Student visas problem Essay Example for Free

Student visas problem Essay Abstract American by no means is the world’s superpower. The country is very advanced in many aspects like education, technology, business and Research with prestigious learning institutions like the renowned Harvard University. For these reasons student across the globe strive to come to the US and get their education from here. In most cases the various graduates of the American colleges and Universities always stand a higher chance of getting employment into their careers. Graduates from the American educational system are highly regarded as extremely qualified and can also be integrated by employers anywhere in the world. (http://www. hothousemedia. com) Unfortunately most foreign students who come to the US on student Visas end up not pursuing education but take advantage of the various loopholes to remain in the country illegally. With the increased issue about terrorism, most terrorist have taken advantage of the student visas to gain entry into the American Soil where they pursue their own terrorist activities that endanger the lives of the Americans: for example one of the terrorist involved with the 9/11 attack is said to have been a student on such a Visa. For this particular reason the authorities in American have tightened the rules and regulations that govern the acquisition of these Visas. To acquire a student visa today is extremely difficult than before and many aspiring students are denied the opportunity to study in the US because of these restrictions. However, from the American point of view it is justifiable because the security of the country comes first before anything else. (www. unitedstatesvisas. gov). The students on the other hand are not able to understand these issues, and more or less view it as one of the hindrance of them acquiring the much sought after American Education. To acquire the student visas the American immigration department has comprehensively undertaken the task of educating the â€Å"would-be American students† of the requirements for one to acquire the visas. Unfortunately the students do not sometimes understand the requirements thus fail in acquiring these important items. The students may not also know the laws governing the student visas; the immigration rules in the US are rated as some of the strictest and specific, thereby shutting out many aspiring students. Introduction Millions of foreign students are always fighting to get a place in the American academic institutions. The quality of education in the US is highly regarded across the globe which assures anyone a very promising career development. Prior to the September 11 attack, the acquisition of the American student visa was not as difficult as it is today, which has become a nightmare not only for students but businessmen and women including tourists. (http://www. businessweek. com) Most of the challenges that the students face come from the lack of clear understanding of the rules and regulations surrounding the visas. However, the regulations that govern the visa application are extremely punitive and innocent students are left out. This paper is going to discuss some of the difficulties faced by these students. The application process The first major challenge the students face in acquiring the Visa are the various rules and regulations that one has to understand before applying. Students are required to pay a non-refundable fee of $131, which does not necessarily guarantee one of getting the Visa in the first place. This fee is very prohibitive because not so many students can be able to afford it especially bearing in mind it is never refunded if the visa application is not successful. (http://www. businessweek. com) Part of the Visa application process involves an interview with the US Embassy or consulate where further screening is done on the students to ascertain the authenticity of their application. To secure the interview posses greater challenges, this is because depending on the months that one is applying, one is bound to get appointments that might jeopardize the scheduled dates of joining the university or college. It requires the students to start making the applications very early because the appointments can be as far as one month depending on the applications made. Even after acquiring the appointment the students go through various screening processes that maybe dehumanizing especially to the innocent students. Such screening processes include frisking, and finger printing, besides the interview itself. Many students fail to acquire the visa because they fail on various technicalities that they were not clearly made aware of. Sometimes it is extremely difficult to clearly understand the criteria used to award visas, in fact most of the time one considers him/herself lucky to pass the interview. Thus it is not what one has but the mood of the interviewer that matters. There are many cases where students with almost similar backgrounds have varied outcomes on the application; while one may get the other may miss out. The student is never given the opportunity to lobby for a consideration as the word of the interviewer is regarded as final. Therefore the visa application process is always shrouded in mystery, where there are no clear guidelines on who gets the visa or who doesn’t. Therefore one is not really sure that they will pass or fail. Many students after failing the rigorous tests become very discouraged and they are affected psychologically because of the high expectations they had. (Mashiur Rahaman) One of the best solutions for this problem is to educate the students on the visa application process; thereby the students are fully aware of the various pitfalls that they need to overcome and every single detail that is required for the visa process to be successful. To secure an appointment for an interview in a particular embassy is not necessarily a difficult task because all this can be done on-line. However the embassies get busy in July through August and most students may miss out because of the schedules that are fixed by the embassies. ( http://www. bridgeport. edu ) The students who fail in these interviews end up losing the $131 fee and to secure another interview they require a similar amount. This is a very big challenge and the fee should be refundable or just a part of it so that the students can secure other appointments. Students from poor families end up losing their lively-hoods yet they don’t acquire the much-sought document. The U. S embassies should have clear and specific guidelines on the criteria used which should never be shrouded in any form of mystery where a student can out rightly tell if they are qualified or not. (http://www. cnsnews.com). Another challenge that the students undergo in the visa application process, is the requirement that they should provide proof that they will not go to the U. S for other purposes and that they are capable of supporting themselves when they get there. The students or guidance are required to show proof of there bank accounts which are supposed to hold a certain amount of money for a period of time. Many instances students are able to finance there own education by working part time. In any case this requirement means that only the rich stand the chance of getting the American education. Because of the many restrictions students end up cheating in their documents and providing incorrect information. ( http://www. bridgeport. edu ) Once a student has successfully acquired the visa, another problem sets in; one needs to pay for the visa. The amounts are very prohibitive bearing in mind that one needs to pay for the education, airfare, accommodation, and other important materials. Therefore by the time one settles down in the U. S, if you are lucky enough you are poorer than you came in. (http://www. cnsnews. com) Once in the U.S, to ever get the opportunity to go back home to be with your family is almost next to impossible. This is because the chances of ever being accommodated back are very slim. There are many cases of students being delayed for up to 1 year when they want to come back for what is termed as security screening. Students from the Muslim world have to go through harrowing experiences for them to ever go back to the U. S after their holidays. (http://www. cnsnews. com) It is often advisable to stick in the U. S for as long as you are in college unless you want to waste time and money with the immigration. One should forget for a long while of ever going back home for up to 4 years. Students with tight family ties end up suffering a lot. (http://www. cnsnews. com) Conclusion The terrorism issue has gone a long way in making it harder for innocent students to pursue their dreams in the U. S. It is quite understandable of the strict rules that the visa application processes attract, because any loophole would be greatly exploited by the terrorists who do not discriminate in there harmful activities. Students have to bear the brunt of terrorism. It also important for the students to be fully aware of the visa requirements before starting the process, this will enable them avoid any eventual disappointment. Works Cited Fred Lucas: CNSNews. com Staff Writer: 10,000 Saudi Students on US Campuses Retrieved on 17th May 2008 from http://www. cnsnews. com/ViewNation. asp? Page=/Nation/archive/200702/NAT20070216a. html February 16, 2007 UnitedStatesVisas. gov: Studying in the U. S: Retrieved on 17th May 2008 from www. unitedstatesvisas. gov/studying. html US Visas: Retrieved on 17th May 2008 from: http://www.hothousemedia. com/etm/etmbackissues/septetm04/septetm04feature. htm BusinessWeekOnline: Foreign MBA. Students Beware: Retrieved on 17th May 2008 from http://www. businessweek. com/bschools/content/dec2001/bs2001126_8956. htm December 6, 2001 Applying for a Student Visa (useful tips):Retrieved on 17th May 2008 from http://www. bridgeport. edu/pages/2342. asp Mashiur Rahaman: Malaysia offers UK and US degrees at half the cost: Retrieved on 17th May 2008 from http://www. dailytimes. com. pk/default. asp? page=2007%5C09%5C26%5Cstory_26-9-2007_pg7_26.

The Business Culture In China

The Business Culture In China Culture is a complicated concept to define due to its multi-dimensional attribute and the existing disparity in evidence on diverse cultural facets. Understanding culture is a key issue in the development of cross-cultural relationships and is one of the main issues facing multi-national enterprises (MNEs) both internally within the human resource team and externally such as relationship with buyers suppliers from different countries. Culture is also a vital factor that needs to be considered when a firm is expanding internationally, mode of entry to a foreign market, foreign direct investments and also during international mergers acquisitions. In this essay we will discuss first about culture in general, then we will discuss about various dimensions of culture proposed by Hofstede and Trompenaars and then highlight about the business culture of china as per Hofstedes cultural dimensions. Further to this we discuss about a couple of US MNEs international behaviour in Chinese marke t and conclude by discussing on the implications of Chinese business culture on doing business in China Review on culture Culture is a very complex topic and has many definitions. Kroeber Kluckhohn (1952) were able to collect more than 160 definitions of culture. Hence, it is vital to comprehend culture in different perspectives. Its impact on business has been discussed from various perspectives (MÃ ¶ller Svahn 2002). Goodenough (1971) sees culture as a set of beliefs or standards, shared by a group of people, which help the individual decide what is, what can be, how to feel, what to do and how to go about doing it. Hofstede (2001) defines culture as the collective mental programming of the mind which distinguishes one group or category of people from another. Culture has also been defined as a multifaceted and organized set of elements, comprising understanding, beliefs, values, arts, law, manners and morals, and all other kind of skills and habits acquired by a human being as a member of a particular society (Usunier 1996). Culture is the system of shared values