Medical uses of algae Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Medical uses of algae - Research Paper Example Their sexual organs are not found in protective coverings. In terms of physiology, they are basically autotrophic with all their materials from inorganic sources and photosynthetic producing complex carbon compounds from CO2 and light energy. Some algae are secondarily heterotrophic but retaining fundamental genetic affinities with their photosynthetic relatives. They include both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Algae both live and dead are being used by the humans. The fossil algal diatomite deposits in the shape of light but strong rocks are used as building materials and filtration media in water purification systems and swimming pools. Some fossil algae like Botryococcus are sources oil-rich deposits. Some other species of green algae are grown for obtaining bio chemicals for applications in medicine and cosmetics. The nuisance blue-green algae have beneficial uses especially Spirulina which is used as dietary supplement. The blue-green algae are better known as fresh water nuisance organisms which form as dense blooms affecting human activities through toxins generated by them, by clogging water courses and affecting recreational activities (Bellinger and Sigee). Alage has been described as organisms containing chlorophyll made up of one cell or grouped together in colonies or with many cells and at times joining together as simple tissues. Their sizes vary from unicellular of 3-10 um microns to giant kelps up to 70 mg long capable of growing 50 cm per day. They are found all over the earth in the sea, rivers, and lakes, also on soils and walls, in animal and plants (as symbionts-partners collaborating together) and it can just grow anywhere where light is available to conduct photosynthesis. Thus, alage are heterogeneous and identified in two major types: microalgae and microalgae. Microalgae grow in bentheic and littoral habitats and also in the ocean waters as Phytoplankton that comprises species such as diatoms, (bacillariophyta), dinoflagellates (dinophyt a), green and yellow-brown flagellates (Chlorophyta; prasino-phyta; prymnesiophyta; cryptophyta, chrysophyta and rhaphdiophyta) and blue-green algae (cyano-phyta) (Gamal 1). 2. Microalgae’s products and their biological activities Microalgal phyla provide chemical and pharmacological compounds besides bioactive compounds of marine resources back to compounds marine invertebrates which may vary from one compound to another but with a strong suggestion that dietary or symbiotic algae are one of the participants of these metabolites. For example, the blue-green algae, Lyngbhya majuscula is the source of aplysiatoxin found in sea hares which feed on this alga. Likewise, highly active anti tumour compounds, dollastatins 1 & 2 extracted from sea slugs are of blue-green algal origin. Further, eukaryotic algae and dinoflagellates metabolites are seen in shellfish and other invertebrates as toxins. Furthermore, Brevotoxins 3, ciguatoxins and dinophysiotoxins are examples of paralytic shellfish toxins (Gamal 2) Cyanophyta (blue-green algae or cyanobacterial) The blue-green algae’s structures resemble structural features of bacteria. They are classified because they contain

Essays by American Minorities Essay Example for Free

Essays by American Minorities Essay 1. The Age of White Guilt by: Shelby Steele In this essay written by African American Shelby Steele, he tells of the hard times of his people. He leads the reader through his experiences in the civil rights movement and compares the life of an African American in the 1960’s and one in the present day. He writes that African Americans today would have to use ever ounce of their intelligence and imagination to find reasons for them not to succeed in today’s society. He goes on to say that African Americans use the harm done for them in the past and try to use it as guilt for the white Americans. It goes on to explain the importance in fighting for a cause in a group and not breaking off as individuals. 2. I’m Black, your white, who’s innocent? By: Shelby Steele In this essay by Shelby Steele, he tells about the inequality of blacks even in today’s society. I think it also shows the tenderness in the subject of racism and inequality even today. He also writes of how he used to use white liability against white Americans and how it gave him much guilt. He also tells how young African Americans still blame racial problems to be the motivation of many things done by African Americans. He says that an African American that points out white shame is showing power and that when whites respond with silence that that is also a gesture of power. He ends with saying that that whites and blacks truly fear the sacrifices that come with total racial harmony. 3. I hated Tonto by: Sherman Alexie In this essay written by Native American Sherman Alexie, he points out the racial stereotypes that accompany the Native Americans that were given to them by America and the rest of the world. He tells of how he used to accept the racial stereotypes of his people when he was a kid but now he understands how embarrassing the stereotypes were. 4. Why don’t we complain by: William Buckley This essay by William Buckley tells of the difficulties of society and how, instead of taking action when we are mistreated, we just stand by and let the violators have their way. It also tells of how people often wait on others to take action instead on doing so themselves. He says this is because we are afraid to make our voices heard and afraid that someone will get their feelings hurt. He also says that when we do complain, we shouldn’t do so in a calm voice like you are scared but in a bold, demanding voice that lets the person know that you mean business. He says that Americans are not comfortable taking actions in difficult situations because we live in an age of technology where we rely on machines and computers to do things for us, but in earlier times, if we needed something we got up and did it. 5. Just Walk on By by: Brent Staples This essay written by Brent Staples tells of the first time the author experienced a negative reaction from someone just because he was black. He tells of how he noticed signs of fear when people saw him and realized that most of Chicago’s rapists and muggers were black and that his appearance could cause fear. He tells of how society tells us that we should be tough and shouldn’t back down and how some young men take this literally and get into trouble. Essays on the Use and Power of English 1. Politics in the English Language by: George Orwell This essay written by George Orwell tells of the inaccurate and misuse of the English language in today’s society. He says that instead of â€Å"foolish thoughts† coming from language, language comes from foolish thoughts. He also says that metaphors and other types of figurative language used today do not lead to concrete ideas. He says that vagueness is the most common characteristic of the English language. 2. How English is Evolving into a Language we might not understand by: Michael Erard This essay by Michael Erard tells of how the English language is being used in many other countries including China but is not being thoroughly explained which leads to misuse of words and different pronunciations. He tells of how China and other Asian countries are making changes to the languages such as pronunciation of vowels and words. He also says that Asians will introduce tone to the English language which means if a word is pronounced with a different tone it means a different word. He tells the reader that there is nothing wrong with the language and it is just as proper as any other English and that it might even be more efficient. 