“Mean Girls” and its sociological structure Essay

Sociology is everywhere we look, it is everything we are, and can be describe with everything we do. Mean girls is a very popular movie in today’s society. It seems as though people of all gender, sex, age, race, ethnicity, and class has seen this movie and can relate to some aspect of it. Mean girls portrays the rough life of high school and the many cliques it has in place. It shows the many challenges students and teachers go through to get to the end of the year. In this movie I have seen many sociological themes. Many people in today’s society go through challenging things in our lives and high school is a teenager’s worse one. From discrimination to power, property, and prestige this movies depicts it all. As portrayed in (fundamentalsofsoc) the popular girls also known as the â€Å"plastics† control the school in which they accompany. They control it by have good looks, money, Popularity, and power. They receive all the material items wanted because their parents can afford it; with the exception of Cady. Originally there are three â€Å"plastics†: Regina George which is the leader of the group. Gretchen Wieners, and Karen Smith. Cady, a transfer student from Africa get the special and rare request to join their clique. There is a sub- click that Cady is a part of and that includes Janis Ian and Damian. Everyone in the school wants to be Regina George, so they copy everything she does. After Cady and Regina go for the same guy Cady wants to ruin the plastics because she and Janis which was out casted by Regina feel like the school would be better off without the hierarchy and social control that Regina creates. The movie starts off with a stereotype. Stereotype defined as â€Å"a widely held but fixed and over simplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.† Cady sits down at the â€Å"Plastics† table after being peer- pressured into joining them during lunch and she gets questioned because the popular girls know everybody in the school and they had not seen her before. This is an example of social interaction. Cady mentions that she just transferred here from Africa. Gretchen Wieners goes about saying â€Å"If you’re from Africa then why you are white.† This shows the  stereotype of Americans believing that all people that live in Africa are African American. This also happens with other cultures as well. They lay out a map of the cafeteria and who sits where and we see then that people are characterized in specific cliques such as: JV jocks, Asian nerds, and black hot ties and many other cliques’ people are set to be in. We also see t hat Cady’s culture is different from the common high school teenager. Cady does not partake in common teenage girl practices, she does not wear makeup, or dress provocative. Regina, Gretchen, and Karen have rich parents. They use their wealth as power against everyone they know. Since they have everything there is a lot of jealousy in the air, also Gretchen ‘uses her wealth against the principle. When she is called into the office because of a burn book incident she says† I don’t think my father, the inventor of toaster strudel, would be too happy to hear about this.† She believes that her parent’s wealth will get her out of trouble which it does not. Regina she uses her property as her power. She as the biggest house, the biggest room and the nicest car. Showing off her property gives her power. When Cady and Janis try to ruin the plastics; shows the revolt against the governing body is seen a lot in other cultures. In a natural society there are always people that oppose the government and try to â€Å"Bring it down.† In the middle of the movie Cady has a role conflict. She was supposed to go to Maddison with her parents, but her friends wanted her to do other stuff that night as well. She had to choose the role in which she wanted to partake in. She choose the role of a teenager. She threw a party. In the end Cady and Regina are both hated by the school and the â€Å"plastics† is no longer a governing body. The â€Å"Plastics† join other school clicks and everyone seems to be at peace until a new generation of plastics appear. It made a point that although one change occurred. That does not mean future generations will change. A change cannot occur over a generation unless there are people to pass the knowledge down the line. Which is why we store cultural knowledge in books, films and media sources. Mean girls shows many sociological themes through the entire movie which all involved social interaction and the biggest idea of the movie: social class. Works cited Fundamentalsofsoc.edublogs.org/†¦/media-representation-of-mean-girls/ Dictionary.reference.com/browse/definition

