Recount Starter Essay

I woke this morning just like every morning sprawled out on my old mattress on the floor. As I began to wake to what seemed like an ordinary hot summer day. As I was getting changed there was a loud urgent bang on the door of the little tin hut at the edge of the lake I called home. This was unusual as I live alone and don’t usually get any visitors apart from the odd lost hiker. I finished getting changed and opened to door to meet them. â€Å"Please I need your help!† a distressed teenager pleaded â€Å"My boyfriend and I were camping down the track and he’s missing!, there’s blood everywhere I, I just ran and ran and found a little track which lead me here†. Realising the extent of the situation I lead her inside and told her to tell me exactly what she remembered. The distressed girl said her name was Katie and that she and her boyfriend had come up to the mountains from the city for the weekend. â€Å"We set up camp yesterday and collected enough fire wood for a small fire to keep the mountain lions away†; â€Å"Did you notice anything strange whilst collecting the firewood?† I asked. Her blank facial expression showed that she was deep in thought, â€Å"I did come across a dead deer with its head decapitated, but what was strange is that it was still warm, I didn’t tell Blake as I didn’t want to freak him out, this was his first time camping† The girl sobbed as she began to cry. â€Å"It’s okay† I said, â€Å"you can stay here a while then we will drive up to your campsite if that is okay with you?†, â€Å"What if whatever took him is still around?† She wept â€Å"I have a rifle and a hunting dog whatever it was wouldn’t stand a chance† I said reassuringly. â€Å"Okay† she spluttered, clearly not wanting to go back there.

