History of Brazil Essay

It is a matter of fact that Brazil is a country of contrasts. One can easily observe that the development of this nation is incredibly uneven. Taking into consideration their past experience, the Brazilians are seeing some very good times as a nation. Certainly, they have overcrowding problems. However, each country has its own difficulties and tries to overcome them. Thus, the diversity of this country and its amazing history has brought a â€Å"mixing bowl† of culture preparing a bright future for Brazil. It is widely known that four major groups make up the Brazilian population. They are the Portuguese, who colonized Brazil in the 16th century; Africans brought to the country as slaves; various European, Middle Eastern, and Asian immigrant peoples who have settled in Brazil since the mid-19th century; and indigenous people of Guarani and Tupi language. (Skidmore, 131) Brazil is the only Latin American nation that takes its language and culture mainly from Portugal. Intermarriage between indigenous people or slaves and the Portuguese was a common phenomenon. Despite the fact that the major European ethnic culture of Brazil was once Portuguese, waves of immigration have greatly contributed to a diverse ethnic and cultural heritage. Admiral Pedro Alvares Cabral claimed Brazilian territory for Portugal in 1500. The early explorers brought back a wood with them that produced a red dye, pau-brasil. This is where the land received its original name. Portugal began colonization in 1532 and made the area a royal colony in 1549. During the Napoleonic Wars, fearing the advancing French armies, King Joao VI left the country in 1808 and set up his court in Rio de Janeiro. He was brought home later in 1820 by a revolution, leaving his son as regent. When Portugal wanted to reduce Brazil to colonial status again, the prince declared Brazil’s independence on Sept. 7, 1822. Thus, he became Dom Pedro I, emperor of Brazil. Harassed by his Parliament, Pedro I resigned in 1831 in favor of his five-year-old son who became emperor Dom Pedro II in 1840. Emperor Pedro II ruled to 1889 when a federal republic was established as a result of a coup d’etat organized by Deodoro da Fonseca, marshal of the army. A year earlier, while Dom Pedro II was in Europe, the Regent Princess Isabel had abolished Slavery. Abreu, 311) Dom Pedro II was a popular monarch. Yet discontent grew up and, in 1889, he had to resign because of a military revolt. Although a republic was proclaimed at that time, Brazil was ruled by military dictatorships until a revolt allowed returning gradually to stability under civilian presidents. From 1889 to 1930, the government was a const itutional democracy. The presidency was alternating between the dominant states of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais. This period ended with a coup d’etat that placed a civilian, Getulio Vargas, in the presidency. He remained as a dictator until 1945. From 1945 to 1961, presidents of Brazil became Eurico Dutra, Vargas, Juscelino Kubitschek, and Janio Quadros. When Quadros abdicated in 1961, he was succeeded by Vice President Joao Goulart. (Abreu, 329) Goulart’s years in office were marked by high inflation, total economic failure, and the increasing influence of radical political parties. The armed forces alarmed by these developments organized a coup d’etat on March 31, 1964. The coup leaders chose Humberto Castello Branco a president, followed by Arthur da Costa e Silva (1967-69), Emilio Garrastazu Medici (1968-74), and then Ernesto Geisel (1974-79). All of them were senior army officers. Geisel began a liberalization that was carried further by his successor, General Joao Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo (1979-85). In the last of a long series of military coups, General Joao Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo became president in 1979. He pledged a return to democracy in 1985. Figueiredo not only allowed the return of politicians exiled or banned from political activity during the 1960s and 1970s, yet also permitted them to run for state and federal offices in 1982. (Alden, 284) However, at the same time, the Electoral College consisting of all members of Congress and also six delegates chosen from each state continued its activities of choosing the president. The election of Tancredo Neves on January 15, 1985, the first civilian president since 1964, brought a nationwide wave of optimism and activity. He was elected from the opposition Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB). (Alden, 287) However, when Neves died on April 21, Vice President Sarney became president. The latter was widely distrusted because he had previously been a devoted member of the military regime’s political party. Collor de Mello won the election of late 1989 with 53% of the vote in the first direct presidential election in his 29 years. (Abreu, 378) Mello promised to lower the persistent hyperinflation by following the path of free-market economics. Having faced impeachment by Congress because of a corruption scandal in December 1992, Mello finally resigned. Vice President Itamar Franco took his place and assumed the presidency. Fernando Cardoso, a former finance minister, won the presidency in the October 1994 election having 54% of the vote. He took office on January 1, 1995. (Skidmore, 232) Cardoso has organized the disposal of bad government-owned monopolies in the electrical power, telecommunication, port, railway, mining, and banking industries. His timely proposals to Congress included constitutional amendments in order to open the Brazilian economy to greater foreign participation and to implement such sweeping reforms as social security, government administration, and taxation so as to reduce excessive public sector spending and considerably improve government efficiency. Alden, 298) During his short time in the office, Cardoso’s economic wisdom has made a measurable progress in overcoming Brazil’s poverty level. It is remarkable to observe how the Brazilian government makes certain efforts in order to address basic needs of its people such as education, distribution of meals, health care, and the promotion of children’s rights. Co-signed by the President of Brazil and 24 state governors, the â€Å"Pact for the Children† is intended to fully implement the constitutional and legal obligations providing for protection of children and adolescents. Several federal agencies supervise the execution of government programs for children and adolescents aimed to give Brazilian youth opportunities for a better life, shelter, education, and love. Thus, if not forgetting about the past mistakes and taking care of its nation, the Brazilians will surely come to the brightest future.

Why Obama Won the 2012 Election

Why Obama won the 2012 Election The American elections of 2012 was very competitive between the Democrat candidate Barrack Obama, who was the president then, and Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate. The campaigns and presidential debates were quite heated and as has been earlier mentioned, it was tight for each of them as polls clearly indicated that both Obama and Romney had more or less an equally high chance of winning the presidential elections.Demographics played a significant part in seeing Obama take the day. The groups of people that actually made the difference include groups of young women, African Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans. Some of the states in which Obama won include New York, New Jersey, New Mexico, Maryland, Wyoming, Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Maine, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania, California, Washington DC and Rhode Island (Sherman, 2012).President Barack Obama significantly overcame a bad economy, a fractured poli tical landscape, high unemployment which gave him a great advantage over his challenger. When it comes to the states, it is seen that Obama took a number of key battlegrounds sates. As has been earlier pointed out, the Northeastern states remained loyal to Obama’s column by significant margins. In addition to this, he took no less than six of the nine swing states including Ohio. In the end, the fifty one year old president had more than the two hundred and seventy votes that would guarantee him a win.It is interesting to note that the New Jersey electorate, even with the major challenge of the Hurricane Sandy, showed their faith in the president emphasize and in addition to this, just to emphasize their solidarity for the Democrats, reelected Robert Menendez the Senator. He defeated the Republican Joe Kyrillos quite easily (Heavey, 2012). In my opinion, one of the major reasons why Obama won the 2012 presidential elections is that he had a unique campaigning strategy. It is seen that Barack Obama displayed great skill in micro-targeting voters, strategic planning, messaging, and raising funds to boost his campaign.Obama also got into the challenge with in-built advantages . Obama’s family remained increasingly popular, with Michelle Obama having succeeded in portraying a positive image of Obama’s administration. His appeal to a wide public caused him to be the preferred candidate over Romney. The federal government’s bailout of Chrysler and General Motors as well as Barrack’s union support was essential in winning the election. This was seen particularly in Ohion where out of every eight persons, one has a job in the auto industry.Across the upper Midwest from Ohio to Pennsylvania to Wisconsin to Michigan, the operations of the union’s voter turn out to a significant extent supplemented the efforts of Obama. Obama also used social media effectively to win the election. Analysts have states that Barack Obama campaign m ission was to involve people through empowerment. It is also said that his was the very first political campaign in history to ultimately harness the real power of social media to garner support spread the word and get people engaged and involved.Barack’s campaign succeeded in reaching five million supporters on fifteen different social networks during the campaign period (Heavey, 2012). He used social media to establish energy of participation as well as a sense of purpose in their supporters. He used the social media as the vehicle to connected real people in real time and enthusiasm as well as providing an easy and accessible platform to demonstrate their support for change through President Obama. There are important lessons which can be drawn from the 2012 American elections.For any presidential candidate, or political aspirant for that mat matter, it is crucially important to lay focus on the individual. People felt connected to Obama on an individual basis because he m anaged to think of one American as opposed to American citizens as a group. He focused on the teacher, health official, mother, child in his campaigns. Another significant lesson is the importance of authenticity. Because of his connection with people through thw social web, Obama managed to prove his authenticity to the voters.In his Facebook page for instance he indicated his favorite music, movies, interests and kept his followers updated on his campaign. It made him real and authentic. Every single bit of support ultimately counts. Obama acknowledged that everyone, despite their backgrounds or income, is equally important in driving the wheels of change. This is the attitude that ought to be carried along in political bids and campaigns (Sherman, 2012). A huge margin win was unexpected because as the results trickled in, Barack and Romney were hot on each other’s heels.This was clear right from the onset of the presidential debates that preceded the elections, where both parties gave a considerably good show. The impact of social media as has been earlier mentioned was profound. This was not expected because other previous political campaigns had not to a large extent been influenced by this technology. All the same, when Romney conceded to defeat, it was clear for Americans that it was quite difficult to make predictions as to who would take the day as both candidates had equally strong support from the American citizens (Heavey, 2012).References Obama wins 2012 presidential election, defeats Romney in tight race | NJ. com. (n. d. ). New Jersey Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather – NJ. com. Retrieved November 26, 2012, from http://www. nj. com/politics/index. ssf/2012/ Heavey, S. (n. d. ). Obama win shows demographic shifts working against Republicans| Reuters. Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters. com. Retrieved November 26, 2012, from http://www. reuters. com/article/2012/11/08/us-usa-campaign-diver sity-new-idUSBRE8A70QK20121108

