Wednesday, October 30, 2019

THE GREAT GATSBY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

THE GREAT GATSBY - Essay Example Myriel, however, turns out to be the first individual in decades to treat Valjean with adore and respect. The meeting with Myriel perpetually transforms Valjean’s character, as Myriel makes Valjean promise to turn out to be an honest man (Hugo, 2010 ). Once Valjean opens up his compassion, he becomes a evidence to the redemptive power of love and sympathy. His hard work and new vision change the dilapidated town of Montreuil-sur-mer into a flourishing manufacturing center, which in sequence teaches Valjean the value of charity. In taking care of Cosette, Valjean learns how to love others and how to pass that love. He is incomparable only in his physical strength and his enthusiasm to discover what is good, and this genuineness is enough to make him the novel’s hero as well as a rescuer and a friend to a number of individuals who find themselves in hazard. Hardened by prison and rescued by the kindness of M. Myriel, Valjean is a empty slate, molded by his acquaintance and circumstances. This aptitude to change makes him a universal symbol of anticipation if he can learn love and charity after distressing so much injustice. Now comparing and contrasting Valjean’s character with Gatsby, following can be deduced: Jay Gatsby is the title character and leading role of the novel, Gatsby who is a staggeringly wealthy young man living in a Gothic house in West Egg. He is well-known for the sumptuous parties he throws every Saturday night, but no one knows where he live, what he do, or how he made his wealth. As the novel progresses, it is revealed to Nick that Gatsby was born James Gatz on a farmhouse in North Dakota; working for a millionaire made him bestow his life to the achievement of wealth. When he meets Daisy while teaching to be an police officer in Louisville, he fell in love with her. Nick also discovered that Gatsby made his fortune through illegal activity, as he was enthusiastic to do anything to gain

Monday, October 28, 2019

Food and Street Foods Essay Example for Free

Food and Street Foods Essay Introduction Bulacan was officially called â€Å"Bulacan Province†, is a first class province of the Republic of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Region (Region 3) in the island of Luzon, North of Manila (the nation’s capital), and part of the Metro Luzon Urban Beltway Super Region. Bulacan pries itself for its rich historical heritage. Bulacan has fast become an ideal tourist destination, owing to its vital role in Philippine history, and its rich heritage in culture and the arts. The province is popularly known for its historical sites; nostalgic old houses and churches; idyllic ecological attractions; religious attractions; colorful and enchanting festivals; swimming and various themed attractions; and a wide selection of elegant native crafts and sumptuous delicacies. It is also home to numerous resorts, hotels, restaurants, and other recreational facilities. (Wikipedia). The briskness of Street foods in Bulacan can be measured by the long queue of consumers’ everyday in the food outlets in strategic places where street foods like: â€Å"lugaw† or Rice Porridge, goto, mami, fish balls, barbecued banana, salted peanuts and chicken pops. (Toledo, 1988) Street Foods is a â€Å"Survival Meals†, maybe because it satisfies the gustatory sense for a temporary period of time. (Soledad Leynes, 1986) In such case, eating away from home due to the changes in occupation and activities created a demand for cooked meals and snacks at a cheaper and affordable price that are served quickly. Dual career, parents and small families who really have no time to prepare their meals at home resort to street foods for convenience. These people seem not to care for the food source whether it comes from the legitimate food merchants or from the informal sector, otherwise called black market. (Soledad Leynes, 1986) Street foods, whether snacks or meals are affordable and always available, which are very popular among the low income households to a large extent and increasingly a daily fare among the middle income groups. Households with working mothers are afforded ready to eat meals without the burden of cooking at home. Street food caters to the needs of the urban poor population by making food readily available and at low cost. Thus, street food vending is a traditional activity which can be considered a coping mechanism of the urban poor. Street foods are ready-to-eat foods and beverages prepared and/or sold by vendors or hawkers especially in the streets and other similar places. (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) They represent a significant part of urban food consumption for millions of low-and-middle-income consumers, in urban areas on a daily basis. Street foods may be the least expensive and most accessible means of obtaining a nutritionally balanced meal outside the home for many low income people, provided that the consumer is informed and able to choose the proper combination of foods. (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) Statement of the Problem. This study was conducted to assess the Quality of Food Products of Street foods sold by the ambulant vendors along the busy streets and sidewalks of Bulacan. 1. What is the status of the ambulant vendors of Bulacan in terms of: 2. 1. Gender 2. 2. Age 2. 3. Civil Status 2. 4. Income 2. 5. Family size 2. 6. Educational attainment 2. What is the nutritional quality of food products sold by the ambulant vendors in Bulacan in terms of: 3. 7. Food Supply 3. 8. Food Preparation 3. 9. Food Handling 3. What orientation program could be proposed to the ambulant vendors to improve the nutritional quality and safety of the food?

Saturday, October 26, 2019

rban Sprawl :: essays research papers

URBAN SPRAWL The definition of urban sprawl according to WORDSMYTH 1.spreading of the urban structure into adjoining suburbs and rural areas. The definition of urban sprawl according to Merriam-Websters on line dictionary :the spreading of urban developments(as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city. The definition of urban sprawl according to Dictionary.com The unplanned, uncontrolled spreading of urban development into areas adjoining the edge of a city . My opinion of urban sprawl.The city,containing large tracts of business,commerece,industries,living space,and farming communities.Using more then it needs,replicating new structures and leaving shells.Rehabbing mass living spaces,for the placment of person or persons.Funneling dollars into work projects for the sake of spending.For example I 675 near Dayton, the rehabbing of the Arcade center, and the Salem Mall area. . â€Å"Sprawl is a four letter word† â€Å"I like living next to the city. I can get off my tractor, walk across the street and get a cup of coffee at the UDF in the morning, go next door for lunch at the fast food place, and fill up the John Deere at the Speedway on the way home from plowing the back 40.† Sprawl is a worldwide growth pattern. It is evident in every small to major city, and depending on socioeconomic and cultural patterns can manifest it at different rates. Lets take a look at some examples. Moscow shows a grossly mixed area of farmland, light to heavy industry, and a mixed commerce living space with large groups of apartment buildings. Approximately 30% of the city proper is vacant wasted areas, and there is no effort to reclaim any of this land. This is most likely due to heavy pollution, crime, and the generally poor economical situation. In Mexico City, there is a vast area of poor living conditions within poorer living conditions. Population increase has played a major role in the living conditions along with little employment, poor education, almost no industry, (with the exception of General Motors relocating there) makes Mexico City a vast sprawl of humanity. My focus now moves to the local venue, namely Dayton. I found some interesting information. Between 1970 and 1990 Dayton’s urban area lost 11% of its population while gaining 22% more land. Dayton and adjoining suburbs consumed 118% more land while adding only 22% more people. While there was no significant population increase, drivers in Dayton covered 19% more miles in 1995 then in 1991. There are many reams of facts and figures to support the obvious, sprawl is real.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Coding And Data Analysis Procedures Education Essay

