Republic of India

India, officially the Republic of India (Bharat Ganrajya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country with over 1. 2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;[d] China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east.In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia. Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history.Four world religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Judaism, Zoroast rianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.Rabindranath Tagore is Asia's first Nobel laureate and composer of India's national anthem Swami Vivekananda was a key figure in introducing Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and USA, raising interfaith awareness and making Hinduism a world religion. The Indian economy is the world's tenth-largest by nominal GDP and third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the fastest-growing major economies; it is considered a newly industrialised country.However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, inadequate public healthcare, and terrorism. A nuclear weapons state and a regional power, it has the third-largest standing army in the world and ranks eighth in military expenditure among nations. India is a federal constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system consisting of 28 states and 7 union territories. India is a pluralistic, multilingual, and a multi-ethnic society. It is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats.

This Cody

â€Å"This Cody† Comparison Essay â€Å"What I wanted, I know now, was just to say our son’s name out loud. The crisp â€Å"c† and the rolling â€Å"o† and the slight flick of the tongue for the â€Å"dy†Ã¢â‚¬  (Anderson 5). This quote comes from the story â€Å"This Cody† by Lauri Anderson. It states how the narrator misses being able to say her sons name for he died not too long ago because he was kidnapped in a park. The husband feels as though his wife is a shame to him and she believes that the reason he does not look at her the same anymore is because the son looked exactly like her.Every time he looks at her face he sees his son and misses him so much. Although the author talks about many different types of scenes that the wife talks about in this story, Lauri Anderson portrays the narrator as a static character. I say she is a fixed character because her beliefs stay the same throughout the entire passage. For instance, she thinks t he dam is going to break constantly, she thinks her husband does not love her anymore because it was her fault for their son dying and also she tells the cops three bold face lies about her son.The narrator has dreams about the dam breaking throughout the entire short story. In these dreams, the author has the narrator use imagery to describe her dreams and how intense they were. For example, â€Å"I have dreams about it. They all start the same way. We wake to water two inches deep and the dogs whining, backed into their corners. All night we sweep the water out, but by morning, we’re wading waist-deep in the cold, fishless shallows, filling our buckets† (Anderson 4).The river that used to go through their neighborhood is not being stopped by the dam and the wife gives the river and the dam human characteristics, which is personification, and says that the river is mad and wants to destroy everything that is now in its path. â€Å"What I have learned is that when the river returns, it won’t be the same river. All that time pushing against a wall will make you desperate. All that time, you won’t care about this tidy home or that. If you are the river, you will say, show me a thing I can’t destroy, and if you are the dam, and you are tired of pushing back, you will secretly want to let go† (Anderson 6-7).The narrator also says â€Å"Sometimes I can hear a humming that seems to come from two places at once: from far down the creek and also somewhere inside me, as if the dam is as much aware of me as I am of it. As if I need only to step onto the porch and open my arms† (12). This is an example of personification. The wife thinks that the dam knows as much about her as she knows about the dam. She thinks that the dam is going to spill all of her secrets and make everything worse than what it is now between her husband and herself.The dam is also an example of a symbol because it represents the relationship between the wife and the husband. â€Å"The dam is holding back every drop it was built to contain. Its concrete walls are eight feet thick. It is designed to collapse in and not out† (Anderson 16). All of the lies that she told the police and her husband are hidden behind the dam and the moment that the dam breaks is the moment when the entire world will know that she was selfish. â€Å"I told myself that he was fine, the park was safe. I told myself I deserved a few minutes alone with the sun and with the trees moving overhead† (Anderson 16).She was selfish in thinking that she needed time to rest her eyes in a public place instead of looking out for where her son was and knowing exactly where he was. Instead of thinking he is just in one of his hiding places or sitting on the ground right in front of her, she should have been going everywhere that he went. The wife’s husband did not start getting mad at her and being disgusted with her presence until their son died. The wife lied to the cops three times when their son died so that the blame was not on her and the husband would not leave her. On the day I lost our son, I told three lies. First, I said he had only been missing for fifteen minutes, when it was really more like an hour. Fifteen minutes still sounded hopeful, I thought† (Anderson 6). She thought that the lie would make herself feel better and it did for a while but she eventually started feeling bad about lying to the cops about something that was her fault. â€Å"The second lie I told on that day I lost my son was about a hat. I told the detective he was wearing one-a blue baseball cap with an orange fish on the front.I said this because it was a hot day, nearly ninety degrees in the city, and when we arrived at the park, I saw all of the kids were wearing hats and even tiny pairs of glasses† (Anderson 10-11). The wife did not want to seem like a bad mother because she lost her own son, although later it would be estab lished that she was, so she lied to the cops about her own son wearing a hat and watched the man write it down on his notepad without even flinching or showing regret on her face. There were a number of things that the narrator confesses to the audience about what she did not tell the cops at the end of the story. I’ve never said that I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. I’ve never said that that I’d forgotten my sunglasses, and that the sun threw dappled shadows on my eyelids. No one knows that for maybe half an hour before I faded into sleep, I listened to my son playing nearby with another child, the sound like birds chasing each other in the trees† (Anderson 15). This quote is an example of dramatic irony in that the husband does not know that it was the wife’s fault for their son being kidnapped. We the audience knows that she was the reason that her son was stolen at a park and kidnapped and had God know what done to him.The narrator also uses imagery to show how much the husband changed the way he looked and how different and difficult her life is now that their son died. â€Å"Some days I don’t recognize him. He’s grown out his beard, and the paunch I so lovingly stroked is now all muscle, his abdominals like flat stones stacked atop one another† (Anderson 4). The narrator’s husband changed the way he looked after the death. â€Å"I’m different two. Our dogs, two purebred Heelers Brian insisted we buy to go with our new life, won’t come when I call. The chickens peck my head when I reach for the eggs. The garden dies all at once, overnight.Last night, I found a scorpion on my pillow, his dancer’s arms poised to strike† (Anderson 4). This quote states how much the place that she is living now does not like her and she feels as though they are all out to get her, including her own husband. The author of the story â€Å"This Cody†, Lauri Anderson, uses di fferent types of figurative language and imagery to portray the narrator as a static character. The wife is constantly thinking that the dam is going to break and all of her secrets will be revealed to her husband and the rest of the world and she everyone would know how bad of a mother she is.Throughout the story the narrator believes that her husband does not love her anymore because he blames her for his son’s death. He can not stand to look at her for their son looked exactly like her and every time he looks at her he sees his dead son. Also she continuously tells lies to the police and her husband about their son and what really happened that day at the park when he went missing. Works Cited Anderson, Lauri. â€Å"This Cody. † The Greensboro Review. 91. Spring (2012) : 4-16. Print.

Southwest Airlines Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Southwest Airlines - Case Study Example Some actions required for Southwest Airline during that period were decreasing income, market share, intensifying competition, and degrading operational effectiveness. Reason In 1978, after deregulation of Airline industry in U.S. the entire airline industry become too competitive as many of the privet companies tried to grab the market share by expanding their coverage and by reducing the service price significantly. In the mean time, Shuttle by United becomes the biggest threat for Southwest Airlines. In fact, Shuttle by United competed with Southwest Airline by matching the latter’s price and services. However, suddenly United BY Shuttle decided to incorporate two major changes that left the management of Southwest airline in state of confusion. Firstly, it discontinued its services from the most wanted markets i.e. California, Oakland-Ontario. Secondly, it also increased first class coach fare by $10. State objectives To respond against intensifying competitive forces spec ifically, rivalry among the market players likes Shuttle by United. To increase the revenue through an effective promotional and pricing strategies To expand the services coverage in the most profitable market areas. To enhance the operational performance in comparison to market leaders. Market Research After the deregulation U.S. airline industry, the entire market became highly attractive and degree of competition also increased significantly. By 1994, the U.S. airline markets turned into giant sectors as all types of carriers including major, national regional was accounted more than 2 billion annual revenue per year. The big five companies excluding Southwest Airline held more than 80% market share. One the hand, with increasing completion, the industry operating performance kept enhancing. Comparing to 1974, in 1994, there had been significant growth in revenue passengers-miles, available seat-miles, load factors etc. Since, 1990 till 1994, Southwest Airlines was the best perfo rmer as it significantly enhanced its operating performance and income. Market Segmentation Southwest along with Shuttle by United used to compete directly in same markets mainly, in California regions. The news of United’s withdrawal from a major route i.e. Oakland-Ontario might indicate that low fare strategy negatively impacted operational performance and United tried to avoid such situation. However, it kept focusing on California market. Therefore, this markets was also the best suited for Southwest airline. Southwest Airline also did not offer its services in many markets of California like in San Francisco. This would have a highly profitable. Southwest Airline did not compete with Shuttle by United on basis of fare classes like first class, business and economy class. By focusing on fare classes it was possible to specify and define customers’ marker segment. Price During that period, the competition in Airline industry was also based on pricing strategy. South west Airlines started to focus on low fare pricing strategy and it emphasized on its discounting offers. Southwest airline found difficult to compete with Shuttled by United. However, in order to compete with the key rival, Southwest reduced its fare price causing diminishing yield factor. Promotion Southwest mainly focused on creative marketing and promotional activities was meant to create brand differentiation. The prime agenda for

