The Historical Context of The Bhagavad Gita and Its Relation to Indian

The Historical Context of The Bhagavad Gita and Its Relation to Indian Religious DoctrinesThe Bhagavad Gita is perhaps the about famous, and definitely the most(prenominal) widely-read, ethical text of ancient India. As an episode in Indias great epic, the Mahabharata, The Bhagavad Gita now ranks as integrity of the three principal texts that define and capture the mall of Hinduism the other two cosmos the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras. Though this work contains much theology, its kernel is ethical and its program line is set in the context of an ethical problem. The teaching of The Bhagavad Gita is summed up in the maxim your business is with the deed and not with the result. When Arjuna, the third son of king Pandu (dynasty name Pandavas) is about to begin a war that became requisite once his one hundred cousins belonging to the Kaurava dynasty refused to return even a few villages to the five Pandava brothers after their return from enforced exile, he looks at his cousin s, uncles and friends rest on the other side of the battlefield and wonders whether he is morally prepared and justified in killing his blood relations even though it was he, along with his brother Bhima, who had courageously prepared for this war. Arjuna is certain that he would be victorious in this war since he has Lord Krishna (one of the ten incarnations of Vishnu) on his side. He is suitable to visualize the scene at the end of the battle the dead bodies of his cousins lying on the battlefield, motionless and incapable of vengeance. It is then that he looses his nerve to fight.The necessity for the arose because the one hundred cousins of the Panadavas refused to return the kingdom to the Pandavas as they had originally promised. The eldest of the Pandav brot... ...e first English translation of the Gita was published. All religious texts of ancient India were written in Sanskrit. In November 1784, the first direct translation of a Sanskrit work into English was completed b y Charles Wilkins. The book that was translated was The Bhagavad Gita. Friedreich Max Mueller (1823-1900), the German Sanskritist who spent most of his working disembodied spirit as Professor of Comparative Philology at Oxford University, served as the chief editor of the Sacred Books of the East. (Oxford University Press). The Gita was included in this famous collection. Since then, the Gita has become one of the most widely-read texts of the world. True, there are unexplained contradictions and paradoxes in this brief book, but its wide-ranging implications based on the two ancient Darshans of India and its allegorical meanings are still being examined and reinterpreted.

Recovering History, Constructing Race: the Indian, Black, and White Roo

get History, Constructing Race the Indian, Black, and White Roots of Mexican AmericansRecovering Aztlan Racial Formation Through a Shared History (1)Traditionally history of the Americas and American population has been taught in a direction heading west from Europe to the California frontier. In Recovering History, Constructing Race, Martha Mencahca locates the origins of the history of the Americas in a floral pattern where migration from Asia, Europe, and Africa both voluntary and forced converge magnetically in Mexico then spreads out again to the due north and northeast. By creating this patters she complicates the idea of endure, history, and nationality. The term Mexican, which today refers to a specific nationality in Central America, is instead used as a shared historic and cultural identity of a people who spread from Mexico across the southwest United States. To create this shared identity Menchaca carefully constructs the Mexican race from prehistoric records to occurrent battles for Civil Rights. What emerges is a story in which Anglo-Americans become the illegal immigrants crossing the border into Texas and mestizo Mexicans can earn an upgrade in class specialization through heroic military acts. In short what emerges is a sometimes upside down always creative reinvention of history and the creation of the Mexican race (?).Mexicans, as constructed by Menchaca, are a predominantly mestizo population whose mixed ancestry she traces to early Latin American civilizations. In 200 BC the largest city in the Americas, Teotihuacn, was founded. Teotihuacn would one day be the site of Mexico City, and by 650 AD there were between 120,000 and 250,000 inhabitants. (2) Groups that inhabited the region fro... ...e, history, and blood. The specific commingling that emerges, however, has crude roots in its very diversity. Throughout her tale Menchacas allegiance is clearly to her race, and while the bias comes through, the history she traces i s never the less compelling. The strongest achievement of this book is that it essentially shifts the gaze of its reader by reifying race and celebrating its complexity. Notes1. Aztlan is the quasimythylogical homeland of the Chichimec people who were expelled by their god and traveled south to found civilizations in Mexico. It is theoretically located in present day New Mexico.2. Martha Menchaca, Recovering History, Constructing Race the Indian, Black, and White Roots of Mexican Americans (Texas University of Texas Press, 2001), 29.3. Menchaca, 47. 4. Menchaca, 50.5. Menchaca, 199.

