Animal Rights Essay - 851 Words

Animals have been used in medical research for centuries. In a recent count, it was determined that 8,815 animals were being used for research at MSU, 8,503 of them rodents - rats, mice, hamsters and gerbils. There were 18 dogs, three cats and a variety of goats, ferrets, pigeons and rabbits. The struggle against this tyranny is a struggle as important as any of the moral and social issues that have been fought over in recent years.quot; Animal rights are an emotional issue-second only, perhaps, to the bitter abortion debate.quot; For decades the value of animal research has been grossly overrated. Although researchers have depended on animal test data to achieve medical advances, there should be other means of research because†¦show more content†¦Animal rights activists have gathered much information that has closed down laboratories that violate anti- cruelty statutes. quot;This includes a 1984 videotape stolen from the University of Pennsylvania Head Injury Clinic. The research subsequently suspended, reportedly involved inadequately anesthetized baboons receiving blows to the head to break their necks and cause brain damage.quot; Alex Pacheo gives a first-person account of the conditions he witnessed in a primate laboratory. He is horrified by the painful experiments these monkeys endure. quot;On May 11,1981 I began work[at the Institute for Behavioral Research] and was given a tour.... I saw filth caked on the wires of the cages, faces piled in the bottom of the cages, urine and rust encrusting every surface. There, amid this rotting stench, sat sixteen crab-eating macaques and one rhesus monkey, their liv limited to metal boxes just 17 3/4 inches wide.... [An old refrigerator] had been converted into a chamber containing a plexiglass immobilizing chair. A monkey would be placed in a chamber, and electrodes attached to his body. The monkey would be forced to try to squeeze a bottle of fluid with his surgically crippled arm in order to stop the painful electric shock that coursed through his body. The ceiling and walls of the chamber were covered with blood. I remember Dr. Taubs assistant, John Kunz,Show MoreRelatedAnimal Rights And Human Rights923 Words   |  4 Pages Animal Rights â€Å"Nearly as many, 68 percent, were concerned or very concerned about the well-being of animals used in ‘sports’ or contests as well as animals in laboratories (67 percent) (Kretzer, 1).† Many people question whether an animal is capable of thought and emotions. Others feel as though animals are the equivalent of humans and should be treated as such. Since the 1800’s, animal rights has been a topic that has several different sides including two extremes. If animals can react to theirRead MoreThe Debate On Animal Rights910 Words   |  4 PagesThere are two major schools of thought on animal protection. First, is the tenet that animals should have rights and the second, more radical view, is that animals should be liberated. Many of the rights that are promoted for animals are similar to the rights of human democratic societies. The basic rights, which are recommended by a number of advocates, are that animals should be free from suffering, be in posses sion of their own life, and their basic interests should be given the same considerationRead MoreAnimal Rights Essay886 Words   |  4 PagesAnimal rights - moral or legal entitlements attributed to nonhuman animals, usually because of the complexity of their cognitive, emotional, and social lives or their capacity to experience physical or emotional pain or pleasure. (Britannia encyclopedia online, n.d.). The definition of animal rights is so clear to us. Human rights need to be protected, so do animal rights. In 1976, in New York City, thousands of cat lovers were beaten when they heard a painful test to be taken for pets’ sexualRead MoreEssay on ANIMAL RIGHTS790 Words   |  4 PagesAnimals have their own rights as do to humans and we should respect that and give them the same respect we give each other. Animals deserve to be given those same basic rights as humans. All humans are considered equal and ethical principles and legal statutes should protect the rights of ani mals to live according to their own nature and remain free from exploitation. This paper is going to argue that animals deserve to have the same rights as humans and therefore, we don’t have the right to killRead MoreAnimal Rights Philosophy768 Words   |  4 Pagesissue of animal rights, Carl Cohen takes on the perspective of a reformist. This means that he accepts animal experimentation and meat eating, but believes that these institutions need to be improved upon. Cohen approaches the issue of animal rights using the ideas of obligations and rights, with not only the reformist perspective, but with the speciesist perspective. The conclusion he draws is that animals do not necessarily have rights just because humans have moral obligations to animals. CohenRead MoreThe Argument Of Animal Rights2068 Words   |  9 PagesSeems rhetorical, but the fact is animals live through this everyday, without even given the choice. As humans, we establish our authority among all living beings, but for what reasons? Are humans better than all other species? Or is it true that we should hold a precedence over nonhuman animals? The ultimate question then remains, should animals have as much or equal to the same rights as humans? Their are endless arguments for and against this question, and many sub arguments that go hand in handRead MoreAnimal Rights And The Rights Of Animals1843 Words   |  8 Pagesthe rights of animals and if they think and feel like humans do. Many people see animals as mindless creatures or as food, while others think they have emotions and can feel pain. In other countries animal protection laws are in place that are strictly enforced and seem to work well with the system. In the United States however; some of the anima l rights laws are considered to be useless and under-enforced (Animal Legal Historical Center). More people today are beginning to see that animals shouldRead MoreThe Issue Of Animal Rights Essay2300 Words   |  10 PagesAnimals have the right to equal consideration in regards to their being used for human needs as most people use animals for their own needs on a daily basis even if only indirectly whether to entertain us, or to attain the product we are using, or on our dinner plate. The controversy of the treatment of animals range from some activists and philosophers that are outspoken against animals being used by humans in any way for our own personal needs, while others are candid in their belief that animalsRead More Animal Rights Essay2330 Words   |  10 PagesAnimals and man have shared this planet since humans first appeared on earth. Animals have provided transportation, food, clothing, shelter, companionship and entertainment throughout the ages. Therefore, it is our duty to treat animals with respect, care and kindness and not cause them undue suffering, because they have, in many ways, made it possible for man to survive on earth. However, because normal adult humans have superior mental abilities in the hierarchical scale in nature, animals haveRead MoreArgumentary On Animals And Animal Rights1523 Words   |  7 Pagesclass was crazy! There was so much information regarding animal rights†¦ Sasha: I know. But I don’t know if any of that changed my views. I still think becoming a vegetarian is the way to go. Devon: You think? I still think that it is okay to eat meat. The animals just need to be raised in a humane manner. Sasha: Eh†¦I don’t know. Animals should just be left alone and be free to roam around in the wild. They should not be tortured like those animals that I saw while visiting that â€Å"kill floor†. Devon:

Comparison of Themes in The Yellow Wallpaper and the...

Comparison of Themes in The Yellow Wallpaper and the Metamorphosis Charlotte Perkins Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper and Franz Kafkas Metamorphosis contain many similarities. They both have the common theme of the deterioration of the main characters life and mind, as well as the theme of the ostracism of outcasts in society. They also both deal with the main characters gaining a freedom through the demise of their previous lives. The woman in The Yellow Wallpaper is slowly deteriorating in mental state. When she first moves into the room in the old house, the wallpaper intrigues her. Its pattern entrances her and makes her wonder about its makeup. But slowly her obsession with the wallpaper grows, taking over all of†¦show more content†¦This was illustrated in Gregors last thought, He thought of his family with tenderness and love. The decision that he must disappear was one that he held to even more strongly than his sister, if that were possible(p. 825). The deterioration of Gregors life was in part due to the ostracism associated with his being turned into a bug. Once his family found out what happened, they banished him to his room, and his parents could not even bear to look at him. Prior to his metamorphosis, Gregor was an integral part of the family. He provided the money by which the family survived. Yet as soon as he changed, he was labeled an outcast, who was useless to the family, and therefore not paid any attention. He felt this ostracism, and it made him not want to continue on in life, he gave up because he felt unloved. Likewise, the woman in The Yellow Wallpaper was confined because of her mental illness. She, most likely, was suffering from post-partum depression, after the birth of her child. Instead of getting love and attention, and being able to see her child, she was sent to live in a room in a foreign house. She was not allowed out of the one room that her husband picked out. Although she yearned to see the gardens and the rest of the house, her husband would not let her. It was as though she was being punished for her illness. I believe that her confinement had an effect on the progression of herShow MoreRelated A.M.Holmes Music For Torching, Seth MacFarlanes Family Guy, and Tony Kushners Angels in America1948 Words   |  8 Pagesfeels like she is a failure because she does not perform this juggling act. Her friend Liz mentions Tillie Olsen’s Silences, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper (214), two examples of feminist literature that analyze the dilemm a of the female identity breaking free from confinement. Elaine complains, â€Å"I am The Yellow Wallpaper,† (214) insinuating that she too has become a woman deranged by hysteria and depression. â€Å"I’m embarrassed†¦We’re already having post feminism, and I’m stuck in

