The Civil War Of The Southern And Southern States

Major civil war events took place between 1861 and 1865, which was a contribution of the division of nations. The war was between the southern and northern states. The northern states were not supportive of slavery in comparison to their southern counterparts. Although slavery was a major cause of the split between the north and south, it was not the only reason. The economic status, cultural activities and the position on state rights were also factors contributing to the division among the states. Slavery was a major issue that divided the northern and southern states. In this paper, the focus is on slavery as the divisive factor of the division of the northern and southern states. The civil war began with the election of Abraham†¦show more content†¦There was a major division among the Democrats and the destruction of the Whig party (â€Å"7.5 A divided nation†). The Democrats considered themselves as the â€Å"white man’s party† and considered the Republicans as being â€Å"negro dominated,† even though they had white leaders. The Whig party divided after the Compromise of 1850, which was created in an attempt to resolve disputes over slavery between the north and the south (Whig Party). The political leaders during this period were indecisive on the position to take with regards to the question of slavery. The rise of the Republican Party was after the downfall of the Whig party, and it was in support of the abolition of slavery. Publicizing the issue of slavery was a widespread occurrence during this time. After gaining awareness of the injustices of slavery, people were supportive of ending slavery. Uncle Tomâ €™s Cabin was one of the publications responsible for the rise in the antislavery movements (â€Å"7.5 A divided nation†). Due to industrialization in the north, the north was gaining majority seats in the House of Representatives (â€Å"Causes of the civil war- A northern perspective†). The Missouri Compromise in 1820 was an attempt to maintain balance between the states in support of and against slavery. The compromise encouraged people in the north to return runaway slaves and did not ban slavery, even in the free territories. There was agreement on the rights of the senate to make laws concerning

Essay on The Broken Promise- Personal Narrative - 1806 Words

The Broken Promise- Personal Narrative â€Å"Thirty years ago in this very room, my father told me a few things, things that I want to tell you today. He said life offers you many paths to choose from. You have to choose the one that is right, the one where you never have to bend down, one where you never fall. Never take any step that will bring shame to your family name or prestige. I have not forgotten his words till today, and neither should you. Promise me that you will follow the traditions of this family. Promise me that you will never compromise the self respect of this family.† â€Å"I promise Papa, that I will always keep the family name flying high. I promise you that I will always keep†¦show more content†¦Tears of happiness welled up in my eyes as I said thank you. But, unfortunately, that wasn’t all. He had another announcement to make. â€Å"I have great pleasure in finally being able to say this after twenty years Rahul, we have set the date of your marriage.† I stared at him in utter disbelief waiting to see if he was being serious. I managed to stutter after a few minutes. â€Å"Um- marriage?† â€Å"Yes. To Naina. You were promised to Naina at the age of four and the time has come to make that dream of our children getting married come true and us to turn into family.† He said turning towards Naina’s father. Those tears were turning from happiness to tears of sadness, as I knew I couldn’t marry her but I had no choice. I glared at Naina who was happily smiling and toasting to the occasion as if everything was planned like this. How could I object to this after all they’d done for me? I would have no one if it wasn’t for him. They had adopted me when I was a young boy, my real father passed away and I had no one left so I will always be grateful to him for doing that. Even though they had another son after me they never treated me as an outsider. I was their son and no one was going to change that. I was trapped in a box with invisible walls that even if I pushed with all my might I could find no way out of. Claustrophobia was getting the better ofShow MoreRelatedAustralian Theater Ruby Moon and Stolen1413 Words   |  6 Pagesaspects and elements of absurdism. Cameron has used dramatic forms, performance styles, techniques and conventions such as symbolism, a setting that is everlasting, transformational acting and more. The use of these techniques explores the social and personal issues of suburban paranoia, identity and grief/loss. Cameron uses many elements to portray the ‘fairytale image’. â€Å"Ruby Moon is about a little girl who sets off to visit her grandma, just like a fairytale, but never arrives†. Through this, it showsRead More Analysis of Memory and Time in Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury932 Words   |  4 PagesEver more appreciative of the subjectivity of recollection, we grasp that without memory, time passes away as little mor e than sterile chronology. In literary as well as literal history, time derives its meaning from Bergson’s â€Å"duration† – time as personal consciousness (322). In Faulkner’s fiction, duration is a centerpiece, even as chronology fails. Such is the case in The Sound and the Fury. For the Compson family, history as memory indeed testifies to their passage from respectable to regrettableRead MoreThe On Coffee At Starbucks Essay1124 Words   |  5 Pagesws over Coffee at Starbucks World views do not arise from a lot of propositions, but rather emerge like a narrative. â€Å"That makes us individuality and provides a theoretical account for our convictions which serve as the foundation for our ethics and values†. (Wilkens, S. and M. Sanford 2009) â€Å"What we truly think is not always congruent with what we suppose we believe or think we desire to think†. (Wilkens, S. and M. Sanford 2009) Confessional beliefs are frequently at the intellectual level whileRead MoreThemes In Lynda Barrys The Sanctuary Of School1020 Words   |  5 Pagesschool boards, maybe some parents, and the United States Department of Education. In â€Å"The Sanctuary of School,† Lynda Barry uses a sense of emotion, metaphors, and tone throughout her personal story to effectively argue the importance of public schools and their art programs in the United States. Lynda starts her narrative with a gloomy story of the first time she snuck out because of the neglection she and her brother felt at home. At only seven years old, she leaves in the middle of the night to goRead MoreThe Modern Age Presents Multiple Channels For Action, Dialogue And Discussion1618 Words   |  7 Pagesdauntingly complex process weaved with intrinsically personal reflections, which, leads us to the fundamental paradox of memory. Memory is crucial to the public realm, but it originates within. Furthermore, the modern age multiplies spaces of remembrance presenting an unfettered opportunity to improve the frailty of human affairs. Yet, the contestation of memories such as those in war have often been internalised, and thus refuted on a deeply personal level – to challenge mourning is viewed as perverseRead MoreTennyson Close Analysis1597 Words   |  7 Pagescommon theme of abandonment, as in Shakespeare’s play the young woman is also diligently awaiting the return of her lover Angelo after his desertion upon discovering her loss of dowry. Similarly to Shakespeare’s text, Marianna lacks action or any narrative movement, the entire poem serving as an extended depiction of the melancholy isolation a young woman experiences whilst pining for her vacant lover. The language, meter, format and tone of the poem contribute to the inherent themes of isolation,Read MoreThank You for Our Project, Jessica981 Words   |  4 Pages Hello again Jessica. I know I havent exactly been keeping my promises on the due dates and Im only fortifying the stigma that I touched on in my last email but Ive still got a few questions. (Did you get my last email, by the way?) Anyway, would you just like me to submit what I have? I have well over two minutes and way more than five angles. Sound has also been added and mixed. The entire movie, however, is not finished. It should give you enough to grade or at least be a worthy placeholderRead More Comparing Piety in The Wakefield Mystery Plays, The Book of Margery Kempe, and Le Morte DArthur1225 Words   |  5 Pageshave angered the Lord: First on Earth and then in hell . . . but to those no harm befell/who trusted in his truth. And God responds: Vengeance I will take,/ On earth for sins sake,/My grimness thus will wake/Both great and small. (WP, 91) God promises that All shall perish less and more that so spurned my plan. Faced with the choice of loyalty to God or death, Noahs faith looks suspect, as does Abrahams. Abrahams initial speech is similar to Noahs, recounting mans previous sins and laterRead MoreAnalysis of Hero the Film by Zhang Yimou1476 Words   |  6 Pagesas well as a beautiful love story. Nameless, Broken Sword and Flying Snow, the main characters, team up to eventually kill the King of Qin who had murdered a number of people with the Qin army including both Flying Snow and Nameless’s father. Althoug h the Qin army is an enemy of Broken Sword and Flying Snow’s people, it is a personal issue to assassinate the king. Throughout the film the audience is exposed to the developing love that forms between Broken Sword and Flying Snow. While their love unfoldsRead MoreThe Rainbow and Colored Girls Essay1173 Words   |  5 Pagesreverberates with a sense of negativity. This is only surface scratching because when you read and study the contents of this narrative it becomes really an announcement of a victory for `colored girls. These `colored girls considered suicide, and for anything to be enuff to pull them away from killing themselves it must be a powerful force and it must hold a promise for fulfilling their desires. The rainbow signifies a move away from death into a happier life. The power of the force is greater

