Elements of Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Elements of Literature - Essay Example the basic need which drives people to read, be it prose, poetry, essays, plays, or any of the genres which constitute this infinite creative process. According to him, stories provide us with pleasure while at the same time informing and enlightening us with their multifarious characters and themes or to put it simply, â€Å"they enlarge our understanding of ourselves and deepen our appreciation of life.†(p. 27) The fictional world created by the masters of this craft are peopled by some of the most interesting people we know and who have become the byword for many of the attributes found in people all over the world. Characters whether in a story, play or poem help to move the story forward as much as the action, since what happens to whom, when, where and the characters corresponding response to this situation creates the story. The characters in a story can be dynamic or static depending upon their utility to the action and the insights they provide into the action. A dynamic character is sketched out in great detail and the reader is made privy to their inner thoughts and consciousness through narration in the first person or even through the use of the device of third person focalization. These characters undergo changes in their personality and outlook due to the experiences which they undergo. A very good example of such a character would be that of Louise whose circumstances make her portray herself differently at different times. Before the news of her husband’s death, she is the traditional dull housewife whose dreams are buried deep in her heart. But as soon as the unfortunate news reaches her, she becomes a totally different character who is ready to enjoy her new found freedom and is in fact happy at the turn of circumstances. A static character on the other hand may not show any great degree of transformation but they are necessary to move the action forward. E.M. Forster in his Aspects of the Novel makes another form of distinction between

Teresa Reifs Insurance Fraud Case Research Paper

Teresa Reifs Insurance Fraud Case - Research Paper Example Report also shows that occupational fraud is the most common. Nevertheless, white-collar fraud is also reported being on the rise. This call for organizations to put strong control measures to prevent and detect any fraudulent act in an organization. Pest, janitorial company fraud case of 2011 is one of the most publicized fraud cases of recent times in which the owner of the company was charged with insurance fraud. This paper will provide an analysis of this insurance fraud case in light of the environmental factors in which the fraud occurred, how the fraud was an accomplished, as well as how it was discovered. Finally, the paper will provide recommendations on how best a fraud of this type may be prevented in the future. In this case, Durand (2011) reports that the proprietor of San Mateo pest and janitorial services was accused of under-reporting over $10 million of payroll in a bid to avoid paying over $2 million in the employee’s compensation insurance. After the accusation, Terasa Reif aged 31 years voluntarily presented herself to the police at Redwood City on a $1 million warrant but was set free soon afterwards after having pleaded not guilty to 44 counts of insurance fraud according to Durand (2013). However, she was required to present herself back in court on 26 May for a review conference and a subsequent preliminary hearing on July 13. Durand (2011) reveals that Reif used to purchase employees compensation insurance between 2004 and 2009 from the State Compensation Insurance Fund and Redwood Fire & Casualty Insurance Company for her business known as Genesis Building Services.