A Comparison Primark Vs Woolworths Marketing Essay

A Comparison Primark Vs Woolworths Marketing Essay In this report, we aim to compare and contrast the strategic planning and moves of two retail giants- Primark from Ireland and Woolworths from United Kingdom. Since both deal in the same domain and merchandise, their operation, processes and strategies provide a solid and a relevant ground for conducting strategic management studies. This will help in not only applying the theoretical concepts to some practical entity, but also in honing the skills to adopt a visionary outlook to perform future strategic planning. An overview of Primark History- Primark Stores Ltd. is a clothing retail giant with its headquarters based in Dublin, Ireland (34 stores). Its operations extend to Netherlands (1 store), Spain (8 stores), Germany (2 stores), United Kingdom (125 stores) and Portugal. Primark trades under the name of Penneys in Ireland and the entire chain is an ancillary of Associated British Foods. Products- Primark operates majorly as a clothing retailer with apparels and garments for eve ry age, size and group. Being a subsidiary, its merchandise id specifically built and not sold at other retail counters. As such, it has been able to create a brand of its own in apparels and clothing items. Its brands include women wear, girls wear, footwear, baby wear, menswear- both formal and casual, clothing accessories, cosmetics, young and old boys wear, lingerie, cheap items, luggage, home items, night wear and beach wear also. In a nutshell, you can find garments and clothes for almost any occasion or moment. Departments- as a logical move, since Primark deals in such a huge variety of merchandise, it has different departments in place, all under separate supervision which shows the clarity of its strategy and controlling function. The departments in Primark Stores Ltd. are health and beauty, hosiery, footwear, home ware, gift wear, menswear, children wear, accessories, women wear and nightwear. In all, there is a separate department handling an individual set of apparels. Evolution- originally Primark was established as a clothing store by Arthur Ryan and Micaela Mitchell in 1969. With piling success in apparel business, registering huge profits and elated at elevated gross income levels, both the partners decided to expand and open up new stores in local and regional areas. The success mantra of Primark is catering to the budget end of the market segment. Their strategy is to provide fashion clothing at reasonable prices. Their apparel designs are simple, made on simple fabric but are branded as of high quality and to fashion conscious young individuals below the age of 35. Recognition- Primark has been ranked as the second largest clothing retailer by TNS in terms of sales volume and has also received the â€Å"Best Value High Street Fashion† by GMTV. Primark’s business structure and management Primark’s business structure embarks not only upon clothing but other apparel and clothing accessories, which in a sense adds on to the diversity of the retail store. Its store operations are simply and efficiently managed by a dedicated team of professionals. Each store is managed by a manager to control and oversee the business operations. There are different levels of hierarchy within store management where big stores have managers and small or medium ones have deputy or assistant manager. There are separate sales floor officers for looking after cashiers, customer’s desks and support teams.

Mirror for Man Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Mirror for Man - Essay Example These similarities result of human biology, rather than from the human training or their upbringing. The diverse culture of our species varies in several ways, from religion to eating habits. Also, the author has pointed out it is not the body that makes a man but their mind. How the mind gets nurtured and trained decides what the man becomes and his thought process. Mirror for Man, by Clyde Kluckhohn, suggests that a person’s cultural upbringing is responsible for their behaviour rather than their genetic makeup. Kluckhohns position that behaviour of people is based on the fact that, ‘they were brought up that way’ is precise; as the culture where a person gets raised is reflected in their attitudes, behaviour and values. Personally, I am in agreement with the author’s views. His passage turned out to be an interesting reading as his thoughts and expression brought my own personal experience of dealing with people from different countries and speakers of different language. Through Clyde Kluckhohns passage, we can interpret and comprehend the real meaning of culture through an anthropologist’s point of

Dell Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Dell - Essay Example Although Dell produces equipment which could be attractive to almost any one seeking computers for home or business use, comparative products from suppliers like HP are often more attractive in terms of price, design or features which means that Dell’s product line up often fails in comparison without discounts or special offers. Dell might be able to play with its perceived image of reliability and dependability to ensure that it becomes and remains the top player in the computer industry. It can also offer multiple operating systems and more choices to its buyers to make the product line more attractive overall (LaGesse, 2007). Dell, from a company formed in a dorm room with just $1,000, has come a long way to being one of the most admired and richest companies in the world (Fortune, 2006). Early on in its history it managed to give the image of being a giant while it was running as a small firm (Chozich, 2005). As a company it has managed to give the IBM, HP, Compaq, and many others stiff competition by selling individual computers that are assembled from custom ordered components. Its business philosophy was to sell directly to the customers, which enabled the company to closely interact with the clients and helped the clients in understanding their own requirements with needs analysis (Berfield, 2006).

FLSA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

FLSA - Essay Example Job titles and clear documents that describe role expectations are developed for this purpose in an effort to link job role with a salary structure. Caribou Coffee had classified workers as exempt and therefore received a salary. As part of their obligations, serving coffee and waiting on customers filled their responsibility list daily. Because of the language and/or the interpretation of the FLSA mandates, Caribou agreed to settle. The employees filing the suit argued successfully that because of their job duties, they were actually non-exempt workers (eliinc.com 2010). It would be difficult to over-complicate the FLSA by providing new amended subsections, especially if the nature of what constitutes exempt versus non-exempt were clearly defined through precedent. For example, if it included specific job role functions, the document would be unreadable and certainly irrelevant. Another case involving exempt versus non-exempt status involved Patty Lee Smith v. Johnson and Johnson in the District Court of New Jersey. The Court ultimately found in favor of J&J, believing evidence of her non-exempt status was insufficient to find otherwise (ca3.uscourts.gov, 2009). Smith worked unsupervised for 95 percent of her role, thus with considerable flexibility on the nature by which she coordinated her responsibilities. Further, no definite job role and list of obligations were present in the human resources division, thus Smith could not prove otherwise considering the evidence of her status that are most closely associated with a person in a salaried, executive level role. It was a common sense ruling, however the language of the FLSA is open to even judicial interpretation due to the lack of practicality in constructing supplements. These situations can be avoided in the future by fully categorizing the job title and the specific responsibilities, or ensuring that a sign off

Social Performance, part 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Performance, part 2 - Essay Example Many financial industries, especially those dealing in financial services, have codes of conduct. The table below shows the codes of a competitor to Pioneer Financial Group and criticism of their codes. COMPANY CODE OF CONDUCT CRITICISM SERVICES OFFERED LINCOLN FINANCIAL GROUP Fairness Respect Employee Ownership Diversity Responsibility Integrity Commitment to Excellence They have stringent do’s and don’t’s, and their employees feel that if something is not specified in the code of conduct, then it is acceptable. Life insurance Annuities Retirement plan services Group protection AF FINANCIAL GROUP Honesty and fair dealing Workplace environment Compliance with laws and regulations Conflict of interest Gifts Records and reporting information Political activities Insider trading Revoked their contract with Lowerell as their independent auditors without giving them notice as this contradicts their code of honesty and fair dealings with other intermediaries Insurance services Loans such as mortgage loans Offers business services such as checking accounts CUNA MUTUAL GROUP Integrity in the workplace Integrity with company resources, information and financial disclosure Integrity while dealing with others Integrity with business conduct Faced with challenges of measuring the effectiveness of their program, though they have ambitious programs and codes of ethics Crop insurance Retirement planning for members and small businesses Insurance for union members Trevino and Nelson (2007) define business ethics as behaviors that are in line with the principles, standards, and norms of practice that are in accordance with the society. Pioneer Financial Group is facing a conflict of interest of some shareholders, side deals done by employees, and corruption. Establishing an ethical business culture is one way of improving the corporate governance. Pioneer Financial Group should have ethical codes that promote ethical behavior. This guides employees in cases where ethical course of action is not clearly known. The codes help the company to communicate their expectations to employees, communities, government, and other stakeholders. The codes do promote market efficiency, build public trust, enhance business reputation, raising awareness on the societal needs, and help the company reinforce and acquaint new employees with their values and culture. Pioneer Financial Group have put in place training programs regarding ethics in the company that are designed to offer real solutions to those employees under ethical dilemma. A code of conduct or ethical code sets out the company's values, ethics, objectives and responsibilities. Pioneer Financial Group will have the following code of conduct: COMPANY CODE OF CONDUCT PIONEER FINANCIAL GROUP (PFG) HOW TO DEAL WITH COMMUNITIES HOW TO DEAL WITH COMPETITORS GOVERNMENT ®ULATORS,EMPLOYEES,SUPPLIERS AND INTERMEDIARIES Take into account community concerns Providing good employment opportunities Su pport communities through Charitable donations Seek competitive advantage through superior products and performance Avoid discussing confidential information with competitors Not engaging in restrictive trade practices that abuse market dominance Not evade tax Report and record all reportable transactions Giving room for employees to air their grievances about the company Encourage freedom of association Providing safe & healthy working environment Rewarding employees who observe ethical behavior Providing quality products and