Symbolism in the Road Not Taken, “A Worn Path”, and I Used to Live Here Once

2Symbolism in Literature Published by susansteppe, February 27, 2011 Symbolism in â€Å"The Road Not Taken†, â€Å"A Worn Path†, and â€Å"Used to Live Here Once†. When looking at the short story and poem it is impossible to see it all in a literal form. There is always some sort of symbolism that occurs within the body of the text, but what is symbolism. It can be defined differently by many people. Even when looking at a dictionary it does not typically give a thorough answer. It is because symbolism is created by the author. However, it can be contradicted or have a completely obscure meaning to the reader. This is the exact reason why symbolism cannot be defined. However, it can be interpreted. Understanding the journey that characters take and their symbolic nature is definitely worth decoding. In fact, the symbolism of the journey is usually the basis behind the literary work itself. One of the well-known literary works with a symbolic journey is Robert Frost’s â€Å"The Road Not Taken. † In the poem there is a man who has come to a crossroad in his life. One path is traveled on frequently while the other path is not. He has to make a decision as to what path he should take. No matter what, he knows that he cannot turn back once he has made the choice, but it is implied. He chooses the path less traveled and, in turn, it happens to be the best choice he had ever made. Many have analyzed this poem and many have come up with different ideas of what it actually means. Some say it is about suicide, some say it is about life changes, while others insist it is about life changes. When is the interpretation wrong? The reader gets what they must out of the poem as they read it. It depends on what life situation they are going through at that time. The author, Robert Frost, knew what he was writing about. Therefore, the interpretation of the poem actually merges itself with the reader. Regardless, there is a journey that occurs throughout this poem. To analyze the literary work there needs to be a beginning. Read more in Poetry  « Does a Sonnet Always Have 14 Lines? Poetry Comparison Essay – â€Å"The Evacuee† and â€Å"Death of a Naturalist†  »In the first two lines of Robert Frost’s poem he says: â€Å"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both† (Clugston, R. W. , 2010; section 2. 2). There is a certain symbolism in the yellow wood. It is not that the forest was filled with yellow trees. It was obviously at the beginning of fall. Fall is the season that everyone slows down from the summer. The anticipation of winter is coming and can cause a sort of depression in some people. It would explain why he wanted to travel both. The following line says: â€Å"And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth† (Clugston, R. W. , 2010; sec 2. 2). Here the reader comes to understand that the man took his time looking down the path. This could symbolize patience or a lack of movement, which would again go along with the idea that the man was depressed. Another aspect of the idea of depression, one path had leaves on it while the other was grassy. When someone is depressed they do not want to go down a dreary path. Instead, they would want to go down the grassy path that looked less traveled. Perhaps then something would change in their life. The actual symbolism of the paths themselves goes right along with that idea. However, the man was obviously optimistic because he did think about saving the one path for another day. He does contradict himself when he doubts that he will come back. The symbolism occurs with his doubts. He knows that once he goes down one path that he will not be able to come back at all. When the reader thinks about it there is an ordinary situation with this scenario because the entire poem is about a man who stops when he comes to a fork in the road. Nevertheless, the road actually is a symbol for life. That is where the imaginative language is used, and it is used in order to create emotion. Should the man go down the path with the leaves covering it? What are the leaves representing? The leaves were not scattered everywhere, so the road was less traveled upon. In fact, the leaves represent the difficult trials that were to follow. Basically, it is easier to walk a path that has nothing in the way then one that does not. Therefore, the images that are particularly effective are the two paths and the leaves. These symbols change the tone of the poem to confusion, but it actually provokes deep thought when the traveler states that he took the one less traveled by. In the short story â€Å"A Worn Path† symbolism of the journey also occurs. Yet, it is much different from Frost’s â€Å"A Path Not Taken. In Frost’s poem he has the choice of two different paths, but in â€Å"A Worn Path† the old woman, Phoenix Jackson, takes the same path over and over again. The path that Phoenix takes is a path that she has taken many times before in order to get medicine for her grandson. The symbol of the path is life’s long journey. After all, she is an old woman who has dealt with many things in her life. The symbolism of the pendulum in a grandfather clock also pertains to her age. She is an old woman, a poor one at that, who walks with a cane made from an old umbrella. She was very old and small and she walked slowly in the dark pine shadows, moving a little from side to side in her steps, with the balanced heaviness and lightness of a pendulum in a grand-father clock† (Clugston, R. W. , 2010 sec 6. 3). When Phoenix hears the noises in the thicket she is determined to make sure they stay away. This represents her strength of mind. Her willpower is a large part of the symbolism within the story because of the long journey she has to take. She is not on a mission to help herself. Instead, she is on a mission to help a part of her family. Therefore, it is a purpose driven trip, so when the animals make noise in the distance she does everything possible to make sure she scares them off. It is a life-saving task in which she cannot fail. It is then that Phoenix has to climb a hill that is almost too difficult for her. The hill actually symbolizes the struggle of life. When everyone is a child it is easy to do anything. Hills are no big deal to climb, bicycles are easy to ride, and running everywhere is as simple as eating. However, as a person ages it is more difficult to do things. That is where the hill comes in to play. She needs to climb the hill in order to conquer aging. There was no way that she could give up easily because of the journey she was taking. Also on the hill is a bush that catches her dress. The bush signifies the obstacles in her life. She obviously lived a hard life. She had many wrinkles, her clothes spoke for themselves, and she had not been able to clean herself every day. The fact that she was poor epitomizes the fact that she had lived a hard life up until this point. Once she freed herself from the bush it characterized her willpower again. Nothing was going to stop her from completing her task. Another important factor about the bush was that she yelled at it. She called in a pretty green bush. That symbolizes the fact that she did not recognize the many of the obstacles in her life until they actually came to pass. After she struggles with the bush she sees the sun. The sun signifies the importance of dealing with the struggles in her life. Basically, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. She was freed from that turmoil that happened in her life and she could go on. There was a new beginning, or she could start things anew. Unfortunately, that was not the end of her struggle through life because there was the large log in the way. The log embodies the act of accomplishment. No one could stand in for her. She, Phoenix, had to overcome her own tussle. Once again, a fight for security is symbolized with the barbed wire fence. On her journey she sees a buzzard, which is a symbol of death. When thinking about a buzzard many imagine them circling around a carcass. It is their way of claiming their meal for the day. Nevertheless, this one was just sitting there. The fact that he was not moving could symbolize death waiting for her. Yet, Phoenix was not ready for death. She may be getting old, but there was no room for death in her excursion. Shortly after she sees the buzzard she comes upon a scarecrow. Buzzards, crows, and other birds usually sit on the arms of a scarecrow. That exemplifies death as well, but instead of avoiding the scarecrow she dances in front of it. She was mocking death, or telling death in her own way that she would have no part of it. After all, she was on a mission to help her grandson. He had a throat condition, probably asthma, which prevented him from doing many things. There was no way she was going to give up her exertion. When Phoenix finally reached her destination it was a symbol of accomplishment. When thinking about the entire path it indicates the journey throughout life. As a baby everything is taken care of. There are no worries within life because there is someone to lean on. That is the first part of the path. The second part of the path, the hill, is the beginning of hardships. Each tribulation got bigger and bigger the older Phoenix became until she came to a point in her life when her burdens were easier to overcome. Yet, when she does get the medicine for her grandson she has to go through the entire trip over again. Again, it symbolizes more difficulties in life and the many obstacles that she had to deal with in her life. â€Å"A Worn Path† is the perfect depiction of how many people’s lives turn out. No one gets a free ride in life, which means everyone has to deal with their own miseries, troubles, and sufferings in order to become better people. Phoenix is a strong-natured, strong-willed, and head-strong woman because she dealt with her ordeals in life. It may have been difficult at times, but she became an accomplished woman in her own right. Another short story that symbolizes life’s journey is â€Å"Used to Live Here Once. † The first trek of her journey was the rocks in the stream. Each rock represents a significant part of the trials everyone has to deal with in life. For instance, the round unsteady rock symbolizes the rocky road people must endure throughout life. No one truly gets the easy way out of life because there is always something that makes the journey unstable. The safe stone represents childhood. When someone is a child they do not need to be dependent on themselves in order to get through their distresses in life. A mother carries her newborn, feeds them, and cares for them. Basically, the newborn has no worries. Even as a child growing up there are really no burdens to deal with. There might be anxieties, but the child’s mother, or father, is there to catch them when they fall. They can look around as long as they want at their life and perhaps where they might be in the future. The rock, itself, is the parents. The next rock was no so safe because it was slippery and when the water rose it would be covered. This rock indicates the time of life when there are trials and tribulations to endure. The first is, of course, becoming a teenager. There are worries, distresses, pains, and hardships to deal with. The rising of the water actually designates the rush of life after becoming an adult. A person is on their own with no one to catch them, but themselves. They need to have a watchful eye whenever difficulties arise, and sometimes those ordeals can be overbearing. There are even times when that person falls, but they always get up again. Reaching the other side of the stream designates or symbolizes the triumph over the tribulations in life. It is safe, so there is nothing to fear. The ground is secure and it is easy sailing from there. The road that the woman travels on is much wider than it used to be. It says in the story, â€Å"The road was much wider than it used to be but the work had been done carelessly† (Clugston, R. W. , 2010, sec 7. 5). This can be interpreted a couple different ways. One way is that life is unpredictable. In other words, there is no telling what could happen next because no one knows their future. The second way of understanding the wider road is to signify change. When people become older and go through their struggles, or heir rocks, they become different people. Everything that a person endures allows them to grow into the person that they are. For instance, a child that has had a mellow life growing up suddenly decides to join the military when they become of age. They go to boot camp one person, but come back someone completely different. It is because they dealt with obstacles throughout boot camp and had to grow up int o an adult. That is a forced measure of growing up, but the concept is the same. Each trouble or ordeal they go through makes them into a better person. When the woman gets near the house she sees more changes. A house gone and one built a car, and items that were no longer there. Yet, she is so excited about coming back to place she grew up she does not really care. This, again, symbolizes the changes in life that occur. Once life has changed and the hardships are endured nothing is the same. Trials in life either become more difficult or easier to deal with. There is no telling but, nonetheless, the changes stay. Then the woman comes upon the two children playing in the yard. She attempts to say hello, but the children ignore her. She thinks it is because she is colored. The woman gets closer to the children and she attempts to say hello again. However, they do not answer still. When she gets very close to the children one of them say it is cold, so they leave. This is when she realizes that she is no longer among the living. Therefore, the entire trip she took symbolizes the entire cycle of being born to the moment of death. In conclusion, the symbolisms between â€Å"The Path Not Taken,† â€Å"A Worn Path,† and â€Å"Used to Live Here Once† are quite similar. All three are about life’s challenges and the struggles throughout life. There are always decisions that need to be made through life and there are always going to be obstacles that get in the way. It is getting through those tribulations that are the trick. Not only that, but it is crucial not to give up. The stories portray that indefinitely. In â€Å"The Path Not Taken† the man takes the road less traveled. Yes. He had to go through many troubles throughout his life, but in the end he chose the right path. In â€Å"A Worn Path† the old woman pretty much has to go through the same difficulties throughout her life, but her endurance presides over her. Therefore, she has made the right choice. Last, but not least, in â€Å"Used to Live Here Once† the woman path symbolizes the entire trek through life from birth to death. These three literary works are definitely worth reading, but they are also there to teach about life itself. References Clugston, R. W. (2010) Journey into Literature. San Diego, CA. Bridge point Education. (http://content. ashford. edu/books/AUENG125. 10. 1/sec2. 2) (http://content. ashford. edu/books/AUENG125. 10. 1/sec6. 3) (http://content. ashford. edu/books/AUENG125. 10. 1/sec7. 5) Phillips, R. T. (March 1986) Diverging and Converging Paths: Horizontal and Vertical Movement in Robert Frost’s Mountain Interval. Vol 58, Issue 1, pg. , 17 p. American Literature. Moberly, K. (Winter 2005/Spring 2006) Toward the North Star: Eudora Welty’s â€Å"A Worn Path† and the Slave Narrative Tradition. Vol. 59, Issue ? , p. 107-127, 21p. Mississippi Quarterly. Piwinski, D. J. (Winter 2008) Mistletoe in Eudora Welty’s ‘A Worn Path. ’ 16 (1): 40-42. ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes, and Reviews Flag It Spam Adult Content Plagiarism Insufficient Quality Wrong Category Select the Right Category about Writing Autos Books Business Computers Creative WritingDomesticGamingGeneralHealthInternetMoviesMusicNewsOff eatPetsPoetryRecipesReligionScienceShort Stories Society Sports Television Travel Women Selected for you by a sponsor: 10 Signs You May Be in an Emotionally Abusive Relationship (HeathCentral. com) What Happened to Marie Osmond's Face? (Style Goes Strong) You might be interested in: A Summary and Review of The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox: A Gu ide for Thinking Executives – and Those Who Want to be One (Book stove) Childhood Phrases and Their Darker Meanings (Book stove) Tahrir Flame Flame (Trifter) The Stupid King (Trifter)

Private Equity Funds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Private Equity Funds - Essay Example These types of funds have huge difference from the other investment funds from the perspective of the business strategy used for seeking control over the businesses where they have invested (Cumming, 2009). These types of funds are also different in their structure because they are generally close-ended and have finite life time. The private equity funds have fixed number of shares. Private Equity Firms Nowadays, the leveraged buyout investment companies are referred to as the private equity organizations (Stowell, 2010; 2012). These types of firms are different from the venture capital firms which invest in emerging and young companies and as a result are not able to seek the majority control (Cumming and Johan, 2013). The emergence of private equity firms arose from the leveraged buyouts. The leveraged buyouts started during the 1980’s (Kaplan and Stromberg, 2009). The leveraged buyouts had increased rapidly in this decade and gradually the leveraged buyout companies became dominant corporate organizations. The private equity firms have been defined as the decentralized organizations with relatively fewer numbers of employees and investment professionals. Big private equity firms are larger in size but smaller than the firms where they make the investments. The funds raised by these private equity firms are known as the private equity funds. ... The limited partners are the institutional investors like, the public and corporate pension funds, insurance companies or other wealthy investors. Now the question arises whether the private equity companies are the limited partners or the general partners. These firms act as the general partners of the fund. It is compulsory that the general partners provide at least one percent of the total amount of capital. However, some general partners invest even higher. These private equity funds have definite or fixed lifetime that ranges from 10 to 13 years. The private equity firm has a time period of five years, for investing the total capital to be funded to the companies and then, an additional time period of another five to eight years, for returning the total capital amount to the investors. After providing the capital amount, the limited partners do not have much to say about how the general partners would be deploying the investment funds, till the basic contents of the actual fund agreement are followed by these general partners. The basic contents of the fund agreement include restraints on the amount of fund capital that can be invested in one particular company, types of securities where the fund can be invested and restraints on the debt amount. The general partner i.e. the private equity firm, are generally compensated in three different ways. Firstly, these general partners incur a management fee as a percentage of the total capital committed followed by a percentage of the total capital employed, after the investment amount is realized. Secondly, these firms also incur one portion of the profit out of the fund which is known as the ‘carried interest’. The carried interest equals to 20 percent