3. Do Our Writers Abuse the English Language? by: Dr. Rossiter Johnson This essay written by Dr. Rossiter Johnson tells of the criticism from our cousins the English against American writers. It tells of how the British criticism is accompanied by their idea of our ignorance. It tells that the British believe that there is no way that American writers can possibly improve when it comes to proper use of the English language. Johnson then points out some British writers that have misused the language such as Grey and Dean Alford. He tells of the words of Sydney Smith, a British critic that said who reads American books? Who goes to an American play? Who looks at an American picture or statue? Who sleeps in American blankets? What do we owe to American surgeons and physicians? He responds to these words by telling of how Americans have surpassed these accomplishments and have proved Smith wrong. 4. Importance of English in India by: Rajesh Mohan. This essay by Rajesh Mohan is about the role of the English language in India and how it is the language that bonds all the other languages together in the Indian sub continent. The reason English bonds these regions together is because everyone understands it and so that makes it a common language to everyone. It also tells of how English is good for countries who are trying to expand and grow and that Indians recommend other countries to learn English. 5. How English Became a Global Language by: Jennifer Claerr This essay by Jennifer Claerr tells how English has become one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world. She says it is mostly because of its effectiveness. She says that the other reason the world is comfortable with English is because it uses a Romanic alphabet which is easier for Easterners to grasp than other alphabets. The English language is used heavily in television, movies, products, ads, and everything else that many non native speakers feel that they should learn it. So in conclusion this is the reason that English has over 1 billion speakers both native and non native.

Impact of Mass Media on Children Essay Example for Free

Impact of Mass Media on Children Essay Too much media attention focuses on the impact of sex and violence on children. The assumption seems to be that if the media stopped showing sex and violence on television and in filmsand now video games are the culpritthe world would be a better place. Sometimes the argument goes further. If the media instead presented quality family and religious programming, children would grow up to be moral people. Both of these ifs are based on the premise that the media makes us do things that we dont want to do. The scenario in the 1950s played out like this: We have two good teenagers; They listen to Rock N Roll music; The music stimulates their animal instincts; They have sex. They didnt want to; the music made them. Today the scenario goes like this: The boy is good; The boy plays video games; The boy becomes a crack shot; The boy goes to school and shoots his classmates; He didnt want to; violent video games made him. I agree that the video games and the music have an impact on children. From the video gamesand televisionand films, the child learns the signifiers of violence. Similarly, the media teaches us the signifiers of sexuality. Once those signifiers become signifieds stored in our memories, that learning cant be unlearned this side of suffering a brain injury. However, no single signifier stands alone. Individuals interpret each signifier as part of a mental schema. The final influence for a given individual to choose antisocial behavior may be the video game or the music. Or it might be the chocolate doughnut. With billions of people in the world, somebody somewhere is likely to be motivated to action by just about anything. To blame the media for individual behavior is missing the point and simplifies the issues. Just getting the bad messages out of the media is not going to create a good society. The media is an influence The media does have an influence on children; the same impact it has on all of us: 1. The media teaches us the signifiers of the culture and what they mean. 2. The media sets an agenda which directs our attention to the issues that the media managers think are important. 3. The media teaches us ideology by offering us solutions to binary oppositions. Let us look at each of these points separately and see what the impact could be on children. Here are two typical sets of signifiers found in our culture. The images of Jennifer Anniston from Seventeen (August 2000) teach the signifiers of sexuality, feministic and gender. Whether those signifiers have a positive or negative impact on a given individual depends on individual past experience. One person may read her images as cultural definitions of cute. A victim of sexual abuse may interpret the signifiers as an invitation to arouse notice. A person who knows the signifiers of pornography may read the images as indicating availability. The CD cover to the right teaches the signifiers of gender and masculinity. The images create an association of masculinity with violence and weapons. Both images put signifiers into the culture, set an agenda and offer solutions to binary oppositions to the children to whom they are targeted. Teaches signifiers. From watching violent films, television, and playing violent video games, we all learn how to be violent. Similarly, we learn the signifiers of sexuality and what those signifiers mean. How we interpret those signifiers is going to depend on our own past experiences. Children who are sexually abused are going to read sexual signifiers differently than children whose parents demonstrate a loving, caring relationship and explain sexual behaviors to their children. Similarly, children who were physically abused or who live in violent neighborhoods also will bring their past experiences to any media experience. In short, the past experiences of children help determine what impact the medias images have on children. What this means is that the media cant make mass murderers or schoolyard shooters, but if a child decides to go in that direction, the media helps teach them how to do it. Sets the Agenda. An analysis of mass media becomes a bit scary at this point. What are the three dominant topics presented in the media? Sex, Violence and The Consumer Culture. This is what we are telling children is important. Offers Solutions to Problems. Now things become really scaryat least to me. Lets look at this media effect in three ways: 1. The media constantly presents the binary opposition of good vs. evil. This is particularly true in many cartoons, such as Batman or G.I. Joe, or some other superhero scenario. In each case, society is held hostage by evil. The average person can do nothing. Only the superhero can defeat evil through the use of violence. But, theres a limit to what even the superhero can do. If the good guys destroy evil, then the premise of the cartoon is over. The heroes win but evil continues. Here are the lessons being taught: Evil exists to destroy good and so the world is a conflict between good and evil. Most of us cannot do anything against evil; therefore, we are easy victims. We must give control over to superheroes who can wage war on evil. Violence is the solution to problems. 