Reggae got Blues :: essays papers

Reggae got Blues IntroductionNo food on my table, no shoes to go on my feetNo food on my table and no shoes to go on my feet,My children cry for mercy, Lord they aint got no place to call their own.The blues arose as both a social protest and a means for expression by the Afro-American slave. The institution of slavery had existed before the trans-Atlantic slave trade, but never before had a race suffered such variety oppression and poverty as the West Africans have endured for the last four hundred years. The Africans sole purpose in America was, for the or so part, to provide the cheapest agricultural labor possible to procure(Baraka, 3). Previous fashion models of slavery (Roman and Greek) utilized the intellectual capability of slaves, where as the institution of slavery in the Americas do by slaves like that of property, a master would relate to his slave as, . if you twist the knob on your radio you expect it to play(Baraka, 3). This, the non-human view of slaves that exi sted, viewed Africans as heathens and thought them to be primitive and inferior to the Euro-American. These so-called nonliterate peoples whose traditional histories were passed down generation to generation through oral examination tradition, were seen as primitive to the highly industrialized Euro-Americans. The arduous beliefs and concepts of one culture (African) become absurd and intangible for a complete opposite culture (Euro-American)(Baraka, 7). Not only were the West Africans aliens to the their physical surroundings but aliens to a new philosophical system(Baraka, 7). With this in mind the West Africans who survived the western passage across the Atlantic to the Mississippi Delta had found a identical Jamaican Babylon and, Lord they aint got no place to call there own. The blues are an extension of the West African oral tradition through spirituals, worksongs, seculars, and field hollers. From the late eighteen hundreds to the mid twentieth century afro- Americans hav e been slaves to King Cotton in the form of bound slavery, tenant farming and sharecropping. The endless cycle of debt, has Blues music centered on movement from oppression, and poverty while the protest may non always take serious form. I will examine the music of the Delta blues looking for connections to the mento/early reggae era in religious, social and lastly lyrical context.RELIGIONAfrican religions usually have a tight fit with a particular culture, language and belief system.

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Paolo Freires Visions of Traditional Methods o

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Paolo Freires Visions of Traditional Methods of Education&65279Paulo Freire and Ralph Waldo Emerson share a similar vision in regards to traditionalmethods of schooling. A main common view is that twain writers feel that the current educationsystem in most places does non allow for people to reach their full capacity. Freire and Emersonshare realityy other ideas regarding education such as their view of practice and theory and of set downthinking. Their works are among the most thought-evoking.In ?The American Scholar? Emerson places a strong ferocity on the role of books ineducation and their usage of conveying ideas. He states that, ?Books are the best things, wellused abused, among the worst? (p. 297). This refers to his thought that the idea slowly books isindeed a well thought out one. However, aside from the possible misuse of books, there arecertain tasks that a book can not accomplish. Many are relevant only for a period of time, afterwhi ch they become obsolete and new books are required. This is one of the reasons that Emersonfeels that books alone can not provide a concrete education. They must be supplemented withadditional studies, or, according to Emerson, book studies should be combined with experiencesand applied to life. To read for the sake of knowing reading is pointless instead, man shouldread with the intent to apply newly obtained knowledge to his life. Man should read with adissecting eye, and pick apart the prose, keeping what is relevant and discarding what is babble. This captures the current purpose of books. Paralleling Emerson?s view of books is Freire?s idea oftheory and praxis. Man can learn all there is to know about a ... ...that they in fact have nothing to present.Emerson and Freire see eye to eye on many issues regarding the education of man. Themain concept that they share is a belief that man should think freely. All other ideas stated byFreire and Emerson are strictly extensi ons of this point. The educational vision of Emerson andFreire is for man to learn in a society free of preconceptions, where all men?s ideas are valued andwhere knowledge is ascertained for the use of practice not just as an end in itself.BibliographyEmerson, Ralph W. The American Scholar. 1837. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter, et al. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Boston Houghton Mifflin, 1998. 1609-1621.Freire, Paolo. The Banking Concept of Education. Ways of Reading. Ed. David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky. 4th ed. Boston Bedford Books, 1996. 212-27.

Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice in Oedipus the King - Victim

The Victim of Fate in Oedipus Rex The question has been raised as to whether Oedipus was a victim of fate or of his feature actions. This essay will show that Oedipus was a victim of fate, but he was no puppet because he freely and actively sought his doom, although he was warned numerous times of the inevitable repercussions of his actions. When first considering this topic, I speculated that maybe it was the destiny of Oedipus to suffer, but a friend asked me to explain why Oedipus, in the act of gouging his eyes out, cries explicitly No more, no more shall you look on the misery about me, The horrors ... ...ology of the Great Myths and Epics. Illinois Passport Books, 1988. Segal, Charles. Oedipus Tyrannus Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge. New York Twayne Publishers, 1993. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. An Introduction to Literature, eleventh ed.Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al. New York Longman, 1997. 800-836.

With close reference to the text explore what the stories of Crooks :: English Literature

