Commercial One: Old Spice †the Man Your Man Could Smell Like

HUMAN 2C03 Assignment One Commercial One: Old Spice – The Man Your Man Could Smell Like Summary: Old Spice, a male specific hygiene company, released the television advertising campaign â€Å"The Man Your Man Could Smell Like† during the Super bowl in February of 2010. The focus of the advertisement is aimed at females to buy their new line of body wash for their male partner who would ultimately smell like the model in the commercial. The commercial has numerous settings that the actor transitions between which contribute to the overall humor of the ad.Furthermore, the ad questions the masculinity of those who do not use the â€Å"Old Spice† body wash and how every man has the potential to be like the model in the commercial. Noise: Like most commercials, the advertisement contained a lot of sounds and images that only made the product look appearing to consumers. One example of a visual flag is of the model is holding two tickets to a show which turn in into di amonds. The significance of this in the commercial is to plant the idea of prosperity in the mind of the consumer. It may also imply that this new body wash makes you smell like a million dollars.An example of an auditory flag is of the beach and sea. This sound of waves crashing against the sand helps put the viewer in a peaceful state while watching the ad. It also gives the consumer a feeling of desire to live the life of the model in the commercial, which is a powerful marketing technique. Standardizing the Argument: Premise 1: Ladies, your man is not I (the model). Premise 2: But, if he stopped using ladies scented body was and switched to Old Spice, he could smell like he’s me. Conclusion: Anything is possible when your man smells like Old Spice and not a lady. Conclusion: Buy Old Spice body wash. Evaluation of Argument:

Chemistry of Biomolecules Essay

Our class on DNA is divided into 3 parts: (I) Genetics (II) DNA structure (III) Concepts and applications. I. Genetics: In the primordial period, simple molecules were formed from atoms and from these molecules, macromolecules were formed. These macromolecules formed life and all living organisms. The classical genetic and heredity observations in the 19th century started the search for the origin of life. The transforming principle of DNA was demonstrated from the experiment in which non-pathogenic (R-form) and virulent (S-form) but heat treated bacteria, when co-injected, could kill the mice. After that, the link between genes (DNA) and genotype / phenotype was established. The link between the features of an organism and genes was established. II. DNA structure: The genomic DNA of a eukaryotic cell is located in a special organelle, the nucleus, whereas in a prokaryotic cell there is no nucleus. In a virus, including bacteriohage, the genome is packed efficiently. The nucleus of a human cell contains complete genetic DNA, organized in 46 chromosomes (22 autosomal pairs and two sex chromosomes). Chromatid is one of the two identical copies of DNA in a chromosome. The two copies approach each other at the centromere. The ends of DNA in a chromosome are called telomere. The location of a gene in a chromosome is marked as, say, 7q31.2 where 7 refers to the chromosome number, q is the long arm (the short arm of the chromosome is called ‘p’), 3 refers to the region of a chromosome when colored using a particular process, 1 refers to band 1 in that region and 2 refers to a sub-band within band 1. In the chromatin, DNA is wound around the histone core (made by 2 copies each of the H2A, H2B, H3 and H4 proteins) and clamped by the H1 protein. Anytime this DNA is accessed for any biochemical reaction, there will be physical rearrangement of DNA and the histone core and furthermore the histone proteins undergo chemical modifications, like acetylation and methylation. Two strands of DNA form duplex DNA through base-pairing. In a basepair, the two bases are unlikely to be perfectly aligned or coplanar. In the same token, two adjacent basepairs also need not be perfectly parallel to each other. There are three forms of DNA: B-DNA, A-DNA and Z-DNA. The B form is the physiological form. The other two forms are man-made from specific sequences. While the first two forms are right handed helices, the last one is left-handed. In the B-form, the minor groove is narrow and the major groove is wide whereas in the A and Z forms, the groove widths are nearly the same. Also, a basepair in the B-form cuts the helical axis whereas in the A-form, a basepair is very much away from the helical axis. However, in the Z-form a basepair lies in-between. Supercoiled DNA: In a chromosome (or even in a circular plasmid), DNA exists in a supercoiled form. Several studies have established the connection between the number of base-pairs (linking number, twist) and the level of supercoiling (writhing number). Assume there are 260 B-DNA base-pairs (10 base-pairs will form one full turn, Fig. 1; start from base-pair 1 on a strand and come to the same but one earlier position on the same strand after 10 base-pairs; the next 10 base-pairs form the next one round and so on). Now, convert the linear DNA into circular DNA by connecting the ends of the same strands. The twist T = total base-pairs / 10 = 260/10 = 26. The linking number is the number of times one strand crosses the other, which is also 26. So the equation becomes, L = T + W; or 26 = 26 + 0 Now cut only one strand and unwind that strand two times and reconnect the ends. That means, L becomes 24. In order to balance the above equation, 24 = 26 – 2 or W becomes -2. Or, the new circular adjusts (writhes) with two cross-overs. If you over-wind by two, L = 28 and W = +2. Even now, the circular DNA writhes by 2 but in the opposite direction. Apart from DNA, RNAs are also very important in several cellular processes. There are 3 types of RNA, mRNA, rRNA and tRNA. Of these 3 classes, the tRNA is normally depicted in the ‘clover leaf’ form, displaying its amino acid acceptor region and the anti-codon region. An amino-acyl tRNA synthetase enzyme attaches a corresponding amino acid to the tRNA. An important and emerging field is non-coding RNA. Class 1b III. Applications and concepts: There are several applications and processes that involve nucleic acids. However, due to the limitation of time, we will learn only a few applications. 