Finance and accounting internship paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Finance and accounting internship - Term Paper Example Ibrahim, one of the finance managers, who directly reported to the Vice-president Finance department. However, the received my daily tasks and assistance from the financial executives who were in Mr. Ibrahim’s team. Mr. Ibrahim evaluated my performance, which my senior provided me. I assisted financial executives in different accounting and financial management functions associated with the construction of few projects for eminent clients of Abu Dhabi. I assisted my managers in tasks ranging from posting expenses, and other transactions, calculating payroll, planning payment schedules, internal auditing, tax compilation, etc. It was a great learning experience because I could explore and actually understand various financial functions practically. Acknowledgement I would like to express my gratitude to Wahat Al Wafa General Construction and Maintenance Company, and Mr. ... They have been my mentor throughout my internship. Last but not the least; I thank my family and friends, as without their motivation I would not have been able to achieve success through my internship. Chapter 1: Introduction This section of the study aims at introducing the readers to the industry of general contracting and maintenance of Abu Dhabi, so that they can understand the nature of work the company does, and its position in the market. 1.1 Brief Insight of the General Contracting and Maintenance Industry in Abu Dhabi The maintenance and construction sector includes establishments primarily construction of highways, buildings, or utility system. The establishments are mainly engaged in preparation of new sites for construction and sub-dividing various plots of lands for sales. The construction work that is generally done includes maintenance, repairs, alterations, etc. In the next few years Abu Dhabi is going to lay out a fully developed plan for becoming a global leader in maintenance and construction sector. Even after the global recession and real estate crisis in Dubai, Abu Dhabi was not knocked off, and it succeeds in registering a growth of 33.5 percent in the year 2008. According to the records stated by Emirates, the maintenance and construction sector also showed an escalating growth in 2007, when the rest of the world stated facing the heat of financial crisis (Campbell, 2007; Weygandt, Kimmel, & Kieso, 2010). The major reason which this industry is flourishing in Abu Dhabi and other Gulf countries is due to increasing interest of tourist in the country. Construction and maintenance of hotels, villas, parks, sports facilities, luxury pent houses, etc have increased in the

Outraged moms, trashy daughters Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Outraged moms, trashy daughters - Essay Example The author describes the generation gap between todays mothers and their teenage daughters also as a gap between how the two generations differ in terms of valuing equality and female empowerment. She also expressed her concern over "heightened sexual activity," and the "sexualization of young girls" but also mentions the lack of depth and reflection among teenagers today. The above observations are a feminist concern and in this reaction paper, I agree with the observations of the author. Feminists earlier opposed the vulgar representation of female images in magazines and advertisements because of their strong protest in visualizing females as a commercial object rather than an individual. On the other hand, current female teenagers like to see people enjoying their sexy bodies. In fact, they are doing everything possible to wear dresses, which expose their body maximum. This is not because of their inherent traits, as we all know that their mothers strongly protested against the f emale objectification, but because of the changing life styles and philosophy of life. The teenage girls are made to dress in this manner because it is the norm of the society. Female teenagers of the current generation are witnessing the enormous publicity of celebrities like Naomi Campbell, Angelina Julie, and Salma Hayek etc. They know that these people enjoy great publicity not because of their talents alone, but because of their beautiful bodies also.

How does Shakespeare present conflict at the start of Romeo and Juliet Essay Example for Free

How does Shakespeare present conflict at the start of Romeo and Juliet Essay Explain how Shakespeare presents the theme of violence in this part of the play. The first thing to note about this scene is that it takes place right at the start of the play. I think that this scene exists to set up and highlight one of the key conflicts in the play as a whole. It takes place after a serious fight between the Montagues and Capulets. This fight’s prime instigator is Tybalt who when asked by Benvollio to help him keep the peace says: â€Å"What drawn and talk of peace. I hate the word, As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee: Have at thee, coward!† Clearly then this is a deep seated conflict that is responsible for disturbing the peace in Verona and it is the Prince’s job to restore order in this scene. Therefore right at the start of the scene he calls them ‘profaners’. This is very emotive language and helps to underline the Prince’s contempt for both of the families and their conflict. The audience when they hear language like this will then associate both families as being not being very religious and being opposed to God and His purposes. The contempt that the Prince and the audience is supposed to feel for both of the fighting families is further emphasised in the description of their swords as ‘neighbor-stained steel’. Clearly what the Prince is trying to highlight here is that both families are behaving in a very selfish immature way and are showing an unchristian regard for their neighbours. Therefore violence is shown in this scene as being something that is pointless, stupid and going against God. Following on from this the theme of violence is further emphasised through the Prince’s use of a rhetorical question: â€Å"Will they not hear?† I think that Shakespeare deliberately uses this technique here to demonstrate how unthinking both families are in their hatred for each other. It is clear that the hatred between them runs so deep that they cannot and will not listen to people who are trying to mediate between them and trying to keep the peace. This is further emphasised later on in the line by the Prince describing them as ‘beasts’. I think that Shakespeare deliberately uses this word to help emphasise just how nasty the violence between both families are. A beast is an animal. Therefore, to the Prince, the unthinking violence between them has gone so far as to take away their humanity. Again in the next line Shakespeare has further emphasised the Prince’s dislike and animosity towards both families and even how fed up he is with their constant quarrelling by using the emotive language of: â€Å"your pernicious rage’ This helps to underline that to the Prince it is both families’ actions that are having a harmful effect on his city and that they are gradually being very destructive through their actions. According to the Prince the only thing that will help to cool the men’s emotions down and will stop all the violence is: â€Å"purple fountains issuing from your veins† What the Prince means here is that only by the men’s spilt blood will they calm down. This does not seem like an effective way to keep the peace and helps to show that for some reason violence has become a way of life for the people involved the quarrel. What is the cause of all this violence the audience would naturally ask at this point in the speech? It is clear that, according to the Prince, that the cause of most of the violence is merely an ‘airy word’. The connotations of ‘airy’ are something that is unsubstantial, something that is barely even there. Therefore the portrayal of violence in this part of the play by Shakespeare is of actions that don’t have a cause, that are incre4dibly harmful and don’t seem to be about anything much in particular. Surely then we as the audience will slightly sympathise with the Prince and his role to help keep the peace. This can be seen later on in the play when Tybalt gets into a fight with Mercutio. One of the key moments in the play is when Tybalt says: â€Å"Mercutio thou consortst with Romeo† This could be seen as being just friendly ‘banter’ however to both families it is seemingly jokey things people say to each other take on huge significance. For me then these ‘airy words’ have a huge impact because the strong sense of pride these characters have and how they are unable to let things slide. I think this helps to underline what I think is the big lesson that Shakespeare is trying to teach us about violence in the play and that is that is that violence is often seen by people who are not taking part or who are innocent bystanders as being pointless and damaging.