With close role to the text explore what the stories of Crooks and Curleys wife reveal of the attitudes, market-gardening and society amongst farm workers in 1930s America.With close reference to the text explore what the stories of Crooksand Curleys wife reveal of the attitudes, culture and society amongstfarm workers in 1930s America.In 1930s America there was a Great low gear and people were findingthemselves without work. Many flyers were sent out to the unemployedtelling them that there was work in atomic number 20. Hundreds travelled toCalifornia, hoping to find work but before long found that the employers hadlied and there were few jobs to be found.Of Mice and Men is a story about two men called Lennie and Georgewho are migrant workers that travel around California trying to makethemselves enough money to buy a small plot of land. The reasons thatthey have not settled anywhere is that Lennie is often getting them introuble and they are forced to leave and find work elsew here. Lennieis a simple minded character, who has the mind of a child in the bodyof a man. Although Lennie is lacking in brains he makes up for it withhis strength and has a unique combination of strength and innocence.Lennies simple mind means that he relies heavily on George, who iswise and intelligent. George is a good judge of peoples charactersand a good worker he is modest and doesnt want any trouble. Georgetakes a lot of responsibility for Lennie and tries o teach him tocontrol his strength and keep him out of trouble. In the end Georgehas to make an of the essence(p) decision about Lennie and there is no way to diversify the results.Although George and Lennie are the main characters in the book I willbe concentrating on two minor characters, they are Crooks and Curleyswife. Although they seem to be less important than George and Lenniethey are the most successful at showing us the culture and attitudesof the people in the 1930s. Crook is mainly effective at showingsocieties opinions on cripples and those of a different race, whilstCurleys wife portrays the situation of women. Together I am able toobtain a considerable amount of information on attitudes, culture andsociety amongst farm workers in 1930s America.The character of Crooks plays an important role in the book Of Miceand Men because Steinbeck is able to show through Crooks the racialsituation of the time. By using a character to portray attitudestowards others of a different race, Steinbeck can include the feelings