Reasons for Re Launching Electric Car †Reva Free Essays

Reasons for Re Launching Electric Car – Reva Introduction : The Reva Electric Car Company (RECC) was founded in 1994 by Chetan Maini, as a joint venture between the Maini Group of Bangalore and Amerigon Electric Vehicle Technologies (AEVT Inc. ) of the USA. The company’s sole aim was to develop and produce an affordable compact electric car. We will write a custom essay sample on Reasons for Re Launching Electric Car – Reva or any similar topic only for you Order Now Several other automakers were also aiming to do so, but in 2001 RECC launched the  REVA Reva, started off with a bang : The first electric car in India  and the people behind the car were confident of the success of the car. Plans were set and the forecasting team estimated that 1500 cars would be sold by the end of the first year. Three years after its launch,  Reva barely managed to sell a total of 300 cars. Reva was subsequently pulled off Indian markets. On May 26th 2010, Mahindra Group bought a 55. 2% majority stake in Reva and now has plans of relaunching the car in Indian markets. This article explores reasons for the failure of Reva and what should be Mahindra Reva’s Strategy for achieving success in the Indian market. * Reva was  positioned  as a â€Å"Green,  low operating cost car†. The marketing strategy when Reva was first launched mainly concentrated on the car being green and the first of its type in the electric car segment. But this was not enough to create ripples amongst the consumers. * With a small  size, easy to drive (no clutch or gear)  and slow  speed, Reva  was targeted at  small families, old couples and female drivers. While Reva had a beneficial cost proposition of only Rs. 0. 40 paise per km travelled, it was not a cheap car. Priced at around Rs. 3. 75 lakhs, people would have preferred to purchase a Maruti Zen or an Alto which are within the same price range. The major problem with Reva was that it was perceived to be a low cost car, but it was actually not. Also it was not a car that the rich wanted to buy, as it looked below their league. In one word, Reva, was a  total misfit. * Aesthetically, Reva did not appeal to the youth. It was  not fast, did not have a  high range, had high  maintenance problems  (100 % charging needed 8 hours) and was not meant for long drives. The small car space and the design made it look like a rather  uncomfortable car. People do advocate being green but they are not willing to sacrifice their comfort for it. * The arketing campaign for Reva also was not an aggressive one. The car made news for itself for being the first electric car in the Indian market but no marketing effort was made to create ripples in the customers. The buzz through promotions and advertisements was very low. There was  no excitement  and  curiosity  created in the minds of the consumers before the product launch. A research done by me amongst 50 female drivers, 35 elderly people (50+ age) and 20 couples has helped me come up with the following  customer value hierarchy  for a Car: 1. Core benefit:  Takes you from one place to another without an  inconvenience. . Basic product:  Easy to drive,  comfortable seats and leg room,  high mileage. 3. Expected Product:  Safety, does not break down,  easy to repair. 4. Augmented Product:  Speed,  smooth on road,  Stylish. 5. Potential Product:  Environment friendly. As seen the points  bolded in red font  are the ones that Reva clearly misses. Not being able to satisfy the core, basic and expected product benefits has been a major miss in the marketing strategy of Reva. If Reva has to be successful it has to first cater to these customer benefits, satisfy them and then only will being environment friendly be a product differentiator. Reva had expected to sell around 1500 cars in its first year itself. After 3 years, Reva managed to sell only about350 odd cars. This is a definite failure in the first innings of Reva. However the fact that it is the only one in the electric car market, a proper marketing strategy can help it become a success. Reva’s Second Innings: A Re-launch Strategy It is not like Green cars are boring and cannot be successful. Take the example of  Roadster Tesla  an electric car which is the coolest and one of the most aspired cars in the automobile market. So surely there is no reason for Reva to fail if it is marketed in the right way. If the car is able to satisfy the core, basic and expected benefits of its target audience then we have a winner on our hands. In today’s, Global warming era. Being green is in fact the in thing. But just Green Cannot Sell. Reva should market itself on its other facets as well. Consider the slogan below for marketing Reva: Reva: â€Å"Easy to drive, Stylish, Comfortable Car †¦ By the way, we are also Green† The easy to drive attribute is already present in Reva. Reva needs to do slight alterations in its design to make it look more stylish, ergonomically designed for seating and safety needs. As given in the figure above, Reva should look at targeting the growing female car owners. Also it should target the young and old couples, who find the  cuteness factor  in the car, exciting enough to purchase it. Reva should be promoted as a  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Fun† car to hang out with. Promotions The Reva advertisements  should not hire any stars to advertise it. Instead it should look at taking the common office going man, the girl next door, the college couple to brand it. This will ensure that its target audience connect to the advertisement and Reva to a greater extent. The greenness in Reva can be subtly highlighted in the advertisements. The promotion ideas for both print and television advertisements are: 1. The office goer:  How because of heavy traffic he used to reach late to office and get reprimanded by his boss. How now Reva has made him reach office in time and get promotions. Catch line: â€Å"Traffic problems. No Problem. Reva is here† 2. The girl next door: How Reva has made her independent. Highlight the ease and comfort of driving the car in the advertisement. Catch line: â€Å"Get Independent. Do The Reva† 3. The lovebirds: A part by part ad series in which an old couple get nostalgic on how they started their love story in a Reva and their memories associated with the Reva car. Highlight the comfort of the Reva car. Catch line: â€Å"Reva getting you closer† Social media promotions – Low cost and high effect. 1. Social gaming applications  in which users play a car racing game and get green credits for using the Reva Car. This will help spread the Reva brand virally. 2. Get expert reviews on the Reva car and publish them on the  Reva Blog. 3. Have a contest in which users can upload their Reva moment on  YouTube. Also upload YouTube videos to show how Reva makes a greener world. 4. Have, â€Å"The Spacious Reva Contest†: Customers try to fit in as many of their friends in a Reva car and upload a picture of it on  Facebook. The one with maximum likes would win the contest. 5. Listen to what your customers are saying  about Reva, how are they feeling about Reva? Have you managed to create the right buzz? Social media would tell you instantly and help you to do any kind of damage control if necessary. The  social media is a good measure  on how well your marketing strategy has worked. In conclusion , Reva has already in its â€Å"First Innings†, highlighted its attribute of being a  Green Car. The â€Å"Second Innings† strategy that has been mentioned will market Reva as an easy to drive, safe, stylish and comfortable car. Thus satisfying the core, basic and expected needs of its customers which will help the Reva car become a success story. While the Mahindra brand name and its distribution network and capabilities in the Indian market should definitely benefit Reva, in having a successful second innings. The strategy outlined above should help Reva preventing burns and scars the second time round. How to cite Reasons for Re Launching Electric Car – Reva, Papers

English Only Amendment free essay sample

An argument against an English Only Amendment in the U.S. The writer explores the possibility of the United States adopting an English Only policy and uses several court cases to illustrate why it would not be feasible. An English only amendment in the United States would only isolate the nation from the rest of the world. Currently with the globalization process occurring the world is becoming more homogenized. Nations that never before communicated are now communicating openly and honestly (Briscoe, 1998). The nations of the world are sharing their cultures and finding things to celebrate about their very diversity. The international trade market has opened and widened its horizons and nations are trading with each other in ways that they never have before in history (Briscoe, 1998). To adopt an English only amendment at this time would impede and stunt the growth of Americas international trade industry. A recent controversy over the possibility of an English only amendment adoption occurred in Puerto Rico (Briscoe, 1998). We will write a custom essay sample on English Only Amendment or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The idea was presented with a ten-year phase in clause.

Arab - Isreal Conflict Essays - ArabIsraeli Conflict, Western Asia

Arab - Isreal Conflict Check out essays at EssayFinder.com Arab-Israeli Conflicts Since the United Nations partition of PALESTINE in 1947 and the establishment of the modern state of ISRAEL in 1948, there have been four major Arab-Israeli wars (1947-49, 1956, 1967, and 1973) and numerous intermittent battles. Although Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979, hostility between Israel and the rest of its Arab neighbors, complicated by the demands of Palestinian Arabs, continued into the 1980s. THE FIRST PALESTINE WAR (1947-49) The first war began as a civil conflict between Palestinian Jews and Arabs following the United Nations recommendation of Nov. 29, 1947, to partition Palestine, then still under British mandate, into an Arab state and a Jewish state. Fighting quickly spread as Arab guerrillas attacked Jewish settlements and communication links to prevent implementation of the UN plan. Jewish forces prevented seizure of most settlements, but Arab guerrillas, supported by the Transjordanian Arab Legion under the command of British officers, besieged Jerusalem. By April, Haganah, the principal Jewish military group, seized the offensive, scoring victories against the Arab Liberation Army in northern Palestine, Jaffa, and Jerusalem. British military forces withdrew to Haifa; although officially neutral, some commanders assisted one side or the other. After the British had departed and the state of Israel had been established on May 15, 1948, under the premiership of David BEN-GURION, the Palestine Arab forces and foreign volunteers were joined by regular armies of Transjordan (now the kingdom of JORDAN), IRAQ, LEBANON, and SYRIA, with token support from SAUDI ARABIA. Efforts by the UN to halt the fighting were unsuccessful until June 11, when a 4-week truce was declared. When the Arab states refused to renew the truce, ten more days of fighting erupted. In that time Israel greatly extended the area under its control and broke the siege of Jerusalem. Fighting on a smaller scale continued during the second UN truce beginning in mid-July, and Israel acquired more territory, especially in Galilee and the Negev. By January 1949, when the last battles ended, Israel had extended its frontiers by about 5,000 sq km (1,930 sq mi) beyond the 15,500 sq km (4,983 sq mi) allocated to the Jewish state in the UN partition resolution. It had also secured its independence. During 1949, armistice agreements were signed under UN auspices between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. The armistice frontiers were unofficial boundaries until 1967. SUEZ-SINAI WAR (1956) Border conflicts between Israel and the Arabs continued despite provisions in the 1949 armistice agreements for peace negotiations. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs who had left Israeli-held territory during the first war concentrated in refugee camps along Israel's frontiers and became a major source of friction when they infiltrated back to their homes or attacked Israeli border settlements. A major tension point was the Egyptian-controlled GAZA STRIP, which was used by Arab guerrillas for raids into southern Israel. Egypt's blockade of Israeli shipping in the Suez Canal and Gulf of Aqaba intensified the hostilities. These escalating tensions converged with the SUEZ CRISIS caused by the nationalization of the Suez Canal by Egyptian president Gamal NASSER. Great Britain and France strenuously objected to Nasser's policies, and a joint military campaign was planned against Egypt with the understanding that Israel would take the initiative by seizing the Sinai Peninsula. The war began on Oct. 29, 1956, after an announcement that the armies of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan were to be integrated under the Egyptian commander in chief. Israel's Operation Kadesh, commanded by Moshe DAYAN, lasted less than a week; its forces reached the eastern bank of the Suez Canal in about 100 hours, seizing the Gaza Strip and nearly all the Sinai Peninsula. The Sinai operations were supplemented by an Anglo-French invasion of Egypt on November 5, giving the allies control of the northern sector of the Suez Canal. The war was halted by a UN General Assembly resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of all occupying forces from Egyptian territory. The General Assembly also established a United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) to replace the allied troops on the Egyptian side of the borders in Suez, Sinai, and Gaza. By December 22 the last British and French troops had left Egypt. Israel, however, delayed withdrawal, insisting that it receive security guarantees against further Egyptian attack. After several additional UN resolutions calling for withdrawal and after pressure from the United States, Israel's forces left in March 1957. SIX-DAY WAR (1967) Relations between Israel and Egypt remained fairly stable in the following decade. The Suez Canal remained closed to Israeli shipping, the Arab boycott of Israel was maintained, and periodic border clashes occurred between Israel, Syria, and Jordan. However, UNEF prevented direct military encounters between Egypt