Social Media & Public Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Social Media & Public Relations - Essay Example As the Internet has transformed into a sophisticated hub for ‘netizens’ so as to the nature of online communication and exchanges of propaganda, campaigns, and information drive (Duhe, 2007).These changes are obviously referring to the significant changes in the way Facebook, Twitter, and blogs provide means of communication outlets that are not available in the early 20th century. For this research, we will focus largely on the use of Facebook in revolutionizing the conduct of public relations in recent times. The Value of Social Media to Public Relations In the past, press releases were an integral component of public relations until online news releases agencies began to appear in the 1990s, creating a halt from too much reliance on fax machines and e-mails. As the years passed, press releases continued to exist but were also modified to fit the changes in the medium used. Press releases are now exchanged at a fast pace and in the most convenient way: using embedded m ultimedia. Green (2010) calls this as a creativity aspect of public relations that is driven by the swift breakthroughs in Internet programming and online software available as open source. Being creative is part of the trend in public relations, and according to Green (2010), this is an important component in being successful in public relations. According to Grunig (2009), the age of digitalization prompts a turnaround of events in the way public relations is conducted. However, with the greatest help that social media partake to the field of public relations, it is high time to shift the way things are conducted in this kind of specialization. Grunig (2009) mentioned that there is a need to â€Å"reinstitutionalize public relations as a behavioral, strategic† field rather than being an obsolete â€Å"symbolic, interpretive† field. Social media is regarded by many public relations professionals as an effective tool in â€Å"communicating with strategic publics† (Lewis, 2010, p. 1). Lewis (2010) further stated that the use of social media in public relations is also needed in teaching even college students to contribute to the growing success of the renewed public relations in the 21st century. With the latest applications and social media sites available for product branding and advertising, it is also a must to get acquainted with the wise use of social media, which is popularly known as â€Å"media literacy† (Lewis, 2010, p. 1). Even Facebook, for instance, has been widely suggested by PR instructors for their students to utilize in order to create an online community (Sutherland, 2011). Furthermore, the study conducted by Wright and Hinson (2008, p. 1) regarding the use of social media in public relations revealed that Facebook is considered the most important social media followed by â€Å"microblogging sites Twitter, search engine marketing, YouTube, electronic forums, and podcasts.† The study that started in 2005 was conducted to measure the impact of social media and other communication technologies in public relations. The results of the study show that social media â€Å"have brought dramatic changes† to the many aspects of public relations (Wright & Hinson, 2008, p. 2). The developments in terms of the

Online Pizza Security Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7000 words

Online Pizza Security - Research Paper Example We are facing many computer criminal attacks from diverse countries and continents. It is the need of the hour that we should realize these various shapes of computer criminal actions and should make an effort to avoid them as far as possible. In this way, we can lessen the possible damage concerning online computer crimes and their activities. Presently we are surrounded by a lot of new computer-based security problems. These problems are rising more and more due to viruses, phishing, worms, spyware hackers, etc. As we assess this problem from the deep then we see that no Internet user is secure from this type of computer security attacks. Now we are facing biggest danger form the online money frauds. Lots of people are uncertain from the online transactions. In our online Pizza system, we need to make sure that there is no security hole in the system working and online cash transaction. In this way the public will feel free regarding the online transaction and our business will gai n more customers loyalty. In presence of above-mentioned security limitation and difficulties, we can face problems regarding the web-based business. In a business such as online Pizza people need to enter their details (house address, name, gender, phone number, email, etc), so in this regard, they can feel some security dangers regarding the leakage of their personal data and information. So we need to consider potential security issues and establish a better security plan regarding the handling and management of these security issues and problems. This chapter is mainly planned to initially identify the main security issues we can face regarding the online pizza website and then I will suggest the main parameters we can follow to handle these security-related aspects.   Ã‚  Ã‚  

Paradigms Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Research Paper

Paradigms Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - Research Paper Example They often pressured her to perform well at school; they insisted that it would safeguard her future. The parents are devoted Muslims, who consider daily prayers and the Quran a daily routine. During the therapy session, the mother stated that Halima had been suffering from severe anxiety for a period of one year. Further, she said that Halima used to wake up and cry during the night. The mother stated that the daughter often complained that she was not sure whether she would succeed in her mathematics class at school. Often, she asked the mother to recheck her homework so that she could know that she had completed it successfully. Despite the efforts of the mother, Halima’s anxiety continued, and would worry about other things like the location of her books, school bag, and other diminutive things. Halima had also exhibited compulsive hand washing, in preparation for prayer, during the five times of prayer for Muslims. She demonstrated the need to do everything perfectly. Halima insisted that her problems started during a mathematics class when the teacher threatened of failing them. For that reason, she had started hating mathematics for fear that she would fail. Sometimes, she decided not to go to school since she felt like crying all the time. She explained that she liked all her teachers, except her mathematics teacher. Often, she feared that her parents would die, meditating on how she could continue her life, in case they died. She also feared about a trip that the mother took to visit the elder brother of Halima. Halima felt that she would be left alone, and would not be able to complete her homework without her help. Halima was diagnosed using an interview-based clinical approach, and scored 25 on the obsessive-compulsive rating in a scale between 0 and 40, which implied acute OCD. The symptoms perceived in her included repetitive, unrealistic,

The perfect age to get married Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The perfect age to get married - Essay Example Marriage is a serious institution that is respected by both culture and law. This being the case, it should be approached in a careful manner due to its delicate nature. One of the major reasons why in the recent times many marriages are ending up in divorce is because either both or one of the partners was not ready to enter into marriage in the first place. In fact, in the past, 50 percent of marriages in America have ended up in divorce (Gibson). For example, quite a number of people get into marriages either because they were forced into it by situations or pressure from various aspects of life. A good example is when a young lady gets married to a man as a result of getting an unwanted pregnancy. This is especially common among teenagers and people in their early 20s. For me to arrive at the conclusion that one should get marriage at the age of 35 there are various factors that I have put into consideration. Firstly, at the age of 35, a normal person with the right priorities is well matured both physically and emotionally. This stipulates that he /she has seen their share of life, thus, they know how to handle different situations in the right way. Physically, particularly in women, one’s body is fully developed to handle pregnancies since in most cases children often accompany marriage. The other factor to be put in consideration is education. By the age of 35, irrespective of which profession one has undertaken, most people who are focused in life will have completed their education, and will most probably be working. For professions that require one to undertake studies for a long time, one is likely to be in their specialization phase of their professional education, by the time they are 35 years. This ensures that one can support themselves financially, as well as be able to support the family that comes with marriage. Another issue that makes 35 the perfect age

Architectural Detailing Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Architectural Detailing - Coursework Example This partnership will ensure that the Centre does meet its objectives and goals. Below is figure 1 of the plans for first and ground floors of the Centre: Shakespeare House Community Centre was established in the year 2007. After its establishment, the Centre strived to offer sustainable services because of the onset of the Credit emanating from the capital to the voluntary sector were terminated drastically. However, Shakespeare House was capable of leveraging the Centre to offer its finance via Centre-based services. There has been little improvement of the metropolis due to the funds invested. The insufficient funds made the Centre’s facilities develop gradually although organically (Allen & Rand, 2006). However, the underlying trustees have agreed on a new 5-year lease with the owners who predict a long-term utilization of the Centre by the community. Advancement Plan was adopted by Trustees of Shakespeare House Community Centre at the Trustee meeting offering a mandate for the construction of the mosque (Allen & Rand, 2006). The University of Sanford’s Council is committed to the project for the long-term. Moreover, the focus is mainly to ensure that the Centre provide high-quality complete services that replicate the requirements of the local Centre. The Kitchen within the old design has been altered from 29 m2 to 32 m2, which is adequate for the kitchen counters. Kitchen counters are to be fitted around the kitchen. The kitchen has to have a food storage room. The kitchen also has to have adequate space for the movement the kitchen staff. The new design garden is fitted with a walking path all around the house to enable guests to walk around the house quickly and easier for wheelchair users to go outside. The food growing area has a tool room for keeping the tools and equipment’s safe. The multipurpose space will have a new extinction of 106-m2 room. Three rooms will separate the multipurpose space. These three rooms will be next to

