Reading and reviewing Diefendorf In the Wake of War Essay

In 1945 intense bombing gave the Germans a unique opportunity comprehensively to redesign their towns and cities. The damage to the urban fabric was so great that reconstruction was expected to take sixty years. It took ten. Yet, the bland architecture of many cities today suggests that the Germans squandered their chances. They certainly demolished too much and arguably restored to little pre-war life and spirit of many of their finest towns. They could have done better; but, as In The Wake of War. The Reconstruction of German Cities after World War II, by Jeffry Diefendorf shows, they faced constraints which were as complex and critical as those affecting their economic recovery. The scale of the damage was staggering. The rubble from the ten worst-affected large cities lone would have covered Hyde Park to a depth of 500 feet. Moreover, capable planners and architects were scarce. Diefendorf, a professor of history at the University of New Hampshire, has written an excellent, extensively researched book on the reconstruction of war-damaged German cities after 1945. This reconstruction involved in part the massive clearance of rubble from streets and building sites; yet it also required a comprehensive rethinking of planning, architecture, and building law. German city planners had to resolve several dilemmas. First, they needed to distance German cities from their Nazi past, yet also restore legitimate architectural landmarks. Second, German planners’ alliance with the growing international modernist movement conflicted with this concern for historic preservation. Finally, the grand hopes of comprehensively redesigning the outmoded city centers were constrained by the urgent need for basic housing. In this scholarly study addressed to students of history, architecture, city planning, and development, Jeffrey M. Diefendorf makes two broad and interrelated contributions. He delineates the activities, ideas, and institutional processes that accompanied the rebuilding of many of West Germany’s ruined cities after World War II; and he shows that the country’s urban reconstruction between 1945 and 1955-60, when reviewed structurally, was influenced by manifest material exigencies as well as notable prior urban planning and design traditions. Many had emigrated in the 1930s. Those who worked under the Nazis were now distrusted or dismissed. These difficulties were compounded by shortages of power, equipment and transport and by the Allied requisitioning and dismantling of essential equipment. There were further problems. Each city had had a distinctive pre-war character. Each was differently affected by bombing. Thus, each faced different reconstruction problems and proposed different solutions. There was no central administration, and Nazi planning arrangements were in abeyance; so co-ordination and planning controls were weak. Nor could municipalities start with a clean slate. Buildings, building lines and property rights still existed: even the rubble belonged to someone. Moreover, the best course of action was unclear. Prussian, Weimar and Nazi planning and architectural traditions remained strong yet were now unacceptable; and no agreed alternatives existed. Were they to restore the old or build something new? Architects, lanners, local councils, the Allied occupation authorities and the local populations all had conflicting preferences. Aspects of the Reconstruction The primary focus is on the early postwar years, from 1945 through the late 1950s. Though reconstruction efforts continued well into the 1960s (and some even to the present day), Diefendorf argues that by the late 1950s the explicit reconstruction of bombed cities gave way to a broader process of growth and modernization. In fact, Marshall Plan aid and the West German economic miracle accelerated what many in 1945 thought would be a forty-year reconstruction period. Diefendorf wisely examines the events leading up to 1945, from the Bauhaus architectural influences of the 1920s to wartime bombing and planning (including plans to build underground, bomb-proof fortress cities called Webrstadte). He spends an entire chapter on prewar German planning, and an especially interesting chapter on postwar planners; both are useful references for comparative work on the profession and its intellectual history. Diefendorf reminds us that urban reconstruction is a very complex and emotionally charged subject, since so many concerns, both practical and psychological, need to be satisfied. Right at the end of the war reconstruction would have to take place immediately in order to the major cities of Germany to recover and get back on its tracks. The need for structures from the wide variety of sectors in German cities would reasonably come from the German population eager to start their lives anew. Apart from the financial limitations and other hindrances in terms of resources, the reconstruction of the whole German cities and the German pride would have to come at a price—a substantial where the stakes encompass not only the physical but, more significantly, the emotional and psychological aspects of the planners, builders, and of the entire population. At the end of the war, the first desperate need was for shelter for the unhoused, tired, and defeated civilian population, augmented by refugees, expellees, and returning war veterans. This was the time of clearing the rubble by the famous â€Å"Trummerfrauen,† as it was also a time of conflict between private initiative and public control, a period of vast black market activities and widespread illegal building. These things, on a larger perspective, prove to be huge hindrances to the restoration of the integrity of the country as well as for the physical reconstruction of Germany’s major cities. Conditions changed as soon as the currency reform of 1948 had taken hold. There were, of course, still problems of expropriation and compensation of private property and there was no generally applicable agreement as to who had jurisdiction over the rebuilding process. As the book sheds light on the disparity over the jurisdiction rights over the reconstruction process, the struggle between the public control and private initiative nevertheless emphasized the parallel aim of reconstructing the fallen country. And although the town, the state, and the federal government had conflict in determining precisely who is responsible over certain areas and aspects of the reconstruction process, funds were eventually provided by a special equalization of burden tax. Behind the Pages: Redefining the Postwar German Reconstruction Focusing on the experience of over thirty of Germany’s largest cities, this is the first general account in English of the mighty efforts to rebuild urban Germany after 1945. The research effort and the command of detail are impressive and Diefendorf tells the involved tale with clarity and style. However, the treatment is uneven. It covers only the West Germany and concentrates on just four cities: Munich, Cologne, West Berlin and, especially, Hamburg. The book, in general, is excellent history, thorough, documented, well organized, and readable written. On its own terms, there is little to criticize although at some point the aspects worthy of criticism shelve out the idea of discrediting the whole book. The illustrations are excellently chosen, with striking before-and-after photos, although some city plans would have helped. The organization by subject rather than chronology—rubble clearance, architectural style, historical preservation, housing, city planning, law, and administrative organizations—works well, even if it occasionally demands separating one event into pieces in different chapters. The research apparently occupied the author for fifteen years, took him to numerous archives, and led him to interviews both of key participants and of other researchers. Its assiduousness shows in the result—shows perhaps too much, when we are given lists of planners or names of streets occasionally burden the text without adding to understanding. Newly found sources tend to direct attention out of proportion, but everything is clear, and by and large a suitable degree of skepticism is sprinkled over the self-serving quotations from participants. The distinctive East German reconstruction effort is omitted: East Berlin and Dresden rate only passing mention. Furthermore, the detailed discussion of architectural and planning principles, wartime planning and the local politicking is a trifle microscopic. I should have preferred fewer endnotes and a briefer bibliography, which together constitute over one quarter of the book. But the reconstruction of West Germany’s cities after 1945 remains a tale worth telling. In his structuralist perspective, the post war reconstruction of West Germany’s battered cities marked neither a radical break with the past nor a completely new beginning. He emphasizes that â€Å"significant continuities linked the periods before and after 45† (p. xvi). The emphasis on continuities does not, however, keep him from sketching the signal discontinuity created by the wartime â€Å"war against the cities. † The war had been awesome and awful: 45 percent of the housing stock had been destroyed or damaged. Urban Germans needed to clear mountains of rubble, to procure scarce materials and labor for reconstruction, to rebuild both legally and illegally in order to survive. The legal and illegal ways in which the Germans engaged themselves into all for the name of salvaging whatever they can from the ruins of the war is partially discussed in the book. The very existence of these twofold activities meant that by any possible means the reconstruction of the major German cities, towns, and the entire nations would have to be met. Yet this is the part where the book gathers the conviction to assert the idea that such an objective was not an easy task as it may have sounded. A lot of hindrances would have to be faced along the way such as financial constraints and conflict over who is going to be responsible for which specific areas are to be reconstructed, and on what buildings are to be erected. Diefendorf’s accent, however is on the â€Å"face of reconstruction†: on such issues as architectural styles and historic preservation and such problems as old an new housing, town planning, and building laws. These topics take up most of the book, and he derives credible conclusions in each case. Throughout, he shows the importance of the long-term historical context. The ties of the book with history is both necessary and interesting apart from the reason that postwar Germany is a good ground for substantiating on the idea of how a nation faces the most wretched conditions and is able to stand on its own, recovering almost immediately from a pace hardly achieved by any other country. In architecture, he suggests that a broadly conceived â€Å"modernist† style, although struggling with traditionalism and bowing to expediency, survived into the postwar period, becoming dominant in the late 1950s. As to historic preservation, German cities chose separate paths after settling on whether, how, â€Å"and under what conditions to rebuild the damaged shell† (p. 69). Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, Hanover, and Stuttgart generally favored modernization; Munster, Freiburg, and Nuremberg emphasized their historic character; Lubeck, Cologne, and Munich took a middle path. The chapter contains excellent photographs, and Diefendorf observes that planners tended to prefer modernization whereas citizens’ groups called for preservation. Planning Amidst Reconstruction Difficulties Debates about architecture and political behavior had taken place since the 1920s. The book highlights the idea that traditional architecture, with its component of historic preservation, and its stress on regional domestic variations and native building materials, vied with more modern forms of city planning, with its emphasis on commerce, industry and transportation, particularly on traffic by car. In many cases the aerial bombardment had razed the center and most densely settled area of the city, and had provided the planners with a ready-made ground and the opportunity for modern rebuilding. Here was a chance to solve the problems of earlier unplanned urbanization that had been brought about by the industrialization. In a large number of cases, underground sewage, water, gas and electricity conduits were not heavily damaged and could be used again. The rapid rebuilding of the German cities, done within almost a decade, can only be understood in terms of previous long-term urban planning. Notably, German housing shortages dated back to the turn of the century. Far from abating during the Weimar Republic, they were further complicated and compounded during the Nazi regime. A housing crisis developed particularly during World War II, persisting into the postwar period partly because extensive new construction did not begin until the currency reform of 1948. Thereafter, modest residential housing units in both suburbs and inner cities began to appear across the Federal Republic. This outcome was aided by a broad consensus on housing construction, the passage of a federal housing law in 1950, as well as private and public funding (with small Marshall Plan funds acting as â€Å"lubricant†). In this case, it can be noted that the existence of housing predicaments paved the way for the attention of the public and private sectors. Diefendorf further notes that â€Å"the growth of a body planning law paralleled the growth of town planning in Germany in the late nineteenth century† (p. 222). This observation of the author corresponds to the belief that the increase in the reaches of Germany’s body planning law has something to do with the increase in the planning for the reconstruction of various parts of Germany. From the minor to the major towns and cities, the laws enacted by the states to set limits and definitions on ways that affect the reconstruction of the various regions led to a sweeping set of changes in the urban lives of the people. The prominent architects and city planners, who were in direct participation in the efforts of reconstruction during the early period of the postwar era, had accumulated their training during the Weimar Republic, had been actively participating during the Third Reich, and were more than eager to use their skills and competence in the service of building during the postwar era. They saw themselves as individuals belonging to the nonpolitical group, just as the large number of doctors had done. They were engaged essentially in developing the cities while straying away from the political domain and the influence of political groups that seek to control the reconstruction process to their advantage. Yet even if the laws were enacted, there were notable lapses that undermine the very purpose in which these laws were created. For instance, the laws â€Å"usually sufficed for laying out streets but typically failed to address the issue of what was erected behind the street facades† (p. 222). There were certain lapses that the book highlights, which veritably amounts to the presumption that even if there were salient legal efforts to boost the reconstruction process by setting legal definitions on the process, these were nevertheless not without certain unique lapses on their own. Predictably, the enduring housing problems had kept the planners busy during peace and war. Diefendorf emphasizes that postwar planning remained largely in the hands of pre-1945 planners who had gained experience in the years 1933-45 but whose plans tended to predate the Nazi regime. Despite the planner’s ambivalence about public input and their debatable insistence that they were â€Å"apolitical,† Diefendorf treats them and their plans generously; Freiburg and Cologne came to exemplify â€Å"conservative† planning, Kiel and Aachen demonstrated the â€Å"pragmatic† approach, while the â€Å"partial planning† of Mainz and Berlin â€Å"resembled that of most other West German cities† (p. 197). If the planners failed to solve the burgeoning postwar traffic problems, it was because they could not anticipate the speedy arrival and proliferation of private motor vehicles. Diefendorf makes it clear that planning the reconstruction of vast cities and towns is not a process under the helm of pure democracy. It was at the same time burdensome and difficult to reconcile the wishes of the whole mass of populations who desire to avert back their familiar environment. It was also difficult to reconcile the needs of an expanding and forward-looking economy under the oversight of a wide variety of public and private organizations. The book has two related flaws: It misstates its subject, and it is not interdisciplinary. Its real subject is the planning for the reconstruction of German cities after the war (and the organizational and legal problems that accompanied that planning), but not the economics, the politics, or the sociology of the reconstruction process itself. Its focus is on what planners said, what theories they held, what positions they occupied, a little about what they accomplished, and much more about what they did not accomplish. Along the way, many interesting questions are raised: Is there such a thing as Nazi planning? (Yes, but only in limited areas. ) Did planning evolve continuously from the Weimar Republic through the Nazi era to the postwar years, or was the Nazi period a sharp break in continuity? (No sharp break. ) Was reconstruction planning â€Å"successful? † (Under the circumstances, remarkably so, although, in hindsight, with many shortcomings. ) Yet it appears that the flesh and blood of reconstruction is apparently still to be found. Planners may â€Å"plan† cities, but they do not create the decisions on what gets built, or where, when, and how these buildings are to be built. Not unlike in the United States, in Germany after the war, developers, builders, financial institutions, property owners, and politicians concerend about taxes, were all key players, as sometimes were groups of citizens with nonfinancial and nonpolitical motivations. Briefly, in discussing why comprehensive planning laws did not get passed, the author shares some intimation of pressures from property owners; briefly, in discussing organizations, he avers that when major banks played a role in planning, things went more smoothly. Yet it may well be that the department-store, real-estate offices were more influential in what actually happened than the entire planner put together. Diefendorf displays understanding for the difficulties facing German planners, but his conclusions could be taken as the starting point for a critique of a functionalism stripped of aesthetic ambition. Postwar architecture tended to satisfy neither modernists nor traditionalists. Associated with a new building style n the 1920s, standardized housing of the 1940s and 1950s was no loner expected â€Å"to result in exciting buildings† (p. 61). Functionalist abandonment of aesthetic concerns was also evident in planning. Emphasizing broad functional tasks, most city planners concerned themselves chiefly with public health and safety and with the flow of traffic in the cities. Although there may have been brilliant city planners involved in the reconstruction process, the funding for the entire process have also hindered the attainment of utterly expensive and grand architectural buildings, owing perhaps to the book’s observation that the proper appropriation of the financial budget had to be carefully managed so as to meet the ends. The author quotes Leo Grebler, a real-estate economist familiar with market forces, to the effect that postwar German planning produced â€Å"traffic improvements and decongestion on central areas† (p. 347), but his explanation for the amelioration alludes only to the personalities of planners and planning theories. Diefendorf cites none of either the old or the new urban sociology, no urban politics, no social history to explain reactions to central planning, and no urban economics—nothing on the forces shaping cities worldwide in the postwar era. Further, the book notes that â€Å"the war’s devastation offered Germany a unique opportunity to correct the failings of the urban blight produced by the industrial and population expansion of the second half of the nineteenth century† (p. 275). One of the book’s most fascinating discussions concerns the transformation of the German planning profession from the Nazi period to the early postwar years.