Analysis Of Three Theories Soft Hard And Indeterminism Philosophy Essay

Analysis Of Three Theories Soft Hard And Indeterminism Philosophy Essay I am going to compare and analyze the three theories; Soft, hard and indeterminism. I will demonstrate what consequences they have on freewill as well if the universe entire history is predetermined. Strong determinism is the theory that states that every single thing that happens in the universe is determined and governed by the natural law. For example, how earth moves, what movie you chose to see in the cinema. A strong determinist strictly believes that nothing could influence this behavior, in other words our choice or free will does not exist, not even luck. This theory is the strongest theory that supports determinism; this affects freewill very badly, since hard determinism does not believe in free will. This is problematic since how can we have free will if everything is determined and if it is true, would it not create ethical consequences if we have no free will? One might argue that if determinism was true then how can we blame a person who robs a bank? If the universe de termines that he is bound to do that, then he does not have any free will which means we cannot really blame him? There is no right or wrong, nor good or evil if everything is predetermined, this shows the flaws of determinism as a consequence. If determinism may be real, then we are no freer than robots, and since there is no evil or good there is no reason to reward or punish someone. Since this theory rejects ethics, morals and completely disagrees with free will a new concept was created, which is called Soft Determinism. This theory states that determinism is correct; however it tries to make determinism and moral and ethics (and free will) compatible. Since soft determinism believes that everything is determined, it does not believe that our actions are acted freely. Soft determinism in contrast to Hard determinism believes that an action can be voluntary, in other words for something to occur it does not necessarily mean that it cannot have any freedom of choice. One argument may say if I was about to give money to a poor person out of good will and freedom (choice) and then he turned on me with a gun, then it would not mean it would be freedom or soft determinism since I will be forced to do it. An argument would be if a robber were to rob a bank, the soft determinist does not think that his action was caused because he was not free, he did it voluntarily. This theory states that free will is voluntary actions. A hard determinist would argue that this act cannot be free, it must occur. But then again why would the robber rob a bank without any reason? Indeterminism is the theory that states that most events and decisions are occurred by pure chance. In other words, they just happen and have nothing to do with having a determined behavior. They believe that every event is not predictable and this opens a way for us to influence the future and by this we can act freely and have morally responsibilities. The flaw in indeterminism is that if everything happens by chance then free will is unpredictable and happens randomly which cannot hold the person responsible for his choices since he cannot predict when or what will occur. If determinism was true, then it would have several of consequences for free will. Since if we have a determined cause for every action we imply, then our behavior is much like a robot. Since robots do not have any free will and if determinism was true then we people would not either have free will. So by removing all the responsibilities a person have since he cannot control what he is doing, would mean that if someone committed a crime they cannot be blamed since they did not have any freewill. An incompatibilist would argue that if determinism was true then there is no chance of having a free will. Another argument is that soft determinism states that freewill is voluntarily actions, but then again it cannot be free will if our causes are based upon voluntary actions since you are not the first causer. In order to have free will we need to be the first person that causes the choice he makes, so in other words if determinism was true, then we do not cause our choices but that every thing that happens are caused by events and the natural law which he cannot control. Therefore he cannot have freewill since he is not the primary cause of the choices he makes. Finally we come to the question, can we escape the conclusion that the entire history of the universe follows a predetermined path? Well I believe that we cannot escape the conclusion, since I think that the universe cannot come from nothing, and the path its heading is predetermined. I see that everything consisted in the universe is similar to a giant puzzle; if a puzzle bit would act randomly then the puzzle would break. For example, if the atoms in space would act randomly then the end product would not be produced, so every atom needs to have a determined action in order to create things. Just like we have cells in our bodies the immune system is an example, which is consisted of millions of other cells that interacts in a determined way in order to create end products such as; more white cells. That is how I see the universe that our solar system is one cell that exists in trillions of other universes that make up a small piece of the giant puzzle. For example, if my parents ne ver met I would not have existed, so for something to exist there must have been something determine its path. Their genes, education, social life and every factor that have enabled them to meet each other is a direct result of how they met, meaning