Impact of Steve Jobs Essay Example for Free

Impact of Steve Jobs Essay The impact Steve Jobs had on Apple was immeasurable. He built the company from the ground up. Every product Apple has put out has been because of Steve Jobs. His knack for knowing what desires consumers want in a product is just one aspect of what Steve Jobs did to help Apple become one of the top consumer electronic companies in the world. Steve Jobs was a smart man and CEO. As the head of the Apple company, Jobs surrounded himself with smart men. This not only helped his company, but it helped Jobs when it came time to make big decisions regarding a project. After a project was initiated, engineers and designers had to work together on the project. Because Jobs believed that Apple’s greatest advantage was its integration of the project, from design to hardware to software to content, he wanted all departments at the company to work together in parallel. Jobs used the phrases of â€Å"deep collaboration† and â€Å"concurrent engineering† to describe this process. To make this â€Å"collaboration† happen, Jobs relied heavily on the hiring process. He would have candidates meet the top leaders of Apple. This included guys such as Cook, Tevanian, Schiller, Rubinstein, and Ive. After the interview, he would meet with his leaders without the candidate and decide whether the person would fit in at Apple. Jobs goal with all of this was to prevent what he called â€Å"the bozo explosion.† Jobs explained that â€Å"the bozo explosion† is when a company becomes loaded down with second-rate talent. Jobs’ hiring process took the candidate not only to the area they would be working in, but through other departments and had the candidates talk to them to see how they would fit in. From the start of the company, Jobs understood the needs and desires of his customers. He put products out there that the consumer wanted and his main desire was to get the product right. According to the Apple Marketing Philosophy, there were three points that were stressed. The first was empathy. This was meant to have an intimate connection with their customers. Apple will â€Å"truly understand the customer’s needs better than any other company. The second was focus. This meant that Apple would â€Å"eliminate all the unimportant opportunities.† The final point was impute. This meant that no matter how great the quality of the product, if it were presented in a sloppy manner, it will be perceived as sloppy. This most noticeably, was recognized with Apple’s packaging. When you opened the product and noticed the details of the packaging that would set the tone for the product. Jobs had a knack for bringing new products to the market that the consumers wanted to buy. He was also a perfectionist. One of Jobs’ talents was that he could look at a certain market filled with second-rate products and take advantage of it by perfecting it. He did this by simplifying the process, software, or the design of the product. For example, when designing iTunes, Jobs looked at what was available to the consumer at that point and came to the conclusion that they were so complicated to the user that only a genius could figure out half of their features. A fundamental part of perfecting products was minimalizing them. Jobs was a minimalist. In order to make products user friendly, Jobs knew that the consumer had to understand how to use them and like using them. Make it simple. According to Jobs, â€Å"Simplicity isn’t just a visual style; it’s not just minimalism or the absence of clutter. It involves digging through the depth of the complexity. To be truly simple, you have to go really deep. You have to deeply understand the essence of a product in order to be able to get rid of the parts that are not essential.† Jobs used this minimalistic style in not only in the technology products he produced, but in the Apple stores he designed. Larry Ellison’s company, Oracle, was developing software for the checkout systems, a system that avoided having a register. According to Ellison, â€Å"if you looked at the stores and the products, you will see Jobs’ obsession with beauty as simplicity-this aesthetic and wonderful minimalism, which goes all the way to the checkout process in the stores.†

A play that was written by Arthur Miller in the 1950s Essay Example for Free

A play that was written by Arthur Miller in the 1950s Essay The Crucible is a play that was written by Arthur Miller in the 1950s. The play was originally produced in 1953 at a time where McCarthyism was at its peak. This was a time of American paranoia when Americans believed that the Russians were planning start a war with them. The Americans accused members of the society of been a communist spy for the most trivial reasons. It was a situation of hysteria. This was very similar to the situation in Salem two hundred years earlier. The people of Salem would believe anyone to be a witch even if they had very little or no evidence. Salem was governed by theocracy this meant the church ran the local government, therefore they had orthodox religious beliefs. Arthur Miller compares these two situations to show that we all should learn from past mistakes. The past events in Salem contributed to the situation in 1950s America, this shows Causation. The title reflects the play because a crucible is a container used to expose its contents to very high temperatures, this can cause impurities to rise to the surface, its metaphoric meaning is a place of severe test or trial. In the play eighteenth century Salem becomes a Crucible, Judge Danforth creates a situation in which he is trying to force the supposed witches to the surface and purify Salem. Miller uses dramatic techniques to maintain the audiences interest the message that Miller conveys is to learn from your mistakes and not to jump to conclusions. Abigail changes the way she acts when interrogated by Hale. Abigail has previously been perceived as a dynamic and powerful individual however when Rev. Hale questions her she comes across as very desperate and paranoid. This is shown when Abigail says, I am a good girl, a proper girl. She attempts to make herself out to be a model Puritan, Parris and Hale are manipulated but the audience knows that Abigail is no telling the truth, this is dramatic irony. The playwright Arthur Miller presents Abigail to be extremely deceptive and two-faced, as he wants the audience to dislike her. This is shown when Abigail notices an opportunity to blame Tituba for the unchristian and unlawful activities that she has committed. For instance Abigail blames Tituba for making her laugh in the middle of prayer and for waking her in the night and Abi finds herself naked. Miller does this to give an insight of the sin Tituba is not given the chance to object or justify Abigails accusations. An example of this is Mister Reverend, I never. And Hale interrupts her by saying Tituba I want you to wake this child. Reverend Hale is not interested in Titubas defence but her satanic influence. This shows that Hale does not pity Tituba he hears that which he wishes to hear. This reveals that the citizens of Salem will believe what they are told, they follow the majority. When Tituba enters the room Abigail immediately puts the blame on her. This shows that Abigail was under a lot of pressure, so much so that she transferred the blame onto the first person that entered the room. Tituba was not expecting Abigail to blame her. She shows this when the stage directions are shocked and angry Tituba previously considered Abi to be a loyal and honest person. Tituba has misinterpreted Abigails character. Miller increases the tension as the audience sympathises with the slave since her English is bad and she is been tricked into admitting something she has not done. When Abigail mentions the word blood, Parris Mrs Putnam and Tituba all repeat it. This reveals that the incident that took place in the forest was not as innocent as was first thought. It shows that in fact it was a lot more sinister. The repetition of this key work creates tension since repetition creates a sense of hysteria. Miller reveals this information to increase the audiences interest. The characters that repeat the word blood are insecure and gullible.