that differentiates the members of one group from another (Hofstede, 1980; Mueller Thomas, 2001). Thus, national culture acts as the common frame of reference or logic by which members of a society view organizations, the environment, and their relations to one another (Geletkanycz, 1997). The sources of culture have been divided into the following categories: language, nationality, education, profession, ethnic group, religion, family, sex, social class and corporate or organisational culture (Usunier 1996). A vital component in culture is language, especially for international business. But not only verbal communication is of significance, also the messages given through non-verbal communication; gestures, gesticulations and attitudes are significant. Eye contact, touching, space and privacy are understood and used differently in different cultures. At least 75% of all communication is non-verbal (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner 1997). Nationality and national culture is often considered a cornerstone of culture. Dimensions of culture Hofstede (1980, 1984), Hofstede and Bond (1988) and Trompenaars (1994) all proposed cultural dimensions by which diverse national cultural patterns can be evaluated. In this essay, we will be discussing more about the Hofstedes Cultural dimensions as they are extensively cited in the literature. Cultural dimensions simplify the judgment practice by highlighting the core elements on which national culture can be compared. These elements are universal across all national cultures. National culture pertains to the culture of a sovereign country not to the different sub-cultures that exist within each sovereign country. Trompenaars (1994) proposed seven cultural dimensions and clustered them beneath three major headings: those arising from relationships with other people, those involving the passage of time and those emerging from our attitudes towards the environment. The seven dimensions are: attitudes to time; universalism vs particularism; individualism vs collectivism; emotional; specific/diffuse; achievement/ascription and internal environmental control/external environmental control. Hofstede (1980) highlighted four cultural dimensions: power distance; masculinity/femininity; individualism/collectivism; and uncertainty avoidance. In addition to the original four cultural dimensions, Hofstede (1990) suggested the fifth cultural dimension, called Confucian Work Dynamic. The Chinese Culture Connection (1987) conducted a Chinese Value Survey (CVS) based on traditional Chinese cultural values and recognized this non-Western cultural dimension. Three of the four factors were concurrent with Hofstedes (1984) work-related cultural dimensions. Only one factor, Confucian work dynamics, was not related with Hofstedes (1984) cultural dimensions. Hofstede (1990) espoused this eastern cultural dimension as the fifth work-related cultural dimension in his book, Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. Hofstede (2001) renamed this cultural dimension as Long-Term Orientation (LTO). Power distance (PD) This dimension states the level of reception of inequality in a society. Inequality is found in all societies, and is visible at all levels: physical, social, material, political and legal. PD also indicates to the power disproportion between superiors and subordinates. Uncertainty avoidance (UA) This dimension conveys the outlook towards anxiety over the unknown. Some societies show more anxiety than others in their ways of handling with uncertainties. In high UA organizations, there are more written set of laws in order to lessen uncertainty, whereas in low UA firms, there are smaller number of written regulations and practices. In countries high in UA, employees are expected to abide by the leaders without inquiring leaders intentions and judgments (Hofstede, 2001). Individualism/Collectivism This dimension refers to the socialization an individual receives, either as an individual who stands on his or her own merit, a person whose well-being and happiness will result from his or her own doing, or, as an individual who primarily stands as a member of a group. Masculinity/Femininity Masculinity/Femininity conveys the tendency for some countries to practise qualities conventionally ascribed to women, and which are the quests of social concord, quality of life, and nurturing of relationships. Societies putting more stress on the pursuit of such qualities are called feminine. In contrast, masculine societies, stress the pursuit of qualities often related to manly conduct, such as valuing work over social pursuits, and the accrual of material wealth, over social harmony and quality of life (Hofstede, 2001). Confucian dynamism or Long-term orientation (LTO) According to Hofstede (1991), long-term orientation relates to a positive, dynamic, and future oriented culture linked with four positive Confucian values: persistence (perseverance); ordering relationships by status and observing this order; thrift; and having a sense of shame. This dimension has not been well received by the researchers globally. Business Culture of China The most vital depiction of Chinese culture is its high collectivism and power distance. The majority Chinese leaders have a high power distance, and only rely on the one they know or who are close to them. They wont give the power to anyone not in their group or party, and its hard for subordinates to gain high levels of trust from their leaders (Casimir et al 2006). Various Chinese original concepts, such as face, harmony, guanxi (interpersonal links), renqin (kindness), and paternalistic leadership, can be sketched to these two broad cultural dimensions. Chinese are reasonably low in Uncertainty avoidance, which means that they are not worried by uncertainty and ambiguity. Chinese are also recognized for their stress on hard work and thrift, an attribute explained as Confucian dynamism by Bond (Chinese Culture Connection, 1987) or long-term orientation by Hofstede (2001). Fascinatingly, China is considered as high in Embeddedness (e.g., protect my public image and social order), H ierarchy (e.g., humble and authority), and Mastery (e.g., successful and ambitious) based on Schwartzs values at the culture level (Schwartz, 2006). Embeddedness and hierarchy appear to match to collectivism and power distance, respectively, but Mastery is a comparatively novel depiction of Chinese people in the cross-cultural literature. The Chinese Culture Connection study (1987) depicted 40 values that can be ascribed to Chinese culture. These Chinese values are shown in table 1. Table 1: The 40 Chinese values in the Chinese value survey (Source: The Chinese Culture Connection 1987) Lets discuss about Motorola and Microsoft, both are US MNEs and their journey to enter Chinese market (Gao Y 2007). Motorola entered China in 1987 and now it is one of the most successful foreign companies in china. Microsoft also entered China in 1992 but its journey to China has been bumpier compared to Motorola. The presidency of Microsoft China has been changed five times after the establishment. Various methods used by these firms to make a smooth sail in China were: 1) Lobbying or Gongguan in Chinese and to lobby, a firm should build high-quality guanxi (relationship) with the government. Here lobbying means like building guanxi with Chinese government officials. The president of Motorola visited dignitaries of the Central Government of China to assemble their views on the entry of Motorola before they entered China. In order to get a constructive impression from Chinese government, Motorola donated cell phones to Chinese government officials. Microsoft also used the ways that Motorola adopted but has not been enough successful. Firstly, Bill Gates came to China for the first time almost a year after Microsofts entry into China, Chinese government officials believed that Gates looked down on the Chinese market. 2) Code of conduct Every MNE has its own code of conduct, but China also has its business game rules and amalgamation of the business game rules of China with the codes of conduct of MNEs decides the victory or collapse of MNEs in China. Motorola demonstrated an excellent fit between its own codes of conduct and the business game rules of China. Firstly, it abides by the laws and regulations of China, and makes substantive deal and sets up joint ventures with Chinese enterprises as per the request of Chinese government. Secondly, it respects Chinese culture, and tries to acclimatize its organisational culture to Chinese culture. Thirdly, it shows an excellent understanding of Chinese political context. In 1992, Motorola went ahead to set up branch es of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Motorola also announced that members of CPC have the priority to get jobs from it. Comparatively, Microsoft also has its own codes of conduct, but it doesnt bother about incorporating it with the Chinese business game rules. Firstly, Microsoft was reluctant to set up joint ventures with Chinese companies. Secondly, Microsoft organisational culture is not acknowledged by the Chinese government and NGOs but Microsoft doesnt want to amend it. Thirdly, In 1999 Microsoft also blamed Chinese companies of piracy, which showed that Microsoft didnt comprehend the business game rule in China. Here I also want to bring some personal information about the Chinese culture, my younger brother works for ZTE in India, one of the major telecom firms of china. I was having a discussion with him and asked him about the Chinese culture that prevails in ZTE, he also emphasised that Chinese believe in relationship (guanxi), thats how their business runs. Chinese also expects others to respect their society and culture and they believe in hierarchy and the employees who are old in the organization ought to be respected. Although due to the influence of western culture, Chinese culture is changing towards individualism but overall they are more collectivistic and give more importance to group rather then individual. Culture is perceptibly not stationary. As societies become affluent, the need for interdependence is diminished, leading to individualism. This reckoning suggests that Chinese should turn into more individualistic over time, and Chinese in more affluent regions are expected to be more individualistic. China may be changing toward individualism; it is still on the collectivistic part in the worldwide pitch. Even Hofstede suggested that value transform does happen, but a number of values possibly will change gradually that may take several decades to discover. Chinas hyper economic development has boosted living values upward speedily, leading to a significant change in the social norm about money and materialism and its acceptance by the Chinese society (Abramson Inglehart, 1995; Fang, 2006). A study by Chen (1995) showed that Chinese desire a merit-based incentive scheme even more stoutly than Americans, perhaps reflecting the change in Chinese culture. Implications for International Business in China None of the MNEs can overlook China, because of its massive market potential and its low cost configuration. MNEs need to analyze critically about the Chinese market and the prevailing culture to be successful in China. China is complex and diverse with changing paradigm in culture. Knowing guanxi is definitely useful, but one cannot presume that this information is valid to all the Chinese people that they come across. Multinationals have to be insightful about the dissimilarity between the social and economic apprehensions of Chinese people. Provided the popularity of materialism in contemporary China, many management practices as participative management, empowerment, job enrichment, knowledge management and total quality management may necessitate a high degree of inherent motivation for them to be successful. Regardless of the fact that Chinese may be more long-term oriented, based on the yin/yang principles, Fang (2006) has presented a dialectical outlook of culture, which prop osed an account for an array of ostensibly inconsistent behavioural patterns in various cultures. Thus, it is not astounding that Chinese may be long-term oriented in a few contexts, but are short-term oriented at work.