Discussion of Market Success to Succession

Question: Describe theDiscussion of Market Success to Succession? Identify the importance of wetware costs. Identify an organisation implementing an Accounting Information System. Discuss the relevance of wetware costs to the implementation in the organisation you have identified. Answer: Introduction Identify the importance of wetware costs User training encounter and understanding is referred to as wetware. It also refers to the brain of the user. Generally, it is characterized by the following merits: 1. It generally boosts the suppliers income as they incorporate the indirect cost in their total expenditure. These costs on time which they spend on updating the software in order to respond to the user's commands send from the hardware by the users in order to attain the output. 2. It has led to solving more IT problems more than they create (Rawson 2002). This has been enhanced by reduction of information fatigue caused by information overload. 3. It leads to innovation and invention since there is a need for changes to be made to the software and hardwired for the wetware effects on the market to be tamed. 4. It can improve and promote learning to the users since they are being provided by the knowledge and technical know-how which makes them ready to use and apply the IT hardware and softwares application. 5. It can lead to the improved living standards of the suppliers since the programmers, developers and IT architects can be able to be paid highly due to the high sales since the losses will be curbed due to incorporation of the indirect costs (Rawson 2002). 6. The applications, servers, networks and the rest of IT system will be improved for the employees, programmers and developers are motivated hence increase efficiency and effectiveness. 7. It leads to meeting users needs and lowers the extent to which they are compelled to acclimatize to the practice. 8. Wetware gives users assess, indexing, manipulation and analysis of information and furthermore, promote communication. 9. It has led to adoption of lot of new systmes that contain individual learning schedules for customized needs. Programs such as Ms. Word and XP provide customized interfaces which are efficient and easy to use. Identify the importance of wetware costs. Human beings are less reliable, and wetware infrastructure helps reduce the human errors. When errors resulting from human mistakes are made, some of them may be fatal and may lead to the incurrence of huge costs such as repair costs. Wetware systems help reduce such errors thereby proving quality, accurate and reliable results. Programmers, developers, system designers, cloud and IT architects, as well as other employees directly, are able to directly affect how servers, applications, networks and the rest of the IT systems function. Hence, there is more control of the wetware system which that is why it is effective. Wetware infrastructure helps lower the costs of implementation of an array of systems. It is hence economic to install wetware systems in order to provide economically effectively and efficient systems (Levin, Rubin Stinson 1986). Installing other related softwares may be hefty to the organization but with wetware systems, it is cost effective. Incurring wetware costs provides for the installation of systems that boost production and thus contribute to the increasing of the revenues from the firm. A business that has incurred wetware costs cannot be compared to one that has not. Incurrence of costs helps the organization increase its diversity in terms of the scope of operation. Discuss the relevance of wetware cost to the implementation in the organization you have identified. With the emerging trends in the globe today, vast number of software and programs are being designed with the overall aim being to increase the usability of the programs as well as making tasks easier and more doable. The systems are designed in a way that provides for the solvation of myriad user problems (Levin, Rubin Stinson 1986). The wetware cost is an indirect cost which are majorly incurred in the organization while creating awareness to the users applications, networks and accessing, interpreting, correcting information. Yahoo is a company that majorly provides mailing services. There is a need therefore for them to educate users on the usage of the website, employ programmers to update and access the cloud (Chen 2003). Moreover, the processes help them air their adverts, for the final consumers to acquire and sufficiently use for varies decision-making e.g. product promotion. Furthermore the Yahoo system dominates acquisition of decisions to reduce the hardware and software costs, for example, the cost of using the system, analyzing, justifying and drawing conclusion from the results offered. Contrary to the introduction age of the computers, these costs were too small and buried in the other expenses. Implementing an Accounting Information System such as NetSuite which involves the use of business clouds software contributes to the automation of business process through incorporation of systems such as enterprise resource management (ERP), CRM, PSA, end to end B2C, service resource planning software, openAir as well as NetSuite business intelligence. Many of the ecommerce software available in stores and which have been utilized by enterprises have seen the corporations record increased profit margins. Accounting information systems provide informational summaries of reports every week or month depending on the frequency set by the business itself. The role of AIS is critical. It is indeed clear that utilizing AIS contributes a lot to effective business decision making process. The quality of decisions made by the businesses using AIS is far much above organization that do not utilize the systems. The internal controls, performance evaluation help an organization in conducting its transactions effectively. Accessibility of information has enables corporations plan adequately on their production levels as well as forecast their demand and sales budgets. This has in turn helped lower the occurrences of surpluses and shortages. What this implies to an economy is that resources in the economy will be utilized optimally through avoidance of excesses and shortages. As a computer system software, AIS reduces the prevalence of making human errors which are common especially when computing figures and calculations manually. Business are hence able to report accurately of their revenues. This to a nation helps in the tax collection since reporting the correct accurate amount of tax will help the government raise funds through taxes collected. The cases of tax evasion will hence be lowered. An increase in tax collection by the government is also beneficial to the citizens since the government will be able to provide better services with the given tax revenue. Tax revenue reported has favorable effects on the economy as it an injection. Draw some conclusion. In conclusion, wetware cost is an essential factor which should be given priority over hardware and software. This is because, it is the feature which determines the way the hardware and software work and interprets the input into output. When left unchecked, then IT market will chilled, in the long run. It will also stall the human progress since people will tend not to respond to the changes in technologies making the IT experts to relent and be the custodian of knowledge. The massive rise in wetware costs are rising especially in the 1990s caused shocks in the market scenes. This has a great impact on the economy (Chen 2003). In relation to Figure 4, the actual cost of equipments fells as the expenses on the equipment reduces drastically than software while wetware increases (Dubash 2005). This, therefore, confirms that the wetware are indirect cost which should be tamed without delay. Eventually, the use of adaptive systems has seen the reduction in prices into what will see the reduction in the wetware costs. In the future, there is a likelihood that culture and businesses will will delve into the onus of solving the wetware-cost problem and most likely, human beings will connect effectively with the technology. This will ultimately increase the growth effects of culture and technology in the economy. References Chen, M. (2003). Moores Law Technology and Economics. Technology Manufacturing Group, Intel Research Development. . Dubash, M. (2005). Moore's Law is dead, says Gordon Moore. Levin, I., Rubin, D. Stinson, J. (1986). Quantitative Approaches to Management. 6th ed. McGraw-Hill Book Company. Canada: Toronto. Rawson, H. (2002). Unwritten Laws: The Unofficial Rules of Life as Handed Down by Murphy and Other Sages. Castle Books. Edison, N.J.

Spelling Bee free essay sample

I will tell you a story that is only half true. My story is about Jada the nicest girl I’ve ever met. She has brown eyes and blond hair. She has the prettiest skin I’ve ever seen. My friend Jada was trying out for the Spelling Bee, she loved spelling words. Jada was scared of everyone staring at her. The arbitrator called out the word was crescent. Jada spelled, â€Å"c-r-e-s-c-e-n-t,† the official said â€Å"correct†. Guess what? Jada won the Spelling Bee. She was off to the Nationals in Washington, D. C. Jada and her Mom packed her luggage for the trip, they were both so excited to be going to the Spelling Bee. Her mom was very proud of her. Jada studied day and night. She even wrote every word in the dictionary down. She loved memorizing the words in the dictionary. On the airplane ride to Washington, D. We will write a custom essay sample on Spelling Bee or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page C. she got a little scared thinking about all the hard words she could get at the Spelling Bee. At the National event, the first ten words were very easy for her. Then she got a word challenge ambulance. Then she spelled, â€Å"a-m- b-u-l-a-n-c-e†, and won the Spelling Bee. Jada was so excited that she had won. She was looking for her Mom in the crowd, and when she found her she started to laugh. She laughed because her Mom doing the happy-dance. Her family and friends were so proud of all her hard work. THE END

fatboy slim bio essays

fatboy slim bio essays With Fatboy Slim albums, the clue is always in the title, and Norman Cook's third outing is no exception. Norman was staying at LA's Chateau Marmont hotel, when the title came to him. As the New Year dawned Norman ventured back into his home studio in Brighton, England to make the most emotional, innovative album of his career. Norman explains the progression by pointing out that "The Rockafeller Skank" was the first track he recorded for his last album, and "Right Here Right Now" was the last. The first UK single, 'Sunset (Bird Of Prey)' is adapted from an ambient track that Norman wrote several years ago. So Norman Cook's back, but he does not want to get any bigger, just better. Fatboy Slim is the newest alter ego of DJ Norman Cook. The Beats international album Let Them Eat Bingo (1990) was a dub filled sound-fest. Norman and others had succeeded in creating unique and original music almost completely out of the use of other records. Beats international recorded another album "Excursion on the Version" (1991), where Norman's musical songwriting talent shone through more than on the previous album. (The first three tracks on the album are damn fine tho). Beats international toured for a while, where Norman met multitalented brass player, vocalist and all round 'artistic entrepreneur' Ashley Slater (previously from cult UK funk group Microgroove). Ashley arranged and played brass for the second Beats International album, but Beats was disbanded in favour of a new group - Freakpower. In fact, Freakpower's first album Drive Thru Booty (1994) was mainly made up from material that Norman had written for a third Beats International Album. This dub material sounds similar to the "Praise You - Original Version" remix which is found on the Right Here Right Now Fatboy Slim single. The track became a summer anthem, Launching Freakpower ...

