Philosophy and Pornography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Philosophy and Pornography - Essay Example Some people derives pleasure from watching pornographic materials whereas others taking inspirations from such materials and engage in sexually abusive activities. According to James McConvill (2006), â€Å"the incidence of rape in the United States has declined 85 per cent in the past 25 years while access to pornography has become freely available to teenagers and adults† (McConvill). It should be noted that the last 25 years witnessed tremendous growth in the internet related technologies. Since internet is the prominent channel for spreading pornography, any growth in internet related technologies growth, development and spreading of pornographic materials across the world. There are many countries and states which restricted the spreading of pornographic contents through internet because of the concerns about the possibility of increased sexual violence cases. However, it is found that â€Å"the four US states with the lowest internet access had the highest increase in r ape incidents (53% increases) between 1980 and 2004, whereas the four states with the highest internet access, experienced the largest decrease in rape incidents (27% decrease)† (McConvill). ... Accumulation of any kind of energy at a particular place is results in unfavourable incidents. Teenagers, who are deprived the opportunity to access internet pornography, will try to release their sexual energy through rape like sexual violence. There are many arguments against the spreading of pornography. â€Å"Pornography promotes destructive practices and can lead to progressive addiction† (So what's so bad about pornography?). The general belief prevailing among most of the societies in the world is that pornography has more destructive elements than constructive elements. In many countries, access to pornography is regulated only to the adults. It is a common belief that teenagers derive inspirations from pornographic materials and may try to imitate it in their real life also. In countries where strict laws prevail, sexual violence cases are less even if the access to pornographic materials is easy. For example, in many of the Middle Eastern countries, sex related crime s are less compared to that in other parts of the world because of the stiff laws. On the other hand, in democratic countries like India or America, sex crimes are increasing day by day because of the absence of strong laws to punish sex offenders. The above facts clearly indicate that the response to pornographic materials is different in different countries because of the differences in the criminal justice systems in different countries. In China also, people engage in less criminal activities related to sex, even though they have access to pornographic materials. In other words, culture, belief in morality, criminal justice system and political frame works play an important role in public behaviour in response

Vultures by Chinua Achebe and Night of the scorpion by Nissim Ezekie Essay Example for Free

Vultures by Chinua Achebe and Night of the scorpion by Nissim Ezekie Essay How is language and structure used within Vultures and one other poem to bring the message across to the reader? Vultures by Chinua Achebe and Night of the scorpion by Nissim Ezekie, both use lunguistic and structural techniques to relay the message being brought forward by the poem. Within Vultures we are presented with an active comparison between the evil of an human and the evil of a vulture. Similarly within Night of the scorpion we are also presented with an animal personifying evil bringing forward true feelings and beliefs of an community. Within Vultures Achebe uses Language in order to carry the message being brough forward, pathetic falacy is used in order to create a atmosphere for the reader, this is shown through greyness..drizzle this creates an eiry atmosphere creating a sense of danger fior the reader, this enhances the message being brough forward by this poem; pathetic falacy is also used within Night of the Scorpion for a similar purpose, the fact that the steady rain is present it shows it is a tense atmosphere for the reader foreshadowing upcoming events in the poem. In addition through Ezekiel using the word night at the beginning of the poem this adds to the atmosphere as at this time is mostly associated with unawarness and also a time of fears coming to life, this may alert the reader adding to affect brought forward by the upcoming pathectic falacy, thus amplifying the message being brough forward to the reader. Achebe describes the vultures in a gastly way with them holding features such as gross feathers/ telescopic eyes and with the vultures picking eyesof corpse this disgusts the reader, with it creating a horrendous images in the reader mind, On the otherhand the reader is giving another disgusting description of the comandent this is shown through him being described with having: hairy nostrilsstench of human roast clinging to him this also creates a negetive image in the readers imagnation creating links between the two showing the similarities, the use of this increases the readers understanding if the message. Within Night of the scorpion the repetition of the word they said also amplifys the message as it shows the mothers son is not being heard and the fact that the mother is in the chentre shows the sons annoyaance towards the community showing they are shutting him out, this showcks the reader as as his mom is on the death bed he is sill not given the chance to see her. The structure within Night of the Scorpion also holds a great importance in order to relay the message being brough forward, the structure is free verse which backs up the point that was stated above the use of free verse shows the lack of structure within the communuty and how their believes can clash under stressfull circumstances, this signifficantly contributes to the message being brough forward to the reader. Vultures is also written in free verse with the vultures and the comandant being on seoerates sides this symobolises the diffeence in their appearences ; aksi their similarities in the way they act with them bith commiting fellenous acts, however the vultures do this for survuval whereas the comandent has a choice in the matter but still shooses to do this. The use of all these linguistic and structural techniques used by the pots make the poems messages clearly understood by the reader.

Theme Of Grapes Of Wrath Essay -- essays research papers

The Journey Theme of The Grapes of Wrath   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Classic novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck displays in his writing many different and interconnected themes. The main idea of the novel can be interpreted many different ways through many of the different actions and characters throughout the novel. In the first chapter of the novel, Steinbeck describes the dust bowl and foreshadows the theme:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The men came were silent and they did not move often. And the women   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  came out of the houses to stand beside their men-to feel whether this   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  time the men would break. As a theme, Steinbeck wanted the reader to see that humanity is on a journey, and for good or bad humanity continues to move ahead. Along with journey come changes, another important idea in the novel, which correlates directly with the main theme.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Journey is the main idea in the beginning of the novel when Tom Joad first gets out of prison and is looking for a ride home. Walking home he spots a turtle. Lying on the highway, missed by a car, hit by a truck, the turtle still struggles to continue his own journey towards the southwest. So already in the novel, two journeys are taking place, one a man’s journey and the other, nature’s journey.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Change is evident as an idea in the novel when Tom is reunited with his childhood preache...

Child Soldier Creative Writing

I am holding a gun to my head. On the verge of death I look back at how it escalated to this to convince not to make the wrong choice as I had done before. That memory among many other dark ones remained as clear as see through water. Five years ago†¦ Sierra Dianas. Thoughts flooded my mind as I clutched the gun harder and harder. I faced an atrocious, inescapable decision. A war befell in my head, a death match between my consciousness and my fear. As one callously stabbed the other, the tip of my finger pressed harder against the trigger.Time was ticking. I shut my eyes as I hoped to disconnect the vision of a girl slouched in front of me, so defenceless yet so fearless. Her face wasn’t completely visible but judging by her figure she was no more then 15. She showed no fright, demonstrating her disgust towards bowing down to the rebels: she remained her posture straight and her head help up high. She looked down upon us even though she was the one on the floor. Her face captured complete hatred. Her attempts to resist were hopeless as two older men forced her down onto the ground.Her arms were tied behind her back so any chance of action towards escape was restricted. I bit my battered lip to remind myself of what I face if I disobey my master’s orders again: agonizing inexorable pain. I pressed harder against the trigger. My vision started to blur and lose its focus and my swollen eyelids did not help. I tried to slay these monstrous thoughts invading my brain, telling me to shoot her and spare myself the pain. I pressed harder. I tried to stop devilish thoughts terrorising my brain with illusionary words but no success: l pressed harder.My consciousness whispered in my ear but the demon inside my soul drowned it heartlessly in my homesick sorrow. The silence waited to be heard. I pressed harder. The trigger clicked. A loud profound bang pierced through the air as the bullet fired cogently. I could hear my sanity slip away, all in the spac e of a millisecond. Regret and notoriety backfired at me as I saw my childhood flash by me; I shot her. I could almost hear her pulse drain as she gasped for air. Another life wasted. Her blood leaked.My demons smothered in a pool of dark red and danced in murderous pride as my master gave me a smirk of praise but behind it hid the look of mutual remorseful experience. That night I was ranked the chief of other child soldiers for my righteous decision or in other words for being heartless enough to kill another of my own race; it would serve them well in the war. In a way I feel as if seeing us become monsters soothes their guilt. It made them less lonely. Even monsters need company. You would think killing again would ease the pain. Think again.Every time it doubled, magnified, intensified, and deepened until the peak where it was unbearable: living with these mental images and mind overflowing with blood. Every fibre of my body grieved for the dead and me: the dyeing. I was chaine d to the everlasting circles of depression unable to experience happiness. Everywhere I went the sun followed me with a hateful glare cursed me silently. I almost melted in his heavy breaths. He launched tense fireballs at me boiling with rage and disappointment, wishing to suffocate me. The sky spit at me in disgrace and shame.The clouds demanded to show me how many tears were cried for the people I have killed. Every rain drop was a reminder of my failure and cowardness. It fell on my skin, ice cold, yet again reminding me of what my heart was bound to become. The sound as they continuously hit the flour resembled a fire’s blazing sparkles. The wind slapped me across my face over and over again. It whispered in my ear. So quit yet such poignant stabbing accusations. It broke into my hut and overawed my body with needle-like numbness from the shuddering chill.The whispers grew into exasperating screams until I could not sleep. It slammed doors and raised the sand from the gr ound, commanding it to attack me. Stop! I wanted it to stop! No more torture. I fell hopelessly upon my knees and screamed at the top of my lungs, begging god for help, for forgiveness. ‘Have I gone mad? ’  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚   I asked the clear blue staring back at me blankly. I repeated the phrase over and over again until my defenceless sobs and weeps merged the words. I could not stop crying. I clutched the soil between my fingers for some feeling of control as if to grasp hold of myself.The salty tears kept rolling and as they came in contact with my torn, scared skin a shiver of sharp pain would emerge. God didn’t reply. God wasn’t there. Only the devil. I asked him what I should do and the answer was simple: stop caring. Let myself be tamed by the evil because the good can never be happy. He stretched out a hand to me but as I reached it for help to get up I simultaneously shook it as an agreement to a deal. I sold my soul. The next morning I woke up with the feeling of enlightenment. I killed people with no remorse, no guilt, no regret nothing except the feeling of power.I fed on it and I breathed it in with the stench of the dead. It felt good. For a moment I felt almost happy in an illusionary way, as a smoked in the white power-like substance, which my master had let me share with him as a sign of approvement as if welcoming me. To what, I wasn’t sure. That night I danced with a bottle of alcohol in the middle of a fire we set to the village. I trod on dead bodies or some even alive but eventually they would be dead, they couldn’t escape. I raped countless women. Daughters, maybe sisters, maybe mothers, who cares?Not the puppets on the other side of the world, that’s for sure; drinking their coffees and stirring their teas, with their diamond necklaces worn as a ‘fashion statement’ because it resembles the one worn by a celebrity. Completely oblivious. Most of them incapable of doing anything ot her than follow footsteps. We, however, refused to follow or live in someone else’s master plan. That’s why we’re called rebels. The rebels. Our motto was to join us or die. If we didn’t see much use in then it was die or die more painfully (it mostly came down to our mood). We declared war with authorities because they had power et we still suffered in hunger, poverty and disease. This was if we were willing to perform back-breaking labour for the rest of our lives. Otherwise death would catch up on you in days, if you’re lucky you might last a year maximum. It seemed as if the government was not based on democracy but rather the fear of death. The devils reign over my mind lasted for a long time or more perceptively it lasted over 1000 deaths by my own hands until the blood dried underneath my finger nails was would not wash away. The only way out of this mad world is death. Now is the time. Now.