Halfway House Essay

The crisis of identity and breakdown of communication in human relations and resultant tragic effect of boredom and despair constitute the theme of Rakesh’s play, Aadhe Adhure, which is by far is best play, devastatingly exposing the fragmented personalities and broken images in a disintegrated society. †Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬â€ N. Choudhuri, (Hindi Drama, Contemporary Indian Literature) Mohan Rakesh’s  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Halfway House†Ã‚  can be viewed as an exploration of meaning and identity in the turmoil of changing social and familial structures. Although the play seeks to construct the search for identity within the unfulfilling, incomplete nature of bourgeois existence as a universal non-gendered experience along Existential lines as its primary concern, it eventually deals with many questions on a broader socio-economic context on Realist lines. In the Prologue itself, the theme of exploration of identity is introduced, when ‘the Man in a Black Suit’ exclaims,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Who am I? †Ã‚  Immediately the declaration takes an Existential tangent as the fruitlessness of such a search for meaning is asserted with the speaker claiming,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"This is a question I have given up trying to face.   He establishes the absurdity of identity by calling himself  Ã¢â‚¬Å"amorphous†Ã‚  and  Ã¢â‚¬Å"undefined†, as someone who like all of us puts on a new mask and gives a new meaning to himself for different occasions –  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The fact is that there is something of me in each one of you and that is why, whether on or off stage, I have no separate identity. †He then asserts that no matter what the circumstance, what the situation and the gender, man’s search for identity and meaning in life would always remain an absurd, indescribable, undefined and irrational oddity. Even the characters of the play are seen to engage in a constant search of meaning and identity in life. In his essay,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Uncertain circumstances, Undefined Individuals: A study of Halfway House†, S. G. Bhanegaonkar points out that modern psychology does not regard escapism as a symbol of weakness but as a sensitive individual’s desire to search for meaning which he does not find in the conditions he is placed in; and hence, the characters of ‘Halfway House’  can too be seen as being in a relentless quest for identity that transcends the turmoil of their fragmented existence. It is in sync with R. L. Nigam’s theory, of the main characters of play being involved in a  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœself-made’  phenomenon of  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœthe soul’s search for an alternate sanctuary’  in the absence of the sanctuary of home which‘stood for a source of solace and moral stay to the individual in moments of crises. ’ The search for identity and meaning in Halfway House is best articulated through the character of Savitri who seeks fulfilment and reason in marital bliss – â€Å"Why does one get married? In order to fulfil a need†¦. an inner†¦. oid, if you like; to be self sufficient†¦. complete. †Ã‚  Since her own husbands fails to fulfil this inner emptiness, Savitri seeks marital happiness beyond conjugal relations in men who possess the qualities she had always aspired for in Mahendranath. Dilip Kumar Basu observes,â€Å"The desire to look for â€Å"completeness† in the â€Å"other† may look like Everyman’s essential and unreasolvable problem, and may vaguely place her in the centre of an Absurdist drama where the search may be considered tragic/ridiculous.   Although the concept of Savitri seeking meaning in life being defined in terms of her relations with men seems problematic in itself, the play tries to trick us into the generalisation that this is nothing but an existentialist quest for meaning in life. She is reported to be overwhelmed by Juneja’s power, affluence and sense of reason. Shivjeet’s intellectual prowess, his university degree and numerous trips abroad enamoured her. Jagmohan’s understanding nature, sense of humour, modernism, elite lifestyle and masculine pride held immense appeal for her. She was supposed to be attracted to her now son-in-law, Manoj too, as his influential status had charmed her sufficiently. Savitri moves from one man to another in search of the perfect partner. The play tries to portray this search as an illusion, an Absurdist attempt by denying Savitri the happiness she is looking for and making her realise that all men are the same and they all of them as in Kirti Jain’s wordsâ€Å"want to evade responsibility and to exploit her. † Mahendranath is shown to search for a new identity and reason behind his existence through his relationship with Juneja. The economic crisis and his losing the identity of being the bread-earner of the family had altered his position in the house into a non-entity and affected his mind and heart adversely  Ã¢â‚¬Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. silent acceptance, perpetual snubs, constant insults, is all that I deserve after so many years. †Ã‚  He greatly resents his loss of control and influence in the family and is immensely unhappy to be regarded  Ã¢â‚¬Å"only as a stamp of respectability to be used only when the need arises. † Under such circumstances of changed power equations, Mahendranath earches for meaning in new relations build on a sense of understanding and mutual respect, as is the case with Juneja. From Savitri’s perpetual insults and accusations and its subsequent repercussions in giving him an inferiority complex, Juneja’s friendship offered Mahendranath the alternate sanctuary of solace and comfort in the midst of an emotional and economic crisis within the family. He began to define himself in terms of his non-utility and unsuccessfulness, and thereby sought solace in temporary acts of rebellion involving leaving the house and seeking meaning and mental peace in his companionship with Juneja. Moreover due to his own lack of conviction and inability to take independent decisions, Mahendranath looked for identity assertion through psychological dependence on others and in the early years of his marriage through a patriarchal control and restriction of Savitri’s autonomy. The fact that Mahendranath finally returns in the end using his own judgement, abandoning Juneja’s advice, establishes the futility of his search and once again, reiterates the Absurdist stance the play tries to partially incorporate. Ashok and Kinni explore the dynamics of identity on their own in their own world so as to escape from the fearful existence of their wrangling parents. Ashok searches for his identity in an amorphous world, detached from reality and need, in the realm of idleness, impulsivity and romance. For no apparent reason at all, he quits his job at Air Freeze and instead spends his time either in lazing around uselessly or in courting a girl working in the Udyog Centre. The everyday animosity between his parents distorts his sense of ‘home’ and thereby he looks for meaning and identity in an alternate world free of the pressure of shouldering