Women in Positions of Power in Northen Ireland

Women in Positions of Power in Northen Ireland Few women have made an impact on politics in Northern Ireland. The political culture and traditions of Northern Ireland politics are very much male-oriented and whilst women have worked hard for change behind the scenes for many years, few have taken the step into standing as candidates in elections, less still successfully winning elections. Following the Belfast Agreement, things may, slowly, be beginning to change. Mo Mowlam writes enthusiastically of the part that women played in the talks leading up to the Agreement: â€Å"one of the most remarkable aspects of the talks process was seeing women, not only in the Women’s Coalition, but also in other parties, sitting alongside their male colleagues and arguing their points. They brought a new quality of debate to the proceeding† (Galligan, Ward Wilford 1999).Nonetheless, despite the election of three women MPs in the first general election (2001) after the Belfast Agreement, women remain massively under-represented in politics in Northern Ireland. This dissertation examines the reasons for this. Chapter two looks at the traditional role of women in politics, both in Northern Ireland and in other parts of the world. Election in the UK and policies towards women of other British parties are examined. The chapter also looks at women’s movements abroad, in the likes of South Africa and Nicaragua and analyses how they have affected the political landscape in their own countries. Chapter three takes a general overview of women in Northern Ireland, commenting on how they have reacted to the traditional view and values of the Church and the State in the province. The formation of the earlier Women’s movements is detailed here – although these groups have remained on the borders on mainstream politics, the fact that women have for decades joined together on particular issues is important in the context of women’s involvement in politics. The difficulties face by women in what is a conservative, traditional and often sexist culture is also discussed. Chapter four looks at the attitudes towards women in politics held by voters in Northern Ireland and analyses whether the small number of women involved is determined by supply or demand factors. Using data from the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey, this chapter argues that there is no lack of demand for women to be involved in politics amongst the electorate, rather that a number of factors around the inclination of women to enter into politics and the traditional views that still hold sway in Northern Ireland, are influential. This chapter also makes use of research undertaken in interviewing a number of women councillors in Northern Ireland about their perceptions on why many women avoid political life. Various reason for women to remain outside of representative politics are given – again he traditional culture of Northern Ireland and perceptions about a woman’s role are seen as important, Chapter five examines in details the attitudes and policies of the main political parties in Northern Ireland towards women’s issues and the role of women within the political parties themselves. Parties in Northern Ireland have traditionally focused primarily on constitutional and security issues to the detriment of women’s issues. Party leadership in parties across the political spectrum have been male dominated. This chapter looks at each of the main parties, examining firstly how party structures and leaderships accommodate female members and secondly how party policy makers address (or fail to address)women’s issues. Chapter six provides a conclusion to the dissertation. The situation in Northern Ireland where women have traditionally had difficulties establishing themselves within the formal political process has been mirrored, if perhaps not to such an extent, in other Western democracies. Evidence from UK elections indicates a historical prejudice against women candidates, whilst elsewhere in Europe and across the world, there are examples of women having to draw together on their identity as women to challenge their exclusion from politics. Analysis of general elections in Britain indicates that many fewer women than men are selected as prospective parliamentary candidates and those that are usually chosen for less hopeful seats (Leonard and Mortimore 2001, p97). However, the number of has candidates has grown reasonably steadily since 1996, with parties gradually accepting the need to take steps to increase the number of women selected. The Conservative in particular have found this difficult, largely due to the reluctance of the party leadership to interfere with the autonomy and conservative nature of many of its local associations. The Labour Party has had more success. Its party conference took the decision in1993 to try to increase its number of women MPs by introducing policies of positive discrimination. The introduction of all-women shortlist and quotas proved controversial, with the process being deemed illegal by an industrial tribunal in 1996, yet the drive by Labour to increase women’s representation paid dividends – with the party’s victory in the1997 election, the number of women in the house of Commons doubled to120 (Leonard and Mortimore 2001, p97). Elections for regional assemblies in Scotland and Wales have seen an increase in the number of women winning seats. The systems of proportional representation used in these elections has allowed Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the nationalist policies to ensure that candidates on lists were alternately male and female. As a result over38 per cent of representatives at Holyrood and 40 per cent at Cardiff Bay have been women (Leonard and Mortimore 2001, p98). Elsewhere, women have made direct interventions within their political systems to ensure that they are represented within the political process. In Spain, the Women’s Democratic Movement (WDM) began as an opposition group to the Franco regime and went onto lobby for women’s interests during the country’s democratic transition. It successfully pressured the government into ratifying the Convention for Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). In Iceland the Icelandic Women’s Alliance (IWA) emerged in the 1980s as a group powerful to win 11.1% of a national poll (Fearon 1999 appendix 1). In Sweden, the issue of women’s participation in politics directly compelled women to join together on a cross-party basis in the prelude to the 1994 elections. As a result, Sweden then elected what Faluditerms â€Å"the most female government in the world – a parliament that was41% female with a cabinet that was 50% female. (Fearon 199 9, appendix1). More relevant to the issues around women’s political involvement in Northern Ireland are the examples of South Africa and Nicaragua, where women have acted together to challenge male-dominated political times when their countries have been undergoing periods of transition. In Nicaragua, women achieved political gains during the revolutionary period but, perceiving that these gains were not being fully transferred to the new society after a transitional period, women joined together to form the Nicaraguan National Coalition of Women(NNCW) in January 1996. Under this cross-party coalition women joined together to educate and themselves and prepared themselves to go backend fight elections within their existing parties in October of that year. The aim was to promote the equitable participation of women in the country’s politics, something that was made difficult, as women within the coalition had historically been political or even military enemies. There were certainly so me similarities with Northern Ireland and the group had to strive hard to focus on unity and reaching a consensus. The NNCW was able to agree a minimum agenda emphasising women’s participation in civil and political society. In South Africa, women had become influenced by the experiences of women’s organisations around the world and the ANC Women’s League(ANCWL) sparked a debate across the country about ‘the necessity of organising as women’ (Fearon 2001 appendix1). In September 1991 thirty women’s organisations came together in the Women’s National Coalition(WNC) to discuss the drawing up of a women’s charter on equality. The charter was eventually produced after a huge participatory exercise that included an estimated 2 million women and was made up of twelve articles, one of which called for â€Å"mechanisms to enable women’s participation in civic and political life† (Fearon 2001 appendix 1) The charter was vitally important to the development of women in politics in South Africa as it challenged traditional perceptions and values about the woman’s place in political and civic life. Another success of the WNC was to lobby hard for a ruling passed in 1993 that required all negotiation delegations to reserve space for women. Prior to the formation of the NIWC, the impact that individuals or groups of women had made on Northern Ireland politics had been relatively minimal. There are however a few examples of women who, although not directly involved as representatives in the political process, made their presence known. In the 1970s, two Belfast women, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan won the Nobel Peace Prize for leading a peace movement that aimed to end the violence by way of ‘people power’. Inspired to action following the death of three children in a car chase involving IRA men, the Peace People as the movement was known called on the people of Northern Ireland to reject terrorism and quickly snowballed into a movement that could attract tens of thousands of people onto the streets in outdoor rallies. The movement eventually failed due to internal divisions within the movement, personality clashes and disputes on how to spend the Nobel Prize money. Whilst still surviving today, the Pe ace People is now a small-scale movement that failed to deliver on the hopes that it once raised. Helen McKendry was a brave Belfast woman who campaigned to raise the issue of the so-called ‘disappeared’ victims of the IRA, who had included her own mother Jean McConville, taken from the family home in1972 and never heard of again (Independent, March 2, 2005). Following the IRA ceasefire in 1994, McKendry launched a campaign to have her mother’s body returned and eventually pressured the IRA into giving details about the location of her mother’s body and those of other victims. May Blood was a woman that played a prominent role in the loyalist community for many years, prior to involvement in the NIWC. She was a determined community activist in the Shankhill Road district, concentrating on issues such as housing, welfare, jobs, training, employment and labour relations. Speaking after she had been made across-bench peer in 2000, Baroness Blood stated: â€Å"My life is about serving this community, particularly young people. For years they have just been fodder for the paramilitaries. We want the next generation to be real people with real futures.† (Independent, March 2, 2005). It is worth noting that like May Blood, the trend in Northern Ireland has generally been for women activists to concentrate on community development rather than electoral politics. The situation of women in Northern Ireland is not entirely unique. Whilst the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland affect politics at all levels, the fact remains that women in Northern Irel and share common experiences with women elsewhere in terms of the difficulties that they have making an impact in the political arena. Rightly or wrongly, representative politics around the world remains largely dominated by males, and in this respect women in Northern Ireland face the same challenges as women elsewhere. Analysis of the women’s movement in Northern Ireland or attempters tointegrate women more fully into the political process must understandsome of the cultural traditions and influences that affect women’slives. As Monica McWilliams states: â€Å"the role which both the Church andState play shapes not only the more traditional thinking behind some ofthe major institutions, such as the education system or the judiciary,but it also responsible for the extremely conservative ideology forwhich the Province has become infamous† (Hughes 1991, p91). Theattitude of the Church has certainly been that the primary role ofwomen is that of mothers and housewives and this has been somethingthat has held women back from entering into politics. Issues aroundsexuality, the dissolution of marriage or rights in the home or at workhave seen feminists face opposition from clergy, politicians and as aresult, their communities. Again McWilliams summarises the situationstating, â€Å"in the face of such traditional Catholicism and Protestantfundamentalism, it has proved extremely difficult for women to organisearound issues which are of personal and political influence to them(Hughes 1991,p81). Both the Protestant and Catholic Church have maintained a traditionalline on the domestic role of women. They have exhorted mothers to takeresponsibility for their children by looking after them at home andhave largely opposed political initiatives such as the provision of daycare for children as it poses a challenge to the traditional ideologywhich supports the segregated division of labour in the home. The viewof the Church from half a century ago has remained prevalent in modernday Northern Ireland. Bishop McGean had stated in 1945 that â€Å"the properplace for the baby is in the home and the proper guardian is themother. Nature decided that and God approved of that decision ofnature† (Hughes 1991, p89). Women’s groups in Northern Ireland have made gradual progress ininstigating political and social change. They have begun to createstructures that enable individual women to have some measure of controlover their lives. One example is found in the work of an umbrellaorganisation known as ‘The Women’s Information Day’, along withprojects such as Women’s Aid, the Women’s Education Project and theNorthern Ireland Women’s Rights Movement. All of these groups, formedprior to the establishment of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition,were organised in a non-sectarian way, holding meetings in bothloyalist and nationalist areas and raising controversial issues thatwere sensitive to one another’s beliefs. In 1985, whilst campaigning onchanges to the benefit system, a group of Catholic and Protestant womentravelled to London to lobby their MPs to oppose a propose SocialSecurity Bill and were appalled to find that their own political representatives were more interested in opposing the Anglo-Irishagreement (which had been launched on the same day) and refused to meetthem on the grounds that they were too busy. McWilliams writes thatâ€Å"they returned home to Belfast on the same night more convinced thanever that their political representatives were much less interested inmatters of social and economic concerns† (Hughes 1991, p92). One of the most glaring features of life for women in Northern Irelandhas been the hardship of poverty with all its social, financial andpsychological repercussions. Women in Northern Ireland have come at thetop of research tables listing infant mortality rates, unemployment ordependency on social security (Hughes 1991, p92). It is women who haveexperienced poverty as prisoner’s wives, as widows, as single parents,divorced, separated or unmarried, as managers of unemployed families,as single and elderly women living alone, or as low paid wage earners.As a result, women’s groups such as the Northern Ireland Women’s RightsMovement began to offer advice and information to women, producingleaflet to help women in the face of overpowering bureaucracy.McWilliams writes of the pressures upon women in Northern Irelandstating â€Å"existing from day to day in the North can often become anintolerable strain for women. Not only must they provide a reasonablestandard of liv ing for their kids, but they have the additional anxietyof worrying about