2. True love is the solution to all personal problems. Remember the Jerry MaGuire line: You complete me? True love means only one person in the world exists for each person. The current cliche soul mate sums up this way of thinking. Here are the lessons being taught: If there is only one person for each person, how do you explain an attraction to another person? Todays economy constantly puts men and women together in high pressure, stimulating circumstances. We are psychologically and physiologically wired to respond to members of the opposite sex. Sooner or later, most people in our culture will be placed in an interpersonal context that can easily assume the feelings of love because body chemistry is responding to the closeness of the other person. If a person needs someone to complete that individual, what happens when the part that needs completing feels incomplete again? The fault lies with the relationship. No doubt all of us need someone some of the time, but a person with serious, unresolved personal issues is probably incapable of forming a healthy relationship in the first place. When the first partner fails to fill the personal hole, then the incomplete person will go in search for another completer. Is it any wonder that so many failed relationships exist? Is it any wonder that so many teens engage in premarital sex since love is the solution so often offered by the media? Why is the media hooked on love? Love motivates us to purchase so many productsfrom toothpaste to diamondsso that we can offer our ideal selves to another person instead of the actual people we are. Plus, it is easy for the media to connect sex and love. What was the name of the last new movie you saw where sex didnt follow once the lead male and female fell in love? As Maslow argues, sex is a strong motivatorstrong enough to convince people to spend money to acquire sexual attractiveness, and, by extension, love. 3. Finally, the media offers violence as the method chosen by men. The movie industry presents us with Tom Cruise, Wesley Snipes, Al Pacino, James Bond, and the list goes on and on. In sports, we have Sunday football and Wednesday wrestling. The History Channel presents the heroes of World War II. A E and Discovery channels prove the power of cops through their programming. According to the media, such men are heroes. They protect their families. They are honored by those around them. They are rewarded with the most attractive women available. Any boy unwilling to engage in violence can not be a man. Girls also have something to learn. They need a man to protect them from becoming victims of rape and violence. As cheerleaders stand on the sidelines cheering on the team, they are taught to reward the guys who prove they are men. Conclusions The media teaches children the signifiers of sex, violence and consumerism. The media tells children it is important to think about these three things because these are the topics the media most often places into the agenda. Finally, either sex, violence or a product offers a solution to every problem.

An Introduction to Daimler Chrysler AG

An Introduction to Daimler Chrysler AG DaimlerChrysler AG-the third-largest car maker in the world-is the product of the November 1998 merger of Daimler-Benz AG of Germany and Chrysler Corporation of the United States. Vehicles built by the resultant powerhouse include Mercedes-Benz luxury passenger cars; a micro compact car sold under the name Smart; Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge cars, pickup trucks, minivans, and sport utility vehicles; and commercial vehicles, including vans, trucks, and buses, under the brand names Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, Sterling, Setra, and Western Star Trucks. The companys revenue stream is heavily weighted toward the United States and Europe-the Mercedes Car Group and the Chrysler Group divisions account for the majority of company sales. The company has been plagued with problems in recent years related partly to its investment in Mitsubishi Motors. Its troubled Chrysler division experienced a $637 million loss in 2003 due to restructuring costs and slowing U.S. sales. In addition to its vehicle manufacturing operations, DaimlerChrysler is a leading provider of information technology services in Germany and offers a variety of financial services-including vehicle sales and leasing financing, dealer financing, and insurance services-primarily in North America and Europe. The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS), which is 33 percent-owned by DaimlerChrysler, operate as the worlds second-largest aerospace and Defense Company. Models of change management Lewins model Unfreeze the current paradigm of the organization. This involves understanding the need for change. Then communicating that need to the people. People should be open to change in structure, behavior and thinking. Change the organization paradigm by introducing new theories in the organization. This is a lengthy process as the new method will take time to sink in. people will question the new method thus it is important that there is a strong channel for feedback. Refreeze the changed paradigm. This is the stage where the change is inculcated into the organization and people followed the changed methods as a part and parcel of the organization. Kotters 8 steps creating a vibe of change into the members gather supporters to guide change create a vision explain the vision to the supporters empower people to follow and spread the vision create shot objective or milestones improvements and feedback Inculcation of change by making it a part of structure and system. Complex model which recognize the need of individual organizations. Johnson Scholes and Whittingtons model identifies the variables that the organization faces. Time is how quickly change is needed. This can be identified by the Balogun and Hailys model. Scope is the degree of change that is necessary. Continuity what is the incremental factor History is the past experience of change Skills what capabilities are required and what do we have. Resources which are available for change management. Readiness is the willingness of people to accept change. Power is where the of the organization lies i.e. with management employees, stakeholders etc. McKinsey 7S framework identifies the areas that management need to focus on in order to manage change effectively Structure is the hierarchy and the departmentalization of the organization before and after the change. Strategy is the plans that organization makes i.e. when to compete? Where to compete? And when to compete? System is the alignment of the strategy with the business objective and at what level evolutionary stage the organization stands. Shared values is what type of culture prevails in the organization Style is the leadership style of the management. How are decisions made? Staff is the human resource of the organization. How trained they are and what staff is needed? Skill is the organizations ability to use its resources. Thus measure of the efficiency of the organization. Need for strategic change in Chysler Chysler has been to the top and now has lost most of its profit. Strategic intervention techniques The purpose of intervention techniques is to improve the efficiency and the effectiveness of the organization. Strategic intervention techniques focus on improving the processes through which ideas are generated and then gain feedback on the ideas. These techniques make some thing happen and also focus on what is happening French Bell Jr (1994). The reasons for interventions can be To gain feedback To educate people To invoke rapid change in the organization. Rapid and sudden change in the external environment Intense competition Driving forces for change in GM Driving forces are the reason that GM requires to change its strategy and align itself with the environment. Few of the forces that pressure Gm to change are as follows Low economic growth in the car manufacturing business has stumped most of the manufacturers. Car manufacturers on government support are making cars at a loss but yet there cars are in the market and cutting the market share of other companies. Japanese car manufacturers are making better cars at low price which is the main competition for GM. Change in technology in the industry has been an issue. Honda and Toyota have advanced in technology at a higher rate than GM. Rising oil prices have also caused the industry to rethink there strategy. Resource implications for GM GM CEO Rick Wagoner has put in a lot of effort to turn around GM since 1992.but his response to change in the environment was too slow. The resources of GM can be evaluated using 5 Ms model Money has been the problem for GM for sometime now but government is ready to help them but they do not have a turn around strategy. Manpower of GM has not been able to generate new ideas which show dulled motivation, and poor creativity skills by the management and other employees. Also GM is stuck in contacts with employees with huge pensions. Minutes