family responsibility and of the tensions within the family. Even the talk he has with Binni about the  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœair’  in the house echoes these sentiments about the search for meaning. The youngest character Kinni on the other hand, searches for an identity through her emerging adolescent sexuality and awareness of this sexuality, in the absence of a secure support mechanism at home, both economically and emotionally. Given the emotional instability in her house and the complete negligence with which she was treated, Kinni sought to define herself in terms of her rebelliousness, growing sexual knowledge, stubbornness, ill-mannerisms and arrogance. In the last scene, Kinni trying to get out when the door is locked from inside and others trying to get in when she locks it from inside is again symbolic of a futile quest for identity and meaning in life, for even her defiance and obstinacy fails to make things any different for the little girl. Binny too is shown to be in a relentless and shifting quest for a sanctuary, an identity. She elopes with Manoj not in an impulse of love and romantic urge but in search of an abode away from home where she presumed she would find peace and protection. But however, when she experiences her husband’s strict conservatism and fails to find any meaning   in Manoj’s restrictive control within their conjugal relation, she looks for answers in a sense of defiance –  Ã¢â‚¬Å"He likes my hair long, so I want to cut it. He doesn’t like me to work, so I want a job. †Ã‚  But this again proves futile as she realises she is unable to execute her rebellious tendencies against the sub-ordination by her husband. Ultimately, she just returns to her maternal home in search for that mysteriousâ€Å"something†Ã‚  in their house that is the  Ã¢â‚¬Å"cause of all her trouble†Ã‚  and that which refuses to desert her. However, Binni is never shown to exactly unravel this mystery  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœcause’  thereby manifesting the absurdity of the entire process of finding meaning in life. However, when their search for meaning in life and the subsequent despair and suffering is regarded only along existential lines, it thus forecloses the possibility of ever addressing the cause of the dilemma. All the characters’ quest for an identity beyond the home, the search for an alternate sanctuary besides being analysed as a technique of Absurdist Theatre can also be seen in terms of the alienation that comes with urbanization, the breakdown of joint family and the new emerging power-plays and conflicts within the nuclear family with no viable support system outside. The fact that Savitri never explores the arena of identity as an independent individual woman, a single working woman; but instead always defines herself in terms of fulfilment in her various relations with different men raises important questions about the status of women as an autonomous individual in society. To quote R. L. Nigam,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The one solution which could have lead to joy and fulfilment, and was available to her all the time, would need for its success, a regenerated society in whose value-system personal fulfilment and interpersonal responsibilities have been harmonised. In the present social scenario, that solution would not work. † Morever, Mahendranath and Savitri not finding meaning in their relationship can also be seen as the virtual breakdown of marriage as an institution. In our fast-changing society and in the face of belated individualism of its members, the values and regards on which family and marriage have so far rested are fast losing their meaning and significance. Assertion of personal rights and freedoms within a group-unit (family) which necessarily involves inter-personal adjustments produces a situation of crisis because there are no principles to guide these adjustments, which necessarily involves inter-personal adjustments produces a situation of crisis because there are no principles to guide these adjustments which, in present context cannot be thought of in terms of surrender of one or the other party. All relations in the family need to be redefined with new structures of familial division of labour and the rise of the working women. As O. P. Sharma Prakash puts it,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Halfway House is the crisis of dignity of the individual. Modern man demands individual dignity as well as honour of is choice†¦.. It represents the modern sensibility in all its intensity, form and dimensions. †Ã‚  The fact that Manoj blames  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœsomething’  in Binni’s maternal house as the cause of all trouble and then prevents her from working establishes that the‘something’  is in reference to her mother’s promiscuity which leads him to infer that letting women out of the house would always come with the threat of her infidelity. Moreover, Mohan Rakesh’s juxtaposition of a monogamous husband with a woman whose defining feature is her promiscuity ironically at a time when the  Ã¢â‚¬ËœHindu Marriage Act (1955)’came into force outlawing polygamy to protect the rights of Hindu women reflects the extent of male anxiety generated by women’s emancipation, whose right to work meant the dissolution of the public-private dichotomy necessary for the maintenance of the family as a private sphere. This anxiety is further elaborated in terms of portraying Kinni as an uncared neglected kid, who returns to a home without the mother and feels lonely and alienated. Mahendranath’s despair too needs to be identified not just in terms of the emotional crisis that he faces with the breakdown of familial relations and absence of mutual respect, but also the economic crisis which ultimately appears as the root of all problems. Mahendranath loses his position in family, when the roles of provider and receiver are changed, when economic equations of earner and acceptor are altered and redefined in terms of sex and gender. Their current poverty seems to be the result of typical-middle class lifestyle of living beyond one’s means, and the search or identities only arises when existing identities run into conflict with changing economic denominations of labour division within the family itself. Thus, Mahendranath’s yearning for meaning in life has new economic arrangements within the familial space and sheer inability to solve the economic crisis, triggering it. Even Ashok’s arrogance and refusal to submit to influential people, Dilip Kumar Basu feels can be analysed in the backdrop of  Ã¢â‚¬Å"1969 youth revolts in Paris, and things happening in our country.   The young man’s indifference to work is thus to be constructed as a larger question of youth rebellion and mobilisation, than just mere laziness and irresponsibility or a mere existentialist search for identity. Hence, in conclusion, it can be said that although Mohan Rakesh’sâ€Å"Halfway House†Ã‚  deals extensively with the question of identity and meaning in life, to situate it solely in an Existentialist dimension and accord it the distinction of being the primary concern of the play, would unfairly downplay many other socio-economic themes that the play encompasses.