Lincoln Electric Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lincoln Electric - Essay Example Lincoln   Electric   follows   a   hierarchical   management   system. In   a   hierarchical   system, there   is   a   strict   distinction   between   the   different   levels   of   management   within   the   organization, with   each   level   or   hierarchy   concerned   with   the   functioning   of   that   level   only   (Armstrong, 2006). The   power   and   responsibilities   associated   with   the   management   of   the   organization   converge   from   the   workers   upward   toward   the   president   or   executives   of   the   company   (Armstrong, 2006), so   that   the   workers   are   at   the   lowest   stratum   and   the   president   or   the   managing   executives   at   the   highest   stratum   (Lincoln   Electric, 2010). This   holds   true   for   the   Lincoln   Electric   as   well, since   it   is   clearly   mentioned   in   their   company   description   that   there   is   a   well   defined   distinction   between   the   managers   and   workers   (Lincoln   Electric, 2010), and   although   open   communication   and   socializing   is   encouraged, the   fine   hierarchical   line   is   not   traversed   (Lincoln   Electric, 2010). The   company   has   workers, sales   representatives, supervisors, middle   managers, and   top   executives, with   each   level   functioning   within   its   own   boundaries   (Lincoln   Electric, 2010). The   management   of   the   company   provides   a   lot   of   incentives   to   its   workers   which   encourages   them   to   work   hard   and   with   sincerity   towards   producing   high   quality   products   and   increasing   the   yield   and   profits   of   the   company   (Lincoln   Electric, 2010). Since   the   total   profit   is   shared   among   the   workers   based   on   their   performance   and   merit   (Lincoln   Electric, 2010), it   is   only   in   the   interest   of   the   workers   to   work   hard   and   with   honesty   to   increase   the   profits. The   rewards   that   the   workers   get   are   substantial   (Lincoln   Electric, 2010). The   job   descriptions   and   requirements   are   clearly   and   precisely   defined   (Lincoln   Electric, 2010), and   given   the   capitalist   form   of   business   environment   in the   United   Sates   (Armstrong, 2006) as   opposed   to   the   labor   intensive   form   practiced   in   Europe   (Lincoln   Electric, 2010), this   system   has   proven   to   work   very   well   in   the   United States.  

Reflection questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflection questions - Essay Example For instance, I will understand and stop getting angry if my grandpa is too slow in doing some things, while my mother rushes me through some activities. This is the factor of age, which makes them perceive time differently. Additionally, if a person is too busy or not, also influences how they experience time. Since my mother has many things to do, she will do her things in a hurried manner, compared to my grandpa, who does not have a busy schedule as my mother’s. The philosophy of existentialism is unique. This holds that all human beings are free and under their own control. To a greater degree, human beings are in charge of their own life. Each person gives meaning to their life and to the different experiences, that life presents them. I concur with this philosophy, since today; there are diverse options to choose from in different spheres. Hence, I consider there is no absolute truth about what life should be and how it should be lived. Different people live their lives differently. While some will love their lives, others might not. Therefore, a person’s experiences in life, and what meanings an individual gives to those experiences, will greatly influence their life, as these will shape their life. This philosophy, I consider it to give some moral lessons. Even though there are things in life, which a person might not control, such as race, upbringing, and place of birth, once a person grows into a reasonable mind, they can capitalize on the things they can change in their life, through making wise decisions, which will improve their life. One of the best argument against immortality bases on the fact that death is a fundamental part of life cycle for all living things. For humans, death is important, as it forms the human experience. If people did not die, it would be impossible to experience some emotions, which are

Sociology of the Family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sociology of the Family - Essay Example The secondary stage of socialization usually takes place outside of the home, it can be at school, with peers or at a workplace - this is when most people begin will to socialize with people from different cultures (Laslett, 303). During this stage you may gain achieved roles such as getting a good job or becoming a mother/father and the changes in trends are recognized too from the jargon that is used, to the seasonal change in fashion trends. Norms are the things we are expected to do as they are regarded as being normal, values on the other hand are the principles we follow but we tend to take for granted e.g. writing. If a person breaks the norm then they are deviant and agencies of social control such as the police take over. These basic fundamentals are recognized by most people nowadays and explain why there arent as many cultural conflicts as there has been in the past. An example of cultural conflicts is during the early 19th century when White Americans came into contact with Native Americans - many conflicts and a few massacres had taken place simply because most of the White Americans were not willing to socialize and understand this Native culture (Kain, 955). A general perception of sociology is that it is the same as psychology. This is only correct to an extent, both the subjects are a part of social science and they look into the behavior of people (Bar-Yosef, 69). However, the difference is that psychology is the study of the mind and its mental states, whereas sociology looks at people on a broader scale, as it looks at the study of the structure and development of human societies. Today families are confronted with many problems. One issue is the imbalance in household and childcare labor done by men and women (Haralambous, 5). Another problem facing families today is the sharp rising in the number of elderly people. Changes to society may help fix some of these issues. Although society has made

Education Reforms - Key Factors Institution Should Consider When Explo Assignment

Education Reforms - Key Factors Institution Should Consider When Exploring a Change in Divisions - Assignment Example The third factor is ethnic and gender issues. The fourth factor is the financial influence. Other factors include knowing athletes at the university, ethnic/gender ratio at the university, knowing someone on the team, and the number of alumni in professional sports. These factors include the academic performance of the athlete, classroom attendance, and participation, presence of computer labs and library use. For an athlete to move from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division he or she must display a history of more than an average academic performance for a division I team to allow any student to join them. Chances are that a student who is an athlete and performs in class is more likely to get a chance to join a Division I institution. Academic also involve the use of both the library and computer lab. A student who has some knowledge of how to operate computers is also considered because of digital technology being used in the sports industry (Hawkins, 2010). These factors influence the sociological aspect of students who are sportspeople to move from Division II to Division I. Higher education institution must consider the social environment at the university, social atmosphere of the team, campus and the personality of the coach. Social environment includes all the factors that relate to students interacting with other students, team unity and discipline of the student (Einhorn & Rapoport, 2005). A disciplined student is able to differentiate wrong from wright and at the same time advises the colleagues positively both academic wise and in sports. The personality of the coach is also considered. A good example is how public schools use sports to socialize and demonstrate the significance of the schools to the community (Guthrie, 2003). Higher education institution must consider the extent to which the media displays the team. A good team is that which has few media scandals relating to its players.  Ã‚  

Supply Chain in Netflix Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Supply Chain in Netflix - Essay Example Here, the idea came of starting a similar business and bring more diversity and customer friendly policies (New Word City, 2010). The organization’s website was launched in April 1998. The new online version came with a more traditional pay-per-rental model. Customers were charged $4 dollars as rental fee and $2 as postage fee. At the end of 1999, Netflix introduced a monthly subscription concept. The single rental model was dropped in early 2000. Since then, the company has established a reputation on the flat-fee unlimited rentals business model. The model does not have late fees, due dates, per title rental fees or handling fees. The company maintained its extensive, personalized video recommendation system based on reviews and ratings by its customers. Netflix has played a vital role in enhancement of independent film distribution. The organization announced its billionth delivery at the beginning of 2007. By 2009, Netflix was offering more than 100,000 collections on DVD. During this time, the company had more than 10 million subscribers. In 2011, Netflix announced that it had reached more than 23 million subscribers in United States and 26 million all over the world. Revenues had gone in excess of $1.5 billion (Laseter and Elliot, 2012). The video entertainment industry is very competitive. Competition is increasing as new realizations are being established. Numerous companies are joining the industry based on the returns involved. The markets involved include hotels, airlines and theater video entertainment. The market is segmented into several strategic groups. This include sales, brick and mortar rentals, online rentals, DVD vending kiosks, video on demand services and mail-delivery services. Technological advancement is bringing various changes in the industry. The rental portion available from physical rentals is transforming to digital rentals (Sehgal, 2011). This is being provided via streaming channels that are connected through game consol es, set-top boxes and computers. All these applications work to bring the steaming aspect on consumers’ televisions. As a result, viewing is made easier, interactive and enhances availability at all times. Consumers have been divided into two segments. These include convenience consumers and needy consumers. Convenience consumers are young, watch videos when they can and use technology to access various titles. One the other hand, needy consumers are older and less prone to using new technologies. Needy consumers are subject to watching specific programming. Traditional home video entertainment is reaching stasis. For this reason, companies involved in the industry should concentrate on the streaming aspect. This will help in immersing substantial profits, in this competitive industry (Minis, 2011). Netflix is facing stiff competition from other players in the industry. New entrants are coming with new ideologies that are taking the industry with a storm. They are building on the loopholes that exist in at Netflix. The company needs to review its business models so as to operate profitably for as long as possible. Supply Chain Description Netflix has a varied supply chain. This is based on the nature of operations being conducted. Various ways have been diversified to help reach the consumers. Among the supply chain used by the company, is the internet and postal system. The company has instituted online DVD rentals. Members only need to chose their desired collections

Quantitative research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Quantitative research - Essay Example s article of (2009), an Input-Output Analysis, addresses the input and output analysis for Romania, which is one of the significant sources of information that investigates the interrelations between the different existing industries. The input-output analysis is necessary as it is used in the determination of the importance of the different economic value added, incomes, and employment in relationship to the economy. Delener (2010) â€Å"current trends in the global tourism industry: Evidence from the United States† address the modern ways in the United States travel industry. The article discusses the matter of the US travel industry due to the increasing nature of the tourism industry. The major hypothesis in each of the articles makes sense based on the manner in which they articulate the points. Each of the articles addresses matters of concern in the Tourism world. Ye, Li & Wang (2014), main argument is based on the way in which price influence pre purchase perceptions and the post purchase satisfaction. The development of e-tourism makes many individuals opt for that although the influence of price on post purchase perceptions in the internet is not known. The research therefore strives to know the influence of price on pre purchase options in the internet. Surugiu (2009), the central argument is on the input and output analysis of the Hotels and the restaurants sector in the tourism industry. The hotels and the restaurants form a vital part of the tourism industry.Delener (2010), the main argument is based on the ever-expanding nature of the tourism industry. The article, therefore, looks at the current trends in the travel industry, which is one of the indus tries correlated with the tourism industry. The travel industry forms a great part of the tourism sector and without each complementing one another the chances of the tourism industry failing is high. The study or rather the research design in articles was different based on the manner in which the