husbands and children when they are out of the home.The years of ‘the troubles’ have added to their pressures and manyrespond y using tranquillisers or smoking excessively† (Hughes 1991,p93). Women in Northern Ireland have played a leading role in anti-povertycampaigns, a significant political role which tends to be overlooked bymedia, church leaders and politicians. Such groups have remainednon-hierarchical and have refused to let single individuals becomesolely identified with their campaigns. The non-hierarchical structurehas provided the supportive type of environment that women require andeach group has become knowledgeable about the particular issue underscrutiny. Often the women have maintained links after individualcampaigns have been dissolved. Northern Ireland feminists have played apart in various campaigns and community projects over the last fewdecades. Many cut their political teeth in the civil rights movementsof the 1960s and 1970s and had their first dealings with other feministmovements. Female students at Queens University held a public meetingin1975 which formed an action group ‘with the aim of bringing the roleof women in Northern Ireland into l ine with that of their sisters inBritain’ (Hughes 1991, p93) and went on to form the Northern IrelandWomen’s Rights Movement which successfully campaigned to bring the SexDiscrimination Act to Northern Ireland. There are of course issues that divide women’s groups in NorthernIreland. Many are related to the national question, which as in allareas of politics in the province, remain difficult to overcome.Whether groups are based on single issues such as Women’s Aid or theRape and Incest Line, or more generic groups such as the Derry, Belfastor Falls Road Women’s Centres, the political affiliations of membersmay be surreptitiously agued in order to clarify the line that theymight take on the national question. The sheer weight of issues aroundthe constitution and security in Northern Ireland make it near onimpossible for the issue to be ignored. Disputes have occurred between,for example, the Relative’s Action Committee and Women AgainstImperialism (which largely supports Sinn Fein) and other women’s groupssuch as the Belfast Women’s Collective and the Northern Ireland Women’sRights Movement. The Belfast Women’s Collective argued that it wasvital to work in as wide a range as possible, including areas which maynot initially meet with a big response because they challengetraditional political and religious beliefs (Hughes 1991, p95). TheRelative’s Action Committee, on the other hand, organising around thewithdrawal of political statues for the H Block prisoners took the viewthat the campaign about prisons should be central. Regardless of divisions within women’s movements in Northern Ireland,the fact remains that the there is a level of oppression caused by theunique nature of politics in the province. Many women arepsychologically scarred by the deaths of or injury to loved ones. Manyothers are emotionally burnt out by the years of armed troops presenton the streets. Women on both sides of the sectarian divide have seenthe destruction of family life when family members are arrested underthe Prevention of Terrorism Act and possibly held for long periodswithout trial. Women visiting husbands and son in prison have beensubjected to degrading and humiliating strip searches. They live infear for the lives of their children and have had the constant worrythat they will be caught in crossfire, caught up in a riot or killed byan explosion. On top of all of these factors, women have also had totackle continuing economic exploitation and sexual oppression. Women in Northern Ireland have had to endure an ingrained culture ofconservative sexism that emanates both from the UK and the Republic ofIreland. They have had to fight for equality of opportunity in theworkplace – interestingly, the Equal Opportunities Commission, which isknown to play a more active role in women’s lives than its GBcounterpart, was almost abolished in Northern Ireland (Hughes 1991,p96). An influential factor in the under representation of women in NorthernIreland politics has been the traditional assumption of gender rolesand values held by many within the province. These powerful politicaland cultural restraints support the theory that the lack of women inpolitics is due to supply rather than demand factors – the electoratehas little problem with female candidates, it is getting women intoposition as candidates for public office that is largely the problem. There is general support amongst the Northern Ireland public for womento be involved in politics and indeed this support has grown steadilythroughout the 1990s and the development of the Belfast Agreement. Oneof the key questions included in the 2002 Northern Ireland Life andTimes Survey was did respondents think that the greater number of womenin politics since the formation of the Northern Ireland Assembly makethings better or worse in Northern Ireland politics? Whilst 44 per centof respondents remained neutral on the question, 41 per cent thought ithad made things better, with only 14 per cent thinking it had madethings worse (NI Life and Times Survey 2002). Attitudes towards therole of women in politics shifted markedly from the survey completed adecade earlier. In 1991, only one fifth of men felt that at least onehalf of senior government posts should be held by women. By 2002 thisfigure had doubled to 40 per cent, with support from women rising from38 per cent to 50 per cent (L ife and Times Survey 2002). Research carried out in 1993 sought to use the experience of womencouncillors within Northern Ireland to attempt to gauge exactly why sofew women were involved in politics at the time. In 1989, only 60 ofthe 566 district councillors were women, equating to a mere 10.6 percent (Wilford et al 1993, p341). Following changes after direct rulewas introduced in 1972, many functions of local government had beenreplaced by intermediate bodies appointed by the Secretary of State forNorthern Ireland. This situation reduced the tiers of local governmentwith Wilford et al commenting â€Å"Thus, aspiring politicians enjoy anextremely limited opportunity to run for elected office† (Wilford et al1993, p343). In addition, council meetings throughout the 1980s wouldoften be used by political parties to argue out their constitutionaldifferences rather than focussing on the relevant issues of localpolitics – the symbolic value of politics in Northern Ireland helps toexplain the paucity of women. Interviews with women councillorsrevealed six main reasons that they believed explained the small numberof women in Northern Ireland politics – psychological, familial,organisational, functional, patriarchal and systematic. All have somerelevance. Psychological reasons included a simple lack of self-esteem felt bywomen. The vast majority of women councillors had been prompted orasked to stand for election by other members rather than have theconfidence to stand on their own initiative. It seems exceptional forwomen to deem themselves eligible for candidature, yet this is setagainst a backdrop where with relatively few people willing to standfor election in local politics and being successful would be seeminglyunproblematic. One SDLP councillor commented on the issue: â€Å"it neveroccurred to me to stand†¦we (women) had the traditional view that wewere the back up for men: making the tea and the like† (Wilford et al1993 p344). Familial reasons were most cited reason for non-participation of womenin politics and reaffirm the ideas of traditional cultural valuescontributing to the role of women in Northern Ireland. There is a cleardifferential in the assumed responsibility of men and women for childrearing in Northern Ireland and this impacts strongly on theopportunity for women to enter into public life. At the very least, astrong and supportive partner is needed by women looking to go intopolitics, yet in addition to this it would appear that many women inNorthern Ireland do not simply put family responsibilities firstbecause that is their assumed role – many believe that they actuallyshould put their family first and postpone any political aspirationsuntil their children have reached post-school age. It should also benoted that childcare facilities in Northern Ireland were poor duringthe 1980s and 1990s, a further complication for women that wanted toenter into politics. Organisational reasons for women councillors are similar reasonscommonly cited by women MPs in the UK Parliament – the unsocial hoursthat politician are required to work. Councillors in Northern Irelandfound that childcare made it difficult for them to attend councilbusiness scheduled during the day. At the time of the survey, Sinn Feinwas the only political party in Northern Ireland that paid thechildcare expenses of its councillors (wilford et al 1993, p344). Patriarchal reasons for the limited involvement of women in localpolitics in Northern Ireland are based around the attitude of malecouncillors towards their female counterparts. One councillorinterviewed stated: You’re a thorn as a female councillor. Men don’twant you there; they’d prefer it to be all male. They want to be thedominant ones in the council; it’s true everywhere† (Wilford et alp344). Mnay of the women councillors interviewed felt that they werenot taken seriously because of their sex and this was a hugedisincentive to continuing to take an active role in politics. Manyreferred to the cultural belief ingrained in Northern Ireland about awoman’s place and that the arena of politics was very much a mansworld. There is evidence that women were ‘ghettoised’ into certaincommittees that were less important and more focussed on what weredeemed to be women’s issues – home safety committees serve as anexample. Ag ain, the partisanship of politics in Northern Ireland has tobe seen as a factor here – some of the issues likely to be raised bywomen in particular, like pre-school places, education and the NHS,have a tendency to take a back seat to constitutional and securityissues. Finally, under the label of patriarchal concerns were genuineconcerns of sexual harassment within the arena of council politics.Some female councillors reported patronising language as well as outand out harassment. Systematic and functional reasons for non-participation are also given.The lack of power held by local government in Northern Ireland prior tothe Belfast Agreement has been a disincentive – women are deterred fromsacrificing family life simply due to the fact that there is relativelylittle to do in local politics and little opportunity to instigateeffective change. For the more ambitious women, local government is notseen as a step on the way to better things and many women see the listsof men waiting to become MPs and simply assume that they have littlechance of ever doing so. A final systematic reason for women stayingout of politics is the actual physical risk involved. It is not unheardof for Northern Ireland councillors to be targeted or even murdered byparamilitaries. Much of the research carried out with female councillors supports thetheory that it is indeed supply rather than demand that limits thenumber of women involved in politics in Northern Ireland. With onlythree women MPs being elected between 1972 and 1990 (Wilford et al1993, p345) there is clearly a problem in attracting candidates. In looking at the demand for women in politics, whilst there isevidence that the public has a growing desire to see women involved inpolitics, it is also important to examine the reasons that people inNorthern Ireland think that there are relatively few women involved.The 2002 Life and Times Survey asked for explanations as to why thereare so few women in politics: What is noticeable from this research is that the main factors appearto be based on a conscious choice made by women rather thandiscrimination against them. Women not putting themselves forward ascandidates and putting their families before their political aspirationappear to be more decisive factors than a view that women do not havethe interest in or capability to succeed in politics. Certainly thisattitude has hardened during he 1990s. Whilst in the 1991 survey womensaw the reason for a lack of women as a mixture of barriers andinclination, by 2002 the most important reasons are clearly women’s owninclinations and choices. Another important perception is that aroundwhether or not people assume that women candidates lose votes – in boththe 1991 and 2002 surveys, only around one third of respondents thoughtthat this was the case. One of the obvious solutions to the fact that there are proportionatelyfew women involved inpolitics in Northern Ireland would be theintroduction of positive discrimination policies by the major parties.Howver, whilst there appears to be a view that women involve themselvesin the political process and be encouraged to do so, there is littleevidence that parties should actually be required to blance theircandidate lists with similar numbers of men and women. When questionedas to whether political parties should be required to put forward aproportion of women candidates, only 19 per cent of respondents agreed– 17 per cent of men and 21 per cent of women (Life and Times Survey2002). The more common view was that political parties should beencouraged to put forward a proportion of women candidates – 55 percent agreed with this (52 per cent of men and 57 per cent of women).The survey also asked whether the parties should put more resourcestowards the campaign of women candid ates than men candidates: this metwith a slightly more positive response with 33 per cent of men and 45per cent of women agreeing that more resources should be assigned towomen candidates. A further indicator that there is sufficient demandfor women politicians came from the questions asking respondents tochoose four attributes they would most like to see in Northern Irelandpoliticians and the attributes that they would then use to describeboth male and female politicians. Clearly, the Northern Ireland see women candidates as most likely tohave the attributes that they see as desirable. Whilst male politiciansare seen largely as aggressive, ruthless and crafty, female politiciansare seen as more likely to be honest, approachable and willing tocompromise. Attitudes in Northern Ireland towards women politician are generallyfavourable. These attitudes have noticeably become more positive since1991 and voters are now looking to parties to present them with morewomen candidates both in the Northern Ireland Assembly and atWestminster. Whilst barriers to women entering politics remain, theyappear to have been diluted over the last 10-15 years and whilst thereis still some discrimination against women in politics this haslessened. Perhaps most importantly of all in terms of attitudes towardswomen in politics, there appears to be a consensus that the qualitiesthat women bring to political life are closer to the qualitiesidentified in an ‘ideal’ candidate or representative than are of thoseof men in politics. Other research on specific questions about the role of women inpolitics gives a good insight into the attitudes of the NorthernIreland electorate. Surveys On line asked respondents what proportionof senior government posts should be held by women. Male Female % % A majority 2 3 About half 18 35 At least some 47 38 Nodefinite proportion 31 21 None 2 2 This would suggest that theelectorate is generally happy to see women holding some of the mostimportant posts in government. Again, this would suggest that there isno problem in terms of demand for women to be involved in politics inNorthern Ireland. Opinions of the general involvement of women onpolitics give a similar picture. Asked about women being elected to anational assembly, respondents felt that there should be: Again the broad consensus appears to be in favour of women beinginvolved in politics. Research indicates a slight imbalance in thatwomen appear to be more strongly in favour of a greater political role,but men also are broadly in favour of women’s involvement The attitudes towards