How to Create Classroom Management Routines

How to Create Classroom Management Routines Over the years, educators have developed many different methods for keeping classrooms under control. Currently, one of the most effective is a  program of classroom management proposed by educator  Harry K. Wong  in his book  The First Days of School. The focus of Wongs program is on creating orderly classroom routines that help children understand what is expected of them each day. It is a highly effective method, one that works well in both special and general education classrooms. Each day, the children from Room 203 line up outside the classroom and wait to be greeted by their teacher. When they enter the room, they place their homework in the basket marked homework, hang up their coats, and empty their back packs. Soon, the class is busy recording the days assignments in their assignment book, and when completed work on the spelling puzzle they found on their desks. The Importance of Routines Every day, the children in room 203 follow the same routines, routines they have learned. Flexibility comes in instruction, in meeting individual needs or challenges as they arise. The beauty of routines is that they are about what we do, not who we are. A child can be reminded that they forgot to complete a routine, and they will not feel hurt, as they probably would if they were told that they broke a rule. Its well worth the extra time required to create routines, since routines help children understand what is expected of them, where to find the resources they need, and how to behave in the classroom. Routines take time to be taught, but eventually, they become second-nature, and students no longer need to be reminded what to do. The best time to establish routines is at the beginning of the school year.  The First Six Weeks of School, a book by educators Paula Denton and Roxann Kriete, lays out six weeks of activities that teach routines and create meaningful ways for students to interact and create community in the classroom. This approach is now trademarked as The Responsive Classroom. Creating Routines The best routines are those that anticipate common challenges in the classroom and find ways to address them. Before creating a routine, teachers should ask themselves the following questions: How will the students enter the classroom?Where will they place their backpacks? Their homework?Who will take attendance? How will the students record their lunch choices?What does a student  do when his or her work is completed?How does a student  record his or her independent reading?How are seats chosen at lunchtime? A resource room teacher will need to ask: How will the students  get from their general education classroom to the resource room?How will the students know when it is time to move from their desks to the teachers table?What role will a classroom aide play in the structure of the classroom?Who keeps track of homework and class assignments? Teachers should have an answer for each of these questions. Children from communities without much structure will need a great deal of structure in their day. On the other hand, children from more orderly communities will not necessarily need as much structure. As a teacher, it is always best to have too many routines and too much structure than too little- you can more easily take away than add. Rules While routines are more effective for managing classrooms, there is still a place for rules. Keep them short and simple. One of the rules in every classroom should be Treat yourself and others with respect. Limit your rules to a maximum of 10 so that students can easily remember them.

Global Marketing Strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Global Marketing Strategy - Assignment Example The second part of the study will be discussing the experience of 24/7 Stop as the primary provider of non-food commodities in the country. This part of the study will be covering the existing strategies that 24/7 Stop is engages in, such that they stay on top of the non-food retail industry. The paper will compose of the analysis of the company itself as well as the industry that it thrives in, particularly the non-food sector of the retail industry. The tools to be used in this examination include the analysis; analysis of its PEST and Porter's Diamond Model . The last part of the study will consist of a set of recommendations formulated by the researcher based on the results of the tools used in the analysis of the industry and the company. Thailand has done remarkably well since the beginning of the economic reform movement in 1978 (Wu, 1996). Between 1979 and 1995, Thailand's GDP grew at an average annual rate of 9.5 percent. Thailand's exports grew even faster and Thailand now ranks among the world's top 10 exporting economies. Moreover, Thailand's entry into the WTO will make Thailand's door even more open. Both foreign investment and foreign trade are expected to increase (Chow, 2000). Foreign firms will begin to penetrate Thailand's financial and telecommunication sectors. Trade will increase in both directions and Thai tariffs will be lowered and Thai goods will have better access to world markets open to members of the WTO. Using foreign competition to stimulate the domestic economy is a major objective in seeking to join WTO, as explicitly stated by the government Bangladesh has become a pioneer in the international garments industry as she is a major exporter of garments in the world which is very helpful in the country because it contributes not only to the country's GNP but also for a number of reasons like for example it had created a number of jobs. The country had created many new jobs of about 1.5 million, mostly for women - have been created by the country's dynamic private ready-made garment industry, which grew at double-digit rates through most of the 1990s. Despite the country's politically motivated general strikes, poor infrastructure, and weak financial system, Bangladeshi entrepreneurs have shown themselves adept at competing in the global garments marketplace. Bangladesh's exports to the U.S. surpassed $1.9 billion in 1999. Bangladesh also exports significant amounts of garments and knitwear to the EU market. The country has done less well, however, in expanding its export base-garments account for more than three-fourths of a ll exports, dwarfing the country's historic cash crop, jute, along with leather, shrimp, pharmaceuticals and ceramics (Bangladesh Garment and Exporters Association, 1997). Bangladesh' overview in their economy has made significant strides in that sector since her independence in 1971. Although the economy has improved vastly in the 1990s, Bangladesh still suffers an image crisis due to her civil war period of early 1970s. Despite major impediments to growth like the inefficiency of state-owned enterprises, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, inadequate power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms, Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA Wajed's Awami League government has made some headway improving the climate for foreign investors and liberalizing the capital markets; for example, it has negotiated with foreign firms

PRODUCT INFORMATION Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

PRODUCT INFORMATION - Assignment Example The products were then shipped to other parts of the world like France in the 1970s and orange juice wars with other rivals like in Coca Cola began in the 1980s. In subsequent years, the product’s packaging and marketing strategies have changed but the taste and content have remained relatively the same. In 1949, the product was simply freshly squeezed orange juice but in 1954, it became a chilled product made using flash pasteurization. In 1983, packaging was reduced to a smaller quantity but the prices remained the same; this mirrored developments in earlier periods (1964) when the organization created its own bottles and sold the product in such containers (Pania et al 3). The product maintained similar tastes until 2006 when it was diluted to become less thick and less calorie-rich. In 2009, its packaging was altered to a generic form but 3 months later, the company went back to its original packaging as customers complained; now it is found in plastic bottles. Tropicana original orange juice won the IPA Effectiveness Awards 2006, Silver because of its campaign advertisement conducted in the United Kingdom (â€Å"IPA effectiveness awards 2006†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). The brand also boasts about getting Carbon Trust product footprint certification in 2007 because of determining the environmental" impact or ecological footprint of its production process. It is also a recipient of the Beverage Innovation Awards in 2009 by an organization of the same name because of the sustainability initiatives in production and rainforest consumer awareness programs (â€Å"2013 Annual report† 102). The brand currently boasts of market share leadership in the orange juice market as it accounts for 28% of all juices sold in the US. A drop had been recorded in 2009 when the company made a repackaging blunder, but its shares recovered thereafter. Currently, the next most competitive brand is Simply Orange by Coca Cola, which accounts for 14% of the

Haircuts Case Study Essay Example for Free

Haircuts Case Study Essay Strategic Business Area to Improve through IT. The most important aspect of the haircutting business model that can be improved in UMUC Haircut situation has to be customers (customer demand). The entire profit model revolves around two truth. The first is that people want to come get haircuts here at UMUC. Second, these customers will be repeat customers at a rate that facilitates profit. In order to meet both of  these goals for profit the use of a comprehensive scheduling tool is needed to both benefit customers and manage employees. A cloud-based open schedule application allows for simple transparency and has a secondary feature of using old scheduling data to form a more profitable business model. Being able to have a constantly evolving schedule provides the perfect amount of flexibility for Myra Morningstar. Specific Solution To best apply information technology to the scheduling problem a robust program will be developed. This programs first major feature is that it will be cloud based. So for a 7 day work week there will be open hourly blocks that can be filled with customer appointments. These blocks are of course able to be filled at the main counter on the central computer in the system but can also be filled via the web. Customers will be able to submit request for blocks which will be approved by management. At the same time, in the same program these blocks will correspond to individual chairs, in the sense that the chair represents an available stylist being able to perform the styling or cut. This program will be real time so that everyone is one the same page. Ultimate control will fall on Myra Morningstar. The program will run through the UMUC Haircut website. IT Infrastructure Requirements Services- Myra and staff will be required to learn and manage this program. Although not overly complicated it will require dedication of use to be successful. It will be tempting to use the paper scheduling method but this will need to be cut out. The initial construction of the program and subsequent upgrades to the program will be the work of a clever programer for hire and should not require constant technical support. Hardware- Any internet connected device will be able to access to the program. It would be a sound investment to have a small command terminal or server inside the store able to handle backing up this data constantly and allows a level of redundancy. (To both handling the data and backing it up) Software- A application will have to be purchased or designed to facilitate this online scheduling. An example of a pre-existing software package would be Appointment-plus, this service already includes customer self-booking. Telecommunications- A high-speed internet connection will be required at all times so that the program can communicate changes back and forth at all times. This need can be handled by fiber-optic or a dsl network from a local provider. Most of the information here will be data. Facilities- The main desk computer station will be the facility for housing the center server. This software, if uniquely designed for UMUC Haircuts will be entirely in-house but if a generic version it is applied it will be managed from that companies facility. How Online Scheduling will Improve the Process. As UMUC Haircut conducts business now there is no single method for managing both employee staffing times and customer appointments. Customers have to come in or use the phone to schedule an appointment or come for a walk in unsure of availability. This new program will allow for the front desk, all the stylist, and customers to access the scheduling tool at all times. This will stream line the process of getting into a chair and cut down on the almost guess method of scheduling employees. Online Scheduling Impact on Generic Strategy. The generic strategy goal that is strived for at every step in this process is Broad Market/High Value-to-Cost Ratio. With an affective online scheduling tool more customers will be able to access appointment opportunities that fit their schedule. This gives them the ability to plan ahead. at the same time the scheduling application also cuts down on the hours that stylist are getting paid even though there are no appointments. Being able to cut down on these wasted hours will make the cost drop which will indirectly rase the Value Ratio. Reaching more people online, at a  cheaper price will be the driving force to adopt an online solution for scheduling. References: Schmidt, M. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.businesscaseanalysis.com/business.html http://www.appointment-plus.com/product/how_it_works.php