Local Development Planning in the Philippines

at the Local Level A  report  by: Sheryl  I. Fernando â€Å"Local governments do not have the luxury d of time to delay the development of their de own capabilities whic will allow them to ch achieve their cherishe objectives. ed They should help them mselves and not stagnate while the rest of the world go by. st Local governments he elping themselves is the essence of the home ru It is also the ule. cornerstone of democr ratic and just institutions. â€Å" LOGODEF,  1993 Local governments in the Philippines have th roots in the colonial administration of Spain, heir which lasted in the Philippines for some 32 years. These three centuries under Spanish 27 government were characterized by a highly ce entralized regime. The Spanish Governor General in Manila actually governed the provinces and cities in the whole country. After Spain, the US d came in the early 1900s and Filippinized local government administration. The last 50 years of the present century saw several develo pments towards decentralization. The Local Autonomy Act of 1959, the passage of the Barrio Charter and the Decentralization Act o of 1967 were all incremental national legisla ations in response to the clamour for a self? rule concept. The Philippine Constitutions of 1972 and 1987 also significantly influenced the movement for political devolution.The most significant constitutional provisions (Article 10 on Local Government) are the following: s The Congress shall enact a local government code which shall provide for a more responsive and accountable local government structure instituted through a system of s decentralization with effective mechanisms of recall, initiative n and referendum allocate among the different local government m, units their powers, responsibilities and resources and provide for the qualificati ions, election, appointment, removal, terms, salaries, power functions and duties of local officials and all rs, other matters relating to the organization and opera tion of the r local units†. The legislative initiative promoting local auto onomy was strongly supported by academics and public servants who spearheaded the nec cessary reforms in changing the structure and organization of local governments and includ new functions to enable local governments to ded address a changing environment. The strugg for decentralization that lasted more than 50 gle years culminated in the passage of the Loca Government Code in October 1991.The Local al Government Code is a most comprehensiv document on local government touching on ve structures, functions and powers, including tax xation and intergovernmental relations. † unescap. org According  to  Panadero (2008)  the  dece entralization  of  governance  was  influenced   by  local  Ã‚  and  international  events  (see  Figure e  1). He  also  added  that  at  the  International Internat tional  Events POSITIVE ? Technological Advances ? Globaliz ation crisis ? Trade/Investment liberalization ? Poverty focus flu) Political †¢ 3  changes  in   administration †¢ EDSA  II  &  III †¢ Increase  Insurgency †¢ Terrorism †¢ Charter  Change †¢ Political  Uncertainty NEGATIVE ?Episodes of world economic Slowdown & economic ? Rising oil prices ? Terrorism ? Heath problems (e. g. SARS, Eco onomic †¢ Boom  bu ust  economic   growth/cr rises †¢ Liberaliza ation/   Deregular rization   Policies †¢ Rising  Ur rbanization †¢ OFW  Deployment †¢ Fiscal  &  d debt  problems DECENT TRALIZATION Social †¢ Persistent  poverty †¢ Lower  budget   allocation For  social  services †¢ Rising  inequality †¢ Disasters Figure  1. Economic,  Social  &  Political  Environme ent  in  the  Last  Years  of  Decentralization level, globalization has the most pervasive influence on the decentralization, which was haste ned by trade and investment liberalization and technological advances.On the Social Sector, there was a focus on the reduction of poverty; on the Economic Sector, the new international issues such as terrorism had positive and negative impacts at the local level, while the economic scenario at the national level significantly shaped local development. The national government in the 1990 sought to upgrade local government by 0s delegating some limited powers to local su ubdivisions and by encouraging people to participate in community affairs. Local auto onomy was balanced, however, against the need to ensure effective political and admin nistrative control from Manila, especially in those areas where communist or Muslim ins surgents were active. During Marcos's authoritarian years (1 1972? 86), a Ministry of Local Government was instituted to invigorate provincial, mu unicipal, and barangay governments.But, Marcos's real purpose was to establish lin of authority that bypassed provin cial nes governments and ran straight to Malacanang. All local officials were beholden to Marcos, who could appoint or remove any provincial governor or town mayor. Those administrators who delivered the votes Marcos asked for were rewarded with community development funds to spend any way they liked. y After the People's Power Revolution, the new Aquino government decided to replace all the local officials who had served Marcos. Corazon Aquino delegated this task to her political ally, Aquilino Pimentel. Pimentel named officers in charge of local governments all across the nation. They served until the first local elections were held under the new constitution on January 18, 1988.Local officials elected in 1988 were to serve until June 1992, under the transitory clauses of the new constitution. Thereafter, terms of office were to be three years, with a three? term limit. Local government units (LGUs) are territo orial political subdivisions of the Philippines that include provinces , cities, municipalities and barangays (the smallest political unit in the country). Because local government officials ar voted into power by the people, their primary re role is people's welfare. Their offices are the major institutions responsible for the e coordination, overseeing and monitoring of dev velopment projects at the local level.The devolution of significant powers and functions formerly held by national line agencies mmunity development and poverty alleviation in to LGUs made them powerful conduits for com the countryside. Among the responsibilities tr ransferred to the LGUs were agriculture, health, social services, environment and natural resources, maintenance of local infrastructure facilities (such as farm? to? market roads, bridges and irri igation) and others. Local legislative powers such as decision? making, resource allocation, rule? m making and enforcement of laws related to these powers were also delegated to LGUs. Governor  Lilia  G. Pineda  meets   with  barangay  officials  of  flooded? municipalities  in  the  province  as  she  instructs  them  to  further   intensify  their  efforts  in  ensuring  the  welfare  and  safety  of  their  r respective  constituents. Board  Member  Cris Garbo,  Provincial   Social  Welfare  and  Development  Officer  (PSWDO)  Elizabeth  Bayb bayan and  Agriculture  Consultant  Roy  Imperial  join  the  meeting  of   the  local  officials. (Photo  by  Jun  Jaso,Pampanga PIO) The planning process in starts at the barangay level. Plans are prepared by the Barangay Council, and then adopted by the Barangay Development Council, composed of barangay y officials elected by the people (Figure 2). Gene erally, barangay officials have completed only the elementary levels of schooling, and have little or no training in development? related activities.Hence, barangay development plans usually consist o nly of lists of projects that focus mainly c on the infrastructure facilities that are the most obvious and easiest to identify. Some communities do have better planning processe but these are rare. es, Level National Planning  Institutions National  Economic  Development   Authority  (NEDA),  Central  Office Regional NEDA,  Ã‚  Regional  Office Provincial Provincial  Planning  and   Development  Office  (PPDO) Municipal Municipal  Planning  and   Development  Office  (MPDO) Barangay Figure  2. Planning  process  and  institutions  in  the  Philippines Barangay  Council/ Sangguniag Barangay Barangay development plans are submit tted to the Municipal Planning and Development Office (MPDO), which comes under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Mayor.The MPDO is in charge of planning activities at the municipa level. Generally, the MPDO consolidates the al â€Å"shopping lists† of projects and prioritizes them in accordance with the plans of the municipality. Before this consolidated plan bec comes the official Municipal Development Plan, it must first be adopted by the Municipal Develo opment Council. From the municipal level, plans are forwarded to the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) where they are again D consolidated and prioritized on the basis of the province's own particular plans. e The provincial development plans are also reviewed by the Provincial Development Councils before adoption.They are then sub bmitted to the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Regional Office, which cons solidates all the provincial plans and prioritizes them, based on regional importance. The plans should also be reviewed by the Regional p Development Councils before adoption. The plans are then forwarded to the NEDA Central Office Inter? Cabinet Coordinating Committee for consideration, together with the priorities of f the various government line agencies. Based on the national thrust s and priorities, the projects o that are selected are then consolidated and included in the National Medium? Term Development Plan. The Local Government Code (LGC) man ndates the LGUs with significant local planning functions.In particular, Section 106 of the Code provides that â€Å"each LGU shall have e comprehensive multi? sectoral development pla to be initiated by its development council and an approved by its Sanggunian. The institutional responsibilities for plan formulation, e financing and implementation are likewise clearly g, prescribe by the Code: ed ? The Loc Development Plan (LDP) shall be prepared by the cal Local Development Council (LDC); P ? The LDP will be approved by the Sanggunian; ? Funds for the development plan shall be allocated by the Local Fin nance Committee (LCF); and ? The Loc Chief Executive (LCE), together with the executive cal departm ments, will implement the development plan. This case study highlights the experience of undertaking a Priority e Implementation Partnership on incorporating disaster risk impact assessments into the construction of new roads in the Philippines, implemented by the National Disa aster Coordinating Council (NDCC) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) with support from Asian Disaster Preparedness Cent (ADPC), UN International Strategy ter for Disaster Reduction (UN/I ISDR) and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). † Towards Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into the Planning Process of Road Construction Safer Roads A Priority Implementation Partnership between the National Disaster Coordinating Council and the Department of Public Works and Highways, Philippines Under the Regional Consultative Committee on Disaster Management (RCC) Program on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Development in Asia Road Sector a priority for mainstreaming disaster risk reductionBACKGROUND The Regional Consultative Committee (RCC) on Disaster Management under its program on Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into development (MDRD) have identified Roads and Infrastructure, Agriculture, Education, Health, Housing and Financial Services as priority sectors to initiate mainstreaming disaster risk reduction . With the massive infrastructure development in Asia underpinned by the investment in highways, roads and bridges, prioritizing the Road Sector is certainly a necessity. In the RCC which comprises of heads of the National Disaster Management Offices of 26 Asian Countries, members had submitted expression of interest (EoI) to mainstream of disaster risk reduction into particular sectors depending on the development priorities of their country.The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) of the Philippines which is a member of the RCC expressed interest in taking-up MDRD into road sector in partnership with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the agency responsible for national road construction in the country. Accordin gly in the first quarter of 2006, the Priority Implementation Partnership for mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into the planning process of road construction in the Philippines was started by NDCC and DPWH. The partnership was technically supported by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) with financial support from UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) through Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). ource: Mapping Philippine Vulnerability to Environmental Disasters – Manila Observatory/Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Floods and earthquakes make the road system in the Philippines prone to landslides, road slips, embankment scouring and other sediment related disasters. Roads are often closed for several days when hit by such disasters causing disruption in transportation services that affects the access of passengers, goods and services. The impact of flooding and typhoons in creating havoc to the c ountry’s economy as well as to damage to property is recognized in the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan of 2001-2004 and accordingly the DPWH has also aligned its policies and strategies.Priority Implementation Partnership (PIP) – a Process towards mainstreaming disaster risk reduction Similar to other countries, the Road sector in the Philippines also works in close collaboration with various government departments like Planning, Finance, Environment and Local Government. While the development of national roads (30,000 km of length) is under the jurisdiction of DPWH, the remaining road network (172,000 km of length) falls under the concern of local government units. In addition, road projects are based on area development plans produced by the National Economic Development Agency (NEDA) and the Regional Development Councils (RDC). Similarly the feasibility reports prepared for each road project undergoes an environmental and a social impact assessment led by th e Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).In order to mainstream disaster risk reduction, further collaboration is required with NDCC and technical agencies responsible for producing hazard information related to natural disasters like the Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), Philippines Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). A MULTI-AGENCY TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP TAKES THE LEAD With this understanding, the PIP formed a technical working group of the NDCC at the beginning with multi-agency membership to steer the process of implementation of mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into the planning process of road construction. procedure of road planning and identifying the windows of opportunity to introduce disaster risk reduction.Accordingly the scope of activities was detailed as follows: †¢ Documentation of existing procedure for development of road projects with respect to hazards; Documentation of contents of pre feasibility/ feasibility report of road projects in the country over the past 20 years; Analysis of past damage to road