Chinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart - 950 Words

Sometimes one is not as strong as one appears. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is a man determined to succeed, whose violent actions result from his need to find a sense of identity within his community. Through many different acts of violence, we see Okonkwo’s internal struggle with himself, the legacy of his father, and the changing society as a whole. Ultimately, Achebe uses violence throughout the novel to illustrate Okonkwo’s identity through the lens of his relationship with society, and how certain changes in society affect him. Okonkwo uses a variety of violent tactics towards his family to assert his dominance and masculinity according to his interpretation of societal standards. During the â€Å"Week of Peace,† Okonkwo beats his wife after she neglects to return home to cook for him. â€Å"‘When she returned he beat her heavily. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace’ . . . ‘But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess’† (Achebe 29-30). This shows how Okonkwo uses violence to convey his superiority and control over his family, which in the Ibo culture, is an indication of social class. Yet although Okonkwo is initially characterized by extreme violence and masculinity, he is not necessarily the fearless warrior he appears to be. When Okonkwo partakes in the killing of Ikemefuna, an inherently violent event, he experiences an identity crisis. This is precipitated by new, so-calledShow MoreRelatedChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1719 Words   |  7 PagesThings fall apart is a classic novel written around the turn of the century, the novel focuses on the protagonist who we can also call a hero, Okonkwo. Okonkwo is a wealthy and respected leader within the Igbo tribe of Umuofia in eastern Nigeria. Strong individual with a passionate belief in all the values and traditions of his people. Chinua Achebe presents Okonkwo as a particular kind of tragic protagonist, a great man who carries the fate of his people. Okonkwo is a man who is inflexible andRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1033 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction Chinua Achebe is a famous Nigerian novelist in worldwide. Things fall apart is Chinua Achebe’s first novel published in 1958, the year after Ghana became the first African nation to gain independence. And this novel is one of the first African novels to gain worldwide recognition. (Phil Mongredien, 2010) This novel presents people a story of an African Igbo tribal hero, Okonkwo, from his growth to death. The fate of Okonkwo also indicates the fate of Africa caused by the colonizationRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart883 Words   |  4 Pagesdehumanize the native population and convince themselves that they are helping. Chinua Achebe’s book Things Fall Apart attempts to correct these misguided views of African societies by portraying a more complex culture that values peace, and the art of conversation. Achebe also tries to portray the idea that not all European people they come in contact with are aggressive, and misconstrued in their view of the African societ ies. Achebe tries to show us the value of his society through repeated views into conversationsRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1410 Words   |  6 PagesTeddy Manfre Ms. Blass ENG 209-001 April 24, 2017 Things Fall Apart In 1958, Chinua Achebe a famous Nigerian author publishes one of his most famous novels Things Fall Apart. The novel takes place in a Nigerian village called Umuofia. During the time that this novel is published Nigeria is being criticized by the Europeans for being uncivilized. In response, Achebe uses his brilliance in this novel to express the valued history of his people to his audience. His focus in the novel is on the pre-colonizedRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1015 Words   |  5 PagesIn his novel Things Fall Apart, author Chinua Achebe utilizes his distinctive writing style in order to accurately capture the culture and customs of the Igbo people despite writing his story in a foreign language. Five aspects of Achebe’s style that make his writing unique is the straightforward diction present in dialogue, the inclusion of native parables convey Igbo life authentically, the inclusion of native Igbo words and phrases, detailed descriptions of nature and the usage of figurative languageRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1702 Words   |  7 PagesTitle: Things Fall Apart Biographical information about the author: Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria in 1930. He had an early career as a radio host, and later became the Senior Research Fellow at the University of Nigeria. After moving to America, he became an English professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Achebe has won numerous awards for his poetry and fiction, including the Man Booker prize and Commonwealth Poetry Price. He currently teaches at Bard College. Author: Chinua AchebeRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart Essay1347 Words   |  6 PagesCulture is an Important Element of Society Chinua Achebe is the author of when Things Fall Apart while Joseph Conrad authored Heart of Darkness. Conrad and Achebe set their individual titles in Africa; Achebe is an African writer whereas Conrad is Polish-British. The authors draw strength from their backgrounds to validity the authenticity of their fictional novels. Conrad writes from his experiences in the British and French navies while Achebe uses his African heritage. The theme of culture isRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1248 Words   |  5 PagesChris Lowndes Ms. Cook A.P.L.C. 21 October 2015 We Are Family: Hardships in One s Family in Things Fall Apart Specific attributes correlate with each other to help create or not create the ideal strong family. However, through those attributes arise conflicts and major disputes. This issue of trying to achieve and create a strong family is of immense importance in one’s life, especially in Chinua Achebe’s, Things Fall Apart, a milestone in African literature. For instance, the father leaves his legacyRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart Essay1682 Words   |  7 Pagescertain degree of the priest class, libation, holidays, creation stories, divine systems of punishments and rewards. In the novel, Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, is a story of tragic fall of a protagonist and the Igbo culture. Achebe demonstrates different examples and situations of where an African culture, in the instances of tribal religions, did certain things because of their tradition is and the way they developed into. African cultures pondered life mysteries and articulated theirRead Mo reChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1314 Words   |  6 PagesChinua Achebe masterpiece â€Å"Things Fall Apart† (1959) is the classic story of Okonkwo, a young man who strives to be revered by his village and family but because of his own internal character flaws meets his own demise. In the Igbo culture, family traditions are an important narrative throughout the novel. Okonkwo, the protagonist character of this story, begins with many attributes of what would be concluded as a hero with his cultural society. He is hard working, a material provider, feared and

Parkinson s Disease A Disease - 1196 Words

Parkinson’s disease Chase J Fowler Missouri Southern State University What is Parkinson’s disease (PD)? Parkinson’s is a disease that causes the nervous system to degenerate which means that person’s health is declining mentally, physically, and morally. Parkinson’s causes a loss in balance, which is the cause for most of the falls. These falls lead to the most injuries a Parkinson’s patient has; whether it be fractures or concussions. It causes a loss in muscle movement and muscle control. Patients with Parkinson’s get really stiff when the medication wears off and is hard to move and do simple daily activities. Additionally, it causes tremors. An example would be when people’s hands shake when they haven’t been doing anything but resting and it shouldn’t be doing it. The list continues†¦ Types of Parkinson’s. Most people think Parkinson’s is just an old person’s disease, but in fact there are 3 types of Parkinson’s and each one affects a different age group. To start and least common of the types is, Juvenile Parkinson’s Disease which happens before the age of twenty one. Next, Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease; this occurs between ages twenty one to forty. This varies depending on where you are in the world. In the U.S., this is not very common. In Japan, it’s a big majority of the people with Parkinson’s. The most common of the types is called Adult-Onset Parkinson’s Disease. Most common age associated with Adult-Onset PD is sixty years old and the chance of getting PDShow MoreRelatedParkinson s Disease : Disease1737 Words   |  7 Pages Parkinson’s disease Parkinson’s Disease INTRODUCTION Wong, Gilmour and Ramage-Morin (2014) states that Parkinson’s disease comes second on the list of most common degenerative disorder of the nervous system. Dopamine, a substance synthesized in the body, is responsible for the normal movements of the body (Wong, Gilmour and Ramage-Morin, 2014). In Parkinson’s disease, the cells responsible for synthesizing Dopamine are damaged and incapacitated to form it (Wong, GilmourRead MoreThe Disease Of Parkinson s Disease1648 Words   |  7 Pages Abstract Parkinson’s disease has been cataloged as one of the most serious and slowly progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects a wide array of motor and non-motor aspects that impact the function of a person. Afflicting over four million Americans and the second most common neurological disorder after Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s continues to take its toll on the neurological health of many(Constantinescu et al, 2007 ). James Parkinson, a British physician first coinedRead MoreParkinson s Disease : Disease3496 Words   |  14 Pages Parkinson s disease Twanda H. Lewis North Carolina Wesleyan Dr. Quinan Parkinson s Disease Twanda H. Lewis North Carolina Wesleyan Dr. Quinan Outline Abstract†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 Symptoms†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 Tremor†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦ 6 Slow Movement†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 Rigid Muscles†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 Disfigured Posture†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 LossRead MoreParkinson s Disease : Disease1494 Words   |  6 PagesPARKINSON’S DISEASE INTRODUCTION: If you eat unhealthy, fatty foods your whole life, you have a higher risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or arteriosclerosis. If you have unprotected sex, you may contract a sexually transmitted disease, such as syphilis, gonorrhea, or HIV/AIDS. But, Parkinson’s doesn’t racially discriminate, nor does it care if someone is wealthy, poor, educated, non-educated, male or female. Anyone can develop Parkinson’s disease. The disease begins inRead MoreParkinson s Disease1007 Words   |  5 PagesScientists generally agree that most cases of Parkinson’s disease result from some combination of nature and nurture the interaction between a people’s underlying genetic make-up and his or her life activities and environmental exposures. A simple way to describe this is that â€Å"genetics loads the gun and environment pulls the trigger.† In this formulation, â€Å"environment† has a very broad meaning that is, it ref ers to any and all possible causes other than those that are genetic in origin. The interactionsRead MoreThe Disease Of Parkinson s Disease1077 Words   |  5 Pagespaper is limited to Parkinson’s Disease. Parkinson’s Disease was thoroughly researched and will be described in depth including: physiology, etiology, signs and symptoms, diagnostic testing, therapeutic measures, and short vs. long term effects. Keywords: Parkinson’s Disease, dopamine, diagnosis, symptoms Parkinson’s, a Central Nervous System Disorder Since becoming a nursing student I have learned about several diseases and disorders. When hearing the term, â€Å"disease† one might imagine such thingRead MoreParkinson s Disease And The Disease1336 Words   |  6 PagesParkinson’s disease is a chronic disorder of the nervous system with a gradual onset that primarily affects the body’s motor system. The symptoms of the disease are mainly caused by the death of dopamine-producing cells in the midbrain. Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter that, among other things, is responsible for playing a role in how the brain controls bodily movements. Therefore, the cardinal symptoms of the disease are movement related, including tremor and rigid, jerky movements. Parkinson’sRead MoreThe Cure Of Parkinson s Disease1761 Words   |  8 PagesAbstract Parkinson s is a very complex subject since there is still no cure and heredity still can t be proven. As a CNA you are expected to know that there are different diseases with different needs. Parkinson s has many signs and symptoms. If tremors are noticeable it is best to get a check up, but just because you show signs it is no reason to self diagnose. Before Parkinson s begins you can always try to prevent it. Who knew caffeine could prevent Parkinson s. Although Parkinson s can beRead MoreParkinson s Disease And Its Effects1299 Words   |  6 PagesParkinson’s Disease An estimated eight million people are living worldwide with Parkinson’s Disease. Parkinson’s is a disease where the nerve cells, called neurons die in your brain. These neurons that die produce a brain chemical, dopamine which is a neurotransmitter. As the neurons die or become damaged the lack of dopamine creates the symptoms and disease. The neurons that die are located in your Substantia Nigra in the brain. The nerve cell affects your entire nervous system. The neurons transmitRead MoreSymptoms Of Parkinson s Disease1168 Words   |  5 PagesSome people may know what Parkinson’s Disease is but not what it is capable of. Many may not even be aware that Parkinson’s Disease exists. Michele Tagliati, Gary N. Guten, and Jo Horne explain that â€Å"Parkinson’s Disease is a disease in a group of conditions called movement disorders -- disorders that result from a loss of the brain’s control on voluntary movement† (10). With this being said, a neurotransmitter in the brain called Dopamine sends signals to regions in the brain that are the control

