bed. A single grunt escapes my dad’s mouth and his footsteps begin. Scratching his head, he enters the kitchen. He notices the biscuits and the mess I’ve made on the floor. He chuckles softly and smiles at me. One by one they wake up and enter the kitchen looking slightly dazed and confused. They catch a glimpse of what I have ... Free Essays on The Best Thing Free Essays on The Best Thing 6:02 a.m., Saturday morning. It’s early but my eyes crack open slightly and I roll underneath my covers. I stretch my arms and legs, making loud groans as my body twists and turns. Half awake, my legs drag me to the window and I pull up the shades. Blinded by the morning light, my fingers feel for the window locks and unlock them. As I pull open the window the cold, winter air fills my room. I shiver, hugging myself to hold in the warmth. My eyes finally adjust and a smile creeps across my face. Winter’s first snow has arrived. I take one last whiff of the morning air and shut my window gently. Everyone is still sleeping, enjoying the comforting warmth of their beds. However, I am wide awake and excited. Slowly, I strip off my pajamas and pull on a first layer of clothing. Heading to the kitchen, I start my parents’ coffee and slide a tray of biscuits into the oven. It won’t be long before everyone is awake. Lightly tiptoeing to the closet and opening the door soundlessly, I rummage through the mess. At last I spot the bag. All the way in the back closet it sits and has been sitting since last winter. I notice my mother as usual, has clearly labeled the outside â€Å"Winter Stuff† and folded all the contents. With a bit of excitement, I tip the bag upside down letting the insides pile onto the floor. Sorting through the items one by one, I separate them into each family member’s belongings. The smell of biscuits has filled the kitchen and is slowly making its way to the bedrooms. It won’t be much longer now. A rustling sounds from my parents’ room and then a creak from the bed. A single grunt escapes my dad’s mouth and his footsteps begin. Scratching his head, he enters the kitchen. He notices the biscuits and the mess I’ve made on the floor. He chuckles softly and smiles at me. One by one they wake up and enter the kitchen looking slightly dazed and confused. They catch a glimpse of what I have ...

The Chinese National Anthem

The Chinese National Anthem The official national anthem of China is titled, March of the Volunteers (ä ¹â€°Ã¥â€¹â€¡Ã¥â€ â€ºÃ¨ ¿â€ºÃ¨ ¡Å'æ› ², yà ¬yÇ’ngjÃ… «n jà ¬nxà ­ngqÇ”). It was written in 1935 by the poet and playwright, Tian Han, and the composer, Nie Er. Origins The song  honors soldiers and revolutionaries who fought the Japanese in northeast China in the 1930s. It was originally written as a theme song to a popular propaganda play and movie that encouraged the Chinese people to resist the Japanese invasion. Both Tian Han and Nie Er were active in the resistance. Nie Er was influenced by popular revolutionary songs at the time, including The Internationale. He drowned in 1935. Becoming the Chinese National Anthem Following the Chinese Communist Partys victory in the civil war in 1949, a committee was set up to decide on a national anthem. There were nearly 7,000 entries, but an early favorite was March of the Volunteers. It was adopted as the provisional national anthem on September 27, 1949. Anthem Banned Years later during the political turmoil of the Cultural Revolution, Tian Han was jailed and subsequently died in 1968. As a result, March of the Volunteers became a banned song. In its place, many used The East is Red, which was a popular Communist song at the time. Restoration March of the Volunteers was eventually restored as the Chinese national anthem in 1978, but with different lyrics that specifically praised the Communist Party and Mao Zedong. After the death of Mao and the liberalization of the Chinese economy, Tian Hans original version was restored by the National Peoples Congress in 1982. The Chinese anthem was played in Hong Kong for the first time in the 1997 handover of British control of Hong Kong to China, and in the 1999 handover of Portuguese control of Macao to China. They were subsequently adopted as the national anthems in Hong Kong and Macao. For many years until the 1990s, the song was banned in Taiwan. In 2004, the Chinese constitution was officially amended to include March of the Volunteers as its official anthem. Lyrics of the Chinese National Anthem è µ ·Ã¦  ¥Ã¤ ¸ Ã¦â€ž ¿Ã¥ Å¡Ã¥ ¥ ´Ã©Å¡ ¶Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¤ º ºÃ¤ » ¬ Stand up! Those who are unwilling to become slaves! 把我ä » ¬Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¨ ¡â‚¬Ã¨â€šâ€°Ã§ ­â€˜Ã¦Ë† Ã¦Ë†â€˜Ã¤ » ¬Ã¦â€" °Ã§Å¡â€žÃ©â€¢ ¿Ã¥Å¸Å½! Take our flesh, and build it to become a new Great Wall! ä ¸ ­Ã¥ Å½Ã¦ °â€˜Ã¦â€" Ã¥Ë† °Ã¤ ºâ€ Ã¦Å"ی  ±Ã©â„¢ ©Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¦â€" ¶Ã¥â‚¬â„¢ The Chinese people have reached a most dangerous time, æ ¯ Ã¤ ¸ ªÃ¤ º ºÃ¨ ¢ «Ã¨ ¿ «Ã§ â‚¬Ã¥ â€˜Ã¥â€¡ ºÃ¦Å"ی Å½Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¥  ¼Ã¥ £ °Ã£â‚¬â€š Every person is being compelled to send issue a final roar. è µ ·Ã¦  ¥Ã¨ µ ·Ã¦  ¥Ã¨ µ ·Ã¦  ¥ Arise! Arise! Arise! 我ä » ¬Ã¤ ¸â€¡Ã¤ ¼â€"ä ¸â‚¬Ã¥ ¿Æ' We are millions with one heart, 冒ç â‚¬Ã¦â€¢Å'ä º ºÃ§Å¡â€žÃ§â€š ®Ã§  «Ã¥â€° Ã¨ ¿â€º Braving our enemy’s gunfire, march on! 冒ç â‚¬Ã¦â€¢Å'ä º ºÃ§Å¡â€žÃ§â€š ®Ã§  «Ã¥â€° Ã¨ ¿â€º! Braving our enemy’s gunfire, march on! å‰ Ã¨ ¿â€ºÃ¥â€° Ã¨ ¿â€ºÃ¨ ¿â€º! March on! March on! Charge!