infrastructure; Identification of specific steps that can be taken for incorporating hazard considerations in project development and approval process; List of future priority projects for construction of roads in the Philippines. †¢ PIP Technical Working Group comprises: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Chairperson; Planning service, DPWH Co-chairperson; Planning division, NDCC Members Bureau of research and standard, DPWH Bureau of design and bridge division, DPWH Philippines Institute of Civil Engineer Department of Environment and Natural Resources Philippines Institute of Volcanology and SeismologyPhilippines Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration Asian Disaster Preparedness Center †¢ †¢ †¢ The technical working group met frequently over the PIP implementat ion period to look at the mentioned activities above and developed the final report which details recommendations for integrating DRR into the planning process of new road construction in the Philippines. BROADER CONSULTATION PIP LOOKED INTO The technical working group engaged in consultation and decided on the following activities for initiating mainstreaming. Since it was realized that the ultimate aim of mainstreaming could only be achieved by bringing change in the entire system, which road projects are developed, designed, constructed and maintained.Hence this particular partnership would emphasize on understanding the existing The findings of the PIP were shared during a national workshopheld in February 2007, in which a wide range of stakeholders particpated including the Government, technical agencies, UN agencies and the Asian Development Bank. The recommendations were discussed in detail and future steps were identified. The Project Development of a typical infrastructure project in DPWH follows a cyclic process consisting of four phases: Project identification, Project preparation, Project implementation and Project operation and evaluation. consolidated form, with limited access to detailed report on damages and their corresponding costs. Also of equal importance is to benchmark hazard intensities with their Return periods/Damages.This is particularly difficult due to: lack of updated topographic maps at 1:5,000 or higher resolution, a sparse network of hazard monitoring stations (seismic and flood) as well as short monitoring period and limited processed data on hazards. The following key documents were collected during the project to conduct the analysis: †¢ Standard Terms of Reference for Strategic Environment Assessment for Plans and Programmes Standard Report Format for Strategic Environment Assessment for Plans and Programmes Sample of Damage Report DPWH District Office Sample of Consolidated Damage Report by NDCC Sample of Bridge condit ion Inspection Form Sample of Pre- Feasibility and Feasibility Reports of Road projects starting 1984 List of future projects of DPWHAfter the projects are identified, feasibility studies are conducted which includes investigations and analysis to determine the extent and degree of desirability of a project against technical, economic, social, environmental, financial and operational aspects. As part of this project, sample feasibility reports over last 20 years were analysed in terms of content and it was realized that the structure of the report largely depends on the source of funding of the project. Typically due to lack of funding for construction of national road projects, DPWH administers a basic feasibility study, but for foreign-assisted projects the assessment process is more in-depth and extensive.However, it was noted that post 2000, the feasibility reports do tend to include a section on â€Å"Review of hazard specific threats on road sections† though it is prima rily limited to protecting the road segments from geological hazards such as landslides and debris fall. In addition, DPWH feasibility study includes an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The EIA report structure considers the impact of hazards by defining an â€Å"environmentally critical area† of the project site where it is frequently visited by the natural hazards. However, it does not explicitly provide details on how to address natural hazard vulnerability and risks to infrastructure and the consequent impact from its damage or failure.Similarly, Cost-benefit analysis cover only the planned use of the facility and does not factor in other costs (risk based cost) arising from potential damage or possible failure of the structure to function to a certain event. Assessment of damages to roads affected by a natural disaster is carried-out by DPWH at the district level. There is no fixed format followed for collecting information needed for the assessment and the reports are directly sent to NDCC for the preparation of an overall disaster assessment report. Hence, it becomes difficult to trace these records at the regional or central offices of the DPWH. Similarly the damage information of past disasters available from NDCC is in a †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢It is also realized that since mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction involves a broad range of stakeholders, interrelated plans and programs, disaster risk reduction concerns need to be linked with ongoing projects of DPWH such as: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ The earthquake rehabilitation program and similar seismic vulnerability assessments DPWH national roads improvement and management program, Phase II DPWH road maintenance investment programs The study on the nationwide flood risk assessment and the flood mitigation plan for the selected areas in the Philippines Technical Assistance for risk assessment and management Benefit monitoring and evaluation of selected r oads, Phase II, ADB Capacity Building Study on risk management for sediment related disaster on selected national highways Similarly close linkage needs to be established with the ongoing project of NDCC in partnership with UNDP on Hazard Mapping and Assessment for effective community-based disaster risk management (READY). †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢KEY FINDINGS †¢ DPWH adopts a basic â€Å"one size fits all† format for feasibility studies of road projects that does not specifically require assessment of disaster risks. During detailed design, disaster risk reduction aspects are incorporated into the project if required. Mostly national budgets do not provide funds for surveys and investigations at the feasibility study stage, and it is therefore unusual for disaster risk reduction measures to be incorporated at early stages of project preparation. Externally funded projects are prepared to higher standards, particularly in relation to environmental assessments (whe re disaster risk aspects are described if required by the particular agency) and resettlement planning.There is uneven application of building codes and design standards between national and local roads. Absence of one fixed format for collecting information on damage to roads and bridges from natural hazards prepared by district-level offices. Hydrological data are available for major river basins in the Philippines but these information have not uniformly been processed to provide flow/stage relationships for different return periods, which could be used for road design. Learning The key to successful integration of disaster risk reduction on road projects lies in the planning phase of the project cycle which includes project identification and preparation of the feasibility study.Assessing the possible impact on the project of natural disasters or other hazards at this stage means that the appropriate risk reduction measures can be included in the scope, layout and arrangement of the project’s major components—and that these measures will be allowed for in the cost estimate. If such measures are not included at the planning phase, their inclusion at the later stages is unlikely, or could be costly and inconvenient (i. e. possibly requiring a supplementary budget). Attempting to include risk reduction measures at the design stage (after major elements of the project have been decided and the budget has been allocated) cannot adequately satisfy the need for disaster risk reduction. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Recommendations DPWH needs to have a standard on project identification and preparation procedures to eliminate quality discrepancies between nationally and externally funded projects and to pave the way for mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in road projects. Feasibility reports should include assessments of the impact of potential disasters. An enhanced natural hazard/impact assessment component should be included in the EI A for nationally-funded and foreign-assisted projects The existing system for monitoring road needs to be improved to allow for the recording of damage caused by natural disasters. Standard formats and reporting standards should be introduced for monitoring and for collecting damage data from the impact of natural disasters on roads.Capacity of staff to assess the impact of natural disasters needs to be increased, particularly at the regional and district levels. The key to successful integration of disaster risk reduction on road projects lies in the planning phase†¦ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Next Steps for mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into road sector in the Philippines In order to take forward the momentum gained under the PIP, the technical working group has identified the following next steps to realize the recommendations: †¢ Identifying two pipeline road projects in a hazard prone area of the Philippines. The two projects would be at different stages namely a pipeline project without a feasibility study and a pipeline project with a feasibility study completed.Integrating disaster risk reduction (DRR) into the planning process of two identified pipeline project. Capacity building of officials from DPWH responsible for conducting feasibility studies on how to integrate DRR. Experience of PIP incorporated in the RCC Guideline on mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into Infrastructure †¢ To share the experience gained during the process of implementation of the PIP with the remaining RCC member countries, the technical working group represented by DPWH and NDCC participated in a regional technical workshop on developing the RCC Guideline on incorporating disaster risk assessments as part of planning process before construction of new roads.The lessons learned from the PIP acted as the guiding approaches for initiating mainstreaming disaster risk reduction. †¢ †¢ Regional Consultative Committee on Disaster M anagement (RCC) The RCC comprises of members who are working in key Government positions in the National Disaster Management Offices of countries of the Asian region. To date, 26 countries are represented by 30 RCC Members from the Asia and Pacific regions, namely, Afghanistan, Bangladesh Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam.RCC Program on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Development Policy, Planning and Implementation in Asia (RCC MDRD) A key priority identified by the RCC is the integration of disaster risk considerations into development planning. To initiate action on this agreed direction, the RCC Program on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Development Policy, Planning and Implementation (MDRD) was launched at the 4th RCC meeting in Bangladesh in March 2004. The RC C 5 adopted the Hanoi RCC 5 statement on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Development in Asian Countries which prioritizes mainstreaming of DRR to be initiated in National development planning process as well as Sectoral development.It identified six priority sectors namely Agriculture, Education, Health, Housing, Urban Planning and Infrastructure and Financial services for mainstreaming of DRR. The program has five components for implementation: †¢ †¢ Component 1: Developing Guidelines and Tools for MDRD Component 2: Undertaking Priority Implementation Partnerships (PIP) in MDRD in RCC Member Countries Component 3: Showcasing good practice on MDRD and Monitoring Progress Component 4: Advocacy for Building awareness and Political Support to MDRD Component 5: Mobilizing Partnerships for ongoing and sustainable implementation Lay-out and graphic design by: Philipp Danao †¢ †¢ †¢The Hanoi RCC 5 statement identified the following sub themes within the Urban Planning and Infrastructure to initiate mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction: For more information, please contact: †¢ Aloysius Rego, Director and Team Leader Email: [email  protected] net †¢ Arghya Sinha Roy, Project Manager Email: [email  protected] net Disaster Management Systems Team Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) P. O. Box 4 Klong Luang Pathumthani 12120 Thailand Tel: (66 2) 516 5900-10 Fax: (66 2) 524-5350, 5360 Email: [email  protected] net website: www. adpc. net Introducing Disaster Risk Impact Assessments into the construction of new roads and bridges; Promoting the use of hazard risk information in land-use planning and zoning programsThis case study highlights the experience of undertaking a Priority Implementation Partnership on incorporating disaster risk impact assessments into the construction of new roads in the Philippines, implemented by the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) and Department of Public Works and Highwa ys (DPWH) with support from Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ ISDR) and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). References:  Ã‚   ONLINE  :   Guide  to  Comprehensive  Development  Plan   http://www. mongabay. com/reference/country_studies/philippines/GOVERNMENT. html   Accessed:  June  26,  2012 Local  Government  Code. http://www. chanrobles. com/localgov1. htm   Accessed:  June  26,  2012   Local  Government  in  Asia  and  the  Pacific:  A  Comparative  Study. Country  paper:  Philippines   http://www. unescap. org/huset/lgstudy/country/philippines/philippines. tml  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Accessed:  June  26,  2012   Luz  Seno? Ani. Participatory  territorial  planning:  the  farming  systems  development  approach  in   community  planning  in  the  Ph ilippines,  1995–2002. http://www. fao. org/docrep/005/Y8999T/y8999t06. htm      Accessed:  June  26,  2012      Philippines? Government   http://www. mongabay. com/reference/country_studies/philippines/GOVERNMENT. html   Accessed:  June  26,  2012      Rationalizing  the  Local  Planning  System   http://www. dilg. gov. ph/PDF_File/reports/DILG? Reports? 2011712? ea7ba5859e. pdf      e? BOOK/BOOK:      Panadero,  Austere  A. (2008). Strategy  to  Further  Decentralization  in  the  Philippines. LOGODEF   Journal  on  Ã‚  Local  Governance.Towards  Mainstreaming  Disaster  Risk  Reduction  into  the  Planning  Process  of  Road  Construction         PHOTOS:   Gov. meets  with  brgy  officials:   http://pampangacapitol. ph/2011/10/06/gov? meets? with? barangay? officials/      cory  caricature from  the  Filipino  mind:  Bobby  Tuazon   http://thefili pinomind. blogspot. com/2009/08/cora? aquino? how? politics? of? reform? lost. html      Cover  photo  by  Sheryl  Fernando,  documentor,  Executive  management  course  for  Ã‚  PSWDOs  and   MSWDOs  in  Mindanao A  report  submitted  in  partial  fulfillment  of  the  requirements  in   Development  Management  in n  Development  Organizations Submit tted  to: Dr. Jedida  L. Aquino Profe essor Submitted  by: Sheryl  I. F Fernando MD DM