Mandatory HIV/AIDS testing for Pregnant Woman Free Essays

string(295) " carried out on the newborn will always turn out to be positive, for the simple reason that the baby has would have inherited the HIV antibodies of its mother automatically during the birth and delivery processes, and this cannot be taken to mean that the newborn is infected with AIDS and HIV\." Today, anti retroviral therapies are being developed by several manufacturers, in a bid to finally be able to reduce the number of instances of the transmission of HIV from mother to child. The drug AZT, for example, has been successful at bringing the rate of such direct transmissions down, and this has given rise to a widespread feeling that if testing of pregnant women for the presence of the dreaded AIDS virus were to be made mandatory, then perhaps many lives could be saved. It must be remembered that before the year 1994, when AIDS became renowned for its impact on the human body, not much was known about the disease, often referred to as ‘the scourge of modern man’, and nothing at all was known about the transmission of this disease from a mother to her unborn child. We will write a custom essay sample on Mandatory HIV/AIDS testing for Pregnant Woman or any similar topic only for you Order Now It was in late 1994 that an American clinical trial known as ‘ACTG 076’ was able to prove the assumption that when a drug AZT was administered to a HIV positive pregnant woman, and also to her child immediately after its birth, it was able to lower the rate of transmission from a high of 25 % to a low of 8 %. The trial was based on the fact that the pregnant woman had to be given the drug during her pregnancy, during her labor, during her delivery, and for the newborn baby during his first six weeks of life. Immediately after the results of this trial were published, the US Public Health Service recommended that all HIV positive pregnant women must be given the drug, especially to those women who demonstrated a likelihood of developing the disease. This was to include women who had never taken drugs of any kind against HIV AIDS. The administration of the drug, of course, involved an invasion of the woman’s basic privacy, and this was something that created a stir at the time. Such invasion of privacy was not to be tolerated.   (Yovetich) As stated earlier, making HIV testing mandatory for a pregnant woman, in the hope that the woman’s unborn child could be given a better and more productive and disease free life was not as simple an issue as it may have sounded at the time. There was much opposition from several different quarters. The main reason for the opposition was that the woman’s private life would be exposed, as HIV was a disease that was clothed in much secrecy, and it still is today. Defenders of privacy of a human being fought a long war to oppose mandatory testing of all pregnant women for the dreaded AIDS/HIV virus. To test a woman against her will, and then inform her that she had AIDS, and that she must take the drug so that her unborn child would not develop the disease would be a rather intrusive method to follow, felt privacy defenders, even if such testing meant that the risk of transmission to others would be reduced, and many lives could be saved in the future. However, the several advances in science through the years until today have prompted many individuals to reconsider the issue today. Several people ask themselves today, are the potential benefits of mandatory testing for AIDS/HIV in some contexts outweighing the privacy interests? Or, on the other hand, is such an invasion of privacy completely justified if the unborn child could be saved from a life of disease and eventual death? It must be noted that several experiments and trials have been able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that when a pregnant woman is tested for AIDS, and it is found that she is HIV positive, and she is then offered the drug that would combat the transmission of the disease to her unborn child, and she takes up the offer, then the chances of the unborn fetus being born with full blown AIDS would be reduced dramatically. Statistics have revealed that such therapy would successful bring down the rate of transmission from a high of a one on four chance, to a one in fifty chance. Such evidence has prompted a rash of proposals on the part of the governments to make the testing of HIV/AIDS mandatory for a pregnant woman. To date, it must be noted that only the legislatures of New York and Connecticut have been able to sanction mandatory programs that would impose HIV tests on a pregnant woman, without her consent, wherein she would be able to turn down the ‘offer of testing’ put forth to her. Although it may be true that at first glance, one would not be able to understand why anyone would wish to turn down an offer to save their unborn child, it is indeed a fact that science today has not yet advanced so far as to absolutely guarantee that the young pregnant woman would not pass on the disease to her child, like for example, statistics are able to prove that even if a pregnant woman has no medication at all for her AIDS, she still has only a one in four chance of transmitting the virus to her unborn child. This is because of the simple fact that a mother transmits the disease to her child during the process of delivery, which is the time when the infant would be exposed to the blood of his mother, without the protection of the umbilical cord that has connected him to his mother all the nine months. In other words, statistics prove that intra-uterine transmission, that is, transference of the virus before delivery, of AIDS to the unborn infant is quite rare, and it does not take place in one out of four cases. AIDS and HIV can also be transmitted to the child after its birth, through breast feeding. Furthermore, it is important to remember that when an infant is born to an HIV-positive mother, HIV-antibody tests carried out on the newborn will always turn out to be positive, for the simple reason that the baby has would have inherited the HIV antibodies of its mother automatically during the birth and delivery processes, and this cannot be taken to mean that the newborn is infected with AIDS and HIV. You read "Mandatory HIV/AIDS testing for Pregnant Woman" in category "Essay examples" In these cases, the antibodies that the baby has inherited would stay in his body for the first few months of his life, after which it would be replaced with his own. If the HIV testing is done on the infant at this stage, it would reveal the actual status of the child, rather than if it were to be done immediately after birth, which would often mislead the persons involved.     (The ACLU on HIV testing of pregnant women and newborns 2001) It is a sad fact indeed that the data on AIDS in America and in Canada indicated that almost 766 out of 824 pregnant and HIV infected women from twenty five states of the United States of America were aware of their HIV status much before their deliveries, yet there are about 280 to 370 peri-natal HIV transmissions in the country, every year. Researchers and scientists state repeatedly that the only way in which to control this dismal state of affairs would be to make HIV/AIDS testing mandatory for pregnant woman, despite opposition from several quarters. In Canada, for example, three different HIV testing approaches have been assayed, and medical records and relevant data have shown without doubt that the so called ‘opt-in’ or voluntary testing approach, in which a pregnant woman is offered pre-HIV test counseling, and must give her consent voluntarily to an HIV test is generally related with lower testing rates than the ‘opt-out’ voluntary testing approach, in which the woman, who has had HIV/AIDS counseling, may choose to refuse HIV testing. As a matter of fact, even the mandatory newborn HIV testing approach proved to be ineffective, and the testing rates were much lower than expected, although they were better than the ‘opt-in’ testing method. (HIV testing among pregnant women, United States and Canada 1998 to 2001 2002) Today, with the governments across the world, especially in developed countries responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, women seem to be at the center of all the attention, and increasingly, global efforts at AIDS prevention seem to center on women, especially pregnant women who may transmit the dreaded AIDS virus to their unborn child, either before or after delivery. Most governments are taking advantage of the fact that medicines and drugs are available today, which would be able to effectively block the transmission of the virus to an infant, and these governments are using the drugs to make sure that the AIDS virus would not spread far and wide. One such government initiative is the ‘PMTCT Program’, or the ‘Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission Program’. It must be stated here that although the benefits of this and other similar programs may be tremendous, it is very important that the government takes into consideration the experiences of a pregnant woman who lives with AIDS, and the trauma that she undergoes as a direct result. The government must also learn to adopt a human rights perspective when it deals with a pregnant woman, and issues that concern her privacy. As a matter of fact, several governments seem to have forgotten, state human rights personnel, about the woman with AIDS, so keen are they on the prevention of the transmission of AIDS to the unborn child. Herein lies the crux of the issue: if the woman were to be treated as a patient, who is suffering from a dreaded and fatal disease, who needs treatment for the disease, and who has human rights as an individual, then it would be infinitely easier to deal with the issue. In other words, if the governments were to respect the woman who is harboring the AIDS virus, and treat her with basic human dignity and respect, it would ensure that her unborn child who is the future citizen of the country, and the future of his family would be better served. When this is taken in light of the fact that women are three times as likely as men to develop HIV/AIDS, and that a woman is physiologically more susceptible than a man to developing the infection through vaginal intercourse, it would seem that according a woman the deference that she deserves would be the best approach to the problem. In certain under developed countries, women have been reported to say that when they were diagnosed with AIDS, they were asked to abort their unborn fetuses, as they supposedly ‘had no right to pass on the infection to their unborn baby’.   In such cases, it is evident that the feelings and the rights of the woman were not considered in any way, and this is by no means uncommon. Although PMTCT Programs have today gained in popularity, and it is being touted across the world as being the one surefire method to control AIDS, these programs do implicate a certain invasion of the privacy and dignity of the woman concerned, especially in countries where the woman is denied the right to give informed consent to HIV/AIDS testing and treatment, probably because of a lack of education, and she is also denied her right to confidentiality. When this is taken in context of the stigma associated with AIDS in several countries, it is obvious that the program must be refined and restated, if it were to be a success.   (Pregnant woman living with HIV n.d) To conclude, it must be said that although mandatory testing for HIV/AIDS may be an excellent idea and that it would help prevent the transmission of the virus to a woman’s unborn child, the program must be implemented while keeping in mind the human rights, the right to confidentiality, and the basic human rights of the woman suffering form the disease. If this were to be done, then one can look forward to a world in which the awful HIV/AIDS virus would be eliminated, and the world would be a safe place once more. Works cited Yovetich, Tasha â€Å"Making it mandatory, should HIV tests be required for pregnant women?† The Canadian Women’s Health Network (1999) 13 December 2007 http://www.cwhn.ca/network-reseau/2-1/hiv.html â€Å"The ACLU on HIV testing of pregnant women and newborns† HIV testing of pregnant women and newborns (2001) 13 December 2007 http://www.aclu.org/hiv/testing/11535pub20010101.html â€Å"HIV testing among pregnant women, United States and Canada 1998 to 2001† MMWR Weekly (2002) 13 December 2007 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5145a1.htm â€Å"Pregnant woman living with HIV† Reproductive Right.org 13 December 2007 (n.d) http://209.85.175.104/search?q=cache:nY2ZbVW-hQoJ:www.reproductiverights.org/pdf/pub_bp_HIV.pdf+Mandatory+HIV/AIDS+testing+for+Pregnant+Womanhl=enct=clnkcd=4gl=in How to cite Mandatory HIV/AIDS testing for Pregnant Woman, Essay examples