Free trade is a global public good

In acquiring a greater understanding of the aforementioned terms, one would proceed to outline the cost and benefits of free trade and any barriers that are associated with trade which can prohibit the process of free trade. Once all the above information has been given, one can then analyze the information and make an inform decision on if free trade is a global public good. In defining trade, O'Brien and Williams stated that trade refers to the exchange of one commodity for another.They further noted that whenever two or more individual's exchanges goods and services they are engaging in the process of trade, which has been in existence since the beginning of time – through the barter system. It is important to note that trade is an essential social activity that satisfies humans' wants, needs and desire; in other words, due to the existence of trade persons has improve their standard of living incredibly (O'Brien and Williams, 2010).It should be noted that there are three d ifferent forms of trade namely domestic, intra-regional and international trade. Domestic trade is also refers as internal trade which looks at the archiving and selling of local goods within the national boundaries of a specific country. It is believe that domestic trade functions as a link between producers and consumers; and it is sub-divided into two categories of wholesale and retail, through the exchange of goods and services.Trade is also done at the intra-regional level among members states of a regional bloc such as CAROM; this is mainly done to enhance regional cooperation through regional institution while primarily focusing on the economic exchange of goods and services. However, international trade is done on a such wider whereas the focus is on the exchange of goods, capital and services conducted across international borders.Due to globalization, industrialization and trade liberalizing, countries are allowed to engage in trade at all level rather to satisfy person wa nts and needs for domestic, intra- regional and international goods and services. It is important to note the principle of trade remains the same at all level and the only difference in the above three forms of trade is the cost and this is due to high level of taxes and trade barriers (Donkey, 2004). Some scholars argue for the movement of ere trade since it would remove all forms of trade barriers it would allow the world to trade freely with each other without any restriction.On the other hand, critics of free trade argue that free trade enhance exploitative condition where some nation has an unfair advantage over other due to their wealth and manufacturing capabilities. This is why it is argues that in theory, the concept of free trade is an excellent idea but in practice it is a human devastation on small island states and developing nations, as these countries lack the economies of scale that develop nations would have due to their size ND economic power (Donkey, 2004).Free tr ade can be defined as the absence of government restrictions upon goods, capital, and the flow of labor between nations, which could possibly hinder the process of trade. It is believe that an advantage of engaging in free trade is that it allows for nations to concentrate their effort on manufacturing specific product or service, where that nation can possibly have a distinct comparative advantage (Irwin, 2009). It is expected that under a free trade agreement a number of barriers to trade would be removed such as taxes, tariffs, import quotas and subsidies etc.If such is done, the implementation of a free trade agreement would allow foreign companies to trade their goods and service just as easy as a domestic company since they would be no restriction on trade. Additionally, it is believe that free trade will lower the prices of goods and set-vices being offer by promoting competition, innovation and specialization of products and services within a specific region (Irwin 2009).How ever as noted earlier, theoretically speaking free trade sounds like a perfect model but practically speaking it is not as easy a model to replicate and this is due to the fact that ere trade has numerous disadvantages to some states that would be involve in the process of free trade. Therefore, to leaves one to question if free trade can be considered as a Global Public Good (JPG) but before one can answer the above mentioned question, it is crucial to find out what is a global public good.According to the International Task Force on Global Public Goods; any goods or services that are essential for survival is a global public good and it should be made available for all without any charges (www. Nautilus. Org). Given the aforementioned definition, it Can be argued that the only global public good that is available in this world is â€Å"air', since all other things in the world has a cost attach to it. However, it should be noted that global public goods is a new concept which is still in the developmental stages by academics, researchers and policy analysts.Typically speaking, a global public good is considered a global good when it has universal benefits, covering multiple groups of society and by extension the entire population. The World Bank defines global public goods as commodities, resources, services and systems of rules or policy regimes with substantial cross-border externalities hat are important for development and poverty-reduction, and that can be produced in sufficient supply only through cooperation and collective action by developed and developing countries (www. Rollback. Org). In practical terms, the determination that the development community should work cooperatively to produce a desired quality and quantity of global public goods that involves consideration of how such action should be implemented and how collective financing can be employed to ensure that the respective public good is not underselling.However, the united Nations (UN) declare that Gaps should meet two requirements, they must be â€Å"non- vial† (where both you and I can consume the good without affecting the utility either of us derive from its consumption) and they must be â€Å"non- clubbable† (whereas no one can be prevented from enjoying it the good, once it has been produced) (Gaul, et al. 2003). The provision of public goods is a key element of the quality of life and environmental sustainability. The underplays Of global goods may affect prospects for economic development and threaten global economic stability, peace and prosperity.There are a number of mechanisms that are needed for the effective delivery of public odds and services in some developing countries that are central to poverty eradication strategy. However, the role of public goods in economic development has been neglected in the mainstream literature and the current views of economic development need to be enriched and complemented by considerations of global public goods to achieve sustained high-quality economic growth, and to ensure that growth translates into effective poverty eradication strategies.This is essential to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (United Nations Industrial Development Organization, 2008). Although the Millennium Development goals are not secretaries consider as public goods by nature, attaining them requires investments in international public goods. For instance finding a new vaccine against malaria or developing an accessible treatment for AIDS, preserving the peace or creating easier access to knowledge, promoting financial stability or establishing a more open and fair trading system could have a greater impact on poverty reduction that could aid in the international arena (Entailer and Trifler, 2002).There are several categories of public goods that are identified in numerous literatures which are all closely related to five f the Millennium Development Goals: the environment, health, security, kno wledge and governance. While it is believe that the environment, health and security are largely associated with benefits derived from reducing risk. Both knowledge and governance are primarily associated with enhancing capacity building.It is important to note that providing international public goods takes more than financial resources but rather it take takes the proper regulatory framework and institutional responses to ensure their supply. And that is where the greatest shortcomings remain. The world has made enormous strides in communications and interdependence between countries, but we have not developed the policies or institutions needed to manage these processes (Et Veldt, Hewitt and Morrissey, 2006).Free trade is regarded as a public good within the international political economy but the international community has a common interest in realizing the benefits of trade and the free movement of goods and services, which in turn requires co-operation. Due to the lack of coo peration among sovereign rational actors in an anarchical international society, the status of free trade as a public good appear somewhat difficult and even unlikely at times.It is assume that this occur due to the absence of central authorities within the international arena (Jones, 2002). In an international political system of individually rational actors (states) and no central authority capable of enforcing cooperation or providing public goods unilaterally, international agreements and organizations such as the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GAIT) and the World Trade Organization (WTFO), are believed to be important and can be considered as an alternative mechanism to cooperation.The point is hat there is a need for an international regime which cooperates to achieve global public goods. One can argue that the benefits of free trade have differed on several accounts from traditional public goods and even if one tries to modify free trade to that of the classic trade theory it becomes even more problematic. Therefore, this leaves one with the question of if free trade is a public good and if so how can it be modify in such a way whereas everyone can eventually benefit from its existence (Hickman and Kookiest, 1997).The status of free trade as a public good serves as a point of departure specially for neo-liberal as it relates to regime theory on international cooperation concerning trade liberalizing. It can be argued that the existence of dilemmas of collective action leads to the retardation of the provision of public goods whereas international agreements and organization had failed to establish cooperation.The reason why the provision of public goods is so problematic is that it entails certain dilemmas of collective action, such as the prisoner's dilemma (base on mistrust and manipulation to receive a specific benefit over others rather than cooperating) and the free rider lemma (enjoying the good without contributing to the provision of i t) which are central in preventing rational actors from cooperating in the pursuit of global public goods.It is therefore, evident that international trade requires states to cooperate in order to dismantle the barriers of trade (Et Veldt, Hewitt and Morrissey, 2006). While some scholars would try effortlessly to make the argument that free trade is a global public good, one should note that there are a number of different barriers to trade, (politically, socially, environmentally, economically, and technologically among other). With all hose barriers against trade this leads one to ask a number of questions such as: Is trade is beneficial or harmful?Should traders be free to move goods and services across national frontiers? And if trade is to be subject to all these restrictions, what kinds of barriers should be imposed and what are the given reasons for such barriers? It is therefore important to know that within the global contemporary economy, international trade touches many s ocieties and communities through direct and indirect effects. It reaches into our homes, places of work and our recreational venues, depending on one's living arrangement and how deeply integrated one's society is within the global political economy.This is why trade is of such importance to all because it impacts us all through the simple consumption of our food to the very clothes we wear on a daily basis; these are all evidence of the tremendous importance of trade across national frontiers (Jones, 2002). For one to further understand if global trade can be seen as a public good, one would need to analyze the cost and benefits to free trade in an international arena. The benefits of free trade have been espouse by the liberals, who believe that free read benefits everyone whereas it increases efficiency and raises the level of productivity.However in sharp contrast, radical and nationalist critics have argued that free trade undermine national economies, create uneven development and damages the environment. It can be argued that the liberals trade theory appears to have created a high level of skepticism in the minds of persons, whereas the liberals are proposing that both sides to a transaction can make a profit. Now in the minds of the average persons this appears as absurd, especially since the common view of transactions see one did gaining while the other side makes a lost.Contrary to popular believe, the liberals has made a case for free trade in which all persons involve can gain, based on the theory of comparative advantage. According to this theory, countries should specialize and produce goods and services for which they possess a comparative advantage (O'Brien and Williams, 2010: 150). The move toward freer international trade has its roots in David Orchard's classical theory of comparative advantage, which is driven by inherent differences in a countries' capacity – and hence the cost – to produce different products and arrives.Ri chard definition of comparative advantage includes specialization of a product, returns of scale, product differentiation and technological differences. He believes comparative advantages in returnable industries are those with high startup costs, making small-scale entry difficult which can lead to more gains from trade and robust economic development (United Nations Industrial Development Organization, 2008). However, mercantilism's theories argued that the aim of a country was to increase its trade relative to that of its rivals hence increasing its wealth.For mercantilism, trade was a ere-?sum game with one country's gain equivalent to another country loss. Contrary to other contending views, Adam Smith argument of absolute advantage was the first to counter the protectionist philosophy of the mercantilism who regarded a positive balance of trade and accumulation of capital as the main goal of any trade policy. Smith pointed out the benefits of international trade and the divisi on of labor in his major work ‘The Wealth of Nations†.Smith notes that by specializing in producing what you do best and importing other goods from trading partners, one would gain both individually and collectively. It should be noted that Orchard's singular achievement was to demonstrate that trade was a positive-sum game in which all parties would have benefited, even if one party had an absolute advantage in the production of all goods and services (Hickman and Kookiest, 1997). Under a liberal trading order, trade would be undertaken by countries according to their comparative advantage.Due to this, countries would improve their economic growth, become more stable, powerful and efficient since they would be specializing in the production of foods and services in they were the most efficient producers and enabling their nonusers to buy foreign goods at the lowest prices. Based on the rules of comparative advantage, specialization would promote efficiency and increase growth, as seen in the underlying principles of the modern trade theory.However, Orchard's assumption that differences in labor productivity were the sole determinants Of comparative advantage is too limiting since it focuses too much on capital, labor and land. One can also note that the theory or comparative advantage appears to be very prescriptive since it suggests that the welfare of an individual country and by extension the world ill be improved base on countries specializing according to their comparative advantage (O'Brien and Williams 2010).From a liberal perspective, protectionism is inefficient since it reduces competition, and increases the monopoly power and thus the profits of the industries which benefit from protection. On the other hand, free trade increases the degree of products available to consumers, although ultimately it will reduce the degree of product differentiation in each country. The gains from trade come parlay from the greater degree of product varie ty and partly from the lower rice per product.The theory of free trade has emphasizes the gains or benefits from trade from a nation. There are two main aspects to be gain from the engaging in trade which are specialization which leads to increase productivity and economic growth; and diffusion of knowledge, innovation and production techniques which is closely linked to international trade. Trade is seen as an engine of growth as it advances the technological progress of society making production more efficient, effective and affordable within the 21 SST century (O'Brien and Williams, 2010).Despite the theoretical elegance, the theory of free trade is constantly being attacked by numerous critics. It can also be argued that free trade is meant to help eliminate unfair trade barriers to goods and services as well as raise the economy in developed and developing nations. There is a popular believe that free trade will create an unfair advantage to domestic supplier and it would reduc e the number of jobs created in a mercantilism society.For instance, persons within agricultural base countries have argued that industrialization has hinder their attempts to industrialized since comparative advantage dictates that they antique to import industrial products whereas they might have a future comparative advantage in the production of a specific industrial product. In such a case, one can argue that it is necessary to implement the necessary protections for local industries, until they become competitive and can reap the benefits of comparative advantage (Lamer 1994). Another argument against free trade is that it places the precedence of national security over trade.In other words, it is argued that countries need to seek alternative methods of acquiring certain food apart from via trade in times of war and conflict. Simply put, it means that countries need to be self-sufficient in the production of certain strategic industries. It is also a widely accepted view that if free trade threatens the national security of a state, that it would be necessary for the government of the state to impose certain tariff and taxes on trade and even impose any necessary restriction if needed in order to protect the society (Entailer and Trifler, 2002).The third argument against free trade is that it is harmful for the environment, whereas the increase in farming, pesticide, emissions Of greenhouse gases and high energy usage as created a harmful impact towards the environment. The Global Development and Environmental Institute (EDGE), find the environmental impact as mixed whereas some countries have a higher level of environmental hazards than others.Therefore, the EDGE suggested that the WTFO imposes certain barriers and restriction on those countries which has a higher level of environmental pollutants in comparison to the countries which has fewer pollutants since free trade is contributing to the degradation of the environment (O'Brien and Williams, 2010) . In conclusion it can be argued that ere trade is not a public good as it creates a number of disadvantages for some nations especially the developing countries. Such disadvantages include the loss of jobs, environmental hazards; inequalities in food securities and retardation in the development of industrialized products.Given the rules of the UN in regards to global public goods, in order for something to be considered as a public good it has to be able to benefit all persons and any usage of the item of product should not affect anyone. Therefore one can argue that free trade is not a global public good as it do not benefit all takeovers and in order for free trade to benefit all there need to be some trade barriers implemented on some nations and that in itself is against the rule Of a global public good.