Why Women are obsessed with Appearance

The human visible show is actually vital in the develop handst of social relations with the others as they interact. The appearance is also primary(prenominal) in relation to an individuals person-to-personity. Because human cosmoss ar influenced by what they potful see, physical gentleness of a person plays a very of the essence(predicate) role in social relations. The physical characteristics or features that argon seen in men and women ar an expression of sexual dimorphisms in human. This is due to the physical differences that live between men and women.A muliebritys physical appearance affects how she socially interacts with other women and men because when it comes to the appearance, human beings hold back proved to be very sensitive to variation in appearance. Some of the chemical elements that can be attributed to variation in appearance include age, genetic factors, diseases and personal adornments. Physiological differences between individuals can be seen in physical features such as the carcass tomentum cerebri, height, embodyweight, hair colour, bring about of the ears and nose, body deformations and body shape.Appearance can also be stirred by short term occurrences such as crying, skin colour changes and sexual arousal. In the contemporary adult male, the appearance of an individual whether a man or a charr is considered to view as great significance. This is especially true for women who atomic number 18 considered to be very concerned and obsessed with their appearance. Cornell(Cornell,1998) states that women have in the past historic period expressed their determination, dedication and great efforts as they seek to get equal opportunities with the men. To women, they have been denied equal opportunities with the men who have dominated the world for a ample time.Through their appearance, women can win the attention that they may fight for feminism. This has made many women to invest their time, efforts, and resources in order to attain an appearance that is desirable to them. Although men are also concerned about their appearance, majority of men do not allocate as much time, energy and financial resources to enhance their trustworthy appearances comparable women do. Changing approximately matchlesss physiological features whether in long-term or short-term has plump an issue of concern for many, whereby personal effects and raiment have become cardinal in promoting changes in appearance for women.The use of decorative objects, body shape altering devices, cosmetics, body modifications, change of haircut or hair colour, and changing dressing styles have become very common in women. Technological advancements have resulted to new and more advanced ways of changing the appearance, a good example being cosmetic surgery. Plastic of cosmetic surgery is now being embraced as whizz of the virtually advanced way that is shortly available to women who would like to change their physiological app earance. In this paper, the reason behind womens fixing with their appearance impart be discussed.The discussion will be based on the theory that women are obsessed with their appearance because of their concern of their hereafter existence and the take away to maintain their maidenlike identity. Discussion There are many reasons why women are obsessed with their appearance. However,the reason why certain individuals may be obsessed with their appearance may vary depending on the experiences one have had in her life. Some reasons seem to contribute greatly to the obsession women have with their appearance. These reasons will be discussed be execrable1. Womens concern about their in store(predicate) existence. Women are considered to be concerned about their appearance due to the influence their appearance have on their future. This opinion is also supported by Gillis et al (Gillis et al, 2007). The future existence of a char is based on her sweetness. This is a factor that m any women may not be consciously aware of. Womens anxiety about the future promotes their maneuverment in efforts that aim at qualification their appearance more attractive. Because women pursuit for attractive appearance is related to future, their obsession with appearance is centrally tied to their relationships with men.This is because. The future of women depends on co-workers, husbands, employers, and lovers who are men. One reason why women show their obsession with their appearance is the conviction that a womanhoods life if fulfillight-emitting diode and her continued existence guaranteed depending on her ability to attract and be attached to a particular man. This ability prepares what her future holds for her. In just about all societies, relationships between men and women are considered to be very important. Even in the past societies, women were viewed as very crucial since they played the important role of mothers and wives.A womans ability to attract a man, esp ecially the one who she can marry is to few extent related to her physical appearance. This is in relation to her body shape, body size, colour of her skin and hair, and her natural beauty. In order to share power and wealth, many women tend to enhance their bodies authority as objects of men desires. This gives a womans body great sexual significance in the companionship. Women invest their time, energy, efforts and resources to enhance an appearance that will be desirable and attractive to men.This is especially true when it comes to a man who proposes to marry a woman. Apart from a womans concern about her appearance before marriage, appearance still detains an important issue take down in marriage. In the contemporary society, a womans worth and adoption is promoted by her being married. To many, marriage still remains the natural mode of a fe staminate being a woman. Price and Shidrick (Price and Shildrick, 1999) state that since the ancient times, the societies have giv en certain socioeconomic and historical positions to woman.These positions restrict women to take care of the households and children and they have been for some time streng accordinglyed even more by the moneymaking(prenominal) media. Womens obsession with appearance does not entirely depend on their personal preference to pursue attractiveness. Their pursuit for attractiveness emanates from the need to give their bodies some power. The power that women break through the appearance of their bodies determines what motley of a husband they get and also how they relate with employers or co-workers.It is these people who define how her future will be like. Therefore, a womans obsession with appearance can be attributed to her desire to give her body some power that will secure she gets a good husband and family in the future, as well as assure her of her success as a result of good relations with male co-workers or employers. Women use decorative or attractive items to enhance thei r appearance that attracts the right men. For instance, cosmetics and jewelry still remain as very important personal effects to a woman.These items increase a womans beauty and bring up her more attractive to men who are likely to be dear to her life in future. Pharmaceutical companies are now manufacturing many and different cosmetic products for women to use in their pursuit for attractiveness or good appearance. Marrakchi (Marrakchi, 2006) colligate womens obsession with their appearance to the production of harmful and toxic cosmetic products . These products which have been viewed