The Issues With Faculty Performance Reviews Essay Example for Free

The Issues With Faculty Performance Reviews Essay The peer review faculty evaluation system creates big sources of issues and confusion for a variety of reasons. Foremost among the reasons is the nature of interaction between peers in the education setting. Feedback provided, whether positive or negative, is oftentimes skewed due to personal relationships. Personal opinions that should not be present in a professional atmosphere take on added importance when it comes to determining the performance of the faculty. One partial solution to this problem is distributing anonymous peer reviews. If the identity of the person giving the advice is kept confidential, people will be more open to providing honest feedback because they will not violate issues of personal trust and friendship. On the other hand, anonymity also protects those who have personal vendettas against a particular faculty member without recourse to personal accountability. That being said, the peer review system should be anonymous. It is impossible to keep personal interests out of these reviews, but keeping them anonymous can shield against part of the confusion, however it will not eliminate it altogether because people are partial to colleagues they get along with, regardless of the performance in the classroom. Peer reviews need to be balanced against both student and administrative feedback in order to complete a more nuanced picture of the overall faculty performance.

Message vs. Style in Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe Essay Example for Free

Message vs. Style in Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe Essay The message is more important than the style. I totally disagree with this statement in the context of Things Fall Apart as I believe that in this particular work, the message is of equivalent importance to the style; to have a particular writing style whose sole purpose is found in informing readers as to the purpose to the message, and then to NOT have a message, would be useless, whereas having a message to tell readers, WITHOUT such a writing style as is necessary to allow them to absorb the purpose, would again be useless- therefore the message and writing styles are equally important in this story, as one cannot do without the other. In this case, the central message of Things Fall Apart, that African culture is complex, can only be absorbed by readers if Achebes writing style, which incorporates the use of dialogue, conflict, proverbs, diction and setting, allows them to develop such recognition of cultural complexity- the author cannot merely instruct the reader to believe that the culture is indeed complex, and still expect the reader to believe as such without question. Firstly, Achebe makes ample use of dialogue as a component of his writing style to carry forth the message of a culturally complex society. For example, Okonkwos conversation with Obierika as to the Oracles desires in Chapter Eight introduces significant cultural elements to the readers. Okonkwo argues that his participation in the murder of Ikemefuna was justified, but Obierika contends otherwise, declaring that Okonkwos actions are of the kind for which the earth goddess, Ani, wipes out whole families. In the conflict between their different views we see the strong influence exerted by their religion on each person, and also acquire recognition of significant religious elements, namely the Oracle and the earth goddess. That Okonkwo and Obierika should have differing opinions about the Oracles religious intentions indicates the presence of complex perceptions of the same religion. This complexity in religious perceptions then implicitly suggests to readers an inherent complexity in the religion itself, for without such complexity differing religious perceptions would not occur. Religion is a core component of culture, as clearly the culture of a society must not contradict the religious views held by that same society, and having a complex religion as a component of culture in turn suggests that the culture of the society must be complex as well. Dialogue thus serves to carry forth Achebes message that African culture is complex. At the same time, in the suggestions of complex culture found in dialogue, we see how Achebes style of writing encourages readers to gradually reach a perception of his central message on their own, which is important in that the readers must themselves perceive such cultural complexity through development of their own thoughts on the issue- exactly as Achebe intended. To have a dialogue without any inherent message would also make such dialogue purposeless, as Achebe could not possibly describe an overarching purpose to that conversation. This shows how dialogue as a component of the writing style gives such a writing style an importance equal to that of the message; without dialogue being employed as such, readers cannot acquire knowledge of the message, whereas if there was no message, then dialogue would have no purpose. Dialogue as a component of the writing style thus creates a situation where the style is of equal importance to the message. Secondly, traditional African proverbs, a significant element of Achebes writing style, are used to highlight cultural complexity. An example would be Okonkwos declaring that a childs fingers are not scalded by a piece of hot yam which its mother puts