Sigmund Freuds Oedipus Complex Essay -- essays research papers

Oedipus Complex "It is the fate of all of us, perhaps, to direct our first sexual impulse towards our mother and our first hatred and our first murderous wish against our father." - Sigmund Freud(Clark, 122) The Oedipus conflict or complex is a concept developed by Sigmund Freud to explain the origin of certain psychological disorders in childhood. It is defined as a child's unconscious desire for the exclusive love of the parent of the opposite sex. This desire includes jealousy toward the parent of the same sex and the unconscious wish for that parent's death. Horney states that it is not a â€Å"biologically given phenomenon† but rather a response to the â€Å"provocation’s† of the outside world.(Horney) The â€Å"Oedipus Complex† was started from Simund Freud. Freud was born on May 6, 1856, in Freiberg, Moravia, a region now in the Czech Republic. His father was a wool merchant and was forty when he had Sigmund, the oldest of eight children (Gay, 78) and lived till 1939. (Gay, 112) The term Oedipus complex gets its name from Oedipus Rex. The story of Oedipus can be found in the recount authored by Sophocles. In the story Oedipus has been made King of Thebes in gratitude for his freeing the people from a plague brought on them by the presence of the riddling Sphinx. Since Laius, the former king, had shortly before been killed, Oedipus has been further honored by the hand of Queen Jocasta. Now more deadly famines and diseases are raging and the people have come to ask Oedipus to rescue them as before. Oedipus give his brother in-law the job of finding the solution. Creon, Jocasta's brother, comes back from Apollo's temple with the announcement that the famine will be cured if Laius' murderer be found and cast from the city. I... ... things that don't support freud's idea. Freud’s theory was according to the libido theory every human relationship is based ultimately on instinctual drives. When the theory is applied to child-parent relationships several conclusions are suggested: â€Å"any kind of submissive devotion to a parent of the same sex is probably the expression of passive homosexuality or of sexual masochistic trends, while a rebellious rejection of a parent of the same sex is probably an inner fight against existing homosexual desires,† (Horney) Works Cited Bernheimer, Charles, In Dora's case : Freud—hysteria—feminism , New York : Columbia University Press, Horney, Karen, New Ways in Psychoanalysis, New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2000 Clark, David. What Freud Really Said. New York: Scholden, 1995. Gay, Peter. Freud, A Life Of Our Time. New York: W.W. Norton, 1988. Sigmund Freud's Oedipus Complex Essay -- essays research papers Oedipus Complex "It is the fate of all of us, perhaps, to direct our first sexual impulse towards our mother and our first hatred and our first murderous wish against our father." - Sigmund Freud(Clark, 122) The Oedipus conflict or complex is a concept developed by Sigmund Freud to explain the origin of certain psychological disorders in childhood. It is defined as a child's unconscious desire for the exclusive love of the parent of the opposite sex. This desire includes jealousy toward the parent of the same sex and the unconscious wish for that parent's death. Horney states that it is not a â€Å"biologically given phenomenon† but rather a response to the â€Å"provocation’s† of the outside world.(Horney) The â€Å"Oedipus Complex† was started from Simund Freud. Freud was born on May 6, 1856, in Freiberg, Moravia, a region now in the Czech Republic. His father was a wool merchant and was forty when he had Sigmund, the oldest of eight children (Gay, 78) and lived till 1939. (Gay, 112) The term Oedipus complex gets its name from Oedipus Rex. The story of Oedipus can be found in the recount authored by Sophocles. In the story Oedipus has been made King of Thebes in gratitude for his freeing the people from a plague brought on them by the presence of the riddling Sphinx. Since Laius, the former king, had shortly before been killed, Oedipus has been further honored by the hand of Queen Jocasta. Now more deadly famines and diseases are raging and the people have come to ask Oedipus to rescue them as before. Oedipus give his brother in-law the job of finding the solution. Creon, Jocasta's brother, comes back from Apollo's temple with the announcement that the famine will be cured if Laius' murderer be found and cast from the city. I... ... things that don't support freud's idea. Freud’s theory was according to the libido theory every human relationship is based ultimately on instinctual drives. When the theory is applied to child-parent relationships several conclusions are suggested: â€Å"any kind of submissive devotion to a parent of the same sex is probably the expression of passive homosexuality or of sexual masochistic trends, while a rebellious rejection of a parent of the same sex is probably an inner fight against existing homosexual desires,† (Horney) Works Cited Bernheimer, Charles, In Dora's case : Freud—hysteria—feminism , New York : Columbia University Press, Horney, Karen, New Ways in Psychoanalysis, New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2000 Clark, David. What Freud Really Said. New York: Scholden, 1995. Gay, Peter. Freud, A Life Of Our Time. New York: W.W. Norton, 1988.

The Individuals with Disability Education Act Policy Essay -- Politics

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which is a supersession of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 is a federal law which requires states and their school districts to provide individuals with disabilities a free and appropriate education. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education and related services to more than 6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities. US Department Of Education (n.d.) The population that IDEA intends to effect is children between the ages of three and twenty one years of age who have a specific disability that has an adverse effect on the student’s performance. Children who qualify under IDEA are provided with services and accommodations individualized to meet their needs. IDEA entitles all children suspected of having some form of disability to an evaluation by a team and at no cost to the parents or guardians. If the child is determined to need special education and related services, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) is developed based on each child’s specific needs which are decided by both team and parents/guardians. Encyclopedia of Educational Psychology (2008) Once covered under an IEP, the students with disabilities are re-evaluated at least every three years and their IEP’s is reviewed when a change in place occurs. This is most often annually as they go from grade to grade. IDEA recognizes autism, deaf-blindness, deafness, emotional disturbance, hearing impairment, other health impairment (i.e., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury and visual impairment. An evaluation for services under I... ...EA: Policy Solutions to Improve US Special Education. Retrieved April 16, 2011, from http://www.brookings.edu/ DiNitto, D. M. (2011). Social Welfare: Politics and Public Policy (7th ed.). : Allyn & Bacon. Encyclopedia of Educational Psychology (2008). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Retrieved April 9, 2011, from http://www.sage-ereference.com/educationalpsychology/Article_n139.html Lloyd, PhD, C. M., & Rosman, PhD, E. (2005). Infants and Young Children. Exploring Mental Health Outcomes for Low-income Mothers of Children with Special Needs: Implications for Policy and Practice, 18(3), 186-199. National Association of Social Workers (2008). Code of Ethics. Retrieved April 16, 2011, from http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/default.asp US Department Of Education (n.d.). Building the Legacy of IDEA. Retrieved April 9, 2011, from http://idea.ed.gov

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Case Study Essay -- Business Management Studi