Whatapos;s Normal, Anyway Example

Whatapos;s Normal, Anyway Example Whats Normal, Anyway – Article Example What’s Normal, Anyway? The of the What’s Normal, Anyway? Mental health is extremely important for every human in the world. In this respect, there is an obvious question, namely: what is mental health? Our strong belief is that psychological health of any person is defined by his or her normal psychic reactions to different life conditions and situations, which may be even of harmful nature. In other words, mentally healthy people are constituted by psychical equilibrium that leads to the state of well-being with its capabilities of self-manifestation, self-realization and self-development. So, among the basis attributes of a mentally healthy person are a sound response, healthy behavior and desire of personal improvement, both physical and mental one. To our mind, there is the only one weak point of such a viewpoint, that is, the notion of norm as well as the concept of sound behavior is somewhat abstract or subjective, since they are determined by social norms, which can vary not only in different cases but also in minds of numerous people. Consequently, abnormality can be determined in a subjective way as well. In fact, ones there has happened a casus perceived by everybody around as odd or abnormal behavior in public. The thing is that a guy had hit a Coca-Cola dispenser with such strength that it has rocked forward and backward and has almost fallen down. Obviously, such a conduct has been seen as a manifestation of groundless aggression with further making a diagnosis of a mood disorder with its peaks and valleys. Anyway, that action has been a display of social nonconformity, for it doesn’t fit or meet social expectations of people. Only situational context gives the answer for such an act: that very Coca-Cola dispenser has taken money and hasn’t given the drink the fifth time in a week. So, there has been a particular reason, at least in the mind of that young man. Taking into consideration all the types of therapies, there i s a cognitive therapy, which most appeal to our perception, as it addresses psychological issues in a positive key of thinking, while a medical therapy is seen as least appealing, for it uses medical methods of treatment instead of putting emphasis on psychotherapy (Wadsworth, 2013). Â   To sum it up, mental health is an essential part of human wellness. It is determined by social standards and norms, so its concept can be seen in a somewhat subjective way. Anyway, analysis of behavior and appropriate treatment add to understanding of an issue and its improvement, whether it is needed. ReferencesWadsworth.(2013). Psychological Disorders. Therapies. Text modules 60 – 69.