into its palm in defence of his participating in the murder of Ikemefuna. He argues that he did as such due to the Oracle declaring that Ikemefuna would have to be killed. That proverbs can be casually used in dialogue to illustrate various points, such as the above proverb serving as a defence for ones actions, is an indication of a highly-developed language. A societys culture is based upon its language, for language serves as the primary medium of communication between humans in a society, and as such readers recognize that language is an important component of culture, therefore having a highly-developed language would thus suggest that society is culturally complex. Proverbs being thus used in Achebes writing style have therefore led to the subtle formation of such a suggestion to readers, which in turn allows readers to follow through on that suggestion, and thereby reach the conclusion that African culture is complex is nature- this being the exact message which Achebe is trying to bring across to readers. Proverbs being a component of Achebes writing style, we can see how they contribute to the carrying the message of cultural complexity across. However, such a writing style also finds its primary purpose in carrying a message; therefore without such a message of cultural complexity, the proverbs would lose their meaning. In this sense, we can safely state that the writing style, through its encompassing the use of proverbs, is of equal importance to the message. Thirdly, Achebes choice of diction also plays a very large role in his writing style. Throughout the story, the narrator refers to the housing for Okonkwos wives as Obi, court messengers as Kotma, and characters use traditional welcomes such as Nno. That such traditional African words should appear throughout the story, interspersed with all the English words, gives readers the impression that such words cannot be simply translated into English. This then suggests to us that language in the society must be very highly developed, for such words do not have a counterpart in the English language, despite the vast vocabulary of the latter. Indeed, I had to refer to the glossary in the book for the English translations of such words. When readers make such inferences, they cannot help but come to the conclusion that the Africans cannot be culturally primitive- to have such a highly-developed language must in turn suggest a highly developed culture, which is exactly the message Achebe is trying to bring across. Thus Achebes choice of diction greatly aids his writing style in carrying the message across to readers, who realize from such implicit suggestions the central message of this work. Indeed, if Achebe did not wish to have a message of cultural complexity, it is plausible that such traditional African words would not appear. Thus we can see how the success in carrying the message across is highly dependent on the writing style, and the shaping of the writing style itself is highly dependent on the type of message being carried across; the message and the style are equally important. Lastly, Achebes description of the various settings in which events take place play a part in shaping his particular writing style. The setting of Ezeudus funeral in Chapter Thirteen is an example of how the setting as a component of Achebes writing style serves to carry forth the message of cultural complexity. Ezeudus funeral was a warriors funeral, and now and then an ancestral spirit, or egwugwu, would appear from the underworld. From the description of this setting, readers are able to more readily appreciate the complexities of traditional African culture; that their culture incorporates a strong, pagan belief in the existence of supernatural beings, the egwugwu, and a similar belief in the existence of an underworld. This places emphasis on a major religious component in their culture. Ezeudus funeral being considered as a warriors funeral also allows us to acquire insights into the importance of a particular social class, the warrior class, in their society. The setting has thus contributed to readers being able to recognize two major components in African culture, the former being religion, the latter being a social component. That these two different components should become so elaborately intertwined in this one ceremony is evidence of a complex culture. The reader, in reviewing the description of the setting, thereby acquires knowledge of the central message of cultural complexity which Achebe is trying to bring across, without Achebe having to explicitly declare as such; this clearly shows how Achebes writing style of placing information from which readers have to make their own inferences has led to our understanding the message of the novel. Without such a description of the setting, readers might not have been able to absorb this message. On the other hand, without a message, the description of the setting would be useless, as the purpose of such a writing style would be to enlighten readers as to a particular message the author wishes to convey. Therefore I believe that writing style and the message are of equal importance. In conclusion, I believe that the writing style and the message are of equal importance, as the former serves as the vehicle for the latter, whereas the latter exists to give the former purpose. Neither can do without the other, and therefore their interdependence lends them equal importance.