that the end product is that his was meant to happen. But then, if the future is predetermined then why am I not acting randomly such as deleting everything Ive written so far, draw a huge smile face and send it to MR Hemingway? Well if I was to change the future of my philosophical grade, it would be a direct result of how I am as a person in other words it was meant to happen anyway. The best way for me to think is comparing the universe is with a song, if I pause the song just in the middle I have just heard the past but I know that there is a future that is already determined in that song but it is still unknown, but I can clearly hear that the future is based on the past and this is why I believe that the university is predetermined , and I also believe that in the future we will be able to time travel, just because of this. In conclusion hard determinism denies freedom and believes that everything is determined compared to soft determinism where it still believe that everything is determined however even though our actions are voluntarily. Indeterminism believes that things could happen randomly. All these theories give a consequence to free will, since if determinism was true we would be robots that have no free will at all, we would be people with choices that we cannot decide freely. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_will http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/incompatibilism-arguments/#ChoConArg http://www.enotes.com/topic/Indeterminism http://www.lancs.ac.uk/users/philosophy/courses/100/100kant.htm http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~uctytho/dfwVariousKant.htm http://philosophy.tamu.edu/~sdaniel/Notes/freedom1.htm http://www.degree-essays.com/coursework/philosophy-essays/compare-and-contrast-soft-and-hard-determinism-in-respect-to-competing-notion-of-negative-and-positive-freedom/ http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9781405106795_chunk_g97814051067955_ss1-85 http://www.scandalon.co.uk/philosophy/soft.htm http://instruct.westvalley.edu/lafave/FREE.HTM

Monroe doctrine Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Monroe Doctrine was presented by President James Monroe in his annual address to Congress in 1823. Essentially its author, John Quincy Adams, who served as Monroe’s Secretary of State, wrote the Doctrine as a proclamation to the United States’ opposition of European colonialism. As of today the Doctrine has been re-interpreted and extended in a variety of ways to conform to the situation at hand, such as President Theodore Roosevelt’s Corollary.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 began the break up of the Spanish empires in the New World. From this point, many leaders guided their countries out of colonialism and led them into independence. These newly formed republics requested and expected diplomatic recognition from the United States and many Americans were in favor of the recognitions. Although, as previously identified, the United States had been warned that if it acknowledged the independence of these nations it would be seen as hostile actions towards Europe and both Monroe and Adams were unsure of going to war over countries that could not guarantee survival. Monroe and Adams were prepared to stay neutral as long as the other European powers did not interfere and let Spain and its colonies fight out their differences. The United States was in the process of obtaining East Florida from Spain after gaining West Florida in the Louisiana Purchase which the Spanish Minister Onis agreed to as long a s the United States promised not to assist the revolutionaries nor recognize their independence. Once the Transcontinental Treaty was ratified, Monroe began to extend recognition to the new Latin American republics stretched out over a few years so not to gain a European response.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1823, there was talk of Spain and France joining together for attacks on the new republics with the backing of Russia, Prussia, and Austria; fear of France becoming a power once again in the Americas encouraged the British to propose that the United States and Britain join together to warn off the two. Although Jefferson and Madison were in support of the offer, Adams was suspicious. In a cabinet meeting, Adams argued that it would be undignified to address Russia and France explicitly and fight in the shadows of the British, which won over the cabinet and Monroe delivered the Adams ... ...of the new Dominican Republic regime which owed over twenty million. When Roosevelt initially intervened, he took control over the country’s customs and receivership. Through this seizure, he distributed 45% of their revenues to their foreign creditors, although this occupation lasted for more than three decades. After this intervention the U.S. extended its power throughout the Caribbean when an opportunity arose. In 1930, a memorandum was issued stating that the United States did not have the power to intervene in the less able countries, unless European powers were threatening, which reversed the Corollary.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When the Monroe Doctrine was first introduced it seemed just as a warning to Europe not to interfere with the revolutions of Latin America, almost a gesture of solidarity and sympathy to the newly independent nations, but it was evident of American selfishness. Monroe and Adams carefully exempted the United States through careful wording when addressing the influence in the Western Hemisphere. The Doctrine was a valid basis for U.S. policy towards Latin America and became a fence to block out European expansion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Major depressive disorder in children

