Our American Dream, Our History, Our Lives :: Essays on the American Dream

My great-grandfather moved to this country from Thailand. His lineage situation is a bit confusing considering he is of mixed blood. In those days racism was on a uphill slope, especially in such countries as Taiwan and China, and Japan, that would have been considered blasphemous and it still is today. Today we live in a more enlightened time, being of Taiwanese and Jamaican blood he and his parents were abandoned by his family and outcast among their neighbors. He frequently had to cover his face in cloths and garments just to walk outside. Growing up as an African-American male despite the going enlightenment of our time one cannot escape being an outcast among my own people because of be it color, gender, or sexual orientation. Even some women of color today have to worry about the darkness of their skin, not among other races but among their own. Ignorance at times could have a thoughtless basis but still cause pain. He found solace in, of all places back in the 1940’s, Buffalo, New York and lived there for sixty years before moving to Miami, Florida. He quickly found work in New York’s seedy underbelly as a pimp in the city‘s â€Å"Red Light Districtâ€Å" where people of that profession were commonly found. That is also how he happened to find my great-grandmother, who moved from Panama to achieve the american dream, to get her piece of the pie, with no intentions to work as a prostitute. My great-grandparents today still have no regrets about their past, my great-grandfather puts his life into perspective by stating "Youth is a blunder; Manhood a struggle; Old Age regret." They talked with a wisp of pride in their voices. Not that he regrets everything now in his old age. It is more he regrets ever becoming old. If you see my great-grandfather today, he is dating a forty year old woman, he still feels he is twenty when in actuality he is 87. He loves the mistake s he has made in his youth through the prostitution and drugs, something I as a youth can not be proud of. I have had my own struggles with drugs, with the police, and have contracted many more problems than needed. I regret everyday of my youth, not because I have cut my life short, but because I knew better. So did my great-grandfather.

Book Report on “The Interview” by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Essay

The story entitled â€Å"the Interview† by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is a depiction of a man’s character in the eyes of the people around him. Even if this story is in first person point of view, the narrator itself accepted and proclaimed the fact of being lazy and egoistic. The way he perceived his life is unpredictable in a sense of negativity because he could not able to appreciate things and could not live his life for the betterment of his own self and his wife.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"The last time I had an interview, it was very unpleasant for me. One of the people who was interviewing took a dislike to me and shouted at me very loudly† (Jhabvala 267). This part of the story showed that the narrator or the persona of the story finds different flaws and inaccuracy to the places and situation that he used to have in order to refuse and become unable to obtain the situation. It is a form of escape for the character from the different situations that occurs in him. Despite of having a notion of completeness and advantages, he still perceived that he is empty and unhappy to his situation but he did not accept the fact of his psychological problems that only him could understand and determine.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The ending of the story is simple a representation of laziness of the character but the author did not stated any transformation of the character’s point of view. It means that the character is full of anxieties and insecurities within him that he did not want to recognize because it will lead him into an uncertain situation that he himself would not eventually obtain. Therefore, the character is flat and static because he did not change all throughout the story that made him incapable of understanding his own self. Reference Jhabvala, R. P. The Interview. pp. 259-271

A post war poem, ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ snatches at the opportunity to put an abrupt end to political problems worldwide