The Politics Of The Reproducibility Cultural Studies Essay

The Politics Of The Reproducibility Cultural Studies Essay Reproducibility is the ability of something to be accurately reproduced or replicated by another individual working independently. It relates to the agreement of the results with different operators using different tools at a different location. The results are always reported as a standard deviation from the original plan. In Benjamin works of art, reproducibility is a process that occurs slowly and may take a long time. Benjamin discusses the reproducibility in the works of art and the entire world of photography and film. It is all about the modern age and its effects on the work of arts. How art has been changed by the perception of the humans through time. Reproducibility changes the original piece of art through the change of the originality or aura of the artistic image, the real message put across and the cult value of the original art. The reproduction of pieces of art causes a total change in the perception of the art and can send a total different meaning to the observer. Reproducibility is an inevitable process that takes place over time and it serves to bring a lot of change in the meaning of art. It overshadows the concepts of originality and creativity of art. It can therefore be said that reproducibility is one big enemy to the world of art and the divine talent requirement to be artistic. A look at the photography of today, there is so much reproducibility of photographs of various places and features that the real image or the original item cannot be defined. It is not easy to tell anymore if the items in photographs are really as represented. Photography can be said to leave out a lot of details of the original thing. For example details such as the distance, vegetation and the color are completely distorted. With the advances in technology photographs can be used to represent an image of a certain thing just like in a painting. This also leaves out a lot the originality of the image displayed. For example the photographs of the mountain like the Alps remove the concept of space and time. According to (Blunden ii), even the most perfect pieces of art that are reproduced are lacking in the element of space and time. The technology of the modern times in photography renders the work of art impure. While some pictures will want to portray the mountains to have peaks that are slightly steep and have very green vegetation others show complete different imagery of steep peeks and no vegetation. This technology of photography renders the works of art impure and changes the original forms of the art. Photography can be said to make the work of art loose the aura or the authenticity through the mechanical production. While the photograph of the mountain will be representing an image of another image, a painting will be the original mountain. Paintings would capture the concentration and contemplation of the viewer unlike photography. The paintings would be fascinating and inviting to the observer. The cult value that would have been in a painting is replaced by the exhibition value in photography. The cult value does not disappear suddenly but in a shadowy manner. The cult value is still represented in photography but in a far distant manner because just like the portraits, photography is also meant as storage of memories. Photography as a replacement of painting brings out a distant political significance through the creation of memories. The images of photography also bring out a very different side of the original. The photographs are meant to capture what the original person and the photographer want to portray to the viewer; therefore the original thing is not what the viewer sees but the viewer is subjected to a totally different concept. Photography has led to the shift between the original, authentic value of what the viewer is subjected to, to a more modern way of view. The paintings displayed the original view of the items with the same color, creativity and authenticity were also very much a part of the paintings, but with photography most of these aspects are lost in the modernity part. Photography values the exhibition value more than the cult value. The photographs do not evoke the free contemplation that a painting will. They both portray the past events but paintings have the free flowing contemplation and concentration in the viewer compared to a photograph that will carry less of such value. Photography is a reproduction of the paintings and therefore fails to achieve the original basis of paintings. The photographs shape the original political meaning of paintings through randomness storage. Unlike the historical times when the paintings were done according to specific occasions or factors, photography is done at any particular time with little consideration to reasons. Photography also presents a distraction with mixed ideas and presents the perception of avoidance of difficult tasks. The works of art will generally capture the most difficult of tasks and will aim at the presentation of the most important factors of an item. Art is able to bring the masses together; it acts to mobilize the people through getting their attention to a particular thing. Photography on the other hand falls below these perceptions and always takes the easiest way of artistic representation. The photographs tend to present a distraction instead of a pull and these shows that the master of the art is just but a habit than really the creativity and talent in it. The public is therefore made as an observer but only absent mindedly without the proper concentration that the works of art expects. The idea is to capture and satisfy the human interest which could simply be the removal of the special function from the field of view. The images of photography therefore leave out a lot of the important details of art meaning the concept of reproducibility leads to the distortion of the original concept. The mechanical change noted in the photography means that the reproduction of the works of art leads to the change in the method of exhibition. Photographs simply change the reaction of the public to works of art and change the perception of the works of art. It gives the masses an option of critics. The historical work of arts like the paintings and the portraits were easily accepted by the masses but the photography technology of the modern day has been faced with a lot of critics. For example in Blunden essay, he says that the 19th century disputes to whether photography is a work of art, (part 7). This shows that there is doubt in people at the authentic value of photography in comparison with art. Photography fails to create the subtle effect in the viewers that a simple portrait would. On the other hand, this mechanical production of the works of art is bound to change the public reaction to the particular piece of art, (part 12). It can therefore be concluded that the effects of reproduction are adverse to the work of arts. It is quite unfortunate that reproducibility is inevitable especially with the new technologies that come daily with the modern world. The technology is bound to change the works of art and bring a different representation of art. The political significance shifts with every new introduction to the original piece of art. The works of art space and time concept are totally changed in the same manner. s

Actual and Symbolic Barriers in Robert Frosts Mending Wall Essay

Actual and Symbolic Barriers in Robert Frost's Mending Wall The appearance of barriers, both literal and figurative, is significant to the narrative of Robert Frost's "Mending Wall." The story in this piece revolves around a wall separating two men, their yards, and their lives. The wall is not only a physical boundary; it also symbolizes the barriers between the two in other aspects of their lives. The most noticeable barrier in this work is obviously the wall dividing the yard. The reason for a wall between the trees is unknown to the narrator and the reader. The speaker questions the need for the fence when he says, "Before I built a wall I'd ask to know/ What I was walling in or walling out, / And to whom I was like to give offense." These feelings are expressed also in lines 23 through 26. The wall is located between the neighbor's pine grove and the speaker's apple orchard. Is there a point in dividing these trees? Even though the narrator does not know the purpose of the wall, he is always the one responsible for making sure it is mended every year. More than likely he unconsciously feels a need for the fence too. Perhaps it is a need for his privacy or maybe it is a need to have a connection with the outside world. In the lines "Where they have not left one stone on a stone, / But they would have the rabbit out of hiding," the wall represents the barriers people put up so that their vulnerabilities and secrets can remain hidden. Once this wall is broken there is a need to mend it in order to keep others from seeing what is on the opposite side of the wall. There are other instances of the wall representing the need for separation between personal and private aspects of lives. In lines 16 though 20, ... ...need to keep the wall up in order to protect themselves from outsiders. At the same time though, the need for the ritual of mending the fence is beyond their control. The narrator states, "Something there is that doesn't love a wall...And makes gaps even two can pass abreast." (Lines 1-4) The choice to pass through the fence is available, and so is the choice to mend the wall each year. Both know that the fence will fall again and the next spring they will be reunited. As long as the literal wall exists there will be contact between the two men. However as long as the figurative barriers remain, the distance between them is further than any fence could separate them. Work Cited Robert Frost. "Mending Wall." Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. Ed. John Schilb and John Clifford. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000. p106-107.