Classroom Management and Gender Differences Essay

Classroom Management and Gender Differences - Essay Example The management of classrooms is therefore a dynamic task and it is affected by several factors, prominent among them being the gender of the teacher as well as of the students. Several studies have focused on assessing effective management of classroom and its relationship with gender. There are several factors that lead to the influence of gender in dynamics of the classroom and in the management of the classrooms. The role of gender is prominently seen to be active in two ways. One is the perception of   the students about the difference in teaching and managing ability of teachers of different genders. Conversely, it is also noteworthy to discuss if teachers belonging to different genders, indeed manage the classroom differently. Secondly, and more acutely, it is the different in the perception with which the teachers view and apprise their students based on the student’s gender. As a result of these gender related perceptions, the teachers, at times, adopt discriminating attitudes towards their girl and boy students. This invariably result in the manifestation of behavior on the part of the teachers that might be debilitating to some sections of the class. As a classroom setting is extremely crucial for the development of a student, any problems that result due to the partial attitude of teachers should be avoided.The impact of gender related issues on classroom management and studies, that arise due to the gender of teachers or of students,   is being increasingly recognized by educators world over.

Virtual Perceptorship Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Virtual Perceptorship Nursing - Essay Example From the study, notable findings were that; over the study period, women above 35 years increased their rate of delivery by over 84 % while for women above 40 years, their deliveries increased by over 100%; The prevalence of smoking in women decreased from 32.7% in 1988 to below 25.1% in 2001; prevalence of women below 20 years remained almost the same during the study period at 50%; there was an increase in the proportion of women with a pre pregnancy weight gain of over 90 kilograms over the study period; There was a also an increase in proportion of women with a pregnancy weight gain over the study period. Finally, nulliparity increased significantly over the study period. From the study, the research team concluded that, dramatic changes have occurred in maternal characteristics in Nova Scotia, over the years between 1988 and 2001. From the foreseen changes, it is evident that these changes are on-going. The research team also concluded that, if these maternal characteristics con tinue changing into the future, it is going to affect perinatal health and obstetric practice. This is because; maternal characteristics are known indices of obstetric practice, perinatal mortality and morbidity (Bianco, 1996). Research Critique This research has been done proficiently and effectively. The time period that the research team used was sufficient enough to attain the necessary results and possible conclusions. The study was conducted on Nova Scotia women in a time period of 14 years. This long period of time chosen has made the research proficient in the sense that it gave the research team sufficient time to analyze the chosen maternal characteristics which are useful indices of obstetric practice and perinatal care. Another factor that has made the research proficient is that women chosen were of varying age groups. This has enabled the research team to avoid bias in their findings since one finding may be characteristic of a particular age group and not the other. For example, smoking prevalence was assessed in women below 20 years and those above 35 years. It was found that the prevalence did not change much over the 14 year period in women below 20 years while it increase d tremendously in women above 35 years. The data of the study is reliable and this has ensured that the findings are consistent with the available data. The representative sample chosen was women in Nova Scotia who had given birth between 1988 and 2001. The data was obtained from the Nova Scotia Atlee Perinatal Database (NSAPD), a reputable organization that has for years collected accurate data on births in Nova Scotia since 1988. Its personnel are well trained so that there are no errors during data collection exercises. As a result of this, findings on the study are highly accurate and up to date, and they represent the reality on the ground. The reported findings from the study in Nova Scotia are consistent with information available on the subject matter. More recently, studies in western countries indicate that maternal characteristics are changing, and this trend is worrying health care experts (Edwards, 1996). For example, pre pregnancy weight gain has been observed to incre ase in various women, and this is worrying because adverse weight gains in pregnancy are associated with adverse birth outcomes. Recent findings assert that

Management - Service Package Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Management - Service Package - Essay Example An elderly care center is a specialized place designed to take care of elderly people in the society. Therefore, a number of supporting facilities must be taken care of before elderly people are admitted into the elderly care center. In some states, it is a requirement that all elderly care centers comply with state regulations concerning the nursing home reform act. Supporting facilities Supporting facilities refer to physical resources that must be in place before a service can be given out. A key component of facilitating goods encompasses architectural appropriateness, which means that the structures should be tailored according to the needs of the elderly people. In terms of architecture, the houses should be constructed in line with the prevailing climatic conditions of the place where the elderly care centre will be located (White & Duncan 263). The houses should encompass various rooms with washrooms, which are well maintained to cater for the needs of the elderly. The archit ectural design should provide for facilities such as places where the elderly can rest whenever they want to relax. The interior decor should consist of quality furniture and the house should be well decorated. The tables, sofas, and other furniture should be made with appropriate designs and from quality timber. The layout of the facility should be placed in a location with a good flow of traffic to avoid any unnecessary disturbance to the elderly. Other essential supporting facilities include facilities to ensure safety against fire, grab bars in bathrooms and toilets, private toilets and bathrooms, safes, and locked drawers. The houses should also be equipped with supporting facilities such as temperature controls and heating facilities. Other supporting facilities include fitness rooms, libraries, activity rooms, theatres, open grounds for exercises, and walking facilities for persons with walking problems (White & Duncan 268). To improve on security within the housing facility, wander alert systems, alarmed exits, automated fire sprinkler systems, and enclosed yards should be considered. Facilitating goods Facilitating goods refer to goods consumed by buyer or goods as well as materials purchased and consumed by the providers of services. The facilitating goods necessary in an elderly care centre include quality mattresses and warm blankets. Quality will ensure that the elderly feel comfortable when they sleep while the warm blankets will significantly reduce the chances of them to feel cold. Sleeping in a comfortable place can reduce the chances of conditions such as backaches and flu. The caregivers should also be provided with mattresses of high quality as well as warm blankets. This will ensure that they do not have any hindrance while providing services to the elderly (Johnston & Clark 32). Other essential facilitating goods, which should be made available in the elderly care centre, include toothpaste, shampoo, as well as uniforms for the elders and caregivers. Toothpaste and shampoo are essential goods, which ensure the general well being and hygiene in the elderly care centre. Uniforms should be provided as they play an essential role in identifying both the caregivers and the elders. This helps in differentiating between the elderly and caregivers. Service explicit The explicit services refer to benefits, which can be observed and felt with the use of the senses. The achievement of explicit services calls for the employment of qualified caregivers who can treat

What I think the good life means to me Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

What I think the good life means to me - Essay Example The book Affluenza gives great information and detail on living a good life while minimizing your daily consumption (De Graaf, Wann, & Naylor, 2001). Affluenza respects the perfect human desires. It also seeks to create different methods to make comfort, elegance, and enjoyment more genuine and durables than purchasable, perishable things. Education, family, relationships, work, moral and ethical principles, spiritual support and success are some of the things that make the cut. Before you can jump into the obvious conclusion of how the above qualities are far from being good, take a walk with me. The goodness of good is relative as well. Since the custodian of this life is squally on me, the definition is equally dependent on my choices. Many philosophers of our time and the past have had much to say on the topic of good. Socrates, for example, defined good as the absence of what was bad. I do not agree with the definition of Socrates (Cohen, 1971). Other philosophers like Plato do not vocally commit to the definition of good but via their writing, it is safe to infer that virtues like courage, wisdom, humility make the list of what is good. The late definition is more of what my qualities mentioned above incline to for support. Education is one of the qualities that I listed above. Education in this case is not just the acquisition of information and knowledge. It is not even the ability to show forth competence in skills and the proficiency with which one’s performance. Education in my book is the ability to use information, technology, skills for the betterment of humanity. As a radiologist, I envision doing my masters and my doctorate before I get to forty-five. These degrees are however only a mirror of academic excellence and pursuit and not education. An educated individual makes leaders out of commoners. Education broadens the vision beyond the visionary. My vision, for example, is that my

To answer the past exam for sample exam,2002and 2003 Coursework

To answer the past exam for sample exam,2002and 2003 - Coursework Example e speed, flexibility in contrast, a more SE like T2 contrast (compared to FSE),   better slice efficiency (that is, more slices per TR),   and can be flexible with respect to resolution by using segmentation.   As you would have gathered by constructing the table in question 3, speed is of course the main advantage, and opens up the area of functional rather than anatomical imaging.    All sequences must be fat suppressed due to chemical shift, and the presence of geometric distortions are the two big potential problems.   Obviously if you want to image or measure fat, then EPI is not the sequence for you.   Also if the patient has braces and you want to image their brain with EPI that is also not going to work - either due to susceptibility distortions or B1 in homogeneities, depending upon what the braces are made of.   Also there are some areas where the susceptibility is so great that no degree of segmentation will completely remove the distortion - like the areas at the base of the brain close to the sinuses. 3.   Constant phase encoding EPI:   to obtain evenly spaced points in ky, data is split into two, 1D FT at each kx, phase shifted to a grid, 2nd FT at each ky, both halves added together applying the Fourier Transform Shift theorem. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Spiral scanning methods (square and circular):   Points in k space are also not collected uniformly in time (that is, in the line by line method we are familiar with).   The square method is, however, evenly spaced in k-space, therefore just needs reordering.   Circular spiral scanning points are separated uniformly in RADIAL space, but not in the 2D space we are used to.   Either a non-Fourier reconstruction is used (that means you dont need points on a 2D grid) or the data needs to be interpolated to fit a grid. Badwidth is inversely propotional to the sampling line. The number of Pixels reslting from a shift in phase error is dependent upon the phase per pixel of bandwidth. The change in frequency gives a rise