A post war poem, ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est' snatches at the opportunity to put an abrupt end to political problems worldwide, and to avoid any sort of future World Wars. Poet Wilfred Owen shapes this poem around war and its consequences; this is a poem of deep, twisted, emotive imagery portrayed through intelligent poetic devices. The opening stanza draws the reader into the proverbial trench, ‘Bent double, like old beggars under sacks' – an example of accessible imagery, used through a simile. The following lines continue to create the atmosphere of war: ‘Coughing like hags, we cursed through the sludge', an unpleasant yet easily understandable occurrence. ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est' practically marches the reader to war by emphasising soldiers' hardships at war; travelling to a ‘distant rest', and ‘men march asleep', an effective metaphoric phrase, elaborated upon straight after, Owen states soldiers would be ‘drunk with fatigue', and even after they'd ‘lost their boots', they would ‘limp on, blood-shod, all blind' on this seemingly eternal and insignificant march. Wilfred Owen will have captivated any reader by now to see the poem through to it's end. This poem is of a standard much higher than Owen's other work, as well as many of its time. ‘An ecstasy of fumbling', ‘misty panes and think green light' and ‘a green sea' are all first-rate adjectival phrases portraying further visions of war. ‘And floundering like a man in fire or lime' paints a very descriptive and hideously detailed picture. This stanza's flow is excellent and the rhyme scheme and iambic pentameter really keeping a solid rhythm going. In a small break-off from the second stanza, we have stanza three, just two lines, acting as an anti climax, the predecessor to the final twelve line stanza; this couple of lines links with the previous stanza via its rhyme scheme, it ends with the emotive, meaningful line ‘He plunges at me, guttering, choking drowning' – repetition of ‘drowning' through rhyme, emphasis used to a great effect. This draws us into the ultimate chapter of ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est'. Stanza four is littered with intelligent and effective poetic devices in the way of similes and existential imagery. For instance ‘Like a devil's sick of sin', ‘obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud', two lines, and three similes manage to highlight the repulsive nature of war. Yet more simple yet informative adjectives and verbs paint pictures in the readers mind – ‘Watch the white eyes writhing in his face', sickening yet beautiful. This is followed by ‘If you could see †¦ with such high zest' – a five line cut from the stanza illuminates the poem with brilliance. ‘The blood coming from the froth-corrupted lungs', ‘obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud' and ‘vile, incurable sores' are three examples of emotive, negatively charged poetry. The poem then draws into its infamous close: ‘Dulce et decorum est †¦ Pro patria mori' – Latin, simply translated to â€Å"It's sweet and fitting to die for your country†. This is after playing down war for four convincing and vibrant stanzas. He dubs the saying an ‘old lie', a bold yet shockingly debatable declaration. This ending rounds off the poem impeccably; ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est' rhymes in alternating couplets and uses iambic pentameter in the right places, it's a near-perfect formula not to be missed out on. The poem begins with an introduction to trench warfare and goes on stating the hardships of war and life as a soldier followed by a poetic patch of high-quality description, it proceeds to finish drowning you in a sea of soldiers' sorrow. In a moment of bias, I have to input my own opinion on this piece; it is one of the more interesting pieces of poetry, not too bogged-down, the rhythm throughout the second stanza in particular is excellent. The poetic devices incorporated are done so as effectively as I've ever read, all the similes and metaphors already mentioned in this appreciation fully validate my statement. At the same time the poem doesn't overdo use of imagery and intelligent language, to the point it is so abstract it makes difficult, complicated reading. ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est' provides good balance, making it accessible and easy to relate to. Overall it's an impeccable, negatively charged protest against war, which leaves the timeless question: â€Å"Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori† – Well?