The intent of this assignment is to develop cryptography and informations analysis processs relevant to pull offing informations from our qualitative interviews. This interview was designed to research sentiments and feelings approximately experiences as a auxiliary instruction services coach for pupils with disablements. The interview instrument was developed to roll up dependable informations from sources on the sentiments and experience as a auxiliary instruction services coach. The interview inquiries were designed specifically to reply the research inquiry. The interview inquiries and replies have been grouped into three specific subjects. The cryptography system was design with expressed subjects in head. Rubin & A ; Rubin ( 2005 ) discourse the process of interrupting down remarks from an interview into sections of information to be examined together, these sections of information they call informations units. Rubin & A ; Rubin ( 2005 ) depict a codification as a label you use for each construct, subject or event. They province that you would non desire to code for every point but you would code for the most of import points to understand your research. Rubin & A ; Rubin ( 2005 ) describe subjects as drumhead statements and accounts of what is traveling on. Rubin, & A ; Rubin ( 2005 ) stated that after you determine your subjects you begin to code them by coming up with a brief label to denominate each subject and so grade in the interview text where the subjects events occur. Rubin & A ; Rubin ( 2005 ) stated it is of import to look for single constructs, subjects, events that speak to your research inquiry and to put an appropriate chosen labels next to each informations unit to let you to recover the coded point.Research Question:What are the sensed challenges for tutoring pupils with disablements in SES plans?SES Tutor Interview1. ) Please get down by stating me a small about your instruction and experiences as a coach?Probing/ Follow up Questions:How did your past work experience and instruction prepare you for tutoring pupils with disablements? 2. ) Please describe the preparation your were given by the auxiliary instruction services supplier on how to suit auxiliary instruction services lessons and service programs to pupils with disablements?Probing/ Follow up Questions:How many hours or hebdomads of preparation were you given? 3. ) How was the school involved in the development of the Individual Learning Plan for pupils with disablements in the SES plan? †Probing/ Follow up Questions:Who was straight involved with the procedure? ( Ex. schoolroom instructor, SES Coordinator ) How were you able to vouch pupils IEP were in close alliance with the pupil single acquisition programs? 4. ) What concerns you the most about being a auxiliary instruction services coach and working with pupils with disablements? 5. ) Do you have any other remarks you would wish to do pertaining to tutoring and auxiliary instruction services? Interview usher: This interview instrument was developed to roll up dependable informations from sources on the sentiments and experience of auxiliary instruction services coachs. Datas from the interviews were used to place pedagogues ‘ sentiments sing auxiliary instruction plan tutoring and pupils with disablements. This stuff from this interview will be used to help in the development of ( SES ) supplemental instruction services coach staff support and preparation activities. Interview assessment usher: This interview is designed to research sentiments and feelings approximately experiences as a auxiliary instruction services coach for pupils with disablements. For illustration, the instrument allowed the research worker to estimate the extent to which the coachs were knowing about working with pupils with disablements and about auxiliary instruction services plans. This in-depth interview was designed to better understand the challenges coachs face when working with pupils with disablements in auxiliary instruction services plans.The SES suppliers were selected from a list of 84 suppliers on the Virginia Department of Education Web Site who service K-5th class Reading and Math pupils with disablements.Telephone conversations with other SES suppliers in an attempt to schedule an interview:SES Provider Tutoring Service Manager 1:SES manager- â€Å" We do non maintain path of the pupils with disablements in our plan. I do non cognize who the instructors ar e they worked with the pupils with disablements in our plan. † tut.qualSES Provider Tutoring Service Manager 2:SES Manager – † We do largely groups of 5 to 1 tutor/ instructor or 8 to one tutor/ teacher so we do non normally work with pupils with disablements because many times they need one to one service. I looked and we did non serve any pupils with disablements last twelvemonth. Maybe seek some web based service they do one on 1. † serv.ratioSES Provider Tutoring Service Manager 3:SES Manager- â€Å" I would non wish for you to talk to my coachs but I will talk to you. †I- I would instead talk to a coach.â€Å" We have had troubles with serving pupils with disablements many times we do non acquire the IEP until after the appraisal has been completed and we have already started working with the pupils. † teach.iep, serv.pre.post.accom â€Å" On one juncture we had a pupil that was deaf and the school system refused to supply a mark linguistic communication translator for her but I found person who knows mark linguistic communication. † teah.coop â€Å" We have had a batch of trouble with the school system, and I did non understand why we are all supposed to be working together in this. † â€Å" The instructors are so territorial † SES Manager- You can name me subsequently this hebdomad here is my cell phone figureI- Thank you but I need to inquire the inquiries in individualSES Manager: I am regretful I have tribunal this hebdomad.Amy S. ( Tutor /Director ) 8/26/Time 2:00pmInterview Virginia SES supplier ( Tutor /Director Interview )SES Tutor/Director InterviewSubject One: Qualifications of Coachs in Virginia Supplemental Education Services Programs tut.qual: Coach makings vary for pupils with disablements. tut.train: Training indispensable to supply quality direction for pupils with disablements. tut.trained.sped: Trained Particular Education staff or coachs are needed to vouch pupils ‘ ( ILP ) individual larning programs are in close alliance with the pupil ( IEP ) Individualized Education Plan and supply quality direction for your pupils with disablements.I- Please get down by stating me a small about your instruction and experiences as a coach?T- I was a school instructor in the public school system for eight ( 8 ) old ages and so switched over to the private sector with a tutoring company and worked for them for eight ( 8 ) extra old ages. I started making ( SES ) supplemental instruction services tutoring two old ages ago and began implementing that working with that for two old ages.I- Do you, your instruction and experience you said, do you hold a licence.T- Yes, I have a certified instruction licence. That ‘s right.I – How did your past work experience and instruction prepare you for tutoring pupils with disablements?T- Actually, it was truly great because holding been a schoolroom instructor I recognize the challenges that schoolroom instructors face and recognize that the ( SES ) supplemental instruction services plans are design to aim, figure one pupils that have deman ds that are non being met because of fiscal hinderances in footings of having extra tutoring possibly and besides pupils that ever do n't make good in a big group schoolroom puting to give them a tutoring chance so that they can acquire more direct direction and one on one attending.I- As far as your instruction and experiences have you worked with pupils with disablements are you a particular instruction instructor?T- No, I am non a particular instruction instructor. I am a regular instruction instructor but I have worked with inclusion but I have had pupils that have worked within the schoolroom with a particular instruction instructor working aboard. tut.trained.spedI- Please depict the preparation your were given by the auxiliary instruction services supplier on how to suit auxiliary instruction services lessons and service programs to pupils with disablements?T-None. Our lesson programs are the same regardless of pupils abilities so we do n't hold any differentiation between pu pils and frequently times our coachs do n't cognize if the pupil has an active IEP ( Individual Education Plan ) or non. They merely know that they qualify for the tutoring services because of the fiscal demand and free and decreased tiffin. tut.train Subject Two: Guarantee pupils ‘ ( ILP ) individual larning programs are in close alliance with the pupil ( IEP ) Individualized Education Plan or pupils Individual Services 504 Plan. stu.accom: The ability to accommodated pupils with disablements on pre and station trial and in lessons consistent with their IEP or Individualized program or Individualized Services Section 504 Rehabilitation Act. stu.needs: The SES provider/tutors ability to develop instructional programs that are geared to the demands of the pupils with disablements and IEP. teah.coop: School instructors cooperate and were involved with auxiliary lessons of pupils with disablements. teach.iep: School instructors portion IEP information in the development of SES larning programs. sch.coop.iep: The SES supplier works with principals, instructors, and parents as needed to develop instructional programs that are geared to the demands of the pupils with disablements and IEP. sch.state: The SES supplier works with principals, instructors, and parents as needed to develop instructional programs aligned with province criterions sch.ach.data: School academic and achievement informations ( province trial, classs, other assessment tonss ) used in the development of the supplemental instruction acquisition programs for pupils with disablementsI- How was the school involved in the development of the Individual Learning Plan for pupils with disablements in the SES plan? †T- Do you intend by school the school that the pupil is go toing?I- UnhnT- O.K. Typically, what and it is different for every territory. We have worked with five different territories ‘ I have worked with tutoring for five different territories. Most of the territories had a site coordinator or a SES coordinator for the territory broad and they develop the acquisition program, the Individual acquisition Plan for the pupils for SES tutoring. That signifier typically goes it depends on the territory. Typically that signifier comes to us foremost we fill out pupil appraisal consequences and ends that we have for the plan. Then that signifier goes back to the instructor, the schoolroom instructor and a transcript besides goes to the parent. Then the instructor completes their observation a s to ends so that goes back to the SES representative. Other territories have had it travel to the instructor foremost and so come to us and it is in a signifier of a checklist. So the instructor checks off the ( SOL ‘s ) Standards of acquisition that are needed for that pupil that they are urging so we check off the ( SOL ‘s ) Standards of Learning based on their appraisal that have been found to be weak in footings of that. So it does depend on the territory. sch.state, serv.aligned But, typically the school engagement is that the schoolroom instructor does a minor portion with recommendations for ends for that pupil. teah.coopI- or the SES coordinatorI- or the SES coordinator, they take a much more active function in that, that is precisely right.I – How were you able to vouch pupils ( IEP ) single instruction programs were in close alliance with the pupil single acquisition programs?T- We are non able to make that. The lone manner we are able to make that is because. serv.guar Typically our appraisal will demo failings in the same countries that they holding ( uh ) what we typically find when we assess particular needs pupils or particular instruction provided pupils is that we find that they will typically instead than hiting at grade degree or below be significantly below. Nine times out of 10s those are far below their equals in footings of class degree accomplishment so that is how we do it. It is designated on some of the ( SLA ) Students Learning Plans for some territories it does denominate whether they are a ( IEP ) Individual Learning Plan pupil but merely after it comes back so it is for the territory file non for the coachs so that information is non frequently communicated to the SES coachs at all.I- So you are stating the ( IEP ) is ne'er used normally used at allT- Yes, that is true non implemented or used at all. Theme Three: Ability to present the services it promised with respect to instructional schemes used for pupils with disablements. serv.ratio: Student to tutor ratio during tutoring Sessionss. serv.intruc: Instructional techniques are needed for Reading, Language Arts and Math content for pupils with disablements in auxiliary instruction services plans for pupils to be able to understand the academic content. serv.quality: Plan and supply quality direction for your pupils with disablements. serv adopt: Adapts tutoring services to pupils with disablements curriculum. serv.aligned: Aligned their services to province and local criterions. serv.meets.needs: The SES supplier meets the demands of pupils with disablements. serv.promised: Is the SES supplier able to present the services it promised with respect to instructional schemes used for pupils with disablements. serv.pre.post.accom: Accommodated pupils with disablements on pre and station trial and in lessons consistent with their IEP or Individualized program or Individualized Services Section 504 Rehabilitation Act. serv.guar: Guarantee pupils ‘ single instruction program ( IEP ) is in stopping point alliance with the pupil auxiliary instruction service instructional programI -What concerns you the most about being a auxiliary instruction services coach and working with pupils with disablements?T- I think the hardest thing is that most SES services and service suppliers services are meant to be administered in a little group puting which is non ever possible based on the single pupils needs a pupil with a IEP may hold specific demands or adjustments that are non ever able to be implemented in a little group puting in a one hr after school tutoring environment. serv.ratio As appose to making more ( uhu ) one on one state of affairss or a more individualised plan where there are truly able to make skill for accomplishment based on what that pupil demands. . So that is a immense concern. Besides, merely like you mention before the communicating with teaching staff or parents even that the pupil has an active IEP we do n't ever happen out from the staff. Sometimes we will hold a whole conversation with the parents before the pupil becomes one of our pupils for SES and the parent ne'er even references that their topographic points particular instruction because they do non desire that stigma attach or for whatever grounds but that besides hinders our ability to serve them in the best possible manner. sch.coop.iep Another thing that we find to is as I mention before the hold ability so what you will happen is when we assess those pupils they will be assess with a group of 4th grade pupils. One of those pupils may a particular instruction pupil and may measure at a 2nd class degree they may hold demands in the 2nd class degree so we are faced with a quandary of puting the kid in a 4th class course of study and so non execute good and so fight merely like they are fighting in the schoolroom scene or set a 4th grader in with a group of 2nd graders. Which besides is non ever the best option for them because so they are working on 2nd class course of study with pupils who are two or three old ages younger than them and non ever holding that effectivity as they would hold with a group of their equal. serv adopt, serv.intruc So those are the chief concerns every bit far as doing certain that those pupils get the services they need and require to be affectional for them.I- Do you have any other remarks you would wish to do pertaining to tutoring and auxiliary instruction services?T- I do, I do hold tonssI- That ‘s good,T-Yes and I did compose them down because there were so many I was believing of. One thing, I truly think the ( SES ) plan is phenomenal I mean, with all the troubles. Particularly for particular instruction because it has its ain set margins of pupils. I feel that the SES as a whole is a fabulous phenomenal plan. Having worked with it for merely two old ages I have seen unbelievable, monumental group in our pupils be them Particular erectile dysfunction. or Regular Ed. pupils merely within the little clip frame they have the plan enforced. I think it is a fantastic chance there is allot of contention with utilizing outside beginnings for SES. As you know and doing certain that you has a reputable service and a certified instructor. Half the times they do n't even hold to be certified instructors or have any experience working with kids. tut.qual Now, that does concern me. Our staff does hold that we do necessitate that. But, with certain guidelines it could be improved. To see the unbelievable chance that arises from those pupils. Besides, to see that holding an outside beginning. I do n't cognize how to explicate this but non there teacher or person who works in the school system. Having that separate individual come into the school even if it is done site based. They merely perform otherwise than they have all the school twenty-four hours, because it is a different individual interacting with them. So giving them that chance is a great thought to give a separate entity for the school that still performs the same services. Now, I do hold there should be criterions and minimum demands for staff. Particularly in the particular instruction unit of ammunition if you do non hold the staff that are certified to lear n them even a regular instruction instructor wo n't or may non cognize ever how to manage a state of affairs or distinguish the course of study to give the pupils what they need. tut.qual, tut.trained.sped, serv.intruc But, overall I think the plan is phenomenal I hope to see through clip, I know there are a batch of surveies being done, but that it does increase the pupil ‘s cognition, their SOL scores their ability over all. And I think more than anything with the pupils what we have learned in the yesteryear is that pupils that are those tier two pupils. I do n't cognize how familiar you are with Response to Intervention pupils. But those tier two pupil. The pupil that are fighting and neglecting twelvemonth, after twelvemonth, after twelvemonth. ( Laugh ) I guess I mean after two old ages. I guess they can hold that targeted direction through the SES plan and might non necessitate particular instruction and with whatever is traveling on that they missed that they can catch up. In the long run your end is to hold fewer pupils that are really identified as holding particular instruction demands. And that is reserved for merely the pupils that genuinely have a disablement and that need that excess intercession or that one on one pull out plan. The plan can be used for pupils who have had to travel to five different schools in one twelvemonth or absences because they were ill and missed twenty one yearss of school in one twelvemonth or pupils whose parents are non educated and can non assist them with their prep. I do besides believe assisting the pupils that need the fiscal aid is besides of import. But, you have so many of those other issues that end up developing into a particular instruction pupils when it is non ever the instance that they may non necessitate that without a different sort of intercession, So that is one thing I hope to see that the SES plan goes more towards aiming those types of pupils. But, I most decidedly think if we besides can concentrate on pupils that are on the cusps that are non doing it with their equals yet non to the point they have to be placed in a particular instruction schoolroom that would be good as good.I -Well, I merely want to believe you for talking with me today. I merely want to Thank you a batch. I truly do appreciate it.I -probably gave you a batch more so you needed.I- No, I truly do appreciate it.I am traveling to turn of the tape now.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