Culture Bound Syndrome

Cultural-Bound Syndrome Yasenta Newman Immaculata University July 31, 2012 Dr. Sudol-Regan PSY 608 The term culture-bound syndrome was included in the fourth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The term cultural-bound syndrome is said to be recurrent with specific patterns of abnormal behavior that can be linked to a particular DSM-IV-TR diagnostic category. Many of these patterns is said to be considered illnesses. The particular symptoms, development, and social responses are influenced by limited cultural factors. It is also limited to specific cultures.The knowledge about the culture-bound syndromes could help address the relationships between the syndromes and the disorders in DSM-IV. Researchers call this the comorbidity question on the assumption that studying the culture-bound syndrome's patterned relationship to psychiatric diagnoses is a more productive approach than attempting to include it prematurely into the DSM diagnostic categories. S ystematic research has identified strong correlations between culture-bound syndromes and criteria for a psychiatric disorder. But, there is rarely a one-to-one relationship between a culture-bound syndrome and a psychiatric disorder.The culture-bound syndromes is said to coexist with a range of psychiatric disorders and the comorbidity question brings culture-bound syndrome research in with current approaches in the psychiatric research. The differences in the symptomatic, emotional, and contextual aspects of cultural syndromes are said to signal different relationships with psychiatric diagnoses. The extra addition of culture-bound syndromes in DSM-IV provides the opportunity for improving the need to study this syndrome and the chance for developing a research to study it.The growing ethnic and cultural diversity of the U. S. population presents a challenge to the mental health field to develop truly cross-cultural approaches to mental health research and services. This addition can give researchers the chance to study the relationship between culture-bound syndromes and psychiatric diagnoses. In my opinion, a research program based on key questions goes one-sided. By understanding the culture-bound syndromes within the cultural context can help analyze the relationship between these syndromes and the psychiatric disorders.

MOD 7 Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MOD 7 Discussion - Essay Example The foremost driving force to water protection and conservation is its being a limited natural resource of finite availability, with only 0.6 percent of global water being fresh and 0.03% accessible for human consumption. Water is getting scarce and its demand rising from climate change and increasing human population respectively. Reasons for the human community to have a concern for water spread across diverse areas because water forms an essential part of the ecosystem, even sustaining the under-water life. Arousing a pro-active response is the alarming decline in the sea water level, drying sources, declining glacier on top of the mountains and low water tables, which all serve but as assurances that water quantity is indeed declining. Pollution makes the key initiator of all water problems and it is by addressing the same that we can eradicate water scarcity. With dwindling water supply, the world’s major economic pillars including agriculture and industrialization are going to suffer the blow. Water pollution at the same time poses numerous health risks to consumers. The second initiator of water scarcity is irresponsible consumption behavior, eventually resulting to wastage of fresh water, while apparently; statistics show that one in nine people worldwide do not have access to fresh

The Safety Of Airport Security Scanners Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Safety Of Airport Security Scanners - Essay Example According to the article, there are currently two types of scanners used in airports to screen various travelers. The first type is the scanner that â€Å"employs millimeter wave technology, which delivers no ionizing radiation†Ã‚   The other type is the scanner that â€Å"uses backscatter X-rays that expose the individual being screened to very low levels of ionizing radiation† (Radiological Society of North America par. 1). To determine the effect of low levels of ionizing radiation, one decided to confirm other studies on the subject and the article published in the ScienceDaily on low levels of ionizing radiation indicate that a report from the National Academies' National Research Council have indicated that â€Å"the committee's thorough review of available biological and biophysical data supports a "linear, no-threshold" (LNT) risk model, which says that the smallest dose of low-level ionizing radiation has the potential to cause an increase in health risks to h umans†. This article confirmed the risks involved in low levels of ionizing radiation, however, since it was published in 2005, the reliability and applicability could be diminished.According to the article, there are currently two types of scanners used in airports to screen various travelers. The first type is the scanner that â€Å"employs millimeter wave technology, which delivers no ionizing radiation†Ã‚   The other type is the scanner that â€Å"uses backscatter X-rays that expose the individual being screened to very low levels of ionizing radiation† (Radiological Society of North America par. 1). To determine the effect of low levels of ionizing radiation, one decided to confirm other studies on the subject and the article published in the ScienceDaily on low levels of ionizing radiation indicate that a report from the National Academies' National Research Council have indicated that â€Å"the committee's thorough review of available biological and bioph ysical data supports a "linear, no-threshold" (LNT) risk model, which says that the smallest dose of low-level ionizing radiation has the potential to cause an increase in health risks to humans†. This article confirmed the risks involved in low levels of ionizing radiation, however, since it was published in 2005, the reliability and applicability could be diminished. The article being reviewed was actually effective in providing a balanced discourse by first presenting the arguments of Brenner, to wit: â€Å"given that up to one billion such scans per year are now possible in the U.S, we should have concerns about the long-term consequences of an extremely large number of people being exposed to a potential radiation-induced cancer risk, no matter how slight†.