Human resouces management is nothing more than personal management Essay

Human resouces management is nothing more than personal management with a new label, Critically evaluate this statement - Essay Example Consequently, the concept of labor power that was sold by human beings had to be effectively organized. Hence, owner of firms and organizations began adapting to the world of management through the use of personnel management that had the sole responsibility of hiring and firing employees. Actually, employees welfare demand grew by the day, the world of management grew simultaneously to the extent that the personnel management could not accommodate the increasing demand for employees’ welfare and as such, most organizations and firms began replacing personnel management (PM) with human resource management (HRM). Apparently, the term human resource management has been used across the world for approximately a century. According to Soni (2013) the emergence of Human resource management (HRM) is believed to have started in England in the early 18th century when the west was experiencing the apprenticeship and craftsmen era. Moreover, the emergence of HRM was also significantly associated with the arrival of the industrial revolution. As the 19th century begun, a philosopher by the name Taylor argued that it was necessary to combine scientific management and industrial workers psychology, and further introduce the two concepts in the business world. In light of this, the philosopher further articulated that it was imperative for workers to be managed not only for the purpose of making work to be efficient, but also ensuring that the workers were psychologically fit to hold the title of being employees. Similarly, the drastic changes that were being witnessed especially in technology, growth of various organizations and the rise of different unions greatly facilitated the development of personnel departments that were run by welfare secretaries soon after the beginning of the 19th Century. Importantly, the effective management of human resource in any organization is to ensure that competitive advantage is gained in the marketplace.

Personal Statement Essay Example for Free

Personal Statement Essay My academic background, which has been both varied and informed by different academic settings, has seen my succeeding as a student in South Korea, Guam, and Seattle. Because of the nature of my father’s job, I have had the rare opportunity to study and to learn in a variety of different educational settings with a variety of different intellectual approaches and cultural influences. My family and I arrived in Seattle from Guam in 2003; the family’s collective goal was to relocate in order to find better educational opportunities for my younger brother and myself. Though I had taken piano lessons for many years, I decided to pursue piano as a hobby while I devoted more attention to working part-time in order to finance my studies. As a student in Seattle, I soon learned that music and psychology were my passions and my music professor truly seemed to respect my musical ability and constantly encouraged me to pursue my musical interests. Taking my professor’s advice, two years ago on Christmas Eve, a Korean woman’s association had a party to raise money for a charity organization. Needing some form of entertainment, they invited me to perform a piece of music on stage during dinnertime. I played Schubert’s impromptu op 90. Eb major. I was nervous but on the other hand I felt delighted and hoped it wouldn’t be the last performing in public and for a worthy charitable cause. Music, in sum, allows me to blend my personal passions with my academic talents in a manner that can be used to benefit society. In terms of my career goals, and my specific interest in the University of Washington, the fact is that Id like to transfer to this university because I want to learn from experts with more experience and to share my interests with peers with similar goals and aspirations. My greatest dream, is to comfort peoples’ hearts as a Music Therapist. I genuinely enjoy sharing what I have learned with everyone and I am most delighted when I sing with people while playing piano. I enjoy getting to know peoples’ minds and emotions because I have empathy and this influences my musical styles and performances. Personally, for example, I have played synthesizer in church bands throughout Korea, Guam and Seattle, and gave my time to serve as a music tutor to many students. If I’m admitted into this school, Id like to be attend in schools choir and jazz club. Sharing, both personally and academically, is the greatest way to learn and the greatest way to give back to the community/ Culture, in my view, is a manifestation of diversity. That excellence cannot be attained without diversity it seems, in the modern world, to be a rather intuitive deduction. Such a deduction is perfectly consistent with the underlying nature of any intellectually honest type of inquiry. A thesis must be formulated, tested against all of the available data, and conclusions drawn. Diversity contributes, indeed it is a necessary ingredient, for any type of rigorous analysis. Social truths cannot exist in a vacuum; truths must be tested in the real world and with real people rather than with imaginary prototypes that do not reflect the true diversity of opinion and contrary world views that reflect both our own society and the world at large. What might seem a perfectly plausible theory to one individual might seem extraordinarily unjust to another individual; a traditional approach that seems to one individual to bring the greatest good to society to another individual might threaten to socially ostracize minority opinions; and, finally, ethnocentric views inhibit academic inquiry whereas culturally diverse pools of learners break down biases and contribute to more meaningful discussions and theoretical paradigms. In the final analysis, the University of Washington is an ideal setting in which to study and shares ideas that have profound social implications As a young person already immersed in an increasingly multicultural community and world, I am especially interested in the emphasis given to multicultural approaches at the University of Washington. Such an approach, respecting and encouraging both personal development and academic development through the embrace of different cultural values and perspectives, lends itself exceptionally well to my own goals and aspirations. One of the causes of so much conflict in the world today can be attributed to a lack of effective communication that results in unnecessary misunderstandings and confusion. In reality, in my experience, people around the world have so many positive characteristics and dreams in common. People throughout the world desire peaceful environments in which to live; people desire to pursue harmonious relationships with family members and neighbors; and, most of all, people desire to avoid conflicts that are damaging in so many ways.