New Labours Traditional Family Values in Policy

New Labours Traditional Family Values in Policy In Comparison to the Thatcher Government, in what ways does New Labour try to bring back traditional family values through policy and legislation? Abstract The objective of this dissertation is to evaluate and compare the way in New Labour is trying to bring back traditional family values through policy and legislation with the ways in which the Thatcher government had tried to do so. As will be explained and analysed there are some similarities and indeed some profound differences between the objectives and the methods of New Labour and the Thatcher governments. As will be analysed in great depth both the Thatcher government and New Labour government came to power with wide-ranging visions of how they wished to transform the politics, the economy, and the society of Britain. The Thatcher government’s attempts to bring back traditional family values through policy and via legislation will be evaluated first, in order to examine the extent to which its objectives succeeded or if those objectives failed. Arguably, the Thatcher government had a massive impact upon the social, economic, and the political make up or infrastructure of Britain, even if not always in the ways that it had intended, or had hoped for. The Thatcher government also discovered that the consequences of their policy decisions could be contradictory, rather than complimentary to the primary objectives of the legislation that they passed. The latter parts of the dissertation will concentrate upon the transition of the Labour party away from its traditional economic and social policies into New Labour and how, that transition affected its policies and objectives. New Labour was a reinvention of the Labour party designed to regain power after 18 years in the political wilderness. Traditionally, the Labour party had regarded the promotion of social ownership of the means of production (the infamous clause four of its constitution); and the provision of generous benefits by the welfare state for those in need as sacrosanct policy areas. Labour governments had used progressive taxation and high public sector borrowing to pay for high social policy expenditure if that was needed. Those were the policies mainly used to maintain or bring back traditional family values by all previous Labour governments. New Labour, as will be demonstrated, turned away from the concepts of increasing levels of social ownership, and set limits for the use of progressive taxation and increasing public sector borrowing, whilst promising to reform the welfare state. The combination of these measures was intended to focus help on to those people that needed help the most. It also arguably, gives cause to debate whether New Labour is driven by its ideological principles; or if it is driven by the more selfish desire to obtain and subsequently retain governmental office. After all, as any self-respecting politician will tell anybody willing to hear them, it is no good having a vision of transforming society if there is no political office or power to do anything about enacting that vision. Certainly before winning the general election of 1997 New Labour emphasised its intention to bring back traditional family values through policy and where it was considered to be necessary through legislation. As a party New Labour committed itself to improving public services, fighting crime, and a host of other measures to make Britain a better place to live in. Also to be discussed is New Labour’s policies and legislation upon human rights and equality for all, that in many respects goes beyond bringing back traditional family values. Whilst politicians are generally in agreement over the need for traditional family values, they differ as to the best policies and if needs be the best legislation to restore, promote, or protect traditional family values. Differences over the best ways to achieve traditional family values are influenced by differing ideological approaches, as well as different understandings of human nature. Governments do not only rely on policy and legislat ion to achieve or at least aim to achieve their objectives. Governments try to influence the public through official statements, press and television articles, as well as presenting its objectives to the public as frequently as possible. The public of course does not have to be persuaded by the influence, policy, and legislation of any government. Indeed the public can affect the policy and legislation that governments adopt by voting those governments in and out of office at every general election. The media has a great deal of influence in its own right when it comes to the moral attitudes and acceptable standards of behaviour that the British public hold. All are issues and influences upon the restoration or promotion of traditional family values will be evaluated. Introduction Before evaluating and analysing the ways in which New Labour and the Thatcher governments aimed to bring back bring traditional family values, it would be best to define what is meant by traditional family values. Usually traditional family values are considered to be the promotion of long lasting marriages, bringing up children to be well behaved and law abiding, and educating everybody to respect law and order. Traditional family values are also linked with a religious or moral upbringing, yet it can also encompass people being responsible for providing for their own financial and social welfare through working hard and saving, as well as taking responsibility for their own actions. Traditional family values were linked in public perceptions to Victorian times, the majority of people may now be materially better off yet their sense of morality, and the willingness to accept traditional family values has declined noticeably (Coxall, Robbins, Leach, 2003, p.42). In the British conte xt the religious influences upon traditional family values had been predominately Christian in their origins. The dominant family values in Britain have been altered by different factors since the 1960s. The belief in Christian values has declined due to the processes of secularisation and liberalisation, changing social attitudes arguably helped by changes in fashion and media coverage. Family values are also different due to the immigration of people into Britain with different religious faiths such as Islam, and Hinduism (Modood, 2005, p.192). Different religious beliefs mean that although non-Christians often have a strong sense of morality and an understanding of how to behave, those moral values are similar yet not necessarily the same as traditional family values as they are perceived (Forman Baldwin, 1999, pp. 10-11). British governments, assuming that they have a sufficient Parliamentary majority are generally able to carry out policy objectives and pass legislation as they feel necessary, or, to keep to the pledges they made in their party manifestos during the previous general election campaigns. The power and the authority held by British governments to carry out their policies is great, and the vast majority of the population accepts the legislation passed through Parliament. However, it is under the assumption that the government can be voted out at the next general election if the majority of voters are unhappy with its performance, or achievements. Much harder to define or evaluate can be the influence that governments have upon people’s beliefs and behaviour. Parties win general elections sometimes because they are the least unpopular party, rather than because they are the most popular. Voters can be as pragmatic or as cynical as the politicians that they vote for or against, they vote for the party that makes them better off, as much as the party that wants to influence or potentially change their beliefs and behaviour (Coxall, Robbins, Leach, 2003, pp 4 –5). Now attention is turned to the discussion of how differing ideological, or political beliefs have influenced the Thatcher and New Labour governments into making policy and legislation that affects social policy in Britain. The classical liberal approach to traditional family values was that governments should not intervene in social matters just as they should keep economic interventions down to an absolute minimum. The classical liberal approach regarded the role of governments as being strictly limited to providing legislation when required, and limited educational, law and order, and national defence facilities or services. The moral, religious, and social values may have been Christian yet that was just by historical chance. Classical liberal thinkers such as John Locke argued that the government should tolerate diversity and allow its people to act in anyway they wanted that did not contravene national laws (Lacey, 2006, p.7). For classical liberals, governments should have gone no further than regulating workplace safety and regulating the Poor Law administration. The teaching of traditional family values was down to churches (or other religious institutions), schools, and individual family groups themselves (Eatwell Wright, 2003 p. 36). The ideas of classical liberalism would re-emerge from the 1960s in the guise of neo-liberalism and would have the most influence in Britain upon the government that was led by Margaret Thatcher between May 1979 and her removal from office in November 1990. The Major government that held office from 1990 through to 1997 was regarded as being less dogmatic and more pragmatic than its immediate predecessor was, though conversely placing a greater emphasis on individual morality and standards of behaviour (Eatwell Wright, 2003, p. 287). Another strand of liberal political ideology emerged at the beginning of the 20th century that favoured a higher level of government intervention in social and economic matters. This ‘new’ liberalism was responsible for the first moves towards establishing the welfare state in Britain. The new Liberals regarded poverty as being the largest single threat to traditional family values, as well as being socially divisive. Poverty often led families into the dreaded workhouses that separated parents from their children, and then parents from each other. Poverty in other words could stop people from caring for each other, it stopped relatives being cared for, and prevented people looking after themselves. The workhouse was, according to the new liberal ideological perspective, the biggest breaker of families, something that grinding poverty did not always achieve (Moran, 2005, p. 28). The introduction of Labour Exchanges, national insurance, which paid small amounts of unemplo yment benefit, and limited old age pensions may have done little to reverse poverty, yet it heralded greater levels of government intervention in social and economic affairs, especially after Labour’s landslide election victory in 1945. All those new Liberal reforms were intended to preserve family units, as unemployment, underemployment, and old age were all factors that made people poor, and put them in the workhouse, or drove them towards committing crimes to make money. Had the British economy been stronger during the inter-period then the limited welfare state of the Liberals might have been extended earlier. There were limited extensions such as the development of council houses and some free health care for the poorest families (Eatwell Wright, 2003 p.38). The Liberal party itself appeared to be in a virtually terminal decline after the First World War with its former supporters either switching their votes to the Conservatives or the Labour party. Conversely it would be variations of liberal ideology that have arguably had the most political, social, and economic influence upon post-war Britain and the values that British government aimed to promote through policy and legislation. New Liberalism had a pronounced influence upon the welfare state and Keynesian economic policies pursued from 1945 through to the late 1970s, particularly under the auspices of the Beveridge Report and the wish to avoid mass unemployment on the scale of the 1930s. New Liberalism also influenced the decision of British governments to accept changing social attitudes by changing policy and passing legislation to recognise the slackening hold of traditional family values. The use of Keynesian economics was lessened during the Callaghan government as it was forc ed into accepting a loan from the International Monetary Fund, and had to reduce public spending before that loan was made available. Of course, it was the revival of neo-liberal ideology that strongly influenced the Thatcher government and meant that the New Labour government had to take power in radically different social and economic circumstances than the Labour governments of the 1970s had faced (Coxall, Robbins, Leach, 2003, p. 54). In contrast, the Conservative ideological perspective often placed a greater emphasis upon the promotion and the respecting of traditional family values, either to protect property or to maintain social stability. Conservative politicians in Britain regarded themselves as being the party that maintained law and order better than any other political party, to protect social stability, and strengthen national unity (Eatwell Wright, 2003, p. 51). The Conservative party was the party that usually claimed to be the guardian of traditional family values. The Conservative party had strong links with the Church of England. Indeed, sometimes people referred to the Church of England as being the Conservative party at prayer. As such the Conservative party took a negative view about human nature that helps to explain its tougher stance on law and order issues (Jones et al, 2004, p. 155). Unlike the classical Liberals, the Conservatives were prepared and remain prepared to actively change gover nment policy, and enact legislation if that was needed to protect traditional family values. Previous Conservative governments in Britain have passed both restrictive and liberalising legislation when they have considered such actions to be justified by present circumstances. Conservatives have been repressive, regressive, or liberal in character at different times (Eatwell Wright, 2003, p. 54). There was a strong paternalistic streak in the British Conservative party, which has sometimes dominated the party, and at other times has had very little influence over the party’s policies when in government. The paternalistic streak has not always gone well with other ideological influences within the party that have been opposed to intervening in society or the economy. For instance, compare the ideological beliefs of Harold MacMillan, or Anthony Eden with Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher did not like the paternalistic ‘One Nation Tories’, and instead attempted to transfo rm British society (Moran, 2005, p. 28). The Labour party was created specifically to further the interests of the working classes, as such the only traditional family values it wished to protect, promote, or bring back were those that it believed would benefit the working classes. The Labour party was committed to the social ownership of the means of production, and the introduction of extensive welfare, and social security provision. Not only would these measures improve social equality, they would reduce poverty, and make British society better by making it fairer for all. The Labour party was also a political party that was moderate and gradualist in its approach to achieving social, economic, and political reforms. The decline of the Liberal party allowed Labour to become the second main political party in Britain and even form a government in 1924. The first Labour government was only a minority administration, and was therefore unable to achieve much (Wilson, 2005, p. 252). The second Labour government elected in 192 9 had a parliamentary majority, yet its time in office was blighted by the onset of the Great Depression. The party was divided by Ramsey Mac Donald’s decision to cut unemployment benefits, and the introduction of other austerity measures that made the affects of unemployment