Maya Angelou - Poet, Author, Actress, Playwright

Maya Angelou - Poet, Author, Actress, Playwright Maya Angelou was an African-American author, playwright, poet, dancer, actress, and singer.  Her illustrious 50-year career included publishing 36 books,  including volumes of poetry and three books of essays. Angelou is credited for producing  and acting in several plays, musicals,  movies, and TV shows.  Ã‚  She is best known, however,  for her first autobiography,  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969). The book depicts the  tragedies of Angelous traumatic childhood,  detailing a brutal rape at 7 1/2,  and an early  adulthood encumbered by teenage pregnancy. Dates: April 4, 1928 to May 28, 2014 Also Known As:   Marguerite Anne Johnson (born as), Ritie, Rita A Long Way From Home Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Anne Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri,  to Bailey Johnson Sr., a porter and navy dietitian,  and Vivian Bibbie Baxter, a nurse. Angelou’s only sibling, one-year-older brother Bailey Jr. was unable as a child to pronounce Angelou’s first name, Marguerite, and thus nicknamed his sister Maya, derived from My Sister. The name-change proved useful later in Mayas  life. After her parents separated in 1931, Bailey Sr.  sent three-year-old Maya and Bailey Jr. to live with his mother, Annie Henderson, in segregated Stamps, Arkansas. Momma, as Maya and Bailey called her, was the only black female storeowner in rural Stamps and was highly respected. Despite the fact that severe poverty abounded, Momma prospered during the Great Depression and World War II by supplying basic staples. In addition to running the store, Momma took care of her paralyzed son, whom the children called â€Å"Uncle Willie.† Although smart, Maya was extremely insecure as a child, viewing herself as awkward, unwanted, and ugly because she was black. At times, Maya sought to hide her legs, greased them with Vaseline, and dusted them with red clay   deeming any color  was  better than black. Bailey, on the other hand, was charming, free-spirited, and extremely protective of his sister. Life in Stamps, Arkansas Momma put her grandchildren to work in the store, and Maya watched the exhausted cotton-pickers as they trudged to and from work. Momma was the chief stabilizer and moral guide in the childrens lives, giving them valuable advice in picking their battles with white people. Momma warned that the slightest impertinence could result in lynching. The daily indignities manifested through entrenched racism made life in Stamps  miserable for the displaced children. Their shared experience of loneliness and longing for their parents led to a strong dependence on each other. The childrens passion for reading provided a  refuge  from their harsh reality. Maya spent every Saturday in  Stamps library, eventually reading every book on its shelves. After four  years in Stamps, Maya and Bailey were surprised when their handsome father appeared driving a fancy car to take them back to St. Louis to live with their mother.   Maya watched curiously as  Bailey Sr.  interacted with  his mother  and brother, Uncle Willie making them feel inferior  with his boasting. Maya did not like it, especially when Bailey Jr. the splitting image of his father acted as if this man had never abandoned them. Meet Me in St. Louis Vivian was devastatingly beautiful and the children instantly fell in love with her, especially Bailey Jr.  Mother Dear, as the children called her,  was a force of nature  and  lived life to the fullest, expecting everyone else to do the same.  Although Vivian had a nursing degree, she made  a nice  living playing poker in gambling parlors. Landing in St. Louis during Prohibition, Maya and Bailey were introduced to underworld crime figures by their maternal grandmother (â€Å"Grandma Baxter†), who entertained them. She also had clout with the citys police. Vivians father and four brothers had city jobs,  rare for black men, and had a reputation for being mean. But they treated the children well and Maya was awed by them, finally feeling a sense of familial belonging. Maya and Bailey stayed with Vivian and her  older boyfriend, Mr. Freeman. Vivian was strong,  vibrant, and independent like Momma, treating her children well. However,  she was dispassionate and Maya could not establish a close relationship. Innocence Lost Maya craved her mothers affection so much that she began confiding in Vivians insecure  boyfriend. Mayas 7 1/2-year-old innocence was shattered when Freeman molested her on two occasions, then raped her- threatening to kill Bailey if she told. Although he was found guilty at a hearing and sentenced to one year in jail, Freeman was temporarily released. Three weeks later, Maya overheard police telling Grandma Baxter that Freeman had been found beaten to death, presumably by her uncles. The family never mentioned the incident. Thinking she was  responsible for Freemans death by testifying, confused Maya resolved to protect others by not speaking. She became mute for five years, refusing to speak to anyone except her brother. After a while, Vivian was unable to deal with Mayas emotional state. She sent the children back to live with Momma in Stamps, much to Baileys discontent. The emotional consequences caused by the rape followed Maya throughout her lifetime. Back  to Stamps and a Mentor Momma wasted no time getting Maya help by introducing her to Bertha Flowers, a beautiful,  refined, and educated black woman.  The great teacher exposed Maya to classic authors, such as Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and James Weldon Johnson, as well as black female authors. Flowers had Maya memorize certain works by the authors to recite aloud- showing her that words have the power to create, not destroy.   Through Mrs. Flowers, Maya realized the power, eloquence, and beauty of the spoken word. The ritual  awakened Mayas passion for poetry,  built confidence, and slowly goaded  her out of silence. Once reading books as a refuge from reality,  she now read books to understand it. To Maya, Bertha Flowers was the ultimate role model- someone she could aspire to become. Maya was a great student and graduated with honors in 1940 from Lafayette County Training School. An eighth-grade graduation was a big  occasion in Stamps, but the white speaker  insinuated that  the black graduates could only succeed in sports or servitude, not academics. Maya  was inspired, however, when the class valedictorian led the graduates in Lift Evry Voice and Sing,  listening for the first time to the songs words. Its Better in  California Stamps, Arkansas was a town entrenched in severe racism. For instance, one day, when Maya had a severe toothache, Momma took her to the only  dentist in town, who was white,  and  to whom she had loaned money during the Great Depression. But the dentist refused to treat Maya,  proclaiming that he would rather stick his hand in a dogs mouth than in black Mayas. Momma took Maya outside and stamped back into the  mans office. Momma returned with $10 she said the dentist owed her in interest on his loan and took Maya 25 miles to see a black dentist. After Bailey came home terribly shaken one day,  having been forced by a white man to help load a black mans  dead, rotting body onto a wagon, Momma  prepared to get her grandchildren  away from further dangers. Never having traveled more than 50 miles from her birthplace, Momma left Willie and her store to take Maya and Bailey to their mother in Oakland, California. Momma stayed six months to get the children settled before returning to Stamps. Genuinely glad to have her children back, Vivian  threw  Maya and Bailey a welcoming  party at midnight.  The children discovered their mother was popular and fun-loving, with many male suitors. But Vivian  chose to marry  Daddy Clidell, a  successful businessman who moved the family to San Francisco. Upon Mayas entrance into Mission High School, she  was  advanced a grade and later transferred to a school where she  was one of only three blacks. Maya liked one teacher, Miss Kirwin, who treated everyone  equally. At 14, Maya received a full college scholarship to the California Labor School  to study drama and  dance. Growing Pains Daddy Clidell was the owner of several apartment buildings and pool halls, and Maya was enthralled  by his quiet dignity. He was the only true father figure she ever knew, making Maya feel like his cherished daughter. But when  Bailey Sr.  invited her to stay with him and his much younger girlfriend Dolores for the summer, Maya accepted. When she arrived, Maya was shocked to discover they lived in a low-class trailer  home. From the outset, the two women didnt get along. When Bailey Sr. took Maya to Mexico on a shopping trip, it ended disastrously with 15-year-old Maya  driving her inebriated father back to the Mexican border. Upon their return, jealous Dolores confronted Maya, blaming her for coming between them. Maya slapped Dolores for calling  Vivian a whore; Dolores then stabbed Maya in the hand and stomach with scissors. Maya ran from the house bleeding. Knowing she couldnt hide her wounds from Vivian, Maya did not return to San Francisco.  She was also afraid that Vivian and her family would cause trouble for Bailey Sr., remembering what happened to Mr. Freeman. Bailey Sr. took Maya to get her wounds wrapped at a friends house. Determined never to  be victimized again, Maya fled the home of her fathers friend and spent the night in a  junkyard. The next morning, she  found  there were several runaways  living there.  During  her month-long stay with the runaways, Maya learned to not only dance and cuss  but to also appreciate diversity,  which influenced the rest of her life.  At summers end, Maya decided to return to her mother, but the experience left  her feeling  empowered. Movin On Up Maya had matured from a timid girl into a  strong young woman. Her brother Bailey, on the other hand, was changing. He had become obsessed  with winning his mothers affection, even beginning to  emulate the lifestyles of the men  Vivian once kept company with. When Bailey brought a white prostitute home, Vivian kicked him out. Hurt and disillusioned, Bailey eventually left town  to take a job with the railroad. When school started in the fall, Maya  convinced Vivian  to let her  take a semester off to work. Missing Bailey terribly,  she  sought a distraction and  applied for a job as a streetcar conductor,  despite racist hiring policies.  Maya persisted for weeks, eventually becoming  San Franciscos first black streetcar operator. Upon returning to school, Maya began to mentally exaggerate her masculine features and became worried that she might be a lesbian.   Maya decided to get a boyfriend to convince herself otherwise. But all of  Mayas male friends  wanted slim, light-skinned, straight-haired girls, and she possessed none of these qualities.  Maya then  propositioned a handsome neighbor boy, but the unsatisfying encounter didnt allay her anxieties. Three weeks later, however, Maya discovered she was pregnant. After calling Bailey, Maya decided to keep her pregnancy a secret. Afraid that Vivian would make her quit school, Maya threw herself into her studies, and after graduating from the Mission High School in 1945  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹confessed her eighth-month pregnancy. Claude Bailey Johnson, who later changed his name to Guy,  was born shortly after 17-year-old Mayas graduation. A New Name, New Life Maya adored her son and, for the very first time, felt needed.  Her life became more colorful as  she worked to  provide for  him by singing and  dancing in nightclubs, cooking, being a cocktail waitress,  a prostitute, and  a brothel madam. In 1949, Maya married  Anastasios Angelopulos, a Greek-American sailor. But the interracial marriage in 1950s America was doomed from the start, ending in 1952. In 1951, Maya studied modern dance under greats  Alvin Ailey and Martha Graham, even  teaming with Ailey to perform at local  functions  as Al and Rita. Working as a professional calypso dancer  at the Purple Onion in San Francisco, Maya was still called Marguerite Johnson. But that soon changed when, at the insistence of her managers, Maya combined her former husbands surname and Baileys nickname of Maya,  to create  the distinctive name,  Maya Angelou. When Angelou’s beloved Momma passed away, Angelou  was sent into a tailspin. Distraught,  but vowing to live fully,  Angelou turned down a contract for a Broadway play, left her son with Vivian, and  embarked on a 22-nation  tour with the opera Porgy and Bess (1954-1955). But Angelou continued to hone her writing skills while traveling, as she found  solace in creating poetry. In 1957, Angelou  recorded her first album, Calypso Heat Wave. Angelou had been dancing, singing, and acting  throughout San Francisco, but then moved to New York and joined the Harlem Writers Guild in the late 1950s. While there, she befriended literary great James Baldwin,  who encouraged  Angelou to  focus directly on a writing career. Triumph and Tragedy In 1960, after hearing civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak,  Angelou wrote along  with Godfrey Cambridge,  Cabaret for Freedom,  to benefit Kings Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Angelou was a great asset as a fundraiser and organizer;   she was then appointed SCLCs Northern Coordinator by Dr. King. Also in 1960,  Angelou took a common-law husband, Vusumzi Make, a South African anti-apartheid leader from Johannesburg.  Maya,  her 15-year-old son Guy, and new husband moved to Cairo, Egypt, where Angelou became an editor for The Arab Observer. Angelou continued taking teaching and writing jobs as she and  Guy adjusted. But as her relationship  with Make came to an end in 1963,  Angelou left Egypt with her son for Ghana. There, she became an administrator at the University of Ghanas School of Music and Drama, an editor for The African Review, and a feature writer for  The Ghanaian Times. As a result of her travels,  Angelou was  fluent in French, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Serbo-Croatian, and Fanti (a West African language). While living in Africa,  Angelou  established a great friendship with Malcolm X. Upon returning to the States in 1964 to help him build the newly  formed Organization of African American Unity, Malcolm X was assassinated soon thereafter. Devastated,  Angelou went to live with her brother in Hawaii but returned to Los Angeles during the summer of the 1965 race riots.  Angelou wrote and acted in plays until  she returned to New York in 1967. Hard Trials, Great Achievement In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. asked Angelou to organize a march, but the plans were interrupted when King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 –  on Angelous 40th birthday. Reeling and vowing never to celebrate the date again, Angelou was encouraged by James Baldwin to overcome her grief by writing.   Doing what she did best,  Angelou wrote, produced, and narrated Blacks, Blues, Black!,  a ten-part documentary series about the link between the blues music genre and black heritage.  Also in 1968,  attending a dinner party with Baldwin, Angelou was challenged to write an autobiography by Random House editor Robert Loomis.  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelous first autobiography,  which was published in 1969, became an immediate bestseller and brought Angelou worldwide acclaim. In 1973, Angelou wed the Welsh writer and cartoonist Paul du Feu. Though Angelou never spoke openly about her marriages, it was  deemed by  those closest  to be her longest and happiest union. However, it ended in amicable divorce in 1980. Awards and Honors Angelou was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1977 for her role as Kunta Kintes grandmother in Alex Haleys television miniseries, Roots. In 1982, Angelou began teaching at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina,  where she held the first lifetime Reynolds Professorship of American Studies. Past presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton requested Angelou to serve on various boards. In 1993, Angelou was asked to write and recite a poem (On the Pulse of the Morning) for Clintons inauguration, winning a Grammy award and  being the second individual after Robert Frost (1961) so honored. Angelous numerous awards include  the Presidential Medal of Arts  (2000),  the Lincoln Medal (2008), the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama (2011), the  Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation (2013), and the Mailer Prize for Lifetime Achievement (2013). Though her educational pursuits were limited to high school, Angelou received 50 honorary doctorates. A Phenomenal Woman Maya Angelou  was highly  respected by millions as  an  astounding  author,  poet,  actor, lecturer, and activist.  Starting  in the  1990s and continuing to shortly before her death,  Angelou made  at least 80 appearances annually on the lecture circuit.   Her comprehensive body of published works include  36 books, seven of which are autobiographies, numerous collections of poetry, a book of essays, four plays, a screenplay- oh,  and a cookbook. Angelou once had three  books- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, The Heart of a Woman, and Even the Stars Looked Lonesome- on New York Times bestseller list for six consecutive weeks, simultaneously. Whether through a book, a play, poem, or lecture, Angelou inspired millions,  especially women, to  use the negative experiences they survived  as a  catapult to impossible achievements. On the morning of May 28, 2014, frail and suffering from a heart-related  extended  illness, 86-year-old Maya Angelou was  found unconscious  by her caretaker.  Accustomed to  doing things her way, Angelou had instructed her staff to not resuscitate her in such a condition.   The memorial ceremony in  Maya Angelous honor, hosted by Wake Forest University, included many luminaries. Media mogul Oprah Winfrey, Angelous long-time friend and protege,  planned and  directed the heartfelt tribute. The town of Stamps renamed its only park  in Angelous honor in June 2014.