The company Established in Hong Kong in 1963, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is and international hotel investment and management group operating ten hotels in the Asia-Pacific region. The company manages each of these hotels and has significant ownership interests in all but Mandarin Oriental, San Francisco and the Phuket Yacht Club Hotel and Beach Resort, Thailand. Mandarin Oriental’s overall corporate quality goal is to achieve a level of excellence that sets the group apart from all of its competitors in the eyes of customers, investors and staff. In order to achieve this level of excellence it strives for total customer satisfaction in its service delivery, and to consistently be a leader in the industry in terms of profitability and the creation of a rewarding working environment for all of its staff. The Mandarin Oriental Hotel has, from its creation, received recognition for providing a level of products and services of the highest quality. While traditions of consistent quality service delivery are practiced at each of the hotels, the challenge to the Group is to develop an ongoing corporate culture of quality service drawing upon the strengths of each individual hotel. At the beginning of 1993, the company introduced a new Group Mission Statement that has been rolled out to every member of staff through personal presentations by the Managing Director at every hotel and corporate office. This Mission Statement has been published in English, Chinese, Thai and Indonesian, and serves as a model in that it conveys guidelines and criteria that can be used by hoteliers who wish to monitor and evaluate their own leadership and quality improvement efforts. Mission Statement The company Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is a leader in the hotel industry, owning and operation some of the world’s finest de luxe and first class hotels. The mission Their mission is to completely delight and satisfy our guests. They are committed to making a difference every day; continually getting better to keep us the best. The guiding principles Delighting their guests They will strive to understand our client and guest needs by listening to their requirements and responding in a competent, accurate and timely fashion. They will design and deliver our services and products to address their needs. In fact, the MOG a... ...he same as those employed to build their business, they are tied to each other. They are currently developing a Group-wide Guest History network whereby the â€Å"history† of a customer of any one hotel can be accessed by any other hotel so that preferences are immediately responded to even if it is the customer’s first use of a new hotel. When this is in place, a customer of Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong who prefers a particular type of beverage will find it waiting for him upon arrival at The Oriental, Bangkok. They follow up their customers with a personalized written response to every comment card or letter received and recently have begun telephoning customers for follow up. In every case they strive to let the customers know that they appreciate their comments; that their experiences are important to them; that they want to address the specific instance generating the comment; that they want them to be satisfied and, finally, if appropriate, they explain the change that will be made in their processes to assure achievement of better customer satisfaction in the future. (Go, F.M and Pine, R.(1995). Globalization Strategy in the Hotel Industry. Routledge)

Importance of blood donation Essay

Begin with an interesting quotation related to your opinion about The American Red cross (You will need a transition here) – End the Intro paragraph with your thesis statement: Even though Not a lot of people donate blood even though they have time and energy to do so., Every person in this world should donate blood once. because It might be that one can need blood and sometimes hospitals run out of it. and Each time one gives a blood they can save three lives.. Body Paragraph or Section #1 Topic of the body thesis: Not a lot of people donate blood even though they have time and energy to do so. – Find evidence – like facts, examples, quotations, or statistics that back it up or support the topic sentence of this paragraph. – Explain how your evidence supports the topic sentence Another example that shows that Not a lot of people donate blood even though they have time and energy to do so. is†¦ – Find more evidence – facts, examples, quotations, or statistics that back it up or support the topic sentence of this paragraph. – Explain how this second piece of evidence supports the topic sentence. Body Paragraph or Section #2 Even though Not a lot of people donate blood even though they have time and energy to do so., Every person in this world should donate blood once. because It might be that one can need blood and sometimes hospitals run out of it.. – Find evidence – like facts, examples, quotations, or statistics that back it up or support the topic sentence of this paragraph. – Explain how your evidence supports the topic sentence Another example that shows that It might be that one can need blood and sometimes hospitals run out of it. is†¦ – Find more evidence – facts, examples, quotations, or statistics that back it up or support the topic sentence of this paragraph. – Explain how this second piece of evidence supports the topic sentence. Body Paragraph or Section #3 The most important reason Every person in this world should donate blood once. is because Each time one gives a blood they can save three lives.. – Find evidence – like facts, examples, quotations, or statistics that back it up or support the topic sentence of this paragraph. – Explain how your evidence supports the topic sentence Another example that shows that Each time one gives a blood they can save three lives. is†¦ – Find more evidence – facts, examples, quotations, or statistics that back it up or support the topic sentence of this paragraph. – Explain how this second piece of evidence supports the topic sentence. Conclusion So it is clear that although Not a lot of people donate blood even though they have time and energy to do so., Every person in this world should donate blood once. for two main reasons. First, It might be that one can need blood and sometimes hospitals run out of it.. But most importantly, Each time one gives a blood they can save three lives.. – Now you will return to your opening attention-getter from the introduction – Then end your essay with a powerful So What? statement.

Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America

In Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America,1 Morris Fiorina takes aim at the contention that there is a culture war in America, that our society is badly divided and polarized so that we are rapidly falling into two competing camps ready to do battle with one another. It is a bold argument.The idea that a culture war is raging in America is a staple of certain media outlets, especially AM talk radio, where the likes of Michael Savage, Bill O’Reilly, and Rush Limbaugh on the right, and Thom Hartman, Randi Rhodes, and Al Franken of left-leaning Air America constantly sound alarms, crying that whichever barbarians they dread are about to storm the temple. Against this popular belief, Morris Fiorina has impressive credentials: he taught at for ten years at CalTech, for sixteen years at Harvard, and he is now a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute and holds an endowed chair in political science at Stanford University.Using sophisticated sampling data, Fiorina shows that the A merican public holds a range of diverse opinions, but finds that instead of being increasingly polarized, the American public has generally been moving to the center of the political spectrum on many issues. Consider an issue which he admits is a â€Å"hot button† item: homosexuality. Fiorina finds that the American public has gradually but steadily become more accepting of homosexuals over the past 30 years.True enough, the public does not accept homosexual marriage, nor did they accept opening the military to gays, but these are not the entire question of homosexuality. On the issue of being willing to accept homosexuals in general, the public attitude has shown increasing moderation. To establish this, Fiorina considers polls in which the sample group was asked to rate homosexuals on a â€Å"thermometer†scale, in which 100 is total acceptance, and 0 is total rejection. In 1984, homosexuals earned a â€Å"0†³ score from 30 percent of Americans.By 2000, the perc entage of â€Å"0†³ scores has dropped to just 10 percent, and the overall acceptance rating for homosexuals has risen from 30 percent to 49 percent. (84) While these ratings do not show that homosexuals have managed to escape the stigma under which they have been compelled to live, they show that the shocking divide in which the issue is often portrayed does not exist. Similarly, the abortion issue, long considered the most divisive of social issues, is decidedly less divisive than it is pictured in popular media.A clear majority of Americans now support the basic decision in Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court abortion case. More than 65 percent of Americans support a strong right to choose. (54) Further, attitudes as to when abortion should be allowed are virtually unchanged since 1973. As of 1999, the last year for which Fiorina has data, 88 percent of Americans believe that abortion should be allowed if the life or health of the pregnant woman was seriously endangered. (5 5) In 1973, the number was 87 percent.If, like Fiorina, we accept the norm that a change of four percent or less in a survey of this type is not statistically significant, then the only factor about which the surveys have asked which has seen a statistically significant change is the right to a woman to have an abortion based on a claim that she has an income so low that she cannot afford another child. Even in this situation, some 40 percent of the general population would allow the abortion. (55) The change in attitudes, such as it is, is in the percentage of Americans who believe that all abortion is murder.While this saw a slight rebound in the late 1990s, it has fallen from 22 percent in 1973 to 18 percent, and since Roe, it has never been above 25 percent. (71) Another remarkable finding that Fiorina uncovered is that men and women have virtually identical attitudes on abortion, even though they differ markedly in their views on other issues. (71-72) The percentage of men and women who believe that abortion should be legal under all circumstances has varied between 21 and 36 percent for women, and between 20 and 30 percent for men, with the difference between sexes never being more than six percent.The percentage of men and women believing that abortion should be illegal under all circumstances has run between 15 and 23 percent for women and between 13 and 21 percent for men, with never more than a difference of four percent. (71) By contrast on other issues, the difference between men’s and women’s attitude is far more marked. Responding to the suggestion that all handguns except those carried by police or other persons in authority should be illegal, only 28 percent of men agree; 48 percent of women agree.Regarding the â€Å"caning† of an American teenage arrested in Singapore for acts of vandalism, 61 percent of men approved of the punishment; only 39 percent of women approved. While 43 percent of men consider themselves conservat ive, only 29 percent of women do. (72) In short, while abortion does not appear to be as divisive an issue as it is portrayed, there are other issues on which there is division. Fiorina presents a sweeping array of data, all of which shows far less division than is generally assume to exist.This raises a natural question: if there are fewer deep divisions than Americans believe, why do Americans believe that there are such division? Fiorina points to several sources, including political parties, media, and pundits. Media and pundits want to portray conflict, because conflict sells. (115-23) As the quip goes, â€Å"If it bleeds, it leads. † To reach his conclusions, Fiorina has to delve into sophisticated statistical models.The reader wishing to follow his argument in detail faces a daunting task, because Fiorina uses three dimensional statistical models ass he works through assumptions about voter and candidate behavior. (118-24) In the end, Fiorina argues that it is not the general populace that is divided, but the elites, the people who are active in party work. (125-31) In their turn, the elites are the most accessible to and the most accessing of the media and the pundits. (141-42) Party elite organizations tend to be strongly self-selecting.Only a true believer among Republicans can rise far through the Republican party organization; only a true believing Democrat gets to the top of the Democratic party. Once in the elite, these people tend to demand equal zeal from anyone else wanting admission, and to select people with the same ideals to join the elites. The result is set of self-perpetuating cadres of zealots, who believe, or at least would like to believe that they stand on the ramparts and fight for the Lord. In Fiorina convincing? He would probably find a certain irony in the response: maybe.Any serious reader must give pause. There is comfort in the idea is that we are not becoming constantly more polarized. Still we are conditioned to beli eve we are polarized. That idea appears so often that a refutation is hard to accept. But anyone who reads this book will probably ponder if Fiorina is right or not. He would probably approve of that response. AUTHORITY CITED: Fiorina, Morris, with Samuel Abrams and Jeremy Pope. Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized Amierca. New York, New York: Pearson/Longman, 2005.