time frame for adaptation has always been short for GM and it has always lagged behind the need of time. Material has very special item oil which has sky rocketed. So the price of car manufacturing is rising as well as the price of maintaining a car. Machinery has been the major issue for GM as its competitors have acquired new machinery and processes which are better than that of GM. Due to these factors GM has not been able to change. These are the forces that create resistance for change. Change and stakeholders Stakeholders are an integral part of the organizational paradigm. To bring change in the organization, stakeholders should own the change. The process of change should start from within the stakeholders. To change the culture stakeholders should realize that there is a need for change. Then they should be directed into the right direction. In Kotters 8 steps model for change the role of stakeholders can be incorporated. The model pushes the organization to make its own decision and define its process of change. Kotters model for change for GM Kotter gives a model of change in the organization in which the stakeholders are empowered to make change for themselves. I shall use this model to explain how GM can bring about change in the organization with the help of its stakeholders. Step 1: Create urgency For change to occur it is necessary the whole organization realizes the need for change and puts its effort in making the change. For this purpose managers can paint a grim picture of the future if continued on the same path. Explain to the shareholders the increase in ability of the organization to exploit its resources. There should be feed back from the stakeholders and there ideas should be incorporated in the change process. In case of GM it is not very difficult to paint a grim picture because the next step to bankruptcy is liquidation. The decline in the performance of the company has been a question mark for a long time now. So in GM people are ready for change and stakeholders support the management. Now there is need for discussions so that the ideas and the wills of the stakeholders can be incorporated in the change process. Step 2: Coalitions This is the point where the leadership emerges; people among the stakeholder should take charge of the groups. It is necessary that to identify the key leadership and make them commit to the change in the organization. This is necessary that people who are selected for the leadership believe in the change. In case of Chysler they have to find leaders in order to bring change. Recognition of the people who will help GM to evolve and to accept the changed processes is necessary, if it wishes to make any type of change in its strategy. Step 3: Vision for change When the process of change starts there are many idea of floating. All these ideals need to be linked together if in order to form a vision. This vision needs to be simple and understandable. The vision gives people a sense of direction; they understand the purpose of the change. For change to be successful you need to know the main idea behind the change. For this purpose prepare a summary of the future endeavors of the company. Knowing about the future helps people to support the organization. In case of Chysler the mission statement is quite clear G.M. is a multinational corporation engaged in socially responsible operations, worldwide. It is dedicated to provide products and services of such quality that our customers will receive superior value while our employees and business partners will share in our success and our stock-holders will receive a sustained superior return on their investment. But unfortunately Chysler has not been able to deliver. The vision of the Chysler needs to be communicated effectively through the organization. Every stakeholder needs to believe in the mission statement of Chysler. Step 4: Communication of vision Every person in the organization needs to know the objective of the change. The previous paradigm of the company will produce resistance against the new method. The New Mission statement needs to overcome the resistance and unite the organization on a single path to success. For this the management needs to address all the doubts and problems of the people. Divide the vision into smaller objectives and tie the performance of individual with the achievement of these objectives. In Chysler the management should take responsibility of communicating process of change through the organization. A process of change developed from the input of stakeholders is easier to communicate back. Step 5: Remove obstacles In the process of change, there will always be resistance. The objective of the management is to minimize this resistance and bring the stakeholders to a common platform on which everybody can express their opinion. As the process of change moves forward, there should be constant checks for any barriers to change. In Chysler the inner management has failed to provide change in the organization. The change in GM can be induced from the outside; perhaps a change agent will help GM over come change barriers. Another good way to bring about change is to award the people who embrace the change. Step 6: Create short term objectives For the process of change to work people need to know that it is working. For this management can divide the main objective in to simpler objectives. The management should thoroughly analyze the short term objectives such that they are achievable and motivation. For the achievement of every objective the employees should be rewarded. In Chysler that management need to step up and divide their long-term objectives into the short term goals. The management should make the stakeholders believe that they are capable of changing the business for the better. The most important stakeholder of GM is the government. The government needs to know that that GM can stand on its feet, for it to bail out the company. Step 7: Build on the change The process of change is not complete he unless and until the change culture has inculcated into the organization. Changes in many organizations fail because they do not fully implement the changed processes. The changed processes should become part and parcel of life in the organization. The people of the organization need to build on the changed processes and achieve even more success. The management of Chysler should not stop at making the government believed that they deserve a bailout, but should make efforts to build on the changed processes. Step 8: Change in corporate culture The most difficult thing to do in bringing about change into the organization is to change the culture of the organization. In history many of the mergers in companies have failed because they unable to merge the culture of the companies. Changing the culture of the company is a very long and hard process. Chysler will need to change the culture and introduce a fresh method to succeed in an unattractive industry. At this point the employees of General Motor will not be motivated; the management needs to bring faith back into the employees. Monitoring progress and conclusion The final step in the management of change would be to monitor the performance of the company. For this purpose appraisal of each of the activities of the company will be performed. The justification of activity will provide grounds by which the productivity of the activity will be measured. The idea of kaizen should become a part of the activities of the business. The process of change is very lengthy; it takes years for change process to become part of the culture. The management of the organization needs to be very patient and need to prioritize their objectives. In Chysler it is necessary that people accept the change and once the changed processes have settled in there should be continuous evaluation and revaluation. The U.S market has become very saturated thus not allowing the companies to grow as fast as they would like. For the companies to survive they need to use there resources with utmost efficiency.