The Modern Essay by Virginia Woolf

The Modern Essay by Virginia Woolf Widely considered one of the finest essayists of the 20th century, Virginia Woolf composed this essay as a review of Ernest Rhyss five-volume anthology of Modern English Essays: 1870-1920 (J.M. Dent, 1922). The review originally appeared in The Times Literary Supplement, November 30, 1922, and Woolf included a slightly revised version in her first collection of essays, The Common Reader (1925). In her brief preface to the collection, Woolf distinguished the common reader (a phrase borrowed from Samuel Johnson) from the critic and scholar: He is worse educated, and nature has not gifted him so generously. He reads for his own pleasure rather than to impart knowledge or correct the opinions of others. Above all, he is guided by an instinct to create for himself, out of whatever odds and ends he can come by, some kind of wholea portrait of a man, a sketch of an age, a theory of the art of writing. Here, assuming the guise of the common reader, she offers a few . . . ideas and opinions about the nature of the English essay. Compare Woolfs thoughts on essay writing with those expressed by Maurice Hewlett in The Maypole and the Column and by Charles S. Brooks in The Writing of Essays. The Modern Essay by Virginia Woolf As Mr. Rhys truly says, it is unnecessary to go profoundly into the history and origin of the essaywhether it derives from Socrates or Siranney the Persiansince, like all living things, its present is more important than its past. Moreover, the family is widely spread; and while some of its representatives have risen in the world and wear their coronets with the best, others pick up a precarious living in the gutter near Fleet Street. The form, too, admits variety. The essay can be short or long, serious or trifling, about God and Spinoza, or about turtles and Cheapside. But as we turn over the pages of these five little volumes, containing essays written between 1870 and 1920, certain principles appear to control the chaos, and we detect in the short period under review something like the progress of history. Of all forms of literature, however, the essay is the one which least calls for the use of long words. The principle which controls it is simply that it should give pleasure; the desire which impels us when we take it from the shelf is simply to receive pleasure. Everything in an essay must be subdued to that end. It should lay us under a spell with its first word, and we should only wake, refreshed, with its last. In the interval we may pass through the most various experiences of amusement, surprise, interest, indignation; we may soar to the heights of fantasy with Lamb or plunge to the depths of wisdom with Bacon, but we must never be roused. The essay must lap us about and draw its curtain across the world. So great a feat is seldom accomplished, though the fault may well be as much on the readers side as on the writers. Habit and lethargy have dulled his palate. A novel has a story, a poem rhyme; but what art can the essayist use in these short lengths of prose to sting us wide awake and fix us in a trance which is not sleep but rather an intensification of lifea basking, with every faculty alert, in the sun of pleasure? He must knowthat is the first essentialhow to write. His learning may be as profound as Mark Pattisons, but in an essay, it must be so fused by the magic of writing that not a fact juts out, not a dogma tears the surface of the texture. Macaulay in one way, Froude in another, did this superbly over and over again. They have blown more knowledge into us in the course of one essay than the innumerable chapters of a hundred textbooks. But when Mark Pattison has to tell us, in the space of thirty-five little pages, about Montaigne, we feel that he had not previously assimi lated M. Grà ¼n. M. Grà ¼n was a gentleman who once wrote a bad book. M. Grà ¼n and his book should have been embalmed for our perpetual delight in amber. But the process is fatiguing; it requires more time and perhaps more temper than Pattison had at his command. He served M. Grà ¼n up raw, and he remains a crude berry among the cooked meats, upon which our teeth must grate forever. Something of the sort applies to Matthew Arnold and a certain translator of Spinoza. Literal truth-telling and finding fault with a culprit for his good are out of place in an essay, where everything should be for our good and rather for eternity than for the March number of the Fortnightly Review. But if the voice of the scold should never be heard in this narrow plot, there is another voice which is as a plague of locuststhe voice of a man stumbling drowsily among loose words, clutching aimlessly at vague ideas, the voice, for example, of Mr. Hutton in the following passage: Add to this that his married life was brief, only seven years and a half, being unexpectedly cut short, and that his passionate reverence for his wifes memory and geniusin his own words, a religionwas one which, as he must have been perfectly sensible, he could not make to appear otherwise than extravagant, not to say an hallucination, in the eyes of the rest of mankind, and yet that he was possessed by an irresistible yearning to attempt to embody it in all the tender and enthusiastic hyperbole of which it is so pathetic to find a man who gained his fame by his dry-light a master, and it is impossible not to feel that the human incidents in Mr. Mills career are very sad. A book could take that blow, but it sinks an essay. A biography in two volumes is indeed the proper depository, for there, where the licence is so much wider, and hints and glimpses of outside things make part of the feast (we refer to the old type of Victorian volume), these yawns and stretches hardly matter, and have indeed some positive value of their own. But that value, which is contributed by the reader, perhaps illicitly, in his desire to get as much into the book from all possible sources as he can, must be ruled out here. There is no room for the impurities of literature in an essay. Somehow or other, by dint of labor or bounty of nature, or both combined, the essay must be purepure like water or pure like wine, but pure from dullness, deadness, and deposits of extraneous matter. Of all writers in the first volume, Walter Pater best achieves this arduous task, because before setting out to write his essay (Notes on Leonardo da Vinci) he has somehow contrived to get his material fused. He is a learned man, but it is not knowledge of Leonardo that remains with us, but a vision, such as we get in a good novel where everything contributes to bring the writers conception as a whole before us. Only here, in the essay, where the bounds are so strict and facts have to be used in their nakedness, the true writer like Walter Pater makes these limitations yield their own quality. Truth will give it authority; from its narrow limits he will get shape and intensity; and then there is no more fitting place for some of those ornaments which the old writers loved and we, by calling them ornaments, presumably despise. Nowadays nobody would have the courage to embark on the once famous description of Leonardos lady who has learned the secrets of the grave; and has been a diver in deep seas and keeps their fallen day about her; and trafficked for strange webs with Eastern merchants; and, as Leda, was the mother of Helen of Troy, and, as Saint Anne, the mother of Mary . . . The passage is too thumb-marked to slip naturally into the context. But when we come unexpectedly upon the smiling of women and the motion of great waters, or upon full of the refinement of the dead, in sad, earth-coloured raiment, set with pale stones, we suddenly remember that we have ears and we have eyes and that the English language fills a long array of stout volumes with innumerable words, many of which are of more than one syllable. The only living Englishman who ever looks into these volumes is, of course, a gentleman of Polish extraction. But doubtless our abstention saves us much gush, much rhetoric, much high-stepping and cloud-prancing, and for the sake of the prevailing sobriety and hard-headedness, we should be willing to barter the splendor of  Sir Thomas Browne  and the vigor of  Swift. Yet, if the essay admits more properly than biography or fiction of sudden boldness and metaphor, and can be polished till every atom of its surface shines, there are dangers in that too. We are soon in sight of ornament. Soon the current, which is the life-blood of literature, runs slow; and instead of sparkling and flashing or moving with a quieter impulse which has a deeper excitement, words coagulate together in frozen sprays which, like the grapes on a Christmas-tree, glitter for a single night, but are dusty and garnish the day after. The temptation to decorate is great where the theme may be of the slightest. What is there to interest another in the fact that one has enjoyed a walking tour, or has amused oneself by rambling down Cheapside and looking at the turtles in Mr. Sweetings shop window?  Stevenson  and  Samuel Butler  chose very different methods of exciting our interest in these domestic themes. Stevenson, of course, trimmed and polished and set out his matter in the traditional eighteenth-century form. It is admirably done, but we cannot help feeling anxious, as the essay proceeds, lest the material may give out under the craftsmans fingers. The ingot is so small, the manipulation so incessant. And perhaps that is why the  peroration To sit still and contemplateto remember the faces of women without desire, to be pleased by the great deeds of men without envy, to be everything and everywhere in sympathy and yet content to remain where and what you are has the sort of insubstantiality which suggests that by the time he got to the end he had left himself nothing solid to work with. Butler adopted the very opposite method. Think your own thoughts, he seems to say, and speak them as plainly as you can. These turtles in the shop window which appear to leak out of their shells through heads and feet suggest a fatal faithfulness to a fixed idea. And so, striding unconcernedly from one idea to the next, we traverse a large stretch of ground; observe that a wound in the solicitor is a very serious thing; that Mary Queen of Scots wears surgical boots and is subject to fits near the Horse Shoe in Tottenham Court Road; take it for granted that no one really cares about Aeschylus; and so, with many amusing anecdotes and some profound reflections, reach the peroration, which is that, as he had been told not to see more in Cheapside than he could get into twelve pages of the  Universal Review, he had better stop. And yet obviously Butler is at least as careful of our pleasure as Stevenson, and to write like oneself and call it not writing is a much harder exercise in style than to write like Addison and call it writing well. But, however much they differ individually, the Victorian essayists yet had something in common. They wrote at greater length than is now usual, and they wrote for a public which had not only time to sit down to its magazine seriously, but a high, if peculiarly Victorian, standard of culture by which to judge it. It was worth while to speak out upon serious matters in an essay; and there was nothing absurd in writing as well as one possibly could when, in a month or two, the same public which had welcomed the essay in a magazine would carefully read it once more in a book. But a change came from a small audience of cultivated people to a larger audience of people who were not quite so cultivated. The change was not altogether for the worse. In volume iii. we find Mr. Birrell and  Mr. Beerbohm. It might even be said that there was a reversion to the classic  type and that the essay by losing its size and something of its sonority was approaching more nearly the essay of Addison and Lamb. At any rate, there is a great gulf between Mr. Birrell on  Carlyle  and the essay which one may suppose that Carlyle would have written upon Mr. Birrell. There is little similarity between  A Cloud of