The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides - Thesis Example A handsome young teenager named Trip Fontaine manages to charm Lux and also impress Ronald (the girl’s father). He gets the parent’s permission to take Lux along with other three girls (Bonnie, Mary and Therese) to a homecoming dance. That day on a football ground Trip and Lux have sex. This makes Lux miss the curfew and hence starts a torturous time for all of the sisters. They are taken out of the school and restricted to their house and their liberty is curtailed. In one incident the mother even orders Lux to destroy all the music records she has. After some resistance Lux submits to the demands. From here the lives of the sisters takes a downturn. Smoking and sex on rooftop become common features. A strange smell comes from the house and permeates the neighborhood. All these spectacles create a big interest of the neighborhood in the lives of these girls. It is during this time that the neighborhood boys, who are infatuated by the Lisbon girls, communicate with them by using various methods. For example, they play music records over the phone. All these activities don’t continue for a long time as in the end all the girls kill themselves. When invited by the girls to the house, the boys enter it and find all of them dead. Bonnie is found hanging in the house, Theresa takes overdose of sleeping pills and Lux dies of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Although Mary doesn’t die immediately she takes overdose of sleeping pills and dies one month after putting her head in the oven. The girl’s parents sell the house and leave the neighborhood. For the senior thesis I would like to explore the relationship between parents and their teenage girls. In the novel parents tried to make their daughters happy by being more lenient in terms of permitting interaction with the opposite sex. But probably what the girls needed was more displays of love and affection. The theme of difference between perception and expectation of parents and teenage