Writing In A State Of Siege English Literature Essay

Writing In A State Of Siege English Literature Essay The ten years between 1948 and 1958 recorded the bustle and disturbance of social life and exhibited the necessity and possibility of a united fight against racial discrimination. The wide spread resentment at the pass-laws, liquor raids and inadequate amenities in 1950 resulted in the suppression of Communism Act. The word communist it self meant unlawful. In 1952, eight thousand people were imprisoned for opposing the apartheid regulations. Chief Albert Luthuli, the President General of the African National Congress was banned for his commitment to a democratic and inter-racial future in South Africa. Things were in oblivion and in 1958, as the whites did not require any permits, the Fugards were advised to go to Sophiatown, a freehold township, a place which combined magic and smut, respectability and crime, black and white and the most lively and crowded of all the African townships, where the blacks and the whites could move freely, with certain social constraints. As Jurger Schadeberg observes, There was poverty in Sophiatown. There were areas that were somewhat slummy. There were gangs. There were crime and there were cutthroats, but it was a real suburb. It had all the facilities a normal suburb has. Whereas when people moved to Orlando or Meadowlands, or whatever, there was nothing there. Sophiatown was romanticized afterwards. Sophiatown was a symbol because it was a place where people were not mixed than in other places. And people owned their own property. (Schadeberg, 2002: 111-112) Sophiatown was predominantly black and also predominantly poor. The greater part of Sophiatown was a sickening slum. As Don Mattera observes the little Chicago of Johannesburg was essentially known for its cosmopolitan flavor and every conceivable space was occupied by a living thing man or animal. (Mattera 1987:49). Derek Cohen also observes, The small corner of the world, the all but forgotten township of the 1950s, Sophiatown, teems with the variety and vivacity of the world itself. Deep in the bowels of this house of hunger, where men and women tread a diurnal mill of deprivation and indignity, lie, as Fugard reminds us, humanity and strength3.(1984:273-284)) The township also had a surprisingly stunning intellectual atmosphere as the black journalists were trying to express their feelings. Jim Baileys Drum magazine covered the township life. Drum ran articles almost every month, reporting on crime figures, the circumstances forcing ordinary citizens into a life of crime, and the shebeen culture, which fed these offences. Benjamin Pogrund, a liberal friend of the Fugards advised Fugard that he would find the right atmosphere in Sophiatown for his play. The only job Fugard could find was that of a clerk in a Native Commissioners Court where offenders of the pass-laws were tried. The cruel conditions gave birth to his pessimism and his earlier incomplete novel (Tsotsi) found its voice in the two plays of his apprenticeship years, No-Good Friday and Nongogo which represented the travails of the black township. Though they were his early plays and though they lacked the dramatic charm and vision of his later plays, they indicate the struggling mind of Fugard to represent his stance as a dramatist. If No Good Friday projects the impact of bad economic conditions on the individuals who aspire for better social conditions and education, Nongogo reflects the aspirations of the people who dream for better living and individual dignity. These two early plays belong to the formative stage of Fugards maturity as a dramatist. No-Good Friday and Nongogo both represent the apartheid trauma of the South African Society. An exploration (Gray,1981:56-63) into the manuscripts of the first novel of Fugard, (which he threw into the Fiji lagoon) Tsotsi, which was published in 1980, reveals Fugards anxiety during his apprenticeship years to present the problems within the existing conditions. Fugards early plays, No-Good Friday and Nongogo also share some of the aspects of Tsotsi as they were set against the same milieu. Stephen Gray5(1981:56) feels that the characters of Tsotsi appeared in the subsequent plays of Fugard like The Blood Knot, Hello and Goodbye, People Are Living There, Boesman and Lena and in many of his plays written during the 1970s. Fugard presents the burning zeal of an incipient black revolutionary against the exploitation faced by the blacks in No-Good Friday (1958). This play works at two levels at the surface level, it appears to be a mere representation of the conditions of the blacks; but at deeper levels, it records the helplessness of the blacks in the face of exploitation by their own fellow men during the conditions of the apartheid. Fugard presents the oppressive politics working on the life of the township in various forms. Crime by African against African was an everyday reality in Sophiatown. For example an article in the November 1951 issue of Drum, The Birth of a Tsotsi, describes the classic circumstances under which a young boy takes the wrong turning: With grinding poverty and the sea of squalor that surrounds the Gold City, it is not difficult to understand the rest. There is a struggle for existence, and the individual intends to survive. Fugard records this struggle in a naturalistic manner in his early plays like No-Good Friday and Nongogo. Willie Seopela, the independent and stubborn protagonist is an aspiring youngman and he stays with Rebecca, his lady love. Willie, an intellectual in the making, with hopes for a brighter and better living, is a student pursuing his undergraduate studies through correspondence. He represents the image of the desperately stubborn black young men of South Africa. Despite hard circumstances, Willie is optimistic and highly independent. He is liked by Father Higgins, the white humanist who visits the black ghettos to offer solace. Father Higgins introduces Tobias, an innocent villager, who comes to Sophiatown for a better living, to Willie and asks him to fix him somewhere, as he is badly in need of money for his living. Willie, aware of the catastrophic situation that awaits black people in the township, asks Tobias not to entertain big dreams. He does not make any promise to Tobias. The residents of the black township are frequently nagged by Shark, a black gangster who appears every Friday, the day of their weekly payment. The innocent residents ought to offer a share from their pay packets either to Shark or similar other gangsters in trains and on roads. They cannot even make a complaint against them to the police, for, they do not have the pass-books to stay in that town. In a way, they buy their protection from Shark, their fellow black South African. Even the independent Willie makes a passive living allowing the share for Shark from his Fridays pay-packet. Tobias, unaware of these facts innocently argues about the share and gets killed in the hands of Shark. It is only after the death of Tobias, Willie realises the gravity of the situation, the result of their passive attitude and decides to oppose Shark in spite of the murderous consequences. In the process, he sacrifices his love for Rebecca. The play ends with Willie getting prepared for the challenge. The play projects a story of loss of relationships, loss of values and loss of security or protection in the white repressive world. Willie, the protagonist condemns the situation in Johannesburg and very often he appears to be the mouth-piece of Fugard. We are frequently reminded of the life-situation described in Peter Abrahams Mine Boy ,Alan Patons Cry, the Beloved Country and Alex La Gumas A Walk in the Night and And a Threefold Cord. Life is not easy there and it has become unbearable, as observed by Father Higgins, a character in No Good Friday. The grim situation of an unprotected life is summed up by Guy very well. Speaking about Shark, he says: Dont you understand? Hes got shares in the police station. . . . . . You can forget about the police. They protect a fellow like Shark. You see they are only interested in our passes. But a Kaffir laying a charge against a criminal-that would be a joke. We are all criminals. Look, Father, do not be hard on us. You know what I have just said better than any other white8. (1977: 146) As in The Blood Knot and other plays here too Fugard arranges his scenes and the protagonist to present the conditions which reflect their predicament. Asked by Guy to explain their sad life, Willie says that the music of their life is a song of melancholy, loneliness and despair (1977:125) and this is reflected in every scene, every chapter and every dialogue. The play portrays the hard realities of the life in Sophiatown, especially on Friday, which is a fertile acre for troubles (1977:126). Father Higgins, though aware of the all pervading nature of sorrow, expresses his helplessness when Willie asks him if he wants to plant a daffodil in his yard. As Don Mattera describes: The ghetto-like township was unpredictable and dangerous. There were times of searching for a loved one in some alley; finding him or her wounded in a hospital or jail, or dead in a morgue. Or checking for husband or father, a brother or a son who had never returned home from work. Or waiting for a mother, an aunt or sister who did not get off the bus or tram where you usually waited for them. Then the anguish and anxiety that would follow reports of a woman raped, beaten and robbed by the jobless and wont work brigades of tsotsis who owned the days and ruled the nights.'(1987:50) No-Good Friday portrays all these problems in Sophiatown, absence of care by the government, unemployment, frustration, poverty, insecurity, gangsterism, evils of pass-laws, broken bonds of love and the cheapness'() of life seen through the lives of various characters. Despite the hard work, they can hardly reach homes safely with their Friday pay-packets. Reflecting the problems of township life, the play is presented in the back yard of Willie and it indicates their poverty amidst iron shacks. The play has black as well as white characters, like Father Higgins, who resembles Rev. Trevor Huddleston, who made a crusade against the stringent laws of the apartheid in the townships. It also records the migration of the innocent youth to the townships to find employment. The play records the raging gangsterism, a social evil, an oppression by the notoriously stronger ones, which has no opposition. It also shows how the underprivileged ones are victimised. The race-laws worsen the condit ions of living and the Group Areas Act had restricted the blacks in the name of the pass-books. The pass laws had been a permanent threat to the African people. As observed by Edward Roux: The pass laws held the people in conditions of abject poverty and subjection à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ were the cause of sharp racial friction between the peoples of South Africa upheld the cheap labour system which resulted in malnutrition, starvation and disease and filled gaols with innocent people, thus creating wide-spread crime19.(1964:320). Fugard also projects the hidden social angle the White police mans hidden understanding with the black gangsters like Shark. Speaking about the crime of Sophiatown Bloke Modisane writes, I learned there in Sophiatoown,that one looked at the killing and never at the faces of the killers; one also knew that the law is white and justice casual, that it could not protect us against the knives of Sophiatown, so we tolerated the murders whilst the law encouraged them with its indifference.( 1986:63) The residents of Sophiatown cannot approach the police, who are obviously on the side of law. The blacks continue their survival in hellish conditions. These and similar conditions are portrayed in a more powerful manner in Sizwe Bansi is Dead. If Tsotsi traces both gangsterism and the realisation on the part of the protagonist in a single individual, No-Good Friday projects the evils of gangsterism through Shark and the realisation appears in the protagonist, Willie. Having understood the significance of life and the way it is being shattered in Sophiatown, Willie mourns over the misery of their lives and the impossibility of living. He realizes that life is not a fairy tale with a happy ending. The absurdity of living forces him not only to be away from Rebecca but from his own life itself. To make his life more purposeful and less mundane, he wants to oppose Shark by informing the police. His dreams of living happily ever after get shattered and he says: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.I gave up dreaming. Tobias reminded me of too much, Guy. He was going to make some money and live happily ever after. Thecosy little dreamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ like this, Willie and Rebecca lived happily ever after! Thats how the fairy stories end and its stupid because, out there is life and it is not ending happily14. (1977:155) He feels that life is vain and useless without a protest against the problem. He blames the individuals within his society including himself for allowing such problems. Willies opposition to Shark and the words of the cunning politician Watson project Fugards anger against such conditions. When life becomes dreadful and unprotected, it becomes meaningless. The death of Willie is not the end of the sequence, but it makes a bold beginning of opposition against gangsterism. It is also the frustration and struggle for a better life. The action of the play takes place between two Fridays and the play carries various emotions like humour, satire, shame, anger, frustration and tragedy, the representative feelings of an impoverished, fragmented and violent society20. (Sheila Fugard: 1993:408).Watson, the politician stands as a satirical portrait of the townships black politicians, who demand a sacrifice from the innocent blacks, for their own betterment. The ironical dedication of the song of Guy, Friday Night Blues itself speaks about the theme of the play. Shark, the gangster with a significant name swallows people like Tobias and ironically praises those who pay him regularly. The play brings out the fact that the people of the township should not have cosy dreams about comfortable living. Going against the tradition of depicting the gangsters from the romantic viewpoint, as was done by other writers of his time, Fugard presents Shark, the gangster, as a cruel reality. As observed by Don Mattera, No story about gangsterism or violence in the townships of Johannesburg can be complete without that of Kort Boy- real name George Mbalweni the five-foot-nothing knifeman from Benoni, a former mining town on the East Rand near Johannesburgà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Kort Boy was a legend in his day much hated , much loved it all depended on which end of knife you were at.