Pinafores, by Max Beerbohm, and  A Cynics Apology, by Leslie Stephen. But the essay is alive; there is no reason to despair. As the conditions change so the  essayist, most sensitive of all plants to public opinion, adapts himself, and if he is good makes the best of the change, and if he is bad the worst. Mr. Birrell is certainly good; and so we find that, though he has dropped a considerable amount of weight, his attack is much more direct and his movement more supple. But what did Mr. Beerbohm give to the essay and what did he take from it? That is a much more complicated question, for here we have an essayist who has concentrated on the work and  is, without doubt, the prince of his profession. What Mr. Beerbohm gave was, of course, himself. This presence, which has haunted the essay fitfully from the time of Montaigne, had been in exile since the death of  Charles Lamb. Matthew Arnold was never to his readers Matt, nor Walter Pater affectionately abbreviated in a thousand homes to Wat. They gave us much, but that they did not give. Thus,  sometime  in the nineties, it must have surprised readers accustomed to exhortation, information, and denunciation to find themselves familiarly addressed by a voice which seemed to belong to a man no larger than themselves. He was affected by private joys and  sorrows and had no gospel to preach and no learning to impart. He was himself, simply and directly, and himself he has remained. Once again we have an essayist capable of using the essayists most proper but most dangerous and delicate tool. He has brought personality into literature, not unconsciously and impurely, but so consciously and purely that we do not know whether t here is any relation between Max the essayist and Mr. Beerbohm the man. We only know that the spirit of personality permeates every word that he writes. The triumph is the triumph of  style. For it is only by knowing how to write that you can make use in literature of  yourself; that self which, while it is essential to literature, is also its most dangerous antagonist. Never to be yourself and yet alwaysthat is the problem. Some of the essayists in Mr. Rhys collection, to be frank, have not altogether succeeded in solving it. We are nauseated by the sight of trivial personalities decomposing in the eternity of print. As talk, no doubt, it was charming, and  certainly, the writer is a good fellow to meet over a bottle of beer. But literature is stern; it is no use being charming,  virtuous or even learned and brilliant into the bargain, unless, she seems to reiterate, you  fulfill  her first conditionto know how to write. This art is possessed to perfection by Mr. Beerbohm. But he has not searched the dictionary for polysyllables. He has not  molded  firm periods or seduced our ears with intricate cadences and strange melodies. Some of his companionsHenley and Stevenson, for exampleare momentarily more impressive. But  A Cloud of Pinafores  has in it that indescribable inequality, stir, and final expressiveness which belong to life and to life alone. You have not finished with it because you have read it, any more than friendship is ended because it is time to part. Life wells up and alters and adds. Even things in a book-case change if they are alive; we find ourselves wanting to meet them again; we find them altered. So we look back upon essay after essay by Mr. Beerbohm, knowing that, come September or May, we shall sit down with them and talk. Yet it is true that the essayist is the most sensitive of all writers to public opinion. The drawing-room is the place where a great deal of reading is done nowadays, and the essays of Mr. Beerbohm lie, with an exquisite appreciation of all that the position exacts, upon the drawing-room table. There is no  gin  about; no strong tobacco; no puns, drunkenness, or insanity. Ladies and gentlemen talk together, and some things, of course, are not said. But if it would be foolish to attempt to confine Mr. Beerbohm to one room, it would be still more foolish, unhappily, to make him, the artist, the man who gives us only his best, the representative of our age. There are no essays by Mr. Beerbohm in the fourth or fifth volumes of the present collection. His age seems already a little distant, and the drawing-room table, as it recedes, begins to look rather like an altar where, once upon a time, people deposited offeringsfruit from their own orchards, gifts carved with their own hands. Now once more the conditions have changed. The public needs essays as much as ever, and perhaps even more. The demand for the light middle not exceeding fifteen hundred words, or in special cases seventeen hundred and fifty, much exceeds the supply. Where Lamb wrote one essay and Max perhaps writes two,  Mr. Belloc  at a rough computation produces three hundred and sixty-five. They are very short, it is true. Yet with what dexterity the practised ess ayist will utilise his spacebeginning as close to the top of the sheet as possible, judging precisely how far to go, when to turn, and how, without sacrificing a  hairs breadth  of paper, to wheel about and alight accurately upon the last word his editor allows! As a feat of  skill, it is well worth watching. But the personality upon which Mr. Belloc, like Mr. Beerbohm, depends suffers in the process. It comes to  us, not with the natural richness of the speaking voice, but strained and thin and full of mannerisms and affectations, like the voice of a man shouting through a megaphone to a crowd on a windy day. Little friends, my readers, he says in the essay called An Unknown Country, and he goes on to tell us how There was a shepherd the other day at Findon Fair who had come from the east by Lewes with sheep, and who had in his eyes that reminiscence of horizons which makes the eyes of shepherds and of mountaineers different from the eyes of other men. . . . I went with him to hear what he had to say, for shepherds talk quite differently from other men. Happily, this shepherd had little to say, even under the stimulus of the inevitable mug of beer, about the Unknown Country, for the only remark that he did make proves him either a minor poet, unfit for the care of  sheep or Mr. Belloc himself masquerading with a fountain pen. That is the penalty which the habitual essayist must now be prepared to face. He must masquerade. He cannot afford the time either to be himself or to be other people. He must skim the surface of thought and dilute the strength of personality. He must give us a worn weekly halfpenny instead of a solid sovereign once a year. But it is not Mr. Belloc only who has suffered from the prevailing conditions. The essays which bring the collection to the year 1920 may not be the best of their authors work, but, if we except writers like Mr. Conrad and Mr. Hudson, who have strayed into essay writing accidentally, and concentrate upon those who write essays habitually, we shall find them a good deal affected by the change in their circumstances. To write weekly, to write daily, to write shortly, to write for busy people catching trains in the morning or for tired people coming home in the evening, is a  heartbreaking  task for men who know good writing from bad. They do it, but instinctively draw out of harms way anything precious that might be damaged by contact with the public, or anything sharp that might irritate its skin. And so, if one reads Mr. Lucas, Mr. Lynd, or Mr. Squire in the bulk, one feels that a common  grayness  silvers everything. They are as far removed from the extravagant beauty of Wal ter Pater as they are from the intemperate  candor  of Leslie Stephen. Beauty and courage are dangerous spirits to bottle in a column and a half; and thought, like a brown paper parcel in a waistcoat pocket, has a way of spoiling the symmetry of an article. It is a kind, tired, apathetic world for which they write, and the marvel is that they never cease to attempt, at least, to write well. But there is no need to pity Mr. Clutton Brock for this change in the essayists conditions. He has clearly made the best of his circumstances and not the worst. One hesitates even to say that he has had to make any conscious effort in the matter, so  naturally, has he effected the transition from the private essayist to the public, from the drawing-room to the Albert Hall. Paradoxically enough, the shrinkage in size has brought about a corresponding expansion of individuality. We have no longer the I of Max and of Lamb, but the we of public bodies and other sublime personages. It is we who go to hear the Magic Flute; we who ought to profit by it; we, in some mysterious way, who, in our corporate capacity, once upon a time actually wrote it. For music and literature and art must submit to the same  generalization  or they will not carry to the farthest recesses of the Albert Hall. That the voice of Mr. Clutton Brock, so sincere and so disinterested, carries such a distance and r eaches so many without pandering to the weakness of the mass or its passions must be a matter of legitimate satisfaction to us all. But while we are gratified, I, that unruly partner in the human fellowship, is reduced to despair. I must always think things for himself, and feel things for himself. To share them in a diluted form with the majority of well-educated and well-intentioned men and women is  for him sheer agony; and while the rest of us listen intently and profit profoundly, I slips off to the woods and the fields and rejoices in a single blade of grass or a solitary potato. In the fifth volume of modern essays, it seems, we have got some way from pleasure and the art of writing. But in justice to the essayists of  1920  we must be sure that we are not praising the famous because they have been praised already and the dead because we shall never meet them wearing spats in Piccadilly. We must know what we mean when we say that they can write and give us pleasure. We must compare them; we must bring out the quality. We must point to this and say it is good because it is exact, truthful, and imaginative: Nay, retire men cannot when they would; neither will they, when it were Reason; but are impatient of Privateness, even in age and sickness, which require the shadow: like old Townsmen: that will still be sitting at their street door, though therby they offer Age to Scorn . . . and to this, and say it is bad because it is loose, plausible, and commonplace: With courteous and precise cynicism on his lips, he thought of quiet virginal chambers, of waters singing under the moon, of terraces where taintless music sobbed into the open night, of pure maternal mistresses with protecting arms and vigilant eyes, of fields slumbering in the sunlight, of leagues of ocean heaving under warm tremulous heavens, of hot ports, gorgeous and perfumed. . . . It goes on, but already we are bemused with sound and neither feel nor hear. The comparison makes us suspect that the art of writing has for backbone some fierce attachment to an idea. It is on the back of an idea, something believed in with conviction or seen with precision and thus compelling words to its shape, that the diverse company which includes Lamb and  Bacon, and Mr. Beerbohm and Hudson, and Vernon Lee and Mr. Conrad, and Leslie Stephen and Butler and Walter Pater reaches the farther shore. Very various talents have helped or hindered the passage of the idea into words. Some scrape through painfully; others fly with every wind  favouring. But Mr. Belloc and  Mr. Lucas  and Mr. Squire are not fiercely attached to anything in itself. They share the contemporary dilemmathat lack of an obstinate conviction which lifts ephemeral sounds through the misty sphere of anybodys language to the land where there is a perpetual marriage, a perpetual union. Vague as all definitio ns are, a good essay must have this permanent quality about it; it must draw its curtain round us, but it must be a curtain that shuts us in, not out. Originally published in 1925 by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,  The Common Reader  is currently available from Mariner Books (2002) in the U.S. and from Vintage (2003) in the U.K.