Managed health care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Managed health care - Essay Example The patient’s confidentiality must be protected by the provider. A provider is liable for breach of patient’s confidentiality if they disclose confidential information related to the patient without their consent as required by the law (Roberts, 2000). When a managed care organization asks for the client’s personal information to make payment decisions, it may undermine the confidentiality of the patient (Wellspring Counseling, 2005). Providers should be careful in limiting the ability of the managed care organization to modify or amend the contract on its own. If it is possible, the provider is supposed to negotiate the amendment provision, which necessitates the consent of the concerned parties before any amendment is done (Roberts, 2000). Majority of the managed care contracts possess dispute resolution clauses. These clauses deal with the manner in which disputes associated with the agreement will be resolved by the entities. The dispute resolution process includes mediation, arbitration, and litigation in court (Roberts, 2000). The contract must indicate that the provider is not mandated to offer, â€Å"any services under the contract that it does not ordinarily and customarily provide to its patients who are not members of the contracting MCO and its affiliate plans† (Ziel, 1997). The concerned entities may consider adding a clause that particularly lists all the services provided by the MCO and the plans (Ziel, 1997). One of the key issues in quality assurance and utilization management is that providers can be subjected by the managed care organizations to utilization management procedures and policies, which are administered inconsistently and unjustly. There are cases where the providers are not even offered the copies of the policies (Roberts, 2000). A provider is supposed to think about its mandates under the agreement before the contract is

Franchising Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Franchising Marketing - Essay Example Franchising has been recognized as a successful business model leading to accelerated expansion of the new store with local control of the franchise owners assuring lesser financial risks with rewards associated with local ownership which requires lower level of supervision and economies of scale. "The most widely accepted definition of a franchise refers to a contractual relationship between a franchisee (usually taking form of a small business) and a franchisor (usually a larger business) in which the former agrees to produce or market a product or service in accordance with the blueprint devised by the franchisor"(Stanworth et al. 1995) Management Structures: Franchising is primarily defined in terms of the legal business agreement between two partners, the franchisor and the franchisee. The franchisor, who has previously established a market-tested business package of products or services, enters into a continuing contractual relationship with a number of franchisees, typically small business owners, who must operate their businesses according to the franchisor's specified format (Curran and Stanworth, 1983). The franchisor provides a proven method of operation, support, and advice on the setting up of the new franchisees, and also guarantees continuing support to the franchisee. In return, the franchisee pays a lump sum entrant fee and other charges for regular services (that is, royalty on sales, advertising fees, marketing levy) (Fulop and Forward, 1997). Franchising has been adopted a growth strategy for many firms in business with the advent of globalization. It is a different from other form of business. A f ranchise is a hybrid form of business characterized by complex contractual arrangements (Eisenhardt, 1989). Though many franchises operate between hybrid and the hierarchy (centralized or organizational) firm and incorporate both the franchised units as well as the company owned outlets (Brickley and Dark, 1987) In a hybrid operation, the franchisor monitors and controls the franchisee within the limits specified in the franchise agreement. In contrast, the franchisor operates company-owned outlets through his or her authority over a centralized bureaucracy or as a hierarchical organization. The resource scarcity theory and the agency theory explained the theory of franchising around the hybrid and hierarchy forms of franchise organization. Support for the agency theory as a rationale behind franchising was substantial. Research found that the franchisee motivation as an agent was perceived to be the most important strategy of the franchise firms (Oxenfelt and Kelly, 1968-69) while the capital advantage of franchising, which was proposed by the resource scarcity theory, had a low acknowledgement by the franchisors (Lillis, Narayana and Gilman, 1976). The franchisee's high motivation was probably derived from the nature of the franchise relationship. Franchising involves an exchange relationship between franchisor and franchisee which was sometimes described as a partnership or strategic alliance (Stanworth and Kaufmann, 1996). The franchisee is simply managing an outlet featuring the corporate strategy of the franchisor and to a certain extent possesses a degree of autonomy in managing the outlet (Dant and Gundlach, 1998). Unlike the company-owned manager, the franchisee enjoys more dependency in running the day-to-day business Franchisee and Franchisor: The