1. DNA replication: In molecular biology, the important fundamental processes are: the cell cycle (including DNA replication – the making of DNA using a DNA template), transcription (the making of mRNA using a DNA template) and translation (the making of a protein using mRNA as a template). The next level of events includes reverse transcription (the making of DNA using an RNA template) and the making of RNA using an RNA template. The making of a protein using a DNA template is not yet known. In prokaryotic DNA replication, DNA is unwound by enzymes like helicases and long leading strands ( for the parental 3’ to 5’ strand) and several short lagging strands (for the parental 5’ to 3’ strand) are made by the DNA polymerase. The short fragments are joined by ligases. If there is any problem during DNA synthesis, like base-pair mismatch, selected enzymes fix those problems. In a eukaryotic cell, there are several origins of DNA replication (dedicated sequences in DNA) in a chromosome. DNA replication must be initiated only once per origin per cell cycle. First, origin replication protein complex (ORC) binds to the origin of replication. The CDC6 protein (CDC28 in yeast) binds to ORC. The CDT1 protein binds to CDC6. Next, the mini chromosome maintenance proteins 2 to 7 (MCM 2-7) binds to the above proteins. The assembly of all these proteins is called ‘licensing’ and the above complex of all these proteins is called the pre replication complex (pre-RC). There are two modes by which DNA re-replication is prevented. The first mode is through the involvement of cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs). We are not going to review that mode here. The other mode is through the involvement of geminin, a protein. Once DNA replication is initiated, Geminin binds to Cdt1 and primes it for degradation. Once Cdt1 is removed from the pre-RC, there cannot be another DNA replication firing. At the end of the cell cycle, even geminin is degraded. This way, DNA replication takes place only once per cell cycle. We have published the structure of geminin. The geminin-Cdt1 complex structure is also published by another group. 2. Cloning: In conventional sexual reproduction or in vitro fertilization (IVF), an egg is impregnated by a sperm cell. But in cloning, the nucleus of an egg is removed and a nucleus from any suitable cell from an individual is implanted. This cell grows with the same genetic make-up of the nucleus donor (not the egg donor). 3. DNA microarray: This development is an important tool to study how a normal cell and an affected cell (say, a cancer cell) behave and what are the genes that are up-regulated and down-regulated. On a commercial DNA chip, unique and short single stranded DNA fragments of all known human genes (as of today) are immobilized on glass. Take a normal cell and a cancer cell. Make complementary DNA for all the RNAs in the cells. Treat the normal cell DNA with a dye (say green) and that of the cancer cell with a red dye. Now pass the two pools of DNA through the chip. The genes that are active only in the normal cell (thereby making mRNA and hence cDNA) will bind to their complementary fragments (immobilized on the chip) and will emit green signal when detected. Similarly, the genes that are active only in the cancer cell will bind to their complementary fragments and will emit red signal. The genes that are common to both cells will give out yellow signal. From this we can learn which genes are upregulated and down regulated in a particular cell for a particular disease condition. 4. Transgenic / reporter genes: Selected color displaying proteins, like green fluorescent protein (GFP), can be used as reporters to identify the location of protein expression for a protein of interest. The GFP gene is attached to the gene of our interest and injected in an embryo and the location of protein expression is visually observed. Such techniques can be used to generate multicolored ornamental fish for the same species. 5. DNA protein interaction: Several proteins interact with DNA. For example, transcription factors bind to the promoter / enhancer regions of a gene. Restriction enzymes bind to and cut DNA. DNA polymerase is involved in DNA replication and RNA polymerase is important for transcription. Furthermore, amino-acyl tRNA synthetases bind to tRNAs and attach corresponding amino acids to them. 6. RNA interference: Most of the free forms of RNA, messenger RNA molecules in particular, are single strands. tRNAs and selected RNA regions are double-stranded. Many viruses, however, form long stretches of double-stranded RNA when they replicate. When our cells find double-stranded RNA, it is often a sign of an infection. However, plant and animal cells have a more targeted defense that attacks the viral double stranded RNA directly, termed RNA interference. Viral double-stranded RNA are cut into pieces (about 21 base-pairs), called small interfering RNA (SiRNA) by the protein Dicer. The argonaute protein strips away one strand from the siRNA, and then looks for any viral messenger RNA that matches it. If it finds some, it cleaves the RNA, destroying it. In this way, the cell removes all viral messenger RNA that is the same as the original double-stranded piece found and processed by dicer. Based on this principle, we can synthesize a non-natural interfering RNA, then insert it into a cell to destroy any messenger RNA that we desire. Researchers use these small RNA molecules to fight disease, for instance, using them to knock out cancer genes. 7. RNA modifying enzymes: RNA has to be modified in selected cellular processes. For example, uridine is modified to pseudo-uridine by pseudo-uridine synthase enzymes.