Role of Bigger Thomas in Native Son by Richard Wright :: essays research papers

Bigger Thomas, the protagonist of Native Son, by Richard Wright, expresses the role of a poor, uneducated black man. Bigger lived in a time where racism was very common in the society. Wright shows us through him, how bad the situation was. Due to his lack of education, Bigger had to work menial labor. Thus, he was forced to live in a one room apartment with his family. He felt trapped all his life, resenting, hating, and fearing the whites, whom he felt controlled his life. He views white people as a collective, overpowering force that tells him where to live, where to work, and what to do. The main focus of Wright?s novel is to show the effects of racism on one?s mind. Bigger has lived a life defined by the fear and anger he feels toward whites for as long as he can remember. Perhaps that is what leads him to do the crimes that he does. Bigger develops the main action of the book when he kills Mary Dalton. In fact, it makes him feel as though his life actually has a meaning. He feels as if he has the power to assert himself against the whites. Wright does not try to show Bigger as a hero, because of his brutality and capacity for violence which is extremely disturbing, especially in the scene where he shoves Mary Dalton?s dead body in to the burning furnace in order to hide it. Wright?s main point is that Bigger becomes a brutal killer just because the dominant white culture fears that he will. By fearing whites, Bigger only contributes to the cycle of racism and fuels it even more. However, after meeting Max, he begins to redeem himself, actually recognizing whites as individuals for the first time in his life. But the social injustice does not end there, after killing Mary Dalton, Bigger goes to Bessie, his girlfriend and tells her everything. Recognizing that Bessie might tell anyone, Bigger kills her too and is than arrested by the police. There, the injustice takes place. When Bigger was arrested, and jailed, he received constant harassment. He only faced two choices, either to confess, or be lynched by the white crowed. Bigger knew deep down, that he was going to die anyhow. But Max, his lawyer, reminded him that he could still win the case and be free. Another example of the injustice is that when Bigger was eventually caught, the pubic and the media press automatically determine that he is guilty of not only killing Mary, but also rapping her before killing her.

Health Paper-Hypertension Essay

Hypertension also known as high blood pressure is a common condition in which the force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems, such as heart disease. Blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure. High blood pressure is the leading cause of stroke and a major cause of heart attack. In the U.S alone, more than 30% of American adults have high blood pressure. Hypertension is often called the â€Å"the silent killer† because it rarely caauses symptoms, even as it inflicts serious damage to the body. You can have high blood pressure for years without any symptoms. If your blood pressure is uncontrolled it can increase your risk of serious health problems, including heart attack and stroke. High blood pressure develops over many years, and it affects nearly everyone eventually. Although high blood pressure is most common in adults, children may be at risk also. For some children, high blood pressure is caused by problems with the kidneys or heart. But for a growing number of kids, poor lifestyle habits, such as an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise contribute to high blood pressure. Most people with high blood pressure have no signs or symptoms, even if blood pressure readings reach dangerously high levels. Although a few people with early stage high blood pressure may have dull headaches, dizzy spells or a few more nosebleeds than normal, these signs and symptoms typically don’t occur until high blood pressure has reached a severe, even life threatening stage. Thankfully, high blood pressure can be easily detected. Once you know you have it you can work with your doctor in controlling it. There are two types of high blood pressure. First, Primary (essential) hypertension. For most adults, there’s no identifiable cause of high blood pressure. This type of high blood pressure, tends to develop gradually over many years. Second, Seconday hypertension. Some people have high blood pressure caused by an underlying condition. This type of high blood pressure, tends to appear suddenly and cause higher blood pressure than does primary hypertension. Various conditions and medications can lead to secondary hypertension. High blood pressure has many risk factors including: age(the risk of high blood pressure increases as you age), race, family history, being overweight or obese(the more you weigh,the more blood you need to supply oxygen and nutrients you your tissues), not being physically active, using tobacco, using to much salt in your diet(too much salt can cause your body to retain fluid which increases blood pressure), too little potassiium in your diet, too little vitamin D in your diet, drinking alcohol, stress and certain chronic conditions. The excessive pressure on your artery walls caused by high blood pressure can damage your blood vessels, as well as organs in your body. The higher your blood pressure and the longer it goes uncontrolled, the greater the damage. High blood pressure can cause hardening and thickening of the arteries, which can lead to a heart attack, stroke or other complications. Blood pressure is measured with an inflatable arm cuff and pressure measuring gauge. A blood pressure reading, has two