Analyse Noras character throughout the play Essay Example for Free

Analyse Noras character throughout the play Essay In A Dolls House Ibsens use of language reflects on the dramatic change we see in Noras character. Ibsen uses issues that arose during the 19th century to construct themes and most importantly build up characters, all with their own distinctive language. Noras character changes from the beginning of the play to the end and Ibsen does this with the use of her change in language. At the beginning of the play, Nora is still a child in many ways, listening at doors and guiltily eating forbidden sweets behind her husbands back. She has gone straight from her fathers house to her husbands, bringing along her nursemaid to emphasize the fact that shes never grown up. Shes also never developed a sense of self. Shes always accepted her fathers and her husbands opinions. And shes aware that Torvald would have no use for a wife who was his equal. But like many children, Nora knows how to manipulate Torvald by pouting or by performing for him. In the end, it is the truth about her marriage that awakens Nora. Although she may suspect that Torvald is a weak, petty man, she clings to the illusion that hes strong, that hell protect her from the consequences of her act. But at the moment of truth, he abandons her completely. She is shocked into reality and sees what a sham their relationship has been. She becomes aware that her father and her husband have seen her as a doll to be played with, a figure without opinion or will of her own; first a doll-child, then a doll-wife. She also realizes that she is treating her children the same way. Her whole life has been based on illusion rather than reality. When we first see Nora and Helmer together in the beginning of Act One she is Extravagant and we notice that she is financially reckless; Oh yes, Torvald, we can be a little extravagant now cant we? Just a tiny bit? Youre getting a big salary now, and youre going to make lots of money. She uses short phrases within a series of questions and exclamations: this shows her child-like behaviour. She is influenced by money, having no independence and always relying on Helmer, she doesnt understand the value of it. He gives her status. Nora has a Fast tempo whilst speaking; this shows her excitement and childlike behaviour, pooh. When talking to Helmer Nora is manipulative, she uses his nicknames on herself in order to please Helmer, squanderbird. She is scared of Helmer (as a father figure he may punish her), therefore accepting anything he says; Very well, Torvald. As you say. She is Flirtatious and plays with his coat buttons in order to get what she wants. Noras domination in the conversation with Mrs Linde and her use of repetition of the word I shows that she is in a sense showing off and trying to be superior in front of Miss Linde. We see this in Act One when she meets with Mrs Linde; I too have done something to be happy and proud about. It was I who saved Torvalds life. Nora is trying to gain respect from her friend by revealing a secret that she thinks will illustrate her practical side, showing that she is a supportive wife and has also had to face troubles. Years from now, when I am no longer pretty, Nora keeps the secret from her husband to maintain status quo. She will tell him in the future when she is no longer pretty and she will need to gain his respect through other means than playing games and dressing up. Ibsen uses Prosodic features: fast tempo, emotional; in order for us to know that that here Nora is erratic. In Noras two long speeches, on pages thirty six and thirty seven we learn more about her character through her use of language.