Ramses :: Ancient Egypt Egyptian History

Ramses Ramses the Great ruled as the greatest pharaoh of all times. Also known as Ramses II, he was born in 1304 B.C., and was given the name the Justice of Ray is Powerful. He had the knowledge of the kingdom, and became the focus of the court at an early age. Ramses and his father spent most of their time together. As a young crown prince, Ramses II was appointed a co-ruler by his aging father, Seti I, and fully inherited the throne at age 24 when his father died. Even before he became Pharaoh, the young prince was known as a courageous warrior. At 22, he was sent to quell a minor revolt in Nubia. He brought along two little sons, and they took part in a chariot charge, according to a scene depicted in a carved relief on the walls of the Beit El-Wali Temple south of Aswan. After his ascent to the throne, the kingdom prospered and the young Pharaoh poured his energies and national treasures into building temples and monuments honoring his father, Egypt's gods and himself. In Nubia he constructed six temples, two of which were carved out of a Cliffside at Abu Simbel, with their four colossal statues of the king, are the most magnificent and the best known. Engineers designed the temple so every year on February 22 and October 22 the earliest sunrays shine on the back wall of the innermost chamber and lights up the pharaoh's statue, and fitting, he sits with the three gods of the sun. In all of his monuments he had his name cartouche and texts engraved so deep that no successor would be able to remove it. When Ramses became pharaoh, he had as many women as his heart desired and they were his greatest supporters. Ramses II built a king-size family with a 'considerable harem of wives and concubines'. He had 5 or 6 main wives and is known to have had more than 100 children with all of his wives. His favorite wife was the beautiful Nefertari, his chief queen and mother of his first-born son and other children. Ancient statues and inscriptions suggest she often appeared at her husband's side on state occasions and during religious ceremonies early in his reign. Ramses spent most of his 67-year reign reviving the empire and fighting the Hittites of Asia Minor. Ramses the Great, known for his fighting, went into battle with about 2,000 men in 1275 B.

Marginalization of Women During the Cold War Essay -- gender roles, Co

At the height of the Cold War in 1959, Vice President Richard M. Nixon visited the Soviet Union to discuss political ideology with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev. In what was labeled the â€Å"kitchen debate,† Nixon presented Khrushchev with an American â€Å"model home† that highlighted the merits of capitalism to a global audience. But as the politicians entered the Americanized kitchen, Nixon took a step further. Instead of keeping the focus on economic systems, the Vice President turned the discourse to the two nations’ construction of gender roles. While looking at an American dishwasher, Nixon said, â€Å"This is our newest model†¦In America, we like to make life easier for women†¦ I think that this attitude towards women is universal. What we want to do, is make life more easy for our housewives† (teachingamericanhistory.org). While the accessibility of consumer products that reduced labor for homemakers was an achievement of American capitalism, Nixon’s comments promoted a new American vision of the family. The traditional family in Cold War culture, which featured men as breadwinners and women as homemakers, was now an important component of the American Dream. By referring to women as â€Å"housewives,† Nixon effectively reinforced the pervasive sentiment that women could not only be homemakers in a financially prosperous capitalist society, but that it was also expected of them. As these expectations became fully engrained into the mainstream, gender roles became increasingly rigid, which discouraged many women from considering professional careers, let alone pursue them. As the Cold War era prompted Americans to find refuge in the traditional family, women were expected to operate within the framework of the home and in resul... ...represented an escape from the uncertainty of the future. But with the rise of a new traditional family in America, complete with strict and separate gender roles, women were denied opportunities in the workplace and forced to embrace the task of homemaker. While Nixon argued in the â€Å"kitchen debate† that American strength rested on each member’s ability to rise and fall, the marginalization of woman in Cold War culture masterfully highlights the distance between political idealism and reality. Works Cited Books May, Elaine Tyler. Homeward Bound. Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. Movies The Home Economics Story. Online Resources â€Å"The Kitchen Debate.† Articles Stevenson, Adlai E. â€Å"A Purpose for Modern Woman.† Chambers, Whittaker. â€Å"Witness.†

Love from a Romantic Perspective in the Poems Essay

â€Å"Romantic† – this word holds many different connotations and brings to mind a collection of different images. It can be â€Å"fanciful, impractical, unrealistic†; it can be â€Å"ardent, passionate, fervent†; and it can be â€Å"imaginary, fictitious, or fabulous†. According to the dictionary, â€Å"romantic† is an adjective characterized by a preoccupation with love, or by the idealizing of love or one’s beloved. In the three poems I have chosen – â€Å"Let me not to the marriage of true minds† by William Shakespeare, â€Å"La Belle Dame Sans Merci† by John Keats and â€Å"Piano† by D.H. Lawrence, the poets use a variety of linguistic and literary devices, as well as explore different themes and imagery, to present love from a â€Å"romantic† perspective. The â€Å"romance† portrayed in the three poems may be distinct to each other, but is without a doubt something that idealizes love, that elevates the subject of love onto a pedestal. The poems â€Å"Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?