Indias Agricultural Sector: An Analysis

Indias Agricultural Sector: An Analysis Agriculture Sector Submitted by   Introduction to Agriculture sector Agriculture sector from an Indian Economic perspective constitute majorly the following four such as: Food-crops and oilseeds, Fiber, plantation crops, fruits and vegetables. As per the 2013 RBI statistics Indian agriculture sector contributed 11.36% of real GDP. This sector is also the highest employer in the country employing approximately 60% of the population. In H1 2013-2014 Agriculture sector of India recorded growth rate of 3.4% [1] and this is higher by a margin of 0.8% during H1 2012-13. The primary reasoning was attributed to a good and a normal monsoon during the year. This spike in the growth of the agricultural sector contributed to a better growth rate for the GDP of 4.6 considering it was a sluggish period for all other sectors including services and manufacturing. Eventhough being one of the oldest sector, Agricultural sector is still contributing phenomenally to the GDP growth of the country. So, in this report an attempt is made to analyse salient aspects of the Agriculture sector from economic perspective, government policy perspective and other items that constitute the growth of the sector. Also, the report studies the major issues that’s being faced by the facing and potential way to resolve them is being brought out. Key factors affecting the performance of Agriculture sector: Climatic factors: Monsoons, soil degradation, water availability, floods and droughts. Policy factors: Government policies related to credit availability, support prices, crop specific programmes, ensuring availability of markets for the produce. Market factors: Pricing, integration with downstream consumers, transparency. Macro-economic factors: Supply and demand, change in consumption patterns. Technology factors: Availability of farming technology, awareness of the available technology among the farmers, incentives to adopt modern technology, educating farmers about the benefits of using technology. Global factors: Export and import policies, trade restrictions. Section IV Agriclutural Policies, Ramesh V V Issues faced by Indian Agriculture sector Unequal growth of Agriculture sector at different areas of India Dependence on seasonal rainfall :The performance of the sector is highly dependent on the seasonal rainfall India receives during the monsoon season. Decrease in land availability due to population growth and industrial sector growth Non availability of farm labourers Low level of mechanisation of the sector yielding lower productivity Unavailability of logistics affecting the returns from the sector Traditional cultivation methods: Restrained access to finance: Lack of facilities for storage of the food grains: Fragmentation of land Low quality seeds: Using better quality seeds can improve the yield by 40%, adoption of Bt seeds can also increase the yield, however higher cost of seeds and activism are hindrances to adopt Bt seeds widely. Unbalanced fertilizer utilization: It is one of the main reason for the stagnation of the yield, depletion of soil fertility and pollution of water bodies. Lacklustre government policies on fertilizer subsidies are one of the reasons for unbalanced use of Nitrogen based fertilizers Cropping Patterns: Sub-optimal crop pattern leads to low rates of profits. Geographical conditions vary and accordingly suitable crop patterns should be adopted, however farmers follow traditional practices which leads to lower profits. Policies and Schemes towards Agriculture: The Department of Agriculture Cooperation, Government of India, has been implementing various schemes and programmes for the benefit of farmers through State Governments. The Guidelines and other details of various programmes and schemes have been made available in their departmental scheme guidelines. Relevant details on the type and extent of benefits for different components promoted under various schemes are mentioned here. For simple understanding of subsidies and eligibility criteria of the same a handbook has also been constructed by the department. It has been prepared by categorizing various activities in 11 different themes such as, Soil Health, Soil Conservation Fertilizers, Seeds, Irrigation, Training Extension for Farmers, Mechanization Technology, Agricultural Credit, Agricultural Insurance, Plant Protection, Horticulture, Agricultural Marketing and Integrated Farming. Besides this, broad suggestions on practical aspects of each of these themes have also been includ ed. Schemes such as Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (subject to qualifying criteria for the States), National e-Governance Plan-Agriculture, National Mission on Agricultural Extension Technology Etc have nation-wide coverage.A few other schemes such as National Food Security Mission, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP), Cotton Technology Mission, Jute and Mesta Technology and Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI) have Crop/ Area / District wise applicability. The expert committee has come up an estimate of around 11172 crores in the next ten years for infrastructure development for agriculture marketing as of 2008 and has come up with some reforms in the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee Act, (APMC)act, details from NABARD website Subsidies are helpful to farmers in India as nearly 11% of farmers have land but not have sufficient funding to irrigate the land. Three main types of financing are required for agriculture sector. i.e., Short term, Medium term Long term finance. Subsidies in an agriculturally oriented developing economy like India helps increase the productivity of the farmers. Institutionalized credit provisioning: Credit raised by farmers from Non-institutional lenders, from 95% in 1951 to 40% in 2002, India has come a long way in providing sustainable credit access to the farmers. Non-institutional lenders levy a high rate of interest and historically have manipulated the farmers, which led to poverty and its side effects like illiteracy. Analysis on the Agricultural Sector Demand vs Supply: The agricultural sector in India is doing pretty good job to meet the domestic demand and also exporting food grains in certain categories. The total demand for Y2010 was 228Mt and the total supply was 270Mt. Not only in 2010, if you see the trend for the past 5 years before 2010, the supply more than demand. This clearly tells us India is a food surplus country and there is no real pressure on the demand-supply process. The supply is mainly increasing because of better and modern farming technique and high productivity per hectare. Storage facilities have improved over the last 2 decades and at affordable prices are helping the farmers to preserve the crop thru the year. There is still a lot of scope for improvement for our agro output storage facilities. Our storage facilities are not on par with other developed countries and our farmers end up with a lot of spoiled food grains. Table: Agro Production –Demand in INDIA between 2005 and 2011 (All Figures in Metric Tons) Source: http://agcensus.nic.in/ Focus on Agriculture- Union Budget 2014. Government has proposed a technology driven green revolution and in this specifically protein revolution had more focus this year. Below