Discussion Board reply Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 7

Discussion Board reply - Assignment Example Different factors control a working environment. Personal psychological status of the worker has a major influence on how he interacts with his coworkers and how well he can execute the tasks. Motivation is another factor that controls his morale and quality of work. A highly motivated employee has a higher moral, a higher self esteem and therefore a higher acceptance capacity. His work is quality work, his interaction is healthy and both his work and family life are in acute balance. A comfortable psychological condition is necessary. Sexual harassment is the most prevalent psychological torment prevalent in our present day work routines. Dual sex work oriented coalition is inevitable but sometimes the most primitive human lust starts to control ethical behavior causing serious consequences. (Paludi, 2010) This approach of managing ad formulating certain directives principles for its prevention utilizing both pedagogy and andragogy techniques will definitely lay out fruitful results. If need be different therapists, shrinks and other law enforcement agents should be employed to manage to manage and provide certain directives for every worker and

An analysis into the Biblical Story of Jonah Research Paper

An analysis into the Biblical Story of Jonah - Research Paper Example As a further means of understanding these complexities, this brief research paper will delve into the determinants of the story of Jonah and seek to find the most compelling and powerful comparisons and references to other Biblical concepts as can be found. The first aspect of the story of Jonah that bears mention is the time period in which tit took place. As anyone who has a modicum of understanding with regards to the nation of ancient Israel can readily attest, the nation was one that soon became drunk on their own â€Å"chosen† status. Whereas it was indeed iterated by God time and again throughout the Old Testament that He had set them aside as a people and that they were indeed his most believed among all the earth, the underlying purpose for this was all too often forgotten or missed entirely by the shareholders and religious leadership within the country. Instead of seeking to integrate an understanding of appreciation and humility for such an honored space in all of the nations of the earth, the nation of Israel developed an overtly haughty and arrogant posture that understood the blessing to mean that all other nations should bow at their feet as they were the gifted and blessed of the Almighty (Hamel, 1995). This was a fundamental error due to the fact that God ultimately intended this blessing to cause a type of leadership among the nations of the earth. By providing the nation of Israel with such a benevolent gift of superiority and love, it was the intention that they would then take these gifts, or talents, and utilize them as a witness unto all of the other nations and peoples; showing the manner in which God’s love and affection could present one of the greatest gifts that mankind had ever seen. However, as can be seen through various stories, inclusive of the story of Jonah, the extent to which this ideal was actually realized was all but non-existent. Instead, the nation of Israel turned to an arrogant interpretation of Godâ₠¬â„¢s blessings and began to hoard their status; requiring constant exile and humiliation to seek to re-integrate with them the present need to be a missionary nation – a beacon to the world. Jonah exhibits much the same arrogance with regards to God’s directive to speak to the people of Nineveh. This aspect of calling and rebellion is not only a central theme to the story of Jonah but also to the way in which humanity ultimately relates to the presence and voice of God within Christianity. This again strikes at the very concept of truth and the means by which an individual integrates with this. Although there are many different means to interpret many theological theories and passage of the Bible, the story of Jonah does not leave one with a great deal of leeway with regards to the means by which it can be interpreted. Ultimately, a man is met with the difficult requirements that God insists must be carried out, the man then decides that the commands are nonsensical a nd ridiculous and thereby shirks the responsibility, then necessitates a chain of actions to be brought down

Alfred Adler Essay Example for Free

Alfred Adler Essay Alfred Adler born February 7, 1870, received his medical degree in 1895, he took an interest in social issues and, in 1902, became part of Sigmund Freuds circle of friends. He created the International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA) in 1910. He and Feud worked together for many years but eventually their relationship soured and Adler left to form his own school of individual psychology. Their major point of disagreements stems from the aspect of sexuality Adler rejected Sigmund Freuds emphasis on sexuality and theorized that neurotic behavior is overcompensation for feelings of inferiority. He objected to the Freudian emphasis upon sex as the root of neurosis. To him a feeling of helplessness during childhood usually leads to an inferiority complex, as he too was ill during his childhood. Adlers theory focused on social forces, and his therapy focused on overcoming the inferiority complex through positive social interaction. Adler also rejected Freuds theory of the libido. He considered the individual as a complete being, whose social goals at the present began earlier on as an infant who has feelings of inferiority. And therefore compensation and the search for power and supremacy, as well as the sense of belonging to a collectivity is the most basic goal for such a client. Adler considered psychic development to be the formation a lifestyle, starting with early childhood, and that later symptom had to be taken into account from this point of view. Freud on the other hand placed more emphasis on sexuality as a motive. The Psychoanalysts say behavior is determined by unconscious motivations, irrational forces, instinctual drives and psychosexual events occurring during the first six years of life. Freud once commented: For, whether a man is a homosexual or a necrophilic, a hysteric suffering from anxiety, an obsessional neurotic cut off from society, or a raving lunatic, the Individual Psychologist of the Adlerian school will declare that the impelling motive of his condition is that he wishes to assert himself, to overcompensate for his inferiority, to remain on top, to pass from the feminine to the masculine line. 1 To Adler, the most important motive is the feeling of inferiority, which he felt originated in the sense of dependence and helplessness which infants experience which differs remarkably from Freud concept. In essence Psychoanalysts strive for fundamental reconstruction of an individuals total personality whereas Adlerian thought focuses on the patient re-educating and re-organizing his priorities and goals. True changes to a Psychoanalyst therefore comes from an individual gaining self awareness by bringing unconscious thoughts ,motivation, feelings and experience into the conscious so that behavior is based more on past reality than present social state of the mind. A second difference is on the nature of environmental stimuli. Adler stressed consideration of the individual in relation to his total environment. His system emphasizes the uniqueness of the individual and his relationships with society. Adler said it is not the childhood experiences that are crucial, it is our present interpretation of these events that matter. Unconscious instincts and our past do not determine behavior. Mental health therefore is measured by the degree to which we successfully share with each other and are concerned with their welfare. To them, encouragement is the most important method available for change of a person’s belief and clients are told they have the power to choose to act differently. Adlers early career was marked by a zeal for social reform, often expressed in articles in socialist newspapers. His first professional publication was a social-medicine monograph on the health of tailors. He could not agree with Freuds basic assumption that sex was the main determinant of personality, and all that this implied: the dominance of biological factors over the psychological; the push of drives, making for identical, predictable patterns; the part commanding the whole; pleasure-seeking as mans prime motivation. Whereas Freud tried to explain man in terms of machines and animals, Adler sought to understand and influence man precisely in terms of what makes him different from machines and animals. Individual psychology therefore has the kind of simplicity which comes with concreteness, dealing as much as possible with what can be observed and as little as possible with what must be taken on faith. A chagrin that Freud was not amused with when he commented Such doctrine is extremely welcome for the lay man because a theory such as this is bound to be very welcome to the great mass of the people, a theory which recognizes no complications, which introduces no new concepts that are hard to grasp, which knows nothing of the unconscious, which gets rid at a single blow of the universally oppressive problem of sexuality and which restricts itself to the discovery of the artifices by which people seek to make life easy. As: the mass of the people themselves take things easily: they call for no more than a single reason by way of explanation, they do not thank science for its diffuseness, they want to have simple solutions and to know that problems are solved. 2 Many of the aspects on which these two fields differ are. Goal-striving Adler saw man imbued with a unitary dynamic force, a striving from below to above. Since this striving is an intrinsic necessity of life itself, like physical growth, there is no need to infer a further source of energy for it. Which energy the psychoanalyst believed can be got from reflection through free association To Adler. To understand the personality or any behavior, one must seek its purpose. The desires of the self ideal were countered by social and ethical demands. If the corrective factors were disregarded and the individual over-compensated, then an inferiority complex would occur, fostering the danger of the individual becoming egocentric, power-hungry and aggressive or worse. To a psychoanalyst like Anna Freud each development phase constructs on the previous one. She says that psychological disorders could be most effectively studied in its developmental and evolutionary phase. We must look at beginnings and end points of a client’s life. She encouraged the observance of clients in their natural settings and then constructs the relationship with systematic observation from the consulting room. Another concrete phase was the relationship between the Therapist and the Patient. The therapists function, according to Adler, is not to treat mental disease as is the case with psychoanalysis, but to divine the error in the patients way of life and lead him to greater maturity. To this end Adler introduced a number of diagnostic approaches. Among these, his theory of dreams, the meaning of early childhood recollections, and the role of birth order in the family. Alfred Adler believed a great deal in the effect that birth order has on an individual. Adler believed that family constellation, where ones position was in birth order, played a crucial part in individual development. Adlerian therapy entails several stages.