† by William Shakespeare, â€Å"First Love† by John Clare and â€Å"Remember† by Christina Rossetti also depict love in a romantic light. I will examine exactly how the poets do it – how the poets ingeniously present love from a romantic perspective in their poems. Firstly, â€Å"Let me not to the marriage of true minds† – also known as Sonnet 116 – is one of the most famous in William Shakespeare’s collection of sonnets. It demonstrates the glory and invincibility of love, and is a poem addressed to a mysterious â€Å"Fair Youth†. The sonnet proposes the idea that true love will always persevere, regardless of any obstacles or troubles that may come. Shakespeare employs various literary and linguistic devices to present love from a romantic perspective and portray it in a divine light. Shakespeare uses metaphors and imagery to idealize love, presenting the subject romantically. The lines â€Å"It is an ever-fixed mark / That looks on tempests and is never shaken† and â€Å"the star to every wandering bark† portray love as a permanent guide, something unwavering and definite that will always be there. The idea that love is a guiding star has been used in countless poems by many different poets, but Shakespeare puts a unique emphasis on this imagery. The main metaphor of the sonnet is that love is like the North Star, which never changes position in the night sky – it has been a stable point used for navigation for centuries, and by using such a comparison, Shakespeare portrays love as the star that shepherds people through life. The â€Å"tempests† that trouble the seas are a metaphor for the obstacles that relationships may have to face, and the â€Å"wandering bark† personifies the lost ship, as if it has a purpose and is looking for something. â€Å"Wandering bark† is also a metaphor for a lover being led, by love, out of the boisterous sea of life. Through the use of nautical imagery, Shakespeare presents love from a romantic perspective by creating a vivid scene of a ship lost in the turbulence of a stormy sea, with a serene, unmoving star as a guide above. The poet also explores the themes of time, age and death to glorify love, hence presenting it romantically. Elizabethan readers of Shakespeare’s sonnets are familiar with the Grim Reaper, the icon of European culture in the medieval period when many died every day due to the Black Plague. The Grim Reaper is a horrifying character who bears a scythe, skeletal and macabre. However, in Sonnet 116, Shakespeare expresses that the Grim Reaper can actually be defeated by love – again depicting the intrepidity of it. â€Å"Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks / Within his bending sickle’s compass come:† personifies love and time, claiming that Love will not succumb to Time. â€Å"Sickle’s compass come† uses the plosive sound of â€Å"k† to mimic the harsh sounds of a death rattle – it is onomatopoeic. In the lines â€Å"Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, / But bears it out even to the edge of doom.†, the â€Å"his† refers to Time, and Shakespeare is emphasizing the prowess of love by showing that Time has no effect or control over it. This lifts â€Å"love† onto a pedestal and portrays it in a romantic light. Similarly, Shakespeare also employs the themes of time and eternity to glorify love in another one of his most famous poems – Sonnet 18, â€Å"Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?†. In this sonnet, the speaker compares a â€Å"beloved† to a summer’s day, and says that the beloved’s eternal summer will never fade, that the beloved would be kept alive forever by the poem. Once again, Shakespeare personifies death, this time as the one who oversees a â€Å"shade† – Shakespeare writes that the beloved will conquer all and will not be swept into this sickly light of Death. Thirdly, Shakespeare’s use of iambic pentameter and rhythm also elevates the subject of love and presents it from a romantic perspective. The sonnet manages to have a consistent rhythm, yet seem conversational; it is able to be formal and planned, but casual and spontaneous at the same time. This is achieved through Shakespeare’s ingenious use of rhythm and pacing. The iambic pentameter becomes very obvious after the third line, â€Å"Which alters when it alteration finds†, thus creating a consistent pacing. However, the poet uses dramatic exclamations to break up the rhythm, making the speaker seem more human than a machine – an example would be, â€Å"O no! It is an ever fixed mark†. The metaphors and imagery used all weave a sophisticated sonnet, but the actual language is very simple, making the sonnet easy to read and the claims well-illustrated. The closing two lines, â€Å"If this be error and upon me proved, / I never writ, nor no man ever loved.†, is a rhyming couplet that is full of impact. The couplet again immortalizes love and praises it with glory, an epitome of presenting love from a romantic perspective. William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 is one of the most famous poems that immortalizes love. I think it definitely successfully presents love from a romantic perspective, using a variety of devices. Even after dissecting the poem and analyzing each of the aspects respectively, I am still overwhelmed by the general sense of romance that comes through, instead of being focused on the mechanics and functions of words and phrases. I feel that the â€Å"romantic† sense in Sonnet 116 is that of an idealization of love, and Shakespeare crafts it beautifully. The second poem I will investigate is â€Å"La Belle Dame Sans Merci†, a ballad written by John Keats in 1819. It is a poem that also presents love from a romantic perspective, though in a different way. In this poem, the â€Å"romance† that is portrayed is passionate and fictitious – something akin to a magical myth. The title of the ballad translates to â€Å"The Beautiful Lady Without Pity†. John Keats had taken inspiration and the title from the early fifteenth century French poem by Alain Chartier, though the narratives of the two poems are different. John Keats chose this phrase to use as the title of his ballad to highlight the storyline of a seductive woman who tempts a man of honour from the real world and abandons him with unfulfilled dreams, drained of life. The theme of dangerous and unrequited love is explored in the poem. John Keats is well known for being one of the most prominent poets of the Romantic era, and â€Å"La Belle Same Sans Merc i† is one of his most famous poems. John Keats plays with floral imagery to present love from a romantic perspective. Flowers are beautiful and delicate things that are often given as gifts and expressions of love and romance – and by using flowers as symbols for different meanings in the poem, Keats portrays love in a romantic light. In line 9, the speaker says to the knight, â€Å"I see a lily on thy brow† – lilies are pale white and are often associated with death in the Western culture, and this is a metaphor expressing that the knight looks sickly and deathly pale. Another obvious use of floral imagery to romanticize love is seen in lines 11-12, â€Å"And on thy cheeks a fading rose / Fast withereth too.