Global Perspective Individual Research

Global Perspective Individual Research Water the most important and basic necessity required for life to exist on this planet. From microscopic organisms to giant mammals, from algae to angiosperms, every living thing needs water to survive. It is universally known that clean, potable water is extremely essential for a healthy living but its also very scarce in todays polluted world. Statistically, dirty water is one of the deadliest killers. UNO has estimated that 10 people die every minute from contaminated water. The WHO estimates that 80% of all sickness and disease in developing countries is due to unsafe water. I believe water pollution is one of the most widespread problems and it has deadly effects which could be mitigated if the right actions are taken in a timely fashion. Thus, I think this is a relevant topic to tackle. Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans and groundwater. Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly into water bodies without removing harmful compounds. By this project I will know more about what are the different perspectives regarding this issue. GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE Water pollution is prevalent all over the world. Several countries are suffering from intense pollution. The irony is that the highly industrialized, developed countries suffer from the highest margin of pollution. Many factors are held responsible for these problems- industrialization, population and poor water treatment plants. The top five polluting countries are China, USA, Russia, India and Japan. Globally, the water and sanitation crisis claims most lives. Some 6,000 children die daily due to lack of safe drinking water. The death tolls are equal to those who die due to 20 aircraft crashes. UN statistics show 2 million tons of human waste is disposed in water bodies daily. Developed countries dump 70% of industrial wastes untreated leading to contamination. The following are the sources of water pollution: Fertilizers: Synthetic fertilizers leech into rivers through rainwater or improper irrigation. Drained fertilizers give enrichment of nutrients which gives rise to algae; causing Eutrophication. This disrupts the life cycle of marine animals by using up oxygen. If continued it will lead to 15% global increase in nitrogen flow into rivers in 30 years. Chemical industries: Untreated chemical when released affects marine life, as sewage contains a high amount of pathogens which spread disease. Oil Spills: While huge oil tankers leak during transit, massive quantities of oil are spilled into oceans resulting in deaths of marine life. They die of hypothermia as oil sticks to their scales/feathers and they are not able to breathe and fly. As the water temperature fluctuates aquatic animals die. Oil spills have greater effects because of the fact that they are difficult to clean up. Continentally, Africa has highest amount of polluted water, having its greatest impact on South-Africa. African government has taken action by implementing laws and measures but they are not just enough. Africa being a developing continent, cannot afford the cost of treating all the waste. Some industries dispose the waste directly in water bodies. Even if a country is developed it can suffer from water pollution. Lithuania and Estonia (Europe) have 70% of all surface water polluted due to industrial activities. Due to Polands water polluted it is in shortage for water for industrial use. Baltic Sea is the most polluted sea in the world. In Asia most polluted waters are to be found in China, having 80% of its water polluted due to industrial waste. Japans majority populace is affected by Mina-Mata disease caused by methyl-mercury from the industrial wastewater of the Chisso Corporations chemical factory. This is a highly toxic chemical that can kill fishes. The fishes when eaten by the local people result in mercury poisoning. The possible outcomes are insanity, paralysis, coma and eventually death. Clean tap water is not available across USA, mostly up north, while other states receive contaminated water. The Senate and the Congress in America passed The Water Act in 1974 that could set national limits on certain contaminants in tap water. Australia has a comparatively low rate of water pollution. Many water projects are underway in Australia and people are enthusiastically helping to solve the problem of unsafe drinking water. Main source of pollution at Sydneys beach is affluent discharge from Bodi and Malabar waste water treatment plants. Waste water treatment plants collect waste water and remove solids and then treat waste water before realizing it into the environment. Water treatment can lead to greater life expectancy and deaths caused by contaminated water can be reduced. NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE Im privileged to live in a country which has adequate water. By adequate, I mean there is enough for need, but unfortunately not enough for greed. Regrettably, India is amongst the top water polluters in the world. Since several decades, industrial wastes like chemicals, oils, carcinogens (cancer causing chemicals) and other poisonous substances are discharged into the rivers in large quantities. Its a fact the water shortage will be the worlds most serious issue in the coming years. Fights have already begun for water. Indian states are involved in legal battles over the rivers which they consider a part of their state. Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Karnataka are fighting over the river Kaveri, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are fighting over river Krishna. In India, rivers have a great religious importance as well as are holy. People travel miles to bathe in sacred rivers. Due to water pollution, the water which was considered Amrita (Elixir) has now become poisonous. To some extent, bathing in the river does cause water pollution. Imagine thousands of people diving into rivers for a holy and spiritual bath. This does contaminate water and gives way to spread of infection. River water is used for hygienic purposes such as washing clothes, bathing etc. It has been found that expired medicines and used injections are thrown into the rivers. Out of the 1400 km of the river Yamuna, 600 km from Panipat to Etawa has been officially declared to be dead (this means this stretch of the river has 0% dissolved oxygen meaning that neither can water support any type of life nor is it suitable for any kind of use. Experts have found out that the level of coliform (harmful bacteria) in water is dangerous if its 50/100ml of drinking water. For bathing water, it is an approximate of 500 per 100ml is considered harmful. More than 500 means that the water is not even fit for bathing. It has been found that Delhis level of coliform is between 9,000,000 and 10,000,000. If this is the condition of the capital city; it can be assumed that in other parts of the country the conditions are worse. Even though the Indian government has introduced many Acts outlawing water pollution, it is unable to enforce it strongly. Industrial wastes are dumped into the ground by injecting them deep inside. This practice pollutes the underground freshwater. In India, water pollution is impacting on the health of the people. The industrially polluted water is treated by ordinary techniques, which still are not able to filter out the heavy metals such as lead and cadmium. This water is used in agricultural practices, and the produced crops like the fruits and vegetables contain these poisonous substances. This water can cause diseases after consumption like: 1. Bacterial Infections Typhoid, Cholera, Bacillary-Dysentery 2. Viral Infections Infectious Hepatitis (Jaundice), Poliomyelitis 3. Protozoan Infections Amoebic Dysentery Aji River flows nearby Rajkot and a dam is built on it to sustain it. An analysis of different water bodies in downstream of Aji dam indicates the most of water bodies within city limits are contaminated. Pollution of underground water due to electro-plating industries and sari-printing industries is also observed. These small- scale industries are proliferating but are also causing severe damage to underground, potable water which is becoming increasingly scarce. PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE Perspective the word itself means the way one looks at things. I believe perspectives, opinions, ideas and viewpoints change when we are encountered with something new. I have started believing that a day will come when we will be left with no fresh water. But I also feel that we can start with something small. My town, Rajkot has consistently good rainfall since the past years therefore we should collect and harvest the rainwater. This water can then be utilized in several ways. India celebrates Festival of colors called DHULETI. It used to be celebrated with only colours traditionally but now colored water and colored sprays have also been a part of the celebration. People in Rajkot including me waste gallons and gallons of water within 3 hours of celebration. There is high amount of water shortage in the city. I personally have had water problems that day. Personally I accept that statistics already show devastating effects but they can be lowered if all of us develop a different thinking. POSSIBLE SCENARIOS Today, water has become a major world issue which is predicted to rise even further due to industries, agriculture and many other contributing factors. Peoples health is already affected badly. There is massive outbreak of diseases and infections. I agree that there are vaccinations present for almost all of these diseases but the saddest part is that not all of the affected population can afford to get vaccinated. And worse, some people are not even aware. If this continues many diseases will spread even quicker via water. Clean water wont be available for drinking. If states today will fight for water, tomorrow individual people might fight for water and a small issue about water may start a fight that might be difficult to contain or halt. If not acted upon now, the future of the world is going to be very dry. POSSIBLE COURSES OF ACTION Water pollution needs to immediately be reduced. By taking simple measures, we can alleviate the levels of contamination and with constant and consistent effort, probably remove contamination altogether. The following are some ways in which that could be done: Wise usage of water and a sense of responsibility while using it. Spreading awareness to industrial firms and trying to make them relocate their sewage plants if they are depositing it untreated into water. Stricter laws about minimum usage of pesticide, fertilizer and herbicide per annum which will reduce surface run off. Passing Government Laws and Water Acts about treatment of drinking and sewage water. These are some primary steps which can at least help jump start the conservation process. Soon, if this is kept on-going, my may well be living in a contamination-free world. Thus, I believe to change some of this big and major issues, all we have to do is accumulate the courage to take the first step. PERSONAL RESPONSE After realizing the need for judicious use of water, I have reduced the use of water in cleaning my bicycle and bathing. The household help had been instructed to use less of water in washing utensils and clothes. She has been advised to not keep the tap running I think the use washing machines and dishwashers would be beneficial in saving a good amount of water. My father owns a chemical industry and he ensures that his industry does not deposit waste directly in the water body before sufficient treatment. I have decided and also gave notice of no water availability during Dhuleti celebration time in my apartment with the help of management committee To spread awareness in the society I have stuck poster on my societys notice board. I believe these small steps, if taken by everybody will make a drastic change in the overall picture of this nation. And for that, I do talk to my friends about saving water and its importance. I am convinced that spreading awareness is the ONLY way to tackle is increasingly prevalent problem. [Word count: 1971 Words]