Depression is fast becoming one of the most widespread illnesses affecting the youth today. It is often described in layman’s terms as a condition in which a certain individual feels sadder than normal, as having the case of â€Å"the blues†, or of being uncharacteristically disheartened and miserable. However, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is characterized as a psychological disorder wherein an individual is rendered incapable of removing himself or herself from a persistent sense of sadness and a lessened interest in all of his or her activities. These symptoms must persist for a period of no less than 2 weeks in order for a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder to be made. (Watt & Markham, 2005) Other symptoms of MDD include feelings of worthlessness, significant weight change, listlessness, thoughts of death. Watt & Markham (2005) posit that MDD has biological factors in its etiology in children. These involve genetic make-up and hormonal imbalance. Other factors contributing to MDD include psychological and environmental factors. Psychological factors may involve functions of learned helplessness, melancholia, and depressive character traits which all contribute to the eventual self-defeating way by which the child will view the world. Environmental factors include stressful life events such as the loss of a loved one or a child’s negative experience in one of the social roles he or she plays. Social roles in children often include those they have in their families and in school. Not being able to successfully fulfill these roles can again lead to self-defeating thoughts and to feelings of worthlessness in the child. Psychological, environmental and biological factors all play an equal role in contributing to a child’s eventual experience of MDD. It is most likely that all these factors are at play to a certain degree in a clinically depressed child. What is clear, however, is that the foundation of MDD in the depressive child’s life is far-reaching and broad. It stems from many different aspects of the child’s persona and as such affects all these aspects in turn. All three factors must be taken into consideration. However, because children are still in an unbalanced state of development, their psychological and biological states are still in a precarious condition. This renders Major Depressive Disorder in this age group closed to certain types of treatment for depression. Only a few types of treatment have been found to have efficacy in reducing depressive symptoms in children. And even then, these few treatments have not all been able to provide truly child-friendly ways of dealing with depression. One of the treatments for MDD, which has received much interest from researchers, is pharmacotherapy. This involves the intake of drugs, tricylcic antidepressants (TCA’s) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s), to suppress and decrease the symptoms of MDD. However, it has been seen that most research findings conflict in presentation of efficacy of pharmacotherapy treatment for adolescents and prepubescent children. (Milin et al, 2003) Electroconvulsive therapy, which involves introducing an electric shock to the individual’s system, also has greater efficacy in treating MDD in adults. However, the application of this treatment on adolescents and prepubescent children proves to be problematic. (Milin et al, 2003) Numerous ethical issues must be considered before psychologists and psychiatrists can test electroconvulsive therapy on children. One of the safest and least dangerous treatments that are applicable to clinically depressive children is psychosocial therapy. This includes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), interpersonal therapy, and family therapy. Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder, however, may not be limited to merely one type. Combinations of the different classes of treatment can be made in order to create a greater chance of improvement and recovery for the individual. (Milin et al, 2003) Combining CBT with antidepressant medication has shown results that prove the combination to be more effective in treating depression than simply applying one of the given treatments alone. (Rupke et al, 2006) Combining CBT with different psychosocial therapies such as family therapy, wherein the family is educated on the condition of the child, has also proven to be a much more effective treatment style. (Asarnow et al, 2002) Personally, I would choose to administer CBT over the other therapies because it provides the most flexibility in terms of addressing specific types of depression experienced by the individual. (Asarnow et al, 2002) In treating a child with MDD, individualization is essential. The treatment style that would best fit the child’s lifestyle and personality should be chosen. The CBT sessions will be fitted to match specific aspects of the child’s depression. The first step I would take would be to assess the child in terms of the type of depression he or she has. We would then pinpoint, together, the negative automatic thoughts he or she is prone to have. We would trace the specific situations and environments which lead him or her to this kind of negative thinking and to behavior characteristic of depression. Upon establishment of the child’s behavior patterns, goals for the CBT sessions will be set. To what extent does the child want to reduce his or her symptoms of depression? This will allow him or her to develop a sense of involvement in his or her own treatment. Having the child set his own goals gives him or her greater motivation to