How Does Public Opinion Influence Policy Making Politics Essay

How Does Public Opinion Influence Policy Making Politics Essay Public opinion is the summation of individual attitudes, sentiments or views held by grown-up people. Public opinions can be swayed by public associations and political media. Mass media uses a broad range of advertising techniques to get their message out and change the peoples opinions. By assessing the opinions at the personal level and combining them, the percentage of the population with particular views and preferences can be established. Public opinions affect policy both positively and negatively depending on the overall general public view on the policy. Governments have in many occasions devised the use of public opinions for guiding their public information and helping in the making of government policies. The fundamental representation of democracy is the provision of a method through which public opinion and public policy are dependably and frequently interacted. Robert and Gerald (1993) claims that there should be on one hand preferences for the policy and on the other hand public responsiveness to the policy. Political representation has become a major subject in todays politics, and in highly developed democracies there has been increased dissatisfaction with the governments with many people claiming that governments dont represent their interest when formulating policies. According to Holti (1996) the Meech Lake Accord, which was a policy advocating for the Canadian elite accommodation, was met with extensive cries for transparency and public discussion. Many policy planners in addition included public opinion and organized interest groups as important parts in their policy formulation process. Besides public opinion, organized interest groups also participate as a nongovernmental political determinant of the public policy. Public opinion may influence policy positive or negatively. How public opinion influences policy Representation largely depends on a reactive public which watches and responds to what the government is doing. Little advantages are gained on policies where the public is not attentive and uninformed on their preference. Public opinion on policies is very important to representation democratic system as a part of representation itself. A public that is quick to respond behaves like a thermostat as it adjusts its preferences for more or less policy depending on what policy makers do. State governments should develop policy outputs that replicate the concerns of the public and organized interests. Interest groups can also participate various roles standing-in as public or clients representatives as a broker of political information or as policy experts. Public opinion should hold larger weight on policy- making when a mood of the public is successfully communicated by use of interest group activities. The interest group serves as a representative of the mood of the people with their own policy goals. Population based approximations have been used but their effects have been difficult to ensnare from the split effects of socioeconomic conditions According to Daniel (2005) in the last fifteen years, new measures of state public opinion supported on group disaggregated nationwide surveys had revealed a good linkage between the state policy, open-mindedness, and public opinion. Interest groups and general public play an important role in influencing bureaucratic decision making. In USA, both the state public views and those done by interest groups support the addition of non- governmental forces in manipulating policy outcomes. For example, by examining the effect of public opinion of environmental, health and education policies, the conservatives will prefer a free market situation whereas the liberals will pursue a government centered regulation to address these problems in aforementioned areas. By using interest groups, the more groups that are organized around a particular policy area, the more authority that advocacy community has on public policy outputs. By increasing the numbers of advocacy communities, they are able to communicate their ideas to policymakers more frequently and urgently. Public interests group serve as representative by including an interaction between the public and the organized interests. The environmental groups serve to represent a broader public as compared to health and education. The governments political situations such as party control of countrys legislature and governorship, together with party competition with the state, is also a policy determinants. Party competition within the state as a government political condition affects public policy and thus affects public opinion. A party competitiveness will create a positive public policy and public opinion. External State conditions are also determinants of public policy, which may include population indicators, economic, and geographic conditions. For example, richer states usually have more capital to spend on environmental programs and are more likely respond to a higher increase in taxation since their higher incomes exceeds the threshold to satisfy more basic needs. Higher incomes levels have an encouraging relationship on environmental policy. The mass public opinion concerning American foreign policy has been expressed inconsistently and rationality and on incoherence on the other side. In general, the American public do not support the foreign policy due to lack of their involvement in the policy making process. According to Witt Kopf (1990) this is because the American people are ill informed and not interested about foreign policy with equivalent weakness to demonstrate that unstable foreign policies are liable to manipulation by political elites. Poverty rates affect both health and education policys negatively. Contrasting to access to health care the burden of education expenditure for impoverished population is in general manifested in increased states spending compared to local expenditures because small income base of regions with larger poor people. The proportion of locally raised education income is a good indicator of how states fund their education system. Some states preserve a high level of control over their schools systems and thus provide the bulk of the required funding. According to Courtney and David (2005) increases in educational attainment improve both verbal and writing skills and results to higher income and greater professional prestige, enhancing social capital and improved understanding of political processes, which in turn leads to greater political participation. Views of those who are more learned have a greater influence than views of those with less learned. The possibility of comparative pressure depends on which policies are chosen as outcomes variables. The suggestion follows from the contingent model of public opinions weight on policy which affirms that the degree to which a policy is affected by judgment is related to the salience of the subject to the public. The underlying principle for saliencys effect on policy awareness is that people are more politically active when matters are important to them. For example, the effects of public views on civilian rights policies in US. Civil rights mattes are possibly more salient issues to blacks than whites and as a result attitudes of blacks may carry more weight with politicians than attitudes of whites. The Federal government and both state and local governments have in many times hiked cigarette excise taxes in the current years from 24cents per pack to 34 cents per pack with a total of 19 states complying with the increase. The two effects of the reputation of cigarette excise taxes can be predicted in that one is to create revenue from smokers who continue to smoke and also to persuade minor smokers to quite. The problem that is being addressed is the extent to which tobacco control policies affect the public opinion towards smoking. Tobacco management policies can be used to change inexperienced assumptions on fitness risks caused by smoking and can serve as an alternative for health teaching. The execution of tobacco taxes can eventually change public opinions towards smoking. Several alternatives for public opinion have been developed towards smoking and have been scrutinized with relationship between alternatives and the changes in policy on cigarettes. Smokers who prepare to stop smoking obviously ridicule smoking more than the smokers who dont want to stop. The health behaviors of those who are affluent calculated by the attainment of education may serve as an important pointer for public reaction towards smoking. For that reason, the dominance of smoking by intention to stop and education achievement arguably serve as better alternatives for attitude towards smoking than the rate of smoking alone. The proxy for the public response towards smoking is related to the explicit support of tobacco control policies and succeeding change in tobacco control laws. The prevalence of educate smokers who dont want to stop is the best proxy for public reaction towards smoking and accordingly changes in cigarette demand. There is always depressing relationship between excise taxes hikes and the predominance smoking which is primarily driven by the predominance educated smokers who dont want to stop. Public reaction towards smoking is a central feature to what exten t tobacco policies are implemented. If tobacco control rules such as cigarette excise taxes and smoking bans are related with public reactions towards smoking, then it follows that smoking sentiments influence future demand than the tobacco control policies. The decline in cigarette smoking and the hike in tax reflect to some extent the public reaction towards smoking. Tobacco control policies and public sentiments together help in reducing the rate of smoking. How public opinion does not influence policy Policy makers in many times are forced to make an assumption that public views are a reliable guide to making public policy whereas they should not. Public opinion polling often assesses the wishes and liking of respondents but doesnt reflect the costs or threat associated with the policy. Public opinions conveyed in polls cannot tell the policy choice which needs consideration to tradeoffs among values to second-best potential and to unexpected risks. Opinion polls are not likely to get better enough to help the policy choices. Enhancements make the polls results more expensive or too difficult to get from worn out respondents. Therefore, we should not expect in future that polling will replace the use of reasoned policy choices by chosen spokespersons of the people. Despite all the numerical fancy in modern days polling, the dug out advice should not direct public policy. Although public requirements for more government intercession to help are real in that people honestly crave the promised improvement, the cries for state action fail to meet even the highest minimal standard of legitimate guidance. Modern day polls are seducing those who respondent and dont offer them hard choices like the ones faced by policy analysts or legislatures. Polls do not offer wide-reaching advice about policy but they only measure wishes for worlds of advantages with no costs. Opinion polling has crossed the line between mechanically footage popular attitudes and becoming a political player. Contemporary polls are not excellent guides to policy making and we dont have the reason to believe they can be improved to stand in place of policy analysis. A triumphant battle against facile entreatment must deal with the way polls are used not the surveys themselves. Abstract craving for public bounty should only be regarded as interesting curiosities and under no conditions should they notify policymakers or determine policy choices. The capacity of political system to act in response to the likings of its citizens is innermost to democratic presumption and practice. Where assessed, public opinion expresses a reasoned mood or view on a meticulous policy of a problem in a manner that is identifiable by political influential and it is more likely than not that the progress of the policy will be in the path of public opinion. Two parameters which must be followed are within a broad of constraints established by public views. Politicians and policy entrepreneurs often have considera ble room to plot policy in detailed ways that are not noticeable to the public. According to Kennamer (1992) there are different ways to transform welfare, evade spread of communism in underdeveloped countries, fight crime, and address shortage of energy. Secondly whereas the public opinion clearly places important limits on policymaking, the amalgamation of contradictory public views on majority vital policy issues and the capability of political elites to contour or direct views considerably reduce the independent informal impact of public sentiments. Policy questions are intrinsically many sided and is often the reason that strategy and political entrepreneurs can draw upon particular issues structured and abroad ideological underpinnings that have accepted support to endorse meticulous policy schedule. Conclusion It is the external demands of public views that hold and influence policy-making decisions and not the widely known formal apparatus of government. The power of the public opinion in relation to party of the legislature does not essentially underrate the power of the government officials and institutions. According to Norris (1997) the American State governments are responsive to the views of general public and to organized publics. State governments function just as representative democracies with policy out puts very much reflecting the state and external political conditions. Public opinions at the same time tend to have a steady effect across policy areas while the governments tend to be operating in a representative manner, with policy principally the wills of its citizens. Party platforms and electoral fortunes serve as expansions of outer determinants connecting needs and wants with policies and programs. In addition, the impacts of non-governmental political situations on pol icy can vary across problem areas. Organized interest are not massive persuaders of public policy and different groups across problem areas have varying effects as they search for to push forward their own specific goals. Even within the same problem, groups can have varying goals and impact across specific agendas and policies. Public opinion tends to have consistent effect across policy areas.