Commercial Banking and Financial Analysis

Question: Discuss about the Commercial Banking and Financial Analysis. Answer: Introduction: Relative earnings can be measured by the price- earnings ratio of the organizational securities related to the market index. However, the performance evaluation for the relative earnings can be done by considering the income of the organization as well as the earnings per share during the accounting year (Kothari, Mizik Roychowdhury, 2015). In the present situation, earnings of Keystone National Bank along with the peers have been compared for the years 1989 and 1990. Considering the financial statements, it has been noted that the income from interest of the bank during the year 1989 was $39.35 million, which was 10.89% while the income of the peers during the same year was 10.62%. On the contrary, the interest income of the bank as well as the peers declined in the year 1990 by around 1.00%. The percentage fall in the interest income in case of Keystone bank was around 0.91% whereas the decline in income of peers in 1990 was at lower rate with 0.84%. Accordingly, it can be analyze d that the performance of peers was better than that of the Keystone Bank (Calomiris, Heider Hoerova, 2015). The interest expenses of the bank and peers declined in the year 1990 by around 0.5 % hence it can be said that the organizational performance in the year 1989 was better. As the expenses during the year 1989 was higher yet the income earned by the bank and peers was higher than the income of the year 1990 therefore the bank was efficient in the year 1989. The peers are correct to use since the performance percentage are parallel to that of Keystone International Bank. Further, the peers were engaged in the services of providing loans and deposits similar to the services provided by the Keystone Bank. It has been observed that the earnings of the Bank reflected at 0.91% while the income of peers reflected at 1.04%. Additionally, income from non- interest services earned by Bank at 0.90% and the income of peers was 0.94%. Hence, it can be said that the peers are correct to use as competitors for the matter of comparison. Similarly, income from non-interest business activities by the bank reflected 0.92% during the year 1989 whereas the income of peers during the year was 0.97%. However, the income during the year 1990 was declined to 0.90 in case of bank and that of its peers declined to 0.94%. It has been observed that the performance of the peers during both the year was better but the decline in income in case of bank was at higher percentage therefore it could be said that the service structure of the bank was not appropriate to generate decent income. Further, the income before tax of the bank was lower than the peers net income before tax during both the years even when the percentage of tax expense in case of peers is higher. It has been observed that the banking policies and internal control system of the Keystone bank were not followed in an appropriate manner to overcome the financial risk position (Chu et al., 2016). Financial crisis not only affects the other sector organizations but also the banking sector resulting in performance discrepancy for private, public and foreign banks. Recession period affects the banking sector with respect to the flow of funds from the deposits and borrowings. Impact of liquidity falls on the liquidity of funds because of mark to market accounting as per the governmental requirement required to be followed by the banks. Period of recession affects the investment policy and funds in terms of liquid funds or in terms of banking stocks since the flow of funds is restricted in the hands of consumers as well as organizations. During the year 1990 and 1989 most of banks suffered from the recession at an average number of 5000 which reflected around 20% decline in the banking values. Accordingly, the Keystone Bank performed better with a net income of around 1.00% during the year 1989 and 1990. It can be said that the bank managed to earn considerable profit from the interest as well as from non- interest income along with the commission income. Therefore, it can be said that the banks performance was better from that of the peers during the period of recession. Evaluation of Financial Risk Financial risk is the evaluated by using several ratios using the different variables of financial information in order to evaluate the organizations level of debt financing. It also measures the efficiency and capability of the business organizations to manage the amount of debt, which is due for repayment to the investors (Watson, 2015). It is essential to measure the organizational financial risk that determines the level of risk tolerance or appetite for maximization of profit and to maintain the sustainable growth. The financial risk is determined by considering the elements of credit, capital, structure of cost and revenue. One of the significant ratios used to measure the financial risk is Debt- to- Capital Ratio that determines the level of leverage in the capital employment (Kwon Yin, 2015). In case of keystone bank and its peers, the debt- capital ratio is determined by using the value of debt and total capital employed by the company during the financial year 1989 and 199 0. Since the information on debts is not clearly available in the present case, Federal funds purchased would be considered as an acquisition of debt (Fabius et al., 2016). Accordingly, the debt to capital ratio would be ____Federal Funds purchased__= ___14,551__ = 0.36 or 36% in the year 1990. Shareholders equity + Federal Funds 25,669+14,551 On the contrary, percentage of peers shareholders equity consisted of 6.98% while the percentage of federal funds purchased was 4.77% average of which comes to 0.42 or 42%. Since the debt capital ratio of back is lower than that of the peers, it can be interpreted that the financial condition of bank is stable even though the income level is lower. However, the amount of deposits used by the bank during the year 1990 was higher than that of the year 1989. Similarly, debt capital ratio of peers during the year 1989 was higher than that of during the year 1990 that implies the use of high level of debt financing to operate the business functions. Hence, the peers financial position is said to be at risk more than the bank during the financial years 1989 and 1990. Another financial ratio that can be used to determine the financing risk of bank and its peers is the interest coverage ratio, which indicates the efficiency of the organization to manage the cost of short- term finance. It is determined by using the earnings before interest and taxes and the interest expenses (Giglio, Kelly Pruitt, 2016). In case of bank and its peers amount of interest cost is not ascertainable hence, equity capital and assets would be considered, which appeared at 6.58% in the year 1990, while 6.45% in the year 1989 as per the financial data of Keystone Bank. Moreover, the equity capital and assets ratio of its peers reflected 6.98% during the year 1990 and 7.08% during the year 1989. It can be interpreted that the capacity of the peers to generate income from the assets to employ as equity capital was higher during the year 1989 while that of the bank was lower. Hence, the ability to generate return from the employment of financial assets by Bank is lower wherea s the efficiency of peers to generate profit from the assets was higher (Lee Andrade, 2015). Recession is said to be a negative growth in the regional economy for a continuous period of time that results in decline of economic activity as well as in the organizational performance. On the contrary, non- recession is either a positive growth or stagnant economy for a given period of time that improves the financial economy and performance of the organization. It affects the credit and liquidity risk since the recession impacts a decline in the gross domestic product as well as the value of funds for the country. Additionally, value of assets and other financial assets also decline due to recession, which affect the rate of bank interest and eventually affect the credit risk and liquidity risk. Analysis of Interest- sensitivity report Interest sensitivity is an assessment to determine the fluctuation in the price of the fixed asset that generates fixed income due to the change in the prevailing market rate of interest. It can be said that if the shares have more fluctuations in the price then such shares are more sensitive hence, such securities should be analyzed at the time of making investments (Doukas Walter 2015). Further, there are certain issues with the time market for trading and investment of shares with respect to the setting up of new business or for the purpose of business expansion or diversification. Further, the performance of the market with respect to the capital employment in the business organization becomes an issue in case the market price of the shares fluctuates frequently. Moreover, the time market does not involve the implication of external finance that is long- term hence it does not evaluate the level of financial leverage used by the organizations (Chang Tsai, 2016). In the present situation, total assets over the period valued to $198,537, which reflected fluctuations in the value of assets over the several intervals. Additionally, the amount of deposits of the bank during the period in case of noninterest bearing amounted to $70,411 while the interest bearing demands amounted to $12,338. If the maturity period of the asset is longer than the change in rate of interest is more sensitive to generate the asset values (Giglio, Kelly Pruitt, 2016). In view of the interest rate sensitivity report periodic gap reflected $67,506 during the first period whereas the periodic gap for the entire year reflected an amount of $34,887. The periodic gap indicates the fluctuation in the valuation of assets and interest rate as the cumulative gap reflects the percentage from 7.01% to 9.00% (Patton, 2016). Hence, it can be said that the assets of the company are more sensitive to the changes in the market interest rate during the financial year. Risk of interest rate is a measurement of risk that indicates the fluctuations in the interest rate considering the prevailing rates of different regions. Such change may affect the market value of the securities held by the investors (Morley et al., 2015). In the present case of Keystone Bank, the sensitivity report of interest rate reflects amount of interest bearing bank balance as the organizational asset whereas the amount of interest on deposits as the liability. However, the report does not reflect the actual rate of interest prevailing in the