Case Study on Adolescent Sexual Abuse Essay

Elias is a five year old Mexican American male who has recently been referred to the community counseling center due to the exposure of sexual abuse by his stepfather. Elias was a client of this community center approximately 18 months earlier. Elias had been referred for poor impulse control and hyperactivity. At that time he was diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). He also met with the agency psychiatrist who had prescribed Elias Focalin. His cased was closed after only a few sessions due to the family’s inconsistency and withdrawal from services. At this point in time Elias has been attending his sessions with his mother and baby brother. Stepfather’s whereabouts are unknown and he has not had any contact with the family since the abuse was exposed. Elias has returned to taking Focalin, since he failed to continue taking his medication after withdrawing from services. However, there have been no changes noted in his behavior since he has begun to take the medication. The psychiatrist believes that this may be due to the low dosage he has prescribed Elias and because of such, the psychiatrist has opted to slowly increase the dosage and closely monitor any changes. The clinician notes that Elias is extremely hyperactive and exhibits minimal impulse control. Other than his high levels of restlessness, Elias shows no observable signs or symptoms of reaction to the sexual abuse. When clinician has attempted to process with Elias about the abuse or his feelings about the abuse, Elias has changed the subject or ignored the clinician all together. Mother states that she has noticed no changes in his behavior since the abuse was discovered. Practice Effectiveness Questions  The special population in discussion is children, the social problems in focus are sexual abuse and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which leads the target client group to be children who have experienced sexual abuse and have been diagnosed with ADHD. Our client is Elias who is a child, who has experienced sexual abuse and is diagnosed with ADHD. For the purposes of this discussion our practice effectiveness questions are: 1) What are effective interventions for children who have been sexually abused? and 2) What are effective interventions for children who have been diagnosed with ADHD? Search Description Procedures The databases utilized for this search were: Google Scholar, Social Work Abstracts, Child Welfare Information Gateway, Academic Search Complete, Professional Development Collection, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, SocINDEX with Full Text Sociological Collection, Academic Search Premier, and JSTOR. It was also helpful to review the journal entitled Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment for relevant articles. While searching the aforementioned databases, the following keywords were utilized: ‘sexual abuse and ADHD’, ‘sexual abuse and interventions’, sexual abuse and co-morbidity’, ‘ADHD and co-morbidity’, ‘children and sexual abuse’, ‘sexual abuse and interventions. ’ All articles selected were peer reviewed, found in scholarly journals, and published within the last ten years. In searching for relevant articles regarding treatment of sexual abuse, most articles addressed interventions designed to treat perpetrators of child sexual abuse; a few articles were uncovered that discussed treating adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Fewer still were articles that identified interventions for children who are recent or current victims of sexual abuse. In order to find information relevant to our target client group, we began pulling sources from reference pages of relevant articles which provided more focused research relevant to treatment of children who have experienced sexual abuse. Results The result of our exhaustive search of available literature led us to identify eight articles to focus on. Out of these articles, four dealt specifically with children who have experienced sexual abuse, two focused on abuse of children which included physical abuse along with sexual abuse, two were focused primarily on ADHD, four focused on co-morbidity of either post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or ADHD and sexual abuse, and four specifically discussed treatments and interventions. Half of the selected articles were literature reviews while the remaining four were reporting from the standpoint of a primary source on research studies of treatments and interventions. The research studies varied in their sampling and control or comparison groups; only two studies were able to utilize a true experimental design with random assignment of study participants to control and experimental groups. The literature reviews provided an extensive overview of relevant studies and interventions from a secondary source standpoint. The eight identified sources provided an assortment of research-based perspectives as well as a sampling of evidence based on authority by those who reviewed the literature and discussed their findings in literature reviews. Research Findings Description of Articles In the article Sexually Abused Children Suffering from PTSD: Assessment and Treatment Strategies by David Heyne, Neville J. King, Paul Mullen, Nicole Myerson, Thomas H. Ollendick, Stephanie Rollings, and Bruce T. Tonge states that sexual abuse of children is a major societal problem because of its high prevalence and devastating impact on the victimized child. Children who have been sexually abused often demonstrate anxiety, depressive moods, improper sexual behaviors, nightmares, social withdrawal, sleep difficulties, anger, shame/guilt and school problems. The authors did diagnostic interviewing with their participants. The authors interviewed thirty six children and sixty nine percent were primarily diagnosed with PTSD. Within the thirty six children four of the children with full PTSD had no other diagnoses. Nine had one co morbid diagnoses, ten had two co morbid diagnoses, and two had three co morbid diagnoses. PTSD is not always prevalent and at times other emotional and behavioral problems are prevalent. In fact, many studies confirm that on clinical evaluation a large proportion of sexually abused children meet diagnostic criteria for PTSD (Heyne, at el. , 2003). This particular article showed that often there are other diagnoses that go along with PTSD but in an article by Peggy T. Ackerman, Roscoe A. Dykman, Jerry G. Jones, W. Brian McPherson, and Joseph E. O. Newton, did research on groups that have been affected sexual, physically abused, or both. The article Prevalence of PTSD and Other Psychiatric Diagnosis in Three Groups of Abused Children (Sexual, Physical, and Both) was a study done with children that are sexually and or physically abused. Fortunately, many children who are victims of horrifying events do not develop PTSD or other psychiatric disorders (Ackerman at el. 1998). Very little is known as to why some victimized children do and others do not develop psychiatric disorders. Even such basic variables as gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, intelligence, and age at time of trauma, have been inadequately studied. They were in a large children’s hospital in which sexual and or physically abused children were referred. The groups were divided into three, sexually and physically abused and both. Through the finding there were more boys who were physically abused and girls who were sexually abused. Anxiety and behavior disorders were more frequent than mood disorders. In concordance with clinical observation, abused boys, regardless of type abuse, had higher rates of behavioral disorders and abused girls had higher rates of two internalizing disorders: separation anxiety (caregiver reports) and phobic disorder (child report) (Ackerman at el. , 1998). Studies show most clearly that children who have been jointly physically and sexually abused are at greatest risk for psychiatric disturbance. There are many different treatment interventions one can go through to minimize PTSD and attention deficient disorders. Maryka Biaggio, Darlene Staffelbach, Dan Weinstein wrote the article ADHD and PTSD: Differential Diagnosis in Childhood Sexual Abuse which shows different interventions used for victimized children. Treatment interventions for ADHD children predominantly consist of behavior management, social skills training, and stimulant or other medication. Treatment interventions for children with PTSD generally consist of management and alleviation of emotional distress using play, psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral therapy modalities (Biaggio at el. 2000). Relaxation techniques and hypnosis have also been effective in treatment of PTSD in children. Misdiagnosis may lead clinicians to use inappropriate interventions for PTSD. Side effects experienced by ADHD children on stimulant medication may include difficulty falling asleep, lack of appetite, irritability, headaches, stomachaches, nausea, dizziness, tachycardia, muscle tics or twitches, slowed physical growth, and skin rashes (Biaggio at el. , 2000). Another undesired onsequence of ADHD misdiagnosis in SAC (sexual abused children) is the failure to address and treat the trauma symptoms of children who actually have PTSD. Given the risk of wrongly prescribing, untreated trauma, and negative impact on self-esteem for children misdiagnosed with ADHD, it is unfortunate little attention has been given to this issue (Biaggio at el. , 2000). Increased attention to clinical decision-making in the differential diagnosis of ADHD and PTSD may lead to more appropriate, beneficial, and timely interventions. Darcie) Allison M. Briscoe-Smith and Stephen P. Henshaw’s article entitled: Linkages between child abuse and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in girls: Behavioral and social correlates, was an excellent source to explore the relationship of sexual abuse and ADHD and begin to discuss the co-morbidity of these events for children. The article described a research study carried out with a sample of 228 females at a summer camp for girls with ADHD over a three year span. Each year cohort groups were created to identify the prevalence of abuse among girls diagnosed with ADHD and those who had not received a diagnosis of ADHD. Out of the twenty-four identified cases of abuse histories, twenty of these girls were diagnosed with ADHD, and of those abuse histories ten were sexual in nature which is much higher than any other form of maltreatment documented by the researchers. All girls who had abuse histories had a co-morbid diagnosis of Oppositional Defiance Disorder. The study found that girls with both ADHD and abuse histories were more likely to display externalizing behaviors and be negatively received by their peers. The study also analyzed the relationship between the prevalence of an abuse history and the rejection from peers and found aggression to partially mediate that relationship. The authors concluded that girls with ADHD were at increased risk of having abuse histories and questioned the accurate diagnosis of ADHD. It was suggested that the girls who had histories of abuse may more accurately be diagnosed with PTSD and/or share a co-morbid diagnosis with PTSD. Judith A. Cohen and Anthony P. Mannarino conducted a research study comparing two interventions to treat children who have been sexually abused; their findings were published in the article entitled: Interventions for Sexually Abused Children: Initial Treatment Outcome Findings. This article was one of few that specifically addressed interventions for children with the focus being treatment of sexual abuse. The sample consisted of 49 children between the ages of 7 and 14 who were randomly assigned to either sexual abuse specific cognitive behavioral therapy (SAS-CBT) or nondirective supportive therapy (NST) for a twelve week duration. The study found that children in the SAS-CBT group improved significantly in social competence and in the reduction of feelings of depression. Also, substantially higher percentages of children involved in SAS-CBT experienced what is considered clinically significant improvements. In regards to deterioration while in therapy, higher rates were found in children who received NST. For the safety of the other children in the groups, children who were consistently displaying repetitive extreme sexually inappropriate behaviors were removed from treatment groups; seven NST participants were removed from the study as compared to two children participating in SAS-CBT. Parental satisfaction with treatment was high in both treatment groups which either treatment modality. The clinical impressions of the authors conclude that sexual abuse specific cognitive behavioral therapy is superior to nondirective supportive therapy in the reduction of depressive symptoms. SAS-CBT was also favored due to the benefit of including parents in treatment (NST did not formally include parents). The authors also concluded that there is value and importance in providing a directive therapy technique in dealing with the effects of trauma caused by sexual abuse. Assessment of Evidence Implications of Evidence Interventions for sexual abused victim’s trauma may include based cognitive behavioral therapy, play therapy, parental involvement- parent training, behavioral therapy, coping skills training, psycho-education, and prevention awareness. PTSD interventions may include trauma based cognitive behavioral therapy, and play therapy. Attention deficit disorder can also be treated with behavioral management techniques, medication, social skills training, play therapy, parent training, behavioral classroom interventions and summer treatment programs. Many sexually abused children have other diagnosis along with PTSD and several possible co-morbid diagnosis are more than likely behavioral, but often can be confused with PTSD. When looking at interventions and treatments clinicians need to look at the client’s cultural background so that way we do not intrude on their lives.