Lower the college tuition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lower the college tuition - Essay Example Since education is based upon the ideals of opportunity for all and higher personal advancement, increased tuition costs ruin the promise of education and make it only available to the elite members of society. Education is supposed to be meritocratic in nature and that means that people are accepted into universities and colleges across this country based on their abilities and not the wealth of their parents. Education is the way in which people break through social barriers like class and privilege. Is it true that education is merit-based? Is it true that America’s ideas about higher education are based upon the notion that it allows people to advance, progress and move forward in life? A basic idea behind the sociology of education is that it promotes greater equality and is based upon merit and equal opportunity for all. The expansion of education in the past two hundred years in the United States is an incredible advance which has supposed increased social equality and made society a better place. Less than one hundred years ago, the educational institutions of this country were closed to women, ethnic minorities such as African-Americans and a whole bunch of other social gro ups. What is amazing is that while a long time ago educational opportunities were denied to more than 50% of the population, today education is supposed to be available to all. Education is supposed to promote social equality and when tuition is high and out of reach for many students, it promotes division based on social class and limits the opportunities for many qualified students (Conley, 59-72). Looking at the opportunities associated with higher education, academics Persell & Cookson studied education and privilege. They determined that through education â€Å"the transmission of privilege is central to the reproduction of an

Expectancy theory of motivation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Expectancy theory of motivation - Essay Example According to Williams (2010) valence, as a component of the expectancy theory of motivation, has another implication: the valence related to a particular task can be considered by an individual as important but for another individuals may be considered as of no particular value (Williams 2010, p.507). This means that the effectiveness of valence, as a component of the expectancy theory of motivation is not standardized. Montana & Charnov (2008) note that in the first phase of expectancy theory of motivation an individual need to be pursued that he will be able to perform a particular task (p.248); b) expectancy reflects the relationship between performance and expected outcomes; this means that if the rewards related to a particular task are important then it is quite possible for an individual to be motivated in order to perform the above task (Williams 2010, p.507). Griffin & Moorhead (2011) describe this component of the expectancy theory of motivation as the ‘performance -t o - outcome expectancy’ (Griffin & Moorhead 2011, p.104); c) the last component of the expectancy theory of motivation is instrumentality which shows ‘the preference of an individual for the rewards related to a particular task’ (Montana & Charnov 2008, p.248). In the context of the expectancy theory of motivation, instrumentality reveals the willingness of an individual to perform higher in order to get more rewards (Williams 2010, p.507). In any case, the expectancy theory promotes the idea that motivation can be high only if ‘all three components are high’ (William 2010, p.507). This means that if one of the components is low, then motivation cannot be high even if the other two components are high. The company in the given scenario could use the expectancy theory of motivation in order to enhance its employees’ motivation. According to the scenario, the employees of supervisor A are

Corporate Governance in Argentina Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Corporate Governance in Argentina - Term Paper Example As has been realized, having active majority shareholders might be positive and present good governance since they could give active oversight when it comes to management and also give a ready source of capital support. However, these majority shareholders could also work against the interests of smaller shareholders. Most of these big companies in Argentina do work as groups of companies that are diversified and having a common ownership and control. To them, it is very normal for the profits reaped from these group companies to be used as cash cows in the financing of growth for the capital hungry firms in the group. The development of such groups was partly as a means of effectively financing the capital intensive enterprises. Major changes have occurred in the corporate governance sector in Argentina during the past decade (ACCA 8). 2.0 Rights of Shareholders and Key Ownership Functions As far as Rights of Shareholders and Key Ownership Functions in Argentina’s corporate g overnance are concerned, they seem to concur with OECD principles. In the Argentina’s corporate governance, shareholders have various rights that are provided for them. These rights seem to have a full correspondence with the requirements of OECD after they were reformed following the roundtable discussions and changes in legislation after the crisis where major companies found themselves in economic scandals. These rights include the right to get informed on the operations of their business where they have to be periodically informed on any issues arising and the trend their business is taking. An annual report on the current trend and board’s opinion on the upcoming business plans and the corporate financial statements are also given to shareholders by the board of directors. This information could be obtained from the supervisory board by a request for those shareholders with not less than 2% of capital ownership and through investigations of those denouncements giv en by shareholders who represent not lower than 2% of capital contribution. The shareholders also have a voting right dependent on the extent of shares owned and this right needs to be exercised within the formal dispositions of legislation and by-laws. The shareholders have thus the right to be given the opportunity to participate and vote effectively in the general shareholder meetings. They should therefore; be informed on the rules, voting procedures and any other relevant information that governs general shareholder meetings. The shareholders also have the right to being given a secure method of registering for ownership. They should be able to convey or transfer their shares besides being able to elect and remove the board members when need arises (OECD 18-20; Waring, et al. 205-207). The shareholders also have the inherent right of participation in the decision making processes that are related to certain fundamental corporate changes and should be sufficiently informed regar ding these decisions when they do arise. Such changes include the amendments done to the documents that govern the company such as decisions on the by-laws; authorizations of any additional shares which