country in comparison with other countries. Hence, the effect of the change in interest rate in determining the market value of the banks securities cannot be determined which is essential to evaluate the efficiency of the organization for its performance (Stoll et al., 2015). Determination of Keystones liquidity The term liquidity refers the state or efficiency of the business organization to convert the assets into cash balance. It was essential to employ the assets that can be easily converted to cash balance and helps the organization to operate the business activities in a smoother way. Accordingly, liquidity needs for the organizations may be in terms of savings, short- term investments, emergency funds and other current assets (Craig, Fecht Tmer-Alkan, 2015). As per the liquidity report of Keystone Bank for the first quarter 1991, there are assets with maturing funds totaled to $65.66 million. The organization employed the assets on investment in securities amounted to $8.35 million, Federal funds already sold for an amount of $11,428. It can be said that the most liquidity needs over the first quarter of 1991 are investment securities and federal funds that have already been sold by the Bank. Considering the current ratio 0.75 to measure the liquidity position of the bank, it can be said that the total value of assets is lower than the total value of liabilities hence the value of sources of asset was not sufficient to meet the liabilities. It has been observed that organization had sold off the Federal Funds amounted to $11,428 which can be used as a source of liquid need to meet the obligations (Jinjarak, 2015). However, the total value of assets consists of principal payments for commercial loans amounted to $15,172 and real estate loans amounted to $6,606 that cannot be considered as income generating assets. Further, payments on consumer loans and other loans including the lease financing cannot be considered as income generating assets to meet the liability obligations during the year (Etula et al., 2015). The principal payments appear under the assets of the organization since the payment has been done in advance i.e. before the due date. On the other hand, total liability of the bank during the first quarter of the year 1990 appears to be $86,993 as maturing funds while $13,900 as volatile funds. Additionally, the bank had acquired an estimated amount of new loan demand valued at $35.00 million and the value of new core deposits $21.00 million. Hence, it was essential for the bank to have liquidity resources to be able to pay back the potential amount of loan at the time of maturity pe riod. Considering the given report of liquidity of the Keystone Bank it can be said that the bank should acquire short term investments so that it could generate cash on sale of such investments. The bank could also acquire term loans at lower rate of interest for the purpose of working capital since the existing resources of current assets during the beginning of 1991 were not sufficient (Michiels et al., 2015). It can be observed that the bank had acquired higher value of time deposits both under and over value amounting to $100,000 that could be avoided since the outstanding amount was high while the liquid funds were less. Further, the bank could dispose of the assets that were not relevant or unutilized during the financial year 1990 to accumulate certain amount of funds (Calomiris, Heider Hoerova, 2015). Recommendations to the management In order to improve the banking operations and maximize profitability it is important to regulate the services for consumers satisfaction with respect to the competitive market. Considering the current market and banking regulations it is essential to maintain the consumer relationship, consumer requirements along with the banking services. Accordingly, banking organizations are recommended to improve the banking operations in the following ways: Relationship pricing and product package is one of the methods that increase the demand of the consumers for banking services. This method involves the identification of consumers requirements as per the current environment in consideration with the best prices as well as product bundling based on the consumers view. It is important to consider the rates of exchange, interest rates, underwriting service charges that improve the banking operations and assist in maximizing the profitability. Customer segmentation can be applied by the management to improve the customer relationship by extracting relevant data as per the credit funds and amount of deposits. The management is recommended to share the existing consumer records considering the business applications to understand the demographics, preferences and engagement. This system enables the banking sectors to target the required products by applying services at lower costs and improve marketing strategies. It is also recommended to the banks to adopt the events on real time basis in order to offer the marketing campaigns based on the cross- channel media to operate the stock transfers, offering credit services and retailing jobs. Method of real- time services enables the organization to save operational time and man power that eventually saves cost of services. Operation of bank services through real- time basis determines consumer needs as per the current economy and helps in increasing the marketability and service channels that helps in considering the best action. It also helps in eliminating the barriers relating to identification of appropriate service areas, locations for marketing and economic advantages at micro and macro level. Banks can also implement the services by application of innovative reward design which helps the organization to motivate the employees for providing efficient service as per the organizational benchmark. This method is also applicable to the consumers that are most profitable to the organization in form of monetary and service benefits. In order to maximize the profitability and increase banking services it is important to have attractive marketing strategy that helps in acquiring potential consumers. Banks can also implement the services of automated customer care to provide support services to the consumers that saves the functional time as well as functional cost. Accordingly, it can be suggested to the Keystone National Bank could have monitored the internal control system to improve the credit and deposit services. It has been observed that the bank had liabilities more than the value of assets hence it is recommended that Keystone should channelize its marketing strategy. The management is required to identify the potential customers to expand the credit services and lower the value of loans and deposits to strengthen its financial position. Further, the bank could focus on the services of interest and commission since it generated higher income and at higher percentage that would maximize the organizations profitability. The future of bank risk management, McKinsey and company In view of the statistics and reports, it has been noted that the banks have worked and changed dramatically the strategies to manage risk since past years. For the purpose of risk management, banks have implemented several initiatives that involve banking regulations, customer expectations with the change in technology and other banking norms. It has been noted that the banks have worked in reaction to the regulations that have been appeared from the financial crisis across the globe (Diamond Kashyap, 2016). It has been observed that the banking operations in consideration to the regulations of credit administration and other services would experience change that is more positive in the next few years. The processes that involve risk operations accounted for around 50% for the staff function while the percentage for analytics was only 15%. However, it has been noted that the banks would be able achieve the analytics percentage approximately to 40% while the functions staff would be managed to 25%. Since the banking trends experience the function of risks from all the perspective of banking regulations and operations, it is difficult to predict the actual risk function for future years. The present economy by considering the financial or non- financial operational functions and regulations need to be broaden to prevent the potential errors, improper practices and banking failures (House, Sablik Walter, 2016). It is essential for the banking organizations to implement the advanced technology to operate the banking services to the customers that assists in providing the services faster and in accurate manner. It has been noted that with the rise of advancement in technology, expectation of consumers also rise parallel to the change in information technology. It has been observed that the evolution in the technological system and advancement in the analytics gives rise to the techniques of risk management especially in the banking sectors. Banking services include credit underwriting, credit monitoring, detection of fraud in the services of credit- card facilities and other services of loans and deposits that have to be operated by using the advanced technologies (Bonner, Van Lelyveld Zymek, 2015). Further, advancement in the banking economics whether financial or non- financial assists the managers of risk to consider the advanced operational structure to eliminate the operational risks, credit margins as per the banking regulations. The risk managers are also required to implement the improved means of banking regulations to manage and reduce the operational costs by maintaining the quality of services. Accordingly, several initiatives and trends with respect to the future banking services can be analyzed to monitor the risk management for banking sectors (DeAngelo Stulz, 2015). First trend that assist in shaping the function of risk management is continuation of regulation in a broader way. In the emerging economies, banking operations need to comply with more advanced regulation for financial as well as non- financial functions including several banking facilities to the consumers. It was noted that financial crisis during the year 2008 have been resolved to a great extent in the financial markets considering the economies that are developed. It has been made mandatory in several regions to maintain the regulations with respect to the bribery, tax collection or monetary fraud. Similarly, regulations for the practices of employment services and standards of environment should be implemented (Gambetta, Zorio-Grima Garca-Benau, 2015). Second trend involves customer expectations in relation to the change in technologies conducted by the competitors like