Ignorance Kills :: essays research papers

Any place I go, I know I will never find two skateboards that are the same. Each and every component of the skateboard makes a difference in the board’s movement. Every deck, truck, and wheel is interchangeable so there is almost an endless amount of combinations. A number of things can go wrong when riding; a person will never know when one of the components will malfunction. I was riding along one day, and like a cat pouncing on a mouse, it hits me and I suddenly realize that I am going to feel some pain. One of my wheels came off, I jerked, flew through the air, then landed on the street, all because the only day I took the time to check my wheels was the day I received the board. I can remember the first time I learned how to check and fix a skateboard. I learned from one of my good friend named James. He came to my house and we skated around for a little while. One of my wheels made a funny noise, and James said, "I think there is something wrong with your skateboard." We went into the garage and sat next to the washer and dryer. He then put the skateboard downside up, and started to examine the skateboard. He first looked at the deck to see if there was something wrong that could be making the noise. James studied the grip tape, looked at the tail and the nose, then the wood itself to see if it had been cracked or split. He then began talking to me about the trucks and their purpose; I studied and observed the hunks of metal. James then began to study the bearings and noticed that the bearings were extremely dirty. This was the cause of the noise. He told me that the bearings had to be clean. Too much friction was causing the noise. So James reached in his bag of tools, and got his mini monkey wrench and started to take off the nut that was holding the wheel to the truck. He was very precise, like a surgeon in heart surgery. With great ease he slipped off the wheel from the kingpin and placed it gentle on the floor. Once again James reached in his bag, grabbed a rag, and a special metal lubricate called Speedy Grease. Pop went the bearing as it came out of the wheel, I picked it up from the floor, pondered, and said, " hmmmm, to think that this little piece of machinery can actually effect the way the board operates, that this little piece is so important

Problems In Health Economy And Food Chains Environmental Sciences Essay

In recent decennaries increasing attending has been paid to the environmental jobs and protection. The study conducted by Bureau of Meteorology in Australia provinces that the average temperature in the universe has increased by 2AÂ ° Celsius ; the warmer temperature increased the sea degree and endanger the environment ( 2010 cyberspace ) . It is noticed that the environmental jobs chiefly caused by human activities such as firing fossil fuels, fuel fumes from autos and alterations in land usage such as deforestation. Harmonizing to OECD, environmental protection refers to activities to stay or retrieve the quality of the environment through forestalling the emanation of pollutants ( 2003, Internet ) . It is believed that people should contend for environmental protection which means utilizing different methods to endeavor to get the better of the jobs and protect the environment. Environmental protection is deserving contending for as it can assist to cut down wellness jobs, stabl e the economic system and keep a healthy nutrient concatenation rhythm. The undermentioned essay will split into three facets, wellness, economic system and the rhythm of nutrient concatenation and explicate how the current environmental jobs affect these facets. Harmonizing to those three facets, the essay will besides explicate the ground of environmental protection is deserving to contend for. First, environmental job such as air pollution is going an progressively greater hazard to wellness ; therefore environmental protection is needed in order to protect the human wellness. The research from the Clean Air Healthy Communities states that air pollution can be caused by growing of population which may hike the petrochemical smog and auto emanation and impact the air quality ( twelvemonth unknown, cyberspace ) . It is believed that hapless air quality may take to respiratory unwellnesss such as asthma and allergic reactions. Zwillich states that by protecting the environment, the emanation of air pollutants can be reduced, respiratory unwellnesss can besides be decreased at the same clip ( 2009, cyberspace ) . Since protection can cut down the sum of take a breathing pollutants, hence environmental protection is deserving to contend for so as to take down the hazard of holding respiratory unwellnesss. Furthermore, Robins references that hapless air quality in Sydney potenti ally exposes more people to ozone concentrations and leads to wellness job such as skin malignant neoplastic disease ( 2010, 2 ) . Harmonizing to Department of Health and Ageing, Australia has the highest rate of tegument malignant neoplastic disease in the universe. In mundane, there are over 1000 Aussies are suffered from skin malignant neoplastic disease and approximative two in three Australians will be diagnosed with skin malignant neoplastic disease before 70 ( 2008, Internet ) . Since environmental jobs may take to a figure of wellness jobs such as asthma, allergic reactions and even skin malignant neoplastic disease. Therefore, environmental protection is deserving to contend for as it can take down the hazard of holding those diseases and besides help people to keep a healthy life. Furthermore, the jobs in the current environment may besides impact the economic system of the state, therefore environmental protection is importance to contend for with the intent of better brace the economic system. Harmonizing to Gilpin, the accretion of the nursery gases in the ambiance can do planetary clime alteration, hence affect the life environment and even impact the economic system of a state ( 2000 ) . Tourism is one of the major sectors in the state ‘s economic system. It is believed that touristry is closely linked to biodiversity and the attractive force created by the environment. The clime alteration may take to loss of attractive force which means loss of touristry potency and hence affect the economic conditions. Furthermore, clime alteration will increase the opportunity of utmost conditions like hurricanes and typhoons. For illustration, Hurricane Mitch in 1998 was the stronger Atlantic Hurricane ; the powerful hurricane to a great extent affected tourist ry and accordingly besides affects the economic system in Caribbean ( Global Development Research Centre, twelvemonth unknown, cyberspace ) . Furthermore, it is believed that clime alteration may besides impact the agricultural and unrecorded stock production, therefore generate negative impacts to the economic system and environmental protection should be implemented. Wang, Huang & A ; Rozelle province that grain and rice production in China will fall due to the heater conditions. Besides, continued alteration in temperature will diminish the production of farm animal. For illustration, the production of beef is predicted to cut down 9.8 per centum by 2030 ( 2010, Internet ) . Climate alteration may take to loss of attractive force, affect the agricultural sector and these corporate results may impact the state ‘s economic system. Harmonizing to Raicola, environmental protection could decelerate the emanation of nursery gases and finally brace the degree of such gases stay in the ambiance and hence aid to command the clime alteration job ( 2007, cyberspace ) . It is believed that environmental protection is deserving to endeavor to implement in order to better protect the touristry and agricultural sector and accordingly brace the economic system. In add-on, lifting ocean sourness and the frequent fluctuation of conditions will impact the nutrient concatenation rhythm from underside to exceed ; the perturbation of nutrient concatenation may jeopardize the life of animate beings therefore environmental protection should endeavor to set into pattern in order to stabilise the nutrient concatenation rhythm. Increasing ocean sourness due to human emanations of C dioxide could impact the nutrient concatenation. As seas grow more acidic, extra C dioxide from the ambiance is less able to be absorbed. This will endanger the life of animate beings such as shellfish, plankton, corals and besides affect the critical nexus of nutrient concatenation ( Greenbang, 2009, cyberspace ) . In the Arctic, polar bears eat seals, seals eat codfish and codfish eat plankton. Hamilton states that animate beings in the Arctic nutrient concatenation depend on the peculiar clime of the Arctic. If rising temperatures affect one portion of the nutrient conca tenation, the full Marine ecosystem may besides be affected ( 2009, cyberspace ) . It is believed that the perturbation of nutrient concatenation will take to animate beings ‘ extinction, if the current tendency of emanation carries on, all ice dependent animate beings will necessitate to get by with a inexorable hereafter. It is certain that the dual hazard state of affairs, warming and souring oceans will impact the rhythm of nutrient concatenation ; hence the environmental protection is truly deserving to contend for in order to assist to stabilise the rhythm. By protecting the environment, the negative impacts caused by clime alteration could be relieved, it may diminish the hazard of carnal extinction and besides maintain a healthy nutrient concatenation rhythm at the same clip. In decision, recent human activities cause different environmental jobs such as air pollution, planetary heating and clime alteration. It is believed that environmental jobs have deductions on the wellness, economic system, every bit good as the nutrient concatenation rhythm ; therefore environmental protection is deserving to contend for in order to better header with the jobs. In the wellness facet, environmental jobs may take to different diseases like respiratory unwellnesss and skin malignant neoplastic disease ; therefore environmental protection is deserving to contend for so as to take down the hazard of holding those diseases. Furthermore, environmental jobs may besides interrupt the economic system such as affect the touristry sector and the agricultural production. It is certain that environmental protection should endeavor to implement with the purpose of better brace the economic system of the state. Furthermore, clime alteration upset the nutrient concatenation rhythm a nd leads to animal extinction. Therefore, environmental protection is besides deserving to contend for with the intent of maintain the critical nexus of the nutrient concatenation. It is believed that protecting the environment can assist the state to get by with wellness and economic jobs and besides the perturbation of nutrient concatenation, therefore environmental protection is deserving to contend for in order to better trade with these issues.