Catholics opposing views on abortion over History Research Paper

Catholics opposing views on abortion over History - Research Paper Example The early Christians were opposed to abortion because it exposed the unborn babies thus making them die. Abortion was condemned with disregarding to what stage of the pregnancy it was carried out in the first three centuries of Christianity. This can be captured in Tertullian writings in 197AD that† it does not matter whether you take away life that is born or destroy one that is coming to birth. In both instances, destruction is murder.† The council of Ancyra (314) is said to have referred to an ancient law that excommunicated women that aborted their children deliberately. (life.org.nz, 2011) The second mention of abortion is in a theological tract known as the Epistle of the pseudo-Barnabas which was written in about 138 and highly regarded by the theologians of Alexandria. The author of this publication treats abortion as corollary to the law of fraternal charity which was in existence. This can be captured in the written statements that, â€Å"You shall love your ne ighbor more than your own life. You shall not slay the child by abortion.† (catholicculture.org, 2011) Athenagoras who was an Athenian philosopher states in a letter he writes to Marcus Aurelius (177) that â€Å"All those who use abortifacients are homicides and they will have to account to God for their abortions as well as the killing of men†. ... arly church councils established strong precedents in history in relation to matters of abortion which were later ratified and strengthened by the council of Chalcendon in 415 and Consillium Quinisextum in 692. During the early period of foundation of Christianity, there were many writers who condemned abortion as a gravel evil. These include Christians writer like Hippolytus (235), Cyprian (258), St Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (375), St Jerome (d. 420), St Augustine(d. 430), Caesarius, the Bishop of Arles(d. 543), and St Martin of Braga(580). The first collection of church laws that were promulgated with the authority of pope for the universal church was The Decretals of Pope Gregory IX in 1324. These laws list one canon that describes a murderer as one who procures an abortion. The decrials emphasized the idea of formed and unformed so as to determine the kind of penalties that applied for this type of crime. From the 13 century and the other succeeding centuries, the council of churc hes in existence continued to condemn abortion. (catholicculture.org, 2011) In 1588, the first papal legislation that was meant to bring into play penal sanction against abortion came into existence and was referred to EFFRAENATAM of Pope Sixtus V who reigned in the period 1585-1590. In 1591, Pope Gregory XIV altered slightly the constitution of Sixtus V so as to apply harsher punishments among those that caused abortion of animated fetus (a fetus whose movement could be felt). In spite of the changes to the constitution, the seriousness of abortion offences were emphasized (Haney, 2008, p 24). Not until in the 18th century when Martin Luther king led a reformation from the Catholic Church, most Catholics were united and accepted the Magisterium authority and condemnation of abortion. In

The Millennium Development Goals of Nepal Assignment

The Millennium Development Goals of Nepal - Assignment Example The UN Millennium campaign has created partnerships with the Resident Coordinators office in various targeted countries in order to inspire and support the people all over the world for taking adequate actions, supporting the MDGs. In this regard, Nepal is deemed to be one of the most targeted and highly prioritised countries of the world. In Nepal, the Millennium campaign has a powerful interlink with the â€Å"Civil Society Organisations†, UN system and the local bodies, which tends to enhance its campaigning efforts and policy advocacy works (1United Nations Development Programme, 2014). This goal has been established in order to support the economically under-developed countries of the world wherein the people are not even able to afford the basic necessities of life such as food, which results in causing malnutrition. Therefore, in context to Nepal, the goal mainly focuses on improving the standards of living of the people as well as minimising the distance persisting between rich and poor. The target of the goal is to reduce the fraction of people in Nepal by 50 percent whose daily earnings is less than $1.25 and suffering from famine. The target is proposed to be accomplished in between 1990 and 2015 (1United Nations, 2015). In order to confirm that the above targets get accomplished within a set timeframe, the country will mainly analyse two indicators. The first indicator represents the prevailing rate of under-weighted children those who are below the age of five years and the second indicator denotes the proportion of populaces in the country who do not rece ive minimum level of diet (Shakya, 2013). This goal was designed to ensure that all the children of a country receive primary education and possess the right to enrol themselves in primary schools and complete their education. However, in relation to Nepal, the goal mainly focused on increasing the number of literacy rates in the country by providing the opportunity of primary education. As per the

China mitigating the impact of carbon dioxide Essay

China mitigating the impact of carbon dioxide - Essay Example Contrary to numerous states that have alleged both China and US are ignorant of numerous policies that global agencies have instituted to shun climate degradation, it has however tried to implement varied national policies. For instance, China this year revealed its intentions of reducing the CO2 emission levels stated in 2005 by approximately 60-65%. This coupled with other numerous advancements devised and proposed by Chinese government; experts have contended the country seems now to be on the right track towards curbing its excessive CO2 release. However, despite these advancements and proposals by Chinese government, the extent of CO2 emissions from the numerous sprouting industries by the day is still high, which makes the country appear as if is it is not doing enough. One of the policies implemented and currently, in place includes the vehicle exercise taxation. This policy normally compels those owning automobiles with big engines to be parting with a significant amount of t axation that commensurate with the extent of CO2 release. Hence, discouraging people from opting to own vehicles like SUV whose impact through pollution is quite high compared to small engine cars. These laws are extremely stringent compared to those in US but the challenge emerges with double release not only from the automobiles but also from industries. Hence, prompting other global states claim Chinese government does not exhibit the necessary willingness towards curbing this menace, which has ensued to political issues.