Leadership and Management :: Business and Management Studies

In a firm, management and leadership are important and needed. Leadership and management are similar. Actually, leadership and management are totally different. The leadership would influence the firm. The leader would have difference leadership styles to lead the subordinate. The manager has different functions, attributes and skills. Different subordinate needs to have different leadership style. Finally, difference powers would have difference use on leadership influence. MANAGEMENT DEFINED Management can be defined as the process of planning organising, directing, and controlling organisational resources in the pursuit of organisational goals. LEADERSHIP DEFINED Leadership is frequently defined as a social influence relationship between two or more persons who depend on each other to attain certain mutual goals in a group situation. STYLES OF LEADERSHIP An autocratic leadership style is one where the manager sets objectives, allocates tasks, and insists on obedience. Therefore the group becomes dependent on him or her. The result of this style is the members of the group are often dissatisfied with the leader. This results in little cohesion, the need for high levels of supervision, and poor levels of motivation amongst employees. A democratic leadership style encourages participation in decision making. Democratic leadership styles can be persuasive or consultative. Persuasive – this is where a leader has already made a decision, but takes the time to persuade others that it is a good idea. Consultative – this is where a leader consults others about their views before making a decision. The decision will take into account these views. A laissez-faire type of leadership style allows employees to carry out activities freely within broad limits. The result is a relaxed atmosphere, but one where there are dew guidelines and directions. This can sometimes result in poor productivity and lack of motivation as employees have little incentive to work hard. Autocratic leaders centralize power and decision making in themselves. They structure the complete work situation for their employees, who are expected to do what they are told and not think for themselves. The leaders take full authority and assume full responsibility. Autocratic leadership typically is negative, based on threats and punishment, but it can appear to be positive, as demonstrated by the benevolent autocrat who chooses to give some rewards to employees. Consultative leaders approach one or more employees and ask them for inputs prior to making a decision. These leaders may then choose to use or ignore the information and advice received, however. If the inputs are seen as used, employees are likely to feel as though they had a positive impact; if the inputs are consistently rejected, employees are likely to feel that their time has been wasted. Participative leaders clearly decentralize authority. Participative decisions are not unilateral, as with the autocrat, because they use

Plight of the Code Hero in the Works of Ernest Hemingway Essay

The Plight of the Code Hero in the Works of Ernest Hemingway      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In his novels Ernest Hemingway suggests a code of behavior for his characters to follow: one that demands courage in difficult situations, strength in the face of adversity, and grace under pressure.   Termed the "code hero," this character is driven by the principal ideals of honor, courage, and endurance in a life of stress, misfortune, and pain.   Despite the hero's fight against life in this violent and disorderly world, he is rarely the victor.   The code that the hero follows demands that he act honorably in this uphill battle and find fulfillment by becoming a man and proving his worth.   Hemingway himself lived his life trying to show how strong and unlimited he was, a trait reflected in his novels as his heroes struggle through.   They are all martyrs to their cause, suffering but triumphantly ending their lives because they do not falter and show no weakness.   Destroyed, they are nevertheless winners because they do not give in.   "Su ccess is that old ABC -- ability, breaks, and courage" (Luckman n. pag.).      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hemingway's heroes succeed precisely because of these characteristics.   Hemingway's heroes are not Marvel Heroes; they do not leap over tall buildings in a single bound, nor do they shoot spider webbing from their hands.   They traverse life and endure the pain dealt them, surviving with a moral and spiritual, but not material, victory.   They are not flat cardboard characters but real people who are heroes because they overcome a problem, not because they have a special ability.   The key trait that they have is the retention of their dignity.   The code heroes in TheOld Man and the Sea, The Sun Also Rises, and For Whom the B... .... _____.   The Old Man and the Sea.   USA: Scribners, 1952. _____. "Quotations Organized by Topic," <http://www.quoteland.com/quotes/topic/147.html> (18 May 1999). _____.   The Sun Also Rises.   USA: Scribners, 1926. Lord Byron. "Quotations Organized by Topic," <http://www.quoteland.com/quotes/topic/147.html> (18 May 1999). Luckman, Charles. "Quotations Organized by Topic," <http://www.quoteland.com/quotes/topic/147.html> (18 May 1999). McConnell, Frank.   The Modern Novel in America, Regnery, revised edition,1963, pg. 814.   Rpt. In World Literature Criticism.   Detroit: Gale Research, 1992. "Oscar Wilde." http://www.cp-tel.net/miller/BilLee/quotes/Wilde.html (18 May 1999). Shalizi, Cosma. "For Whom the Bell Tolls," <http://www.physics.wisc.edu/~shalizi/Poetry/Donne/For_whom_the_Bell_Tolls>   (1 May 1999).

Call Of The Wild :: essays research papers

Buck was the loyal companion of Judge Miller. He was a free dog, allowed to go as he pleased throughout the large estate. Buck hunted with Judge’s sons, escorted the girls, even went swimming in the pool, it was the ideal life for a dog and it was soon about to change. It was 1897 and the Klondike strike was luring men to the north. Buck lived in the sunny Santa Clara Valley, a far extreme from the north where he would soon be taken. It all happened when the gardener, trying to settle his dept took Buck for a walk, one that he would not return from. He was transferred form one person to another until he was bought by Perrault. Perrault was a fair and caring Canada Mail carrier. The first days on the sled team where a new experiences for Buck. When his instincts stopped he learned on from his companions. Each dog had to take care of himself as Perrault only had so much time on his hands. If there was one problem it was with his companion Spitz. The two of them where aimed at each others throats from the day they met. It was a constant battle of who was king of the hill, one that would end in the others death. That day came when the team was chasing a rabbit through the woods. Buck was in the lead just inches behind the prey, when Spitz took a shortcut and jumped on Buck. It was a life and death struggle, Buck was bigger, Spitz was skilled. In the End Bucks shear strength prevailed. Once the job was done, Buck was under a new owner. The duty was not to get the fastest time but to pull the most. It was grueling, heavy work each day. The team soon grew tired and slow, it was boring work and Buck hated it. The Driver promised rest as soon as they finished. Unfortunately the government decided to sell tired dogs instead of resting them. The new drivers when Hal and Charles. They where inexperienced gold seekers, and where traveling with a woman. They knew nothing when it came to traveling, packing double what they should have been and wasting time. When the dogs had trouble pulling, Hal bought more instead of lightning the load. The big problem came far into the trip when the ran out of food.

The Character of Mr Collins in Pride and Prejudice

Mr Collins is introduced to us for the first time in Chapter 13, possibly one of the most famous chapters of the novel. This is the chapter in which Mr. Bennet reads â€Å"the letter† out loud to his family. This letter gives us the most fundamental impression on Mr Collins’ character. The contents of this letter makes us judge him straight away and this judgement marks the image we have of this clergyman for the whole story. As soon as his name is mentioned by Mr Bennet at the start of Chapter 13, Mrs. Bennet’s reaction is: â€Å"Oh! My dear (†¦ ) pray do not talk of that odious man! †. This shows how Mr Collins is not particularly liked in the society and the word odious is particularly well-suited to the man as we understand further on. This is because he ways of gaining trust and building relationships with other people is not very agreeable as he does this through endless flat compliments which, as Mr Bennet later points out are often: â€Å"are the result of previous study â€Å". Most of the impressions we get of Mr Collins are heavily subject, as I said before, to the words of the other characters. This is further emphasized as the characters that immediately criticize William have good credibility in this. Mrs Bennet is always the first to shine a good light on possible rich suitors for her daughter so if she decides to criticize a man that fits this description than it means that he is really disagreeable. Also Elizabeth comments his behaviour as being† an oddity† and as having â€Å"something very pompous in his style†. This is yet again a very good description of him from a very credible character. This is because Elizabeth is throughout the whole novel depicted as being the most intelligent and clever of the Bennet sisters and is therefore a reliable testimony. The first impressions we get which are an actual description by Jane Austen seemingly follow the assumptions we get about him: he is â€Å"heavy looking† and â€Å"very formal†. Both these traits are in great concordance with the Pre-analysis we have already made. These adjectives fit perfectly because even though the adjective heavy is not usually associated with looks in this case it makes us imagine Mr Collins as a character full of responsibilities he does not actually have and this â€Å"heavy look† shows how he heavy in his way of behaving therefore quite boring and staying with him is a toil rather than a pleasure. We have two more occasions when Mr Collins first impressions are finally concluded and he has no chance of redemption. Firstly in chapter 14 Mr Bennet, after dinner and after having had the conversation with Mr Collins at the table, thinks back to his conversation. Austen describes his thought as reflecting how ridiculous his cousin was and at how this satisfies all his expectations: â€Å"His cousin was as absurd as he had hoped. â€Å". This is yet again a comment made by one of the most reflective characters of the novel and therefore we are more prone to believe, this is even stronger as he is thinking so he is much less likely to be lying. Lastly and most dramatically chapter 15 starts with the words: â€Å"Mr Collins was not a sensible man,†. This is very powerful as the first thing we read of this chapter is the apex of disdain for Mr Collins. Overall the impressions we get of Mr Collins are negative and he represents an uninteresting almost pathetic character. His lack of depth and of honest pan out to being fundamental in our analysis of him and he is immediately labelled as a negative character