Great Expectations: A Character-Driven Novel

The novel, Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens is heavily a character-driven novel due to the fact that the sequence of events in the novel are causes and effects of the actions of the characters as well as the interactions between them. The novel mainly depicts the growth and development of an orphan named Pip, who is greatly influenced by the other characters and became a gentleman and a bachelor in the end of the novel through his encounters with the other characters.Pip, as the main character, definitely has a lasting impact on the drive of the novel since his decisions are very instrumental and effective towards the other characters as well as to himself. This phenomenon applies to not only Pip, but to the other characters, especially Estella, Miss Havisham, Joe, and Abel Magwitch. Everything a character does and every encounter between the characters in Great Expectation has an effect on the flow of the plot and situation of the novel. Before the very beginning of the novel, the conflict of the novel is already set in motion.Pip is an orphan at the start of the novel as his parents were long gone and he lives with his sister, Mrs. Joe, and her husband, Joe, the blacksmith. As a result of the two siblings and the older sibling’s husband living together without any parents, the family was relatively poor. Thus, in addition to Mrs. Joe’s strict attitude and the fact that his status is in the lower class, Pip had a rough childhood. The fact that Pip had a childhood full of hardship and is poor sets up for his later decision to become a gentleman through a secret benefactor.When Pip do decides to leave for a new life in London, he upsets Biddy and especially Joe as he recently became an apprentice of his; their life-long friendship falls apart. This is one of the major decisions Pip has to make and it changed the entire course of the plot as the setting of the story shifts from Pip’s first known home in Kent to London since the novel fo llows where Pip goes and the direction of the story changes from Pip’s apprenticeship with Joe in blacksmithing to Pip’s new fortune of a career in a new place.If Pip had not been an orphan or lived with a poor family, the major plot would not have existed as Pip’s transformation to a gentleman is the key. Pip would never have met half the characters of the novel such as his best friend, Herbert, Jaggers, and Wemmick. The novel would be driven into a different direction. Dickens was able to produce a novel that makes sense and that reflects his view of what a â€Å"coming of age† novel would be like by making the main character a poor orphan from the start only to turn him into a wealthy gentleman later and then into a hardworking bachelor.Another beforehand affected character, who has a deep impact towards the novel’s state of conflict, is Miss Havisham as she is the mastermind behind Estella’s cold behavior and wants to get revenge on men just because one man, Compeyson, who is supposed to be her husband, left her on their wedding day before the start of the novel. This one particular major event of Miss Havisham’s life changed her life forever as she was heartbroken and turned into a crazy and vengeful woman.She has ever since lived in the moment when she got the note that her wedding with Compeyson was off as all her clocks stayed at the same time of that moment and she still wears her bridal clothing from back then. The fact that she got rejected by her future husband induced her to hate men in general, to never love them again, and to adopt a child for herself, which happens to be Estella, the long-lost child of Abel Magwitch and Molly. All of this leads to the intimidating duo of Estella and Miss Havisham at Satis House, whom Pip fears and terrorizes him for much of the better first part of the novel.Miss Havisham’s background story sets up for her influence on changing and manipulating the beautif ul Estella’s life as well as Pip’s. Miss Havisham reveals that she has been giving orders to Estella to accomplish her goals for her as Estella is very attractive by acting dispassionate towards her suitors. During Pip’s meetings with Miss Havisham, Pip first thought of the idea of becoming a gentleman and leaving his poor life. When he is informed of a fortune that will due to be his, he thought his secret benefactor was Miss Havisham, so he became confident of her kindness and Estella’s hand in marriage.Miss Havisham drives the plot by giving Pip the idea to leave his first known home away from Joe, Mrs. Joe, and Biddy. In addition, she was thoroughly thought to be the secret benefactor of Pip throughout the novel until Magwitch revealed it was him. Later, Miss Havisham changes her personality and became a totally different person as she regrets the pain she had given Pip and it was assumed she attempted suicide by catching herself on fire, leading Pip to rescue her. This event also influenced Pip to realize that his great expectations are not very significant towards him, but human feelings.Thus, he thanks and prays for Miss Havisham’s well being and made up with Joe and Biddy for leaving them in the first place to be a gentleman. Also, Miss Havisham let Estella go free to do whatever she wants, so she married Drummle. However, she realizes that Drummle is not the man for her and after his death, she meets Pip and finally admits that she now sees that Pip has feelings of love for her. Dickens was once again clever to come up with such a disheartening background story for Miss Havisham that can explain her wild behavior and set up her personality change, which to a great extent affected the lives of Estella and Pip greatly.Another major instance of the plot being greatly influenced include Estella’s background story along with her secret connection to Magwitch and Molly. Estella is also an â€Å"orphan,† but n ot as the same extent to Pip because she was adopted by Miss Havisham and both of her parents were still alive at the start of the novel. Estella’s life changed when there was trouble between her two parents in the past as her mother, Molly, was accused of killing a woman over her real husband, Abel Magwitch, or Estella’s father.Molly was also accused of murdering her daughter, Estella, but she is clearly alive, so that clears up the accusation. Also, Jaggers defended Molly in court by saying she was too weak to strangle another person. Then, the family separated afterwards, which lead the three members of the family to different directions in their lives: Molly became Jagger’s housekeeper, Magwitch became an infamous convict, and Estella was adopted by Miss Havisham. All of these events wouldn’t have happened if Molly was a mentally unstable woman, who thought of murdering someone and had destroyed her own child unbeknownst to her husband.The family†™s past leads them to their new personalities in the novel and were important characters that lead the buildup of the climax of Great Expectations. In conclusion, the novel, Great Expectations, has an outstanding â€Å"Literary Quality† as the course of the novel is greatly affected by the effects of character movement and their involvements with each other. There were many pieces in the novel that has led to an impactful shift towards the novel’s plot and conflict story with each and every character in the novel having some contributions towards it.

Civil War Battle of Chickamauga

Civil War Battle of Chickamauga Dates: September 18-20, 1863 Other Names: None Location: Chickamauga, Georgia Key Individuals Involved in the Battle of Chickamauga: Union: Major General William S. Rosecrans, Major General George H. ThomasConfederate: General Braxton Bragg and Lt. General James Longstreet Outcome: Confederate Victory. 34,624 casualties of which 16,170 were Union soldiers. Overview of the Battle: The Tullahoma Campaign during the American Civil War had been devised by Union Major General William Rosecrans and was carried out between June 24-July 3, 1863. Through his efforts, the Confederates were pushed out of the middle of Tennessee and the Union was able to begin its move against the key city of Chattanooga. After this campaign, Rosecrans moved into position to push the Confederates from Chattanooga. His army consisted of three corps which split up and headed for the city by separate routes. By early September, he had consolidated his scattered troops and actually forced General Braxton Braggs army out of Chattanooga to the South. They were pursued by the Union troops.   General Bragg was set on reoccupying Chattanooga. Therefore, he decided to defeat part of the Union forces outside the city and then move back in. On September 17th and 18th, his army marched north, meeting Union cavalry and mounted infantry armed with Spencer Repeating rifles. On September 19, the main fighting occurred. Braggs men tried unsuccessfully to break through the Union line. Fighting continued on the 20th. However, a mistake happened when Rosecrans was told that a gap had formed in his armys line. When he moved units to fill the gap, he actually created one. Confederate General James Longstreets men were able to exploit the gap and drive about a third of the Union army from the field. Rosecrans was included in the group and Union Major General George H. Thomas took over command.   Thomas consolidated forces on Snodgrass Hill and Horseshoe Ridge. Although the Confederate troops assaulted these forces, the Union line held until nighttime. Thomas was then able to lead his troops from the battle, allowing the Confederates to take Chickamauga. The battle was then set for the Union and Confederate troops in Chattanooga with the North occupying the city and the South occupying the surrounding heights.   Significance of the Battle of Chickamauga: Even though the Confederates won the battle, they did not press their advantage. The Union army had retreated to Chattanooga. Instead of focusing their attacks there, Longstreet was sent to attack Knoxville. Lincoln had time to replace Rosecrans with General Ulysses Grant who brought in reinforcements.    Source: CWSAC Battle Summaries

Pros and Cons of Utlizing a Traditional Grading Scale

Pros and Cons of Utlizing a Traditional Grading Scale The traditional grading scale is archaic with roots extending back to early education. This scale is commonplace in schools as most incorporate the traditional A-F grading scale as the core of student assessment. This scale may also have additional components such as incomplete or pass/fail courses. The following example of a traditional grading scale is what most schools in the United States rely on to evaluate student performance. A 90-100%B 80-89%C 70-79%D 60-69%F 0-59%I IncompleteU UnsatisfactoryN Needs ImprovementS Satisfactory In addition, many schools attach a system of pluses and minuses to extend the traditional grading system to quantify and establish a more tiered traditional grading scale. For example, a 90-93 is an A-, 94-96 is an A, and 97-100 is an A The traditional grading scale has been embraced by many schools across the country. This practice does have many opponents who feel that it is outdated and that there are more beneficial alternatives available. The remainder of this article will highlight some of the pros and cons of utilizing the traditional grading scale. Pros of a Traditional Grading Scale The traditional grading scale is universally recognized. Virtually everyone knows that earning an A is good while earning an F is associated with failure.The traditional grading scale is easy to interpret and understand. The simplistic nature of the system makes it user-friendly for teachers, students, and parents.The traditional grading scale allows for direct comparison from one student to another within a specific class. A student with an 88 in a 7th-grade geography class is performing better than another student with a 62 in the same class. Cons of a Traditional Grading Scale The traditional grading scale is easy to manipulate because it is often subjective in nature. For example, one math teacher may require students to show work, while another may only require answers. Therefore, a student making an A in one teachers class may be making a C in another teachers class even though the quality of the work they are doing is identical. This can make it difficult for schools and decision-makers who are trying to compare students using a traditional grading scale.The traditional grading scale is limited because it does not show what a student is learning or what they should be learning. It provides no explanation for why or how a student ended up with a particular grade. The traditional grading scale leads to hours of subjective grading and fosters a testing culture. While it may be simple for teachers to understand, it takes a lot of time to create and grade the assessments that drive the traditional grading system. Furthermore, it promotes a testing culture b ecause they are simpler to score than other assessment practices typically are.