Cloze Tests to Determine Reading Comprehension

Cloze Tests to Determine Reading Comprehension When teachers wish to measure how well a student comprehends a reading passage, they often turn to Cloze tests. In a Cloze test, the teacher removes a certain number of words that the student then needs to fill in as they read through the passage. For example, a language arts teacher might have their students fill in the blanks for the following reading passage: _____ mother is upset with _____ because I got caught  _____ a rainstorm. Sadly, I ______ my umbrella at home. _____ clothes got soaked. I ______ I wont get sick. Students are then instructed to fill in the blanks for the passage. Teachers are able to use the student’s answers to determine the reading level of the passage. Why Readability Formulas Are Not Enough While readability formulas can tell teachers how complex a reading passage is based on vocabulary and grammar, it does not reveal how difficult a passage might be in terms of reading comprehension. For example: He waved his hands.He waived his rights. If you were to run these sentences through readability formulas, they would have similar scores. However, it is obvious that while students might easily understand the first sentence, they might not comprehend the legal implications of the second. Therefore, we need a method to help teachers measure how difficult a particular passage is for students to comprehend. History of the Cloze Test In 1953, Wilson L. Taylor researched closure tasks as a method to determine reading comprehension. What he found was that having students use context clues from the surrounding words to fill in the blanks as in the example above has a high correlation with how readable the passage is for the student. He called this procedure a Cloze Test. Over time, researchers  have tested the Cloze method and found that it does indeed indicate reading comprehension levels.   How to Create a Typical Cloze Test There are a number of methods that teachers use to create Cloze tests. Following is one of the most common methods used: Replace every fifth word with a blank. This is where the students are to fill in the missing word.Have students write only one word in each blank. They are to work through the test making sure to write a word for each missing word in the passage.Encourage students to guess as they go through the test.Tell students that they do not need to worry about spelling errors as these will not be counted against them. Once you have administered a Cloze test, you will need to ‘grade’ it. As you explained to your students, misspellings are to be ignored. You are only looking for how well students understood what words to use based on contextual clues. However, in most instances, you will only count an answer as correct if the student answers with the exact missing word. In the example above, the correct answers should be:   My mother is upset with me because I got caught  in a rainstorm. Sadly, I left my umbrella at home. My clothes got soaked. I hope I wont get sick. Teachers can count up the number of errors and assign a percentage score based on the number of words that the student guessed correctly. According to Nielsen, a score of 60% or more indicates reasonable comprehension on the part of the student. Using Cloze Tests There are a number of ways that teachers can use Cloze Tests. One of the most effective uses of these tests is to help them make decisions about reading passages that they will be assigning to their students. The Cloze procedure can help them determine what passages to assign students, how long to give them to read specific passages, and how much they can expect students to comprehend on their own without additional input from the teacher. Note, however, that Cloze tests are diagnostic. Since they are not standard assignments testing a student’s understanding of  the  material that has been taught, the student’s percentage score should not be used when figuring out their final grade for the course. Source Jakob Nielsen, Cloze Test for Reading Comprehension. Nielsen  Norman  Group, February 2011