numbers. The first, or upper, number measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats which is called systolic pressure. The second, or lower, number measures the pressure in your arteries between beats which is called diastolic pressure. There are four general blood pressure measurements. Fist, normal blood pressue. Your blood pressure is normal if it’s below 120/80. However, some doctors recomment 115/75 as a better goal. Once blood pressure rises above 115/75 the risk of cardiovascular disease begins to increase. Second, prehypertension. Prehypertension is a blood pressure measurement of 120/80 to 139/89. Prehypertension tends to get worse over time. Third, Stage 1 hypertension. Stage 1 hypertension is a blood pressure reading ranging from 140/90 to 159/99. Fourth, Stage 2 hypertension. More severe hypertension, stage 2 hypertension is a blood pressure reading of 160/100 or higher. Changing your lifestyle can go a long way torward controlling high blood pressure. But sometimes lifestyle changes aren’t enough. In addition to diet and exercise, your doctor may recommend medication to lower your blood pressure. Which category of medication your doctor prescribes depends on your stage of high blood pressure and weather you also have other medical problems. It’s never too early to make healthy lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking, eating healthy foods and becoming more physically active. These are primary lines of defense against high blood pressure and its complications. References: Choosing Health by: Lynch, Elmore, Morgan www.webmd.com www.managingmybloodpressure.com Steadmans medical dictionary 28th Edition

Black Plague of London 1665

The Great Plague in London of 1665 Although people proposed a variety of causes for the great plague in London of 1665, the effects of the plague were certainly catastrophic. Europe experienced many outbreaks of plague prior to the year of 1665. Unfortunately, no one was quite sure what exactly caused the plague, which devastated each person who was affected. The effects of the plague on society wreaked havoc on victims both socially and physically. Consequently, Londoners were forced to try many drastic measures to prevent the spread of disease.Nevertheless, the great plague left the city of London greatly damaged. Even though different causes for the plague were mentioned, the most relevant and logical cause of plague was derived from London’s filthiness. Charles J. Shields writes: Although 17th-century Londoners were familiar with the plague’s symptoms, they had no idea what caused it. One pattern they noted, however, was that it went hand in hand with filthiness. Lo ndon was an ancient human habitation, dating from the days when the Roman army had built its outside walls.Without means to provide sanitation for all its inhabitants, the city evolved into a breeding ground for epidemics. (13) Dirtiness often accompanies congested areas, and London was undoubtedly no exception. According to Britannica, â€Å"the greatest devastation remained in the city’s outskirts, at Stepney, Shoreditch, Clerkenwell, Cripplegate, and Westminster, quarters where the poor were densely crowded† (Britannica 447). In seventeenth-century London, people who lived in poverty were believed to be at a high risk for contagion (Hays 124).Residents of London deposited their rubble outside of their homes so that the rain could wash the trash away (Shields 13-14). Consequently, the filth throughout London’s neighborhoods attracted many rats, which carried plague-ridden fleas (Trueman). Because rats lived near garbage, the rodents also resided closely to hum ans, particularly the poor. Nonetheless, when the rats died, the fleas found new human hosts. When fleas that were infected with the disease broke human skin, the microorganism, Yersinia pestis, attacked the lymphatic system, causing enlargement of lymph glands.Therefore, the protuberances were symptomatic of plague (Appleby 162-163). Meanwhile, many Londoners still believed that there could be another cause for the plague’s recurrence. Some people believed that plague was caused by natural factors, but others believed that plague was obtained through an occult element. The English were led to believe that plague was a â€Å"manifestation of divine providence and power, as a product of an environmental miasma, and as an infectious contagion that moved from one person to another† (Hays 124).Residents of London expected a penalty for their corrupt actions as a result of religious persecution, killing of a king, and the absurdness of government. In 1657, just eight years before the last plague, Clergyman Thomas Reeves handed out flyers warning that plague would be the Londoners’ consequence for immoral conduct (Shields 24-25). In fact, those who believed in supernatural causes of the disease sought counsel from a deity through prayer, omens, and charms (Hays 124). As a result of the plague, the community of London suffered both physically and socially.Immediately upon contracting the infection, one would have an array of flu-like symptoms, such as chills, queasiness, and regurgitation. In addition, sufferers developed signs of apprehensiveness and occasionally derangement (Shields 12). Another symptom of plague was the pungent stench of the victim’s breath. Some people carried flowers with them to act as a perfume to hide the bitter smell (Trueman). Andrew B. Appleby stated that the plague could be in bubonic or pneumonic form. The pneumonic form was transferred through sneezing and coughing around others.The pneumonic plague originate d from the bubonic plague because victims sometimes acquired pneumonia along with the bubonic form. The pneumonic plague was