as contributing to the many cases of diseases such as cancer in the modern society.Decorative objects such as earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and rings have become part and parcel of many womens lives. In an ideal traditional marriage, a womans beauty is seen as though to be exchanged with a mans power, wealth, and influence. Because marriage becomes part of a womans future, enhancing an attractiv e appearance that will assist her attract a good husband has promoted a womans obsession with good appearance. Her future that depends on how well she can attract good men as a potential husband determines how far a woman may be uncoerced to go in order to get the right appearance.The appearance to her will in future give her some worth and will ensure she is original in the society if she relates to the right men. The future existence of a woman is promoted by the happiness she gets in life and the fulfilment of romantic love that she receives. Gerhard (Gerhard, 2001) asserts that the society has made marriage attractive and desirable to women by associating future happiness and fulfillment of romantic love to a marriage. Future happiness and fulfillment or romantic love is associated with a marriage.Because the society tends to present a marriage as an institution that makes women acceptable and gives them some worth, some women fear that they will calorie-free their worth if t hey fail to attract men who can marry them. Because a woman may consider being married as doing the proper affaire, her ability to attract a man for marriage becomes her focus. The fear of being seen as a failure or a social misfit if she is not married motivates a woman to seek an attractive appearance. By ensuring that she remains attractive, a woman increases her opportunity to have her romantic love and happiness fulfilled.Furthermore, her worth and word meaning in the society is carry oned, a situation that increases her happiness. A womans failure to attract men makes her loose her worth or makes her feel that she is not as good as other attractive women. Womens obsession with appearance can therefore be attributed to their desire to get happiness and fulfillment of romantic love in future. In addition, her attractive appearance boosts her self confidence and esteem hence she feels that she has great worth in the society. For example, in some societies, women who do not get married may not be highly regarded.As compared to their married counterparts, unmarried women are viewed as people who are not happy or are unfulfilled in relation to romantic love. When marriage becomes an important institution for a woman in future, ensuring that one gets married has led to their obsession with an appearance that they seek to have so as to attract men they are likely to marry. 2. The need for a woman to change with the changes in the society A society is always dynamic, which demands that the society members embrace changes that occur.Phillips (Phillips, 2004) holds the opinion that changes that are experienced in the society determine the kind of a society we will have in future. The changes in turn result to changes in the peoples attitudes and lifestyle. The changes that have been experienced in the contemporary society have made the people to adopt an attitude that thinness is beauty. The opinion that the thinner a woman is the more attractive she is continue s to encourage a huge enumerate of women to adopt a lifestyle that promotes ones body thinness even at the expense of an individuals health.The opinion that for one to be attractive they have to be thin has become very popular. This has altered the eating lifestyles of the people by promoting dieting and physical exercises. For instance, many teenagers have been comprise to be engaged in dieting practices with the aim to obtaining small body sizes so as to resemble their skinny and thin role models. The media is flooded with advertisements that pageant a womans body thinness as the ideal and more attractive fair(prenominal) body shape as compared to average or huge women.For instance, the current fashion industry has promoted modeling as a very lucrative career for those who are determined to become successful models. Women who are tall and thin are now being viewed as the most beautiful. Consequently, the womens desire to resemble the thin and tall models they view as the most attractive has promoted their obsession with appearance. Even for women who are successful in other career fields other than modeling, there seems to be a belief that a good career cannot be a substitute for an individuals attractiveness.Attempts by women to make themselves more attractive by becoming thin has led to the manufacture of a spacious range of weight losing equipment or products and their sale in the market. Although some items are important to promote health, some equipment and items have end up affecting the users bodies negatively. Dieting has become the order of the day for some women whereby some women starve themselves in their efforts to cut down weight or to remain thin. Whether womens efforts to remain thin are encouraged for the right reasons still remains debatable.Obese or overweight women are currently viewed as scatty the proper maidenly body. In addition, a woman who is youthful looking and fashionably thin is considered to be more attractive to the mod ern man as compared to those fat-looking women. To many women, an individual who is fat or big in size is seen as experiencing psychological problems and is inadequate and incompetent by failing to manage their body size. Hence she becomes a person who fails in adjustments. Because being huge is considered as a sign of neediness of control, women who are overweight or huge are looked down upon.Therefore women who do not loose weight to be thin tend to see themselves as objects of rejection and hate. Furthermore, they look at themselves as fatal failures. This undermines an individuals self esteem leading to isolation, pretended cheerfulness, and loneliness. In the North American society, being thin translates to looking good for young girls and women. This means that the girls and women should do almost everything possible so as to avoid becoming fat or to remain thin. Having a fair and clear skin has become an important factor in the definition of attractiveness.Increased desire t o remain thin and to have a fair skin has led to womens obsession with their appearance. 