accomplish them. At first the child will be asked to simply monitor himself or herself by keeping a log of his or her behavior. The log will consist of the initially pinpointed negative thoughts and behaviors that the child has chosen to change. The instances he or she has pinpointed will also be monitored and kept in the log. The first 2 weeks of data in the log will serve as the baseline. The log will be assessed by the child with my guidance after baseline is set. He or she will be guided to acknowledge the cognitive distortions he or she makes in certain situations. These may include catastrophizing, black and white thinking, fortune telling and the like. These are maladaptive and only increase the child’s sense of misery, which is a chief characteristic of MDD. For example, if the child admits to always thinking that everything that goes wrong is his or her fault, he or she will be shown the irrational foundations of this belief. Afterwards, different ways of reacting and behaving will be conceptualized in order to replace the previous behavior and cognitions. The child will be guided to realize that external situations and individuals are outside his or her control but that the way he or she reacts, his or her perception of these events is what he or she can control. The log will be continued in order for the child and myself to monitor his or her progress. In it, he or she will also place details of assigned homework. Homework will involve practicing the new behaviors and way of thinking we devised together. This is essential to the CBT sessions. The bulk of the therapy’s success will rely on the child’s constant practice. Coping mechanism such as relaxation techniques, meditation and the like will be taught in order to assure continued progress in the child’s treatment from depression. These coping and relaxation mechanisms will also be assigned as homework. Later on, activities which the child previously avoided will be performed in the hopes of creating for the child a new schema. This will instill in the child a renewed self-confidence and a new self-image. Other social activities will also be pinpointed, in which the child will engage, as a means of reinforcing the positive schema he or she is gaining about himself or herself and the world. Family intervention therapy may also be an option should the child’s family want it. References Asarnow, J. R., Scott, C. V., & Mintz, J. (2002). A combined cognitive-behavioral family education intervention for depression in children: a treatment development study. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 26(2), 221-229 Rupke, S. J., Blecke, D., & Renfrow, M. (2006). Cognitive therapy for depression. American Family Physician, 73(1), 83-86 Walker, S., & Chow, J. (2003). Major depressive disorder in adolescence: a brief review of the recent treatment literature. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 48(9),600-606 Watts, S. J., & Markham, R. A. (2005). Etiology of depression in children. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 32(3), 266-670   

Mexican Americans Essay

I feel that it is important in becoming an elementary teacher with special education that we study and teach about Mexican-American history and culture. The first article that I am going to talk is called, â€Å"Integrating Mexican-American History and Culture into Social Studies Classroom†. The article talks about how Mexican-American are the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States and also the least educated. The article also gives important information on how to prepare teachers for introducing the Mexican-American culture and history in the classroom and school. I feel that it is important in becoming an elementary teacher with special education that we study and teach about Mexican-American history and culture. The first article that I am going to talk is called, â€Å"Integrating Mexican-American History and Culture into Social Studies Classroom†. The article talks about how Mexican-American are the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States and also the least educated. The article also gives important information on how to prepare teachers for introducing the Mexican-American culture and history in the classroom and school. My second article is titled, â€Å"A New Latino Underclass†. This article talks about the Hispanic culture, whether they are American born or an immigrant. The main focus of the article is about assimilation. Heather Mac Donald talks about how illegal immigration is just worsening the Hispanics culture, and how it is taking a turn for the worst. The Mexican-Americans are assimilating their culture with the culture from Mexico. The problem is that the immigrants from Mexico do not want to assimilate the American culture with their own culture. The article also talks about the rise of gangs and how some of the parents support it. It stresses on how gangs are affecting the drop out rate among Hispanics. â€Å"Integrating Mexican-American History and Culture into the Social Studies Classroom† is the first article I am going to discuss. The article starts out talking about how important it is to teach Mexican-American culture in the school. â€Å"Parents value the importance of education for their children, but they don’t always agree with the school’s approaches to teaching and learning, nor accept the secular values as appropriate for their family. † (Escamilla, 1992) Teaching the content of Mexican-American culture helps improve the student’s self esteem. â€Å"Studies have suggested that positive ethnic affiliation among Mexican-Americans (and other groups) greatly influences individual development in many ways, including: lifestyle