Definition of a Hero Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Definition of a Hero - Assignment Example It also happens in television dramas and series where a character may be a hero. However, he could be a hero for either good or evil deeds. Such kind of a person is mostly known as anti-heroes. In most cases, anti-heroic always uses all their means in order to achieve their target even if it means hurting or compromising with an interest of other parties. This is according to Garrett views. Simon sees Matthew Weigner as a baby boomer for a number of reasons. Firstly, his creativity on the role of each character is unique. The setup involves the liberal-minded and the conservatives in the town. When the liberal-minded citizens speak their minds, they call them bloomers because they criticize all that is wrong for a common citizen. Both groups address madmen as people who work against racism and sexism. Don Dropper is the man in the grey suit. He represents the conservative’ who want business to be done like in the old days. With these, he means in the early 1950’s. This is an excellent series that brings out the real message and theme. The book tries to bring out the world of homosexuals in the country. One of the characters in the book is innocent, but he is blindly attracted into it by his friend. Hence the title, ‘seduction of the innocent’. This is a harmful vice that affects our society today. However, it is legalized in some states, giving these people all the freedom they need. Medhurst demonstrates that Batman has a gay character in a number of ways. His dressing code says it all in the first place. He argues that this helps them to identify their fellows in a crowd. Further, they have secret signals and language which they typically use to communicate with each other. According to him, Batman exhibits all these features. However, this is just an illusion from Medhurst of what gay people go through in this world. Â  

Real Estate Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Real Estate Development - Essay Example Graaskamp emphasized that developers have a role to play in making social impacts on the community (Greer 34). The real estate decisions they make impact greatly on how the environment of neighborhood will turn out. The developers have to find ways of breaking past constraints to come up with real estate solutions that are favorable to the neighborhood. Graaskamp definition of project feasibility by stating that â€Å"a real estate project is feasible when the real estate analyst determines that there is a reasonable likelihood of satisfying explicit objectives when a selected course of action is tested for fit to a context of specific constraints and limited resources† (Graaskamp 515). Graaskamp’s concept of project feasibility is important in focusing on the assumptions that are involved in the decision to make real estate developments. By considering project feasibility, developers have a chance of making real estate decisions that are beneficial for the market and the investors as well (Etter 95). In real estate development, the term market is used to describe feasibility study refers to the evaluation of a project’s practicability. The feasibility study is normally carried out on the expected cost, operating performance and mortgage market conditions. A project’s feasibility study consists of a financial and market analysis (Graaskamp 517). This study is important as it helps developers establish whether or not a proposed project has the ability to generate enough cash to pay loans and construction debt services as well as provide enough equity capital return. A project feasibility study aims at answering the following questions: what is the developer doing? Who is he doing it for? Whom will he affect? Does the project make financial sense? (520) A market study is described by Graaskamp as the analysis of geographic fragmentation patterns, trends and

Argumentative Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Argumentative Analysis - Essay Example Starting with the hypothesis of having unlimited time, Marvell tells the woman in the poem that he would take forever to love her. He tells her that her refusal would not matter then, even if she refused â€Å"Till the conversion of the Jews† (Marvell), because he would have ample time to win her affections – time being infinitely available to him. Moreover, Marvell states, he would have taken to just praise the lady and her magnificent attributes. However, he soon comes back to reality, telling the lady that in actuality such timelessness is not available to them both. Thereby, Marvell â€Å"reverses his logic and tries to make the real world with limited time seem problematic and even repulsive to the mistress† (Stephens 1).  With this repulsion for time lost, Marvell points out the logical that they should take the opportunity now, when they have the chance and the time, to love each other. Marvell says that as they do not have a say in how this world operat es, with regard to time, they do have a choice as to how they live their life, in his own words, â€Å"Thus, though we cannot make our sun / Stand still, yet we will make him run† (Marvell). Although the poem is based around a sexual premise – a man asking his mistress to make love to him – the underlying theme of Marvell’s work is simply this: we are time-bound beings, and if we do not make the most of what we have today, we will not only waste the opportunities afforded to us, but we shall also regret our passiveness later on. As he says, â€Å"The grave’s a fine and private place, / But none, I think, do there embrace† (Marvell), i.e. when an opportunity is lost forever, you cannot get it back. Certainly, we are limited beings, forced to follow the laws of nature. The passage of time is one such law of nature we cannot overcome or change. We are, all of us,