occasional in England. The symptoms included the coughing of blood (163). Furthermore, the affliction took a tremendous toll on the overall health of each victim by causing dark round marks around the groin, armpits, and neck. Also, the petechiae, or black spots, arose in other areas of the body (Hays 124-125). Unfortunately, these blemishes often turned into infected pus-filled welts.The last stage of sufferer’s disease occurred as the boils appeared. Of course death was inevitable, but the longevity of the plague’s victims was a mystery because each person’s reaction to the disease was different. For instance, after developing the ailment, some people would die within hours, and others would live as long as a few days. Entire families were destroyed by this annihilating illness (Shields 12). Equally important, the societal effects of pla gue were immense. In 1665, 68,596 casualties were recorded (Britannica 447).Consequently, the cadavers were covered with shrouds and placed in a mass grave because the sudden rise in deaths caused there to be a greater demand for coffins, yet a shorter supply. Not only did people lose loved ones, but they also had difficulty carrying out traditional funerals because the exposed corpses raised the risk of contagion. Although limiting guests at funerals went against society’s customs, Londoners needed to stay clear of the disease as much as possible (Hays 127). Gathering the dead was a difficult task to complete for the bearers.Bearers had to fetch bodies infested with the deadly plague, along with the bearers of the carts. The dead carts were used mainly for large parishes. The carts would grind while being pushed down the street, and the bearers would ring a bell while continually yelling for residents to release the corpses to the cart. Sadly, family of the dead had to witne ss their loved ones being towed away with the loss of dignity and respect for the deceased (Shields 48). London hired â€Å"nurses†, who lacked proper training and experience, to check on diseased victims. If sufferers could afford sustenance, these â€Å"nurses† would bring them food, too (Trueman).Society suffered through many hard times during the plague’s reign. Because of the plague’s atrocious impact on London, residents decided to take matters into their own hands. Since the plague escalated rapidly, the rich people of London left the city for the safe countryside. The poor had no resources to escape the plague’s wrath. In fact, soldiers were hired by London’s council to supervise the outskirts of the parish where the poor resided. No one was allowed outside the boundaries unless he had a document from his parish leader stating that he could leave (Trueman).On account of all the wealthy that left London to escape disease, the impact m ade by plague was mainly on the destitute (Hays 128). Because the disease was taking hold of the population so quickly, the Lord Chamberlain chose to close down the theatres in London. The roads outside of the city were congested with the traffic of people seeking refuge. The city of London was in complete chaos (Shields 31-32). Realizing that the plague was taking over London, the English government mobilized a new system of methods to battle the disease. When the plague hit, London was still following outdated rules from the plague of 1578.To begin the new set of rules for cleaning London, the government demanded that the garbage on the streets and the obstacles in the ditches were to be removed promptly. On the contrary, authorities believed that smoking tobacco and lighting fires to release smoke was profitable for the environment of the plague. Also, the Privy Council requested the slaying of stray animals, such as dogs and pigs. These animals were thought to carry the plague ( Hays 122-123, 127). In addition to the exile of the wealthy and the rise of cleaning standards, London also attempted to prevent the spread of plague by isolation.Accordingly, any family that had at least one member tainted by the disease was confined to their own home for over a month. As a caution to others, a red cross was painted on the door to display the infection of the family inside the house; however, only â€Å"nurses† were permitted to enter the plagued home (Trueman). Because of the forced seclusion from the outside world, many trapped plague victims rebelled against the authorities. For instance, neighbors helped to release the captive by removing the cross from the door of the victim’s house.The government endorsed severe penalties toward those who disobeyed the rules laid out for them to follow. Inevitably, the policy of solitude for the afflicted came to an end when the amount of homes that needed to be secluded became too great and the people who regul ated the guidelines were at a shortage; however, parishes did try to aid the imprisoned victims by raising taxes to provide food (Hays 125-127). Although isolation seemed like a feasible plan to the English government at the time of the plague’s existence, people naturally rebelled against being held hostage in their own home, even if food was provided for them.In conclusion, the great plague caused a tremendous uproar in the lives of the ones who lived in London in 1665. Even though numerous causes were offered to explain the root of the plague’s frequency, the most reasonable explanation of the disease’s occurrence was through the spread of contagion by fleas. As a result of the affliction of plague, society suffered great damage in a physical and civil aspect. Although no one was sure what caused the plague in London, many measures were taken to help prevent the expansion of the pestilence. After all, the plague of 1665 was the last of the plagues to claim Lo ndon.