An Analysis Of Water Pollution In China Environmental Sciences Essay

An Analysis Of Water Pollution In China Environmental Sciences Essay The challenge of escalating water pollution in China has posed a formidable threat to the existing water bodies that are immensely beneficial to the natives, industries and the government. This water pollution has been as a consequence of effluents from the heavily industrialized areas, which drain chemicals to rivers and other related streams. The escalating quandary of water pollution in China requires swift and practical measures geared towards safeguarding the few water bodies that have not been polluted, and halting further pollution of those already polluted. These efforts will aid in protecting the aquatic life, and improving on environmental conservation. To effectively limit the levels of water pollution, the Chinese Government ought to implement reasonable and valid systems that will guarantee the reduction in release of toxic effluents into the aquatic ecosystem. The appalling state of affairs resulting from the Chinese industrial effluents from the densely populated manufacturing states have reached to points where they threaten to literally extinguish the aquatic life, and thereby rendering once valuable rivers and streams useless. Indeed, these rivers, streams and other water bodies are affected to a point that they can be seen to be contaminated from visual observation. Additionally, strong and awful smells can be felt emanating from the flowing bodies of water; these polluted masses of moving water are usually black in color (Economy 2010). The Chinese authorities ideally want to intervene and implement effective measures to regulate the culpable industries on their commercial release into these rivers and streams. Many industrialists however argue against such a move, instead positing that by implementing a number of restrictive measures, the authorities will be deterring the growth and development of upcoming industries. Such arguments fall flat in face of logic and only help to champion the further degradation of the environment. The industrialists also posit that these measures will reduce production of some companies, which they argue, are particularly critical in global industrial production and the emergence of China as a superpower. Implementation of restrictive laws should not be compromised by vested interests from industrialists. Restrictive and regulatory environmental laws are designed help in guarding environment for the future generations in China. Environmental standards in China are deteriorating at a particularly unsettling pace when compared to other countries. Natives of Chinese towns are pessimistic about future environmental outlooks. They have witnessed once clean rivers turned into sewerage drainage channels because of extremely uncontrolled dumping of industrial refuse. In an environmental conservation article, Rivers Run Black in Shanxi Province in CHINA.ORG.CN website, a farmer called Li Yonggang recalls a few years back when a nearby riverShushui Riverwas remarkably uncontaminated and bustling with marine life. He notes with vivid contract of how the landscape of back then is so different to that of today. At thirty years, everything has changed and very different to what he used to see in th e 1980s. Li compares how he dug a mere 60 meters in the past to get clean drinking water, but nowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦well is 180 meters deep (Rivers Run Black in Shanxi Province). Water pollution is normally graded on a scale of I, II, III, IV and V-where I is the purest with least pollutants and V is the most polluted. Shushui River is currently on grade V. Shanxi province is categorized as leading in having worst river waters in the country because of the big industries in the region (China Knowledge Press Pte Ltd Xiahou, 2005). Environmentalists and natives are equally conscious of the heightening status of the quandary, and most wonder if the deteriorating status will be halted in time since all the ten most polluted cities are in Shanxi (Rivers Run Black in Shanxi Province). According to Jian Xies book Addressing Chinas water scarcity: recommendations for selected water resource management issues, which was written in collaboration with the World Bank, the Peoples Republic of China possesses no adequate and proper sewerage management system and as a result, both the public and domestic waste is channeled into nearby water bodies. Some rivers have turned red as a result, clearly depicting the extent of pollution. (See illustration below). Also about 500 million citizens do not have any kind of access to hygienically treated drinking water and majority resort to taking filthy water from rivers (Xie World Bank, 2009). Current studies depict excessive discharge of mans refuse and other pollutants from agricultural area. The discharging of waste in the sea is rampant because the majority of the rural populations do not have abundant water conditioning facilities. This puts them on the verge of getting infected with industrial and human waste related diseases. The Xie/ World Bank book highlights the concerns of many people lacking domestic water, and indicates that such predicaments have pushed people to use flowing water from streams and rivers. Here, they can wash clothes and get water for cooking and drinking. The most culpable industries in the list of agents of pollution are plants that manufacture drugs, chemicals and tannery mills. The picture below shows how factories located near water bodies in China easily dump heaps of wastes. Wastes can be seen spilling in the river depository. Yangtze effluence Evident as it is, water contamination is primarily caused by industrial processes. From the observation of the visual evidence above, not only is water being affected, but the air is equally polluted. These emissions of toxic substances into the environment cost the Chinese government almost $69 billion annually, a figure that is spent on dismal efforts closely related to environmental conservation but which barely have any effect. Marquita Hill reports in Understanding Environmental pollution that China disposes about 11.7 million pounds of organic waste annually. This is mindboggling when you consider that industrialized nations such as the United States emits about 5.5, Japan emits around 3.4, Germany 2.3, India 3.2 and South Africa a paltry 0.6 (Hill, 2009). When you do the mathematics, Chinas emission is almost equal to all these five countries. This is intense pollution according to the statistics the rate is increasing endangering the human existence. There has been evidence of algae blooms in rivers and lakes caused by surface run-off during rainy seasons where industrial and farming chemicals are deposited in the rivers. Hill elaborates on how these run-offs result in the depletion of oxygen in the water leading to death of aquatic life. Chinese residents did try to curb this by pumping oxygen mechanically in water but the ultimate responsibility rests on the government to regulate the use of toxic industrial chemicals in these sectors. China aimed at cutting down on water effluence by ten percent from 2008 to 2010. It also attempted to clean Huai basin in Anhui Province in the 80s and 90s but those efforts foundered; $8 million dollars was spent on the project. It is clear currently that China must invest in river protection. China says water pollution double official figure, (Reuters 2010). According to this report China had grossly underestimated the levels of corruption posted in 2007. Apparently, the government estimation did not factor in the waste from agricultural activities, A study by Chinas Environmental Protection Agency in February 2010 said that water pollution levels were double what the government predicted them to be mainly because agricultural waste was ignored (Reuters, 2010). This unmasked the truth of the matter in China; the extent of Chinas environmental predicaments could be much worse! This also questioned whether the Chinese government is cognizant of its predicament and what measures it must take to reduce negative effects. Earlier in 2007, government reported it had reduced COD by 30 percent to 13.3metric tons. The article reports of extremely alarming statistics of water pollution which need quick action before things get out of manageable brackets. Coupled with both industrial and domestic emissions, the COD rose by 5 percent around the original one in 2007 (Reuter, 2010). China faces dual predicament of water pollution and scarcity. Its vast population is faced with severe water problem which is extreme in heavily populated cities. There are also cases of inadequately treated municipal waters which is unhygienic for human drinking. China therefore is forced to harvest or extract impure water especially in Yantai, Qingdao and Behai. China must supplement its water resources; straighten out any sluggishness in municipal facilities, equip sewerage firms with resources to treat toxic waste and properly channel the drainage system and enact laws to combat irresponsible industrial behaviors. In the country, most of the rivers have grade IV and grade V of pollution; these rivers are toxic and extremely unhealthy for human and living things use. It is the governments responsibility to clean the rivers and avert possible ecological disasters.

How does Miller show his ability to build up tension in this extract? E

How does Miller show his ability to build up tension in this extract? (page 50 "How about some grape juice" - page 52 "the court did not know him Annie!) Throughout the play "all my sons" Miller thoroughly expresses his ability to change and strengthen our emotions and develop tension between characters. I found this effect of tension particularly evident in this extract, a discussion between George, Chris and Annie. Due to past history, we already know that feelings between Chris and George are going to be "on edge". It appears that tension is already apparent in the first few lines although the overall atmosphere appears fairly mellow and laid back: "How about some grape juice? Mother made it especially for you" -Chris George replies with forced appreciation, perhaps indicating that he doesn't really want to be there. The argument between Chris and George doesn't actually begin until George states: "When you make suckers out of people once, you shouldn't try to do it twice." I believe this hurtful remark against Chris is in view of his father. By ...