(1987:102) Characters in No-Good Friday are many, representing the unlimited problems of his society. Each character stands for a problem. Fugard does not offer any solution but he represents things as they are, for an understanding of what was going on in South Africa. As a symphathising white liberal he expresses his sense of helplessness in the wake of events and the act of writing itself becomes an act of courage and commitment as an individual and as a writer. Despite the removal of the apartheid condition, they enjoy their validity, for, these plays stand as records of the 1950s. Fugard brings out his message best the problem of survival in the wake of hopelessness, dejection and destruction. No Good Friday had its premiers on 30th August 1958 after ten years of the initiation of apartheid in South Africa on the primitive stage of the Bantu Mens Social Centre and Fugard was praised by the African monthly Zonk for giving his unknown actors, a wonderful opportunity to show their talents. Apart from the shows in Bantu Mens Social Centre, the play was also staged amidst church walls in the townships, to black audiences and in the White suburbs. Fugard was refused permission to see even the productions he directed. During the run of No-Good Friday Fugard established friendship with important directors like Barney Simon and Tone Brulin. Not only to the actors, but to the people (both blacks and whites) of Sophiatown, it offered a scope to see themselves and their problems on the stage. Although the play has its own technical faults, as observed by critics -like heavy plotting, unlimited characters etc, the play brings out the shaping mind of Fugard as a dramatist with social concerns. The characters apart from representing the troubled people of South Africa become potential images if Willie, Tobias, Rebecca and Guy stand as the victims, Shark and Watson stand as the wicked political images of the cruel exterior of South Africa. The repeated use of the fairy-tale image with its reference to the impossibility of comfortable life speaks about the predicament of the life of the blacks in South Africa under the pressure of the cruel racist law. Fugard does not present this drama as a mere piece of entertainment. It is a realistic document about the sorrowful living of the black people of Sophiatown who suffer from inter-and intra-racial oppression. Fugard recognises that to be black in South Africa is to be poor, and that black existence is imbued with the struggle to find release from the cycle of poverty and the mean quality of life indigence creates. (Albert Wertheim:) It provokes us to think and Fugard makes his observations and statements come alive through the characters he brings on to the stage. As observed by Sheila Fugard19, the germinative ideas of a nascent playwright got fortified in his later plays like The Blood Knot, Sizwe Bansi Is Dead, The Island, Master Haroldand the boys. Fugard incorporates his intellectual and individual stances of rebellion in Willie the black protagonist. Through him, he voices out his feeling, which necessitate the reason for opposition against the dreadful forces like gangsterism which bear the impact of several cruel racist laws; but according to Nkosi, the play had very little concern with the politics behind the chronic violence and gangsterism in the ghetto. (Vandenbroucke,Russell). Nkosi feels this as a limitation. On the other hand, white writers like Alan Paton and Fugard had observed moderation in depicting their conditions. As analysed by Albert Wertheim it was their moderation that drew world attention to the outrages of apartheid. The final speech of Willie is universal in its appeal, as it explains the reasons for the birth and growth of such evil forces within a society. By making the apartheid tragedy ACT on the stage, Fugard has achieved the theatrical and political meaning of two words acting and imagination. Although Fugard sets many of his plays in South Africa and more specifically in Port Elizabeth, he is not writing specifically South African tragedy, for he uses his South African setting and this presentation of South African life under apartheid rule to define a tragic situation imbued with meaning far beyond the geographical boundaries of South Africa.21 (Albert Wertheim) The play is not restricted to South Africa alone; it appeals to the living conditions of all common people who live in poverty ridden slums and ghettos of all parts of the world. As observed by Albert Wertheim, the play is set against a realistic background-it is a statement against oppression, a feature that is found everywhere in the world. REFERENCES Schadeberg,Jurger(ed).2002. Intervies, Johannesburg 15 March 2002:105-108(Transcript) Mattera,Don.1987.Gone with the twilight: A Story of Sophiatown. London,Zed Books. 3.Derek Cohen, Beneath the Underworld: Athol Fugards Tsotsi, World Literature Written in English, Vol. 23, No.2, (1984) 273-84. 4. Stephen Gray, The Coming into the print of Athol Fugards Tsotsi, Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Vol. XVI, No.1 (1981) pp 56-63. 5. Ibid.P.56 6. Athol Fugard, No-Good Friday, Dimetos and Two Early Plays, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1977. All subsequent references are to this edition. 7. No Good Friday, p 144. 8. ibid, 146. 9. ibid, 152. 10. ibid, 152. 11. ibid, 154. 12. ibid, 155. 13.Modisane,Bloke.1996.Blame Me on History, Goodwood,Western Cape: A.D.Donker 14. ibid, 155. 15. ibid, 160. 16. Albert Wertheim 17. No Good Friday, p 155 18. Mattera,Don.1987:50 19. Edward Roux, Time longer than Rope, 2nd ed. (Madison: University of Winconsin Press, 1964) p. 320; Quoted by Mbulalo Vizikhungo Mzamane, Sharpeville and its Aftermath: The novels of Richard Rive, peter Abrahams, Alex La Guma and Lauretta Ngcobo, Ariel, Vol. 16, No. 2, April 1985, pp. 30-44. 20. Sheila Fugard, The Apprenticeship Years, Twentieth Century Literature, Ed. By Jack Barbera, Vol. 39, No.4, Win 1993, p. 408. 21. Mattera,Don 22. Albert Wertheim 23. Russell, Vandenbroucke, Truths the Hand can Touch, p. 24. Albert Wertheim, ************** b) NONGOGO (1959) Like No-Good Friday, Nongogo also, but in a different way exposes the travails of the black people in Sophiatown. It exposes the anguish of the women who ran shebeens for livelihood and who longed for decency, though impossible. If Willie of No-Good Friday gets ready to face death with existential courage, Queeny of Nongogo laughs in the face of indecency and shame after a stubborn struggle against them. Nongogo, like No Good Friday also deals with the external and internal aspects of the troubled individuals against the backdrop of troubled economic conditions and suppressive rule. The unique quality of Sophiatown was further enhanced by its shebeen culture. Although blacks were not allowed to drink in the 1950s, they were not stopped by the prohibition. The Sophiatown shebeens sold illegal booze, both store-bought European liquor as well as home brewed skokian. But the shebeens were not merely informal drinking clubs. They were homely places where everyone knew each other. As apartheid ceased to exist, intellectuals like Can Themba, Nat Nkasa and others used to spread circles of literature in these shebeens. As Anthony Samson recalls: The shebeens, however, were another story. Here was what Nat Nakasa called that noble institution, those hospitable homes. Here was a place outside of apartheid as the names reflected: Back Othe Moon, Cabin in the Sky, Little Heaven, The Sanctuary, Kind Lady.(Nicol: 1991:97) Modisane recalls how his mother, after the death of his father, was forced to become shebeen queen in order to keep body and soul together. Her customers, he remembers, drank for one reason only to get drunk, as for them, getting drunk was a purposeful destruction of the pain of their lies, a drowsing of themselves in this orgiastic expenditure. They were breaking out, escaping from themselves. (1986:39) The bad economic conditions forced the black women to take up beer-brewing and shebeens to support their families and to send their children to schools. Apart from the naturalistic portrayal, Fugards play focuses light on the hidden ugliness of evil economic backdrop. As observed by Gerald Weales (1978:) both plays deal with the enervating force of the black situation in South Africa, but they do not so directly as an agitprop would. As in the novels of Peter Abrahams we watch shebeens, drunkards, squalor, hunger, and prostitution- as results of oppression. Dennis Walder(1993:414) in The Genesis of the Township plays observes: The Sophiatown plays nevertheless reflected the aspirations, violence, and vitality of urban black people,offering a window into the world of the correspondent student, Shebeen Queen, Tsotsi (gangster) and rural migrant for predominantly white, liberal audiences.They may now also be seen to have helped to legitimate everyday urban black experience the experience of the majority of South Africans as a subject, for blacks as well as whites. Nongogo presents the conflict between hope and despair, the celebration of life in all its beauty and the devalued existence without virtues. As observed by Russell Vandenbroucke Nongogo is a play about the actuality of the past and forlorn hopes for the future (: 22). The conflict is the result of victimisation. The play has two acts-with the first act getting prepared for decency and respectability, the second act plays a dirge upon the death of these two qualities decency and respectability. The play as a whole exposes the guilt-racked victims of South Africa in both physical and psychological terms. Their physical destruction culminates in their psychological crisis, where their souls wail with the anguish for being the victims of the rough exterior of South African society. The play Nongogo exposes two individuals who experience such angst and a sense of guilt. Both of them are spoiled by social conditions of South Africa. Johnny is badly used by the masochistic, sex-starved mine workers and Queeny-is exploited by the carnal appetite of the South African masculinity, during her fight to eke out a living. Both of them dream for betterment -for a life of decency and respectability which remain to be dreams-the dreams of impossibility. Johnny and Queeny both stand as the physical images of destruction of the psychological self. Like La Gumas A Walk in the Night this play projects the brutalisation that has corroded the moral faculties of the poor.(1973:55) As Fugardxx himself observes, man is more concerned about hunger physically and mentally. Johnny and Queeny become the victims of the hunger of loins and of the poor conditions of the neglected lot. There are other characters like Sam, Blakie and Patrick, who make a parasitic living and work against decency; and who are also in a way, the helpless victims of the poor conditions which can not be bettered, and they in turn victimise their fellow beings-Johnny and Queeny and their dreams of better living for their selfish purposes. The process of victimisation here as in No Good Friday, is the result of both the internal and external aspects of South Africa. Queeny, a nongogo a woman for two and six- the proprietress of a shebeen gets enthused by the arrival and speech of an unexpected salesman Johnny at her door-step. His mode of address makes her feel that she should regain her lost sense of decency. His legitimate living makes her think of dispensing with her shebeen and make a cleaner life with a sense of decency and respectability which remain to be dreams- the dreams of impossibility. Her trust in Johnny encourages her to start a legitimate cloth-business. Her idea of legitimacy creates distaste in Sam, her business partner and her earlier pimp and Blackie, her attendant. With the help of Patrick, a way-ward drunkard, Sam and Blackie spoil the mind of Johnny by sowing the seeds of suspicion. Johnny and Queeny come face to face and compelled by Johnny, Queeny unwillingly digs into her past and in this process, hates Johnny for his inability to understand a womans heart. The play ends with Queeny re-opening the shebeen. Fugard has taken care in portraying the character of Queeny. Her desire for better life with a sense of decency and her despair for not finding it form the crux of the plot. If No-Good Friday presents the process of victimization on the physical plane, dealing with the death of Tobias and of Willie, Nongogo deals with the same process, on the mental plane, indicating the death of the self, when there is the sense of guilt and helpless acceptance of the past life of filth. The crisis of Johnny and Queeny, the victims of the South African society gets interiorized in Nongogo. As Robert M. Post observes, in other plays of Fugard too we find these victims(1985:3-16). Morris and Zachariah in The Blood Knot, Frieda and Errol in the Statements; John and Winston, the political brothers in The Island; Gumboot Dhalami in Tsotsi; Sizwe Bansi in Sizwe Bansi Is Dead; Boesman and Lena in Boesman and Lena; Piet in A Lesson from Aloes and the title character of Dimetos-all of them have been victims in various ways. Queenys curiosity in shaping her life as she had wanted gets shattered. She stands helplessly alone before her own life, a testament of time, as a victim of circumstances. Her disappointment as a living being against past, present and future life is made explicit through the use of two images indicating time the singing wall-clock and the wrist watch. Fugard very keenly exhibits the absurdity of human living against the unchanging nature of time in the South African context. Johnny and Queeny remain as the victims of their conscience. The two plays Nongogo and No-Good Friday exhibit the emotional involvement of Athol Fugard in the problems of the township. The pathetic predicament of man and woman in the South African townships comes alive on the stage. Fugard displays no political purpose in his portrayal of the characters in this play. His artistic involvement as a writer and his personal reaction as a liberal individual made him represent them in a realistic manner. As he observes No-Good Friday and Nongogo are inflated verse dramas by a liberally-informed white-but both the plays are in prose. (Quoted by Russell, Vandenbroucke, THCT, p.25) The gold mines stand as a contrasting back drop to represent the cruel exterior of South Africa. As in No-Good Friday, in this play too, we find the process of victimization. Johnny and Queeny stand as the victims of external conditions with a battered conscience and shattered inner self. Johnnys extreme craving for pure life makes him blind to his circumstances. He fails to treat Queeny as a human being like himself with a yearning for perfection and for a life of decency. Queeny dominates the whole scene with her knowledge of life and an awareness of the nature of men. Her shrewd thinking and her mature opinions about womanhood against the backdrop of her unfortunate murky past as a nongogo elevate her. She says: There is now. But there was a time I thought I had all I wanted when I got this. But when I had it that was the end. There has been times I never knew what day it was in hereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and I never needed to know. Id wake up and think is it Monday or Tuesday, be Friday? It did not make any difference. Giving it a name did not make it any different from the rest. (p.91) She exhibits a dignity in the climactic scene when she is found re-opening the doors of her shebeen. Her poor conditions had made her a nongogo; her desire for betterment made her think of the life of decency and respectability and the presence of Johnny had made her once again the Queeny of shebeen. Her resurrection as the proprietress of shebeen makes her a tragic figure. She bursts out: What do you think Ive been doing for five years? It had ended Johnny, it was dead and buried when you walked in here. But you wont let it stay that way, will you? Youd be worse than Sam, who just sighs when he passes the grave. Youve dug it up. Youve performed a miracle, Johnny. The miracle of Jesus and Dead body youve brought it back to life. The warmth of your hate, the breath of your disgust had got it living again. Im not too old . . . not too fat . . . even you looked at me like you never looked at another woman. Gods put a lot of streets Ive not walked, lampposts Ive not stood under, faces Ive not smiled at. (p.11