companies involved in financial technologies. It has been noticed that during the year 2014, the technological activities accounted to the profits of the bank for around 60% while the percentage of equity return noted to 22%. The banking services are required to implement the technologies that assist in providing instant services to the retailers, decisions for corporate credit and other services for loans and advances. In addition to this, third trend involve the evolution of analytics with respect to the advanced technology (Calomiris Carlson, 2016). It involves the understanding and implementation of technological innovation to assist the banking services to manage the risk functions considering the lower cost. The technological factors provide potential impact on the banking sectors by considering big data, learning for machines and crowd sourcing. Big data ind icates the functions of risk at low cost as well as in a faster way to provide the services to structured consumer information including the unstructured consumers information. Such activities help the banking services in taking better decisions for credit risk by detecting the financial fraud and error. Similarly, machine learning involves the improvement in risk models to the accurate numbers by recognizing the patterns that are complex involved in the sets of large data. The implementation of machine learning resulted in achievement of results in faster way and accurate manner by eliminating the financial errors. On the contrary, crowd sourcing is an idea enabled by using the source of internet that improves the efficiency of business operations. Such implementation of improved technological factors supports in reducing the cost and fines of risk factors if such factors are applied at the right time (Berg, 2015). Fourth trend involves emergence of new risks in the banking sector that includes model risk, contagion risk and risk of cyber security. In order to manage the banking risks effectively it is important to understand the model risk in a better way, which involves the evaluation and implementation of appropriate and relevant interest rates. The model requires to be implemented by using the correct assumptions and error free data entry. Similarly, the contagion risk involves understanding of vulnerability of the financial market across the globe measure the performance and impact of contagion. Cyber security involves the protection against the crime and errors that attack the internet and other cyber resources. Accordingly, risk managers are required to consider the functions that protect the cybercrime and improve the banking services (Giovannoni, Quarchioni Riccaboni, 2016). Further, the fifth trend implies the risk functions that assist to eliminate the banking biasness, which considered the behavioral economics to understand the decision-making functions of consumers. Risk managers are required to analyze the consumers behavior to remove the conscious biasness to perform the effective banking services. Similarly, the last trend presents the pressure with respect to the savings of cost to operate the banking services effectively. It is important to for the risk managers to measure the approaches for cost- cutting in simple, standard and digitized manner. The risk managers are required to manage the operational costs to perform the banking services in an effective manner with improved technologies (Bromiley et al., 2015). In view of the above discussion, it can be said that the scenarios mentioned by Mckinsey Company provides practical view for implementing the practices to mitigate the banking risk. In the present era most of the organizations and consumers depend on the resources of advanced technology to improve the business processes with respect to time, cost and quality. The article by Mckinsey Company focuses on the basic functions to be implemented by the banks to eliminate the risk factors and to perform the services in an accurate manner. It can be said that the trends stated in the article are justified parallel to the type of services banking sectors provide to the consumers (Giovannoni, Quarchioni Riccaboni, 2016). In the present economy, online services are growing to a great extent for which improved and advanced information technology is required along with resources of internet. For instance, services with respect to the credit fund, loans and borrowings, credit underwriting and ot her related services should be performed by the banks after eliminating the functional risks. It is essential for the banks to consider the banking regulation to perform the services in compliance with the legal requirements and principal banking norms. As the expectations of consumers increases in terms of the improved and upgraded technological factors, it is important for the banks to implement the services procedures in accordance with the advanced technology. Further, the banks are required to understand the consumer requirements and preferences as well as their expectations to implement the relevant services to eliminate the risk factors. The banking sectors are required to enhance the service functions in regulation to the reporting of risks so that the potential errors or frauds can be removed to provide better banking services (DeAngelo Stulz, 2015). For instance, some of the top banks in Canada are best known to perform the services on credit risk, market risk, financial risk and economic risk in recent times. Royal Bank of Canada is one of the top banks to perform in line with the risk management thereby recorded the asset size of C$ 1150 billion. Accordingly, it can be recommended that the banks are required to evaluate the current trends, consumer preferences and requirements and the available risk factors. Further, the banking sectors are required to formulate the functions on risk management by considering the available technological resources and required resources that would help the banks to improve the consumer services (Berg, 2015). Reference List Berg, T. (2015). Playing the devil's advocate: The causal effect of risk management on loan quality.Review of Financial Studies, hhv040. Bonner, C., Van Lelyveld, I., Zymek, R. (2015). Banks Liquidity Buffers and the Role of Liquidity Regulation.Journal of Financial Services Research,48(3), 215-234. Bromiley, P., McShane, M., Nair, A., Rustambekov, E. (2015). Enterprise risk management: Review, critique, and research directions.Long range planning,48(4), 265-276. Calomiris, C. W., Carlson, M. (2016). Corporate governance and risk management at unprotected banks: National banks in the 1890s.Journal of Financial Economics,119(3), 512-532. Calomiris, C. W., Heider, F., Hoerova, M. (2015). A theory of bank liquidity requirements.Columbia Business School Research Paper, (14-39). Chang, S. C., Tsai, P. H. (2016). A hybrid financial performance evaluation model for wealth management banks following the global financial crisis.Technological and Economic Development of Economy,22(1), 21-46. Chu, J., Dechow, P. M., Hui, K. W., Wang, A. Y. (2016). The Valuation Premium for a String of Positive Earnings Surprises: The Role of Earnings Manipulation.Available at SSRN 2607219. Craig, B. R., Fecht, F., Tmer-Alkan, G. (2015). The role of interbank relationships and liquidity needs.Journal of Banking Finance,53, 99-111. DeAngelo, H., Stulz, R. M. (2015). Liquid-claim production, risk management, and bank capital structure: Why high leverage is optimal for banks.Journal of Financial Economics,116(2), 219-236. Diamond, D. W., Kashyap, A. K. (2016).Liquidity requirements, liquidity choice and financial stability(No. w22053). National Bureau of Economic Research. Doukas, J. A., Walter, A. (2015). European Financial Management Association (EFMA) Annual Meetings: a Retrospective Evaluation.European Financial Management,21(4), 790-810. Etula, E., Rinne, K., Suominen, M., Vaittinen, L. (2015). Dash for Cash: Month-End Liquidity Needs and the Predictability of Stock Returns.Available at SSRN 2528692. Fabius, R., Loeppke, R. R., Hohn, T., Fabius, D., Eisenberg, B., Konicki, D. L., Larson, P. (2016). Tracking the market performance of companies that integrate a culture of health and safety: an assessment of corporate health achievement award applicants.Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine,58(1), 3-8. Gambetta, N., Zorio-Grima, A., Garca-Benau, M. A. (2015). Complaints management and bank risk profile.Journal of Business Research,68(7), 1599-1601. Giglio, S., Kelly, B., Pruitt, S. (2016). Systemic risk and the macroeconomy: An empirical evaluation.Journal of Financial Economics,119(3), 457-471. Giovannoni, E., Quarchioni, S., Riccaboni, A. (2016). The role of roles in risk management change: The case of an Italian bank.European Accounting Review,25(1), 109-129. House, M., Sablik, T., Walter, J. R. (2016). Understanding the New Liquidity Coverage Ratio Requirements.Richmond Fed Economic Brief, (Jan), 1-5. Jinjarak, Y. (2015). Supply Chains, Global Financial Shocks and Firm Behaviour towards Liquidity Needs.The World Economy,38(3), 425-444. Kothari, S. P., Mizik, N., Roychowdhury, S. (2015). Managing for the moment: The role of earnings management via real activities versus accruals in SEO valuation.The Accounting Review,91(2), 559-586. Kwon, S. S., Yin, J. (2015). A comparison of earnings persistence in high-tech and non-high-tech firms.Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting,44(4), 645-668. Lee, C. J., Andrade, E. B. (2015). Fear, excitement, and financial risk-taking.Cognition and Emotion,29(1), 178-187. Michiels, A., Voordeckers, W., Lybaert, N., Steijvers, T. (2015). Dividends and family governance practices in private family firms.Small Business Economics,44(2), 299-314. Morley, P. T., Lang, E., Aickin, R., Billi, J. E., Eigel, B., Ferrer, J. M. E., ... Maconochie, I. K. (2015). Part 2: Evidence Evaluation and Management of Conflicts of Interest 2015 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations.Circulation,132(16 suppl 1), S40-S50. Patton, M. Q. (2016). What is Essential in Developmental Evaluation? On Integrity, Fidelity, Adultery, Abstinence, Impotence, Long-Term Commitment, Integrity, and Sensitivity in Implementing Evaluation Models.American Journal of Evaluation, 1098214015626295. Stoll, D. R., Talus, E. S., Harmes, D. C., Zhang, K. (2015). Evaluation of detection sensitivity in comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography separations of an active pharmaceutical ingredient and its degradants.Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry,407(1), 265-277. Watson, L. (2015). Corporate social responsibility, tax avoidance, and earnings performance.The Journal of the American Taxation Association,37(2), 1-21.

