Case Brief Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Brief - Case Study Example While the plaintiff does not have her palimony agreement in writing, because she filed her claim before the enactment of the new legislature, the judge ruled the amendment does not apply to her case. In doing such, the judge further ruled to deny the defendant’s motion to dismiss the complaint and the defendant’s counterclaims. Barbara A. Botis is the girlfriend of the late Gary A. Kudrick. Botis claims herself and Kudrick were in a â€Å"marriage-type relationship† for the greater part of 32 years after Kudrick divorced his wife. Botis further claims that Kudrick promised to take care of her after his death even though he did not put her in his will. Therefore, Botis seeks palimony- or compensation made by one member of an unmarried couples to another member after separation. Estate of Gary A. Kudrick denies that Botis and Kudrick were ever in a â€Å"marriage-type relationship† and, therefore, the plaintiff is not entitled to any compensation. Furthermore, the Estate seeks its own compensation from the plaintiff for unauthorized withdrawals from a home equity line on one of the deceased’s residences, removing belongings from one of the residences, and refusing to return stolen financial documents. In addition, the defendant later requested to expand the later counterclaim to include fraud, perjury, attorney fees, and punitive damages. Plaintiff stands that her and the late Gary Kudrick met in high school in approximately 1954. Although they initially married other people, after both of their respective marriages ended, they began a committed relationship. In 1976, Kudrick moved into Botis’s residence while still maintaining his own separate residence. They then lived together for approximately eight years before selling her residence and moving into his expanded residence in 1984 of which she claims she invested $17,000. Then, in 1995, they supposedly purchase another home

Project Management(file one) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Project Management(file one) - Essay Example The activity is determined by Mean = (o + 4m + p)/6. Its variance will be given by activity (Variance) = ((p - o)/6)2. The value attained is the z-value which can be related in the z-tables to give the probability of completing the project in time (Phillips, 2004). The CPM/PERT technique were used alongside the base lines for cost, work and schedule variances. The assumption taken was that the duration of activities was established with certainty. The realistic duration will make up to precisely as estimated (Oduwole, 2002). Nonetheless, in actual activities, this is impossible and several projects entail variability in activity times owing to factors like lack of previous experience, breakdown of equipment, erratic weather conditions. Besides, late supply of deliveries is an impediment. PERT analysis is applicable when activity durations are not known with precision. It constitutes three estimates of the activity duration as opposed to the single value analysis identified with CPM: The base line conditions for this report assessed and evaluated the situation of work considering the baseline and actual reporting. For instance, a deviation in the original budget is captured and observed in the percentage of work covered, the budget allocation and the amount of work remaining. This is a useful piece to learn from since the project manager can read the variance with ease and try to correct any change in project scope (Oduwole, 2002). This is the significance of using project management techniques to monitor and evaluate work progress. Any work related delays will be easily identified and correction made by observing the cause of such changes (Heerkens, 2007). Similarly, the schedule can be monitored for deviation. The possible correction to schedule is to check on the capability of the manpower or work force (Cleland, & Ireland, 2006). If work is going slowly than expected, it may mean that

Gambling in College Football Essay Example for Free

Gambling in College Football Essay Today’s new generation has accepted gambling more than any previous generation. People are playing poker and betting on games one the internet and even on college campus. According to them it is a social activity and there is nothing wrong in gambling. This negative attitude has made this problem seep down to the highest level of human population, its intellect (Oregon Department of Human Services, 2005). Gambling is a social problem which not only threatens the academic success of a student but also depletes the financial resources. Risking money in the hope of winning is called gambling. Gambling includes lottery tickets, online betting games, cards, dice, dominoes etc (University of Texas, 2004). In past few months various football gambling stories have created a chaos among the coaches and administration of various colleges. Colleges are constantly trying to find new ways of finding and punishing the culprits. The main concern however, is to create such rules which can prevent students from placing a bet and hence getting involved in this organized crime. In past few years gambling incidents have been recorded from quite known and influential colleges. These include Arizona State University, Boston College, University of Colorado, Columbia University, Fresno State University, and Northwestern University etc. According to a research done by a student from the University of Michigan, almost 72% of the students had gambled in one way or the other. Almost 80% of these were male students (Cross Vollano, n. d). In order to understand the issue of student athlete gambling in more than an anecdotal way, this study was developed to learn the extent and nature of student athlete gambling. According to The National Association of Student Personnel Administration (NAPSA), gambling is a problem not just in athlete students but in all students. They constantly urge college management to develop programs which aware students about the potential hazards of gambling (The National Association of Student Personnel Administration, 2007). In 1874, college professional sports had its first scandal. Louisville college football players were accused of gambling against their own team. According to Arnie Wexler, who was a former College football gambler, and is now a recognized expert on compulsive gambling; â€Å"Its easier to place a bet on a college campus than it is to buy a can of beer or a package of cigarettes, you just pick up a telephone and call a bookie on campus. You dont even have to leave your room† (Kindred, 1996). This is absolutely true. The college administration usually does not care about such things. They burry their heads in the sand and if asked pretend as if nothing is wrong is happening. For past half century the college football and basketball has been full of wagering incidents. The National Collegiate athletic Association (NCAA) did a survey