Knolege creatain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Knolege creatain - Essay Example . Balmisse et al (2007: 118) take up this concept stating that knowledge management is a type of tool which , through ‘ social interaction and interface customization’ enables the sharing and transferring of necessary data. In 2010 Martin-Niemi and Greatbanks came up with produced an interesting discussion centering on â€Å"ba† which is said to be defined as ‘place’. This ‘ba’ becomes the means of relationships being developed, and enabling workers to contribute their knowledge and so enhance their joint experiences and so create a communicative environment which all can participate and share. This figure above shows how knowledge is accumulated when individuals and groups share a common working environment. Such sharing is not just the field of a few elite experts, but must include participation by all. An emphasis is made in this type of knowledge creation upon both explicit as well as tacit knowledge as well as how these varying types could be shared. The former . explicit knowledge, is the easier to share because of its basis in individual talents. The model referred to as SECI, refers to the various stages, i.e. socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization. This model can be used to demonstrate how blogs can be utilised within my company. We became interested in blogs as a way of encouraging groups of employees to contribute the knowledge they had. After only a few months it was possible to see positive developments. However, it was clear that full participation by all employees was necessary in order to create the optimum amount of knowledge. At the present time usage remains limited, but the company is actively developing a programme of incentives with the aim of encouraging employees to share their knowledge. There are a number of benefits to the use of blogs. As well as encouraging the

The security strengths and weaknesses of the Internet Essay

The security strengths and weaknesses of the Internet - Essay Example Internet security is very important for a person who keeps or sends important data over the network. â€Å"A basic knowledge of internet security is essential for anyone who uses the web for tasks such as email, networking and shopping† (Paul). Importance of Internet Privacy Internet security has become one of the main concerns for every individual connected to the internet for any purpose. It is because there are a number of hackers present on the internet continuously trying to break into other computers in order to steal important data or to destroy the important data. Hacking has become so common in today’s world that almost every person who uses internet is a target of hackers. â€Å"Hacking is the process in which a system is tested before it goes into the market for direct use by the customers† (Douglas). Any individual, whether using internet for communication purposes or for information sharing, needs to ensure premium level internet security because hac kers not only try to break into such computers which contain highly critical information but also they try to gain control of such computers which although do not contain any important information but can be used to hack other computers. There are many security measures, which an individual can take to reduce the chances of internet attacks. â€Å"Internet security fundamentals are designed to protect individual Internet users from security risks which accompany use of the Internet† (Smith). Some of the easiest and most effective security measures include regularly changing the login passwords, setting difficult passwords, downloading a personal firewall, setting encryption standards, and installing up to date antivirus software. One can never deny the significance of internet security in today’s world. Internet privacy is one of the biggest concerns for any individual doing any kind of work on the internet. The issue of internet security or privacy is not just limited to big organizations and companies; rather it has become a need for any individual having online presence. â€Å"It is a common misconception that Internet security plays a large role only in organizations, or when people have sensitive information on their computers† (Sundaram). For online businesses, maintaining internet security is of extreme importance. Some of the key steps which every company should take while going online include registering an anonymous domain name, taking steps to protect online communications, making use of e-currency payment solutions, and ensuring local security along with online security. Implementing internet security measures is very important for any individual for many reasons. Some of the most significant reasons include keeping privacy of important information, not letting strangers to view personal information, being online with no fear, protecting personal and business emails, and doing business activities with optimum security. A very i mportant question related to internet security is that what can happen if a person does not care about internet security or why a person needs to implement effective internet security measures. The answer to the question is that if a person does not take steps to ensure internet security, he/she is likely to face many problems, such as, loss of important data, misuse of data, misuse of computer identity, receiving fake emails, receiving hazardous links, and loss of important files. Therefore, maintaining optimum