Changes in Child Socialization Essay -- Sociology Sociological Essays

Changes in Child Socialization The socialization of children has changed during the past century. According to Shepard 2001, child socialization is defined as a close interaction with a small number of people-none of whom the child has selected-where the child learned to think and speak, internalizes norms, beliefs, and values; forms some basic attitudes; develops a capacity (or incapacity) for intimate and personal relationships; and acquires a self-image. In the past, a child may have learned to be social through relationships at home, at school and at church. Today, a child learns socialization through relationships in many different situations. In 1900, twenty percent of women in the United States had full-time jobs outside the home. In 1997, this figure tripled to sixty percent of all women holding full-time jobs. The percentage of men in the workforce has remained fairly steady, with the average holding full-time jobs being eighty percent. Stay-at-home mothers are becoming a rarity, as households feel the need to increase income. With both parents working, children have become used to spending more time at daycare and school. Parents may be more likely to send their children to school at an earlier age when daycare costs are prohibitive. Children now participate in an array of extra-curricular activities, spending their time outside of school away from home. Some parents may feel this is a way to spend time with their child, if they are involved in coaching or being a spectator. For other parents, the activity gives them some free time while their child participates. Children learn to work in groups or as part of a team, while learning from adults and peers alike. Parents may or may not have a part in this type of... ...a/releases/98legacy/html. Moore, Kristen Anderson, Sharon Vandivere, Jennifer Thrle. "Turbulence and Child Well-Being." Urban Institute. (November 2001) http://www.newfederalism.urban.org/html/series_b/bl6/bl6.html. Parents, Are you Listening? "Do Listening Skills Affect Learning?" (November 2001) http://www.lauds.k12.ca.us/Haskell_El/parent%20information/listeningz.htm. Shepard, Jon M. Sociology. "Child Socialization." (2001) Wadsworth Group. Belmont, CA. Eighth Edition. Ch. 4: pp. 103-108. Trinity University San Antonio, Texas. "Exploring Americans' Attitudes Toward Socializers and Childrearing Recipes." (2001) http://www.trinity.edu/~mkearl.obeys.html. Waters, Steve, M.A. Focus on the Family. "Protection and Socialization-Two Keys on The Family Internet Use." (1998) http://www.family.org/cforum/research/papers/60002553.html.