Womens Pathways into Crime | Research Project

Womens Pathways into Crime | Research Project EXPLORING WOMEN’S PATHWAYS INTO CRIME AT CHIKURUBI FEMALE PRISON WASHINGTON BONGANI NGULUBE Introduction The study of female crimes has been limited when compared to the study of male crimes. This research focuses on the why there has been an increase in women participating or committing criminal activities particularly armed robbery at Chikurubi Female Prison in Harare. This chapter will highlight the background to the topic of study and the reasons which prompted the researcher to purpose the research (statement of the problem). The chapter will also bring to light purpose of the study, research questions, and significance of the study. Assumptions, delimitations and limitations are eluded to in this chapter. Key terms which are significant to exploring women’s pathways into crime are also defined in this chapter. Background to the study There is a common perception that the criminal behaviour of women were not serious problems. Women are more likely to commit minor offenses and have historically constituted a very small proportion of the main population. But these facts mask a trend that is beginning to attract attention henceforth motivating the researcher to embark on the quest to get answers to these changes. The research seeks to give the reasons to why there has been an increase in women’s participation in criminal activities particularly armed robbery. The research will be conducted at Chikurubi Female Prison which is located in Harare, Zimbabwe. The student had the privilege to work at Parliament of Zimbabwe during the work related learning in 2013 and 2014. Henceforth the research study is a result of the student’s observations while working for the Parliament of Zimbabwe. The Women and Men in Zimbabwe periodic report in ZIMSTAT (2012) states that Zimbabwe has a population of approximately 12 973 808. Whereas, men constitute approximately 6 738 877 (48%) while women constitute 6 234 931 (52%). Harare is further evidenced as the Province with the largest population of 16.2 percent of the total population in Zimbabwe (ZIMSTAT, 2012). More so, the Women and Men in Zimbabwe periodic report in ZIMSTAT (2012) further brings to light that 48 percent of the female population is in the age group 15- 49. One would further argue that this is the reproductive age group among females. The drastic rise in women’s pathways into crime is fairly well known, less so is that the ranks of women crimes are increasing much faster than those of their male counterparts. However, there are no ready statistics but police and court cases show that the country now has a breed of female criminals, who are terrorizing the public and acting in cahoots with male accomplices. Women in Zimbabwe now have the dexterity to pinch from financial coffers, carry out highway robberies right up to raiding service stations while heavily armed to the teeth. About 3 499 people were kidnapped and robbed by pirate taxis and kombi drivers working in cahoots with female robbers countrywide last year (Butaumocho, 2014). Ibid further states that the situation is more pronounced in Harare where at least 1 200 cases of kidnapping and robberies by public transport drivers working in cahoots with female accomplices were recorded in the last quarter of 2013. One may argue that such cases of engaging in violent crimes like robbery have for long been considered a male domain because of the risks involved that include shoot outs and highway chases that may result in death. Women evidently are now participants of such criminal activities. The pace at which women are being convicted of serious offenses is picking up faster than the pace at which men are convicted. These dynamics motivated the student to embark into an academic research exploring the reasons to these changes (increase) between the period 2011 and 2014. ZIMSTA (2011) notes that 432 females were imprisoned during the 3rd quarter of 2011. The total number of prison admissions in the 3rd quarter of 2011 increased by 21 percent when compared to the 2nd quarter of 2011 while the number of new female prisoners increased by 10 percent in Zimbabwe. In comparison with the 4th quarter of 2012, a total 9 111 prisoners were admitted into prisons, consisting of 8 509 males and 602 females. ZIMSTA (2012) 4th quarterly report further reveals that female prisoners increased by 31 percent in the period under view. Harare province recorded to be having the highest number female prisoners indicating 155 prisoners. What animates the studies is not so much numbers of offenders but the particular circumstances of the women and girls â€Å"behind† the numbers. The involvement of women in robberies might be a fairly new phenomenon in Zimbabwe, the problem is being experienced in a number of countries across the globe. However, Harare as the capital city of Zimbabwe is evidently recording the highest female crime participation rate. Statement of the problem The student felt that there is a notable gap in literature and inadequate extensive research on the women’s pathways into crime in Zimbabwe. When a woman commits a crime, the usual explanation is that it is involuntary, defensive or a result of some mental illness or hormonal imbalance inherent in the female physiology. Engaging in violent crime for example, robbery has for long been considered a male domain because of the risks involved that include shoot outs and highway chases that may result in death. Zimbabwe seems to have recorded a disturbing increase in the involvement of woman in armed robberies, rape and other criminal activities in the past 3 years. There is no clear explanation for the increase of female robbers or participation of women in criminal activities. Could this be a result of women’s increased masculinity? Or the environment playing a significant influence on women’s participation into crime? Is it as a result of gender based violence? Such questions the research seeks to address in at Chikurubi Female Prison Significance of the study The study will shed light on what are the motivating factors which prompt the increase of women’s pathways into crime particularly in armed robbery. It is of paramount importance to assess the impact of the environment on the increase of women’s pathways into crime. The significance of the study to the: Government This research will be an eye opener for the Government and the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and other government parastatals (Police, correctional services) to come up with effective polices and interventions on improving social order and deal with these crimes. Communities This research will help other women to avoid the pathways into crime and will help understand why other women participate in criminal activities. Future researchers The increase of women’s pathways into crime is a serious national and community problem which has to be addressed and thoroughly researched on. This research will help future researchers come up with ways to understanding the factors behind the increased women’s pathways into crime. The researcher The research will benefit the researcher as he aspires to further his studies in forensic psychology. Therefore, in carrying out this research, the researcher will gain valuable insight and knowledge into the subjects as he also fulfils the requirements to obtain an Honours Degree in Psychology. Research questions The research was based on the following questions: What are the psychological factors contributing to women’s pathways into crime? What are the contribution of socio-economic factors leading to women’s pathways into crime? How does culture influence women’s pathways into crime? Assumptions The research was based on the assumption that: Women are weaker than men. Purpose of the study The sole purpose of the research was to investigate the mitigating factors to increase of women participation into crime particularly in armed robbery. The research used the results to implement effective ways to help women in prisons to recover and it will also help to understand why women commit such criminal offences. Delimitations of the study The study was confined to focusing on pathways into crime and having women prisoners as the research subjects. Limitations Disclosure The researcher encountered a challenge in gathering information regarding women’s involvement and participation in criminal activities at CFP as they considered the information to be highly sensitive. Obtaining information from the subjects may also be a challenge. Therefore, the researcher sought permission first from the Department of Prisons Services Headquarters. Data collection procedures Data can be unreliable in the event participants choose not to participate. The researcher used popcorns and chips as incentives in order to motivate participates of participate. Time and financial constraints This research was conducted concurrently with final year modules. Time to effectively cover all issues and aspects involved in carrying out a proper research was restricted. There were a lot of resources needed for printing, internet research, typing and travelling which also put strain on the available resources. Therefore, the researcher came up with a budget and time plan which guided the researcher in efficient time and resource allocation. Definition of terms Women These are adult female humans (Wehmier, 2005). Pathways These are plans along or a way of achieving something (Wehmier, 2005). Crime This refers to those activities which break the law of the land and are subject to official punishment (Haralambos,0000). Summary This chapter provided the background to the area of study as well as highlighting the statement of the problem. The significance of the study, assumptions, purpose of the study, limitations and delimitations have also been addressed. This chapter also outlined the research questions. More so, the relevant terms to the research have been defined. Case Study: Impact of Type 1 Diabetes Case Study: Impact of Type 1 Diabetes Title: Knowledge required for decision making in adult nursing Introduction. This essay is primarily about the impact of Type 1 diabetes on a particular patient. It will consider not only the relevance of Type 1 diabetes to the patient and how they coped with it, but, in this particular case, how they also dealt with the health deviation of the development of a particularly severe peripheral neuropathy and the impact that the latter had on both their quality of life and their lifestyle. It is notable that the development of this complication had an impact not only on the patient, but also on both the family and his other informal carers. There is no consent form for this essay as the patient’s details have been annonymised. Rationale for choice of client and the health deviation. (200 words ) This essay will consider the case of Mr. J who is a 54 yr old postman. He was found to have Type 1 diabetes four years ago which was promptly diagnosed and brought under control with Insulin. Over the last six months he had developed painful legs and feet. Initially he ignored this, putting it down to â€Å"just getting older† and â€Å"circulationâ€Å". It got progressively worse however, to the point that he could not work. He took early retirement, a move which he later regretted. He was diagnosed with peripheral diabetic neuropathy. It was notable that Mr. J initially presented as a particularly stoic individual who made light of every adversity. His subsequent development of the neuropathy and retirement seemed to generate a marked change in his approach to life. He became withdrawn and resentful and difficult to live with. This was a major factor in his treatment plan. My initial contact with Mr. J came in the context of a primary health care setting when he presented at the diabetic clinic for a follow up appointment. He appeared to be particularly negative about his condition and we got into a conversation. I became interested in his situation and followed him up in some detail. Pathophysiology of the health deviation and its effect on the client. ( 1400 words). This essay is primarily about Mr. J and his peripheral neuropathy. This section will begin however, with a brief overview of the pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus Diabetes mellitus There are two primary types of diabetes mellitus Types 1 and 2. Type 1 diabetes occurs when there is an autoimmune process which culminates in the destruction of the ß cells of the pancreas together with a consequent reduction in the amount of circulating Insulin produced. (Meigs, J.B et al. 2003). Type 2 diabetes occurs when the circulating levels of insulin are insufficient to effectively control the glucose levels within normal limits. In clinical terms, this results in a high blood sugar level in association with high levels of circulating Insulin. A number of studies have suggested that Type 2 diabetes accounts for more than 95% of all cases. (Narayan, K.M et al. 2003). In broad terms, the control of both types of diabetes mellitus requires rigorous attention to dietary intake of carbohydrates and calories and a controlled exercise regime. Type 1 diabetes is invariably treated with insulin and Type 2 diabetes may be controlled with diet alone (with or without weight loss) and the possibility of oral hypoglycaemic drugs. Peripheral diabetic neuropathy Peripheral diabetic neuropathy is a comparatively common complication of diabetes mellitus and some studies suggest that it can affect up to 50% of diabetic patients (viz. Boulton A J M et al. 2000). The development of the neuropathy is a feared complication as it is likely to predispose the patient to a number of sequelae including varying degrees of functional limitation together with the possibility of unremitting pain and motor unsteadiness. (Reiber G E et al. 1999). Its end stage sequelae include intractable diabetic foot ulceration and amputation. (Pecoraro R E et al. 2000). Virtually all of these elements are associated with very substantial health care costs, quite apart from major socio-economic consequences such as loss of work time and a reduced quality of life. (Rathman W et al. 2003) A number of studies (viz. Vileikyte L 1999 and Vileikyte L et al. 2005) have presented the association of peripheral diabetic neuropathy with depressive illness. This is clearly relevant to Mr. J in this case and therefore will be explored in some detail. The literature on the subject is contradictory with the meta-analysis by de Groot (de Groot M et al. 2001) finding little evidence to support the association. It is fair to comment that part of the reason for this apparent discrepancy may be due to the reason that there was a considerable variation in the techniques used to diagnose peripheral diabetic neuropathy which meant that different populations were included in different studies. (Boulton A J M et al. 1999) This comment is based on the discovery that different types of nerve fibre are affected in different types of peripheral diabetic neuropathy and in different individuals. It follows that more than one modality of testing is required to establish a diagnosis. A second factor is that the severity of the neuropathy, as determined by objective testing, actually correlates poorly with the subject’s assessment of their pain levels. Patients (such as Mr. J) who have high levels of perceived pain, may have remarkably preserved sensory function on clinical testing. Some authorities have argued that this may demonstrate a central processing component to the subjective appreciation of the pain from neuropathy. It is known that less that 10% of patients who have a peripheral diabetic neuropathy have severely painful symptoms and many experience no symptoms of pain at all. (Chan A W et al. 1999) The pathophysiology of peripheral diabetic neuropathy still remains unknown in any detail but there is evidence that metabolic and ischaemic components are implicated. (Leon C et al. 2007). Chronic hyperglycaemia is known to be associated with small blood vessel disease and therefore reduced blood flow to the nerves. It is also known to interfere with myoinositol, sorbitol and fructose metabolism, all of which are essential for nerve activity. (Dyck P J B et al. 2003) There is also thought to be a mechanism of oxidative stress that is important. Free oxygen radicals (produced in diabetes mellitus) activate protein kinase C which has been shown to produce damage to nerve cells. A number of papers show that there is a link between the degree of control of the diabetes mellitus, the length of time since diagnosis and the eventual development of peripheral diabetic neuropathy (viz. Pirart J 1977) Consider how this health deviation impacts upon the clients journey through health care. (500 words) In consideration of the specific case of Mr. J, one can note that his diabetes mellitus was diagnosed four years ago. He presented with the classic symptoms of suddenly feeling unwell, frequency of urination and increasing thirst (polyuria and polydypsia). He was correctly and promptly diagnosed by the GP and referred to the local diabetic clinic where he was swiftly brought under control with injected insulin. Mr. J proved to be a good patient. Considerations of empowerment and education of the patient paid dividends with Mr. J rapidly learning about his condition and he became very competent in managing it on a day to day basis, learning how to adjust the insulin doses himself. (Howe A et al. 2003). The impact of the development of his peripheral diabetic neuropathy cannot be overstated. It was responsible for his decision to retire early, a decision which he rapidly regretted. He became depressed and withdrawn, taking little pride in his appearance and less care with his glycaemic control. He was initially treated with anti depressants (with marginal success). At the time of writing he is undergoing a course of cognitive behaviour therapy to try to remedy the situation. His HbA1 levels, which were initially exemplary, became erratic and are only now coming back to normal levels. His peripheral diabetic neuropathy was diagnosed with the specialist using a number of diagnostic tools including electro-diagnostic studies (EDS), cardiovascular autonomic function testing (cAFT) together with physical examination scoring, quantitative sensory testing (QST) (Meijer J W G 2002) It is known that peripheral diabetic neuropathy is notoriously resistant to treatment. There are four basic elements: causal treatment aimed at (near)-normoglycemia, treatment based on pathogenetic mechanisms, symptomatic treatment avoidance of risk factors and complications. (CS 1998) At this time the only specific treatment licensed for peripheral diabetic neuropathy is alpha-lipoic acid. This may be assisted by specific analgesics such as duloxetine and pregabalin, otherwise treatment is symptomatic and the treatment of subsidiary factors (such as alcohol intake, hypertension, smoking and cholesterol control) to prevent a worsening of the condition. Potential influences of the health deviation on the long term well being of the client and family significant others. ( 600 words ) The impact of Mr. J’s condition on the life of the family has been considerable. All family members were very positive about his primary diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. His development of secondary conditions such as the peripheral diabetic neuropathy and the depression were far more challenging. Mrs J complained that he was difficult to live with, lost all interest in sexual matters, had poor self esteem and started to self neglect. The primary health care diabetic nurses spent as much time supporting (empowerment and education) Mrs J as they did Mr. J. It remains to be seen how Mr. J progresses with his cognitive behaviour therapy and his depression. Mrs J blames his early retirement on the development of his depression rather than the peripheral diabetic neuropathy. One can only hope that Mr. J does not progress to foot ulceration and a further reduction in his quality of life. Learning gained. (150) words. The research that I have done into this condition has given me a must more complete knowledge of the pathophysiology of peripheral diabetic neuropathy together with the treatment and support that is necessary for both the patient and his informal carers. It has become quite clear that it is simply not sufficient to control the diabetes mellitus, the patient and their extended family will need huge amounts of both information and support if their condition is to be optimally managed Specifically I have realised just how important it is to make a holistic assessment of the patient at the earliest opportunity, to gain an empathetic bond early on so that it becomes easier to identify problems at their earliest stage rather than waiting for the patient to present them at a stage when they are more difficult to manage. (Marinker M.1997) Conclusion (50 words) . This essay revolves around the appreciation of how difficult some patients find it to adapt to the illness role when they have been fit and active throughout their lives. It is one of the challenges of the good healthcare professional to understand and to pre-empt some of these adaptive processes to help their patients accommodate this transition. (Newell N et al. 1992). I believe that Mr. J has made some progress with dealing with his condition but there is clearly a long way yet for him to go. References Boulton A J M, Gries F A, Jervell J A: (1999) Guidelines for the diagnosis and outpatient management of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Diabet Med 15: 508 – 514, 1999 Boulton A J M, Malik R A, Arezzo J, Sosenko J M: (2000) Diabetic neuropathy: technical review. Diabetes Care 27: 1458 – 1487, 2000 Chan A W, MacFarlane I A, Bowsher D R: (1999) Chronic pain in patients with diabetes mellitus: comparison with non-diabetic population. Pain Clinics 3: 147 – 159, 1999 CS (1998) Consensus statement: Report and recommendations of the San Antonio conference on diabetic neuropathy. Diabetes Care 11: 592 – 597, 1998 de Groot M, Anderson R, Freedland K E, Clouse R E, Lustman P J: (2001) Association of depression and diabetes complications: a meta-analysis. Psychosom Med 63: 619 – 630, 2001 Dyck P J B, Sinnreich M. (2003) Diabetic Neuropathies. Continuum 2003; 9: 19 – 34 Howe and Anderson (2003) Involving patients in medical education. BMJ, Aug 2003 ; 327 : 326 328. Leon C, Asif A (2007) Arteriovenous Access and Hand Pain: The Distal Hypoperfusion Ischemic Syndrome. Clin. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., January 1, 2007; 2 (1): 175 183. Marinker M. (1997) From compliance to concordance: achieving shared goals in medicine taking. BMJ 1997; 314: 747 – 8. Meigs, J. B. et al. (2003) . Prevalence and characteristics of the metabolic syndrome in the San Antonio Heart and Framingham Offspring Studies. Diabetes. 52 :: 2160 2167. Meijer J W G, Smit A J, van Sonderen E, Groothoff J W, Eisma W H, Links T P: (2002) Symptom scoring systems to diagnose distal polyneuropathy in diabetes: the Diabetic Neuropathy Symptom score. Diabet Med 19: 962 – 965, 2002 Narayan, K M., Boyle, J P., Thompson, T J., Sorensen, S W., and Williamson, D F. (2003). Lifetime risk for diabetes mellitus in the United States. JAMA. 290 :: 1884 1890 Newell and Simon. (1992) Human Problem Solving. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs: 1992. Pecoraro R E, Reiber G E, Burgess E M: (2000) Pathways to diabetic limb amputation: basis for prevention. Diabetes Care 13: 513 – 521, 2000 Pirart J. (1977) Diabetes mellitus and its degenerative complications: a prospective study of 4400 patients observed between 1947 and 1973 (third and last part). Diabetes Metab 1977; 3: 245 – 56. Rathman W, Ward J: (2003) Socioeconomic aspects. In Textbook of Diabetic Neuropathy. Gries F A, Cameron N E, Low P A, Ziegler D, Eds. Stuttgart, Thieme, 2003, p. 361 – 372 Reiber G E, Vileikyte L, Lavery L, Boyko E M, Boulton A J M: (1999) Causal pathways for incident lower-extremity ulcers in patients with diabetes from two settings. Diabetes Care 22: 157 – 162, 1999 Vileikyte L: (1999) Psychological aspects of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Diabetes Rev 7: 387 – 394, 1999 Vileikyte L, Leventhal H, Gonzalez J S, Peyrot M et al. (2005) Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy and Depressive Symptoms. The association revisited. Diabetes Care 28: 2378 2383, 2005 ################################################################ 3.7.08 Word count 2,425 PDG