worse for many of the people that Labour was supposed to help (Wilson, 2005, p. 285). Labour got its big chance to profoundly alter British social and economic policies as a result of the wartime feeling that something should be done to make Britain a fairer and less poverty stricken place to live in. Labour fully backed the proposals of the Beveridge Report and introduced a comprehensive welfare state and reaped its sensational electoral benefits in 1945 (Lacey, 2006, p. 260). The Labour party managed to achieve its social and economic aims during the Atlee governments of 1945 through to 1951. Its objectives were achieved with the introduction of a comprehensive welfare state, the National Health Service (NHS), and increased educational opportunities. To banish the possibility of mass unemployment on the scale of the 1930s, industries were nationalised and Keynesian demand side economic policies were pursued. From the Labour party’s perspective Britain’s traditional family values should have been protected or even promoted by declining levels of poverty, better health care provision, and higher levels of educational achievement. The welfare state and the NHS seemed to be safe as the Conservatives accepted the vast majority of Labour’s reforms (Fisher, Denver, Benyon, 2003, p. 11). In fact, the Conservative Party enjoyed considerable success in the 1950s as the British electorate trusted them to leave the welfare state and public servi ces untouched, whilst successfully managing Keynesian economics to make people financially better off (Sandbrook, 2005 p. 51). Until the late 1960s it seemed that British governments had managed to achieve strong economic growth, an effective welfare system, and a high degree of social harmony. The period also introduced legislation that liberalised British society, for instance the legalisation of homosexuality, abortion, and the abolition of the death penalty. Legislation was also passed that made it easier to get divorced. However, there were to be social, economic, and political developments that loosened the post-war political consensus. The loosening of that post-war consensus began with deteriorating economic growth and social changes, developments that would eventually lead to the emergence of Margaret Thatcher as a politician that was determined to radically alter the political, social, and economic fabric of Britain (Forman Baldwin, 1999, p. 11). It was not just Britain’s relatively poor economic performance that Margaret Thatcher wished to tackle; she wanted to tackle the political, social , and economic decline of Britain. Margaret Thatcher wished to reverse what she considered to be the harmful social and economic consequences of decline fostered by the liberalisation of moral values caused by the legislation of the 1960s and the changes in social attitudes that occurred during the same period (Coxall, Robbins, Leach, 2003, p. 42). On the other hand, New Labour wished to regain power by gaining the votes of people that had previously voted for the Thatcher and Major governments, whilst retaining the support of their loyal Labour supporters. Traditional Labour party supporters had not supported the party because it claimed to protect or restore traditional family values; instead they believed that a Labour government would make them better off, and British society fairer. However, traditional Labour voters had been reduced in numbers by the reduction in the size of heavy industries and the Thatcher government’s economic policies such as the sell off of council housing and privatisation (Fisher, Denver, Benyon, 2003 p. 12). The combination of changing social and economic trends, the privatisation policies of the Thatcher government, as well as party in-fighting had condemned the Labour party to four consecutive general election defeats. The Labour Party had expected to win the 1992 general election, altho ugh the Major government managed to get re-elected by scrapping the poll tax (Jones, 1999 p.1). New Labour might not have emerged at all if John Smith had not died leading to Tony Blair becoming the party leader, and going on to reorganise the Labour Party, reshaping its policies, and its image in order to gain power (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 p. 5). Whilst New Labour emphasised that it would no longer pursue traditional Labour party economic policies, it would stress that it was keen to make British society fairer than it had been during the Thatcher and the Major governments. New Labour stressed that it stood for fairer social values, for instance actively trying to encourage the acceptance of cultural diversity, or promoting gay and lesbian rights (Coxall, Robbins, Leach, 2003, p. 397). New Labour shifted its economic policies to the right first, then moved its social policies in a similar direction (Moran, 2005, p. 28). Tony Blair and New Labour stressed that once in power it would help to bring back traditional family values by being tough on crime by tackling its social and economic causes (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005, p. 6). New Labour has also pledged to reform welfare provision, the NHS, and the education system to improve performance and reduce social exclusion. New Labour wanted to restore what it considered to be traditio nal family values through policy and legislation, yet with the emphasis being different from the emphasis of the Thatcher government in rhetoric if not in substance (Jones, 1999, p. 2). All governments have to be aware of the public scrutiny that they may have to endure, through Parliament, through media coverage and speculation, as well as been observed by the general public. The government of the day can have its policy and legislation objectives overturned and jeopardised by adverse publicity or media revelations. The media is very useful for the government to sell its policies and pieces of legislation to the electorate yet no government can expect favourable media coverage all of the time and sensible governments will try to manage media coverage to get the best results. The Thatcher and New Labour governments took media management techniques seriously for their periods in office although that has not guaranteed that they will succeed in making all their policy and legislation succeed, whether or not it was meant to restore traditional family values (Jones, 1999, p. 52). Chapter One – The Thatcher government and returning back to traditional family values This chapter will deal with the subject of the Thatcher government and its attempts of returning to traditional family values through policy and legislation. Margaret Thatcher broke the mould of the average Conservative party leader, and it was not simply because she was the first woman to gain that position. Although the Conservatives had been stung by the size of their election defeat in 1945, they had soon recovered to regain power by 1951 (Wilson, 2005, p.484). Successive Conservative leaders from Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, Harold MacMillan, and Alec Douglas Hume had accepted the post-war political, economic and social consensus established after 1945 (Sandbrook, 2005, p.51). It had been Margaret Thatcher’s immediate predecessor as Conservative leader, Edward Heath that had first attempted to overturn the post-war consensus through the adoption of the Selsdon programme. As Education secretary, Margaret Thatcher was part of the Heath government that eventually returne d to Keynesian economic policies, due to trade union opposition, and the desire to increase economic growth to prevent unemployment levels going past one million (Fisher, Denver Benyon, 2003, p.11). The Heath government would fall victim to increasing trade union opposition that led to the three day week, whilst Heath’s defeat in both general elections of 1974 meant that leading Conservatives were looking for alternative policies and a new leader with a different approach to the discredited Heath. Margaret Thatcher decided to stand for the party leadership and succeeded in displacing Heath. After she became Conservative leader, her differing ideological outlook from her post-war predecessors started to emerge. Thatcher’s right wing rhetoric, no nonsense leadership style, her forthright messages, and obvious sense of nationalism struck the right chords with the British electorate during the late 1970s (Eatwell Wright, 2003, p. 160). Margaret Thatcher was determined to restore the electoral fortunes of the Conservative and then went on to revive the ailing British economy by fundamentally altering social, economic, and political attitudes within the country. Thatcher believed that Britain needed to radically overhaul its social and economic policies to reverse economic decline and social decadence. The medicine that Thatcher prescribed to cure Britain of its social and economic woes was the adoption of neo-liberal economic policies and a return to traditional family values. According to neo-liberal economists such as Hayek and Friedman, Keynesian economics and extensive welfare states like Britain’s after 1945 were socially and economically detrimental. Thatcher had been introduced to these concepts by one of her closest advisors, Sir Keith Joseph, and she saw them as the solution to Britain economic decline and social degradation (Coxall, Robbins, Leach, 2003, p. 54). The welfare state removed the incent ive to work, or the incentives to reduce the size of families, whilst providing adequate standards of living for those that were work shy or content to have children outside of marriage and long term relationships. The pursuit of Keynesian economic policies had increased the power of trade unions whilst restricting the efficiency of both public and private sector enterprises. Thatcher argued that excessively high rates of taxation reduced the incentives for people to work harder and meant that some people were financially better off by being unemployed. Thatcher’s solution to these problems was to end Keynesian economic policies, lower taxes, sell off public assets, and attempt to reduce the size of the welfare state. The inability of the Callaghan government to solve Britain’s economic ills and the Winter of Discontent of industrial action and public sector strikes allowed Thatcher to take power after winning the general election of May 1979 (Fisher, Denver, Benyon, 2003, p.11). Once in office the Thatcher government undertook a radical reshaping of economic policy that had a major impact upon British society and influenced the success of policy and legislation to bring back traditional family values. The pursuit of economic liberalisation was the government’s policy given priority over all other policies and initiatives. Thatcher believed that economic liberalisation would be the catalyst that would modernise and revive Britain’s economic performance, with the anticipated consequence that it would revive at least some of the traditional family values. That was the underlying belief that people should work to make their lives better rather than relying upon the welfare state to give them handouts. The problem with adopting monetarist economic policies was that it resulted in the highest levels of unemployment witnessed in Britain since the Great Depression of the 1930s. With more than three million people unemployed, expenditure on the social s ecurity budget increased rather than decreased. Economic policy in this instance actually made the return to traditional family values less likely to be achieved. High unemployment levels instead meant a return to inter-period levels of poverty, and the closure of unprofitable coal mines and steel mills devastated whole communities (Coxall, Robbins, Leach, 2003, p. 54). High unemployment levels also helped the Thatcher government to break the power of the trade unions more effectively than legislation on its own. That legislation was restrictive of trade union powers in its own right, more so than the failed efforts of the Heath government a decade earlier. The Thatcher government regarded employment legislation as vital in making its efforts to erode trade union power effective. The Employment Act of 1980 took away the rights of trade unions to operate closed shops (allowing workers the right not to join trade unions), take secondary industrial action, or, use flying pickets to force employers to give into their demands. The Employment Act also laid down certain conditions that trade unions had to follow exactly before they could take industrial action. For instance, trade unions had to hold postal ballots to vote for or against strike action. Any trade union that did not hold official ballots was going on strike illegally, and therefore faced lega l action from employers. For the Thatcher government the Employment Act of 1980 proved invaluable with its conflicts with the militant trade unions, especially the coal miners (Forman, Baldwin, 1999, p.450). For the Thatcher government its conflict with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) led by Arthur Scargil proved the ultimate test of whether it could change the social and economic structure of Britain to fit in with its ideological outlook. The NUM had been regarded as being largely responsible for the defeat of the Heath government during the 1970s, so the Thatcher government wanted to defeat it as a symbol of Britain being transformed economically, socially, and politically. Although the Thatcher government did give way over pay disputes in 1981 as it did not believe it could defeat the NUM, it was biding its time. However, by 1984 the Thatcher government was certain that the situation had changed in its favour through its new legislation that reduced secondary strike action, and because coal had been stockpiled at power stations to prevent the NUM from forcing the government to give in. The bitter miners strike of 1984-85 effectively broke the power of the NUM forever, and sho wed that the trade unions could no longer bring down any government that they wanted to (Forman Baldwin, 1999, p. 196). As part of its policy objectives to bring back traditional family values the Thatcher government tried to improve the law and order situation without much apparent success. Once again the economic policies of the Thatcher government had consequences for the successful conduct of its social policies. The chief consequence of Thatcherite economic policies was as already mentioned high unemployment. High unemployment made it harder to reduce the level of crime; in fact crime rates rose as sharply as unemployment rates did throughout much of the 1980s (Fisher, Denver, Benyon, 2003, p. 12). Unemployment increased peoples’ sense of desperation as well as putting many of them into poverty. Crime increased as people tried to make ends meet, and it also increased as a result of a rise in the number of people taking illegal drugs. High unemployment and the illegal drug trade meant that respect for law and order was reduced in the majority of inner city areas rather than improved. A com bination of high unemployment, heavy handed policing, and increased levels of racial tension lead to the outbreak of inner city riots in 1981 that alarmed the Thatcher government (Jones et al, 2004, p. 628). To prevent a repeat of those riots the Thatcher government introduced urban redevelopment areas, and attempted to change the policing methods used in areas that contained ethnic minority communities. The Thatcher government tried to reduce crime by allowing courts to set tougher sentences and the introduction of youth detention centres, yet nothing seemed to work (Jones et al, 2004, p. 628). The failure of the Thatcher government to reverse the rising crime figures is a clear demonstration that the social policy, and legislation of governments can have little or virtually no influence over people’s behaviour if they did not want that behaviour to be altered. Although there was a strong link between rising crime and rising unemployment during the Thatcher government the le vels of crime have not decreased, despite unemployment falling since its peak in the late 1980s (Jones et al, 2004, p. 629). Other areas of the That