Interpretation and discussion of results Essay

A. The Correlation Matrices: A. 1. The Pearson Correlation Matrix for the Combined Sample Data: Leadership, as defined and measured in the Baldrige Criteria (Peacock, 2006) is related to the other items which could be interpreted as priorities or concerns of the respondents surveyed. In other words, the sub-items defining Leadership such as Organizational Leadership and Social Responsibility were significantly correlated with the sub-categories (Peacock, 2006) under the other items including Strategic Planning (questions 11 to 16), Customer and Market Focus (questions 17 to 21), Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management (questions 22 to 28), Human Resource Focus (questions 29 to 39), Process Management (questions 40 to 50), and Business Results (questions 51 to 63). Those questions are contained in Appendix A. Under the Baldrige Criteria (Peacock, 2006), there are 10 indicators defining Leadership including visible involvement in managerial activities such as goal setting, directing and performance audit; communicating values and customer focus; behavior modeling and motivating and empowering personnel; which fall under the sub-item Organizational Leadership. Governance concerns such as accountability, transparency, disclosure and stakeholders’ interests; appropriateness and effectiveness of leadership system; addressing adverse social impacts of products, services and operations; monitoring ethical behavior throughout the organization and community involvement; meanwhile fall under the sub-item social responsibility. These indicators serve as basis for measuring the leadership scores in the Baldrige Criteria (Peacock, 2006). Despite the significant correlation of Leadership with the other major items in the Baldrige Criteria (Peacock, 2006); however, the data set evaluated was combined for both the Others Group and the Leaders Group. There were thirty-seven (37) samples from the Others Group and seven (7) samples from the Leaders Group. The correlation tests conducted tended to support the hypothesis that individuals who scored high in Leadership, Item 1, also score high in the other items, from Item 2 to Item 7. The results suggested that Leadership, as defined and measured in the Baldrige Criteria (Peacock, 2006) is related to the other items which could be interpreted as priorities or concerns of the respondents surveyed as shown by Table 1. Table 1. The Pearson Correlation Matrix for the Combined Data Leader-ship Strategic Planning Customer And Market Focus Measure-ment, Analysis, and Know- ledge Manage-ment Human Resource Focus Process Manage- ment Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Item 4 Item 5 Item 6. Strategic Planning, Item 2 0. 510 0. 000 Customer And Market Focus, Item 3 0. 341 0. 023 0. 237 0. 121 Measure-ment, Analysis, and Knowledge Manage-ment, Item 4 0. 656 0. 000 0. 575 0. 000 0. 291 0. 056 Human Resource Focus, Item 5 0. 718 0. 000 0. 449 0. 002 0. 259 0. 090 0. 590 0. 000 Process Manage-ment, Item 6 0. 518 0. 000 0. 730 0. 000 0. 334 0. 027 0. 738 0. 000 0. 536 0. 000 Business Results, Item 7 0. 387 0. 009 0. 409 0. 006 0. 413 0. 005 0. 196 0. 202 0. 271 0. 075 0. 353 0. 019 Cell Contents: Pearson correlation p-value Although the Pearson correlation test conducted tends to support the hypothesis of correlation of Leadership with the other items for the combined data set of the Others Group and the Leaders Group; however this does not tell us if there is any difference between the Others Group and the Leaders Group. Hence, Pearson correlation test was then conducted separately; one, for the Others Group and another, for the Leaders Group. A. 2. The Pearson Correlation Matrix for the Others Group: For the Others Group, the statistical test showed that Leadership, Item 1, had significant correlations with all the items from Strategic Planning, Item 2 to Business Results, Item 7 except for Customer and Market Focus, Item 3. Leadership, Item 1, had the highest correlations with Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management, Item 4 (r = 0. 705) and Human Resource Focus, Item 5, (r = 0. 725), Table 2. Table 2. Excerpt from the Pearson Correlation Matrix for the Others Group Leadership Item 1 Item Strategic Planning, Item 2 0. 508 0. 001 Customer And Market Focus, Item 3 0. 316 0. 057 Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management, Item 4 0. 705 0. 000 Human Resource Focus, Item 5 0. 725 0. 000 Process Management, Item 6 0. 562 0. 000 Business Results, Item 7 0. 333 0. 044 Cell Contents: Pearson correlation p-Value.