in 2003. According to that survey almost one percent of the total college football players accepted money for poor performance. Moreover, half the time they played, they were able to change the outcome of the game by their performance. It was also found that almost 15% of the non athlete students also gambled. It is not just the gambling part, but the players usually provide inside information to the gamblers and help them win (National Collegiate athletic Association, 2003). Students who gamble risk their careers to fulfill their need and obsession to gamble. Such activities do not necessarily occur in the isolation of college but the culprits might get together in a friends place in order to place the bet. Bets can be placed in the internet and in some cases via phone also. In 2004, two student bookies were caught. They were convicted of sports bribery. Stevin Hedake Smith owed almost $10,000 to a student bookie. In order to pay him back he agreed with the bookie to play poorly at the game. The FBI became suspicious and later caught him and his friends. After this incident the NCAA changed quite a few rules of the game. Though before gambling was always condemned, but it was never a definite rule. However, after this event, the NCAA has anti gambling rules in black and white (Gabriel, 2004). Sometimes even a simple thing as accepting gift certificate can be termed as gambling too. In a simple event, few women participated in a simple ‘pick a winner’ game and earned gift certificates of $50. When the college administration found out about this they banned those students from playing in the football team. Due to this event, accepting gift certificates was against the rules (National Endowment for financial education, 2004). According to the NCAA; â€Å"You may not place any bet of any sort on any college or professional sports event. You may not give information to anyone who does place bets on college or professional sports† (National Endowment for financial education, 2004). Moreover, the NCAA further explains these rules as: There can be no betting on any sport, whether it involves your college or not. There can be no wager for any item i. e. cash, shirt, dinner etc. No sports pools No internet gambling No fantasy leagues (this means no fee for participation and no prize for winning) No information exchange about your or any other team (including injury, or anyother problems) (NCAA, 2005; NCAA, 2003). Looking at the table below it can be determined how many students playing college football engage them selves in wagering activities and how many think that the rules above have really made a difference. Figure: Comparison of proportion of S_As who gamble on college sports versus proportion who says that NCAA Rules discourage sports wagering Source: NCAA, 2004 The change in the rules of college football has certainly reduces the amount of bets placed. Though at some level students are still gambling, but if caught they know that their careers will come to an end. The amount of shame and humiliation caused by the media coverage also has an impact on the number of bets placed every year. According to the new rules by NCAA, any student who is caught violating the game rules will not be allowed to play in any of the plays he has formerly registered too. This means his entire career comes to a halt. Such strict rules have helped in the reduction of wagering issues (NCAA news release, 1999). In August 2007, several students complained that the coaches were using text messages to gamble or place bets. Almost 75% of the people voted in favor of banning text messaging. Due to the gambling problem, yet another rule had to be placed. According to the New York Times, the NCAA has now placed a ban on text messaging. The president of NCAA was disappointed so much that he called this â€Å"an embarrassment to all of intercollegiate athletics† (Thomas, 2008). The coaches have tried to work around this rule too. According to many coaches as there is no ban for e-mailing they can place bets on the e-mails. Many cell phone companies allow e-mailing also, so coaches are now trying new ways without breaking any rules (Miller, 2008). The administration should always clearly state the rules, as not doing so means leaving a loop hole, with the help of which the students can gamble. Sometimes, the committee can accuse somebody of gambling, but such a person might not have understood the rules properly. In 2004 a former football coach was accused of gambling. He later sued NCAA for accusing him and later firing him. According to him he did not understand the way NCAA operates. Hence it is not just about defining rules, but explaining them in such a way that everybody understands them (Yaeger et al, 2004). Gambling in college football has very grave consequences. A student can get expelled from college, get humiliated in news stories, can become an embarrassment for himself and his family, get banned from all professional sports, become a victim of organized crime, ruin his financial resources and sometimes even end up in jail. To summarize, wagering can destroy a person’s life. It is not only the responsibility of the students themselves, but the responsibility of the college administration to help create awareness among students so that no student get involved in these matters and does not become a victim of bookies. Even though the generation today has certainly got more involved in gambling, poker, wagering etc, but measures can be taken in order to help these students. Many organizations are working and are constantly trying to help these students break their habits. It might be difficult but not impossible. The management and the administration of the colleges should also instead of ignoring these things, in order to help prevent scandals and create a bad name of their schools, should help students get over this habit. Rules should be devised which are clear and strict. College students are the most important part of any population, and if they get involved in these things, this means that the human intellect has been affected. References Cross, Michael E. Vollano, Ann G. (n. d). Gambling Education. University of Michigan. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. umich. edu/~mgoblue/compliance/gambling/summary. html Gabriel, Walter (2004). Gambling common at colleges during March Madness: Office pool cost coach his job. Louisiana State University. The Daily Reveille. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://media. www. lsureveille. com/media/storage/paper868/news/2004/03/11/Sports/Gambling. Common. At. Colleges. During. March. Madness-2048935. shtml Kindred, David. (1996). Ignoring gambling wont make it go away gambling at college campuses – Column. The Sporting News. November 18. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_n47_v220/ai_18869994 Miller, Phil (2008). Like Water Around A dam. Retrieved January 2, 2008 from: http://marketpower. typepad. com/market_power/college_football/index. html National Collegiate athletic Association (2003). Sports wagering; study on collegiate sports wagering and associated behaviors. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. ncaa. org/library/research/sports_wagering/2003/2003_sports_wagering_study. pdf National Endowment for financial education (2004). Don’t bet on it: put your money on a real winner, yourself. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. ncaa. org/gambling/dontbetonit/2004. pdf NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). (2005). NCAA rules and regulations. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. iupui. edu/~athlete/handbook/rules. html NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). (2003). Protect: Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. ncaa. org/library/general/general_brochure/2003/2003_gen_info. pdf NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). (2004). Comparison of proportion of S_As who gamble on college sports versus proportion who say that NCAA Rules discourage sports wagering. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. ncaa. org/gambling/2003NationalStudy/slideShow/sld028. htm NCAA News release (1999). Report Of the NCAA Division I Working Group to Study Basketball Issues. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. ncaa. org/releases/basketballissues/1999082001bi. htm Oregon Department of Human Services (2005). Gambling and College Students: Literature Review. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. oregon. gov/DHS/addiction/gambling/collegestudents-gambling. pdf Thomas, Katie. (2008). N. C. A. A. Ban on Text-Messaging as Recruiting Tool Will Remain. The New York Times. 13th Jan. Retrieved January 3,2008 from: http://www. nytimes. com/2008/01/13/sports/13ncaa. html? _r=3ref=ncaafootballoref=sloginoref=sloginoref=slogin The National Association of Student Personnel Administration. NAPSA. (2007). Students affairs administrators in higher education. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. naspa. org/pubs/index. cfm University of Texas (2004). Gambling; You bet your life. The councelling and mental health centre. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. utexas. edu/student/cmhc/booklets/gambling/gamb. html Yaeger, Thomas, E. Benjamin A. Converse, Doug Ulrich, David Codron, Ryan Restivo (2004). Your turn. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_46_228/ai_n6362465

Studying The Poetry Of Plath And Hughes

Studying The Poetry Of Plath And Hughes Sylvia Plath (October 27, 1932 February 11, 1963) and Ted Hughes (17 August 1930 28 October 1998) are known as some of the best poets of all time. They wrote with passion and flare and their poetry brought fire to the souls of their readers. I have always found that Hughes last poetry book, Birthday Letters, was, in short, a reply to the feelings between him and Sylvia, those judging him for her death, and, in some small form, Sylvias poetry. In this essay, I will be discovering the core significances and connections found between their poetry. I will take two poems from each poet and analyze each one, find the links between one and the other or, in some cases, their life. I will begin with Sylvia Plaths The Courage of Shutting Up, which was written in 1962, during the same week in which she wrote The Detective, The Courage of Shutting Up and a series of poems collectively called Bees The Bee Meeting, The Arrival of the Bee Box, Stings, The Swarm, and Wintering. The courage of the shut mouth, in spite of artillery! unlocks the beginning of Sylvia Plaths The Courage of Shutting-Up, a poem written about the cruel circularity of fury, the way it makes the disks of the brain revolve, like the muzzles of cannon, a needle journeying in its groove. One of the many poems Plath wrote in her illustrious eruption of passionate rage in the autumn of 1962 after becoming aware of Ted Hughess unfaithfulness, this poem was part of the monstrous bombings of literature that Plath let soar throughout the course of the twentieth centurys most well-known poetic outburst. When Hughes betrayed Plath, she grinded her pen into a knife and went used in the only way she knew how. Intimacy became her nuclear warhead: living beneath someones skin always makes it easier to condemn them. Many times she tells herself in her journals I think the worst thing is to exteriorize those jitterings so I try and shut up and not blither to Ted. His sympathy is a constant temptation. She argues with herself throughout her life about things she should and shouldnt say to Ted Should I tell the boy, before its too late warn him to set his sights on other prey more domesticated prey, at that. Or should I just shut up and plunge maybe making us both unhappy. This poem seems to be the release of every pent up emotion, thought, secret, that she ever held inside, that she ever kept from him, that she ever kept her mouth shut about. The title The Courage of Shutting up, previously known as The Courage of Quietness, gives an excellent summary of the poem, although, without reading it, there could be many assumptions about it. For example: A suffering child, a mute, a mime, and many more examples spring to the minds of those with true imagination. As in many of Plaths poetry, there is no rhyming scheme, which could be her way of portraying her anger, how she is so outraged by all the secrets she has kept, that she does not care for rhymes anymore. Another example is that she lets some of her lines flow over into the next. In the first stanza she makes it clear that she is holding back some deep dark secrets inside her by the simple mention of the shut mouth, in spite of artillery!, signifying that she has a great many secrets to tell, shamefully though, she has not told them. The line pink and quiet, a worm gives the image of the tongue sitting peacefully in its confinement, the mouth, the head, the mind, but the word basking gives us the impression that it is just waiting, for its time, for its moment, for the mind to finally give in to the temptation of letting go all of the secrets balled up inside of it. Her disks of outrage emphasise this idea, as black disks seem to be referring to a pair of black old records, filled with secrets that are meant to be played. Her outrage at the knowledge of her husbands infidelity could have been one of the inspirations for this idea. The outrage of the sky leaves us under the impression that her anger is so greats that it fills the sky itself and the last line leans strongly towards the thought that the disks in her mind, which could also be referred to as her mind, her memories, ask to be played, or in the minds case, relived or told but without their needle, their tongue, that lay basking quietly, untiring, their story can never be told. The second stanza is also filled with rages, as she explains that her disks are filled with memories of bastardies, bastardies, usages, desertions and doubleness which could be interpreted as a