Identity in House Made of Dawn Essay -- House Made of Dawn Essays

Identity in House Made of Dawn       In 1969 N. Scott Momaday won the Pulitzer Prize for his phenomenal work, House Made of Dawn.   The novel addresses the issue of identity, how it can be lost as well as recovered.   Momaday offers insightful methods of recovering or attaining one's identity. Momaday once made the following now famous statement:    We are what we imagine.   Our very existence consists in our imagination of ourselves.   Our best destiny is to imagine, at least, completely, who and what, and that we are.   The greatest tragedy that can befall us is to go unimagined (Owens, 93).    For Momaday, imagination is the key to identity, and it is this key that Momaday offers as a solution to the problem of identity in House Made of Dawn.   Momaday's protagonist, Abel, cannot imagine who he is.   In chronicling Abel's effort to regain his ability to imagine, Momaday offers inextricably intertwined methods to regain one's 'imagination'.      Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The prologue of House Made of Dawn begins with the word 'Dypaloh'. This word signals a shift into the Native American oral tradition. Traditionally, storytelling have definite responsibilities.   According to Louis Owens in Other Destinies, the responsibilities are:   "to tell us who we are and where we come from, make us whole and heal us, to integrate us fully within the world in which we live and make that world inhabitable, to compel order and reality" (93).   In defining the responsibilities of storytelling, Owens also gives a description of the 'identified individual', one who has a strong sense of identity and is fully self-imagined.   The identified individual knows were he is from and where he is going.   He is not fragmented, and k... ...motion.   Running is perseverance.   Running is believing that identity can be recovered.   If Abel did not believe it possible to find his proper place, he would already by lost, stagnant, still waiting.   Running is action.   Stories are also action.   They are inherently active in passing on crucial knowledge.   A story that is not told, that is not related, can have no meaning.   Stories show the proper order of reality.   Both running and stories are crucial elements in Abel's recovering his identity.   The things they represent, motion, perseverance, order, and knowledge, are crucial in anyone's quest for identity, not just Native peoples, but the people of the human race. Works Cited: Momaday, N. Scott.   House Made of Dawn. New York: Harper and Row, 1968. Owens, Louis.   Other Destinies. Univ. of Oklahoma Press: Norman and London, 1992