3. Womens struggle to retain their feminine Identity Womens struggle to retain their feminine identity is another factor that has promoted their obsession with their appearance. As explained by Hill (Hill, 2000), women consider their body shape, body size, and their personality to define who they are. A woman relates who she is to the behaviours and qualities that the society considers appropriate for her.Some of the features that shows a womans feminine identity include, kindness, submissiveness, patience and gentleness. throughout history, women have gone to extreme ends to bring out features or characteristics that strengthen their feminity. For instance, large breast size in the contemporary society is considered an important feminine trait. Many women in the western culture are now emphasizing on their cleavage to promote and enhance their femininity. This they do by wearing enclothe that emphasizes of their breasts and cleavage.High heeled shoes have become very common with women despite the discomfort they cause them. Plastic or cosmetic surgery has become a lucrative business for the professionals who are trained in that field. Many women, especially the wealthy ones are now turning to cosmetics surgery as a resoluteness to the old skin, old age and unattractive body shape. Due to the womans preference for an ideal body shape that resembles that of the models, altering the body shape is now being done through cosmetic surgery. The process is expensive which makes it difficult for majority of women to afford it.Those that cannot afford cosmetic surgery services and go for other options of changing their body shapes. For example, pharmaceutical companies sometimes manufacture drugs and equipment that can enhance hips, breast and waist size as an individual would like to have. The body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) has been attributed to womens failure to acquire femin ine appearance they would prefer. Many industries that are doing well in the market depend highly on the womens investment as they seek attractive appearance. The pursuit of womens attractiveness has overtaken their lives.The search for feminine attractiveness has made any work of beautification that does not fall within the domain of promoting feminine characteristics to be insignificant. Perfecting appearance through the perceived appropriate feminine characteristics has become the major concern and work that women engage in. By ensuring that their feminine identity is maintained and enhanced, womens body have become a road that maps their future identify. The appearance of their body defines the womens feminine identify. In the contemporary society, a womans body is being apply to map her future territory.Good examples are the many beauty contests that are currently being witnessed all over the world. The media has been very instrumental in promoting the beauty contests, a situa tion that continues to convince women that they cannot be beautiful unless they resemble the models. For example, the get off Universe and the Miss World contests are now being held every year with contestants from almost all nations of the world participating. Various attires are constantly being designed in order to be won by the participants.In addition, the contestants embrace various techniques of enhancing their attractiveness in order to win the coveted rubric of being the worlds most beautiful woman. Winning the contest becomes the greatest dream to come true. This has contributed to women 4. A reaction to lack of space in a male-dominated world Womens obsession with appearance is a reaction to lack of space in a male dominated and male defined world. According to Ashe (Ashe, 2004), women even in the modern world just like in the past live within spheres that have been defined and demarcated by the men.For instance, women have been confined to low paying jobs, kitchen and bedroom. Modernization has changed this and this has made the women want to break out from the spatial confinements they have acquired. They are therefore becoming aggressive and competitive with the men. The women are then considered to be a threat to the male power. When women fail to access spaces that for many years have been occupied by men, they are seen as failures and it becomes their fault for lack of achievement. On the other hand, women who use their feminine identity to access the male dominated spaces are criticized as having no brains.Due to this, women are said to pose from an inferiority complex which some say its an incurable psychological condition. As some women fight for their future space to compete equally with men, they need to move out from the spheres that have been demarcated for them by men. The women are seen as fighting for equal positions with men. This is because, confining women to the kitchen, bedroom and low paying jobs is seen by many women as opp ressive situations that women have been for many years been put in due to their gender.Breaking out of the oppressive situation for many women has encouraged their efforts to pursue attractive appearance. Unfortunately, for many women who try to fight for equal positions with men through their appearance end up destroying their lives and their bodies. Because fighting oppressive situations becomes their major focus in life, anything that the woman does to attract attention and prove themselves out to men becomes an obsession. Enhancing their appearance tends to make women feel better because they can be able to attract attention that for a long time women have been denied by male domination.When women are carried away by their desire to seek attention in order to counter their feelings of inferiority, making their appearance attractive becomes an obsession. 5. Efforts to attain equality with men The common identity of women in reference to men has made women to rely on what men defi ne as female attractiveness. In many cultural set ups including the contemporary society, men seems to dominate. This includes their opinion on what is right or wrong for a woman to do. Due to the specialization of the role of men and women in the society, the man is more superior to a woman.Man becomes the subject and the absolute while a woman becomes the other In the modern North American corporate capitalism society, a womans identity relates to that of a man. Her appearance is identified whether it is attractive depending on her ability to present her appearance as feminine according to a mans view of a womans attractiveness. To acquire some security and safety in a society where her identify is described in reference to men, women work very hard to attain recognition and security through good appearance. This has no doubt contributed to a womans obsession with their appearance.Women may alienate themselves from their bodies when self and body becomes divided. This may make wo men to have their bodies transformed into ugly, unruly and out of control objects. The self on the other hand becomes a web of reproach and hatred for an individual. This means that a woman who goes through such an experience is willing to submit her body to appearance enhancing practices even if they are harmful. Dressing styles such as tooth braces and casts are now being used to fight the womans identity as the other. Conclusion In the contemporary world, the physical appearance has become a major concern for many people.The most affected are the women, seen in their obsession with their appearance. People are now using a wide range of products to bring about changes in their appearance. Examples of products that are being used to enhance appearance include cosmetics, decorative items, and body shape enhancing products, jewelry, rings, body paintings, and tattoos. Since the ancient times, women have always used certain products and products to change their appearance by enhancing their beauty. Many societies support thisHowever, what for many years have been search for beauty has rancid into an obsession for women.Appearance is no longer seen just as a way of promoting physical beauty, but also as a way of ensuring future existence for women. In a male dominated society, women have had to fight for equal opportunities with the men (feminism). In their quest for equality, women to some extent have used their uniqueness as women to take up roles and position that have for a long time been dominated by men. The need to change their lifestyle, to maintain their feminine identity, to fight for equality, and to secure their future existence makes women obsessed with their appearance.