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Strategic Management - Essay Example Conclusion 11 References 13 1. Introduction The evaluation of an industry’s performance is commonly developed using a series of criteria. The conditions in the industry’s environment, in all its aspects, have a key role in understanding the industry’s perspectives for a long terms growth. The use of theoretical frameworks and models can also help to check the status of an industry, either in the short or the long term. Current paper focuses on the evaluation of global automotive industry in regard to a particular aspect: the industry’s supply and demand chain. The sector matrix framework has been used for exploring the issue under examination. Two well known theoretical frameworks, the Value Chain Analysis model of Porter and the Product-Commodity Chain of Gereffi have been used for developing an effective sector matrix framework, as aligned with the needs and the challenges of the particular industry. It is proved that the current performance of automotiv e industry in terms of supply/demand could be improved by controlling rapid expansion so that time is available for responding effectively to the needs of each market. 2. The ‘sector matrix’ framework – description and characteristics The sector matrix framework used for the evaluation of the automotive industry would be based on the following fact: economies worldwide are not equally developed. More specifically, there are economies that have been able to promote technological advances and commerce, achieving an important growth (Cohen 2012). Reference should be also made to countries with quite low economic and commercial performance; these countries have not managed to follow global technological advances (Cohen 2012). The evaluation of the performance of the automotive industry globally would be based on the perception that economic growth around the world is not equally; therefore, the findings of the sector matrix analysis would be related primarily to deve loped and emerging economies that have the potential to support the development of automotive industry. Another issue that should be taken into consideration when developing the sector matrix related to the automotive industry is the following one: the specific matrix is based on different market and organizational elements; these elements are also included in other theoretical frameworks, such as the Porter’s Value Chain analysis (Graph 1) and the Gereffi’s Product/ Commodity chain. The use of these frameworks when developing the sector matrix analysis of the automotive industry would increase the credibility of findings. The elements of these two frameworks are briefly discussed below. Graph 1 – Porter’s Value Chain analysis framework (source: Bachelor of International Management) The Value Chain Analysis of Porter is presented in Graph 1, above. According to this framework, ‘each company can be represented by a Value Chain’ (Overbeck 2009, p.26). This Value-Chain is consisted by a series of activities that can be characterized either as primary or support activities (Overbeck 2009). The activities that are of critical importance for the supply chain of an organization are the primary ones (Overbeck 2009); still, the support activities are necessary for the effective development of primary activities (Overbeck 2009), meaning that primary activities may face problems and delays in case that they are not combined by the support activities, as included in the Porter’s framework. Among the activities included in the

Public Policy TrendsWK5 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Public Policy TrendsWK5 - Research Paper Example DOT agencies dealing with the given transport system created will hence try to oversee the project so as to ensure transparency (2012). This concept entails project management of projects they have been assigned to work on (DOT, 2012). It is the responsibility of DOT to ensure projects are carried to the later to ensure they meet the satisfaction of the state administrators and county managers since they represent the interests of the people in that given state or county (DOT, 2012). In addition, DOT often works together with state administrators to come up with long term beneficial plans for the given state (DOT, 2012). The planning of a better transport system is a function of DOT and collaborates with state administrators so as to ensure their projects are their success (DOT, 2012). In matters of development that entails transportation, it is up to state administrators to consult with DOT in order to come up with plans that may suit their needs (DOT, 2012). For any planning process to be successful, information about the given state has to be collected and evaluated (DOT, 2012). This can only be possible with the help of county managers or state administrators (DOT, 2012). Since the main function of DOT is to provide quality transport systems to the people, they have to work conjointly with state administrators to ensure the dreams of the people are met (DOT, 2012). It is the state administrators or the county managers that represent the needs of the people, while the DOT carries out instructions regarding development conveyed to it by the state administrators (DOT, 2012). The DOT also advises state administrators on various changes transportation needs to be improved (2012). It is then up to state administrators to initiate policies that advance transportation area (DOT, 2012). For instance, DOT might notice a gap on the basis of a need of building a new road or run way in