An Analysis of the Final Scenes of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Essay Example

An Analysis of the Final Scenes of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Essay Example An Analysis of the Final Scenes of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Paper An Analysis of the Final Scenes of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Paper Essay Topic: Death Of a Salesman In this scene, Linda also talks about the house being empty now, without Willy, and with the boys finally growing up and making something of themselves. Earlier in the play Willy and Linda are reminiscing about paying off their mortgage and bringing up their children, and Linda says well, it served its purpose, referring to the boys childhoods. However, Willy is dismissive of this, questioning this achievement and wishing if only Biff would take this house, and raise a family At this point, Willy is still unhappy that his sons, and especially Biff, have never really been successful in their lives or careers, having had such promising starts. So, the house has gone from a home for the children and the family, to an empty home with only Linda. In my opinion, the most important part of this scene is the discussion of Willys dreams. Linda is a little excluded from this, partly due to the fact that she is still completely unaware of Willys affair, but there is enormous value in the comments of Charley and Biff. Happy is fierce in his determination to fight for his fathers legacy for the first time in the play. Biff believes that his father was a man of the soil, and was following the wrong dreams. In my opinion, Willy was following the wrong dreams, as I believe that he was following the stereotype of the American Dream, a successful businessman, a large house in suburbia, a big car and a perfect family. He seemed to feel that it was the dream that he had to follow, there was no other. I believe that what he really wanted was to live a simple life with his family, and to be respected and loved by all for what he was. However, Charley makes some very interesting arguments as well. He says that no man only needs a small salary, indicating Willys stubborn pride, which is slowly diminishing as he begs Howard for his job. Also, he does agree in part with Biff, saying that Willy was a happy man with a batch of cement in reference to Willys simple and honest soul, that desired nothing more than an easy life. The most important point that Charley makes, however, is when he talks about the life that Willy has to lead. For a salesman, he explains there is no rock bottom to the life. He dont put a bolt to a nut, he dont tell you the law or give you medicine. Hes a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back- thats an earthquake. And then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and youre finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream boy, it comes with the territory. In my opinion, this is one of the most stirring and revealing speeches in the play, and shows a lot about the pressures that Willy was under. Charley is basically reiterating his point that this was the only dream that was available to Willy, and so he had to follow it. Also, when Charley talks about spots on a hat, I believe that links can be seen to the change in Willys personality after Biffs discovery of the affair. Willy becomes irritable, withdrawn and paranoid, and when a salesman has to sell himself to make a living, the consequences are bound to be disastrous. There are also some very strong links to earlier moments in the play in this scene. Just before his death, Willy became very concerned with planting seeds, or as I see it, forming a legacy to leave behind. He seemed to realise that he was never as respected as he believed, and was so desperate to be remembered that he had to lay the foundations for life after Willy Loman. The seeds also have another aspect to them, in my opinion. To me, they represent the dream of a simple life. Earlier, in the play, we are told that nothing will grow in the dusty back yard because of the hard apartment blocks that crowd the house. These apartments represent to me what might be called The American Reality, where this sense of adventure beyond the constraints of urban, restricted and repetitive life, is drowned out. As I mentioned before, this sense of adventure is personified by the character Ben, who had been restrained while Willy had his job and was settled in his lifestyle. However, towards the end of his life, Ben re-emerges in a last desperate attempt to break through the barriers and restraints that have been set. On the stage at the end of the play, the scene is one of darkness and of false hope in my opinion. It basically sums up the harsh reality of Willys life. This is done using the flute, which is present throughout the play, and to me represents the hiding of reality behind a false dream, such as when Willy returns to previous memories, when all was good, or so he could pretend. This flute appears in harsh contrast to the cold, hard reality of the daunting apartment blocks. These blocks represent the oppressive uniformity which has spelt the end for men like Willy Loman, men with character and spirit, not men who wanted to follow the same, stereotyped dream. Ironically, however, this is exactly what he had found himself doing for so many years.

Neil armstrong essays

Neil armstrong essays When Neil Armstrong was two years old he loved going to the Airport to watch the planes take off and land. He got so excited just watching. When he was five years old he pretended that he was hovering over his bed. He wanted to fly! He loved airplanes and at six years old he had his first airplane ride. He was so smart in school that they moved him from second grade into third grade because he was reading at a fifth grade level. Every airplane book he got his hands on he read. He always liked building model airplanes. When Neil was in high school he worked in the Chemistry lab. In his basement he made a wind tunnel. And on the roof of his garage he built an observatory where he had telescopes to look at the moon and the stars. He learned so much and was so excited that he couldn't wait to fly. He worked in a pharmacy to pay for his flying lessons. When he was only sixteen years old he got his pilots license! He graduated high school and went to Perdue University on a US Navy scholarship. He learned everything he could about planes and rockets. After college graduation he was a pilot in the Korean War. After the war he went back to Perdue to learn even more. He became a test pilot for experimental X-15 rocket planes which flew to the end of the earth's atmosphere. He didn't want to stop there, he wanted to just keep on going. So in 1962 when NASA was taking applications for astronauts he applied and was accepted. His first mission was on Gemini 8. He and David Scott orbited the earth three times and docked with the Agena. There was a problem with the rocket rolling, but Neil Armstrong didn't get scared and they were able to stop the rolling and return to earth. He was on Gemini 11 and then on Apollo 10. Apollo 10 was launched from Cape Kennedy, orbited the moon, and came within ten miles of the moons surface. On July 16,1969 Apollo 11 blasted off with Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, ...

PERSONAL PAPER IBEW LOCAL 3 Electrical Apprentice...How Electrical Essay

PERSONAL PAPER IBEW LOCAL 3 Electrical Apprentice...How Electrical Theory Class should be more of a hands on learning class the - Essay Example By stimulating my mind, not only does my interest and desire for what I am working on or with grow, but my learning is also affected in as much as I will learn and retain more information. Whereas in the case of lecturing only, it leaves the mind the opportunity to wander and not absorb as much information as it could. Lectures, books and training videos are all excellent sources to glean information. The problem remains, without a more hands-on approach, the information will likely become stagnant and ultimately forgotten. It is my desire to be an electrician, and forgetting vital information is not an option. In addition, I think it is essential in the overall learning process that by using a more hands-on approach, my teacher will also create an atmosphere of learning how to handle myself in a hazardous situation. If my teacher only gives me the education on how and why electricity works and acts as it does, how am I, in such a volatile environment, going to learn how to handle my self and act or react appropriately? My teacher is very highly educated, is fully aware, and understands the activity of electricity. That is vital, but it is equally important that I learn how to demonstrate what I have been taught in a safe, calm and professional manner. Often, people who have not received enough hands-on training overreact, panic or create a feeling of dread when they realize the true dangers they are dealing with. According to Dr. Michael Burke of Tulane University, this feeling is referred to the â€Å"dread factor†. given a more hands-on â€Å"training environment, †¦[we] are faced more acutely with the †¦dangers of the job and they are †¦more motivated to learn about such dangers and how to avoid them.† this applies to everyone in my class, because our actions and words will have a large impact on how we handle a given situation, and could be the difference between life and death. The hazards that any electrician faces are dauntin g, but with proper training and understanding, they are highly attuned to what is going on around them and act accordingly. In a more hands-on learning setting, it is more motivating to the apprentice to learn and use the knowledge gained. Hands-on learning also provides a social aspect to learning that would otherwise not occur. This social construct provides more details concerning the hazards and consequences of not acting or reacting responsibly. People in general are motivated by self-preservation and not knowing and understanding potential dangers is perilous to them as well as others. This lends itself to another aspect of hands-on learning that a lecture simply cannot provide. We as humans understand our weaknesses, no matter how strong or weak we may perceive ourselves to be. This understanding of our vulnerabilities is key to understanding how we learn. It is a huge motivator to learn actions, words and feelings that are unfamiliar, and address them in a controlled environ ment where a â€Å"life-threatening† situation is occurring. This way of learning will not only improve knowledge of electricity, its components and capabilities, but will also show, through experience, how to handle volatile situations.