rough translation of all the awful sufferings her husband put her through. Her needle, or, in medical terms, tongue, plays around inside her mouth, or its groove. Her tongue is her most prized weapon. Her inner beast could be considered her dagger, her whip, it is her secret weapon, per say. During the final part of the second stanza and most of the third, describes a surgeon turned into a tattooist. This could be construed as her take on her transformation from a great poet laureate, to a housewife and a mother. Obviously she loves her children, but if you take this description how most do, she is clearly describing how she felt during her writers block. Shes tattooing over the same blue grievances, in other words, shes describing how she wrote, what she apparently considered to be, the same awful poems, over and over. The mention of The snakes and the babies gives a huge reminder of Edge, leaving us under the impression that one could have something to do with the other and that The Courage of Shutting Up could have influenced, or at least slightly inspired Edge. The fact that she says he is quiet and that he has seen to much death, his hands are full of it gives the idea that she thought she had written too many failed poetry attempts to try and go back and try again. So the disks of the brain revolve like the muzzles of cannon, could be describing how her memories replay themselves over and over in her head, grinding at her mind to speak the bastardies that she knows so deeply of. When she mentions the antique billhook, the tongue she is describing once again how dangerous her words would be if they were released. The billhook is a traditional cutting tool used mainly in forestry for cutting smaller woody materials such as shrubs and branches. If her words were only set free they would destroy her enemy with indefatigable power, meaning that she is extremely persistent and untiring. It must be cut out because it has nine tails like a cat o nine tails whip. There are three ways to lash with this type op whip. Soft lashings leave marks but they will heal, severe lashings leave scars that will not heal and savage lashings can kill. Clearly Plath was set to kill, which is why her whip must be cut out. It even flays from the air, once it gets going, w hich gives it even more power and even more reason for it to be cut off. However, in the fifth stanza we see that the antique billhook, the tongue has been put by, cut out, silenced, maybe even tongue-tied up with the fox heads, the otter heads, the heads of dead rabbits, which could be interpreted as a strange representation of all the women that Plaths husband had been with so it may be her description of how he was trying to put her up there with them. Clearly he failed. However, when we consider this from a different perspective, there is the possibility of the heads being her past poetry, a vast collection of different animals, some more dangerous than others but none so dangerous as the tongue itself that put all of those heads up there. Plath describes it as marvellous, so it is clear that it is one of her most prized possessions. It has pierced many things in its time; meaning that her spike of a tongue has pierced many a person or, some people might think it has silenced them when in a verbal discussion. When she mentions the eyes, the repetition of the eyes enhances their significance; perhaps she is referring to the well known phrase If looks could kill. She continues to write that mirrors can kill and if she is comparing mirrors to her eyes like some would think, one could assume she is speaking of how eyes mirror emotions, feelings, etc as they are Terrible rooms in which a torture goes on one can only watch showing that there is pain and suffering in the eyes but one can only sit and watch it play out in the eyes as if in shock, entrancement, or from paralysation. However, she mentions after to not worry about the eyes probably insinuating that they cannot actually kill anything or anyone. They are white and shy signifying purity, innocence. Perhaps she seeks to show that she does not use her eyes to kill, but her words. Also, in the last stanza, Plath describes how her eyes are not stool pigeons, meaning a criminals look out or a decoy, so they are not purposely looking for anything. She says that they are folded like flags and it is well known that in some countries when a soldier is killed the flag is folded in a certain way and given to the soldiers family. Their death rays folded like flags Of a country no longer heard of, An obstinate independency Insolvent among the mountains. Moving onto the selected poems by Ted Hughes, Freedom of Speech was published in 1998 along with all the others found in Ted Hughes Birthday Letters, about his relationship with the American poet Sylvia Plath, who committed suicide in 1963, the book was described as Book of poems breaks Hughes long silence on Plaths life and death. The title Freedom of Speech doesnt really give an exceptional overview of the narrative poem, it seems to hint towards the idea that everyone in the poem with the exception of the author himself, who is mentioned in the poem, and the person he is addressing are speaking, smiling, laughing, etc. There doesnt seem to be any kind of rhyme scheme, but there a few random lines in which a half rhyme can be found, could this be a possible indication of how scattered everything described in the poem is, the fact that everyone is laughing but him and her, the main characters, the birthday girl, could make everything rather disrupted. He does not end each line with a comma or a full stop, like is usually done in an a b a b rhyming scheme, which tends to be the most frequent, he lets a few of the lines spill over into the next, enhancing the idea of a scattered, desperate stream of consciousness throughout the poem. The theme is clearly fictional, as it is impossible for the person he is addres sing to actually be there on her sixtieth birthday because she had ended her life thirty years before. He describes Sylvia as a quiet bystander, sitting in silence, feeding her last book, her last love, grapes from her lips pursed like a kiss. The word kiss refers to her love for the book Ariel which was a gathering of the last poems she wrote before she committed suicide after a life of depression which ended in loneliness in 1963. The word kiss also gives the impression that Sylvia is caressing the book, and the ss also makes it sound so. The fact that the author describes the two as Ariel sits on your knuckle in the cakes glow stands to reason that she and the book are in darkness, lighted only by the cakes glow, as it would not have been that bright had the lights been on. This bring up the question: Does this mean the whole room was in darkness or just that plain solid area in which the tortured poetess and her last poetry book could be found? If it be that Hughes is trying to demonstrate that the whole room is in darkness, then the party was