Childhood Obesity Essay

What is making the next generation fat? Just a decade or so ago the debate of childhood obesity was not even a matter to be discussed. Our grandparents never even questioned the weight of their children. Their children, our parents, ate healthy foods at the family dining table and played outside all day long, but the subject of childhood obesity has gained quite a bit of interest since those days. With the ever so growing popularity of fast foods, the introduction of Play station and Xbox games and the more demanding careers of today’s parents, the overdevelopment of both urban and suburban areas our kids are living sedentary lives and are becoming very overweight. The epidemic of childhood obesity is rapidly rising in America. The number of children who are now overweight has tripled since 1980 and the prevalence of obesity in younger children has more than doubled. Overall, approximately 17% or 12.5 million of the children in the United States between the ages of 2 and 19 are already obese (_C_ _enters for Disease Control and Prevention_ _, 2012_). This finding is very disturbing to many Americans and has caused many debates on who is responsible for this rising epidemic and how can we control it. Childhood obesity is measured by the body mass index (BMI). The BMI is calculated using a child’s height and weight. BMI does not measure body fat directly, but it is a reasonable indicator of body fatness for most children. A child’s weight status is determined using an age and sex specific percentile for BMI rather than the normal BMI categories which are used to determine an adult BMI. These are used because a child’s body composition varies as they age and also varies between boys and girls. Overweight in a child is defined as a BMI at or above the 85th percentile and lower than the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex.  Obesity in a child is defined as a BMI at or above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex. The causes of childhood obesity are multi-factorial. Obesity in children is caused by a lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating habits, media and marketing campaigns, adverse family conditions, stress and the avai lability of technology. Most Americans agree that childhood obesity is more prevalent today than ever before. If you look into the bedroom of an average American child you find video games, a computer, usually a television and possibly some other electronic gadgets. Today American children have access to just about anything they could ever want. They just ask and most parents will buy them whatever they want. If you looked into the same child’s room thirty or forty years ago you would have probably found baby dolls, toy trucks and probably even some books. You would have found the neighborhood children outside playing in the kickball or hide and seek in the yard. Children played outside from sun up to sun down. The playing of these physical activities outside has unfortunately been replaced by the inactive high tech toys of today. The kick ball and hide and seek games of thirty years ago have now been replaced with games being played on the Play Station, Xbox or Wii. It is estimated that children in the United States are spending at least twenty five percent of their waking hours watching television and statistically children who watch the most hours of television have the highest incidence of obesity. If you take another look inside the house of 30 years ago you would find a dad who went to work every day and a mom who stayed home to tend to the household duties and the children. With the rising cost of our day to day living expenses in America, most homes now must have both dad and mom working full time to make ends meet. Over the last two decades there has been an increase in the number of dual income families as more women have entered the workforce and more women become the sole supporter for their single parent family. This new way of living has caused American children to eat whatever is convenient for mom or dad to fix or for some children to eat whatever is easiest for them to fix for themselves. Constraints on time has made working parents rely more heavily on prepared, processed, and fast  foods, which are generally high calorie, high fat, and low in nutritional content. Usually these â€Å"easy† meals come in greasy bags from fast food establishments or in plastic wrappers within a frozen cardboard box and have to be cooked in the microwave before eating. In some homes the stove never even gets warm from preparing a meal more than once a week. These â€Å"easy† meals are contributing to the growing epidemic of childhood obesity. Today’s youth are considered the most inactive generation in history and the marketers of fast food have taken full advantage of it. American children are exposed to some 40,000 or more food advertisements per year. (_U.S. D_ _ept. of Health & Human Services_ _, 2011_). Most of these advertisements promote fast food. Therefore, the expanding fast-food industry is another cause for the rising childhood obesity epidemic. Fast food companies like McDonald’s or Burger King are not only selling their food, but also have a way of marketing which is not fair to consumers. Most fast food restaurants offer a toy together with a children’s meal. Usually the toy is from a popular new movie or television show so it is very appealing to children. Children are stimulated to eat junk food because they know they will be rewarded with a toy. Psychological issues and stress are said to cause obesity in adults, but they both can cause obesity in children as well. Some children have a difficult time dealing with stress, so they use food to comfort them when they feel unsure of things. Like adults, they too use food as a comfort when they feel, bored, anxious or angry. Children in the past did not have to worry so much about parents being divorced and remarried, mothers that worked long hours or fathers that traveled for most of the week. Today’s economy has put financial strain on parents and children cannot help but to hear and feel the results of these tough economic times. The children of this generation are all too familiar with all of these situations. Each child has to contend with different factors in their lives and they too turn to food as a solution. Our environment too has an effect on the growing number of obese children. Experts are now looking to at our environment as a cause of the rapid  increase of obesity in children in the United States. In urban and suburban areas the overdeveloped environment can create obstacles for children to stay physically active. In urban areas the space for outdoor recreation can be scarce, which prevents kids from having a protected place to play. Neighborhood crime, lack of street lighting and busy traffic can impede children from being able to run and play or ride bicycles as a means of daily exercise. In the suburban areas, the evolution of ‘sprawl’ can prevent children from walking or biking and contributes to the great amount of dependence on using motor vehicles to get around. Suburban neighborhoods too lack resources for physical recreation and many suburban neighborhoods do not include sidewalks. Genetics and DNA are also contributing factors in the causes of childhood obesity. A group of British researchers checked the DNA of 300 children who were overweight. They looked for extra copies or deletions of DNA segments. They found evidence that a deletion of DNA may promote obesity. The deletion of chromosome 16 is thought to cause obesity in children because it removes a gene that the brain needs to respond to the appetite controlling hormone leptin. Children with a chromosome 16 deletion appear to have a very strong drive to eat. These children are very, very hungry and always want to eat. (_British Medical Association, 2005_) This very slim chance may be the only cause that we cannot change. Unfortunately, some children are destined to obesity. These children are born with the genes that cause them to put on weight more easily and quicker than other children. These children end up storing the fat more easily than other children. There is not anything these children can do about their genes. Despite the strong influence that genetics can have on the epidemic of childhood obesity, studies show that our genetic makeup has not changed dramatically over the last couple of generations. Therefore the increases and prevalence of childhood obesity has to be mostly from other behavioral and environmental factors, not genetics. There are a number of root causes of obesity in the children of the United States. Selecting one or two main causes is next to impossible because the potential influences are multiple and intertwined. With the contributing factors of technology, family structure, advertising, stress and our  physical environment we are making the next generation fat. We can make small changes that will have a significant impact on the issue of childhood obesity. Parents and caregivers can encourage children to adopt healthy eating habits and be more physically active. We need to focus on overall good health, not necessarily a certain goal weight. We should teach and model healthy and positive attitudes toward food and physical activity. We should establish daily meal and snack times, and eat together as families as much as possible. When we shop for groceries we should purchase foods that will give children a wide variety of healthful foods to choose from. We should try to plan meals and serve them in sensible portions. Allowing children to â€Å"scoop† their own food can promote them eating in unhealthy amounts. These are just a few ideas of small change that can make a huge difference. We also need to promote exercise as much as possible. Having children walk to school when distance and safety allows is great exercise. Children should be encouraged to play outdoor games rather than just be allowed to sit in front of the television. There are plenty of activities that our children can do to get exercise. Remember even household chores like raking leaves or running the vacuum cleaner constitute as exercise. Washing the car on a hot summer day can be fun while they are getting exercise. Some children will jump at the chance to earn a few bucks. Children can be rewarded with a few dollars and they will never know they are being bribed into getting some exercise. Eating out is another place to be mindful of our decisions. When eating out is it important to be conscious of our food choices and try to keep healthy eating in mind. Lots of fast food places now offer healthy alternatives. The obesity issue is prevalent in the next generation, but it is not too late for us to work together to reverse this epidemic. REFERENCES British Medical Association, June 2005. _Preventing Childhood Obesity._ London: British Library Catalog. Centers for Disease Control, July 16, 2012, _Overweight and Obesity_. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html Ford-Martin, Paula. _(2005) The Everything Parent’s Guide to the Overweight Child._ Massachusetts: Adams Media Hassink, Sandra G, MD, FAAP. (2006) A _Parent’s Guide to Childhood Obesity._ United States: American Academy of Pediatrics. Herscher, Elaine, Woolston, Chris and Tartamella, Lisa. (2004) _Generation Extra Large._ New York, New York: Basic Books. Ludwig, David, MD, Ph.D. (2007) _Ending the Food Fight._ New York: Houghton Mifflin Co. Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne, Ph.D. (2005) â€Å"I’m Like, So Fat!† New York: The Guilford Press U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, April 19, 2011, _Childhood Obesity._ Retrieved from: http://www.hhs.gov