The Advantage and Disadvantage of Using Social Media Essay

The advantages: Based on my own experiences, there are several advantages for marketers to use social media as part of their marketing communications strategies. Social media represent a revolutionary new trend in communication. More and more people begin to use social media to communicate. It is freer, more convenient, faster and cheaper than the old ways, people also can get more information what they want, what is more, people can get in touch with their friend easier. For the company, it can face to their target market precisely. Social media hold a great deal of customers’ information, through the information that people share, company can easily know customers’ hobbits and the goods they like. Social media also increase the communication between customers and marketers. Company can get lots of users’ feedback information and use that information to improve their product. It also help the organization leave a good impression in customers’ minds. One of the most important things is that social media not only can help companies advertising well but also nearly have no costs. What social media bring for the company cannot be measured but the cost of it is really low. It lowers the company’s advertisement costs. Read more:  Essay on advantages and disadvantages of social media Disadvantages: Based on my own experience, the disadvantages or risks for marketers in using social media as part of their marketing communications strategy are as follows. Company’s web page can be attacked by hackers and viruses; it may lose company’s important information, company may lose their competitive advantages. Customers can be deceived by the false information online and the extra information may let them get annoyed. The negative comments may damage companies’ image. The use of the internet may cause the reduction of production efficiency, because employees may busy use the internet to solve the problem online or update their software so that waste times. Company should learn how to handle a social media and that may waste company’s time. Because the social media is not a â€Å"face to face† communication, so it can have many incredible situations, the information may be not real, the likelihood of people been fooled are greatly increased.

Barn Burning essays

Barn Burning essays Colonel Sartoris Snopes, who is called Sarty by his family, is a major character in William Faulkners Barn Burning. This young boy of about ten finds himself in the position of being expected to lie to protect his father from punishment for burning the neighbors barn. Sartys character in Barn Burning is a study of the physical and spiritual relationships between a father and son that are born out in the reality of truth versus lies as evidenced in Sartys Personal integrity. In Barn Burning Faulkner writes about the relationship between a father and his son in both the hereditary and the spiritual sense. Sarty early in the story respects his father because of his fathers service in the military and the clannish code found in southern families without regard to social status. The young boy was not really aware of his fathers good or bad qualities or of the complexities of his fathers behavior. He was aware that his father was facing a court. He was not yet openly aware of the way he really felt about his fathers activities and the fact that he might have to dispute his fathers word in effect overthrow customary behavior, hereditary codes, and family ties. Sarty felt an innate loyalty to the clan (family) and at the same time realizes that his father aims for him to lie and that he would have to do it to maintain the familial bond. Sarty had hoped that the series of family moves from farm to farm and new beginnings would change his father only to realize that the cycle would continue to repeat itself. His father relied on complicity of the entire Snopes clan for support and security. He depended on the clan for protection from society at large. In reality Sarty had a sense of right and wrong and having to lie for his father places him in great conflict. He was far too young to understand his father and the complexities ...