Criminal Behavior and the Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Criminal Behavior and the Law - Assignment Example Crime is a disgraced act or violation of a public law. Today, the crime rate in almost every country has reached its heights and not a single individual can be fully safe from any specific criminal act. Implementation of crime prevention strategies plays a significant role in reducing the crime rate effectively. The role of criminologists, criminalists, and forensic psychologists is very important in dealing with crimes. In the United States of America, different types of crimes occur which are reported by the Uniform Crime Reporting. Some of the major types of crimes reported by UCR include forcible rapes, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, and vehicle theft. In this paper, the focus will be on white-collar crimes, blue-collar crimes, index-one crimes, and index-two crimes measured by Uniform Crime Reports of the FBI. In the broad context, all criminologists, criminalists, and forensic psychologists work for the same purpose, which is, reduction or prevention of crimes. However, there are big differences in the working of these professionals. Studying all three fields related to the field of criminal justice, it can be said that the professionals of all three fields work together to deal with crimes. Criminologists deal more with the study of criminal behaviors and analysis of different crime prevention techniques as compared than actually participating in crime prevention. They provide proper solutions and assessments to government agencies, law enforcement agencies, correctional systems, and police officials. They also provide academic services in colleges and universities. According to Rothe and Friedrichs (2006), criminology deals with the identification of the causes of crimes and their prevention measures from sociology perspective. The field of criminalists, on the other hand, is related more closely to the field of forensic science. Criminalists

Everyday Use by Alice Walker Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Everyday Use by Alice Walker - Research Paper Example Alice Walker, the author of this story is considered to be a highly acclaimed writer of the contemporary black women lives. Walker reflects upon the Southern life of Black people as a result of white oppression, need for self-respect and for their survival (Hedges & Wendt 25). For Dee the blacks’ world is a more optimistic and Americanized version which compels her to change her name from Dee to Wangero to represent her African identity. There is a twist in the tale when the readers learn that this was not Mama’s intention. She merely wanted her to gain excellent education and keep her away from her younger child Maggie whom she felt would not be able to cope with Dee because of an earlier accident which physically damaged Maggie. As Dee returns home on vacation she brings with her a boyfriend who has a Muslim origin who does not eat pork. His name is Hakim which Mama fails to pronounce well. Dee is fascinated with her home’s interior as well as the outlook as sh e admires the preserving of heritage to Mama’s great surprise because at first she was least inclined towards such minor details. Dee and Maggie are shown contrasting with each other in many ways. While Maggie is shy, Dee is bold and outspoken. Maggie is ashamed of her scars that she got from house fire. Being always at home near Mama, Maggie learnt the worth of African American heritage. ... She wishes to keep the quilt which disturbs Maggie and infuriates Mama (Whitsitt 445). However when Maggie insists that Dee keep the quilt Mama takes it away from her and returns it to Maggie. For Dee this is the most conservative outlook towards life and this can be understood when she says: â€Å"â€Å"But they're priceless!" she was saying now, furiously; for she has a temper. "Maggie would put them on the bed and in five years they'd be in rags. Less than that!†Ã¢â‚¬  (Walker 2009) For Mama this is altogether a strange experience seeing Dee talk about heritage and family values the way she does now. She strongly regrets sending Dee away for education because she believes it has shattered the family ties. She is much satisfied to keep Maggie at home because she has at least received the traditional upbringing with black community’s values deep ingrained. The quilt is a controversial figure in the story because its very existence is considered to be literal by many critics while Walker might have a different purpose in mind. She may be drawing an analogy between storytelling and quilting. â€Å"Quilt is a trope whose analogue (the quilt itself) provides the stitch that untropes the trope; it is a trope stitched to a reality...† (Whitsitt 447). The tightness of the stitching is indicative of the fact that the community or an individual is strongly and tightly knitted. Walker explores the â€Å"limits of art and the authentic† as she narrates the relationship between Mama, Maggie and Dee. According to critics, Dee is not only narrated out of the story but also from the sisterhood which is observed between Mama and Maggie. This, however, shuts the other possibility of keeping Dee in play. There is a sense of longing at the beginning of the story which reminds the

My Perception of John Keats Ode to a Nightingale Essay

My Perception of John Keats Ode to a Nightingale - Essay Example To my mind, this poem is an interlacement of themes, symbols, and mysterious images accompanied by perfect verse forms. My goal in this paper is to express my perception of the poem in terms of its themes and symbolism. Thematically, â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale† explores a few directions. First of all, there is the author’s changing reality. To be more precise, real world somehow turns into the world of fantasy. Sometimes the divide is so slight in the poem that it is hard to pinpoint which reality the speaker is in. On a closer look, however, it becomes clear that by the fourth stanza the speaker has already united with the nightingale in a fantasy world which is lush, as well as dark. In particular, having heard the song of the nightingale, the author wishes to taste fine French wine in order to experience such condition of mind that will provide him with enjoyment of the nightingale: â€Å"that I might drink, and leave the world unseen, And with thee fade away into t he forest dim† ( Keats, â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale†, lines 19-20). Still, it crosses the poet’s mind that wine is not necessary to be with the bird, so he uses his metaphorical wings of poetry to escape to the forest. Away! away! for I will fly to thee, Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards, But on the viewless wings of Poesy, Though the dull brain perplexes and retards: Already with thee! tender is the night (Keats, â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale†, lines 36, 37). Next, in this changing realities context, the author is taken close to death experience in his mysterious journey. Yet, the bird flies away and this seems to breaks the spell. Throughout the poem, one may feel the author’s changed mental state, which he says is rooted in his natural condition rather than intoxication by some drug or alcohol. Furthermore, the theme of happiness/unhappiness is evident in the poem. Specifically, we get to know that the speaker feels extremely unhappy about his l ife burden placed on him by his age and time. He even expresses his hatred at the very thought that young and handsome people of the Romantic Movement will once become old and disabled. However, the author claims that what he feels is happiness for the singing nightingale, which makes his heart ache: 'Tis not through envy of thy happy lot, But being too happy in thine happiness, That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees, In some melodious plot Of beechen green, and shadows numberless, Singest of summer in full-throated ease. (Keats, â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale†, lines 5-10). Another theme to reflect upon is the relationship between the man and Mother Nature. The author feels admiration for a tiny bird that represents Nature – everlasting and self-renewing. In particular, the nightingale is perceived as an embodiment of nature which is able to restore its natural cycles of both life and death, and thus stays immortal. Indeed, it seems the author’s perception of N ature is rather mysterious and even magical. So he grants some magical powers to the subject of his admiration. In particular, the nightingale singing on a tree is compared to a â€Å"dryad†, which is a spirit of the forest. To add, Nature leaves the speaker’s imagination spellbound and this thought is developed further in the poem. To illustrate, O for a draught of vintage! that hath been Cool'd a long age in the deep-delved earth, Tasting of Flora and the country-green (†¦) (Keats, â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale†, line 13) Symbolically, the image of nightingale is quite