Gender Equity Issues in Antigone Essay

In our present day, many believe they should be treated fairly regardless of their race, religious beliefs, or gender. When gender equity is put on the table as the main discussion we may find women to have more aggressive opinions and views rather than men. Some will suggest this is due to the thousands of years women have been limited to certain rights that men are so freely able to obtain. Greek men are born and viewed as the superior being while women face limits on their freedom and justice. They are, however, given restrictive rules and laws that do not apply equally to their counterpart. According to one analysis of Antigone, â€Å"women individuality were violated and hidden while they were subjugated by a man’s desire†(Karim, 2012). In Antigone, Sophocles changes the script of many before him, as he displays his main character, Antigone, a courageous and respectful woman, who has great beliefs in the Gods. Antigone is quick to put her family before the law as she goes against the king’s order. Antigone can be looked upon as a great leader of society except there’s one problem; she is a woman which has great effects on the actions she wishes to take. Even though Ismene, Antigone’s sister, understands her decision she goes along with the king’s order to keep from disobeying the law. Antigone feels that the king, Creon, is being unjust when he doesn’t allow her to give her brother, Polynices, a proper burial. Creon becomes devastated when he finds out that it’s a woman who has publicly defied him. â€Å"There are factors, such as, catastrophes, wars, and events that have effects on the culture, history, and politics of one society. However, sometimes domestic issues can also cause great debate and reflect large concerns governing society and culture† (Rokem, 2006). Antigone’s rebellious act upset gender roles and threaten the Greek culture. Women in the Greek Society In Ancient Greece it was very common for men to have a dominant role. Men were highly involved in politics and it was very rare to see women engage in jobs that were thought to be more suited for men. Women stayed in the home and if they worked they normally held jobs as maids or servants. Men looked for wives who didn’t speak much but instead kept to their cleaning, weaving, and caring for the children. Women were forbidden to go against the beliefs of men and if they spoke out against a man then harsh consequences would follow. The Consequences Antigone Will Bare In Sophocles’, Antigone, Creon sees Antigone as a threat to his society. He hates that a woman is going against his first order as king. He makes it clear that Polynices is not to be buried but will remain on the field of battle to rot. When Antigone, a woman, buries her brother, Polynices, Creon is devastated. Creon feels Antigone is trying to rule over him. She is thought of as disobeying Creon and the law he has set forth. He wants to make an example of her and punish her for going against his law and his gender role. Creon: The Male Role Throughout the play, Antigone, Creon displays his feeling of women time after time. He doesn’t hold back his beliefs that men are dominant and should never be over powered by any woman. Creon states to Antigone, â€Å"while I live, no woman shall rule me† (Sophocles, Jebb trans). Creon feels that Antigone is out of order by defying him. He hates that Antigone is breaking the law but he also hates the fact that as a woman she is going against him. Creon Creon: The Male Role doesn’t care that his son, Haemon, has asked Antigone to marry him. Once Antigone breaks the law and confesses her beliefs to him, Creon will not approve of her as a wife for his son. He has to terminate her womanly courage and sentence her to death. Many women in the kingdom probably felt the same as Antigone but they dare not express them to a man. Ismene even felt that Antigone was being treated unjustly but she remained in her woman role and would not stand with Antigone. At one point she couldn’t understand why Antigone was reacting in such an unlawful way. Ismene Beliefs as a Woman Many readers may feel that Ismene was nothing more than a coward. Some may ask how she could stand by and allow someone to disrespect her dead brother. Unfortunately, Ismene beliefs and actions were those of many women in their society. It was expected of Ismene, as a woman, to follow the word of man and his law. Ismene is willing to defy the Gods in order to respect the laws of man. She is afraid of Creon and she allows herself to be governed by him. She is like all other women in her society who know their boundaries. Ismene kept her inner thoughts to herself. She was upset that no one else in the town would not stand and support Antigone’s decision. Ismene displays her feelings of being a woman to Antigone as she says, â€Å"Nay we must remember, first, that we are born women, as who should not strive with men; next, that we are ruled of the stronger, so that we must obey in these things† (Sophocles, Jebb trans). Ismene beliefs are common in comparison to other women in her society but Antigone was not going to stand by and allow men to defy the Gods, even if it meant death for her. A Courageous Woman The character, Antigone, was an interesting and dynamic role due to her personal traits. Antigone held her personal convictions tightly and her beliefs in the Gods tighter. She held her allegiance first to the gods rather than to the mortal institutions of man. Antigone was not just a rebellious role but was much different than other docile women of her day. Despite being a woman, Antigone is not afraid of disobeying Creon’s law nor is she afraid to tell Creon how she has no respect for him. Antigone was being punished for following the Gods which were of higher statue than Creon’s law. She stated, â€Å"I have longer to please the dead than please the living her: in the kingdom down below, I’ll lie forever. Do as you please and dishonor the laws the gods hold in honor† (Sophocles, Jebb trans). She will not defy the Gods to please Creon and takes her death sentence lightly. Creon hates that Antigone won’t go against her beliefs. She knows she is being used as an example to show other women how to not act. It takes the Gods to interrupt Creon’s death sentence to Antigone. Unfortunately, it comes too late and before Creon can release Antigone she has already taken her own life. Thoughts of Antigone Antigone is a reminder of how women were mistreated in previous societies. Even though the play ends tragically, Antigone will never be forgotten as a woman who stood up close to her beliefs regardless if she was cast away by an authoritive male figure. She didn’t care if she had to stand alone but she was willing to die rather than obey man’s law and dishonor the Gods. Karim (2012) suggests, â€Å"routine fundamental subject of burial of the dead created conflict relative to law, religion, and culture. It also generated critical debate on a woman’s status. † Thoughts of Antigone Antigone was a role model to other women because she remained true to her religion by going against the culture and law of her society.