Environmental economics Essay

The market forces of demand and supply lead to equilibrium price and quantity that can be used to allocate sources effectively in many of the markets. At times they fail to deliver the best level of output for society. The government intervenes using various methods to correct market failure. This report details the six different types of market failure which can occur in the UK in addition to critically detailing how the government attempts to correct market failure. 2. Externalities According to Samuelson (1954) ‘Externalities create a divergence between the private and social costs of production’. Social costs are the production cost of a product or service including third party costs; in the event of a negative externality the social costs are much greater than private costs i. e. pollution. Externalities are external costs and benefits which arise during economic activity but which are not considered by the buyers and sellers involved as they effect third parties only. Ignoring external costs and benefits can lead to the wrong level of output in the market. Negative externalities, occasionally referred to as external costs, are the costs that separate social and private costs. They are the costs paid for by third parties, which is usually society as a whole. If negative externalities are left to the market mechanism it could lead to over production. Chivian and Bernstein (2008) concluded, ‘soft drinks in large quantities are unhealthy and could lead to medical problems’. This would increase the medical costs for the government, to tackle this issue they could tax soft drinks to discourage use in addition to elevating such charges from healthy drinks consequently providing a cheaper and healthier alternative. Consumers can create externalities by consuming certain goods or services. †¢Pollution from privately owned cars or taxis †¢Public damage caused by alcohol abuse †¢Litter on streets The UK government address these negative externalities through two primary functions; legislations and taxations. Pressure from environmentalist along with studies confirming the existence of global warming forced the UK government to introduce ‘Green taxation’. This includes an increase in petrol prices to discourage use of fuel reliant cars, increase in excise duty on alcohol as well as fines for perpetrators caught in the act of littering. Indirect taxes are used as a means of deterrence on products which could lead to market failure. They differ to specific taxes such as excise duty on tobacco as they are not fixed sum per unit. VAT is an indirect tax which raises cost of production. A pecuniary externality is a type of negative externality which relates to the economic activities rather than physical resources. Apple increased its market share from 25% to 36% in the mobile phone market while others have lost theirs; those suffering losses have incurred a pecuniary externality (Apple iphone market share, 2011). The key difference between pecuniary and real externality is while real externality ought to require compensation pecuniary should not. Positive externalities, if left to market mechanism, could under produce and would not reach level of output which is socially efficient. †¢Education system, government provides student finance to encourage higher education †¢Health service, government provides free health service By investing in human capital via promoting education and providing incentives to stay in education i. e. EMA, the government is assisting corporations through nurturing more educated individuals. This is essential in sustaining the country’s development. Positive externalities can also have negative effects; UK boasts one of the largest fast food market in the world, Britons spend average of ? 7 million a day on junk food, which contributed to UK being crowned as ‘the fattest country in Europe’ (Britain is Europe’s fattest nation, 2011). 3. Missing markets Missing markets transpires when there is a failure in the market to produce certain goods or offer services in spite of the level of demand. If conditions are not satisfied markets can struggle to exist and since it is unlikely they will ever form they are called ‘missing markets’. An example of this occurrence is the ‘pure public goods’ which provides to the population non-excludable and non-rival benefits. The free rider problem can be one of the causes which lead to missing markets; the term originates from the example of someone who doesn’t pay fares when using public transport. Everyone would want to use the product but would wait till someone else has paid for it which could lead to under-production or even non-production. For example, if an individual does not pay tax he can still use the roads or call the emergency services. Pure public goods and other markets with similar characteristics are unlikely to ever be considered as business opportunities by individuals or corporations given the impossibility of charging consumers at the point of consumption. Pure public good includes: street lights, national defence, police, fireworks display etc. All pure public goods have the following characteristics: †¢Non-rivalry: The consumption of the good by one person does not reduce the quantity available for others. The amount of usage does not correlate with the availability for example; a lighthouse’s light can be seen by more than one ship at any given time. †¢Non-excludable: If the good is provided for one anyone can use it, and they cannot be stopped from using it. Once a streetlight is erected it benefits all passers-by and there is no possible way of excluding someone. †¢Non-rejectable: The public cannot refuse the benefits or consequences of a pure public product. An individual cannot reject being defended by the armed forced of a country, nor can they reject the benefit of street lighting. To tackle the missing market failure the government may seize control of all operations relating to pure public goods and would then be responsible for meeting the demands of the people. In order to fund projects such as road building the government would raise taxes rather than charge individuals. The government introduces money making schemes such as congestion charges to raise funds for the transport system or charge private airlines landing fees at airports. In 2008, as a bid to attain ? 3 billion, an idea was proposed which would introduce congestion charge in Greater Manchester. 4. Information asymmetry Information asymmetry occurs when there is a lack of symmetry, or balance, between the knowledge of the buyer compared to that of the seller furthermore, the imbalance gets exploited which leads to a misallocation of resources. For instance, an unscrupulous dentist might tell his patient he needs lots of dental work done, when in reality not so much is required, just to create business. This can also be seen in lawyers, car mechanics, doctors etc. In the UK there are several laws which help the consumers and warrant them rights if a product is purchased or a service is used. The Trade Descriptions Act 1968 was introduced to prevent manufactures and retailers from misleading consumers by stating all products ‘must be sold as described, of satisfactory quality, and fit for purpose’(OFT, 2011). This prevents businesses from deceiving individuals by allowing them rights to know exactly what the product is. To inform consumers of their rights the government has setup websites and institutions which can be used to attain information readily. The OFT (Office of Fair Trading) was set up in 1973 to ‘enforce both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the UK’s economic regulator’. They can be contacted by consumers who would be given guidance about their matter and legal advice. The OFT carry out investigations into alleged unfair practices if consumers feel wronged for example, in June 2010 an investigation into credit score websites was opened after consumers complained about being charged monthly subscriptions fees. Verdict was reached and the accused companies agreed to not mislead consumers by making these charges known (Investigation into unfair practices, 2011). 5. Lack of competition in the market According to O’Connor (2012) a monopoly occurs if at least of the two conditions are satisfied: †¢The only organization in the industry †¢Substantial barriers of entry The UK government and many other agencies, informally, refer to any company with more than 25% market share as a monopoly. This includes companies on a national, regional or local scale. Monopolist businesses act as price maker, due to lack of competition, therefore can create artificially high prices if demand exists to earn abnormal profits. This is very different to the situation which occurs when competition exists in the market where businesses are constantly trying to reduce prices to undercut competitors. A restrictive trade practice is a strategy used to reduce competition and raise prices of products. Cartels are formed when businesses agree to set prices high, they are also illegal in UK. Competitors are forbidden to collude in restricting the flow of goods to a particular person or business. The UK government has various legislations to prevent abuse of power. Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Act (1948) In 1948 the Monopolies Commission was created to investigate industries where businesses are acting in collusion to limit competition. A report will be published after the investigation is concluded and will be given to the government to take necessary action. Monopolies and Mergers Act (1965) This act was created to investigate or prevent business that control at least 25% of the market from merging together. The Monopolies Commission would investigate the case then allow the merge to take place or disallow it if it does not act in the interest of the public. Restrictive Trade Practices Act (1956) Restrictive Trade Practices Act made it illegal for manufactures to act in collusion and control the prices at which their product is sold at in retail stores. The Registrar of Restrictive Practices acts as a database, businesses have to register any restrictive agreements between the manufactures. Fair Trading Act (1973) This act established the Office of Fair Trading with the aim of enforcing the act. Consumer protection and Competition law were the main agenda. The goal is to ensure markets work well for consumers, ensure strong competition and prohibit unlawful practices. Consumer protection was enhanced as businesses would be given warning at first but will be taken to court if problems persist. Competition Acts (1980 and 1998) Large businesses may limit competition and increase profits by predatory pricing, excessive prices, refusal to supply and price discrimination. This act was created to ensure businesses do not abuse their dominant market position and to deal with restrictive business practices. The EU influenced this act as the UK had to comply with EU competition policy. This act will be enforced by the Director General of Fair Trading and business if found at fault will be liable to financial penalties. Enterprise Act (2002) This act establishes new competition authorities, reformulates the law regarding mergers and markets, changed the law governing insolvency bankruptcy and criminalises anti-competitive behaviour. It also enhanced the Office of Fair Trading powers allowing it to carry out searches under warrant on the suspected mergers. Businesses can now appeal against the decisions made by the Competition Commission. The Minister of Trade and Industry used to play a major role but due to inconsistencies he no longer has the final say regarding mergers. 6. Unstable prices Unstable prices apply particularly to commodities, any naturally accruing substances, such as fossil fuels, coffee, wheat etc. If left to the market mechanism they tend to suffer from fluctuations in prices much more frequently than manufactured goods, which create problems for the suppliers of these commodities as they cannot plan with any certainty on what revenue they are going to receive. Lipsey and Harbury (1993) discussed the two strategies the government tries to control the price with: Price ceiling The government imposes a maximum price limit that can be charged for a particular item in order to protect consumers from environments that would make commodities inaccessible. A binding price ceiling is when the government decides to set the price ceiling below that of the free market price for example, if bread costs ? 2. 00 on the free market a price ceiling of ? 1. 00 would be considered a binding price ceiling. However, this can also have undesired results as some suppliers may slump out of the market as they cannot deal with the deficit, causing supplies to reduce and demand to increase as consumers bulk buy cheap items. A non-binding price ceiling is when the price ceiling is set above the free market price giving the suppliers/manufactures a buffer zone which is unlikely to have any practical effect. Price floor A price floor is the minimum price that can be charged for a product or service. If the mandatory price is set below the free market equilibrium price then it will have no practical effect but if the minimum price is set higher than the free market price it would mean consumers will have to pay more for the product. This could lead to demand falling which would result in manufactures seeing revenue decrease. An example of a minimum floor price is the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 which dictates the lowest amount employees can be paid. 7. Labour market failure Labour market should, according to Gregg and Wadsworth (2011), reach a certain equilibrium wage and quantity but in practice this rarely happens. Listed below are some potential causes of market failure: †¢Labour and skills immobility: Labour cannot always be where the jobs are, this is called geographical immobility. Skills immobility is when labour does not possess the right skills to fulfil the job. For example, coal miners lost their jobs when new industries were formed and because of the mismatch in skill they are left unemployed. †¢Discrimination: Race, gender, height, weight and age are some examples of discrimination which can take place and could lead to market failure. The government intervenes by creating legislations such as the National Minimum Wage Act and Equal Pay Act to help protect people’s rights at work. They also offer incentives for students to continue into further education. Gangmasters are the main employers in a town and will use their buying power to force wages below the national minimum wage rate. The government set up the GLA (Gangmasters Licensing Authority) to help control this problem and protect workers (Labour markets, 2009). 8. Conclusion The UK government acts admirable in the event of market failure to prevent further damage being inflicted onto the economy. However, the monopolistic business control acts are not in my estimation deterring businesses from unhealthy practices enough. The green initiative is laughable at best considering most households generally are in possession of two cars compared to just a single vehicle few years ago. Clearly more needs to be done to protect the environment. Although high petrol prices and an increase in insurance act as a deterrent to some the lack of alternatives is detrimental to the efforts. A higher tax should be implemented on tobacco as it is causes negative externalities which not only affect the individual but also the government, NHS spend on average five billion a year on treating diseases directly caused by smoking (Buckley,2003). 9. Bibliography Samuelson, P. A. , 1954, the pure theory of public expenditure, harvard university press. Chivian,E. C. and Bernstein, A. B. , 2008, sustaining life, oxford university press. O’Connor, A. C. , 2012, monopoly: the cause of evil, Lightning source uk ltd. Gregg, P. G. and Wadsworth, J. W. , 2011, The labour market in winter: the state of working britian, OUP oxford. Lipsey,R. G. L and Harbury,C. D. H. ,1993, first principles of economics, Weidenfield and Nicolson. Buckley,C. B. , 2003, thank you for smoking, Allison and busby. reuters. 2011. Apple iPhone market share. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www. reuters. com/article/2011/12/22/smartphones-europe-idUSL6E7NM0PI20111222. [Accessed 25 January 12]. metro. 2011. Britain is Europe’s fattest nation. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. metro. co. uk/news/38242-britain-is-europes-fattest-nation. [Accessed 25 January 12]. office of fair trading. 2011. Investigation into alleged unfair practices. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www. oft. gov. uk/OFTwork/consumer-enforcement/consumer-enforcement-completed/adaptive-affinity/. [Accessed 25 January 12]. labour market failure. 2009. labour markets. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www. tutor2u. net/economics/presentations/labour_market_failure/player. html. [Accessed 25 January 12].