Suicide Among Youth Essay -- Suicide Teenagers Suicidal Essays

Suicide Among Youth A suicide attempt is a non-fatal act in which an individual deliberately causes self- injury and should be recognized as a method of communication from a youth who may be experiencing severe problems. Canadian statistics from the Suicide Information and Education Center in 1996 recorded 25 000 attempted suicides and 250 successful suicides. 1 in every 100 people who try to commit suicide will die. Based on the 1996 statistics one can assume that these numbers have increased. It has been suggested that suicide is the second leading cause of death amongst the youth and is more common amongst females than males. Although more females attempt to commit suicide males are more successful in doing so. More often than not we hear of younger people committing suicide rather than those of the elderly. From reading several studies it is hard to say whether it is the youth or the general population that are more likely to attempt suicide and be successful at it. One may often wonder why a person commits suicide and what lead them to the point where they felt there was â€Å"no way out†. It has been suggested youth who are suicidal feel alone, not understood by parents and or their peers, that they are unable to cope with failure, criticism and feel that things will never get better or that no one can do anything to help him or her, amongst other things. Based on these feelings experienced by youths they seek suicide as the â€Å"way out†. One reason suggested is that teens commit suicide as a punishment to themselves and to others around them. Suicide is also seen as a method of revenge. Some of the risk factors associated with suicide are abuse (physical, emotional, drug and sexual), as well as family history and change. Youth are affected deeply by change especially with issues involving family and friends. It has been suggested that the greater number of female attempts at suicide is based on relationship breakups. It is assumed that most often females experience a level of attachment that is much greater than that of males. A female may feel as if no one understands her and that the only important person in her life has now left. Along with the risk factors there are warning signs. I will list a few but the slightest comment could mean that the person feels suicidal. Some of the more common warning signs are loss of appetite, sleep distur... ...hday, I would never know what it feels like to get married or have children. Speaking from experience I think that the best way to help youth is to offer programs that can help them. The Support Network here in Edmonton offers confidential 24 hour service to help youth who are experiencing problems. I also think that suicide prevention and education should be taught in schools. I feel this way because this may affect a person’s life in some way or another whether they are the people who attempt or they are someone who has lost a loved one because of suicide. I personally believe that suicide awareness is much more important than learning how to solve for a polynomial or simplifying an equation. Suicide, whether an attempt or a completion is not something that should taken lightly. It is a life changing experience and never goes away. Suicide will affect all lives and needs to be dealt with. Suicide can be prevented, as long as everyone understands and helps those who appear to need it. Even for those who don’t appear to need it! Bibliography Suicide Information and Education Center (SIEC), 1996 Information on pamphlets and handouts from The Support N

The Etiology and Treatment of Parkinson Disease Essay -- Health Aging

Parkinson Disease There exists a group of people who live the final years of their lives in glass boxes. They are perfectly capable of seeing outside, but incapable of reaching out to the world around them. Their emotions can not be shown through facial expression, and as their condition continues, speech also becomes difficult or even impossible. These people are men and women of all races and geographical areas, constituting one percent of the world’s population over 50 years old. Parkinson disease is their affliction. Although Parkinsonism has been around almost as long as recorded history, there is yet to be found a cause or a cure. Medications tame the symptoms and prolong life, but are incapable of reversing the disease progression.. Diagnosis relies exclusively upon clinical signs and symptoms, because almost all laboratory and radiography tests are normal in the Parkinson patient. For this reason early diagnosis is very difficult. The fact that early signs of Parkinsonism can easily be overlooked as normal aging, further complicates diagnosis. Therefore, primary care physicians of the middle-aged and elderly population must be extremely sensitive to patients’ outward appearance and changes in movement ability. Most signs and symptoms of Parkinson disease correspond to one of three motor deficiencies: bradykinesia, akinesia, tremor, and rigidity. The first two qualities are usually present before tremor, but often attributed to aging by the patient and even the physician, and thus the disease is rarely diagnosed until tremor becomes evident much later. An average of 80% of the nigrostriatal neurons may have already degenerated by the time Parkinsonism is diagnosed, which complicates treatment (Fitzgerald, 130). Bra... ...ed. Bailliere Tindall. London: 1985. Kandel, E. R., J. H. Schwarz, and T. M. Jessel. Principles of Neural Science. 3rd ed. Elsevier. New York: 1991. Korczyn, A. D. "Autonomic Nervous System Disturbances in Parkinson’s Disease." Advances in Neurology. Vol. 53, 1990, Pp., 463-468. Langston, J. W. "Current Theories on the Cause of Parkinson’s Disease. " Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry. 1989, suppl. ,pp. 13-i7. Lees, AJ. "The On-Off Phenomenon." Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry. 1989, suppl. ,pp. 29-37. Lieberman, A., "Emerging Perspectives in Parkinson’s Disease." Neurology. April 1992. suppl 4.. Pp. 5-7. Rowland, L. P., ed. Merritt’s Textbook of Neurology. 7th ed. Lea and Febiger. Philadelphia: 1984. Walton, Sir John. Brain’s Diseases of the Nervous System. 9th ed. Oxford University Press. Oxford: 1985. The Etiology and Treatment of Parkinson Disease Essay -- Health Aging Parkinson Disease There exists a group of people who live the final years of their lives in glass boxes. They are perfectly capable of seeing outside, but incapable of reaching out to the world around them. Their emotions can not be shown through facial expression, and as their condition continues, speech also becomes difficult or even impossible. These people are men and women of all races and geographical areas, constituting one percent of the world’s population over 50 years old. Parkinson disease is their affliction. Although Parkinsonism has been around almost as long as recorded history, there is yet to be found a cause or a cure. Medications tame the symptoms and prolong life, but are incapable of reversing the disease progression.. Diagnosis relies exclusively upon clinical signs and symptoms, because almost all laboratory and radiography tests are normal in the Parkinson patient. For this reason early diagnosis is very difficult. The fact that early signs of Parkinsonism can easily be overlooked as normal aging, further complicates diagnosis. Therefore, primary care physicians of the middle-aged and elderly population must be extremely sensitive to patients’ outward appearance and changes in movement ability. Most signs and symptoms of Parkinson disease correspond to one of three motor deficiencies: bradykinesia, akinesia, tremor, and rigidity. The first two qualities are usually present before tremor, but often attributed to aging by the patient and even the physician, and thus the disease is rarely diagnosed until tremor becomes evident much later. An average of 80% of the nigrostriatal neurons may have already degenerated by the time Parkinsonism is diagnosed, which complicates treatment (Fitzgerald, 130). Bra... ...ed. Bailliere Tindall. London: 1985. Kandel, E. R., J. H. Schwarz, and T. M. Jessel. Principles of Neural Science. 3rd ed. Elsevier. New York: 1991. Korczyn, A. D. "Autonomic Nervous System Disturbances in Parkinson’s Disease." Advances in Neurology. Vol. 53, 1990, Pp., 463-468. Langston, J. W. "Current Theories on the Cause of Parkinson’s Disease. " Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry. 1989, suppl. ,pp. 13-i7. Lees, AJ. "The On-Off Phenomenon." Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry. 1989, suppl. ,pp. 29-37. Lieberman, A., "Emerging Perspectives in Parkinson’s Disease." Neurology. April 1992. suppl 4.. Pp. 5-7. Rowland, L. P., ed. Merritt’s Textbook of Neurology. 7th ed. Lea and Febiger. Philadelphia: 1984. Walton, Sir John. Brain’s Diseases of the Nervous System. 9th ed. Oxford University Press. Oxford: 1985.