clearly a false and it is quite possible that he was lying to her about everyone laughing so that she would start the laughter and happiness. The trouble is that since the person referred to is clearly void of such emotions and, to be frank, isnt even there, he could be talking to himself, willing himself to start the laughter. If however the whole room is bright minus that one area in which the cake sits, in which Sylvia and her last love sits, then this has turned into a com pletely different poem. If the second option is true, then it seems that the person being referred to is a sort of ghost, sitting in the darkness, remaining solemn and unemotional, haunting him on this memorable day, her sixtieth birthday, a full thirty years after her suicide in 1963. It has always been discussed that Hughes never stopped loving or thinking about Miss Sylvia Plath and the fact that Ted Hughes even wrote the book of poems which includes Freedom of Speech supports that theory because clearly he must have thought about her often to write such a long and elaborate poetry book. In the second stanza the narrator describes the others as laughing, as if grateful. This could be trying to tell her that they are grateful to be invited, to be in the presence of such esteemed poets. There is a huge group of people the whole reunion, old friends and new friends, some famous authors, your court of brilliant minds, and publishers and doctors and professors. The entire third and fourth stanza gives the effect of a metaphor, as it has given human qualities to dead relatives, inanimate objects and the flowers around them. The description of Sylvia herself could be construed as a metaphor as it is impossible for her to actually be there as she died thirty years ago. His sense of wording in the last three stanzas are noticeable as he mentions that the children are hers, not theirs, and yet simply calls Ariel by its name, giving the illusion that Ariel is a single-minded being that Sylvia did not create, and if she did it was not alone as it was Hughes who discovered the poems and put them together, so he obviously does not say it is hers because he was also a part of its creation as he put the poems together and corrected all her mistakes that he found in the poems. The one last mentionable point is that he uses capital letters in the last line when he says Only You and I do not smile. Normally when someone uses the word you there is no capital letter but he has used one and has obviously done it for a reason. This could be to illustrate her importance in his life, to make her seem more important because at the time she is there with him, on her sixtieth birthday, sitting solemnly in the darkness with her last love, Ariel, and because of that Hug hes cannot join in on the fun everyone else is experiencing because he feels attached to her, haunted by her spirit being there. In conclusion, an analysis of Freedom of Speech shows that this poem is an author-oriented, first-person, single-angle (only the viewpoint of Hughes is shown) narrative poem which contains a mixture of modes (prose and verse). The courage of shutting up The courage of the shut mouth, in spite of artillery! The line pink and quiet, a worm, basking. There are black disks behind it, the disks of outrage, And the outrage of the sky, the lined brain of it. The disks revolve, they ask to be heard- Loaded, as they are, with accounts of bastardies. Bastardies, usages, desertions and doubleness, The needle journeying in its groove, Silver beast between two dark canyons, A great surgeon, now a tattooist, Tattooing over and over the same blue grievances, The snakes, the babies, the tits On mermaids and two-legged dream girls. The surgeon is quiet, he does not speak He has seen too much death, his hands are full of it So the disks of the brain revolve, like the muzzles of cannon. Then there is that antique billhook, the tongue, Indefatigable, purple. Must it be cut out? It has nine tails, it is dangerous And those it flays from the air, once it gets going! No, the tongue, too, has been put by, Hung up in the library with the engravings of Rangoon And the fox heads, the otter heads, the heads of dead rabbits. It is a marvellous object- The things it has pierced in its time. But how about the eyes, the eyes, the eyes? Mirrors can kill and talk, they are terrible rooms In which a torture goes on one can only watch The face that lived in this mirror is the face of a dead man. Do not worry about the eyes- They may be white and shy, they are no stool pigeons, Their death rays folded like flags Of a country no longer heard of, An obstinate independency Insolvent among the mountains. Freedom of Speech At your sixtieth birthday, in the cakes glow, Ariel sits on your knuckle. You feed it grapes, a black one, then a green one, From between your lips pursed like a kiss. Why are you so solemn? Everybody laughs As if grateful, the whole reunion Old friends and new friends, Some famous authors, your court of brilliant minds, And publishers and doctors and professors, Their eyes creased in delighted laugher even The late poppies laugh, one loses a petal. The candles tremble their tips Trying to contain their joy. And your Mummy Is laughing in her nursing home. Your children Are laughing from opposite sides of the globe. Your Daddy Laughs deep in his coffin. And the stars, Surely the stars, too, shake with laughter. And Ariel What about Ariel? Ariel is happy to be here. Only you and I do not smile.

The Impact of Lowering the Drinking Age on State University Essay

The legal drinking age in the United States will always be a point of contention. No one can settle upon a drinking age that everyone is in agreement with; should it be 18 or 21? Ages 18 and 21 are the most popular options, yet neither one has 100% of the vote. With the current legal drinking age in America standing at 21, meaning that people under the age of 21 cannot purchase or consume alcoholic food or beverages, there is the question of whether or not to lower it to 18 or 19 years old. This paper will argue that the drinking age should be lowered, and examine its impact on State University. Almost everyone has an opinion on what the drinking age should be. Some people believe that it should stay at 21. However, others argue that it should be lowered for the sake of teen safety. The opposition to lowering the drinking age backs their argument with science. Advocates of keeping the drinking age above twenty one believe that alcohol causes permanent damage to the still-developing brains of teenagers. This group of people includes scientists such as Susanne Hiller-Sturmhà ¶fel, and H. Scott Swartzwelder, who have conducted scientific trials studying the effects alcohol has on the human brain. On the other hand, proponents of lowering the drinking age believe that the pros outweigh the cons of their story. To this group of people, including Ruth C. Engs, lowering the drinking age will come with restrictions still, although most of the restrictions will help educate young people about alcohol in the hopes of preventing alcohol related deaths. This is where universities come into the picture. Would keeping the legal drinking age at 21 prevent students on campuses from obtaining alcohol, therefore keeping them safe? Or wo... ...ty, Choose. "The Minimum Legal Drinking Age Should Be Lowered." Teens at Risk. Ed. Christine Watkins. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Debating the Issues."chooseresponsibility.org. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. "State History of MLDA 21, 1933-present." ProConorg Headlines. ProCon.org, 27 Oct. 2011. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. Sullum, Jacob. "College dry: drinking age debate." Reason Dec. 2008: 16. General OneFile. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. University Center & Michael D. Rose Theatre Policy Manual. Memphis: University of Memphis, n.d. PDF. Wechsler, Henry, PhD, Jae Eun Lee, DrPH, Toben F. Nelson, MS, and Meichun Kuo, ScD. "Underage College Students’ Drinking Behavior, Access to Alcohol, and the Influence of Deterrence Policies." Journal of American College Health 5th ser. 50 (2002): 223-36. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. The Impact of Lowering the Drinking Age on State University Essay The legal drinking age in the United States will always be a point of contention. No one can settle upon a drinking age that everyone is in agreement with; should it be 18 or 21? Ages 18 and 21 are the most popular options, yet neither one has 100% of the vote. With the current legal drinking age in America standing at 21, meaning that people under the age of 21 cannot purchase or consume alcoholic food or beverages, there is the question of whether or not to lower it to 18 or 19 years old. This paper will argue that the drinking age should be lowered, and examine its impact on State University. Almost everyone has an opinion on what the drinking age should be. Some people believe that it should stay at 21. However, others argue that it should be lowered for the sake of teen safety. The opposition to lowering the drinking age backs their argument with science. Advocates of keeping the drinking age above twenty one believe that alcohol causes permanent damage to the still-developing brains of teenagers. This group of people includes scientists such as Susanne Hiller-Sturmhà ¶fel, and H. Scott Swartzwelder, who have conducted scientific trials studying the effects alcohol has on the human brain. On the other hand, proponents of lowering the drinking age believe that the pros outweigh the cons of their story. To this group of people, including Ruth C. Engs, lowering the drinking age will come with restrictions still, although most of the restrictions will help educate young people about alcohol in the hopes of preventing alcohol related deaths. This is where universities come into the picture. Would keeping the legal drinking age at 21 prevent students on campuses from obtaining alcohol, therefore keeping them safe? Or wo... ...ty, Choose. "The Minimum Legal Drinking Age Should Be Lowered." Teens at Risk. Ed. Christine Watkins. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Debating the Issues."chooseresponsibility.org. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. "State History of MLDA 21, 1933-present." ProConorg Headlines. ProCon.org, 27 Oct. 2011. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. Sullum, Jacob. "College dry: drinking age debate." Reason Dec. 2008: 16. General OneFile. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. University Center & Michael D. Rose Theatre Policy Manual. Memphis: University of Memphis, n.d. PDF. Wechsler, Henry, PhD, Jae Eun Lee, DrPH, Toben F. Nelson, MS, and Meichun Kuo, ScD. "Underage College Students’ Drinking Behavior, Access to Alcohol, and the Influence of Deterrence Policies." Journal of American College Health 5th ser. 50 (2002): 223-36. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

Organic food Essay

We asked Food Scientists a simple question: â€Å"What foods do you avoid? Experts from different areas of specialty explain why they won’t eat these eight foods. Food scientists are shedding light on items loaded with toxins and chemicals–and simple swaps for a cleaner diet and supersized health. Experts from different areas of specialty explain why they won’t eat these eight foods. Clean eating means choosing fruits, vegetables, and meats that are raised, grown, and sold with minimal processing. Often they’re organic, and rarely (if ever) should they contain additives. But in some cases, the methods of today’s food producers are neither clean nor sustainable. The result is damage to our health, the environment, or both. So we decided to take a fresh look at food through the eyes of the people who spend their lives uncovering what’s safe–or not–to eat. † Their answers don’t necessarily make up a â€Å"banned foods† list. But reaching for the suggested alternatives might bring you better health–and peace of mind. 1. The Endocrinologist Won’t Eat: Canned Tomatoes Fredrick Vom Saal, is an endocrinologist at the University of Missouri who studies bisphenol-A. The problem: The resin linings of tin cans contain bisphenol-A, a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Unfortunately, acidity (a prominent characteristic of tomatoes) causes BPA to leach into your food. Studies show that the BPA in most people’s body exceeds the amount that suppresses sperm production or causes chromosomal damage to the eggs of animals. â€Å"You can get 50 mcg of BPA per liter out of a tomato can, and that’s a level that is going to impact people, particularly the young,† says vom Saal. â€Å"I won’t go near canned tomatoes. † The solution: Choose tomatoes in glass bottles (which do not need resin linings), such as the brands Bionaturae and Coluccio. You can also get several types in Tetra Pak boxes, likeTrader Joe’s and Pomi. Exposure to BPA Causes Permanent Damage In OffSpring 2. The Farmer Won’t Eat: Corn-Fed Beef Joel Salatin is co-owner of Polyface Farms and author of half a dozen books on sustainable farming. The problem: Cattle evolved to eat grass, not grains. But farmers today feed their animals corn and soybeans, which fatten up the animals faster for slaughter. But more money for cattle farmers (and lower prices at the grocery store) means a lot less nutrition for us. A recent comprehensive study conducted by the USDA and researchers from Clemson University found that compared with corn-fed beef, grass-fed beef is higher in beta-carotene, vitamin E, omega-3s, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), calcium, magnesium, and potassium; lower in inflammatory omega-6s; and lower in saturated fats that have been linked to heart disease. â€Å"We need to respect the fact that cows are herbivores, and that does not mean feeding them corn and chicken manure,† says Salatin. The solution: Buy grass-fed beef, which can be found at specialty grocers, farmers markets, and nationally at Whole Foods. It’s usually labeled because it demands a premium, but if you don’t see it, ask your butcher. 