The Manhattan Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Manhattan Project - Research Paper Example (Hewlett, 1962) The overall cost of $2 billion USD requiring over 130,000 people on thirty sites in three different countries would pay for a military, political, and cultural transformation that would define the nightmares of the age to come. The initial weapon itself, the fission warhead functioned exclusively through the splitting of radioactive, fissile uranium, creating a chain-reaction that leads to the splitting of additional atoms of fissile uranium for a release of energy thousands of times greater that anything which could be achieved using the trinitrotoluene (TNT) high-explosives that were prevalent early in the war. Specifically, the type of uranium used was the isotope (U-235), the difficulty in the procurement and purification of this precise form was the reason why 130,000 people were required. The Gun method requires one plug or bullet of fissionable uranium fired at a larger mass of uranium; critical mass is achieved when the two collide. Implosion requires surrounding the fissionable mass with high-explosive shaped charges that detonate inwards, compressing the mass and resulting in a chain-reaction. It is possible to combine one or more of these systems for daisy-chain successive detonations, creating weapons of compounded magnitude beyond the immediate purposes of a military campaign. (Life, Editors 1961) Such a threat no doubt adding radioactive fuel to the fires of nuclear hysteria that gripped the nation in the subsequent decade. The most immediate consequences of the Manhattan Project led to Japan being the only nation that sustained nuclear attack in time of war. Germanys surrender in the Spring on 1945 prevented them from being a threat in time for the first Little-Boy to be constructed. It is known, however that the Nazi did succeed in acquiring supplies of heavy water, containing the deuterium that would have aided