On Leadership Essay

Leadership could very much be likened to a driver of an automobile. Without it, the stationary vehicle may warrant some amount of value, yet it doesn’t live up fully to what it is worth. Without anyone to man its steering wheel, it would end up unmoving, stagnant, and eventually wasting opportunities to travel vast lands and reach great summits. Without someone to operate the car, there will be no one to lend his sense of direction. Without this someone, there will be no destination, much less any means to arrive to it. Without this someone, the car would ultimately miss the chance to possess an attribute which is very crucial to attain any accomplishment: the attribute of being DRIVEN. Likewise, being driven is essential to attaining success in the real world, which is why I deem leadership a significant part of life. In a world where tough competition is present almost everywhere, it isn’t enough anymore to merely possess knowledge or skills. So that success could be attained, there is a need to manage these raw gifts effectively and turn them into something more. And leadership makes that possible. I believe that leadership is built on the foundations of vision, drive and direction. Coupled with hard work and dedication, it enables people to maximize whatever resources they have, and allows them to achieve whatever goals they set upon themselves. Because for a group to function efficiently and idyllically, it must have a clear sense of what it aspires, where it wants to go, and how it is going to make it all happen. However, leadership should not only concern the what, the where, and the how. It is equally important that significant consideration be given to the why. Doing so is what I call responsible leadership. I believe that the ideal leader doesn’t only empower his followers; he empowers the society as a whole. It is something which separates a leader from a manager: a manager simply does things right, and a leader, aside from doing this, also makes it a point that he does the right things. All these years I have kept faith in the power of aggressive yet responsible leadership: leadership which inspires trust amid difficulties, which upholds long-term thinking while conquering immediate challenges at the same time. I always make it a point that I myself embody my own ideals of being a leader who could challenge the status quo and be a steward of progress and development. Indeed a great number of people have attempted to encapsulate the term leadership. But through these attempts do we discern that there are a myriad of meanings that could be associated with the word. Although I do agree with a number of the descriptions given, I sum it all up to one idea: that leadership is the one powerful requisite that could bridge the gap between your present location and your target destination, between your situation and your ambition, between where you are now†¦ and where you want to be.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Color Blindness - Tritanopia essays

Color Blindness - Tritanopia essays Colour Blindness, defect of vision affecting the ability to distinguish colours, occurring mostly in males. Colour blindness is caused by a defect in the retina or in other nerve portions of the eye. Partial colour blindness, called dichromatism, consists generally of the inability to differentiate between the reds and the greens or to perceive either reds or greens; infrequently, the confusion may involve the blues or the yellows. Dichromatism is the most common form of colour blindness, affecting about 7 percent of men and less than 1 percent of women. Dichromatism is identified as a sex-linked hereditary characteristic (Figure 1). A colour blind person has difficulty in distinguishing colours that are on "confusion lines". For example, protanopes confuse blue-greens (and greys) with red (and browns). The deutranopes make mistakes with blue-greens and purple. While tritanopes confuse yellow with blue. The last dichromat group; tetartanopes, confuse yellow with blue. The anomalous types have difficulty with light tints and dark shades. Tritanopia is rare, affecting one in fifty thousand males and one in one hundred thousand females. There are three different types of wave sensitivity cones: long (red), medium (green), and short (blue). Short wave sensitivity (SWS) cones are most sensitive to a wavelength of approximately 419nm. When examining the absorbance curve, long and medium wave sensitivities are close together (30 nm shift), whereas the SWS cone curve is shifted more than 100 nm away S cones are much rarer than long and medium cones, accounting for approximately 5% of the total. When our vision depends on SWS cones alone, our spatial resolution is very poor. Tritanopes have malfunctioning SWS cones. The problem occurs when there is a dominant inheritance of the G79R and S214P mutations this suggests that the abnormal gene products actively interfere with the viability or accuracy of blue ...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Team Leadership Essays