Bones of the Buddha - Excavating the Piprahwa Stupa

Bones of the Buddha - Excavating the Piprahwa Stupa 2013. Secrets of the Dead: Bones of the Buddha. Directed and written by Steven Clarke. Executive producers Steve Burns and Harry Marshall. Produced by Icon Films for Thirteen and WNET. Featuring Charles Allen, Neil Peppe, Harry Falk, Bhante Piyapala Chakmar, and Mridula Srivastava. Special thanks to the Archaeological Survey of India, the Indian Museum of Kolkata, the Mahabodhi Temple committee, Dr. S. K. Mittra, the Srivastava Family and Ram Singh Ji. 54 minutes; DVD and BluRay The Bones of the Buddha is an historical entry in the PBS series Secrets of the Dead, published in 2013 and touching on the politically dicey discussion of religion and history in India. Centered around the ongoing research of historian Charles Allen, Bones of the Buddha tells the story of the stupa at Piprahwa, a Buddhist sacred structure in the Basti district of Uttar Pradesh in India. Piprahwa is believed by some scholars to be near the site of Kapilavastu, the capital of the Shakyan state, and the Shakyas were the family of the man who would become the historical Buddha [Siddhartha Gautama or Shakyamuni, 500-410 BC], the center of the Buddhist religion. But more than that: Piprahwa is, or rather was, the family burial place of some of the Buddhas ashes. Historical and Archaeological Investigations Bones of the Buddha details the investigations by amateur archaeologist William Claxton Peppe, professional archaeologist Dr. K.M. Srivastava, and historian Charles Allen to identify one of the most important of the several burial places of the ashes of the Buddha: that belonging to the Buddhas family. After his death, so the legend goes, the Buddhas ashes were divided into eight parts, one part of which was given to the Buddhas clan. Evidence of the Shakya family burial place of the Buddhas ashes was ignored for nearly 100 years due to the damage inflicted by a corrupt archaeologist: Dr. Alois Anton FÃ ¼hrer. FÃ ¼hrer was the head of the British colonial archaeological center for northern India, a German archaeologist who was at the center of a scandal concerning faked and looted artifacts, attributed falsely to the Buddha. But when the excavations at Piprahwa were being undertaken by W.C. Peppe in the late 19th century, the scandal was yet a few months away: but near enough in time to cast doubt on the authenticity of the finds. The Buddhas Cache What Peppe found buried deeply within the enormous stupa was a stone reliquary, within which were five small jars. In the jars were hundreds of tiny jewels in the shapes of flowers. More were scattered within the reliquary, intermingled with burned bone fragments of the Buddha himself: this burial is believed to have been placed here by Buddhas disciple, King Ashoka, 250 years after the Buddhas death. In the 1970s, archaeologist K. M. Srivastava reexcavated at Piprahwa and found, beneath Ashokas elaborate burial, a simpler burial place, believed to have been the original site where the Buddhas family placed the remains. Indian History The story brought forward by Bones of the Buddha is a fascinating one: one of the British Raj in India, when the amateur archaeologist W.C. Peppe plowed a trench through an enormous stupa and found the 4th century BC burial remains. The story continues in the 1970s, with K. M. Srivastava, a young Indian archaeologist who was convinced that Piprahwa was Kapilavastu, the capital of the Sakyan state. And finally it concludes with modern historian Charles Allen, who wanders suburban England and northern India in search of the artifacts, the language and the history behind the stupa at Piprahwa. Most of the all, the video (and the sites investigations for that matter) is excellent as an introduction to the archaeology and history of Buddhism. The Buddhas life, where he was born, how he came to become enlightened, where he died and what happened to his cremated remains are addressed. Also involved in the story is the leader Ashoka, Buddhas disciple, who 250 years after Buddhas death promulgated the religious teachings of the holy man. Ashoka was responsible, say the scholars, for the placing the Buddhas ashes here in a stupa fit for royalty. And finally, Bones of the Buddha provides the viewer with an introduction to the broadening of Buddhism, how it came to be that 2,500 years after the Buddha died, 400 million people world wide are following his teachings. Bottom Line I very much enjoyed this video, and I learned a lot. I dont know much at all about Buddhist archaeology or history, and it was good to have a bit of a starting point. I was surprised to see, or rather not see, any Indian archaeologists interviewed during the filming: although S. K. Mittra and the Archaeological Survey of India are credited at the end, and Allen visits the sites and museums where the relics are deposited. That circumstance led me to do a bit more investigation on my own; more of that later. We cant really ask more of a video: to pique the viewers interest into the past. Bones of the Buddha is a fascinating video, and well worth added to your viewing choices. Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.