3. The Toxicologist Won’t Eat: Microwave Popcorn Olga Naidenko, is a senior scientist for the Environmental Working Group. The problem: Chemicals, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in the lining of the bag, are part of a class of compounds that may be linked to infertility in humans, according to a recent study from UCLA. In animal testing, the chemicals cause liver, testicular, and pancreatic cancer. Studies show that microwaving causes the chemicals to vaporize–and migrate into your popcorn. â€Å"They stay in your body for years and accumulate there,† says Naidenko, which is why researchers worry that levels in humans could approach the amounts causing cancers in laboratory animals. DuPont and other manufacturers have promised to phase out PFOA by 2015 under a voluntary EPA plan, but millions of bags of popcorn will be sold between now and then. The solution: Pop organic kernels the old-fashioned way: in a skillet. For flavorings, you can add real butter or dried seasonings, such as dillweed, vegetable flakes, or soup mix. Make it organic and use coconut oil. If You’re Still Eating Microwave Popcorn, You’re Not Fully Grasping The Health Consequences 4. The Farm Director Won’t Eat: Nonorganic Potatoes Jeffrey Moyer is the chair of the National Organic Standards Board. The problem: Root vegetables absorb herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides that wind up in soil. In the case of potatoes–the nation’s most popular vegetable–they’re treated with fungicides during the growing season, then sprayed with herbicides to kill off the fibrous vines before harvesting. After they’re dug up, the potatoes are treated yet again to prevent them from sprouting. â€Å"Try this experiment: Buy a conventional potato in a store, and try to get it to sprout. It won’t,† says Moyer, who is also farm director of the Rodale Institute (also owned by Rodale Inc. , the publisher of Prevention). â€Å"I’ve talked with potato growers who say point-blank they would never eat the potatoes they sell. They have separate plots where they grow potatoes for themselves without all the chemicals. † The solution: Buy organic potatoes. Washing isn’t good enough if you’re trying to remove chemicals that have been absorbed into the flesh. Budget tip: Organic potatoes are only $1 to $2 a pound, slightly more expensive than conventional spuds. 5. The Fisheries Expert Won’t Eat: Farmed Salmon Dr. David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany, published a major study in the journal Science on contamination in fish. The problem: Nature didn’t intend for salmon to be crammed into pens and fed soy, poultry litter, and hydrolyzed chicken feathers. As a result, farmed salmon is lower in vitamin D and higher in contaminants, including carcinogens, PCBs, brominated flame retardants, and pesticides such as dioxin and DDT. According to Carpenter, the most contaminated fish come from Northern Europe, which can be found on American menus. â€Å"You could eat one of these salmon dinners every 5 months without increasing your risk of cancer,† says Carpenter, whose 2004 fish contamination study got broad media attention. â€Å"It’s that bad. † Preliminary science has also linked DDT to diabetes and obesity, but some nutritionists believe the benefits of omega-3s outweigh the risks. There is also concern about the high level of antibiotics and pesticides used to treat these fish. When you eat farmed salmon, you get dosed with the same drugs and chemicals. The solution: Switch to wild-caught Alaska salmon. If the package says fresh Atlantic, it’s farmed. There are no commercial fisheries left for wild Atlantic salmon. Farmed Fish vs. Wild Fish: How Healthy Is The Fish At Your Favorite Grocery? 6. The Cancer Researcher Won’t Drink: Milk Produced With Artificial Hormones Rick North is project director of the Campaign for Safe Food at the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility and former CEO of the Oregon division of the American Cancer Society. The problem: Milk producers treat their dairy cattle with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST, as it is also known) to boost milk production. But rBGH also increases udder infections and even pus in the milk. It also leads to higher levels of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor in milk. In people, high levels of IGF-1 may contribute to breast, prostate, and colon cancers. â€Å"When the government approved rBGH, it was thought that IGF-1 from milk would be broken down in the human digestive tract,† says North. â€Å"There’s not 100 percent proof that this is increasing cancer in humans,† admits North. â€Å"However, it’s banned in most industrialized countries. † The solution: Buy raw milk or check labels for rBGH-free, rBST-free, produced without artificial hormones, or organic milk. These phrases indicate rBGH-free products. Why Do Humans Still Drink Milk? 7. The Biotech Specialist Who Won’t Eat Conventional Soy: GMO Unfermented Soy Michael Harris is biotech specialist who has directed several projects within the biotech sector including those for genetically engineered food. He has been a consultant, manager and director for companies such as Xenon Pharmaceuticals and Genon Corporation. The problem: Genetically engineered food is a cause of great concern due to the manipulation of DNA and genetic code including transfers from one species to another. Fermented Soy Is The Only Soy Food Fit for Human Consumption and since almost 90% of soy in the world is genetically modified, if you are not ensuring sources are organic, long-term health problems are inevitable, especially since soy has been found to affect hormonal balance and even cause cancer. The solution: Check labels to ensure soy is Non-GMO or organic and never consume unfermented sources. If possible contact the company to find out exactly where the Non-GMO soy was obtained. 8. The Organic-Foods Expert Won’t Eat: Conventional Apples Mark Kastel, a former executive for agribusiness, is codirector of the Cornucopia Institute, a farm-policy research group that supports organic foods. The problem: If fall fruits held a â€Å"most doused in pesticides contest,† apples would win. Why? They are individually grafted (descended from a single tree) so that each variety maintains its distinctive flavor. As such, apples don’t develop resistance to pests and are sprayed frequently. The industry maintains that these residues are not harmful. But Kastel counters that it’s just common sense to minimize exposure by avoiding the most doused produce, like apples. â€Å"Farm workers have higher rates of many cancers,† he says. And increasing numbers of studies are starting to link a higher body burden of pesticides (from all sources) with Parkinson’s disease. The solution:Buy organic apples or apples from a farmer that you trust!