Team Leadership Essays Team Leadership Essay Team Leadership Essay Team Leadership Name: Institution: Team Leadership To: The Manager From: Team Leader Subject: Team Leadership Date: 26 July 2013 Exploring new market segments requires a peer into the use of effective teamwork for the process. The challenge of entering a new market segment necessitates a restructuring of the management and organizational culture. One of these restructuring processes involves the creation of a new department. The new department will be fundamental in accomplishing a section of the firm’s strategic plan. Consequently, the new department will consist of members of the existing learning team. Nonetheless, determining the performance of the team requires an analysis of certain aspects concerned with leadership. One of these aspects comprises personality. One of the hardest things for a team leader to address involves the diversity in personality. Personally, my team members possess various personality types that affect cohesiveness. This is because the combination of positive and negative personality traits may offset each other in the team. The integration of different personality traits also creates a viable environment for the accomplishment of specified organizational goals. Apart from offsetting each other, personality traits, respective of their difference, can also build one another leading to synergies (Katzenbach Smith, 2006). Therefore, it is crucial for me to assert the importance of these personality differences. As an effectual team leader, recognizing and using personality traits is a vital aspect of ensuring cohesion in the team. Nonetheless, by concentrating on individual personalities, the leadership approach that I will use involves an application of the Trait Theory of Leadership. The Trait theory implies that the personalities characterized by individuals comprise wide dispositions (Gehring, 2007). It concentrates particularly on the differences between persons based on the traits and characteristics. Additionally, the theory is fundamental since it facilitates understanding the specific behaviors ch aracterized by the team members. The trait theory focuses primarily on the recognizing and measuring individual characteristics. Furthermore, trait theory asserts that individuals possess definite qualities, which make them suitable for leadership (Gehring, 2007). Nevertheless, the interface and integration of a range of traits create a unique personality among every individual. Nonetheless, for the team, in order to employ this theoretical knowledge, it will be crucial to incorporate a personality assessment test. Personality assessment tests aid in unveiling the features of a person’s character via research instruments such as questionnaires or other qualified techniques. In this case, one of the main assessments conducted will comprise the Jungian 16-Type Personality Self-Assessment Test. The Jungian Test receives its derivation from Carl Jung who surmised that persons possess disparate predispositions and inclinations. Typically, these predispositions narrow to Extraversion, Introversion, Thinking and Fee ling. The Jungian Test acknowledges the existence of 16 different personality types. These types belong to each of the four characters. These characters comprise Protectors (SJ), Creators (SP), Intellectuals (NT) and Visionaries (NF). Under Protectors, the types within this group comprise ESTJ, ESFJ, ISTJ and ISFJ. ESTP, ESFP, ISTP and ISFP lie under Creators. ENTJ, ENTP, INTJ and INTP, are under Intellectuals while Visionaries comprise ENFJ, ENFP, INFJ and INFP (Barrett Green, 2011). In this case, the personality assessment will focus on determining the different personality types that the team members and I, as their leader possess. For my team members, the test score was as follows: ENTP (Originator), ENFP (Advocate), ENFP (Advocate) and ESFP (Entertainer). For me, the score was ENTJ (Chief). Based on these scores, it is clear that my team mainly lies under NT and NF. Additionally, the test also determined that I was under SP (Creator). Based on the personality assessment test, my score asserts that I have natural leadership attributes. This is because the assessment asserts that the ENTJ type connects the team members and the resources effectually. Furthermore, the ENTJ type possesses the desire to solve challenges usually seen as insurmountable by other people. In addition, the ENTJ type has a passion for leadership and the rapidity to understand complexities. Because of their aptitude towards absorption of considerable information, ENTJ types are capable of making immediate and influential judgments (Barrett Green, 2011). Additionally, the test also proves that I possess a practical and effective problem solving side. This side enables me to complete projects efficiently, as well as solve disputes among members. Indeed, based on the trait theory, these ideal qualities define and reflect my innate attribute of leadership. Furthermore, the different personality types within the team also reflect different traits t hat are able to fulfill the specified task’s objectives due to their differences. Thus, it is imperative that a leadership approach that exploits the different personality types undergoes application. The use of the trait theory, in this case, implies a Transformational Leadership approach. The approach will focus on inspiring and empowering the team members towards the specified objectives. Accordingly, the approach will also consider subjecting employees to the fulfillment of organizational interests while respecting their needs. Applying this approach in this situation will generate a leading and innovative change desired by the organization. With respect to this, it is evident that the Trait Theory of Leadership will determine the course of action for the team leader and the team. Performing the personality assessment test was ideal in leading the team successfully towards the desired goal. References Barrett, J., Green, H. (2011). The complete personality assessment: Psychometric tests to reveal your true potential. London, UK: Kogan Page. Gehring, R. (January 01, 2007). Applying Traits Theory of Leadership to Project Management. Project Management Journal, 38(1), 44-54. Katzenbach, J. R., Smith, D. K. (2006). The wisdom of teams: Creating the high-performance organization. New York, NY: Collins Business.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Setting Writing Targets

Setting Writing Targets Setting Writing Targets Setting Writing Targets By Ali Hale When you’re working on a big, long-term writing goal – perhaps becoming a published novelist, or making a living from your writing – it’s easy to get discouraged or distracted along the way. Sometimes the gulf between where you are with your writing and where you want to be can seem like an impassable chasm. This is where it helps to set smaller, specific writing targets: ones that you know you can meet, and which will take you step-by-step towards your eventual goals. 1. Work out your priority for the year In 2007, I was focusing on short stories: my target was to write at least two every month and submit them to competitions or publications. I ended the year with over twenty five finished short stories. It’s usually not a good idea to split your focus between several projects. If you write around a job or family life, pick your one priority for the year: whether it’s finally getting around to writing that novel you’ve been planning, building up a collection of poetry, posting regularly on your blog, or polishing up your business writing skills. 2. Set realistic targets for yourself In my case, I could manage two complete short stories per month whilst working full time – it was a bit of a stretch some months, but achievable. If I’d tried to write a short story every week, I’d have given up before January was over. Try not to give yourself a target that relies on outside forces: aiming to have something published every month is laudable, but it’s influenced as much by the whims of editors as by your own writing abilities. Some good targets could be: Writing 500 words of your novel every day. Writing a poem every Saturday. Posting a new entry on your blog three times a week. Reading two chapters of a book on writing every week, and trying out some exercises. 3. Keep track of how you’re doing When you have daily or weekly targets, keeping a visual record of progress can be very motivating! How about putting a tick or gold star on the calendar for every day that you meet your goal, or keeping a wall chart of word-count progress by your desk? If you prefer a more high-tech approach, Joe’s Goals is an easy way to keep track of how you’re getting on. You might also find scheduling writing sessions in task management software such as Remember the Milk helps – sometimes, our brains work well with a deadline. 4. Assess whether meeting your targets is getting you closer to your goals It’s great to be ticking off those four completed poems every month, or those three blog posts each week – but after a few months, take a good look at whether meeting your targets is actually taking you closer to your goals. If you’re trying to win writing competitions, are you getting short-listed yet? If you want more readers for your blog, have visitor numbers risen? If your aim is to improve your writing skills, are readers commenting more favourably on your work? Sometimes, you might need to revise your targets in order to make faster progress towards your goals: your target of four poems each month might be too ambitious if you’re rushing them and producing sub-standard work, and you might reach your goal of a competition win sooner if you instead just wrote one great poem each month. Do you have big, long-term goals or dreams for your writing? What smaller targets are you setting yourself on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to help you reach these? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:75 Synonyms for â€Å"Angry†Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs and HeteronymsGrammar Review #1: Particles and Phrasal Verbs

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Attitudes 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Attitudes 2 - Essay Example Furthermore, this link is solid when attitudes are founded on individual capability and direct reflection. Attitudes are crucial to an individual`s significance system, thus as a result making some attitudes to be more significant than other. In addition, the connection between behavior and attitude is strong when the availability of people`s attitude is extraordinary. The availability of an attitude is the comfort people feel in perceiving what they think about something or their capacity to express their attitude. There are various aspects that affect availability or accessibility; these encompass anticipations, cognitive explanation, recency of activation, and regularity of stimulation. For instance, in the anticipation factor, a person is likely to think more when he or she knows he will have to assess an item in the future. Moreover, the extra task a person performs the stronger and accessible the attitude becomes concerning the cognitive expansion. Concerning regularity of activation, the more an individual thinks about something, the more accessible his or her attitude towards it will be. The attitudes are not consistent with the behavior concerning organ donation because social pressure. Thus, this can be strengt hened by the regularity activation, where the more a person thinks about donating an organ, the more likely he or she is bout to change his attitude and also sign up to be among the donors. Accordingly, it may also be solid when the likelihood of the public attractiveness is reduced. This implies that people may act in a different ways when not in public. Therefore, these are some of the examples demonstrating the inconsistence of attitudes with people`s

Ethical Frame Work Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ethical Frame Work - Research Paper Example ct, performance and ethics of nurses is supposed to be guaranteed and information about the patient not to be divulged to anyone without the consent of the patient. In The National Health Service (Venereal Diseases) Regulations 1974 (Halsbury et al. 2010), which is in line the article, states that confidentiality can be breached for the purposes of treatment or prevention of that health condition. This is applicable to the case in the article where the patient’s medical condition required treatment and that could be done only with parent’s consent and hence that information about the cervical cancer had to be disclosed breaching the confidentiality code (Nathanson Feb 24th 2000). This was the ethical decision that the doctor had to make in order for the patient to receive treatment and proper care. The first step is to identify how that problem will affect the individual. In the case, if no treatment is offered and in time, the patient could spread it to others and she could also die. The second step is to identify who will be affected by the decision not to breach the confidentiality and in this case it’s the sex partners and parents. Then you should analyze the values of those to be affected and especially the parents in this situation because of the medical costs and responsibilities of the cancer. At this point make the decision which will be beneficial to the patient’s health condition, which means finally deciding on the course the course of action before it is too late for the patient. In this case, the doctor should convince the student about telling her parents for her own health safety and treatment (Jasper 2007). The ethical framework of decisions requires an individual to be very familiar with the issue under discussion, then think about it very carefully examining its pros and cons, decision on what to do should then follow, after which communication of the decision to the patient/ client is necessary and try to convince them about the

Friday, October 18, 2019

The Negatives involved in the Afordable Care Act Essay

The Negatives involved in the Afordable Care Act - Essay Example Still in the same front of Affordable Care Act, many Americans tend to lose their previous health insurance which also leads to increase their premiums for individual coverage (Health literacy implications of the affordable care act, 2010). In addition, to further adverse impacts generated by Obama health act is that business expansion became difficult due to employees working hours cut down. This is immensely contributed by employers are liable to provide health insurance to their employees this leading to reduce big business with permanent employees to small business with fewer permanent employees and others being part time employees (Health literacy implications of the affordable care act, 2010). According wall street journal the insurance plan under Obamacare has sternly limited residence of America, fewer options in regards to the preferred doctors and medical care. Obamacare tend to pay doctors a lot than any sort of coverage hence causing to multifarious tribulations with this scheme which is leading to rise in costs of the health care for every individual to afford (Health literacy implications of the affordable care act,

Your definition of love Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Your definition of love - Essay Example Love is a universal phenomenon upon which the human life balances on earth. Any problem occurs to this basic thing will results in threats to human life on earth. The World Wars, conflicts between countries and religions, suicides, killing of innocent people, terrorism, and robbery like antisocial elements are the results of the absence of love. In my opinion, love is an emotion or feeling one may extend towards another. Love has lot of dimensions. A person who loves himself cannot offer divine love towards others because of the conflicts between the self needs and the needs of the person whom he loved. In other words, love is a kind of sacrifice. Without sacrifice love cannot survive. For example, in marital relationship, both the husband and the wife need to sacrifice some of their selfish interests in order to accommodate the interests of other. One may like smoking while the other may not, one may like drinking while the other may not, one may like taking drugs while the other may not. In the absence of love, the above likes and dislikes may create problems in a married life. Phaedrus, one of the seven attendants of Plato’s symposium argued that love is most powerful in helping men gain honor and blessedness whereas Socrates defined love the attainment of immortality (Galloway, 1992). In my opinion both of them are right. Love has all the above dimensions like honouring, blessings and the attainment of immortality. A person who loves others will definitely honour or value them. All the religious leaders are unique in their opinion that loving others is the basic necessity of attaining immortality. Pausanias, another person who attended Plato’s symposium has argued against Phaidros one-dimensional praise of love and introduces the idea of dualism. In his opinion, one type of love is "common", based on sensuality, works at random, and produces children, the other love is "heavenly", based on