† Roses are often associated with love in the Western culture, and the knight’s rose â€Å"fading and withering† holds connotations of the ending of a romantic relationship. However, the rose, like the lily, is also describing the knight’s complexion – the colour is fading from his cheeks. In these two lines, Keats cleverly employs the rose as a symbol for both the knight’s pale face and waning love. Lastly, in lines 17-18, the knight makes a garland and bracelets out of flowers for the faery’s child. Flowers hold connotations of beauty, love and life, and the knight adorns the woman with them – Keats uses the flowers as a symbol to show the intensity of the knight’s love for her. Another image that is repeatedly explored in the poem is â€Å"paleness†, and this paints love in a romantic sense as it highlights the melancholic and dramatically destructive aspects of love. In the beginning of the poem, in line 2, the paleness is already established by the speaker – â€Å"Alone and palely loitering†. This line has the alliteration of the consonance â€Å"l†, and this creates a musical sound that emphasizes the phrase, especially drawing the readers’ attention to the rarity of using â€Å"pale† as an adverb – â€Å"palely†. An internal rhyme is also created, as â€Å"palely† rhymes with â€Å"ail thee† from line 1 – again, this highlights the phrase and enhances the â€Å"paleness† of the knight, underlining the romantic melancholy of the knight. In the lines 37-38, the word â€Å"pale† is used three times in just two lines. When the knight is describing his dream, he speaks of â€Å"pale kings† and â€Å"pale warriors†, who were all â€Å"death pale† – the images painted in the readers’ minds are drained of colour and life, and the â€Å"paleness† is now explicitly associated with death. Lastly, in the lines 37-40, â€Å"pale† is repeated to accentuate the similarities between the word and the words â€Å"all†, â€Å"belle†, and â€Å"thrall†. The consonance creates a connection between all the words when they are read aloud, and makes the readers think whether the â€Å"belle dame† could’ve been the cause of the â€Å"paleness† of â€Å"all† the knights, warriors and princes she had in â€Å"thrall†. This clever manipulation of â€Å"paleness† reinforces the sense of a â€Å"story† in the ballad and enriches the romance within, presenting love from a romantic perspective. In addition, John Keats utilizes the â€Å"lyrical† sense of the ballad format to elevate the romance in the poem. â€Å"La Belle Dame Sans Merci† has the typical features of a ballad, and when read aloud, it is similar to a folk song. The words have a continuous, uniform rhythm that sets an underlying beat, and the literary devices employed – such as alliteration and rhymes – create a harmonious sound. The ballad also has a â€Å"circular structure† – it begins and ends similarly, with â€Å"The sedge has wither’d from the lake, / And no birds sing.† as the ending of the first stanza, and â€Å"Though the sedge is wither’d from the lake, / And no bird sing.† for the last stanza. This seems to make â€Å"La Belle Dame Sans Merci† appear more like a song than just a plain poem. Because of this musical sense that is added to the poem, John Keats puts the subject of his poem – love – onto a pedest al and portrays it romantically, akin to a love song. Lastly, the imagery of dew and water is used to intensify the danger of women in the poem, and this in turn portrays love in a fatal sense, rivetingly romantic. Women were often associated with water in medieval romances, and John Keats used this tradition in his medieval folk ballad. This symbolic tradition is a metaphor for men who become weakened after contact with dangerous women. A reference to water is already used in the beginning of the poem – in line 3, the speaker identifies death and â€Å"wither’d† with water – â€Å"The sedge has wither’d from the lake†. A lake does not flow like a river or a spring; it is stagnant and void of life. This already creates an ominous mood that hangs over the rest of the poem, and emphasizes the catastrophe that love has done to the knight. In line 10, the unnamed speaker says that the knight’s face has â€Å"anguish moist and fever dew† – the knight is sweating from a fever. This again demonstrates that the knight is physically ill from love, and also makes the reader wonder where he caught the fever. The readers seem to find the answer later on, when â€Å"dew† is repeated – the faery’s child fed the knight â€Å"manna dew† in line 26. â€Å"Manna† is heavenly food – but it was not originally food that is eaten as â€Å"dew†. John Keats wrote that the manna was in liquid state to add to the continuous metaphors used throughout the whole ballad. John Keats seems to hint that women are gentle and soft like water, but when men came into contact with them, they could suddenly become rash and vicious. Women are dangerous and unpredictable like water. This metaphor makes love seem thrillingly romantic; exhilarating – it delineates love in a romantic light. Another poem that echoes this idea of men becoming weakened by women and love is â€Å"First Love† by John Clare. This poem is about the poet’s first and seemingly unrequited love. John Clare uses the imagery of â€Å"deathly paleness† to show the destruction of love, too – he writes, â€Å"My face turned pale as deathly pale†. Clare also explores the aspect of becoming physically ill from dangerous love, just like Keats’s portrayal of love in â€Å"La Belle Dame Sans Merci†. Clare writes, â€Å"And blood burnt round my heart†, claiming that he was in physical pain – similarly, John Keats writes that the knight has an actual fever from his deleterious love. When I was comparing the poems, â€Å"La Belle Dame Sans Merci† and â€Å"First Love†, I was surprised and very intrigued by the similarities between them. Both poems seem to draw out the most fatal features of love, describing it as something that would drain men of life. I am engaged by the way they depict the thrilling qualities of love with corresponding images, and it is fascinating to see that the poets have chosen to portray love in a romantically dangerous light after analyzing the idealized â€Å"true love† in Shakespeare’s sonnets. The third poem I am going to analyze is â€Å"Piano† by D.H Lawrence. The love portrayed here is not that of a romantic relationship between a man and a woman, but that of a relationship between Lawrence and his mother. The poet begins the poem with an enchanting evening, where music brings back memories of his beloved mother – he then borrows the idyllic atmosphere of the evening to describe his reminiscence, hence presenting love from a romantic perspective. Even though the poem does not depict a relationship of â€Å"romance†, it does render love in a nostalgic and sentimental sense. â€Å"Piano† is a poem where the single speaker is listening to a woman sing to him, and the music brings him back to dwell in the memories of his childhood. The speaker remembers fondly of