Hemmingway

American Novel 8/04/2013 Q) Hemmingway’s depiction of the condition of man in a society that has been upset by the violence of war, in light of â€Å"The Sun also Rises† and â€Å"A Farewell to Arms†. No American writer is more associated with writing about war in the early 20th century than Ernest Hemingway. He experienced it first hand, wrote dispatches from innumerable frontlines, and used war as a backdrop for many of his most memorable works. Commenting on these experience years later in  Men at War,  Hemingway wrote: â€Å"When you go to war as a boy you have a great illusion of immortality.Other people get killed; not you. . . . Then when you are badly wounded the first time you lose that illusion and you know it can happen to you. After being severely wounded two weeks before my nineteenth birthday I had a bad time until I figured out that nothing could happen to me that had not happened to all men before me. Whatever I had to do men had always done. If they had done it then I could do it too and the best thing was not to worry about it. Many persons whose outward lives do not in the least resemble that of a typical ‘Hemingway’s character’ are still conscious of the dislocation due to war, and of which he has made himself the outstanding fictional spokesmen of our time. Hemingway’s characters are soldiers, sportsman, Prize fighter and his world of fiction swarm with ferrets, drunkards and prostitutes. He is greatly pre-occupied with death and violence. ‘A Farewell to Arms’ shows Hemingway’s ability to create life like character, both male and female, in such a way as to make us feel that we have actually met them.The First World War plays an important role in the novels of Ernest Hemingway. He has depicted all real war experience in his novel. The war led up to a deep distrust of all established institutions and values religions, ideals, society, patriotisms etc. Only concrete expe riences were valued. Thus, Hemingway emphasized the sense and the experience based on them. The Sun also Rises is one of his such novels. It is a story of a few American expatriates who were living in Paris after the War. There were all wounded either physically or psychologically by the war. I got hurt in the war,† I said. â€Å"Oh, that dirty war. † We would probably have gone on and discussed the war and agreed that it was in reality a calamity for civilization, and perhaps would have been better avoided. I was bored enough. Just then from the other room someone called: â€Å"Barnes! I say Barnes! Jacob Barnes! † (3. 9)| The banal discussion of the war that Jake and Georgette narrowly escape is one that’s unsatisfactory and not comprehensive. We get the feeling that there’s a lot more to be said about the war, but nobody knows how to communicate it yet. â€Å"My dear, I am sure Mr.Barnes has seen a lot. Don’t think I don’t think so , sir. I have seen a lot, too. †Ã‚   â€Å"Of course you have, my dear,† Brett said. â€Å"I was only ragging. † â€Å"I have been in seven wars and four revolutions,† the count said. â€Å"Soldiering? † Brett asked. â€Å"Sometimes, my dear. And I have got arrow wounds. Have you ever seen arrow wounds? † (7. 18)| The count’s definition of â€Å"seen a lot† is associated with war – as though war is the only real experience a man can have. The old pre-war values cannot give them the direction that they are looking for and in this lost world they are all lost souls.They drink heavily to quieten their inner distressed voices. Jake Barnes is a casualty of the First World War. He has been made impotent due to his injury and thus is now ‘half the man than he was before. ’ His physical impairment has made it impossible for him to consummate his love and thus this becomes the tragedy of his love for Brett Ashley. Alt hough there is no mention of it in the novel directly, it has been implied in certain scenes. As Brett is not willing to settle for less, Jake is drowned in the ocean of unrequited love.Thus, Jake then becomes a tragic hero, one of the most praised heroes of Hemingway’s books. We see that the war has taken away his masculinity from him leaving him incomplete for life. As Jake’s war doctor remarks on his loss, â€Å"He has given much more than his life. † As the title of the novel makes clear,  A Farewell to Arms  concerns itself primarily with war, namely the process by which Frederic Henry removes himself from it and leaves it behind. The few characters in the novel who actually support the effort—Ettore Moretti and Gino—come across as a dull raggart and a naive youth, respectively. The majority of the characters remain ambivalent about the war, resentful of the terrible destruction it causes, doubtful of the glory it supposedly brings. The no vel offers masterful descriptions of the conflicts senseless brutality and violent chaos. The scene of the Italian army’s retreat remains one of the most profound evocations of War in American Literature. As the neat columns of men begin to crumble so does the soldier’s nerves, minds, and capacity for rational thought and moral judgement.Henry’s shooting of the engineer for refusing to help free the car from the mud shocks the reader for two reasons, first, the violent outburst seems at odds with Henry’s detached character, and secondly, the incident occurs in a setting that robs it of its moral import, the complicity of Henry’s fellow soldiers legitimizes the killing. The murder of the engineer seems justifiable because it is an inevitable by-product of the spiralling violence and disorder of the War.I had seen nothing sacred, and the things that were glorious had no glory and the sacrifices were like the stockyards at Chicago if nothing was done with the meat except to bury it. There were many words that you could not stand to hear and finally only the names of places had dignity. Certain numbers were the same way and certain dates and these with the names of the places were all you could say and have them mean anything. Abstract words such as glory, honour, courage, or hallow were obscene beside the concrete names of villages, the numbers of roads, the names of rivers, the numbers of regiments and the dates.To Henry, such abstractions as honour, glory, and sacrifice do little to explain or assuage the unbelievable destruction that he sees around him. What matters, he decides, are the names of villages and soldiers, the concrete facts of decimated walls and dead bodies. He believes that in order to discuss the war honestly, one must dismiss artificial concepts and deal with terms grounded in the reality of the war. He tarnishes the romanticized ideal of the military hero by equating the â€Å"sacrifices† of human liv es in war with the slaughter of livestock.He further compares romantic riffs about honor and glory to burying meat in the ground. Nothing can be sustained or nurtured by such pointlessness. Hemingway believed that in this corrupt world it is no longer possible to have a decent, self-respecting and dignified life. It is the end of love, end of human dignity, end of personal relationships and a realisation that man is all alone in the world and he has to fend for himself. It is the realisation that the ultimate reality is nothing but nada, a Spanish word which means ‘nothingness’. â€Å"Nada†, someone said. â€Å"It’s nothing.Drink up. Lift the bottle. † (The Sun Also Rises, chapter15) The Sun Also Rises portrays a few American and British young men whose experiences of the war are qualitatively not different from those of Nick Adams and Jake Barnes and they are lost in a world which they do not understand. Their meaningless wanderings in Paris and la ter in Pamplona are the equivalents of their confused minds which have failed to find any guiding principles in life. Bull-fighting for them becomes a symbol of life in which the matador demonstrates how a man facing death can retain dignity.As a matter of fact it is in the face of danger and confrontation with death that they show courage, so that they can lead a life in which they can respect themselves. There is a vague realisation on the part of these expatriates that they cannot implement the matador’s code in their lives because of the wounds inflicted by the war will take quite some time to heal. In A Farewell to Arms Henry realizes that his idealism which had guided him into the front is meaningless in the face of total destruction symbolized by the war.Whether he performs his duties or not, it does not make any material difference to the unit to which he belongs. The endless round of drinking and brothels is equally futile because he cannot find any object to which h e could align himself and seek some sort of satisfaction that would give some meaning to his life. His love affair with Catherine Barkley is a temporary relief from the inner disquiet and finally with the death of Catherine he is no better off than the dog nosing in the dust bin for something to eat but where there is nothing for him to find.His own wound had also but killed him. This feeling of nada then led to â€Å"the lost generation†. The term lost generation is generally applied to those who had actively participated in the First World War and as a consequence of this realised that life was meaningless. As a result of the domination of machine over man, man had felt that they were extremely helpless. This disillusionment could have taken either the shape of nihilism or a search for enduring values and absolutes. In the mechanised war there was no room whatsoever for the assertion of manhood or courage and bravery.In a famous passage in A Farewell to Arms Hemingway bring s out this disillusionment. In the rain, the words like honour, glory, patriotism seemed obscene to him and what was real were the names of the regiments, streets and towns. The Sun also Rises and A Farewell to Arms celebrate the conditions that led to this disillusionment and how man sought desperately to clutch at straws in this meaningless and valueless world. There is no sentiment whatsoever about the retreat ion A Farewell to Arms or the adventures of Brett Ashley.They are delineated with the realism of a scientist but with the tenderness of an artist. There is a feeling of boredom and disgust with the half-truths and sentiments of the earlier generations. Hemingway has, along with Remarque, revealed the grotesque and the animal nature in man. Worship of instinct instead of rationality became the order of the day. The world that Hemingway has portrayed is unrecognizably part of the modern world. The violence of war is still with us. And added to it is the anxiety and fear of th e cold war that seems to have become part and parcel of the Twentieth Century life.His preoccupation with violence, decay and death may be neurotic but are still part of the twentieth century temper. The lack of morality is with us to stay. There are no religious values that can provide balm to the troubled mind. As Jake Barnes states in The Sun also Rising, â€Å"I’m a rotten Catholic. † In the words of Philip Young, â€Å"It is a hell of a world, and we should protest it. But on the other hand we should be hard-pressed to prove that it is not the one we inhabit†¦ While other writers were watching the side acts, Hemingway’s eyes were from the start focused on the main show. The devout ask for peace in our time but ironically there is no peace in our time. This is the vision that Hemingway presents in his works and it is difficult to refute its authenticity so long as our world is going to be haunted by the fear of a thermo-nuclear war. As Hemingway wrote in A Farewell to arms, â€Å"If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure that it’ll kill you too but there will be no special hurry. † Work Cited: http://onviolence. com/? e=313 http://www. hrmars. com/admin/pics/1043. pdf http://www. amazon. com/Hemingway-War-Ernest/dp/0743243293 http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Ernest_Hemingway http://www. archives. gov/publications/prologue/2006/spring/hemingway. html Book: Hemingway on War