EU Instruments for Pre-Accession Assistance

EU Instruments for Pre-Accession Assistance Regional Development INTRODUCTION Cohesion Policy of the European Union aims to reduce economic and social differences between the Member States of the Union by supporting and encouraging regional development. The Treaty of Rome and the Single European Act promote decreasing differences in the regional development while regional policy provides investments for necessary restructuring in the less developed regions and support for infrastructure development, increase of employment, and stimulation of industry. To finance projects that contribute to the regional development cohesion and structural funds are used, which account for a third of the common budget of the European Union (Chalmers Dellmuth, 2014). The key objectives of regional development are regional competitiveness and employment, and european territorial cooperation (European Commission). The effort are focused on facilitating increased growth and convergence of the least developed member states and regions with the goal of increasing the regional competitiveness and thus improving cooperation with other European regions. In order to promote regional development, the European Union has secured additional financial assistance for member states through various funds. Cohesion Fund is intended for countries which need to meet the convergence criteria. The European Regional Development Fund, as one of the main financial instruments of the EUs cohesion policy, and European Social Fund, Europes main tool for promoting employment and social inclusion, are called structural funds and are aimed at strengthening economic and social cohesion in the European Union and at the reduction of differences in development between the regions. Kyriacou and Rocca-Sagales (2011) found that the Structural Funds reduced regional disparities in the period from 1995 to 2006. Beugelsdijk and Eijffinger (2005) and Ederveen (2006) also confirmed positive impact of structural funds on consumption and growth of GDP per capita, but only in countries with developed institutions. Effect of the use of structural funds to decrease regional differences is potentially reversed if transfers are above a certain limit (about 1.6% of gross domestic product). This has implications on the desirable allocation of resources in future, especially since, in the last programming period (2007-20113), transmissions to all new member states except Cyprus and Malta exceeded the given threshold. Popa (2012) points out that although there are examples of good practice of the use of EU funds, they often represent more a financial burden then they truly serve as a mean of reducing regional disparities, which is their goal. Reforms of funding in the new programming period 2014-2020 have the potential to improve the efficiency of the use of the funds, but significant effects of their use cannot be expected in the absence of structural reforms, given the constraints in monitoring the use of funds in different countries and the difficulties in establishing irregularities and potential illegal use of funds (Chalmers Dellmuth, 2014). Most authors agree that after 20 years of implementation of the EU Cohesion Policy its effectiveness remains questionable (Bachtler et al., 2015). In fact, in theory, the allocation of EU funds needs to be designed so to ensure that the poorer regions receive more funds. In practice, the allocation and the distribution of funds was under the influence of lobbying, the unwillingness of regional authorities to absorb funds, as well as of the lack of resources and incentives for the European Union to question the political motives for the selection of projects at the local level (Dellmuth Stoffel, 2012). 1. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUNDING European Regional Policy was adopted by the European Commission in 1965, followed by the creation of the Directorate-General for Regional Policy in 1968. In 1972, Regional Policy was recognized as an essential factor in strengthening the Community (European Commission).Regional policy has focused from its very start on promoting balanced regional development. The resources from the cohesion and structural funds are to be used primarily to minimize the differences in development between regions of the European Union as well as differences in the standard of living of citizens of these regions. Among the main objectives of the regional policy in the programming period from 2000 to 2006 were the development and structural adjustment of those regions whose GDP per capita was lower than 75% of the EU average, the economic and social conversion of areas facing structural difficulties and adjustment and modernization of the national policies and educational systems, as well as training and employment. For the financing of the regional development policy the European Commission established the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), whose objective is the elimination of regional disparities and promotion of a stable and sustainable development, the European Social Fund (ESF), aimed at developing human resources and employment, financial instrument for Fisheries guidance (Financial instrument for Fisheries guidance FIFG), whose goal is a balanced water resources management and development of the competitive infrastructure, and European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), whose goal is to support the Common agricultural policy and the improvement of agricultural structures and rural development. From 2007 to 2013, the number of funds was reduced to three (ERDF, ESF and the Cohesion Fund), and the emphasis was placed on the less developed regions, to achieve greater growth and higher employment rate. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) aims to strengthen economic and social cohesion in the European Union. European Social Fund (ESF) aims to increase employment and increase opportunities for finding a job in the European Union. The Cohesion Fund is intended for Member States whose gross national product per capita is less than 90% of the Unions and aims to support economic and social development, and helps to bring stability to the economic system of the less developed countries. Given that the three main objectives of EU regional policy are convergence, regional competitiveness and employment and European territorial cooperation, Cohesion Fund primarily supports convergence and, although it is the subject to the same rules of programming, management and monitoring as well as the structural funds and plays a similar role, the Fund has been primarily used to provide means for adjusting the national economies of the countries which had decided to introduce a common currency, and to relieve national budgets of the poorer member states. Investments in the areas of transport, environmental protection, achieving energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources are usually financed from the Cohesion Fund. For example, through the four national programs for Croatia, 10.74 billion Euro from the European structural and investment funds has been allocated in the period from 2014 to 2020. Croatia has a total budget of 12.67 billion Euro for investments into research and innovation, employment, education and training of employees, as well as for social inclusion projects, project in the public administration and civil society, as well as infrastructure projects and projects related to the protection of the environment Protection (http: / /ec.europa.eu, 2016). The management of the Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund is based on the principles of programming, concentration, co-financing and partnership. Programming is the process of allocation of structural funds in accordance with the defined objectives and criteria over a certain period of time. Concentration involves directing funds to where they are most needed. Co-financing means that part of the investment has to be obtained from domestic sources, while partnership implies close cooperation between Member States and the European Commission. Since the implementation of the Cohesion policy requires developed institutional framework, each state chooses one of three approaches for the implementation of the Cohesion policy differential approach, which is characterized by the separating the structures for the implementation of cohesion policy from the regular government bodies (for example, The Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom), the unique approach, whereby the funds are directed through the national, or regional ministries and agencies (for example Austria, Spain, parts of Germany and most new Member States) and the combined approach, which represents a combination of the previous two approaches (for example Finland, France and Italy). The choice depends on the existing administrative arrangements and levels of funding. 2. INSTRUMENT FOR PRE-ACCESSION ASSISTANCE Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance ( IPA) is the program for the countries which are in the process of accession to the Union. Pre-accession funds are intended to facilitate the economic and social transformation, which are included in the conditions for the admission to the Union. From 2000 to 2006, countries in the process of accession to the EU had access to financial instruments called PHARE (Pologne et Hongrie Aide à ¡ Restructuration Economique), ISPA (Instrument for Structural Policies for pre-Accession), SAPARD (Special pre-accession assistance for Agriculture and Rural Development), and CARDS (Community assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation). From 2007 to 2013 total IPA budget amounted to 11.468 billion Euro (narr.gov.rs). Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance consists of five components (narr.gov.rs): Transition Assistance and Institution Building. The first component of the IPA aims to provide support in the process of accession to the European Union, especially in meeting the criteria and standards imposed by the accession, transposition of the legislation and, in particular, the strengthening of the institutional capacity. Cross-border cooperation. The objective of this component is to promote good neighborly relations and regional cooperation between traditionally less developed regions in the countries which engage in the joint cross border projects; Regional Development. The third IPA component aims to improve economic and social cohesion through the development of the transport infrastructure, particularly the development of national transport networks and trans-European networks, protection of the environment including policies such as waste management, management of water supply and waste water, as well as the monitoring of air quality, the rehabilitation of polluted areas, achievement of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, and the development of regional competitiveness by fostering entrepreneurship and employment. The development of human resources. This component aims to contribute to economic and social cohesion and to achieving the priorities of the European Employment Strategy in the areas of employment, education, training and social inclusion. Rural Development. This component provides support for sustainable agricultural and rural development by improving market efficiency and facilitating the adoption of the EU standards, provides support for the establishment of producer groups and investments in the processing and marketing of agricultural and fishery products, as well as the implementation of best practices in the field of environmental protection and improvement in agriculture and development of rural infrastructure. All five components of IPA can be used by the country with the status of candidate country and which has implemented decentralized system of management of EU funds (Decentralized Implementation System DIS), while the potential candidate countries and those candidate countries which have not yet accredited DIS have access to funds from the first and second components of IPA (narr.gov.rs). Management of EU funds under Decentralized Implementation System is approved after meeting criteria and conditions defined by the European Commission. The first component of the Instrument for Pre-accession assistance is related to the transition assistance and the development of institutions, and it decreases as the countrys economy develops and gets closer to the European standards, practices and the membership of the Union. The second component of the IPA is related to Cross-Border Cooperation. Third IPA Component is a predecessor of the Cohesion Fund, while the fourth and fifth IPA components are precursors of the todays structural funds. IPA funds are not used exclusively for the implementation of institutional projects, but are also used for the preparation of the country for the accession through the implementation of prescribed objectives, principles. IPA beneficiary countries are divided into two categories (ec.europa.eu): Candidate countries for EU (Turkey, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) are eligible for all five components of IPA; Potential candidate countries in the Western Balkans (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo under UN Security Council Resolution 1244/99) are eligible only for the first two components. Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance IPA II 2014-2020 was established by the European Parliament and the Council Regulation no. 231/2014 of 11 March 2014 and applied retroactively from January 1, 2014. IPA II is the successor of the IPA for the period 2014-2020 and has a budget of 11.7 billion. Users of IPA II are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey (http://ec.europa.eu). IPA II Regulation determines that the European Commission and the beneficiary of IPA II are to conclude general agreements on the implementation of the aid, which defines the rules for the implementation of the Unions financial assistance under the IPA II, primarily in relation to the management of IPA II, including the rules of programming, implementation, financial management, monitoring, control and audit, reporting and protection of financial interests. One of the major changes in the structure of the IPA II, which, instead of the 5 components comprising the IPA I, is the introduction of the policy areas. Policy areas within the IPA II are (PejoviĆ¡ et al., 2014): Reforms as part of preparations for EU membership and institutional and capacity building; Socio-economic and regional development; Employment, social policy, education, promotion of gender equality and human resource development; Agriculture and rural development; Regional and territorial cooperation. The most important innovation in the IPA II is its strategic focus. Each country should prepare a specific strategic planning document for the period of 7 years, which will enable faster integration, reform and development programs, and ensures a focus on the priorities in terms of regional cooperation. IPA II aims to facilitate the reforms in the context of pre-defined sectors. These sectors include areas closely related to the enlargement strategy, as well as democracy and governance, the rule of law, growth and competitiveness. This approach promotes structural reforms that are expected to help the governments to transform the given sectors and to successfully conduct harmonization with EU standards. In this way, the European Commission wishes to ensure the efficiency of the fund, sustainability and their focus on results. IPA II focuses on measuring the effects and monitoring the realization of expected results. IPA II aims at achieve four specific objectives. The overall objective is to support the beneficiary countries in adopting and implementing the political, institutional, legal, administrative, social and economic reforms that are required from them in order to conform with the values of the European Union and to ensure gradual alignment with the rules, standards, policies and practices for achieving full membership in the EU. The specific objectives of IPA II are (PejoviĆ¡ et al., 2014): Support for political reform: strengthening democracy and the rule of law, including an independent and efficient judiciary; promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for the rights of minorities, including LGBT people, promoting gender equality, prohibition of discrimination and fostering tolerance, and freedom of the media and cultural diversity; regional cooperation and good neighborly relations; the promotion of reconciliation and confidence building measures; the fight against corruption and organized crime; strengthening public administration and good governance at all levels; capacity building measures to improve law enforcement, border management and implementation of migration policies; the development of civil society; improving social dialogue and strengthening the capacity of the social partners. Support the economic, social and territorial development with focus on smart, sustainable and inclusive growth: reaching the EU standards in the economy, including a functioning market economy and fiscal and economic governance. Economic reforms are necessary in order to face competitive pressure and market forces within the EU, and which at the same time contribute to the achievement of objectives in the field of social rights and environmental protection; promotion of employment, mobility of workers and the development of human capital; improving social and economic inclusion, in particular of minorities and vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities, refugees and displaced persons; fostering an inclusive and integrated education system and the protection and restoration of cultural heritage; development of physical capital, including infrastructure improvements and connecting with the networks of the EU and the region; strengthening research, technological development a nd innovation capacity. Strengthening the capacity of recipient countries at all levels to fulfill the obligations arising from the membership in the EU by supporting progressive alignment with the EU acquis and their adoption and implementation, including preparation for managing structural and cohesion funds as well as funds intended for agriculture and rural development. Strengthening of regional and territorial cooperation to help beneficiary countries. 3. EFFECTS OF FINANCING During the programming period 2007- 2013, over 80% of the budget of the Cohesion Fund was allocated in the 100 poorest regions, with about 170 million people or one third of the EU population. The remaining 18.5% of the money is distributed to other regions in the Union (http://www.euractiv.com, 2012). According to the European Commission, in the next programming period 2014-2020 less than 70 regions will automatically qualify for the funds that are used to finance the convergence, as they have GDP per capita below 75% of the EU average. Regions in transition those who have a GDP per capita between 75% and 90% of the EU average will get less funds, but still can count on continued support from the Structural Funds (http://www.euractiv.com, 2012 ).   Ã‚   Figure 1: Regions by the development level in the programming periods 2007-2013 and 2014-2020. Source: Chalmers Dellmuth, 2014 In the 2014-2020 programming period it is expected that 25% of structural funds will be allocated in less developed regions (red in Figure 1), 40% in regions in transition (yellow in Figure 1), and 52% in the developed regions (blue in Figure 1. ). As for the Cohesion Fund, the funds from it will continue to support the development of member countries with GDP per capita of less than 90% of the EU-27 average, but will primarily be allocated to support investments in projects related to environmental protection and the development of transport. Part of the funds from the Cohesion Fund will focus on the financing of transport networks in Europe. Given that the capacity to absorb depends on the institutional factors, both in the EU and in the Member States (Georgescu, 2010; Voinea, et al, 2010), but also on the ability of regional authorities to co-finance projects and provide administrative support (Zaman and Georgescu, 2009), the possible effects of the use of structural funds are difficult to predict. According to the research, structural funds can boost GDP growth in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe from 0.1. to 0.7% per annum (Zaman Georgescu, 2009). Analyses of the effects of the use of the funds in the programming period 2000-2006 show that there has been some reduction in the differences between countries in GDP per capita, while in some regions growth was recorded. Zaman and Georgescu (2009) found that the structural funds boost export growth, and that in some cases, like in Romania, they led to economic growth, despite relatively low absorption capacity. Positive impact was also made in Austria, Belgium and France. However, according to Becker (2012), countries with low levels of education, weak institutions and poor governance did not make equally successful use of the funds. Thus, receiving more support from the Structural Funds does not necessarily mean development. For example, Pisani-Ferry et al (2011) found that inadequate institutional framework in Greece to be a reason for the inability of its government to efficiently use the funds assigned to it. CONCLUSION Theoretically, objectives of the regional policy of the European Union necessitate the existence of the financial support for the less developed regions to achieve the desired growth. However, in practice, during the distribution and the use of the funds many problems were encountered. Access to funds for underdeveloped regions did not lead to the desired growth, primarily because of the inability of the governments to use the allocated funds due to weakness of the institutions and low capacity. In more developed regions, the effects of the funds were much more significant. Changes in the programming period 2014-2020 are expected to solve part of the problems identified in the previous periods. However, declining return on invested funds and high dependence of a large number of the regions from external funding sources continue to threaten the achievement of the basic objectives that these funds are meant to support. Although raw data show that the Structural Funds have not always been successful in fighting the problems at all levels and in all countries. However, as many people are still unemployed in the EU, and there are full member countries whose GDP is still well below the EU average, the Structural Funds are necessary. The same goes for the Cohesion Fund, as it ensures faster accession of the candidate countries. These funds were designed to reduce the inequalities in the regional developments, and although they might not have been efficient in all cases, they certainly supported the growth in some regions, provide incentives for other regions to improve their capacity to access the funds and accelerate the growth. REFERENCES   Ã‚   Bachtler, J., Begg, I., Charles, D., Polverari, L. (2015) THE LONG TERM ACHIEVEMENTS OF EU COHESION POLICY, 1989-2012. Challanges for he new cohesion policy 2014-2020. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union Becker, S.O.(2012) EU Structural Funds: Do They Generate More Growth? dostupno na: https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/public/Research/International%20Economics/1212bp_becker.pdf Beugelsdijk, M., Eijffinger, S. (2005), The Effectiveness of Structural Policy in the European Union: an Empirical Analysis for the EU-15 in 1995-2001, Journal of Common Market Studies 43: 37-51. Chalmers, A.W., Dellmuth, L.M. (2014). Whz Europes new cohesion policy is unlikely to enhance effectiveness of EU structural and investments funds. Dostupno na: http://councilforeuropeanstudies.org/critcom/why-europes-new-cohesion-policy-is-unlikely-to-enhance-the-effectiveness-of-eu-structural-and-investment-funds/ Dellmuth, L.M., Stoffel, M.F. (2012) Distrinutive Politics and intergovernmental transfers: the local allocation of European Union Structural Funds. European Union Politics, 13 (3): 413-433 ec.europa.eu, dostupno na: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/ipa/ preuzeto 3.3.2016. Ederveen, S., de Groot, H. , Nahuis, R. (2006) Fertile Soil for Structural Funds? A Panel Data Analysis of the Conditional Effectiveness of European Cohesion Policy, Kyklos 59: 17-42. European Commission (2012), EU Cohesion Funding Key Statistics, http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/thefunds/funding/index_en.cfm European Commission, http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/archive/policy/object/index_en.htm Georgescu, G. (2010). Determinants of increasing EU funds absorption capacity in Romania, Oeconomica Universitatea 1 Decembrie 1918 Alba Iulia (2010) : 16. http://ec.europa.eu, 2016, dostupno na: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/information/publications/factsheets/2016/european-structural-and-investment-funds-country-factsheet-croatia http://ec.europa.eu, dostupno na: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/instruments/overview/index_en.htm, preuzeto 3.3.2016. KPMG (2014). PUBLIC SECTOR EU Funds in Central and Eastern Europe Progress Report 2007-2013. dostupno na: https://www.kpmg.com/SI/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/EU-Funds-in-Central-and-Eastern-Europe.pdf Kyriacou, P.A., Rocca-Sagales, O. (2011) The Impact of EU Structural Funds on Regional Disparities within Member States. Environmental Planning C Government and Policy April 2012 vol. 30 no. 2.267-281. Liargovas, P., Petropoulos, S., Tzifakis, N., Huliaras, A. (2016) BEYOND ABSORPTION THE IMPACT OF EU STRUCTURAL FUNDS ON GREECE. Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Greece narr.gov.rs, dostupno na: http://narr.gov.rs/index.php/O-regionalnom-razvoju/EU-politika-regionalnog-razvoja/Instrument-za-predpristupnu-pomoc-IPA, preuzeto 3.3.2016. PejoviĆ¡, A., LazoviĆ¡, M., MiriĆ¡, O., KneÃ…Â ¾eviĆ¡, I. (2014) VodiĆ¡ kroz IPA, Beograd. Pisani-Ferry, J., Marzinotto, B. , Wolff, G. B. (2011), How European Funds can Help Greece Grow, Financial Times, 28 July. Popa, A. (2012). The Impact of the Structural Funds in the Transformation Process of the New EU Member States, LEurope en Formation 2012/2 (n ° 364), p. 161-179. Voinea, L.A., Busuioc, A., Popovici, V. (2010). Reindustrializarea Romaniei: politici si strategii.Asociatia pentru Studii si Prognoze Economico-Sociale, 113. Zaman, G. and Cristea, A., (2011) EU Structural Funds Absorption in Romania: Obstacles and Issues, 2011, Romanian Journal of Economy, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 60-77. Zaman, G., Georgescu,G. (2009) Structural fund adsorption: a new challenge for Romania? 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Natalie Goldberg’s Long Quiet Highway: Waking Up in America Essay