Query optimization

The solution will bring down the use of specialized hardware thus helping reduce cost and making implementation faster and easier. We shall use a pattern matching algorithm to compare the drivers' driving style to predefined patterns depicting rash driving. These patterns will be based on a number of various parameters such as speed of the vehicle, radius of turns etc. If the patterns are matched then an alert will be generated in the form of a message, alarm or call. Keywords – Mobile Phones, Sensors, Driving Pattern, Android l. INTRODUCTION It goes without saying; a majority of accidents which occur are due to rash driving.Crashes caused by lack of alertness in vehicle drivers pose a serious danger to people. This is hazardous not only to drivers themselves but also often to the general public. According to the report of U. S. National Highway Traffic Safety Shish Chuddar et. Al. Administration (NATHAN), more than a million people have died in traffic crashes in the United S tates since 1966. Also the main reason for the occurrence of these disasters was reckless driving. Till date, the detection of rash driving has been based on visual observations by patrol officers.But detection through visual observations does not possess satisfactory results. So it is essential to develop systems that actively keep track of driver's operating situations and generate alert on any insecure conditions to prevent accident. It is preferable that the actively monitoring system is real-time monitoring system with quick response, reliable with accurate performance, intrusive and has low cost. Mobile phone being a self-sufficient device, presents a mature hardware and software environment for the development of active rash driving monitoring system.The system based on mobile phone can function effectively on its own because mobile phones are highly portable; all necessary components are already integrated therein, and their communication services have vast coverage. The min imum requirement for such a mobile phone platform is the presence of simple sensors, e. G. , accelerometer and orientation sensor. Now- 2131 wry. I]cams. Org a-days, many phones, especially smart phones, meet this requirement In this paper, we emphasize on using mobile phones as the platform for rash driving detection system development, as they provide the combination for detection and communication functions.We shall build a yester that compares the driving style of the driver to predefined patterns depicting rash driving. These patterns will be based on a number of parameters like speed of vehicle, lane position maintenance and radius of turn. Driving patterns will be matched at real time. If the pattern matches the pre-stored pattern obtained in rash driving cases, immediately an alert would be generated and a message would be send to a concerned person. The performance of our system is evaluated by conducting real driving tests.During these tests, we drive regularly or imitate the rash driving related behaviors. We also vary the position and orientation of mobile phones in the vehicle for the purpose of validation. The results show that our detection system achieves good performance in terms of false negative and false positive. In particular, this paper is organized as follows: Section II represents the methodology involved in Rash Driving Detection which includes Mobile Orientation, Pattern Generation and Matching and Alert Generation.Section Ill represents the Mathematical Model that describes the input, output functionalities along with the success and failure cases. Section IV represents the System Design here we have mentioned about the nature of algorithm to be used for pattern matching. Section V represents the Energy Efficiency of the system. Section VI contains the implementation details of our system. Section VII concludes this paper. RASH DRIVING DETECTION A. Mobile Orientation The acceleration readings are provided by accelerometers in direct ions of x, y, and z axis, correspondingly represented by Ax; Ay and Az.Acceleration readings in direction of x-, y-, and z-axis are with regard to the body of the mobile phone. A mobile phone's orientation can be determined by orientation angles, I. E. Pitch and roll values. Pitch and roll represent the rotation around y-axis and z-axis. In the simplest case, we assume that the mobile phone is laid flat in the vehicle, with the top of phone toward the head of vehicle, so that the accelerations on x-axis and y-axis represent the lateral and longitudinal accelerations of vehicle, respectively.However, the real situations are more complex. The mobile phone may be laid in the vehicle arbitrarily, neither flat nor heading toward the head of the vehicle. Therefore, we set a calibration procedure to help the system determine what direction is longitudinal. 2132 B. Pattern Generation and Matching The calibration procedure begins to work when the system detects the vehicle starts to move. It s starting movement gives the mobile phone a continuously initial longitudinal acceleration, either forward (to get off directly) or backward (to back off the vehicle first).We denote this acceleration as vector AAA. It is much different from that in human movement. Next, we denote the angle between vector Ax and AAA as the angle between vector Ayah and AAA. These two angles are calculated as: driver's side and a message is sent to a person whose contact details are taken into he system initially at the time of installation of the application. The message would contain a link providing the latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates of the current position of the driver. The exact location is determined through GAPS.Thus, if the message is successfully delivered, an alert notification would be generated at the driver site and the driver will be rescued with the immediate effect. MATHEMATICAL MODEL S= {Ax, Ay, AZ, eye , ex, If,C, Altar, Alone, An, Ink, save, sham, Dry, AAA, LLC , SEC, U P,IF, FAA, Deed, Then the lateral and longitudinal components of acceleration are calculated using the formula: We have stored the test cases of rash driving data in a file. At run time, we will be matching the above obtained values with the pre-stored data using an efficient pattern matching algorithm.Let S be the system that describes â€Å"Mobile based monitoring of driving patterns. † Let A is the set of x, y and z components of acceleration. Let O is the set of pitch and roll values obtained from orientation sensor. Inputs: {Ax, Ay,Az 0= { eye , Oz} Let C is the set of lateral and longitudinal components of acceleration. Output: C = {Altar, Alone } Function: Sec: (A, 0) -+ C Where F is a non-injective function C. Alert Generation Once the pattern is successfully matched, an alarm is generated at the 2133 Let V is the set representing the average speed reached during driving and the maximum speed of the vehicle.

The Deontological and Utilitarian Sense of Business

Are minority set aside programs morally acceptable? The answer to this should be obvious but somehow it does not seem to be. A minority program of any kind is that also belonging within the scope of an affirmative action. There is to be no discrimination based upon certain Federal protected classes such as sex, age, religion to name a few and so in this, minority set aside programs by all rights should be morally accepted.The biggest problem with set aside programs is that they were originally based upon a social policy, by a policy maker who is no longer alive and no one to take up where the policy maker left off thus allowing the set aside program to struggle and possible eventually falling apart. There are a small handfull of set aside programs that are accepted such as the ones that the Small Business Administration has for minorities to include women, entrprenuers. These programs make sure that the minorities also get a fair share of the governments money under certain condition s.These set aside programs have helped many a woman or minority owned business get started and off the ground to become competitive within the real worl markets. For those who do not believe in having these set aside programs must suredly still be in the old school, political thought process that women or minorities, no matter what their reason for being a minority is, shouldn’t either be allowed to be given money for one reason or another or should be allowed to make it on their own like the â€Å"big boys† would. Often times, even the big boys obtain loans and grants as well as help from family members.Is there an inherent fear in a woman or minority starting or running a business and obtaining monies to do so? Many people have a utilitarian outlook upon certain ethics or morals and it is the affirmative action in regards to employment that seems to be the most hard hit, despite this being a protected class. It would be safe to say that if this utilitarian view happe ns with employment then it should be no surprise that when this same thought process happens with set aside programs. In our deontological world there are ethics and morals of these set aside programs as well as with individuals.The affirmative action groups and laws deal directly with this. If a woman or minority group feels that they have been discriminated against in the sense of obtaining business funds then it is these groups that will generally go into action to enforce an already written legislation or policy or federal law; to make sure that the faction causing the issue realizes and acts accordingly to accept that minority set aside programs morally acceptable. The one thing about the actual formation of set aside programs is that they assume the problems of these minorities instead of the individual or other protercted class being held in the limelight.They deal with both the deontological aspects of values, ethics and morals as well as the utilitarian process of abiding b y the rules and laws of these programs. Our nation, dating clear back to the days before slavery and colonization has been discriminatory against those with different colored skin, those who were women or those of different races or handicaps and slowly, over the evolvement of time we have overcome this thought process which makes it more morally acceptable to have the set aside programs but the bottom line is that this discrimination still exists.My utilitarian opinion is that set aside programs are for the greater good. Until we can look past the race, gender, and religion of our people and base our opinions upon their merit, we will alwas have the continuing need for programs that addresses these concerns. Today is a changing world and the term equal opportunity should not be held loosely but be held within the strictest sense so that all have equal opportunity in which to work, form and maintain their businesses, no matter what their protected class is. While some people may not morally accept the protected class status they need to not only by law but by fairness.We live in a liberal world now where so many things that were once conservatively looked down upon has now been accepted within society to Supreme Court Rulings that this should be no different. Know that each state within the United States has their own statutes regarding set aside programs. These statutes also follow the Federal laws of engagement. Each state has their own progrmas and each differ in some small way. Check with each state capital to determine what programs are available and the process through which to obtain the particular set of funds you are seeking and what is required. References Edward I. Koch, , Equal Opportunity – Without Minority Set-Asides, February 1989, http://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/20/opinion/equal-opportunity-without-minority-set-asides.html Jill Mccullough, With set-aside programs changing, minority firms might want to be going corporate, March 2002, http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2002/03/04/smallb1.html

As Essay on the Film “Boyz N The Hood”

Many of the predominant concepts in the film Boyz N The Hood are best viewed from a sociological perspective. The film tackles friendship, parenthood, violence, revenge, and conflict as part of the human condition, all in the context of â€Å"the hood† (the black neighborhood/community). Other less dominant concepts are racial prejudice, drug abuse, abuse of power, gentrification, sexuality, and equality in education.The problems of parenthood, violence, conflict, sexuality, drugs, power abuse, and discrimination are all too real; the relevance of these problems as depicted in the film resonates with today's modern society. Although some aspects of the film have exaggerated implications for the average American neighborhood (such as the sound of police cars, helicopters, and shooting which are often heard in the background, and the commonness of extreme violence), the issues depicted are actual and immediate for many Americans.One scene highlights the prejudicial attitudes of some white people to blacks: During the first part of the film when the teacher calls Tre’s mother, Reva, instead of discussing Trey’s situation, the teacher needlessly asks whether or not Reva is employed, to which Reva answers that she is both employed and studying to get her master’s degree. The teacher seems to respond to this condescendingly, saying, â€Å"Oh, so you are educated†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This shows how some white people automatically assume that blacks are either unemployed on uneducated.This exchange makes the viewer think: Would the teacher have asked the same questions had the mother been a white person? In slum neighborhoods teeming with illegal immigrants, problems with inequality and violence seem to abound. Particularly, the Latino communities in the U. S. seem to be experiencing the same issues as that of the blacks. This includes the prevailing racial prejudice, the income disparity between racial groups, and the dangers of living in violent neighborhoods.