par expectation of monsoon and its obvious impact on Agriculture was certainly considered this year. Keeping this in mind Government has proposed aRs.1,000 crore outlay for a new scheme named, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, which will address sufficient irrigation facilities and mitigate some risk. To address the problem of price volatility, fund called Price Stabilization fund amounting to 500 crores was allocated. Agriculture credit target was set to 8lakh crores. Interest subvention for timely repayment of loans at 3% subvention has also been included against the current 7% rate. Rural infrastructure fund of 25000 crores was also institutionalized. Soil health is one major factor which is linked to productivity. In this regard, 100 crore project scheme was included which delivers every farmer a soil health card. In this mission, an additional 56 crores towards mobile soil testing laboratories was proposed. Agriculture research institutions to come up in Assam and Jharkand with an initial investment of 100 crores and an additional allocation of 200 crores for Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan and telangana and Haryana for Agriculture and horticulture institutions respectively was also proposed. Kisan TV, a dedicated channelon various aspects of agriculture. Bhoomi Heen Kisan scheme, institutionalized through NABARD for landless farmers towards guarantee for finance was proposed. Funds will cater to around 5 lac farming groups who will practice joint farming. Warehouse infrastructure fund of 5000 crores was allocated to address wastage loss in supply chain. Existing APMC, will be re-oriented in close association with state governments which in potential must take care of markets and introduce reforms for farmers. One thing that was criticized was the denial of a policy of minimum price Scheme, MPS which figured in the previous government’s budget. Impact of Fiscal Policies on Agricultural Sector Most Gov.’s that came to power in India have implemented pro-agricultural policies and have given a lot of sops and benefits to this sector. Though the outlook might seem healthy, the short term inconsistent policies have made the agricultural sector unproductive and unsustainable. If the situation continues like this, experts believe that Indian would become a net food gain importer in the next 20-30 years of time. Subsidy Input subsidies are a major part of the policy in Agricultural sector in India. The major subsidies are subsidies on electricity used in farming subsidy in fertilizer prices subsidy in seed purchase Indian agricultural sector is more dependent on input subsidies than any other major emerging countries. The recent Gov. order passed by the Chief Min of the newly farmed Andhra state to waive off all the agro loans taken by its farmers is an example of this Input subsidy and illustrates how heavily this is impacting the Agro sector. The subsidy on fertilisers has been increased to 67% in 2010 from 41% in 2004. This steep subsidy was possible because Gov. kept the nominal fertilizer prices unchanged in spite of high inflation and allowed real subsidized fertilizer prices to fall. The total Gov, input subsidy stood at 9.6% of the total Agro sector output. Among all the subsidies fertilzer subsidy amounts to 11 Billion dollars out of the total 60 Billion subsidy provided by GOI. This also plays a key role in the increase in non plan expenditure and which in turn increases the fisical deficit. The input subsidies have also produced some unintended side effects like over utilization of land, soil degradation, nutrient imbalance of soil and reduction in ground water level. Minimum Support Price The Govt had setup the Commission of Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) to define the minimum support price for almost all the major crops. The intention is to help the farmers but it interferes with the demand and supply. Tax Subsidies Indirect taxes for farm output is almost nil. Inflation The GOI expansionary policies and fiscical stimulus in 2009-10 has resulted in increase in inflation. This has resulted in the increase in cost of the farm labour and non subsidized farm equipment procurement. This has put pressure on the margins of the farmers. Restriction on Exports/Imports Whenver the supply was lower than demand for a particular crop happens i.e in supply shock scenario Govt generally tends to look to restricy exports. This has been an usual pattern with recent incident when the prices of onion and sugar increased as a result of lower production and the got wa quick to restrict the exports of these commodities Impact of Monetary Policies on Agricultural Sector Agricultural loans are available for various farming related activities. Farmers may apply for loans to purchase inputs for the cultivation of food grain crops as well as for horticulture, aquaculture, animal husbandry, floriculture and sericulture businesses. There are also certain special loans made available by many public sector banks and co-operative agriculture banks to finance the purchase of agricultural machinery such as tractors, harvesters and trucks. Construction of biogas plants and irrigation systems as well as the purchase of agricultural land can also be financed through different types of agricultural finance. NABARD offers a Kisan Credit Card Scheme and crop loans under the Rashtriya Krishi Bima Yojana. Kisan Credit Card Scheme helps farmers raise short-term funds for agriculture and other farm-based activities, on an on-going basis, with very flexible and friendly repayment terms. It also offers an agricultural loan for development of agriculture related industries, purchase of machinery and other agricultural purposes. Interest Rates Conclusion The agriculture community must be weaned off the subsidies gradually once sufficient development is made so as to increase the sustainability of Indian agriculture by providing them the right price for the cultivated produce, introducing highly effective storage facilities, providing necessary training to the farmers regarding use of technology and equipment thereby reducing wastage considerably and enhancing the sector as a whole. Agricultural subsidies can be a blunt instrument that can impede progress and slow down economic growth if theyre implemented without heed to the situation and specific date of expiry. Agriculture and industry has shown remarkable vigour and dynamism in contributing to a healthy growth in exports in the recent past. India’s food security depends on producing cereal crops, as well as increasing its production of fruits, vegetables and milk to meet the demands of a growing population with rising incomes. Policy makers will thus need to initiate and/or conclude policy actions and public programs to shift the sector away from the existing policy and institutional regime that appears to be no longer viable and build a solid foundation for a much more productive, internationally competitive, and diversified agricultural sector. References http://www.finmin.nic.in/ http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/budget-2014-green-revolution-kisan-tv-channel-agri-institutes-arun-jaitley-finance-ministry-narendra-modi/1/370753.html http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/agriculture-gets-priority-in-narendra-modi-govt-budget-2014/1/208042.html