The Notion of Nation essays

The Notion of Nation essays The word "nation" may mean differing things to divergent people. To most Americans, the word means a democracy where freedom reigns and patriotism is still strong. In a democratic nation, success is open to just about anyone with new ideas. Dictionary.com defines the word as "A relatively large group of people organized under a single, usually independent government; a country." However, just a glimpse at the nations who comprise the United Nations show just how loose that definition can be. Some of the "member states" include Iran, Iraq, China, Viet Nam, and the United States. Clearly, there are very differing forms of government and national loyalties at work in each of these countries, and yet they are all known as nations. When the term nation first came into use, it seemed to represent nations that had gained their independence, or had formed common bonds to create a larger nation-state, such as the colonial United States, or the early Grecian nation-state, also known as an empire at first. It seems nations can bring out the best in their people, but that is not always the case. Some nations gain freedoms for their people, while others repress their people. An important part of any nation are the people who share it, for they bring their own collective pride and patriotism to their nation, and they can make it strong, or bring it down. Clearly, the most successful nations understand how to blend government with the people's wishes and concerns. Not all nations handle this effectively, and this is why there seems to be so much turmoil in the world. Nations cannot always agree on themselves and their needs, and so they cannot communicate these needs with the nations surrounding them. Nationalism is a strong feeling of national pride, and the strongest nations cultivate this pride, while still managing to work effectively with the other nations of the world....

Top 12 Most Useful Apps for Busy Professionals

Top 12 Most Useful Apps for Busy Professionals We’re all attached to our smartphones all the time. Why not make the most of them? Here are the 12 most useful  apps for professionals in the know and on the go. You’ll probably wonder how you ever got through your worklife without them. 1. PocketWho has time to read all the articles from Twitter and Facebook that we want to, on the fly? Pocket lets you save content for future reads, from multiple programs. And the content is available offline for subway or airplane reading.2. TrelloTrello is a project management app which makes team collaboration a snap. Brainstorm, allocate tasks, and monitor checklists all from the app.3. TeuxDeuxThis iOS-only app is the to-do list for the ages. Mark things off with a snap and be sure that unfinished tasks will roll over to the next day.4. TurboScanTake a picture of a document with your phone and turn it into a JPG or a PDF. You can stop hoarding receipts and unnecessary paperwork and digitize your files in a snap.5. LastPassStore all of your passwords (securely) in one place- especially the ones that require you to change them every 60 days.6. 30/3030/30(iOS only) helps you focus and tune out distractions by setting a timer for you to work on one task at a time. Tune out all the outside noise and the distraction of being pulled in multiple directions.7. DoodleGive up the endless scheduling email chain. Doodle let’s participants set their availability and then it comes up with meeting times that everyone can make. Easy.8. SwiftKeyFree yourself from cringeworthy autocorrects. This app replaces your keyboard with one that will adapt to your particular typing quirks. You’ll type faster and typos won’t end up grotesquely out of context.9. SignEasyForget printing, signing, scanning. SignEasy helps you e-sign documents (PDF or Word) wherever you are.10. CircaGet the day’s leading news headlines in a quick and easy format so you can catch up over coffee breaks and at lunch and still be in the know.11. VenmoDon’t be the jerk at the dinner party with no cash and no Venmo. Or the one who can’t contribute to the boss’s holiday gift on the fly. Send money to anyone with the app- instantly and securely.12. MintMonitor your bank accounts, your spending patterns, pay your bills on time, and set a budget you can keep.