choices, values, opinions, attitudes, and approaches to learning. â€Å"( Gollnick & Chinn, 2006ollnick & Chinn, 2006) The article also stresses how important it is for the student to study other cultures. This idea is through the term Multicultural education which â€Å"is an educational strategy in which students’ cultural backgrounds are used to develop effective classroom instruction and school environments. † (Gollnick & Chinn, 2006) It is important for the entire student body to ethnic literacy. â€Å"Ethnic literacy allows all students to understand their uniqueness, to understand the complexities of ethnicity and culture, and to take pride in who they are as people. † (Escamilla, 1992) The textbook talks about ethnicity and brings up the term ethnic group or ethnic identity. These terms mainly describe a persons’ national origin, religion, race, and may also include gender class and lifestyles. The article then goes on to talk about how important the teacher’s preparation is to present the material. One of the main problems is that only 30% of the teacher faculty is non-white, but a lot of times in urban districts 70% of the student body is non white. That will play an important part of the resources a teacher and school can afford to buy. The way students’ attitudes about themselves, others, and their school depend on the way they are shaped at school. The Mexican-American students will benefit greatly from getting to learn about their culture, but other cultures at the same time. â€Å"It is important to have cultural relativism, which means we need to learn more about are own cultural than is require. † (Gollnick & Chinn, 2006) Learning and respecting other people’s culture means crossing over cultural borders, which is very important in a multicultural school. The second article, â€Å"A Latino Underclass† talks about gang violence among Hispanics. Gang violence is rising tremendously among Mexican-Americans. The author believes that there is some type assimilation going, but to all the worst element of American life. There has been a debate on whether Mexican immigrants are trying to assimilate into the American culture or not. â€Å"Part of the reason for the gang violence according to David O’ Connell, pastor of the church next door to the Soledad Enrichment Charter School, which is the vortex of LA’s youth gang culture, has been fighting gangbanging for over a decade. † â€Å"Hispanic children feel that they have to deal with problems themselves, apart from their parents, according to Mr. O’Connell, and they â€Å"do so in violent ways. † (Mac Donald, 2004) The parents are even sometimes scared of their own children. The children seem to go towards a cultural of violence at an early age. Constant illegal immigration is playing a big part in all of this. Cultural pluralism seems to be what the immigrants are doing from Mexico, they want to live in America but only practice the cultural ways of Mexico. The article talks about a component of underclass behavior that causes school failure. Hispanics have the greatest drop out numbers in America about 30% compared to 13% black and 7% whites. â€Å"Every parent I spoke to said that she wanted her children to do well in school and go to college. † â€Å"Hispanic parents are the kind of parents that leave it to others,† explains an unwed Salvadoran welfare mother in Santa Ana. (Mac Donald, 2004) The constant flow of Mexicans in America is bringing down the Hispanic education levels, 30% of foreign-born populations in the United States is Mexicans. I found both of the articles on the internet. I was looking for something to do with Mexican-American culture and school. I feel both of the articles relate to each other very well. In the first article they talk about how important it is to study Mexican-American culture, but also to study and understand other cultures. They believe this will help Mexican-Americans stay in school and learn better. The second article talks about how Mexicans are coming from Mexico and not assimilating their culture with American culture, therefore causing a large drop out rate in school. This is very important to understand as a teacher because we need to try and fix the problems of children dropping out of school. If we try to educate them on how to respect different peoples cultures, but also have respect for their own. Maybe they will find learning a lot more interesting and want to be in school. It is also important for them to be able to function in the world with people of all different colors. I believe as a future teacher that no matter what subject I am teaching, there is always a way to keep a multicultural classroom. This topic was interesting to me because this is an ongoing issue that the media has been talking about for years. I don’t believe it is going to go away before I become a teacher. It is important to learn about issues that are going on with the student so that we can better understand what they are going through. Understanding what they are going through will help the teachers help them with issues. The issue is important for all teachers to know about because most of them will have a student of the Hispanic culture in their class. References Escamilla, K. (1992). Integrating Mexican-American History and Culture Into The Social Studies Classroom. Retrieved October 10, 2007, from http://www. ericdigests. org/1992-2mexican. htm Gollnick, D. , & Chinn, P. (2006). In Debra Stollenwerk (Ed. ), Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Heather Mac Donald. (2004, July 25). Retrieved October 10, 2007, from The Dallas Morning News, a Latino Underclass Web site: http://www. manhatten-institute. org/html/_dmn-new_latino_underclass. htm.