Metropolis 1927 Movie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Metropolis 1927 Movie - Essay Example The story of ‘Metropolis’ was co- written with Lang’s wife Thea Von Harbou. Throughout the movie, one is entertained in observing the innovativeness of imageries used by cinematographer Karl Freund. Otto Hunte handled the art designing department. Its lead actors include Alfred Abel as Joh Frederson, Gustav Frohlich as Freder, Rudolf K. Rogge as Rotwang, Theodor Loos as Josaphat, Fritz Rasp as the Thin Man, Brigitte Helm as Maria and Heinrich George as the Guardian of the Heart Machine, Grot. Besides the ill impacts of industrial revolution, the movie was also inspired by ‘Gas’, ax expressionist play by Georg Kaiser (Huyssen, 223). Background: Chaos In the 1920’s, the city of Los Angeles represented the whole condition of America in a nutshell. The city dwellers were clearly divided into two sections. While the former was bright, full of fun and frolic the other was embedded deep into darkness. However, this division was unplanned and never sta tic (Sitton, 1-3). Darkness was in the lives of people belonging to the latter group, who inhabited the city’s dark underworld. They were restless and aimless, struggling for identities within dingy working conditions. It was quite impossible to unnotice the vigorous potential of energy or force soaring among the masses. As more and more immigrants poured in during 1920’s America began to transform. Big Red Cars of Pacific Electric began to flood the streets of Los Angeles downtown. Expansion came hand in hand. It was immediately followed by oil discoveries and subsequent effects of industrial revolution. While one section of society fully reaped the benefits of this revolution, the other section got plunged into darkness. The business leaders became synonymous with exploiters and the terms like â€Å"industrial employment†, â€Å"industrial capitalism†, etc. were defined in a new way (Sitton, 15). Practically, with the huge inflow of labors, number of fa ctories increased but the quality and quantity of facilities remained the same. This resulted in congestion, less availability of basic human requirements, and an increase of crime and sickness. It was this abhorrence and horror that inspired making of ‘Metropolis’ in 1927. Industrial revolution: theme of Metropolis According to Parker, â€Å"Metropolis was all about movement, crowds, noise, smoke and a constant atmosphere of menace and danger† (Parker 155). Being a silent film, it successfully brings out the unforgiving nature of city life, without using any dialogue. It is not a film that inspires hope. It rather focuses on the destitution and hopelessness prevails. At the same time, it also highlights the notion of Proletarian women, of which Maria is the chef spokesperson. Along with oppression, the movie also shows the lessening of family values with the advent of industrial revolution. However, in the latter half of the movie the maternal instinct is shown to be growing stronger and ends up in the form of a rebellion. Mass dynamism and force is the only remedy for escaping the tyrannies of capitalism- is the only note of hope that this movie offers. (Gabriela, 30). To emphasize the theme of industrial revolution, several scenes represent use of technology. Such scenes, not only increases the emotional effect of the picture, but also directs the flow of narrative. Some of these memorable scenes are- the beginning of the movie

Rising unemployment does not stops the advance of globalisation Essay

Rising unemployment does not stops the advance of globalisation - Essay Example According to Goyal (2006), globalization refers to the integration of the world’s economies through trade, financial flows, and mutual exchanges related to both technology and knowledge. Moreover, it entails free inter- country movement of labour, while, in the developing countries, it entails providing a chance for foreign direct investment through the provision of facilities to foster investment in different economic activities. Prasad, Rogoff, Wei and Kose (2003) contend that globalization has assisted the developing countries to manage the output and consumption volatility in their countries. Therefore, importance of having a diversified global finance offers a chance of offloading their income risk in the world market to develop countries, and the developing counties benefit from international consumption risk sharing, whereby they sell off a stake of domestic output to gain returns from the global output. Unemployment is defined as the situation when people are facing crisis in job opportunities due to the unpredictable nature of economy. This happens despite the fact that people have education background and with eligibility for job they remain being unemployed. There are various types of unemployment, which are differing with the causes in the economy. These different types of unemployment have different effects on people in an economy. Alteration in demand for these goods and services is caused by everyday launching of new products in any particular market; thus, it creates opportunities in certain areas and in the same way reduces job opportunities in other places. The reemployment can only be possible if the workers relocate to other places where there are opportunities and this facilitates globalisation. Unemployment also occurs due to capital-labour substitution, which causes a reduction in demand for labour, and it can also be caused by long run decline in demand in the indust ry; thus, the unemployment increases due to a mismatch between skills and the requirements of the job vacant. Globalization relates to technology, whereby it facilitates the acquisition of technology especially in developing countries. According to UNDP (2007), the significance of technological advancement has a positive influence on the economic growth of developing counties through the increase of productivity of land, labour, capital, reduction of cost of production and improving the quality of outputs. Globalization also offers a chance for developing countries to be internationally competitive depending on the level of technological advancement. In fact, this contributes substantially to the export development and domestic production in the local markets, and it also leads to trade liberalization. However, technological advancement may cause unemployment among developing countries fostered by the globalization, and this becomes a vital element for competitiveness and economic v iability. Increasing unemployment among developing countries has been promoting globalization since people seek employment in other countries leading to interactions that promote globalization. On the other hand, globalization to the developing countries relates to international financing of countercyclical safety net programs that are established in the market economies affected by the crises of global liquidity (Birdsall, 1999). There is a condition that is set out to make the financing appropriate, and it entails solid records of substantial fiscal policy in the countries that are beneficiaries. It also focuses on the political capacity that equates to programs that are free from corruption, hence unwinding them during the crisis and long-run capacity for servicing the resultant external debt. Apparently, all this initiatives are made with a motive of dealing with

None Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

None - Essay Example While these technologies bring many advantages to us, they also create responsibilities and opportunities of misuse. Therefore a code of ethics which guide IT related professionals becomes necessary to maintain a level of professionalism which does not interfere with the actual performance of duties. In this regard, the code of ethics given by AITP (2007) is quite beautiful since it is one of the more concise codes of ethics that I have seen and it manages to cover nearly all aspects of ethics which an IT professional may have issues with. The compact nature and the concise approach taken by the code of ethics is the primary strength of the document since it is little more than one page in length yet it covers areas such as obligation to the employer, the country, society and to the profession it self. However, the brevity of the code certainly brings about its own weakness since the code is not as detailed as the ANA nursing code of ethics of other ethical codes which have chapters upon chapters and articles within articles. The AITP (2007) code of ethics guides the professional conduct of individuals by having the individual acknowledge that s/he has a set of responsibilities towards various stakeholders and these responsibilities need to be discharged with diligence and with a sense of duty. The code of ethics does not tell the professional what to do in situations where ethics can be brought into question yet it does guide the professional towards seeking sources of information such as the code of ethics used by the employer with whom the professional is employed at the moment. Such a code of ethics can be applied very simply in professional life since it shows me that as a networking professional I will be responsible to uphold quite a few trusts that will be placed within me as a professional. These include the trust of my employers, my fellow colleagues, my

THE MISSING PET Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

THE MISSING PET - Case Study Example A viable business model is important for any business. This is especially so for a business that has a large market with existing service and product providers. The market suppliers are very important for Dwayne and Fred’s chosen industry. Having suppliers ready and willing to provide takes out some of the leg work and allows for time to be spent on organizing other areas. Experience is also very important. Dwayne and Fred is both familiar with the industry so they are not going into the new business blind. The access to capital was their but could be more abundant. Capital is likely the least viable part of their business model. Numbers are very important in any business venture. The numbers will show if there is even a need for the given business. The numbers for Fred and Dwayne are close but with what the bank is allowing it will be too far off. The projected sales are just not enough to keep inventory and have enough operating costs. If Dwayne and Fred want to keep enough inventory and be successful they will need to borrow more money to make it past the crucial first year in business. There are many assumptions made by Fred and Dwayne that are unreasonable. Yes, they had industry experience but it seems as if they didn’t really have in focus what it would actually take to keep the business operating smoothly.

Comparing the Vietnam War and the Watergate Scandal to the Film Essay

Comparing the Vietnam War and the Watergate Scandal to the Film Forrest Gump - Essay Example Usually, the involvement is categorized into three phases. First and foremost, there was the covert operations phase that covered the first decade of the entire operation. The second phase is commonly described as the advising phase that covered the subsequent eleven years thereafter. The third phase covered the last years of the war, and this was the time when a direct involvement of the American forces in Vietnam was witnessed. The country escalated the war in this region. However, after the â€Å"1968 Tet Offensive,† the country began the process of disengagement and, five years later the country completely withdrew its troops from the region i.e. after the Paris Peaces Accord. This marked the end of the country’s three-year decade involvement in the war. The Watergate scandal on the other hand took place during Nixon’s presidency. In mid 1972, a group of men armed with certain highly developed eavesdropping devices broke into the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters situated in the Watergate Hotel Complex in the nation’s capital. The following two years were trying moments for the president and his close allies, as the country would be shocked to realize that the Watergate incident that was initially thought to be a â€Å"third rate burglary,† actually had the approval of the state. This was the first time in the history of America that a sitting president was forced to resign due to public pressure. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast these two historical events to the movie, ‘Forrest Gump’. Discussion The movie Forrest Gump narrates the story of an implausibly kind and affectionate individual who is also the kind that some people may refer to as â€Å"mildly retard ed.† The fact that this individual may not be very smart is quite true. However, the fact that he is fortunate is not in doubt. Some would say this is so because he is blessed with a mother and friend who loved him greatly. Forrest is a native of rural Alabama and is raised by his mother who rents out rooms in the family house to tourists visiting the area in exchange of cash (Ciao 17). Even though this character is viewed to be less refined and was raised not any close to the major cities, he manages to become part of some of the most significant events that took place in the American History i.e. from the late 1950s to the early 1980s (Dlugos 88). Among these events are the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Anti-Vietnam protest movements. He even gets the privilege of personally meeting three American presidents during this time. Other prominent personalities that Forrest is privileged to get acquainted with include Elvis Presley and John Lennon. This film focuses on a period of American history from the perspective of a calm soul who is devoid of skepticism. Generally, the film exposes to its viewers some of the relationships that the character develops through his life. For instance, there is his mother who is committed to ensuring her son’s well-being, his two best friends from the days in the military, Bubba and Dan, and most importantly Jenny who is his true childhood sweetheart. Even though Jenny experiences the changes in the country’s culture from a very different perspective to that of Forrest, she still manages to remain loyal and true to her childhood ally, whose genuineness, compassion, and steadfastness she would find in no other (Dlugos 88). Agreeably or disagreeably to different people, at the end of the day, the disgrace of the Watergate scandal is what the Richard Nixon presidency will largely be remembered for. Over three decades down the line, its effect and how it influenced the

THE MISSING PET Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

THE MISSING PET - Case Study Example A viable business model is important for any business. This is especially so for a business that has a large market with existing service and product providers. The market suppliers are very important for Dwayne and Fred’s chosen industry. Having suppliers ready and willing to provide takes out some of the leg work and allows for time to be spent on organizing other areas. Experience is also very important. Dwayne and Fred is both familiar with the industry so they are not going into the new business blind. The access to capital was their but could be more abundant. Capital is likely the least viable part of their business model. Numbers are very important in any business venture. The numbers will show if there is even a need for the given business. The numbers for Fred and Dwayne are close but with what the bank is allowing it will be too far off. The projected sales are just not enough to keep inventory and have enough operating costs. If Dwayne and Fred want to keep enough inventory and be successful they will need to borrow more money to make it past the crucial first year in business. There are many assumptions made by Fred and Dwayne that are unreasonable. Yes, they had industry experience but it seems as if they didn’t really have in focus what it would actually take to keep the business operating smoothly.