It Is Difficult to Remain a Bystander in the Face of Conflict. Discuss. Essay

In any discussion of conflict it is important to consider the many types of conflict that can be experienced and the likelihood of remaining aloof from the ideological, emotional, physical, moral and spiritual dimensions of conflict. Conflict in general can be found in all of human history and in its reflection in art, poetry, literature and in the everyday experience of humanity. Moral dilemmas, property and border disputes, lovers’ spats, sibling rivalry, broken hearts, jealousy, envy and lust for power. The list is long, many people have sought to find a way to remain neutral but are inevitably drawn into conflict compelled by conscience, desire or belief, or are swept up in conflict as just collateral damage. By definition a bystander is a person present at an event or incident but does not take part. Conflict can show its face in many forms. But it’s not the nature of the conflict that can draw people from the sidelines; it can be the situation the person is faced with and completely reliant on the belief they hold and their moral constitution. A common real life example is when you pass a mugging in progress. You’re faced with a dilemma, to either help the stranger and risk physical harm to yourself or leave the stranger to his fate and remain safe yourself. It is not the situation of conflict that pulls onlookers into the fray, but the strength of an individuals will that plays the main role in whether one becomes a martyr for a cause or cowers. Galileo is faced with a similar situation where he is troubled by a spiritual and strong moral conflict where he must choose between science or faith. It was difficult for Galileo to remain a bystander, the inquisitive nature and the constant drive to seek the truth of how the celestial satellites behave given to him by Bertolt Brecht. Brecht used Galileo as a tool to illustrate that a man with passion can find it difficult to remain a bystander in the face of conflict â€Å"unhappy is the l and where heroes are needed† Galileo saw himself as that hero, plagued with the task of educating Italy and the world. This task he bestowed upon himself resulted in much dispute between the church’s teachings and Europe. Galileo is also shown as ‘only human’ a man of flesh and blood that â€Å"enjoys the pleasures of life† but when faced with the threat of physical torture he quails. He It may be true that a person with passion may be easily stirred to rise to the challenge of a spiritual or moral debate but conflicts of a physical nature, such as open conflict or a battle between ideological beliefs allows little choice to the surrounding bystanders to remain uninvolved â€Å"sooner or later†¦one must take sides. If one is to remain human† in Vietnam war many people took sides but just as many were ignorant and unwilling to partake in the violence and ideological conflict that was raging throughout South-East Asia. As the red wave of communism swept south-west endangering the old colonial powers. It was as if a hornet’s nest was struck. War pulls people, unwillingly towards it, to feed itself and to grow. The peasants were hit the hardest in the Vietnam war. â €Å"You and your like are trying to make a war with the help of people who just aren’t interested.† â€Å"They don’t want communism.† â€Å"They want enough rice,† â€Å"They don’t want to be shot at. They want one day to be much the same as another.† The peasants were used as pawns, seen as cheap human shields and laborers. The communists used villages to hide â€Å"it’s no use†¦After every attack the Vietcong hide their weapon and disguise themselves as farmers† using them for their own protection and gain. Equally the French and the communist used them to harvest the rice fields. ‘For in war, food is more valuable than gold’. For the peasants they had little understanding of the battles that raged around them but their ignorance did not protect them from stray bullets or mortar explosions. The quiet American explores a wide range of conflicts from the physical realm of open conflict to the ideologica l. Graham Greene through the polar opposite characters of Pile and Fowler illustrates that remaining uninvolved and untouched by these two forms of conflict is impossible. Through the large difference between the two characters we can see that there is no specific type of person that becomes â€Å"engage† when conflict arises but it is human nature to become involved. Fowler with age and experience, made bitter by the world and human nature and proudly unbiased in his views towards the conflict around him and Pile with youth, inexperience and a gentle simplicity of human nature. The stark contrast is a metaphor of how anyone can be drawn into conflict, even without noticing in Fowlers case. Fowler was shocked into action by Piles simple mined motives of the bombing and the simplicity in which he saw it. â€Å"Innocence is a kind of insanity† and Piles insanity caused many to become involved. The matter in which one stays detached from internal conflict such as matters of love is much more complicated. History and literature is ripe with stories of, kingdoms falling, Machiavellian politicians and heroes prevailing in the name of ‘love’. The human race is obsessed with the idea of love, whether it be love for one’s country, for one’s friends or one’s wife or husband. It is difficult to remain aloof from the desire and the calling we all secretly crave. Phuong is an interesting case. She managed to remain relatively independent from the two men who were fighting for her hand. This might be due to the cultural differences in the belief of love and duty of a woman, â€Å"she doesn’t love like you or I† compared to the mindset of a western woman. Greene uses Phuong as a metaphor for Vietnam. A silent, fragile thing with Fowler representing the old Colonial powers such as France and England While Pile representing the new age of America. Both fighting for supremacy over her. It may be true that remaining a bystander when one is confronted with conflict is challenging but it is not the conflict itself that is to blame. It is difficult to remain a bystander in the face of conflict, but not for every situation. Each situation of conflict has a host of factors at play such as the type of conflict as well at the person affronted. Whether it is by choice or involuntarily our world and society is based upon conflict and how we deal with it. It may be safe to remain a bystander when faced with conflict.