Road to Mecca

The Road to Mecca examines the bio-psycho-social systems and issues that are part of the aging process. There are many issues introduced that are useful in understanding the social workers role in evaluating and developing a plan of care for young adults through tardy adulthood development. Since the passing of her husband, Helen has devoted her time to creating and transforming her home into her own Mecca of beauty and freedom. The tons of sculptures of wise men, mermaids and other figures inside and outside of her home has secluded Helen from her neighbors who are very rigid white Calvinists.Her neighbors are trying to get rid of Helen by encouraging her to move into a local disused folks home because of her eccentric work of art surrounding her home and because they fear for Helens safety living al unity, now that she is in late adulthood and recently almost burnt her house down. Elsa is a young career minded cleaning woman who has befriended Helen and the only person that res pects and accepts Helens work and interest. Throughout this p frame there are many psychoanalytic themes such as love, abandonment, dependency and passing game to name a few. twain Helen and Elsa appeared to have grown up with a sense of abandonment and lack of charge from their families and others. Before the death of Helens husband, she lived as a conventional member of society. After becoming a widow, she began expressing herself in an artistic way and dis exerciseing her creativity throughout her house. Now that she is in late adulthood and becoming gradu ally unable to manage on her own as she use to, her sense of creativity seems at an end and she finds herself faced with a sense of shabbiness and hopelessness that at times overwhelms her.Helen discusses that when she was a child her mother would take away her candle at night to be in pure sin as a child was frightening for her and when her mother took away the candle, she took away Helens only source of comfort. That fea r of darkness transformed into a mite of abandonment for Helen which has caused her to search for intimacy and trust in her life that she fears she will not find before she dies. Helens darkness that she once saw on the outside when the candles were blown out is now darkness she feels on the inside candles can no longer help this kind of darkness.This darkness symbolizes Helens depression. She is scared that old age is over taking her and affecting her ability to continue creating her Mecca, take care of herself and find the true intimacy in her life that she needs. When Helen meets Elsa and their companionship blossoms, she becomes Helens only source of light. The day Helen met Elsa is the day she felt like her true self. Elsa didnt judge Helen because of her statues and mermaids, she accepted her and after this, Helen felt she could trust Elsa. Elsa revive Helens life by accepting her true self.Elsa has extreme trust issues which are exposed throughout this play. All trust is lost and feelings of abandonment come up after Elsas married boyfriend leaves her and chooses his wife and child. Shame and guilt arise when Elsa has an abortion and when her plan to live happily ever after with a married man goes sour. The relationship with the married man open her up to life and love, she felt like a woman for the first time. Her heart was great open to someone that ended up betraying her. Now she feels as though she cant trust at all and will think doubly before she trusts again.Elsa feels you can love someone without trusting them, she is stuck in a mind set of all you need is love. This situation brings up feelings from the past for Elsa. Its apparent that Elsa never learned trust as a child and trusting another is what she fears most. Trust is more dangerous because thats when you drop your defenses, lay yourself wide open, and if youve made a mistake, youre in big, big trouble. And it hurts like hell. Helen and Elsas fear of abandonment, trust and feelin gs of possible rejection also emerge when they both overcompensate secrets from distributively other.Helen lies to Elsa about her suicidal attempt when the house almost burnt down and Elsa hesitates to tell Helen about the abortion and the married boyfriend. The two women have prepare love in each other and trust they have had too much rejection in the past and fear their friendship will end earnestly if their secrets are revealed. Both women are very desperate to see if their friendship will survive their struggles. When Helen explains to Elsa about Marius and the rest of the community encouraging her to move into an old peoples home, Elsa becomes furious with Helen for not standing up for herself.Elsa becomes so angry about this issue, she needs Helen to stand up for herself and fight because Helen is the only one that lives her life the way she wants. If Helen goes into the old peoples home, Elsa will feel a sense of abandonment. Helen serves as a source of inspiration for h er and her reaction to Helens inability to cope is tied to her need for Helen to remain a strong role model. There are many instances where both women provide a mirroring project for each other in their lives. Elsa understands Helens life of expressing herself through her statues and she allows Helen to see how special she is.Elsa represents the good enough mother for Helen. She provides a holding environment for her. curiously after Elsa receives Helens letter of despair and comes to her side for comport. Helen is able to challenge Elsa, to be herself and nobody has ever done that. This is what a mother would provide for her child. Both have a fear that if one is in darkness how will the other survive. Helen and Elsa need each other to take away their darkness inside. scarper Helen and Elsa develop a twinship with one another.Both allow themselves to be vulnerable with each other, Miss Helen rase states she allows the little girl inside of her come out to play when she is arou nd Elsa. They both provide a sense of belonging and acceptance for each other. A mother holds the key to her childs development. Helen and Elsa are on a journey of self discovery and both are at two different developmental stages in their lives. They are both stuck in two areas of the life cycle, trust and abandonment. The mirroring experience Miss Helen and Elsa have, allows a social worker to assess that both women are searching for the mother they never had.These two women were each others therapist. A therapist in many cases acts as the mother or caretaker for their clients. Therapists provide a safe holding place for their clients to be able to fall apart in. Therapists also mirror back strengths and uniqueness of a client that typically a good enough mother would provide. With support for each other Miss Helen and Elsa were able to move on with life. At the end of the play, Elsa helps Helen gain confidence when she stands up to Marius about not moving into the seclusion home. Helen was able to explain to Marius that her home is the only place where she feels real. After Helen is able to stand her ground against Marius and the rest of the town, Helen and Elsas bond deepens. Elsa is able to admit that her preference of abortion has caused some depression. Helen is able to understand the pain that Elsa feels just like Elsa is able to understand Helens unconventional art work. The understanding that Helen has for Elsas troubles helps Elsa notice the special role that Helen plays in her life.In the first act of the play when Elsa was very mean and disrespectful to Helen, she was displacing her anger and grief about her married ex-boyfriend and aborted child onto Helen. Elsa is even able to trust again by the end of the play, which is evident in the closing line, Open your arms and catch me, Im going to jump. At the end of Act two, Helen is also able to move on with her life by allowing her candles to be blown out which symbolizes she is accepting her devel opment in late adulthood and the completion of her Mecca.The childhood background of a person plays a major part in their adulthood life. When one has a healthy family typically the experience of abandonment and trust issues do not occur. Elsa felt trapped in her early adulthood she had a job as a instructor in a colored school and ultimately had to conceal her true self to keep her job. Her heart was broken by the man she loved and opened her heart to and she experienced guilt and shame for terminating her pregnancy. Helen was also feeling trapped in her life.Creating her Mecca allowed her to create her own freedom and show her true self sooner of complying with Cape Towns religious ways of living. Both women were able to find a way out of their trapped lives by finding trust and true intimacy with each other. This play shows the development of a great friendship and how having true intimacy in your life means showing all your faults and rawness without rejection. Helen and Elsas characters show that you can continue to grow until the end of life.