The Use And Abuse Of History :: essays research papers

The Use and Abuse of History By Friedrich Nietzsche Forward "Incidentally, I despise everything which merely instructs me without increasing or immediately enlivening my activity." These are Goethe's words. With them, as with a heartfelt expression of Ceterum censeo [I judge otherwise], our consideration of the worth and the worthlessness of history may begin. For this work is to set down why, in the spirit of Goethe's saying, we must seriously despise instruction without vitality, knowledge which enervates activity, and history as an expensive surplus of knowledge and a luxury, because we lack what is still most essential to us and because what is superfluous is hostile to what is essential. To be sure, we need history. But we need it in a manner different from the way in which the spoilt idler in the garden of knowledge uses it, no matter how elegantly he may look down on our coarse and graceless needs and distresses. That is, we need it for life and action, not for a comfortable turning away from life and action or merely for glo ssing over the egotistical life and the cowardly bad act. We wish to use history only insofar as it serves living. But there is a degree of doing history and a valuing of it through which life atrophies and degenerates. To bring this phenomenon to light as a remarkable symptom of our time is every bit as necessary as it may be painful. I have tried to describe a feeling which has often enough tormented me. I take my revenge on this feeling when I expose it to the general public. Perhaps with such a description someone or other will have reason to point out to me that he also knows this particular sensation but that I have not felt it with sufficient purity and naturalness and definitely have not expressed myself with the appropriate certainty and mature experience. Perhaps one or two will respond in this way. However, most people will tell me that this feeling is totally wrong, unnatural, abominable, and absolutely forbidden, that with it, in fact, I have shown myself unworthy of the powerful historical tendency of the times, as it has been, by common knowledge, observed for the past two generations, particularly among the Germans. Whatever the reaction, now that I dare to expose myself with this natural description of my feeling, common decency will be fostered rather than shamed, because I am providing many oppor tunities for a contemporary tendency like the reaction just mentioned to make polite pronouncements.

Wherefore The Maintenance Of Liberty :: essays research papers fc

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure. -Thomas Jefferson On a cold, miserable day in the North Caucasus, the only one who does not look dismal is Russian General Mikhail Malofeyev. He is dead. His body is flag draped and on open display before a dark stand of pines. He is encircled by his mourning officers clad in hulking, camouflage coats. "Russia Admits Chechnya Losses Growing," says the news headline. Military body counts since the counting of them began bear little relationship between actual and reported casualties. Russians officially admit to 910 dead since the war restarted in October of 1999. The Russian Committee of Soldiers' Mothers, who gets its accounting from soldiers, their families, and military hospitals, thinks that 3,000 is a far more likely figure. Interestingly, NTV, which is a local Russian private investigating network and which reports on military news contradictions, has been kicked out of the military press reporting pool. This Chechan conflict is just another example of an ill equipped militia fighting one of the most powerful militaries in the world to a standstill. This is as it was with the Afghans who were even so primitive that they had to forge rifle barrels in their own backyard furnaces. The Afghani ultimately kicked the Soviet invaders out of their homeland. This was just like the Warsaw ghetto Jews, who kept the murderous Nazi's at bay for almost a month with only a handful of small arms before the Jew's valiant final defeat. History repeats with the citizen patriots of Lexington and Concord, who demonstrated with their blood the power and the purpose behind the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the then new United States of America. The Second Amendment confidently guarantees that We the People will ever remain free. Pro Second Amendment people always talk a good game. But what would happen should Americans ever needed to put this right to arms to the test. There are over 20,000 gun laws on the books. These "laws" include outright bans, registration, confiscation, waiting periods, quotas, and any other abhorrent violation that the ruling class imposes just to probe if Americans can be intimidated into servitude. For note, that test of submission happened a while back while the citizens slept. The citizens have already been graded, and by the criteria of their forefathers, they have failed miserably.

JC Penney Company, Inc. :: Marketing Research

JC Penney Company, Inc. J. C. Penney Company, Inc. Is one of America’s largest department store, drugstore, catalog and e-commerce retailers. Providing merchandise and services through department stores, catalogs, and the Internet. Their targeted customers are â€Å"Modern Spenders† and â€Å"Starting Outs†, who shop for apparel, accessories, and home furnishings through the centers where JCPenney is located and through the convenience of catalog and the Internet. Starting Outs  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚    ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Less than 35 years of age  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚    ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Singles, young families  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  0-1 children  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shopping patterns & relationships emerging  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  No strong retail loyalties  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  28% of U.S. households.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Currently 16% of sales  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Potentially 30% of sales  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Modern Spenders  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  35-54 years of age  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dual-earner households  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  0-2 children (often includes teenagers)  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Consumption oriented  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  No strong retail loyalties & relationships  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Retail loyalties more likely  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Established shopping patterns  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Time-starved  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  27% of U.S. households  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Currently 43% of sales  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Potentially 50% of sales Distribution *Catalogs J.C. Penney is the nation’s largest catalog merchant, with the most modern facilities and the largest privately owned telemarketing network in America. Serving this $4 billion catalog business are nearly 2,000 catalog departments in JCPenney department stores, Eckerd drugstores, freestanding sales centers and independent catalog merchants. *Internet J.C. Penney is in only its second year of Internet sales, and its going strong and growing. Sales jumped from $15 million to $102 million since the beginning of jcpenney.com. *Department Stores JCPenney has more retail space in major regional shopping centers than any other department store retailer in America, with about 1,140 department stores located in all 50 states. JCPenney’s drugstore ECKERD has over 2,600 stores in operation in 23 states. PROMOTIONAL OFFERS  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Direct mail. An invitation to shop mailed to selected catalog customers. These promotions may be associated with a holiday or other special savings event, including many of our storewide events  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sunday Supplement. JCPenney color inserts that are delivered with your Sunday or late-week newspaper.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Newspaper Ads. Promotional offers are often supplemented by ads in your local newspaper.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Catalog Inserts. Many of our Sale and JCPenney â€Å"Signature Series† catalogs contain special offers for limited-time savings that are bound into mailed copies.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  E-mail Promotions.