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Southwest and United Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Southwest and United - Essay Example This report provides an insightful study and a comparative analysis of the two companies Southwest airlines and United airlines. As both the companies belong to the same industry, this report has been devised with a consideration to compare their financial performance with the help of the annual reports for the year 2005. The fact that the United airlines filed for bankruptcy in the year 2002 is greatly evident in the current financial position of the company. This report evaluates the factors as to the differences in the financial performance of the two companies. The financial analysis in this report provides the detailed comparison of both the companies' financial position and performance based on the data obtained from the companies' financial statements with respect to profitability, liquidity, solvency and investment. It first of all presents a ratio analysis and then identifies major factors that have precipitated the different results for the two countries. Ratio analysis is the pre-eminent technique to evaluate a company's performance and figure out major problems (Meigs & Meigs). Riahi-Belkaoui propounds that financial ratios serve the analysts in making the information in financial statements interpretable for the various users of financial statements. In the same vein, this paper will assess and analyse the financial position and performance of the two companies Southwest airlines and United airlines with the help of a broad array of financial ratios using financial data available from the two companies' annual reports. Profitability Analysis Profitability analysis is the first step in evaluating any company's financial position. Most of the financial statement users happen to be interested in knowing the potency of a company in terms of enhancing its ability to earn profit for the stakeholders. Riahi-Belkaoui says, "the profitability ratios portray ability of the firm to efficiently use the capital committed by stockholders and lenders to generate revenues in excess of expenses" (11). The analysis to assess the profitability of Southwest and United airlines has been done with the help of following ratios. Ratios Southwest United Operating Profit Margin 10.81% (1.26%) Net Profit Margin 11.52% (121.87%) Return on Capital Employed 12.28% (1.13%) Return on Assets 3.85% (109.48%) Mcmenamin says that the Operating Profit Margin Percentage evaluates the percentage of profit earned by a company on sales after the production and distribution activities. It reveals how well the company manages its expenses so as to attain maximum profit out of its total sales for its shareholders. Southwest's operating profit ratio of 10.81% reflects that the company loses about 90% of its operating revenues in meeting its various operating expenses. United airlines on the other hand, fails to manage its operating expenses that leads the company towards operating loss of 1.26%. Despite the fact that the company's operating revenue for the year 2005 is much greater than that of the Southwest, it fails to retain it as profit for its shareholders. The Net Profit margin shows what percentage of profit a company earns on its sales. It reveals the profit retained by a company after accounting

Consumer buyer behavior about ego-expressive way in the decision Case Study - 1

Consumer buyer behavior about ego-expressive way in the decision making of rolex costumer - Case Study Example The owners of the Rolex Watch product rely on their understanding of the consumer behavior extensively as many other successful businesses. The consumers of the watch as a product are diverse and they present various factors that lead them towards purchasing the product readily. The Rolex Watch brand is the leading and most expensive Watch in the market currently. There are several types of the Watch. Moreover, Rolex manufactures watches designated for each of the genders, ages and uses. These are essential factors of consideration in the pricing aspect of the product. For instance, according to information gathered through the interactions with the Rolex professionals, the female gender used to constitute a large share of their customers. However, with the current developments in the market, the company is also manufacturing watches for men in large volumes, meaning that the male population is also a considerable consumer volume of the watches. The aspects of use, it depends on the reasons why the consumer purchases the watch. The latest development in the company is the establishment of the Rolex diving watch. Thus, with such watches, resistant to water, offering quality and accurate time measurement initiates the desire in the consumers to own a watch. The larger base of the consumer of the Rolex Watch includes the rich people, collectors of antiques and retail business people. The aspect that the Rolex Watch has a high pricing means that the consumers with low income are unable to afford the product. In manufacturing the product, Rolex focus on people with an interest in brand and aesthetic value of products. The watch established itself as a virtually dominant brand in the market, due to its association with class and high social status. The watch enjoys an ego-expressive status in its customers, as they seek the product for various reasons, all related

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Southwest and United Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Southwest and United - Essay Example This report provides an insightful study and a comparative analysis of the two companies Southwest airlines and United airlines. As both the companies belong to the same industry, this report has been devised with a consideration to compare their financial performance with the help of the annual reports for the year 2005. The fact that the United airlines filed for bankruptcy in the year 2002 is greatly evident in the current financial position of the company. This report evaluates the factors as to the differences in the financial performance of the two companies. The financial analysis in this report provides the detailed comparison of both the companies' financial position and performance based on the data obtained from the companies' financial statements with respect to profitability, liquidity, solvency and investment. It first of all presents a ratio analysis and then identifies major factors that have precipitated the different results for the two countries. Ratio analysis is the pre-eminent technique to evaluate a company's performance and figure out major problems (Meigs & Meigs). Riahi-Belkaoui propounds that financial ratios serve the analysts in making the information in financial statements interpretable for the various users of financial statements. In the same vein, this paper will assess and analyse the financial position and performance of the two companies Southwest airlines and United airlines with the help of a broad array of financial ratios using financial data available from the two companies' annual reports. Profitability Analysis Profitability analysis is the first step in evaluating any company's financial position. Most of the financial statement users happen to be interested in knowing the potency of a company in terms of enhancing its ability to earn profit for the stakeholders. Riahi-Belkaoui says, "the profitability ratios portray ability of the firm to efficiently use the capital committed by stockholders and lenders to generate revenues in excess of expenses" (11). The analysis to assess the profitability of Southwest and United airlines has been done with the help of following ratios. Ratios Southwest United Operating Profit Margin 10.81% (1.26%) Net Profit Margin 11.52% (121.87%) Return on Capital Employed 12.28% (1.13%) Return on Assets 3.85% (109.48%) Mcmenamin says that the Operating Profit Margin Percentage evaluates the percentage of profit earned by a company on sales after the production and distribution activities. It reveals how well the company manages its expenses so as to attain maximum profit out of its total sales for its shareholders. Southwest's operating profit ratio of 10.81% reflects that the company loses about 90% of its operating revenues in meeting its various operating expenses. United airlines on the other hand, fails to manage its operating expenses that leads the company towards operating loss of 1.26%. Despite the fact that the company's operating revenue for the year 2005 is much greater than that of the Southwest, it fails to retain it as profit for its shareholders. The Net Profit margin shows what percentage of profit a company earns on its sales. It reveals the profit retained by a company after accounting

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Effects of Rover Sell Off on the Financial Performance of BMW Case Study

Effects of Rover Sell Off on the Financial Performance of BMW - Case Study Example This is amidst the rising gross profit margin (16.04 to 16.28) from 1998 to 199 indicating that the company is trying to make higher profit by charging a higher mark-up. Asset turnover have also significantly declined from 1997 to 1999 reflecting the company's inability to manage assets as efficient as the previous years. In 1999, a dollar of the company's asset yields only $0.91 in total sales compared to the $1.11 in 1997. In terms of leverage, the three year span under consideration also sees the increasing dependence on debt as a major source of financing. Total debt as a percentage of total assets is 40.92% in 1999 which is significantly higher than the 34.34% and 36.75% reported in 1997 and 1998, respectively. BMW appeared satisfactory in terms of liquidity as its current assets can more than pay-off its immediate obligations. It current ratios are 1.33 in 1999, 1.09 in 1998, and 1.27 in 1997. However, the ballooning of accounts receivable is evidenced by the increasing percent age of receivables to current assets which peaked to 57.36% in 1999. Three years after the sell-off of Rover, BMW seem to fail in improving its financial position except its profitability. In fact, its computed financial ratios indicate further deterioration in terms of leverage, asset utilization, and liquidity.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Ethics in Noble Truth and Eightfold Path Essay Example for Free