Phi Delta Kappa

Phi Delta Kappa is an international organization for professional educators. The organizations mission is to promote quality education, with particular emphasis on domainly supported education, as essential to the development and maintenance of a democratic way of life. Each year Phi Delta Kappa conducts a Gallop Poll to expect the publics view toward Public Schools. The poll tackles umpteen different incommodes that argon strategic in their own way, but the ones that interest me the, favoring or opposing a verifier system, zero tolerance polices, and direct standards.One of the most controversial issues in the gallup poll is the usage of verifiers as a means of improving the quality of the public schools. It is suggested that doing so will promote competition between public and private schools and that competition will bring about improvement in the public schools. Opponents of the voucher plan believe that being able to use vouchers for religious schools will violate the se paration of church and state established by the First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution. In addition, parents might be forced to send their children to a school of a different religion because no other schools are available.The result of the poll figure that 47% favor vouchers, 48% oppose them and 5% dont know. I am surprised that so many people support vouchers when thither is no proof that private schools improve students academic achievement. Competition between public and private schools could affect the salaries of presevice teachers and whether or not a teacher whoremaster be hired in private schools because of their religion. The best public policy is to deliver the goods parents with even more choices within the public schools, which serve over 90% of children.Legislators should concentrate on making all public schools stronger, safer, more challenging, and accountable. Public tax dollars should be spent only to improve public schools not to assistant the limited numb ers of parents who choose to enroll their children in private secular or religious schools. Concern over school crime and violence has excessively become a huge issue. It has prompted many public schools to take various measures to reduce and prevent drugs and violence and to ensure safety in schools. Such measures embarrass adopting zero tolerance policies.The zero tolerance policies enact mandatory expulsion for violent or drug-related student misconduct. This forces preservice teachers to change the disciplinary structure of the classroom. The poll shows that 90% of the people favor zero tolerance and 10% oppose it. I feel that zero tolerance, as explained in the reading, is a fantastic thing. But when hear about students suspended for having aspirin or even cough drops, leaves me to wonder whether zero tolerance policies are achieving their designated purpose. The response to zero tolerance by school districts is getting out of hand.Schools need to make sure that their focus is not on blind enforcement of a rule but on actively functional to detect warning signs, counsel students and punish those involved with real drugs or weapons. A third critical issue is school standards. Achievement standards in the classroom is a very important thing. 57% of people think that the standards are about right and 33% think they are too low. Another issue about standards is social promotion.Social promotion means moving children from grade to grade in order to keep them with others in their age group. 2 % raise stricter standards for social promotion and 26% opposed. I agree with the majority in both these cases. School standard are about right but it is important for preservice teachers to know and keep up with the standards. It is also important for teachers to have stricter standards for social promotion even if more students are held back. It isnt honest to send a slacking students to the next grade to another teacher that has to re-teach the curriculum of the previous grade just for a student to two. My view on vouchers is pretty clear. tribe who support them believe that it will improve public school because of competition. Competition is based on an even playing field there is no fair competition when competitors play by different rules. Public schools have to accept all appli natests private schools dont. Private schools are not required to provide transportation, special education, bilingual education, free and reduced lunches, and many other programs that public schools provide. I agree with zero tolerance but they are taking it too far.I can also understand the schools rationale for zero tolerance. They are concerned about student safety and want to project the image that they are being tough on drugs and violence, but use some common sense. When it comes to the standards of student achievement I agree with the majority of the people polled, but many of the issues of the Phi Delta Kappa Gallup Poll I disagreed with because I feel t hat the people being polled are uneducated in the subject and dont know how their opinion can affect schools.

Borohydride Reduction

John Heger CMY 211 Lab Section 13 11-30-2011 Borohydride Reduction of Vanillin to Vanillyl Alcohol Introduction The purpose of this research laboratory was to push down vanillin to vanillyl alcoholic beverage. This lab report recaps the procedure and results of the lab. The chemical substance process studied in this lab was decrement, the process of reducing the number of bonds to oxygen and increasing the number of bonds to hydrogen. Other chemical processes included in the lab were recrystallization, melting point, and extraction.Procedure Preparation of Vanillyl Alcohol 2. 5 mmol of vanillin were dissolved in 2. 5 mL of 1 M NaOH declaration in a 25 mL Erlenmeyer flask. The flask was swirled to produce a homogeneous yellow solution. The flask was swirled in an ice-water bath for 1-2 minutes and the solution was cooled to approximately 10C. 1. 95 mmol of NaBH4 was added while the solution was constantly swirled. It was added in three to four portions over a period of 3 minutes. T he solution was allowed to stand undisturbed for 30 minutes at room temperature.After the time period, the flask was cooled in an ice-water bath and 3 M HCl was added dropwise with swirling. HCl was added until the pH of the solution was distinctly acidic to pH paper. The solution was gently cooled and the side of the flask was gently scratched with a glass rod to induce recrystallization. The crude result was suction filtered using a Buchner or Hirsch move and was washed with three small portions of cold water. The crystals were allowed to air dry for several minutes while suction continued to eliminate excess water.The crude product was recrystallized from ethyl acetate. The dried crystals were weighed and a melting point was obtained. Results Table 1 Experimental Data Table Initial galvanic pile of Vanillin 0. 3843 g Final Mass of Vanillyl Alcohol 0. 2467 g Melting Point Range of Vanillyl Alcohol 75-90C Percent Yield 63. 99 % yield Discussion The purpose of this lab was to red uce vanillin to vanillyl alcohol. The mechanism of the lab involved reduction. Sodium borohydride was used to reduce the aldehyde on the vanillin molecule, which left the oxygen with a negative charge.Feature Article Relative rankFree-Radical BrominationHCl then reacted with the negative oxygen on vanillin, and the oxygen then became protonated, which made another alcohol on the benzene ring. The melting point range obtained for vanillyl alcohol was between 75-90C. The actual melting point was 115C, which was approximately 25 degrees higher than the experimental values. The reason for this melting point difference can be attributed to impurities that developed throughout the procedure. The percent yield from the original sample was 63. 9%. A decent percentage of the original sample was lost throughout the reduction process of vanillin to vanillyl alcohol. Conclusion Vanillin was reduced to vanillyl alcohol which obtained a melting point of 75-90C. The percent yield from the origin al sample was 63. 99%. The mechanism involved the reduction of vanillin to vanillyl alcohol, which increased the number of bonds to hydrogen and decreased the number of bonds to oxygen by the reduction of a carbonyl.