Inspired Eccentricity :: Literary Analysis, Bell Hooks

â€Å"Inspired Eccentricity† is a story of Bell Hooks about her grandparents, Daddy and Baba Gus. The two main characters are described with many contrasts. They are opposite in many ways: physical looks, characters, and even their effects on Hooks. Their marriage seems to be a strange combination, but very few people understand that Daddy and Baba Gus are not only different but also complementary each other. In the beginning of the essay, Daddy and Baba Gus are described oppositely in physical looks. Daddy Gus is a â€Å"short and dark†(421), while Baba Gus is tall and white, which is enough to help her â€Å"easily â€Å"passed† denying all traces of blackness†(421). Their walking styles are also different. Daddy walks â€Å"slow, as though carrying a great weight† (421), but Baba moves â€Å"swiftly, as though there was never time to waste† (421). Daddy Gus is a man of silence, he always â€Å"sit calmly in his chair by the stove, as calm and still as the Buddha sits† (421). Opposing to Daddy Gus, Baba is described as â€Å"talked endlessly† (421), and she usually preaches, yells, and fusses. They contrast each other in almost every thing, also in not sleeping on the same bed because Baba can not stand her husband’s nasty smell. Two people that seem to be made not to each other have been together more than seventy years, mos t of human life. Somebody wonders that their marriage began from love or not, but they overcame all the contrasts, create a big family, and also have many grandchildren. In addition to Hooks, Daddy and Baba Gus are not only different in physical looks, but they also contrast in their characters. Daddy Gus is a calm and religious man. He has strong belief in God and serves as â€Å"right-hand men of God† (422). He is the person whom people feel sorry for because he is controlled by his wife. And although he is thought not to be a â€Å"real man† (422) by his son, but he always refuses to fight back. People respect and â€Å"admired his calmness† (422), and Hooks is strongly effected by her grandfather who is â€Å"not gonna let anybody tell him what to do with his life† (422). In the other hand, Baba Gus is a blasphemer, and she usually curses. She never goes to church, she also does not believe in God, and people think that she will be a bad example for children.