Critically Discuss the Suitability, Feasibility and Acceptability of Essay

Critically Discuss the Suitability, Feasibility and Acceptability of the International Strategy of Amazon.com Organisation - Essay Example Amazon.Com has been one of the initial companies to sell goods over the web. The company was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994, and launched to the worldwide market in 1995. Initially, the company started as an online bookstore and then rapidly broadened into different divisions such as Video Home System tapes and DVDs, music CDs, software, video games, electronic goods, toys, furniture and clothing as well as food items. Amazon considers its existence as entirely customer-centric business, which is focused on their company statement or the value of the organisation. The organisational value of Amazon is guided by certain leadership principles. These principles include customer obsession which intends to consider at the centre-stage for each and every customer who visit their online retail site. Furthermore, the company’s ownership is also a valuable component for its progression for the long-term. The organisational values also consider sustaining utmost standards of the offering s and to hire as well as develop the best possible talents within the organisation. (Amazon. Com Inc., 2012). The main objective of this report is to analyse the international strategic plans of Amazon and to discuss the appropriateness, practicability as well as the adequacy of international strategies implemented by Amazon. The Strategy of Amazon in the International Business The notion of business strategy is concerned with the marketing of products and/or services as well as it also involves decision making about economic aspects, human resource strategies, manufacturing and operations along with certain other business components. The main purpose of a strategic business plan in an organisation is to set the direction of the business and to provide the company a set structure so that the products or the services it provides can meet the selected business objectives or the goals of the organisation (Open Office, 2004). The e-marketing plan provides a wide road map for the success of an e-business organisation such as Amazon. It is necessary to create a spontaneo us overview of a good market plan which ensures a complete understanding of the e-business model. E-business model describes the architecture of information delivery along with its available products and services as well as the complete picture of sources of revenues (Embellix Software, 2000). Marketing management is a very necessary aspect because the business of Amazon operates in hostile and altering multifarious environment. The ability of a business to achieve profitable sales is impacted by a large number of environmental factors. Marketing plan is useful in a business which assists to recognise a source of competitive advantage, enables to commit to a strategy, get the resources needed to invest in the business, as well as to measure the performance of the business in a particular environment (Serrat, 2008). There are certain strategic levels which are needed to be analysed for understanding the international strategy of Amazon and their appropriateness, practicability and ad equacy. Market Development Level With regard to the corporate objectives of an organisation, marketing planning provides an important framework. In relation to marketing planning, market development plays a crucial part in an organisation’s international strategy (Embellix Software, 2000). In this context, for market development, Amazon has acquired a specific growth prospect, advantages and cost effectiveness through their e-tailing

Significant life changing moment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Significant life changing moment - Essay Example e, entire fate gets changed from even very small changes in life, in this discussion I would tell you what turning points my life took and how I changed my self entirely. I was born in a lower class family with so many problems and I saw my parents fighting all the time with no mercy, both of my parents were quite opposite to each other and they had no match, still I wonder why God made such a terrible match, but now I realize that it all happened because God was willing me to get birth from that couple, I was never comfortable as a child, though I was the only one to take birth and had no one around except my parents, as a kid I never gained attention of my parents because of numerous reasons, firstly my father who was a sports person, used to have very less earning and what ever he used to earn he never gave it to me and my mother, this was the first clash between my parents, secondly my mother also had to do part time jobs in order to support me and herself, so there was no way to get individual attention from either of my parents, life was never easy for me, I still remember when I used to walk and visualize all the happenings of my life at an ea rly age, I tried my level best to bring my parents closer but was failed each time, may be because they were also never comfortable with each other and also they never thought of sacrificing their lives for me and one day they both got apart forever, I was five when they got divorced, it was decided that I would live with my mother as my father was never willing to keep me and that is what exactly happened, â€Å"Modern childhood is often portrayed in terms of enhanced democratic relationships between parents and children, with the assumption that childrens negotiating power has increased over time†(Jensen, 1: 2003). My father was a strange person and he was said to be psychotic by my mother in which she was quite true, my father remarried to his old time friend who was a nurse at some hospital but he was again a