Ethics in Noble Truth and Eightfold Path Essay In this paper I will be discussing the concept of the four noble truths and eightfold path within the Buddhist religion. The four noble truths do not give concrete answers to metaphysical questions, unlike other religions. Buddhism teaches human existence is imperfect and the four noble truths are a guide to help steer away from suffering. The four noble truths are important to Buddhist ethics in that they are the way to nirvana and enlightenment. The first noble truth is life is suffering. To live means to suffer and since it is human nature, no one is perfect in any shape or form. While we develop, we inevitably have to endure physical and psychological suffering sooner or later. Each of us, no matter how rich or poor, is going to get sick, grow old, and die. Nothing is permanent, nothing can permanently satisfy us. â€Å" Any aspect of life, no matter how seemingly pleasant, already has the seeds of the suffering that is a common denominator of all human experience† (Young) This is because things change and pass away; everything and everyone we love will someday pass away. The Buddha also taught the reason behind the suffering that individuals experience. The second noble truth is suffering is caused by craving. â€Å"We suffer because our craving leads us to become attached to things or people and deluded as to the real nature of our situation in life (Young). † As long as we are unable to detach of moral pleasures, we will experience suffering. One must learn to overcome these greed, aversion, hatred, jealousy, etc. These conditions are always in hand with society, family, and within one’s self. Recognizing and understanding the second noble truth gives way to the freedom from suffering. The third noble truth is cessation of suffering. It is the complete fading-away and extinction of this craving, its forsaking and abandonment, liberation from it, detachment from it†(welsh). This may be the most significant of all the noble truths, as it reassures us that true happiness is possible. When individuals give up useless cravings and learn to live each day to the fullest, enjoying what each day brings with no expectations, they are able to live a free life. Nirvana arises when an individual becomes free of all sufferings, and eliminates cravings. When an individual is able to attain nirvana, they are able to move on to the next noble truth. The forth noble truth is the means to liberation. This noble truth teaches how to remove all suffering from your life, and explains the various levels of achieving such. So, first of all, in order to gain the good qualities, we need to work on creating all the different conditions that will make those qualities emerge. To develop the various insights of meditation and real wisdom, we need to develop great faith and confidence in the validity and usefulness of that wisdom. Buddhist needs to change their habits so that they have the ability to do all the necessities to make insight and wisdom emerge. Therefore, there are many factors and conditions we must generate within our life that will bring about our happiness. The guide to peace and the end suffering is the eightfold path. The eightfold path is a guideline to ethical teachings and growth of an individual. The goal is to free believers from attachments and ultimately leads to understanding. â€Å" â€Å"Everyone should attempt to live by the eightfold path, and (theoretically) enlightenment is open to anyone, regardless of caste, gender, or whether lay or ordained. † Young. The Eightfold Path consists of three components: wisdom (prajna ): (1) right views and (2) right intention; morality (sila ): (3) right speech, (4) right conduct, and(5) right livelihood; and concentration (samadhi ): (6) right effort, (7) right mindfulness, and (8) right concentration. (Deal). The eightfold path is the way to avoid self-denial and self-indulgence considered the middle way. The first step in the eightfold path is the right view, which falls under the category of wisdom. The right view means understanding the four noble truths and grasping the nature of objects and ideas. Right view is attained, sustained, and enhanced through all capacities of mind. It begins with the insight that all beings are subject to suffering and it ends with complete understanding of the true nature of all things. The second step, which also falls under the component of wisdom, is correct intention. This refers to abandoning one’s own thoughts and desires. This is the step of the eightfold path that one must give up selfish attitudes that lead to more suffering and replace them with the opposite. â€Å"The point is not to nattached from oneself to a particular person but with a caring attitude, but to practice a â€Å"universal goodwill† young† The third step is correct speech. This means to tell the truth, to speak friendly and to talk only when necessary. †Man’s speech must be the truth, his conversation must be edifying and he must not engage in scandal gossip. One should take control with one’s word not only for the sake of truth but to demonstrate control and discipline. † Right speech can be seen as an ethical conduct in Buddhism. The forth step in the eightfold path is that of correct conduct. Young mentions that unwholesome actions lead to unsound states of mind, while wholesome actions lead to sound states of mind. â€Å" Not taking life, not stealing and not having sexual intercourse† (Van Voorst). It is important in Buddhism to concentrate on actions that will help the well beings of others. The fifth step is the right means to livelihood. This path represents earning an honest living. An occupation that is against the other steps of the eightfold path is in return against right livelihood. One should acquire only by legal means, not by illegally; one should acquire it peacefully, without coercion or violence; one should acquire it honestly, not by trickery or deceit; and one should acquire it in ways which do not entail harm and suffering. † (Bodhi) Selling of weapons would be an example of wrong in this religion as the consequences of weapons can cause harm to others. The sixth step in the eightfold path is right endeavor. This step is very important, as it is a necessity to put a conscious effort in what we do. Without right effort less would be able to get achieved. â€Å" Avoiding any sort of unwholesome action that will have a negative karmic influence, and pursuing beneficial deeds. †(Young) being aware of your own mind and not to have a mind that is diluted. This brings us to our next step, the seventh step, which is right mindfulness. This step in the eightfold path refers to the ability to see things without any delusions. â€Å" Right mindfulness refers to the deep, ultimately non-dual, understanding of the body, feelings, mind, and experienced things†(Koller. In the step being consciously aware of all that is that is going on with ones mind and body. Van Voorst states, â€Å" To remain focused on the body in and of itself- he is fervent, aware and mindful- putting away the greed and distress of the world. This step helps to actively observe and control our thoughts. The eighth step in the eightfold path is correct meditation. Once at the stage nirvana is at hand and, in a flash of intuition that state of final bliss dawns† (Young) This step leads to developing a deep insight into reality and the ability to be able to apply levels of concentration regularly. We see by the study of the noble truths and the eightfold path that Buddhist put great emphasis on the practices that they follow in order to reach nirvana. The noble truths and the eightfold path are essentially the ethics of the religion. The foundation of the path is moral virtue. Buddhist ethics is concerned with the practices that contribute to a believer to act in ways that help rather then harm. By following the noble truths and the eightfold path Buddhist are able to reach the goal of nirvana and non-attachment.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Homosexuality Post War