Mayor Bloombergs Dedication to Arts in Education For New York Citys Essay

Mayor Bloombergs Dedication to Arts in Education For New York Citys Schools - Essay Example The 1970's were a time of fiscal crisis in New York City's public schools. Among the first items to be lopped from the education budgets were classes in the fine arts (Mandell, 2005). While the money would later return, the attitude at the top toward the arts did not change much - Mayor Giuliani even established a "decency commission" to determine what art would and would not be acceptable for public support, and even for public display (Steinhauer, 2005). Mayor Bloomberg, in stark contrast, has demonstrated a serious commitment to the arts in New York City. He has established Percent for Art, a policy that requires the consultation of the arts commission for any significant public-works project. Additionally, he has borrowed sculptures and paintings from galleries and museums across the city and placed them in public areas. He has donated more than $40 million to the Carnegie Corporation, for distribution to 162 cultural organizations in New York City (Steinhauer, 2005). ... Sharon Dunn, the new head of Arts Education for New York City schools, has said that "One of the areas identified as most in need of development is the need to acquaint school administrators with the benefits and elements of arts education." (Mandell, 2005). Under Mayor Bloomberg's leadership, the Department of Education secured a $1 million grant from the Bank of America, aimed at educating the leaders of New York City schools about the importance of culture in learning. Over 400 principals and local superintendents benefited from the Cultural Pass Program, which gave them free admission to 25 cultural institutions in New York City, as well as discounted admission to performances and concerts. According to Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein, this program will "better acquaint principals with the many cultural and arts institutions available to their teacher and students across the City" and promote the idea of cultural organizations as "instructional resources" (NYC Department, 2004). Other objections to Mayor Bloomberg's education policy have included the following: an instruction plan that does not cover enough of the arts; insufficient and inequitable distribution of resources, and insufficient facilities and supplies; a shortage of qualified art instructors; and a "variation" in the quality of partnerships between schools and cultural organizations (NYC Council Report, 2003). A lot of these concerns boil down to one issue: money. While the current education budget includes $70 million for Project Arts, and while Mayor Bloomberg is committed to "focus on arts education to ensure that students learn about the arts and fully experience" the cultural life of New York City (Bloomberg, 2005), the City has a mammoth lawsuit to

Unit 1 Case Study Assignment 1 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unit 1 Case Study Assignment 1 - Coursework Example The recommend specifications are 1 gigahertz 64-bit processor, 4 gigabytes of RAM and 500 gigabytes of hard disk space. The operating systems they can choose from are windows 7 or windows 8 which are running a current Microsoft office software such as Microsoft Office 2010 or 2013. An antivirus program such as Kaspersky or Norton is a useful add-on. There are several types of server brands to choose from such as Dell, IBM and Oracle. The minimum hardware for 5-25 users is a server with a 2GHz, 64 bit processor, 2GB memory (RAM) and a 160 Gigabyte hard disk (Micorsoft, n.d.). The recommended hardware is a 3.1 Gigahertz, 64-bit processor, 8GB RAM and a 500 Gigabyte hard disk. The recommended server software is Windows Server 2012 Essentials which is built to cater for small business environments (Technet, n.d). Fault tolerance requires that there is a spare part that takes over in case the original part fails. To make the server fault tolerant recommend options are: having spare memory modules in case the memory fails, having to network interface cards(NICs), having a redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID), having a dual power supply and having two servers clustered so they appear as one

Six Steps To Make Complex Decision Effective Decision Education Essay

Six Steps To Make Complex Decision Effective Decision Education Essay Decision making is a process of selecting from several products or ideas and than taking action on that .All of us have to make decisions in our day today life. Some decisions are straightforward, simple and easy to understand and some are too complicated to understand. Simple decision can be taken easily, whereas complex decision involves uncertainty, complexity, high risk consequences, alternatives, interpersonal issues. There are six steps to make complex decision into an effective decision. Create a constructive environment. Generate good alternatives. Explore these alternatives. Choose the best alternative. Check your decision. Communicate your decision, and take action. (Source:-www. Minds tools .com) Problem solving means whatever we do in order to achieve our goal. In todays world each and every person is facing problem. Some problems are familiar, reflecting the concerns of most people in our culture, while others will be problems with which you are unconcerned yourself. All problems are having two things common. They all specify goal and the solver is not immediately able to achieve the goal due to lack of resources or knowledge. First and foremost is to define the problem and than try to solve it with different approaches. Theoretical, behavioural, quantitative, qualitative and practical aspects are all reviewed, examined and applied for solving the problem. By using such a model, you can take huge decision in a simpler way. Solution of the problem is the first step for taking any good and effective decisions. Well-defined problem helps the solver in providing information needed in order to solve the problem. Many problems can seem quite different on the surface but they are having same underlying problem structure, as a consequence they are having same solution. As we all know that United Kingdom is facing a problem for accommodation and jobs. I was facing a problem for getting a job in United Kingdom. Moreover, it adds fuel to fire by inviting hundreds of thousands of student for further education. As I was fairly new to this country and change in systems I was struggling to get a job in U.K. I was roaming in shops and supermarket in search of a job, but there was no positive response from any side. I also visited Essex for a search of job but everything was waste of time for me. Many people had given me advice and help for a search of job but all things were going negatively. I decided to leave with my relatives to cut down my expenses as I was not getting job. APPROACHES ADOPTED TO TACKLE THE PROBLEM: As I have stated earlier that, I was finding difficulty in looking for a job. With the help of logic and magic given by Rayment in Mind Morphing I have tackled my problem. Firstly, I try to find the basic small-small problems, to solve the problem. As I gradually know the requirement for achieving job, like national insurance number. So for that I have faced interview on phone, they have ask me some basic question related to my house and academic. I made an observation that hows other are applying for jobs? Many students told me to make good curriculum vitae for hunting a job. So I simply started to concentrate on such topics. For tackling complicated problem into effective decision I had followed following steps. Understanding the problem Devising a plan Carrying out the plan Looking back(conclusion) (www.teacher.scholastic.com) Understanding the problem: My major problem is to find the job in UK. As we all know that there is lack of jobs in United Kingdom as its economy is going down day by day. Many people are losing there job due to bad economy. For finding a job I was roaming in shops and seating in a hope of getting a job through the reference of my relatives. This was my big mistake to seat idle in a hope of getting a job through relatives. Ultimately I realised that I have to struggle for my own to get a job. As I am fairly new in UK, there is lack of information with me. Afterwards I tried to gather all information from all area for getting a job. Devising a plan: After gathering all the information related to the job, I started preparing a plan, so that I can implement it in near future. Finally, I decided to stay in Cambridge and decided to search for a job. I decided to register at employment bureau, which is located in my university. Later on, I decided to post my C.V. in the major areas of Cambridge, where most of the bars, restaurants and shopping malls are located. I also decided to register at job centre plus as well as search on internet on regular basis. Carrying out the plan: After making constructive plan, I simply implemented it to succeed in getting job. I always read news paper and searched on internet as a daily routine in search of job. One day I saw a job vacancy for cleaning purpose in a school, I simply applied online after that they gave me a call for an interview. Fortunately, I succeed in achieving job and along with that my tension of getting a job without affecting my studies got released. Looking back(conclusion): Therefore, I can say that every thing went according to the plan. As I was looking for a job in Cambridge itself as my university is in Cambridge, I got double benefit from my decision, the first one is that I got a job and the second is that I was able to concentrate on my studies. THE DEGREE OF ACHIEVING SUCCESS IN PLAN: As we all know, that success of any person depends on its hard effort put by him. I succeeded because; I was focusing on my plan in serious way. I was worried about my job in Cambridge, I was not able to focus anywhere as I was worried of, that from where I am going to pay my rent and food expenses. But I followed my plan in a systematic way and achieved success. Therefore, I can say that if a person plans anything systematically than he can get success in life as I got. The moment I got a job, I felt really relaxed and peaceful because the biggest problem of job has been solved. On the other hand, I can easily commute to my university and home. Moreover, as university is nearer I can use library for course work as and when required .so that I can give more importances to my studies. Furthermore, Cambridge is a nice place for education as well as residing. Finally, at the end of the third month I succeeded in getting a good job and got an opportunity to study and work in the home tow n of management i.e. Cambridge. CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF APPROACHES: There are different approaches of problem solving and decision making which could enhance your decision making abilities and improve your problem solving scenario. Many psychologists, after their long years of researches, have given outstanding and useful techniques and methods which can also be implemented not only by big organisations but also by individuals in solving their day to day problems. One such technique is ASK SIR L given by John Rayment in mind morphing According to ASK SIR L: A ppreciate: Appreciate is the first stage in this model, that helps in finding existing problem. We should indentified the problem with the help of SWOT analysis and examine internal strengths and weakness as well as external opportunity and threats. So effective steps can be taken to tackle or avoid the problem. Despite of having information technology and modern techniques, some problems are difficult to solve. In this stage I have detected that my problem is to get a job in UK despite of having extreme competition. S pecify: In this stage we should be specify what the problem is, for that you should be aware what is going wrong at the time of generating solution. It is necessary to establish as many facts about the problem as possible and experimentation may be required. Onces you indentify the problem, cause and solution become easy to define. Considering all things how and why the problem occurs, attempts to specify the problem in this way will move into the area of causes. In this stage solver can get a clues how to solve the problem but not a solution. We should also think about 6 classic questions: who, what, where, when, how and why? For finding causes of problem, underlying logic should be used: exactly how would the problem result? You should recall the length of problem in this stage, so it will help to indicate the amount of effort which should be put into solving it. K auses: Causes mean some specified event to occur like any bad event. It is important to distinguish between cause and effect .so that when we come to look for solutions, we do not mistakenly attempt to treat symptoms instead of the underlying causes. There are three types of causes that is: potential, possible, actual. Potential cause means considering all events that could result in a situation Brain storming is done to list potential causes, including those you might be tempted to reject out of hand. Possible cause should be separated from potential cause so that unnecessary things can be eliminated, if they are not requiring for further application. Actual causes should be abstract from potential causes so it becomes simpler to take decision from actual causes rather than to take from potential causes. S olutions: Solution is depending upon the kind of problem you are facing. For solving the problem not only approaches and ideas are require but adequate intelligence and practical implementation is also require. We require the solutions which help in solving our problem and achieving our goal. Any problem can be solve in different ways it totally dependence on person how he/she want to solve it. But be aware, that the solution accepted by you should be properly tested before implementation. Solution selected by you should avoid serious adverse events in the future. In complex decisions, it will be necessary to establish and analyse the relative merits of each option. Solution must be fair, equitable and acceptable to all affected parties. To overcome from this problem I had find many solution. For instance, if I live in Essex with my friend than it helps me to reduce down my cost and keep it away from homesickness. On the other hand my commuting fare has been increasing and its a tedious job to commute three days in a week. Finally, I decided to stay in Cambridge and to concentrate on my studies and job. So you have to select effective solution out of many solutions. R eview: After implementing the solution next step is to take review about what is happening. Review is an assessment of the effectiveness of a particular decision. It is necessary to establish the extent to which it is being successful. Generally review is requiring when there is a complicated situations, it helps us to find a clear -cut outcomes. Sometimes solutions may not give immediate results, so their ultimate effectiveness cannot be known. In such circumstances we should asses whether particular aspects of the solution are working with the help of review. From this one can know about their degree of success, they can realise their positive achievement. In my case I call for job interview, after completion of my interview, I was taking a review of my interview whether I have made any mistakes or not. After thinking lot I conclude that it was a satisfactory interview. L earn: Problems can be solved after a great deal of thought, time and effort. We learn more and more things by solving such a complex problems. Getting success or failure in making effective decision is the matter, but if we want to avoid problems of this nature in future, and improve the quality of our problem solving, we need to identify any shortcomings in our current processes. Main focus should be on learning how we can improve our future decision making. Having extracted all available learning points, we must ensure they will be carried forward into our future decision making. (source:-mind morphing) Application of ASK SIR L technique would have improved my degree of success. If I would have known this technique earlier, I would have applied in my problem solving. Then, it would have gained me success much earlier and I could hopefully be able to get my job with a span of 45days or so. CONCLUSION: Everyone is facing difficulties in their life, but it totally dependence on persons abilities how he/she turns complex problem into effective decision. As a student life and that too not in your home country is full of problems and anxieties. If I had not use such modern techniques, than I cant solve my problem in such a simpler way. For solving this complex problem I had done lots of brainstorm by reading books and searching on internet. But by solving this problem and reading lots of references, I had understood how to tackle the problem and effective decision can be taken from that. Make your problem as simpler as you can, try to analyse each and everything you can . Note down all your opinion and than extract unnecessary ideas from that. Therefore I would use ASK SIR L and other similar technique in my future to overcome with such a problem.