Expectations Charles Dickens Essay Example for Free

Expectations Charles Dickens Essay In the first chapter of Great Expectations Charles Dickens creates a very intense image of the marshes. This is the first place he describes and he makes the marshes sound like a very creepy and bewildering place.  Ours was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as the river wound, twenty miles of the sea.  The words marsh and the river makes the marshes sound like a very damp, muddy and bleak place.  Also in the first chapter Charles Dickens describes the churchyard as  Bleak place overgrown with nettles. Dickens also describes the churchyard s a very Overgrown and bleak place.  A graveyard is supposed to be a happy place that revitalises and refreshes kind, happy memories. I think this implies that death is all around no matter where you look. I think this because everything is overgrown and not looked after and the nettles are killing all of the beautiful plants so death is also involved there as well.  Dickens also says about the marshes in the first chapter   And that the dark flat wilderness beyond the churchyard, intersected with dykes and mounds and gates, with scattered cattle feeding on it, was the marshes: and that the low leaden line beyond was the river: and the distant savage liar from which the wind was rushing was the sea. This quote represents a dark and unforgiving future for Pip and that there is no one out there in the wilderness to care for him. The words leaden line imply a low lead river that looks like it has bars on and to Pip this makes him feel imprisoned. Also the words savage liar represents to Pip that he thinks that there is like a savage monster out there in the sea. Furthermore in chapter one Dickens explains the marshes as a long black, horizontal line and the sky was just a row of long, angry red lines and dense black lines intermixed. The words represent anger and danger and black utility, death and emptiness. Pip again feels like he is a prisoner to the marshes. At the start of the first chapter instead of Pip being one of the main characters he becomes the narrator of the story and starts talking about his family.   So I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip.  When Pip goes to the churchyard to the graveyard to look at their graves and imagines what his family would of looked like this proves he has a very distinct and creative imagination.   My first fancies regarding what they were like, were unreasonably derived from their tombstones.  Also Pip proves that there was a high rate of infant mortality and he also proves that there was a universal struggle to die. To five little stone lozenges, each about a foot and a half long, which were arranged in a neat row beside their grave, and were scared to the memory of five little brothers of mine who gave up trying to get a living exceedingly early in that universal struggle.  Dickens in the first chapter changes from first person the narrator to third person and this s a very unnatural method to use.   And that the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry, was Pip. Also Great Expectations was serialised which means that he novel was brought out in chapters and because the novel was successful people kept buying each chapter each time they were released.  When Pip goes into the churchyard to the graveyard so that he can go and visualise his brothers and his parents he meets a convict. The convict is starving and looking for food and basically anything and so he turns Pip upside town.   The man after looking at me for a moment turned me upside-down.  This is very strong and imaginative and you can clearly imagine it as he turns him upside down literally and metaphorically. After this the convict starts talking to Pip about his appearance. He talks about  What fat cheeks you ha got:  After this Pip says  I believe they were fat, though I was at that time undersized for my years, and not strong.  This gives the impression that Pip has never been fed properly and this make Pip sound innocent and vulnerable.  Later on Pip makes a promise to the convict that he would bring some food and some wittles so that the convict could release himself from the chain around his ankles and the convict threatens Pip to make sure he does this.