Homosexuality Post War The Democratisation of Gender after the Sexual Offences Act (1967) and How It Affects Queer Studies E.M. Forsters novel Maurice, written between 1913 and 1914, but not published after his death in 1970, is a seminal work providing a moving, personal portrayal of homosexuality and homophobia in 20th-century England. Exploration of its detailed accounts of attitudes about homosexuals and their various reactions to the discrimination they faced—for instance, denying their homosexuality and marrying; embracing their homosexuality, but discreetly; leaving the country for more open-minded cultures—serves as an excellent starting point for exploring the underlying cultural framework and values which will form the subject matter of this essay. Of no small note is that Forster, whose reputation as a literary genius, believed his own homosexuality too powerful a secret to come out, as it were, until after his death, in a way squandering his own social power and the potential to liberate both himself and other homosexuals. Britain, origin of so much cultural and political vibrancy and of the democratic principles which are now held to be self-evident in modern Western nations, had a particularly difficult time ridding itself of a virulent and persistent form of discrimination: its stubbornly conservative refusal to accept homosexuality and homosexual behaviours into the cultural norm of its society. Indiscreet homosexuals in England of the 20th century could look forward to a life of bigotry and discrimination, to say nothing of financial and personal ruin and imprisonment, as homosexuality was still a criminal offence in England until 1967. â€Å"The limits of the sexually acceptable are still there. Geographical location and economic status significantly affect how free individuals are to choose to be open about their sexual orientation. And some orientations are still problematic.† As the above quotation suggests, the issue of homosexuality remains a divisive issue. This is in spite of forty years passing since the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Britain; forty years that have also witnessed the gay community (both males and females) move in from the margins of mainstream society in order to occupy more powerful positions of authority. This has been meted out in political office, in popular culture and in the global mass media. Yet, in spite of this, there remains at the dawn of the twenty first century a sense that homosexuality is a lifestyle that stands at odds to all that decent society holds dear. Even in the United Kingdom, probably the most secular country in the world, the moral aspect of homosexuality is never far from the surface of the debate over how gay people are supposed to integrate into a predominantly heterosexual sphere. This is the crux of the debate discussed herein. For the purpose of perspective, the following essay must adopt an integrated approach, attempting to synthesise the theoretical and historiographical debates regarding the experiences of gay people in post war Britain. In this way, we can trace the social, political and legal evolution of the democratisation and liberalisation of sexuality and gender in the UK while at the same time offering a critique of the aims and achievements of the gay movement at this time. Furthermore, the continuities and changes of the homosexual landscape in post war Britain can be more accurately depicted amid the relevant academic literature of the times. A conclusion can then be sought that attempts to place the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 within its correct historical and theoretical context. First, however, a brief overview of this Act of Parliament must be ascertained so as to establish a conceptual framework for the remainder of the discussion. The Sexual Offences Act that was passed by Westminster in 1967 was a landmark piece of legislation that sought to address the harsh legal inequalities between homosexual and heterosexual people with regards to their private lives and the way in which these private lives were dictated by the public and political sphere. The impetus behind the reform of laws pertaining to homosexuality in the United Kingdom came from the Wolfendon Report, which was commissioned in 1957 to highlight the essential differences between crime and sin. Essentially, while society and the manufacturing of cultural consensus may indeed have deemed homosexuality as a sin (or a sickness) to equate it with criminality was deemed in many circles to be anachronistic and blight against post war British civilisation and its values. This is an important point and one that ought to be borne in mind throughout the discussion: the 1967 Sexual Offences Act marked the first serious attempt at the legal decriminalisation of homosexuality in the United Kingdom since the Buggery Act of 1533 when the British state first sought to wrest the issue of gay coupling away from the ecclesiastical courts and into the legal courts of the realm. Viewed through this prism, the 1967 Sexual Offences Act can be seen to be a symptom of the broader civil rights movement of the 1960s which oversaw the criminalisation of inequality relating to gender, race, creed and religion in all of the major countries of the western hemisphere. The Act could not have come about without there first having been in place the existence of liberal youth culture that was able to use the tools available within a democratic state in order to lobby the political establishment for social and cultural reform. Thus, although the Act itself has since been open to charges of hypocrisy (the result of the Act witnessed an increase rather than a decrease in the numbers of arrests of gay men for breaking the new law) and prejudice (the Act clearly and identifiably differentiates between homosexual and heterosexual people with regards to the ‘age of consent with twenty one being used for gay people in comparison to sixteen for straight people) it should nevertheless still be seen as an important milestone in the evolution of a more egalitarian British society. Certainly, in legal terms, 1967 must be seen as the starting point of any discussion with regards to the democratisation of homosexuality in post war Britain as before the advent of the Sexual Offences Act homosexual acts were seen as essentially criminal activities and therefore placed outside of the bounds of the rules, regulations and customs of decent, civilised society. Therefore, while mainstream culture and the political establ ishment may well have both publicly and privately continued to denounce homosexuality in all its forms as a sin (and preferred to keep homosexuality firmly outside of the realms of civilised society), the removal of the spectre of a criminal offence telegraphed a major turning point in the way in which gay people were viewed and treated in post war Britain. Furthermore, without the Act, the subsequent achievements of the gay movement in the UK would never have been able to begin to take place as the legal framework in which the gay movement lobbied for reform during the 1970s and 1980s would not have existed. Democratisation of sexuality in post war Britain thus begins in 1967. However, as suggested above, the 1967 Sexual Offences Act has left itself open (particularly within the gay community) to claims of being as an essentially conservative measure that was only passed due to reasons of political expediency as opposed to the political establishment in Britain actually wishing to see a tangible democratisation of sexuality. By establishing such a high age of consent for gay couples, the Act only served to cement the social stigma associated with homosexuality because after this point it was seen by law in Britain to be a coupling that was deemed unsuitable (and illegal) for young people to engage in. Considering that the teenage years are the most important stage of sexual development in both males and females, the high age of consent deliberately aimed to restrict the practice of homosexuality amongst the very demographic that would be most likely to engage in ‘experimental sexuality. This only increased the sordid image of homosexuals in Britain a t the time, implying that adult homosexual men were in some way intent upon ‘grooming young males to join their own sexual brand of subculture. Viewed through this prism, the Sexual Offences Act can be seen to be a positive legal step but likewise a negative cultural step. The increase in the number of arrests of gay men in the years that immediately followed 1967 should be seen as testimony to this ultimate perpetuation of inequality pertaining to sexuality which was the socio-political residue of the Sexual Offences Act. In this way, the myth of the permissive society was established to satisfy the libertarian ideology of the left wing of the political elite. The satisfaction and status of gay people, on the other hand, seems not to have been a consideration concerning the passing of this landmark piece of domestic legislation. In specific terms of the evolution of queer theory, the 1967 Sexual Offences Act can be seen to have helped to create fertile grounds for the blossoming of the domestic and international gay rights movement because of the way in which the Act of Parliament served to legally solidify the differences between homosexual and heterosexual people. This sense of marginalisation from mainstream society was aided by the Stonewall Riots which took place in New York City in 1969 in response to police brutality against homosexual and transgender people at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. This episode provided the impetus behind the formation of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) which was established in July 1969, quickly becoming a trans-national phenomenon that deeply influenced the gay rights movement in the UK. The cumulative result of the prejudices legalised in the 1967 Sexual Offences Act in addition to the prejudices brutally realised in New York City in the Stonewall Riots was to con struct a gay movement that was both durable and international. Furthermore, the perceived injustices of the 1960s also served to ally the lesbian and gay movements so that one tangible homosexual community was evident by the turn of the decade in both Europe and the United States of America. This time period was therefore a crucial moment in the development of queer theory in post war Britain. However, it can be argued that by forming a global gay movement that judged membership with the movement in terms of sexual identity, international movements such as the Gay Liberation Front succeeded only in affirming the divisions put forward by measures like the Sexual Offences Act. Queer theory, from the outset, was intent upon challenging the mainstream socio-political status quo by using means that were essentially counter productive in light of the gay movements arguments that gender and sexual identity was not ‘fixed or compartmentalised according to ones sexuality but was in fact much more fluid and interchangeable. Indeed, queer theorists have since argued that the compartmentalisation of gender is likewise flawed with Anne Fausto-Sterling arguing that â€Å"male and female are not enough.† By separating ‘them'(heterosexuals) from ‘us (homosexuals and transsexuals) the queer movement merely served to corroborate the fragmented vision of mainstream s ociety and to further alienate homosexuality from mainstream culture and, as a result, to condemn queer theory to a discernible subculture status. Consequently, the 1967 Sexual Offences Act taken within the broader context of the worldwide civil rights movement of the 1960s can be seen to be an important milestone within the evolution of queer theory as not only did politicised society initiate a clear dividing line between the homosexual and the heterosexual communities but also the homosexual community itself was largely responsible after this point for perpetuating this divide. In the final analysis therefore, it is difficult to envisage this development as positive or progressive. Indeed, as Michael Botnick demonstrates below, this lack of awareness on both sides of the historical debate resulted in a discernible lack of consensus by the turn of the millennium. â€Å"The lack of open-mindedness toward complex and graduated positions makes it difficult to obtain a full hearing of the issues, especially if those issues are value laden and cognitively dissonant to the audience (generally the public at large, the state, major corporations or other mega-organisations such as the media.)† At this point in the discussion, attention must move away from the historiographic look at the formation of the gay rights movement within the context of the late 1960s to turn instead towards analysis of queer theory in post war twentieth century Britain. As has already been intimated, the evolution of queer theory in the UK is intrinsically tied to the advent of the Sexual Offences Act of 1967. The injustices conceptualised in this Act served to galvanise the gay community amid the broader backdrop of a civil rights movement that was established in order to attempt to attain parity on the grounds of race, religion and gender as well as parity on the grounds of sexuality. This wider multicultural influence is the key to understanding how the doctrine of queer theory in post war Britain quickly became divorced from the social, cultural and political reality of maintaining a subcultural movement within the context of a liberal democracy. It is certainly no coincidence that the guiding principle of queer theory was inherently similar to the guiding principle of the other civil rights movements of the epoch: all highlighted the fallacy of using identity (be it sexual, racial, religious or gender) as a means of organising political society. All of these movements should therefore be viewed as part of a wider post-structuralist theory which advocated the end of identity based upon gender, sexuality, race and religion in favour of adopting a more egalitarian approach. In this way, post-structuralist theory was keen to destroy the link between â€Å"dominant western forms of rationality with male power and control over women and nature, which is associated with violence, oppression and destruction.