the times when his mother sang to him whilst playing the piano. In the end of the poem, the memory of the past overwhelms the present. As a man, the speaker should be more enraptured by the passionate singing of the woman, but his memory conquers his manhood as he loses control of his emotions. The speaker remembers his mother’s singing with tears on his face – he becomes a child again. The first line of the poem already creates an overall romantic atmosphere. â€Å"Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me†. The word â€Å"softly† casts a gentle and tender tone to the following lines. The diction of the word â€Å"dusk† holds connotations of a peaceful warmth, an enigmatic and mysterious twilight, painting an image of a soothing glow in the minds of the readers. This first line sets the mood of the poem and creates a romantic background for the remaining lines of the poem to be based upon. The use of romantic atmosphere is also demonstrated in the description of the climax of the singer rising to a crescendo – â€Å"So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour / With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour†. The language is powerful and passionate. The memories of the speaker’s childhood also create a warm and secure ambience that forms a lingering feeling of romance. In the final line, â€Å"Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.†, the diction of â€Å"flood† and â€Å"weep† craft a romantically melancholic atmosphere. Likewise, in the poem â€Å"Remember† by Christina Rossetti, an atmosphere of romantic melancholy is also explored to present love from a romantic perspective. The poem depicts a somber aspect of love by featuring the theme of death, and glorifies love by making it seem beyond death’s darkness. D.H. Lawrence also uses sibilance and assonance to portray love in a romantic perspective. The repetition of the â€Å"s† sounds in the opening line intensifies the feelings of romance as well as intimacy. Furthermore, assonance is used in the first two lines of the last stanza – â€Å"So now†¦clamour†¦glamour†¦Ã¢â‚¬  – the long â€Å"o† sounds depict the musical climax of the singer’s performance in a romantic sense. Sibilance is again used in the line â€Å"smiles as she sings†, and the repeated â€Å"i† sounds in the line create the facial effects of a smile when read aloud. This intensifies the romantic feeling of the poem as it emphasizes the speaker’s mother smiling and singing, and brings to mind images of affection and tenderness. Tone and language are also employed to present love in a romantic perspective. The language used can be called conversational, and is definitely very intimate. It is that of a narrative, as if the speaker is telling a very personal story. By starting the poem with â€Å"Softly†, the poet creates a romantic longing for the past, as the word has a semantic field of tender fondness. The warmth in the tone when the speaker is describing the childhood scenes also creates romantically nostalgic images in the minds of readers. In the fourth line of the first stanza, â€Å"And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings†, the repetition of the plosive â€Å"p† highlights the rhythm of the piano, as well as the intimacy between the son and the mother. Additionally, other techniques that are used to present love from a romantic perspective include repetition and metaphors. â€Å"Piano† is repeated in each stanza, making the image consistent through the whole poem – the piano then becomes a romantic symbol for the speaker’s love for his mother. The word â€Å"tinkling† in the second stanza can be seen as a repetition of the â€Å"tingling† in the first stanza, and this use of onomatopoeia creates a pleasant sound when read aloud, adding to the sentimental mood of the poem. â€Å"Weeps† is used in both the second stanza and the last stanza, and the repetition accentuates the speaker’s need and longing for his mother that seems romantically sad. In the poem, the poet also uses â€Å"vista† as a metaphor for â€Å"memory† – a vista is a beautiful view seen through a long and narrow opening, and this creates a bewitching image in the readers’ minds of scenes fr om a childhood spread out across a landscape. Similarly, the poet also writes, â€Å"the flood of remembrance† – in the diction of â€Å"flood†, the writer creates an image of an unstoppable overwhelming of emotions, and it is this uncontainable quality that adds to the romantic nostalgia. Metonymy is also used – â€Å"feet† represent the speaker’s mother. The scenes created in the readers’ minds seem to feature a faceless mother, focusing on the â€Å"child sitting under the piano†¦pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings†. The mother’s face is not described – the only feature of the mother that the readers envision is her feet and her smile. This adds a romantic quality to the poem as it puts the world in a small child’s perspective, and gives a somewhat enigmatic aura to the mother and also expresses the fractured, dreamlike qualities of a memory. The â€Å"small, poised feet† of the mother portray her in a gentle and delicate light, and intensifies the overall romantic perspective of motherly love in the poem. In conclusion, the three poems – â€Å"Let me not to the marriage of true minds†, â€Å"La Belle Dame Sans Merci† and â€Å"Piano† – all display a variety of different techniques to present love from a romantic perspective. All three poets use literary and linguistic devices such as metaphors, sibilance, assonance and more. The three poems accent love with romance, whether it is a conventional man-woman relationship or mother-son relationship. The term â€Å"romantic† is explored by each of the poets: William Shakespeare immortalizes true love and makes it seem perfect and omnipotent; John Keats adds a vital, riveting quality to love and D.H. Lawrence examines the subject through a lens of nostalgia. After analyzing these three poems, I realized that the human experience of love has moved poets, throughout the centuries, to express the nature of love romantically. Love is depicted as fanciful, dreamy, impractical; invincible, passionate, immortal. Poets have a desire to eternalize the subject of their poems – whether it is their beloved, or love itself. It is as William Shakespeare writes in Sonnet 18, â€Å"Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?† – â€Å"So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, / So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.† I agree with Shakespeare – as long as there are people alive to read poems, the nature of love that William Shakespeare, John Keats and D.H. Lawrence tried to present from a romantic perspective will live on forever.