Use of Poetic Devices in Thomas Hardys Poem, The Convergence of the Twain :: Hardy Convergence Twain

Use of Poetic Devices in Thomas Hardy’s Poem, The Convergence of the Twain Using distinctive diction, detailed imagery, and references to God, Thomas Hardy portrays his perspective of the sinking of â€Å"Titanic† in his poem, â€Å"The Convergence of the Twain.† Employing these poetic mechanisms, Hardy claims that the sinking of the Titanic was fate and meant to happen. The title furthermore portrays the coming together of the hemispheres as Titanic and God. Hardy uses strong meaningful diction to convey his thoughts of the sinking of the Titanic. Words such as â€Å"vaingloriousness†, â€Å"opulent†, and â€Å"jewels in joy† illustrate Titanic for the reader so that he/she can picture the greatness of the ship. Phrases such as â€Å"Lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind† describe what the Titanic looked after the sinking, loosing all of its great features. Hardy’s use of strong, describing diction depicts his view of the ship, before and after. In addition to the use of colorful diction, Hardy employs detailed imagery. The phrase â€Å"Dim moon-eyed fishes near Gaze at the guilded gear† depicts fishes looking at the sunk Titanic and wondering what â€Å"this vaingloriousness† was doing under the sea. He also mentions in the third stanza how the â€Å"jewels in joy designed To ravish the sensuous mind† were all lost and covered by darkness. Using these detailed images, Hardy is portraying the contrasts of before the ship sunk and after. Using powerful diction and verbose imagery, Hardy furthermore instills his attitude of the sinking up employing references to God indirectly. When he states that â€Å"The Immanent Will that stirs and urges everything Prepared a sinister mate†, he is referring to God and how fate made the iceberg. He also refers to the power of God again when he says, â€Å"Till the Spinner of the Years Said, ‘Now!’.† In this phrase, he conveys that God said it was time for the people onboard the Titanic to go down under. Hardy’s references to God supported his own claim that fate claimed the Titanic. Use of Poetic Devices in Thomas Hardy's Poem, The Convergence of the Twain :: Hardy Convergence Twain Use of Poetic Devices in Thomas Hardy’s Poem, The Convergence of the Twain Using distinctive diction, detailed imagery, and references to God, Thomas Hardy portrays his perspective of the sinking of â€Å"Titanic† in his poem, â€Å"The Convergence of the Twain.† Employing these poetic mechanisms, Hardy claims that the sinking of the Titanic was fate and meant to happen. The title furthermore portrays the coming together of the hemispheres as Titanic and God. Hardy uses strong meaningful diction to convey his thoughts of the sinking of the Titanic. Words such as â€Å"vaingloriousness†, â€Å"opulent†, and â€Å"jewels in joy† illustrate Titanic for the reader so that he/she can picture the greatness of the ship. Phrases such as â€Å"Lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind† describe what the Titanic looked after the sinking, loosing all of its great features. Hardy’s use of strong, describing diction depicts his view of the ship, before and after. In addition to the use of colorful diction, Hardy employs detailed imagery. The phrase â€Å"Dim moon-eyed fishes near Gaze at the guilded gear† depicts fishes looking at the sunk Titanic and wondering what â€Å"this vaingloriousness† was doing under the sea. He also mentions in the third stanza how the â€Å"jewels in joy designed To ravish the sensuous mind† were all lost and covered by darkness. Using these detailed images, Hardy is portraying the contrasts of before the ship sunk and after. Using powerful diction and verbose imagery, Hardy furthermore instills his attitude of the sinking up employing references to God indirectly. When he states that â€Å"The Immanent Will that stirs and urges everything Prepared a sinister mate†, he is referring to God and how fate made the iceberg. He also refers to the power of God again when he says, â€Å"Till the Spinner of the Years Said, ‘Now!’.† In this phrase, he conveys that God said it was time for the people onboard the Titanic to go down under. Hardy’s references to God supported his own claim that fate claimed the Titanic.