Comparing Innocence in Grendel, Neil Young and Portrait of a Lady Essay

Fall from Innocence in Grendel, Neil Young and Portrait of a Lady      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to the Bible, God created man pure and innocent, oblivious to good and evil. The serpent of evil lured them to the tree of knowledge, however, and its fruit proved too much of a temptation. With a bite, their "eyes... were opened," and the course of their lives, and the lives of mankind, were changed (Gen. 6-7, 22). Whether or not one accepts the Christian concept of creation, countless works of art are patterned on this account of the "fall from innocence." The novel Grendel by John Gardner shows us a side of the "beast" the epic Beowulf never considered - the child-like innocence before the brutality. The song "Country Girl" by Neil Young is a subtle commentary on the effect the sexual revolution had upon one woman. In addition, The Portrait of a Lady, a film by Jane Campion, an adaptation of Henry James's novel, shows the downward spiral of a headstrong American girl in the late 1800's. These three distinct pieces cut a swath through the art world, repre senting an established author, a modern musician, and a feminist filmmaker, yet central to their relevance is one theme: the fall from innocence.    Innocence? In Grendel? Grendel is a monster, right? Wrong, in the eyes of John Gardner. Taking the role of the Shaper, Gardner makes us see Grendel as an ostracized person, one so lonely he "relishes the thought of acceptance," even though the idiocy of their society repulses him at times (Milosh 221). He is just a naà ¯ve teenager, searching for his role in life.    In The Portrait of a Lady (POAL), Isabel is searching as well, traveling where her caprice leads her. "You're drifting off to some great mistake," her friend Henriett... ...    Gardner, John. Grendel. Vintage Books, 1989.    Kneubuhl, James P. Written interview. 12 April 1998.    Milosh, Joseph. "John Gardner's 'Grendel': Sources and Analogues." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Vol. 10. Detroit: Gale Research, 1979. 221-222.    Portrait of a Lady, The. Dir. Jane Campion. Gramercy, 1996.    The portrait of a lady production notes. [Online] Available http://www.hollywood.com/movies/portrait/text/1.html, April 13, 1998.    Strehle, Susan. "John Gardner's Novels: Affirmation and the Alien." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Vol. 10. Detroit: Gale Research, 1979. 218 -219.    Travirca, Chet. Written interview. 12 April 1998.    Young, Neil. "Country Girl." Perf. Young, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash. Dà ©jà   vu. Atlantic, 1970. Comparing Innocence in Grendel, Neil Young and Portrait of a Lady Essay Fall from Innocence in Grendel, Neil Young and Portrait of a Lady      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to the Bible, God created man pure and innocent, oblivious to good and evil. The serpent of evil lured them to the tree of knowledge, however, and its fruit proved too much of a temptation. With a bite, their "eyes... were opened," and the course of their lives, and the lives of mankind, were changed (Gen. 6-7, 22). Whether or not one accepts the Christian concept of creation, countless works of art are patterned on this account of the "fall from innocence." The novel Grendel by John Gardner shows us a side of the "beast" the epic Beowulf never considered - the child-like innocence before the brutality. The song "Country Girl" by Neil Young is a subtle commentary on the effect the sexual revolution had upon one woman. In addition, The Portrait of a Lady, a film by Jane Campion, an adaptation of Henry James's novel, shows the downward spiral of a headstrong American girl in the late 1800's. These three distinct pieces cut a swath through the art world, repre senting an established author, a modern musician, and a feminist filmmaker, yet central to their relevance is one theme: the fall from innocence.    Innocence? In Grendel? Grendel is a monster, right? Wrong, in the eyes of John Gardner. Taking the role of the Shaper, Gardner makes us see Grendel as an ostracized person, one so lonely he "relishes the thought of acceptance," even though the idiocy of their society repulses him at times (Milosh 221). He is just a naà ¯ve teenager, searching for his role in life.    In The Portrait of a Lady (POAL), Isabel is searching as well, traveling where her caprice leads her. "You're drifting off to some great mistake," her friend Henriett... ...    Gardner, John. Grendel. Vintage Books, 1989.    Kneubuhl, James P. Written interview. 12 April 1998.    Milosh, Joseph. "John Gardner's 'Grendel': Sources and Analogues." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Vol. 10. Detroit: Gale Research, 1979. 221-222.    Portrait of a Lady, The. Dir. Jane Campion. Gramercy, 1996.    The portrait of a lady production notes. [Online] Available http://www.hollywood.com/movies/portrait/text/1.html, April 13, 1998.    Strehle, Susan. "John Gardner's Novels: Affirmation and the Alien." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Vol. 10. Detroit: Gale Research, 1979. 218 -219.    Travirca, Chet. Written interview. 12 April 1998.    Young, Neil. "Country Girl." Perf. Young, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash. Dà ©jà   vu. Atlantic, 1970.