Children’s Technology Usage Essay

When was the last time you truly spent time with your child? When was the last time your child ACTUALLY talked to you? Most parents honestly can’t answer that question or have to really think about it. Children nowadays depend on technology to get them through their lives. Spending too much time glued to technology causes kids to have no human interaction skills, it exposes them to inappropriate content and most importantly it poses serious health risks. As parents it is their responsibility to put restrictions on the technology their children are using. Children who are constantly communicating via technology are losing vital human interaction skills. Vincent Nichols once stated; â€Å"We’re losing social skills, the human interaction skills, how to read a person’s mood, to read their body language, how to be patient until the moment is right to make or press a point. Too much exclusive use of electronic information dehumanizes what is a very, very important pa rt of community life and living together†. (Vincent Nichols. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com). This quote is a great summary of the future of our children. Do they know how to hold an actual conversation, how to present themselves, how to read body language? When texting you can’t tell someone’s tone of voice and you don’t have to deal with confrontation. How will children attend job interviews if they don’t know how to interact with people in person? These are the fears that every parent should have for their child. Not to mention that there is a complete absence of family time. Families now are not nearly as close as they have been in past generations. Children will lose the ability to express their feelings, they will not be comfortable talking about problems with their parents and siblings will not be as close. Limiting the amount of time that children spend with technology and enforcing technology free times will help promote family time and interaction with people. To add to the lack of human interaction skills, the amount of inappropriate con tent that can be accessed by children is endless. Parents are aware of what images there are on the internet and how easy it is to access them. Children have rather curious minds and the information they could attempt to access is endless. Most times they don’t even have to search inappropriate content; it is right in front of them through  commercials, pop up ads and friends. Everything from sexual content, to body image, to drugs and alcohol, and even to violence is out there for them to access. Putting restricts on what children search, watch and download will help limit their exposure to such content. Having access to these types of content at such young ages will cause serious health risks now and later in life. Putting restrictions on what children can view is simple to do. Most cable companies, phone providers and internet providers have guidelines and support to help parents place restrictions on what their children can search and watch. Finally, excess time spent using technology can lead to serious health risks. Often obesity is the only risk that people associate with too much time spent on technology such as video games, TV, and cell phones. However, the health risks go far beyond obesity. While it is true that too much screen time is known to decrease the amount of physical activity a child partakes in it is not the only risk. Young girls who are already self conscious of their looks can find entire internet societies that brainwash them into thinking they need to be a picture perfect twig and teach them how to become one through anorexia and bulimia. Also, dependency on technology and always being in the now causes sleep disorders, stress and anxiety. Lack of sleep can cause mood disorders and the affects of stress and anxiety in young children can carry with them into their teenage and adult years making it more difficult to recover from. Drugs and alcohol and often glorified and young teens think that they need to do them to be cool causing addiction, overdose, and even death. Making sure that their children are healthy and safe should be a parent’s main concern. Placing restrictions on technology will help ensure that their children stay alive. As parents it is their responsibility to put restrictions on the technology their children are using. What kind of future do parents want for their children? Parents now are already at a disadvantage of raising their children in an era full of technology. They have their work cut out for them to make sure that their children are not dependent on technology and that they learn human interaction skills. Keeping their children protected from the inappropriate content and ensuring that their children do not suffer from mental and physical health problems as a result of technology should be every parent’s priority. Every parent should be placing restrictions on when and what their children are using technology for. References: Vincent Nichols. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved September 22, 2014, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/v/vincentnic532641.html

Of Mice and Men: John Steinbeck Essay

Task: Say what happens on each of the three times we Curley’s wife and what we learn about her. Curley’s wife only appears three times throughout Of Mice and Men, even though she is a pivotal character in the story. The three times she appears are all small parts in the book, but are key scenes. They give us clues about her appearance, character and an insight into her life before she married Curley. The final time we see her is the vital scene where the plot comes together. The first time we see Curley’s wife is chapter 2, where she visits the bunkhouse. Curley’s wife enters the bunkhouse where Lennie and George are unpacking and George is telling Lennie where to go if he gets into trouble. Curley’s wife comes in looking for her husband; she stands in the doorway provocatively trying to get attention from Lennie and George. George ignores Curley’s wife, knowing what she is trying to do, but Lennie is instantly besotted with her. After Curley’s wife doesn’t get very far with Lennie and George she turns her attention to Slim and leaves the bunkhouse. This is only a short scene in the book, but we still learn a lot about Curley’s wife. The fact that she is only ever referred to as Curley’s wife suggests that she is only ever seen as the possession of Curley’s and has no individuality of her own. We learn that she has full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her hair was hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages†. The part about her hair could be taken as an insult about her appearance and that she has failed in making herself attractive. She is descried as wearing mainly red rouged lips, fingernails were red, red mules with little bouquets of red ostrich feathers† which could be interpreted as a colour of danger or a sexual colour which she uses to gain attention from the ranch hands. Curley’s wife strives for attention; by always wearing a lot of make-up and bright clothing she gets the attention she craves so much. Because Curley’s wife is the only woman on the ranch she has no other women to walk to or be friends with and is therefore seen as a sexual object by the ranch hands. She uses this sexual image the ranch hands have of her to gain attention. Her body language suggests that she flirts provocatively her body was thrown forward†, showin her legs†. Her voice was said to have a brittle quality, which could imply that she is as so brittle herself, easily broken or venerable. Because Curley’s wife cannot escape from the sexual image that the other men have of her she uses it as a means of getting the attention she lacks. It is shown this scene that she doesn’t have a good relationship with Curley, because even though she says she is looking for Curley, when she is told where he is she looks apprehensive and rushes back to the bunkhouse as if she would be in trouble if she were not there. Also in this scene shows us that she is lonely and wants someone to talk to because when George answers her brusquely she still stays there and tries to talk to them. After she has gone George speaks of her despairingly bitch†, piece of jail bait† meaning that she has failed to impress him. This scene is like a prediction of what will happen later on in the story, before Curley wife comes into the bunkhouse George is telling Lennie where to go if he gets into trouble, then Curley’s wife walks in. This could be an indication that she is or has something to do with what gets Lennie into trouble. Over all in this scene we find out that Curley’s wife is lonely, pretty, flirty, frightened of her husband and is seen as a possession of Curley’s. The second time we see Curley’s wife is in chapter 4. This scene is where we see Curley’s wife visit Crooks room, gathered there are all the misfits on the ranch. They have been left behind while everyone else has on into town for the night. These people are left behind because they are misfits i.e. are not a young healthy white male. Crooks is black and is crippled, Candy is old and crippled, Lennie has learning disabilities (seen as being thick) and Curley’s wife is a woman. Candy, Lennie and Crooks are discussing the plans for the farm they are going to own, when Curley’s wife comes in looking for Curley. Candy and crooks want Curley’s wife to leave so the don’t get into trouble, but she persists in trying to talk to them. She asks them if they know what happened to Curley’s hand even though she all ready has worked out what has happened. When Crooks tells her to leave or he’ll tell the boss not to let her in the barn any more she becomes angry and tells him not to open his mouth, she threatens that if he dose she will get him strung up on a tree. Curley’s wife only leaves when she thinks the other ranch hands including, Curley have come back from town. Again in this scene we are shown that Curley’s wife is a very lonely person and only wants someone to talk to well, I ain’t givin you no trouble. Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’once in a while? Think I like to stick in that house alla time†. She is also again shown to use her appearance to get attention, Her face was heavily made up. Her lips were slightly parted. She breathed strongly, as though she had been running†. Curley’s wife shows discontent in the life that she has now and a great dislike for her husband Curley, Sure I gotta husban’. You all seen him. Swell guy aint he?†, I’m glad you bust up Curley a little bit. He got it comin’ to him. Sometimes I’d like to bust him myself†. She has this dislike for Curley because of his failure to satisfy her emotionally. Even though this scene is a gathering of the ranch misfits Curley’s wife has a slight advantage over the others. This is because she has a superior social standing as a young white female, she uses this to threaten dominate the other misfits. This happens on several occasions i.e. when she talks down to them You bindle bums† and also when Crooks orders her out of his room. By doing this he aggravates him and she attacks him verbally You know what I could do?† Well, you keep your place then Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny†. Crooks was an easy target for Curley’s wife to pick on because he is black. People were prejudiced against ethnic minorities in those days and this made it easy for her to frighten Crooks. In my opinion I think that she took pleasure out of his suffering and this particular scene shows a nasty side of her personality. The last time we see Curley’s wife is in the barn with Lennie, chapter 5. In this scene all of the men on the ranch except Lennie are outside taking part or are watching a horseshoe tournament. Lennie is in the barn playing with has pup, but accidentally kills it by stroking it too hard. Curley’s wife enters the barn because she is lonely and wants someone to talk too. She tries to flirt and impress Lennie by telling him about her life before she met Curley. She only really gets Lennie’s full attention when he tells her he likes to stroke nice things. When he tells her she invites Lennie to stroke her soft hair, but when Lennies stroking becomes harder, she panics; in a effort to stop her panicking and screaming Lennie puts his hand over her mouth, this in turn makes her panic even more. In the end Lennie like with the pup breaks her neck. He half-buries her in the hay and runs off. Candy later finds her body. Even though this is the last time we see Curley’s wife we still learn a lot about her and things we already know are reinforced. The fact that Curley’s wife is lonely is reinforced again in this scene I get lonely† this again makes her crave attention from other people. She attempts to gain Lennie’s attention in many ways in this scene, one of the ways she tries is by flirting here feel right her†. Another way is by playing on her own loneliness for sympathy even she shows none for Lennie when he shows her his dead pup. She tries to impress Lennie by telling him about her life before she met Curley She looked closely at Lennie to see whether she was impressing him†. Curley’s wife shows herself to be impatient and selfish by not letting Lennie tell his story before hers she went on with her story quickly, before she could be interrupted†. Again in this scene like the one before she shows a great dislike for Curley. This is because she married Curley only because she was let down by a man who said he could put her in movies, she married Curley so she could get away from home, but this turned out to be a hasty and bad decision for her. Because Curley doesn’t give his wife the attention she needs and tries to keep her from the other men on the ranch, she begins to hate Curley and seeks the attention from the other men on the ranch. Curley’s wife is also naive and lacks any common sense; this is because she believed that the man at the Riverside dance could put her in movies, when it is most probable that he just said it to sleep with her He says he was gonna put me in the movies. Soon’s he got back to Hollywood he was gonna write to me about it† I never got that letter†. Also the fact that she let Lennie to stroke her hair after he told her that he killed his pup by stroking it shows that she lacks any common sense. Many of the characters show contempt for Curley’s wife; they feel that she is a troublemaker. Candy calls her a tart and even when she is dead he says to her you god-damn tramp†¦Ever’ body knowed you’d mess things up. You wasn’t no good. You ain’t no good now, you lousy tart†. In my opinion I think that she deserves pity rather than contempt, because her husband is insensitive, possessive and aggressive. From the three times we see Curley’s wife we can say that she is a pivotal character in the story. Because of her hasty marriage to the possessive Curley she has become lonely in her isolation. To try to escape from the loneliness she uses the sexual image the ranch hands have of her to gain attention from other people, even those at the bottom of the social hierarchy. The fact that she is known only as Curley’s wife and is never called by her real name by ether the ranch hands or the author shows that she is seen only as a possession and is not treated as an individual.