Decision Making at Cat Cooperation Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Decision Making at Cat Cooperation - Article Example The major problem was choosing the best supplier for one of critical subassemblies for manufacturing of its leading product TVR500 voltage stabilizer from the four short listed four vendors: Ideal; Dolphin; Boss; and Freedom. Good vendor was critical as lead time in manufacturing had increasingly become crucial criteria for competitive advantage. The company considered efficiency, power factor, losses, turn ratio and cost as main factors for choosing vendors. The decision on final vendor had become difficult as consensus from people coming from different departments like purchase, finance, manufacturing and quality could not be reached. The three qualitative factors: efficiency, power factor and losses were subjective in nature where turn ratio and cost could easily be evaluated because of their quantitative nature. The pair wise comparison of the product showed that Ideal was better in terms of efficiency and power factor with slightly more cost. But as efficiency and power factor significantly contribute to the credibility of the product, Ideal should be chosen as

Behavior management Inventory Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Behavior management Inventory - Case Study Example I’m not coming and you can’t make me!† I think this is probably the best way to handle this, because there is already a conflict and it gives the student an out. They can choose to keep their ‘pride’ and continue to be defiant by going to the principal’s office, or by simply following the instructions in class. Over one-half of your class is constantly asking, â€Å"Will this be on the test? How many pages does it have to be? Can I use a pencil? Does neatness count? Is it due at the beginning or at the end of class?† You set up a rule forbidding such questions, but they keep coming anyway. This situation should eventually stop the questions, hopefully, because the students will learn that they aren’t getting any new information by asking those kinds of questions. If a question isn’t addressed by those groundrules, it is either a good one or could be added to the groundrules. It also sets up a positive culture where the students know what is and isn’t important to me as a teacher. Micky hasn’t done his homework in over six weeks. He always has an excuse such as he lost it, he left it at home, or his baby sister ripped it up. He has a difficult time reading and comprehending and seldom participates in class. You have discussed the matter with Micky and have met with Micky and his mother who works second shift. Still the homework is never done. Obviously in this situation Micky is having trouble with the school work, and his family can be of little help. But he also has to understand that the classroom community has expectations, and doing homework is one of them. By eventually putting him in detention for missing so many homeworks it at least gives him time where he has no excuse and forces him to do some, so I can see where he is and where he needs more