Restraint, Weight Suppression, and Self-Report Reliability: How Much D :: essays research papers

In the analytical report entitled Restraint, Weight Suppression, and Self-Report Reliability: How Much Do You Really Weigh? By P.J. Morgan and D.B. Jeffrey, they look at the eating habits of people and categorize them as three types of people. Those categories are Dieting and Overeating group, Current Dieting, and Weight Suppression. The Dieting/Overeating group consists of "individuals who undergo repetitive cycles of dieting and overeating,"(Morgan, 1999). They have the appearance of a diet, but overeat every once in a while to make up for it and to fulfill food desires. The Current Dieting group "encompasses those who consider themselves to be currently on a diet and who consume less food than what is required than what is required for maintenance of their current weight," (Morgan, 1999). They are ones that eat small portions of food and starve themselves to keep their weight down or to lose weight. This can also be categorized as anorexia nervosa, a clin ical eating disorder that afflicts primarily women. The last category is the Weight Suppressors, who "successfully lost weight and have kept it off for some time," (Morgan, 1999). These people have lost the weight by some means and have kept the weight off by adopting better eating and exercise habits. The groups were split into two groups, the control group and the variable group. The experiment was to see what the effects would be on each type of person in the variable group when enticed with a milkshake "Preload" which tastes better than a regular milkshake and is higher in fat and calories. The control group would not receive the "Preload" shake so the experimenters could monitor normal reactions of persons from each group. The result was the "Preload" group ate more than the control group regardless of their category. The authors concluded that the dieting and appetite suppression is a mental game of the person and is only as strong as their own conscience and taste. However, that is only one way to look at the information. The structural functionalist perspective focuses on the manifest and latent reasons for dieting. The manifest reason a person to diet is to look better physically. Physical acceptability is very important to people, both male and female alike. It is a part of out status as a human and gives value to our appearance as well. The latent function is to make ourselves healthier inside and out, by improving our immune system and eliminating cholesterol from our blood vessel, which could cause blockage.

Vandalism in Malaysia

$25,000 bail set in wild ride case Man charged in girlfriend’s assault By Dave Greenslit TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF CLINTON — A man who allegedly beat, choked and raped his girlfriend before hitting her with her car in Bolton was ordered held on $25,000 bail yesterday. John D. Martineau, 31, of Tewksbury was arraigned in Clinton District Court on charges stemming from what the 21-year-old victim told police was a frightening ride from Lowell to Bolton early Monday morning. Police charged Mr.Martineau with aggravated rape, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery, three counts of assault with intent to murder, three counts of destroying property, larceny of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, three counts of leaving the scene of a property damage accident and reckless driving. Judge Martha A. Brennan set bail and continued the case to Feb. 16. The victim was able to escape from Mr. Martineau near the intersection of Rou tes 117 and 85 in Bolton after jumping out of her car, which he had driven into the parking lot of the Country Cupboard variety store.She told police Mr. Martineau had dragged her with the vehicle before she broke free and ran to a home for help. According to a report from Bolton Police Officer Yvette D. Washington, the victim gave the following account of events that culminated in Bolton just after 3 a. m. Monday: She had gotten out of her car in Lowell during an argument with Mr. Martineau, but got back in after he threatened to harm her family and friends. Her 2006 Ford Taurus then ran out of gas, and the woman called her father to bring some. While waiting, she tried running away from Mr.Martineau, who caught her, threw her to the ground, and choked her. When her father showed up with the gas, Mr. Martineau convinced him his daughter was all right. Mr. Martineau then drove onto Interstate 495 South, at one point allegedly slamming his girlfriend’s head against the car win dow and breaking the rear-view mirror off the windshield, threatening to â€Å"cut her eyes out† with it. Mr. Martineau allegedly forced the woman to perform a sex act, then cut his wrists with the broken mirror because â€Å"he wanted her to watch him die. † The victim persuaded Mr.Martineau to get off the highway in Bolton by telling him she loved him and didn’t want him to die. In the parking lot of the store, she got part of the way out of the still-moving car, but Mr. Martineau allegedly grabbed her by the hair and jacket and dragged her with the car. She broke free and ran behind a Postal Service mailbox, which Mr. Martineau allegedly hit with the car before hitting her with the vehicle and knocking her to the ground. She ran to a home on Main Street, where Mr. Martineau allegedly plowed the car into the steps before backing into a split-rail fence and driving away.The woman, who lives in Lowell, was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center — Universi ty Campus in Worcester, where she was treated and released. Mr. Martineau was later arrested at Lowell Memorial Hospital, where he went for treatment. In arguing for the $25,000 bail, Assistant District Attorney Erin Donnelly said Mr. Martineau had a long record, four cases pending in other courts, and a history of default. Lawyer Eugene Lumelsky, who represented Mr. Martineau for the arraignment, sought an unspecified lower bail, saying the suspect was a college graduate, worked in sales and had extended family in the area.