Natalie Goldberg’s Long Quiet Highway: Waking Up in America â€Å"I don’t think fate is a creature, or a lady, like some people say. It’s a tide of events sweeping us along. But I’m not a Fatalist, because I believe you can swim against it, and sometimes grasp the hands of the clock face and steal a few precious minutes. If you don’t you’re just cartwheeled along. Before you know it, the magic opportunity is lost, and for the rest of your life it lingers on in that part of your mind which dreams the very best dreams—taunting and tantalizing you with what might have been.† (from the film Flirting, 1990) â€Å"Every moment is enormous, and it is all we have† (Goldberg xii). Natalie Goldberg offers her readers the opportunity to recognize the delicate nature of life and the importance of slowing down one’s life. In her autobiography, Long Quiet Highway: Waking Up in America, she invites readers to journey along her path to awakening in an effort as an author to â€Å"pass on her breath† (22). By capturing her message and holding it close to one’s heart, the reader grasps the essence of Goldberg’s message. It becomes clear that awakening can take on many forms and can be reached by different roads, but it is all centered on one goal: to go within oneself and find inner peace and understanding. Through her exploration of America, teaching, spirituality, impermanence, and writing, and through her writing style and language, Goldberg sends her readers along their own long, quiet highway. The main point one might gather from Goldberg’s discussion of America is that Americans need to slow down all aspects of their lives, need to take the small components of life and make them significant. Goldberg sees an impatience in Ame... ...er to her affectionately as simply Natalie. In fact, it seems strange to refer to her as merely the author of a narrative—she has most assuredly transmitted her being through her writing, most definitely made a connection. There are few times when she outwardly addresses the reader, so when she does, she calls attention to the importance of the event she is describing. â€Å"Understand,† she implores, causing the reader to sense the urgency and the great impact of what she is describing. When she describes Rinpoche as â€Å"fluid energy† (87), she wants readers to know this was really how she experienced him. Hers was a vital discovery, one of experiencing people. Natalie reaches readers. She cannot be disconnected from her work because hers is the breath we capture. Works Cited Goldberg, Natalie. Long Quiet Highway: Waking Up in America. New York: Bantam Books, 1993.