Being a Volunteer in an Orphanage Essays

Being a Volunteer in an Orphanage Essays Being a Volunteer in an Orphanage Paper Being a Volunteer in an Orphanage Paper Being a Volunteer in an Orphanage Name: Course: Date: Being a Volunteer in an Orphanage Volunteering refers to working without pay. It is based on the need to acquire skills in a certain field or profession, learning of new things and interacting with other people, especially of a different culture. It is a form of community service when done to benefit one or more people in a particular community. Voluntary work is mostly done for non-commercial organizations and time invested varies with the individuals and the organization being assisted. Some people therefore engage in full volunteering activities while others only do it partially in the curse of other work they undertake. One can volunteer alone or as part of a group of people for instance a class, family or any other independent group. There are many advantages of volunteering. For instance, it offers an opportunity for helping those in need. This is among the main reasons why people volunteer. In so doing, they are being of service to others, a factor that provides a sense of well being and usefulness. Such people help in making a difference in the lives of those they are serving, for example, those volunteering at disaster centers, hospitals and orphanages. Their feeling of having helped another person gives them a sense of purpose and makes them feel appreciated. Volunteers meet new people in their course of work. These people come with a variety of culture, skills, knowledge of new things and even a chance for new friendships. Their interpersonal skills are tested and improved if already good. It is also through this that job networks are acquired. For those volunteers who are already working, networking is beneficial in advancing their careers. This is because it provides an opportunity to meet potential employers and employees. With all the above-mentioned benefits, it is crucial to identify the right volunteer opportunity. There are many places where one can volunteer, but the challenge is in finding what suits them best. A number of aspects have to be considered such as where to volunteer, duration of the program, whether one wants to volunteer alone or in a group, the weight of responsibility one is willing to carry and what is to be gained from the exercise. With these concerns dealt with, one can then proceed to select what they want to do from a list of options, most of which are available publicly. Being a volunteer is one of the best experiences I have ever had to date. Volunteering provides one with a wealth of knowledge on so many issues among other advantages like the ones above. In 2010, I had the opportunity to volunteer at an orphanage in China. This was through an application in response to an advertisement I had seen online. We had just closed school and the thought of idling at home did not appeal to me. I enrolled for an exchange program offered at our local church that incidentally was with a youth group from China. In a previous class session, I recalled one of our teachers emphasizing on the importance of community service. Himself being a volunteer at the local community centre, he told us of the numerous benefits of being a volunteer, which inspired me to volunteer. According to him, community service is not just a punishment given to social offenders or delinquent teenagers in need of correction; instead, it was one way in which a person could pay his or her dues to society. Currently, most employers are looking for individuals with personal drive, a quality brought out through volunteering most of which is unsupervised. Such persons are accorded priority in the job market because of their willingness to learn and their ability to adapt to new environments. Volunteers are not always placed in areas familiar to them; rather they are dispatched to far off places in need of attention. Adaptability is one of the most sought after qualities in the employment field. With all this in mind, I had acquired the motivation crucial to such ventures when the reply to my application finally arrived. The volunteering program would take two months. After taking care of the necessary arrangements, I traveled to China. It was arranged that one of the workers at the orphanage would pick me at the airport. All the way, I was eager to explore the features of the new country and embrace my responsibilities at the orphanage. I already had my work schedule, which stipulated that I would visit the orphanage during the weekend for four hours each. The rest of the week would be spent sightseeing and engaging in activities for the exchange program. The orphanages in China are run by the government, but most are highly populated yet understaffed. This overpopulation is largely due to China’s infamous one child policy whereby couples are only allowed to have one child each. Another concern is that many Chinese citizens are of the notion that male children are better than female ones, a factor that has contributed to abandonment of little girls. In addition, children with disabilities and those born with chronic illnesses were often abandoned by their families. Well-wishers that found them took them to orphanages. Therefore, they are always welcoming new volunteers every year to help relieve them of their workload. It was therefore no surprise that we were many volunteers all stationed at the same facility. I was not the only foreigner working as a volunteer in a Chinese orphanage. Many people from all over the globe were inspired by the plight of the conditions at the Chinese orphanages and felt the need to help. This is despite the fact that the Chinese are often skeptical of foreign volunteers, whom they fear are only out to publicize the poor state of affairs at their orphanages. With so many activities to be undertaken, the number of volunteers at a time was also high. Much passion was required for anyone to be involved in such an activity. Although my initial reason for participating was simply to be part of a community service project and meet new people in a different cultural setting from mine, it was soon to change by the end of my experience. My first experience at the orphanage was beyond what I had prepared for. A woman in charge of the facility took us for a tour of the orphanage and gave us details of the duties required of us. There were around three hundred children at the time, with their ages ranging from newborns to fourteen year olds who had lived at the facility for most of their lives. I realized that I had not researched enough material regarding the ages of the children I expected to find at the orphanage. It was sad to see the number of small children at the facility, and I instantly wondered what it was like to grow up in an orphanage. Seeing that we were new to the facility they stared back at us curiously from their activities as we passed. Due to the facts available about China, it was highly probable that some of the children there were not orphans but children abandoned by their families because of various reasons. This crossed my mind especially after seeing the number of children that were sick or those with disabilities. There was a need to put in place ways of establishing a child’s family background before enrolling them at any orphanage. Being run by the state, the orphanage had a limited supply of resources required for its maintenance. This was evident in the way the sick children were handled; their treatment was hampered due to lack of medical resources. There was heavy reliance on donor materials without which many activities at the orphanage would stall. Although the locals also made donations, many of them came from abroad. Many global non-profit organizations sent money, material provisions and also recruited volunteers to work at the Chinese orphanages. The online advertisement was one of the wa ys in which these organizations sourced for volunteers. The next day was the beginning of doing my duties at the orphanage. As a volunteer, there was almost nothing we could not do excluding tasks that required a certain level of expertise like those by doctors. I had a different experience in all the activities I was involved in throughout my volunteering period. On some days, we would assist in taking care of the sick children. A doctor would come and examine them, and I would help him or her with the children. This was through administering medicine, holding the infants during the examination, providing therapeutic exercises and feeding them. It was particularly a challenge when dealing with newborns during therapy. One could easily see the pain they felt in the screams they let out. While I was satisfied that most of the time they were being taken care of, I felt that children with disabilities should be taken to specialized hospitals. The government should ensure that they are well taken care of by providing resources to transfer them to these hospitals. This is because at the orphanage, they rarely got the attention that sick persons fully require, a fact made worse by their frailty as children. During my entire stay, I could count the number of times that a doctor actually visited the facility. So infrequent were their visits that I got to know each of them on a personal level. Alternatively, the orphanage could source for volunteer doctors locally or appeal to international organizations. This would help ease the poor health condition of most of the children. Another way is to encourage more adoptions so that the children are taken care of by their new families who instantly assume responsibility towards them. The best part about dealing with the infants was the feeling that I had taken part in nurturing them. Most children in orphanages do not experience the care and security that often comes with being in a family set up. While washing and feeding them, I had the chance to show them a bit of love, which I felt, was important in their growth. It was obvious that material tokens though necessary were not enough for their wellbeing. I learnt that some of the orphans had the privilege to be adopted thus they could experience the family environment. These adoptions were mainly done by foreigners, something not favored by the Chinese government despite their citizens’ inability to take in more children. There were teachers who came to assist the children frequently. At times, I would help in teaching them English, a language with which they were fascinated. I loved their zeal to learn and wished they had the opportunity to advance their education outside the orphanage. The older children taught me a few Chinese words, and they would laugh and tease me when I pronounced some words wrongly. To them, I was speaking like a â€Å"crazy person†. The notion that they could also be of help to someone thrilled them, making the teaching sessions very enjoyable. We interacted with the children through other fun ways such as playing games. As soon as they were done with their daily routine, we indulged in all sorts of games with the older children, always watching out for their safety. These were the only times when there was minimal or no supervision by the workers at the facility. There was always someone watching us mostly for security reasons. At first, I was wary of this but soon learnt to be at ease around them when I realized it was just a routine. As a high school student, not much time was spared for playful moments; hence, I relished the times spent with the children. Their joyous nature always made me forget their sad situation. The scene was like that of any other school playground. My lowest moment came towards the end of my stay in China. It was triggered by a call from my mother who wanted to find out how I was faring. One of the orphans I was tutoring overheard my conversation and later asked me if indeed I had a mother. To her, being at the orphanage meant I had no parents and the news came as a surprise to her. I was taken aback by her reaction, one that also served as the turning point in my inspiration as a volunteer. Previously I was solely motivated by the desire to be part of a community project but that quickly changed. I saw the pain in her reaction and the feeling of loneliness that plagued most of the children at the orphanage. I wondered if they knew that a different world existed out there other than the one to which they were accustomed. The bond they shared with the volunteers and other workers at the facility was thus brought about by the idea that we shared a common fate. Travelling back home I reflected on my work at the orphanage and the lessons I had learnt. Besides the different cultural experience through the exchange program, volunteering at the orphanage was the best I had ever had. Interacting with the children opened my eyes to a whole new perspective of life. The activities and duties I performed at the orphanage had helped better the lives of the orphans, and I was looking forward to another opportunity to do the same. I then understood the emphasis placed on passion when selecting where to volunteer. All the work required of a volunteer in an orphanage certainly needs motivation, something all the workers at the facility displayed. The matron in charge of the orphanage was very dedicated to her work, and it was evident that she was in it for personal reasons other than the fact that she was employed by the state. Such dedication is essential because of the challenges one faces in taking care of children in an orphanage. The matron and all the workers were sad to let us go. I was hoping for a chance to offer recommendations, but it never came, though each of us was given time to highlight our experiences. Among the lessons I had learnt was appreciation for family and all the aspects associated with it. The orphans lacked support from their kin and only depended on that offered by the government and strangers in the form of volunteers. Therefore, their lives are mostly unstable and without the care and development that only a family can provide. The instability was partly caused by the lack of a permanent environment given that they meet new people after every few months from various backgrounds, all of whom taught them different things. After living in the facility for some time, a number of children would then be adopted again changing their environment. The ideal time for nurturing a child and molding them to conform to certain values and social behaviors is when they are still young. Therefore cha nging the environment in which they live constantly disrupts the learning process in their lives. One of our roles as volunteers had been to help create an environment similar to that of a home so that they can develop fully functional lives in the future. I was glad to have been a part of their lives, though temporarily. I had enjoyed all the benefits of volunteering and planned to register as a permanent volunteer. Other places exist where I could offer my service, and I looked forward to the new experiences. As a parting note, each of us was accorded certificates of participation by the non-profit organization that sponsored us, one that I would use later when applying for a different volunteering program. Through my initial participation, I would automatically be granted my next volunteering opportunity if I wished to work with the same organization.