Tupac Shakur Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tupac Shakur - Research Paper Example Tupac Shakur developed a rap group called Strictly Dope with the help of his friends, Ray Luv and DJ Dize (Predoc 1). In the year 2001, the album "the lost tapes† was released on the name of Tupac Shakur. From the beginning, Tupac Shakur was making music with group members but at the end, he moved into solo career due to some individual reasons (Scattergood 1). In the year 1991, the solo debut album of Tupac Shakur was released which was entitled as â€Å"2Pacalypse now† (Covey, 81). The release of his debut album made Tupac Shakur one of the most famous controversial rappers in the hip-hop industry. The released album got the huge accolade from the public music lovers. Some of the hit singles from the debut album of Tupac Shakur are â€Å"Brenda got a Baby† and â€Å"Trapped† which rapidly made him popular among the music lovers (Beatty 61). Next album of Tupac Shakur was â€Å"Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.† It was the masterpiece of music and lyrics. The album was related to the controversies that were surrounded by him. The album had the special appearance from other controversial rappers, such as Ice Cube and West Coast rappers. Similar to his first album, this particular album of Tupac Shakur was at number four on the chart of R & B. In the course of the later stage, Tupac Shakur was involved in several conflicts with other members of record-label and rappers. In the year 1996, Tupac Shakur was shot several times in the shooting during driving (Assata Shakur 1).  

Kant Deontological Theory Essay Example for Free

Kant Deontological Theory Essay The Formula of Humanity- Act so that you use humanity, whether in your own person or that of another, always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means. The Formula of the Kingdom of Ends- Act in accordance with the maxims of a member giving universal laws for a merely possible kingdom of ends. The moral duty is what we should be doing. Good is defined as doing what is right and avoiding doing wrong. We have a duty to act in such a way that our actions are moral even if it produces unfavourable results. What is good, according to Kant â€Å"Nothing is good but a good will†. (Good intentions). It is good to be creative or to have good fortune with good outcomes the world becomes a better place. Goodwill is having the good intention to perform one’s duty. The consequences of our actions do not make an action good but rather the goodwill. What is having a good will? Kant proposes that when someone acts out of goodwill that is when someone is acting out of duty. According to Kant â€Å"Duty should be done for the sake and duty alone†. How do we know our duty in a certain situation? Duty has nothing to do with a certain situation or what happens all that matters is the decision is good and the outcome is good. Kant suggests act as if our decision applies to all people at all times. It is always in order to tell lies if the outcome is favourable? Kant would disagree with this. When we act purely out of duty we act reasonably in a manner that we fulfil our duties. Having goodwill is to perform one’s duty It is our duty to do our duty even though we might not be rewarded in this life but we will be rewarded in the next life. Deontological Ethics. Kant Deontological theory of ethics it is linked to moral law of ethics, especially that branch dealing with duty, moral obligation, and right action. Origin: 1820–30; Greek deont- that which is binding (stem of deo) (Websters Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), edited by Noah Porter. ) The word deontology comes from the Greek word meaning duty (deon) and science (or study) of (logos). In moral philosophy, deontological ethics Ethical are theories that maintain that the moral rightness or wrongness of an action depends on its intrinsic qualities. (Websters Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), edited by Noah Porter). A Quote from Kant â€Å"Awe and wonder fills the mind†. â€Å"Starry heavens a metaphor (scientific absolutism) above and the moral law within†. Like gravity and science these are laws which are absolute as well as moral laws. We have a choice we can all still identify the moral law: e. g. do not steal. Kantian deontological theory of ethics is an absolutes theory something which is considered wrong i. e. suicide will always be wrong. Kant argues that morality is rooted in reason; he states that the demands of morality are unconditional or categorical and it presupposes freedom, we have a choice and can identify and rationally identify morality. Kant states that morality must be unconditional it has to be categorical. Kant distinguishes between categorical imperatives from hypothetical ones. The categorical imperative is not about desires or goals but rather about personal well-being. Categorical imperatives are absolute and universal. Categorical imperative is necessary truth and cannot be without self-contradiction or irrationality. The Universal Law Act only in accordance with that maxim through that at the same time, will that it become a universal law. One’s actions must be universal. The Universal law is that one should act on the maxim a law which can become a universal law in nature when acceptable and sustainable. We know that lying and stealing is wrong. If everyone did this society would fail. Perfect duties are without exceptions, but we understand that torture and suicide is always wrong. Suicide is always wrong if this was universalized society would fail. We know that making False Promises that cannot be fulfilled, is always wrong if we cannot regard this as a universal law society would fail. Breaking promises when it in my interest he states that this inconsistent and therefore cannot be a moral imperative. Imperfect duties is seeking the perfection of our duties are contradictions to our will. We ought to be seeking to promote the happiness of others. We understand that this is not always possible. He does not exclude pleasure in doing duty, but that pleasure should not be the guide to what one’s duty is. What is duty? Kant says â€Å"Duty is the necessity of acting from respect for the Law†: Kant believes that duty should be crowned in the end with happiness. Obedience he says is a maxim that is universally binding as a law to all rational beings. Treat humans as ends to themselves and should respect and never to treat others as a means to an end but only as an end. This means that we should respect others, because every human possesses an intrinsic value. We are to consider whether our actions are moral and acceptable. Kant argues that morals are about following the rules. Kant moral theory can be summarised in two ways Kant argues that we all have a choice that we can all identify the moral law. The Categorical Imperative Kant designed the Categorical imperative as a framework used to make moral law, which states that one must do what one expects other to do in a similar situation. The Categorical Imperative is the central concept in Kant’s ethics and the groundwork to Metaphysics of Morals. It is based to the â€Å"supreme principle of morality† (4:392), from which all our moral duties come from. He believed that moral requirements were based on a standard of rationality and he named this the Categorical Imperative. By using the Universal Imperatives we use our reason (as long as it is not corrupted) to guide us in a path which is morally virtuous. He states that we should act according to the maxim by which you can at the same time will that it becomes a universal law. Kant uses the example of a person who lends money and is unable to repay the loan. He states that this cannot be a universal law people will no longer believe each other and no person will lend money to another. This can be explained in three ways The Universal Law means that one should act on an action which can be sustained. It is important that we should consider if an action is right or wrong. This action will eliminate selfish action towards other human beings. Imperfect Duties Imperfect duties to seek the happiness of other people this cannot completed always. The moral law will most certainly collapse if everyone told lies and were to steal. It is expected of one to perform ones duty in every way. The Kingdom of Ends is in accordance with the maxims of a member giving universal laws for a merely possible kingdom of ends is an ideal society every person must act in such a way that it benefits the greater number of people for the greater good. Every person should act in such a way as if the person through their maxim were universal lawmakers as members in the universal kingdom of ends. One cannot say I will kill myself out of love; this is acceptable and cannot be regarded as a universal law. He argues that humans have an intrinsic worth, and occupy a special place in creation, therefore people are to be treated with respect and dignity because we should understand that we are all rational agents. We possess the freedom to make our own decisions set targets and guide our conduct by reason. He believes that God is the Supreme Being speaking through our conscious. Therefore Gods existence although it remains unproven it is necessary in order for Kant’s ethical theory to be sound. He states that is freedom and immortality. â€Å"God is the law giver to be obeyed† Kant argues that there must be a God and an after-life since it would be intolerable if there were no reward. Kant states that if humans were to disappear from the planet the moral dimension would disappear too. Critique on Kant’s theories: Humans are motivated by pleasure and not only by reason. The question is it possible to act unselfishly, it is necessary to take consequences into consideration. Kant ethics places great emphasises on lying as a form of wrong. He fails to offer an understanding of conflict between different duties, Kant theories does not take into consideration social conditioning and free will. I disagree with Kant that feelings are subjective and selfish and find that he focuses too much on pure practical moral reason he excludes feeling and desires. Kant tries to combine ethics with reason but this seems unrealistic as the concept of reason does not exist in isolation from human beings and their feelings and actions. Ref: Jorge J. Gracia E, Gregory M, Reichberg and Bernard, Schumacher N. The Classics of Western Philosophy, (Blackwell Publishing Ltd). 2004. Ref: Mc Coy A. An Intelligent Person’s Guide to Christian Ethics, Continuum. London , New York Ref: http://www. slideshare. net/t0nywilliams/kant-9170093.