† Queer theory should be seen as an important part of this desire to deconstruct male-ordered politicised society and to reconstruct this society not along lines pertaining to identity but along lines pertaining to humanity instead. In terms of results, the deconstruction of male-centric society can be seen to have had a positive impact upon the fusion of homosexual and heterosexual cultures in post war Britain, certainly after the 1980s when the AIDS epidemic in the United States quickly became a worldwide manifestation of what Stan Cohen had in the 1970s referred to as ‘moral panic disseminated by an increasingly powerful global mass media apparatus. Whereas the 1970s and the 1980s can be seen as a historical period of continuity with regards to the perpetuation of sexuality-based injustices in Britain, the 1990s on the other hand can be interpreted as a period of change when the barriers constructed by male-ordered mainstream society were slowly, yet clearly being eroded in o bvious ways. Politicians, for instance, in the 1990s were no longer punished in any tangible electoral way for being ‘outed as homosexual. The briefly successful New Labour career of Peter Mandelson is testimony to this development. Likewise in popular culture where international stars such as George Michael (who was afraid to admit his sexuality in the 1980s) have been able to thrive in both the heterosexual and homosexual spheres regardless of their own sexual preferences since the 1990s. The turn of the millennium also witnessed a legal progression concerning gay people and their civil rights with amendments to the Sexual Offences Act (passed in 2003) in Britain eventually giving rise to parity with heterosexual people with regards to the age of consent. Indeed, it can be argued that the 2003 Sexual Offences Amendment Act is as fundamental and extensive as the changes which were telegraphed when the Theft Act (1968) replaced the outmoded Larceny Act (1916). In the UK in the twenty first century the age of consent for both heterosexual and homosexual people is at last set at sixteen, finally putting to an end the decades-long association of homosexuality with perversity and social abnormality. Yet, appearances can be deceptive. While the 1990s and the first decade of the twenty first century may appear to be the dawn of a new era of equality with regards to gender and sexuality, the reality may in fact be better understood as a period of continuity with the perceived advances of gay people during this time being nothing more than a mirage as male-dominated society continues to give piecemeal concessions to those marginalised elements of post modern culture in order to maintain the faà §ade of a permissive contemporary society. â€Å"It seems were an altogether more open, more tolerant, sexier society and its getting better all the time. Or is it? Is mainstream culture just flirting with a bit of the other in order to keep us all on a broadly straight line?† This sense of duplicity inherent concerning queer theory and socio-political reality in the contemporary era has served to render queer theory a doctrine of continuing importance in western culture. Contemporary gender theorists such as Judith Butler (whos book Gender Trouble was published in 1990 selling over 100 000 copies internationally) directly challenged the notion of gender (and indeed sexuality) as a means of cultural identity, going so far as to cite the creation of international feminism as the reason behind womens continuing experience of inequality. Butler thus called for a re-evaluation of queer theory in light of the mistakes made by the various civil, gender and sexual rights movements of the 1960s. â€Å"The domains of political and linguistic ‘representation set out in advance the criterion by which subjects themselves are formed, with the result that representation is extended only to what can be acknowledged as a subject. In other words, the qualifications for being a subject must first be met before representation can be extended.† Butlers theory remains a cornerstone for queer theory in post war Britain as the travails of the womens since the passing of the Sex Discrimination Act in 1964 largely mirrors the troubles of the gay movement since the inception of the Sexual Offences Act in 1967. As a result there is a large body of academic literature available that is dedicated to queer theory and to placing contemporary queer theory within the historiographical context of the gay experience in the past forty years. Much of the commentary bequeathed by this body of literature tends to underscore the essential continuity that characterises the development of sexuality in Britain (and indeed throughout the West) since the 1960s. Jeffrey Weeks, for example, sees this continuity as a symptom of contemporary societys inability to comprehend sexuality within its correct (and complex) historical context. â€Å"There is a struggle for the future of sexuality. But the ways we respond to this have been coloured by the force of the accumulated historical heritage and sexual traditions out of which we have come: the Christian organisation of belief in sex as sacramental and threatening, the libertarian belief of sex as subversive, the liberal belief of sex as source of identity and personal resource, all rooted in a melange of religious, scientific and sexological arguments about what sex is, what it can do and what we must or must not do. We are weighed down with a universe of expectations. Sexuality could be a potentiality for choice, change and diversity. Instead we take it as destiny, and all of us, women and men, homosexual and heterosexual, young and old, black and white, are held in its thrall, and pay its expensive dues.† Weeks succinct observations quoted above could quite feasibly have featured in his best selling book, Coming Out (originally published in 1977) such is the lack of tangible progress made by mainstream society in the authors view. This is entirely due to the fact that the vast majority of society has managed to evade the true nature of the issue where sexuality is neither a ‘choice nor a ‘cross to bear but is instead a complex fusion of the two. Weeks concludes that it is the very absence of a ‘right or ‘wrong answer with regards to the definition of sexuality that makes mainstream society unable to adequately confront the issue of homosexuality even at the start of the twenty first century. Of course, the issue of homosexuality has been greatly affected by the rise in significance (at least in cultural terms) of bisexuality. Not only has bisexuality served to confuse the majority of mainstream society (in so much as mainstream society has been instructed to think in terms of black and white; right and wrong) about the nature of homosexuality, the advent of bi-theory has telegraphed a schism in queer theory. Indeed, it is a common view of the bisexual community that traditional queer theory â€Å"can be understood as a particularly virulent strain of the disease affecting contemporary theory more generally, especially in so far as it addresses sexuality as a central concern in the guise of ‘queer theory.† Thus, the very term ‘queer is seen, ironically, as an exclusive phrase that implies that bisexual people, on account of their continuing sexual association with heterosexual people, are intrinsically more allied to straight culture than they are to the homosexual community. This schism mirrors the divide in the feminist movement when a more radical ‘second wave of feminism â€Å"drew, in the first instance, upon the theoretical writings of lesbian feminism in the early 1970s† only for the lesbian feminist community to later accuse the heterosexual feminist community of ‘betrayal on the grounds that straight women continued to participate in sexual activity and engage in what Pateman terms ‘sexual contracts with men in the guise of sex, marriage, home and family. Further confusion has been added to this maelstrom with the advent of trans-theory and the increasing legal and political recognition of trans-gender people, which has clearly impacted upon the evolution of queer theory in post war Britain. Jason Cromwell sees this development as â€Å"making the visible invisible†, which is in direct opposition to the principles of the gay community which has historically intended to make the invisible visible. In addition there are not surprisingly critics from the straight mainstream culture who see queer theory as a barrier (rather than a facilitator) to a greater democratisation of sexuality in the contemporary era. Critics argue that queer studies places too much emphasis upon differentiation which, in turn, elevates the status of the gay and lesbian experience to a position that is over and above its true worth within the broader sphere of cultural studies. This only serves to increase the gulf between the ‘included and the ‘excluded members of society. Furthermore, queer theory has been challenged in a more direct way as critics argue the primacy of the queer belief that sexuality is not ‘fixed. Tim Edwards, for example, has recently argued that sexual identity is in fact much more rigid and compartmentalised than queer theory suggests. Edwards does not agree with the assumptions made by, amongst others, Judith Butler and David Gauntlett who both show how, for ins tance, the media has helped to solidify the construction of identity based upon gender and sexuality respectively. Instead he argues that in real terms gender and sexual identity does not only exist at the level of discourse (as argued by Butler) but instead exists as â€Å"an institutional social practice.† It can be seen that queer theory and its discontents have historically argued over ideological terrain pertaining to sexuality, gender and identity with a discernible lack of consensus emerging from the ensuing theoretical debates. It is also noticeable that the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 remains largely conspicuous by its absence from the vast majority of this theoretical debate with regards to queer theory in post war Britain. Where the Act is mentioned, it tends to be referred to as a piecemeal political measure that â€Å"proved repeatedly unsuccessful, largely because of popular mobilisation against restrictive changes.† Even in legal terms, the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 remains open to charges of being a draconian, anachronistic measure by contemporary queer theory as it was still deemed a criminal offence for people under the age of twenty one to engage in homosexual activity. This only served to criminalise the essential experimentalism inherent in young people of b oth sexes and to perpetuate the association of homosexuality as a sordid and sinful affair. A more important watershed date according to post war queer theorists was the 1980s and the advent of the AIDS epidemic. Beginning on the west coast of the United States and quickly transferring over the Atlantic to Britain and Western Europe, the AIDS epidemic was an epidemic more in terms of the effect that it had upon mainstream, straight culture than the medical effect that the virus had upon the human race. Looking back on the media texts and images of the time, one can certainly see how the disease was blown out of all proportion to its true danger. Furthermore, it is plain to see that this was due to the sexual nature of the illness and, specifically, the fact that it had begun in the gay community. Once more, therefore, gay men were accused of leading a hedonistic lifestyle the lack of the practice of safe sex being the starting point for the spreading of the disease. The AIDS epidemic also served to re-ignite traditional Christian doctrine that was and remains vehemently opposed to the legalisation and democratisation of homosexuality. Hard-line Christian activists even went so far as to claim that the AIDS virus was Gods punishment to all society for allowing gay people the right to practice their sordid sexuality in mainstream culture. The combined effect of this hysteria served to make the 1980s as opposed to 1967 the key date in queer theory in post war Britain. As Jeffrey Weeks declares, â€Å"the homophobia that was encouraged by AIDS demanded, and in fact greatly strengthened, lesbian and gay identities.† With this in mind, attention must now be turned towards reaching a conclusion as to the significance of 1967 within the broader discussion of the democratisation of sexuality in post war Britain. â€Å"That some people have decided preferences does not seem to be in doubt. What is now fast disappearing is the myriad of ways in which various human societies have managed to cope with the fact.† As Naphy aptly suggests, the rate at which homosexuality has been integrated into mainstream culture should be judged within the much wider context of western civilisation over the past two thousand years as opposed to the forty years that have passed since the inception of the Sexual Offences Act in 1967. Ultimately, although progress concerning the democratisation of homosexuality may have met many obstacles in a variety of different guises be they legal, political, social, religious or cultural there cannot be any doubt that the gay community landscape has changed beyond all recognition in Britain since the end of the 1960s. Moreover, it would be difficult to launch an argument against 1967 being the key year within this evolution of queer theory in modern Britain as this was the date that marked the beginning of the solidification of a trans-national gay movement as well as the end of the historical marginalisation of homosexuals within the broader context of mainstream society . The fact that the fruits of this dual, spontaneous realisation did not immediately materialise in the form of a democratisation of sexuality should not be seen as a great surprise. Like the womens movement of the same era, there can be little doubt that the legal measures passed by parliament such as the Sex Discrimination Act served only to halt the advance of womens rights as the movement inevitably splintered on matters pertaining to race, ideology and increasingly sexuality. In this way, the lesbian agenda became increasingly divorced from the mainstream feminist agenda in the same way that the bisexual agenda has become noticeably more antagonistic towards queer theory and the homosexual community. It can be argued that this is nothing more than an inevitable by-product of a post-industrial capitalist society that has made a cultural and economic commodity of sex and sexuality to such a degree as to destabilise the solidarity of the global gay and womens movements worldwide. T hus, being a political as well as a sexual activity, homosexuality has been (and will remain) both historically and theoretically deeply influenced by the social, political and economic environment in which it is culturally defined. Bibliography Botnick, M.R. Gay Community Survival in the New Millennium. New York and London: The Haworth Press, 2000. Butler, J. Gender Trouble. Hammondsworth: Penguin Classics, 2006. Cohen, S. Folk Devils and Moral Panics. London: Paladin, 1973. Cromwell, J. Transmen and FTMs: Identities, Bodies, Genders and Sexualities. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 1999 Edwards, T. â€Å"Queer Fears: Against the Cultural Turn.† Journal of Sexualities. Vol. 1, No.4, 2004. Eisenstein, H. Contemporary Feminist Thought. London: Unwin, 1984. Fausto-Sterling, A. The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female are not Enough. Kimmel, M.S. (Ed.) Sexualities: Identities, Behaviours and Society. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Gauntlett, D. Media, Gender and Identity: an Introduction. London: Routledge, 2002. Hall, L.A. Sex, Gender and Social Change in Britain since 1880. London: Macmillan, 2000. Kimmel, M.S. (Ed.) Sexualities: Identities, Behaviours and Society. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2004 Naphy, W. Born to be Gay: a History of Homosexuality. London: Tempus, 2004. Pateman, C. The Sexual Contract. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1988. Spargo, T. Foucault and Queer Theory. London: Icon, 1999. Storr, M. â€Å"Post-modern Bisexuality.† Weeks, J., Holland, J. and Waites, M. (Eds.) Sexualities and Society: A Reader. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2002. Weedon, C. Feminist Practice and Poststructuralist Theory. Oxford and New York: Blackwell, 1987. Weeks, J. â€Å"Necessary Fictions: Sexual Identities and the Politics of Diversity.† Weeks, J., Holland, J. and Waites, M. (Eds.) Sexualities and Society: A Reader Cambridge: Polity Press, 2002. Weeks, J. Coming Out. London: Quartet Books, 1977. Weeks, J. Sexuality and its Discontents: Meaning, Myths and Modern Sexualities. London: Routledge, 1995. Homosexualities in Post War Britain: The Democratisation of Gender after the Sexual Offences Act (1967) and How It Affects Queer Studies Core Course: Gender and Society in Britain and Europe, c.1500 to the Present