Second Language Acquisition And Classroom Interaction

Second Language Acquisition And Classroom Interaction Interaction has been central to theories of second language acquisition and pedagogy since the 1980s. Rivers explained the interactive perspective in language education: Students achieve facility in using a language when their attention is focused on conveying and receiving authentic messages (that is, messages that contain information of interest to both speaker and listener in a situation of importance to both). This is interaction (Rivers, 4). One of the first researchers to consider the importance of interaction was Hatch. She made a pivotal and indelible mark on the field of SLA through her publication of two seminal papers on language learning and interaction (Pica, 494). Hatch proposed that researchers should look towards interaction for insights into language learning development rather than the syntax of the language. In other words, she hypothesized that learners made progress as a result of real-life interaction rather than communicative competence arising out of the conti nuous practice of structures (Macaro, 172). In SLA classroom, the interactional input of the teacher is also part of the teacher talk which is considered as the main source of language input. Krashen proposed the Input Hypothesis to explain how learners interlanguage develops and grammatical features are acquired when learners are exposed to input that contains grammatical features a little beyond their current level of competence (Krashen and Terrell, 32). The Input Hypothesis is explained in detail through the i+1structure. i stands for the current level of language competence of learners while 1 stands for the item that they are going to acquire. Therefore, the i+1 structure indicates that learners are able to learn the language by being exposed to the input containing knowledge a little beyond their current level of competence. Extending Krashens Input Hypothesis, Long put forward the Interaction Hypothesis, which he held could make learners SLA development possible (Long, 420). The Interaction Hypothesis differs from the Input Hypothesis in that it puts more emphasis on how to make input comprehensible. Krashen believes that clues based on the situation and the context, extralinguistic information, and knowledge of the world make comprehension possible (Richards and Rogers, 182). He proposed the term premodification which means to make input comprehensible by simplifying or modifying the input before exposing it to learners by using common or familiar words, phrases and sentences. While admitting the role of premodification, Long lays more emphasis on the interactional modification. Through observing learners interacting with native speakers, Long concluded that what the former were doing was trying to improve the quality of the input they were receiving from the native speakers by giving them some verbal feedback or others to demonstrate that they had not understood. In this way, following Krashens earlier model, the native speakers input should become more fine-tuned to the immediate needs of learners thus allowing the latter to understand more easily. Therefore, the input will be made comprehensible as a result of interaction. Long proposed that interactionally modified input comes about as a result of the use of confirmation checks, clarification requests and comprehension checks by the two parties in a conversation (Macaro, 172). While the first two hypotheses concentrate on the teachers input, Swains Output Hypothesis advocates that learners should be provided with more opportunities of producing output. In order to acquire a new language, it is not sufficient to notice it and keep silent. In order for the acquisition to occur, learners must also use the language in verbal production. First, it increases the intensity of the noticing on the new item as input. Second, it forces learners to attend to the construction of the new language before and during output. Third, it encourages teacher confirmation that the output is correct and provides evidence for learners hypotheses about the target language. This has been known as the Output Hypothesis. To sum up, the Output Hypothesis claims that output can promote language acquisition under certain conditions by allowing learners to produce output. Moreover, Swain believed that in order for students to achieve native-like language competence, they need to be pushed more in their output by providing them with more opportunities to use the target language in the classroom (Swain, 429). In sum, the above three important theories of second language acquisition combine to reveal the effects of different types of classroom interaction on language learning from different angles. Therefore, in the field of second language acquisition, it is reasonable to state that classroom interaction plays a crucial role in promoting language learning. 2.1.2 General Classroom Interaction and Learning When students learn in a classroom setting, a primary source of knowledge comes from teacher talk and teacher-student interactions, as the processes and transactions involved in the construction of meanings are mediated through the use of verbal communication. Central to Vygotskys sociocultural theory of human learning is the idea that social interaction plays an essential role in the development of cognition. First, cultural development appears between people on an inter-psychological plane and then inside the learner on an intra-psychological plane. This applies equally to voluntary attention, logical memory and the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals (Vygotsky, 57). In addition, through the role of mediation, students are able to transform skills that lie in the zone of proximal development (ZPD, a term formulated by Vygotsky to refer to the area of students potential development). Williams and Burden state that med iation is a term used by psychologists of the social interactionist school to refer to the part played by other significant people (the one usually with more knowledge, e.g. a teacher) in the learners lives, who enhance their learning by selecting and shaping the learning experiences presented to them (Williams and Burden, 67). That is to say, the notion of the teacher assisting student performance through the zone of proximal development suggests that teachers can adjust the discourse on the inter-psychological to support the students evolving understanding of knowledge or development of complex skills. Therefore, Vygotskys theory implicates that learners should be provided with socially rich environments so as to explore knowledge domains with their fellow students and teachers. 2.1.2.1 Interaction Pattern of Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) The three-part exchange structure known as triadic dialogue has been found to be common in classroom discourse. This discourse format typically consists of three moves, i.e. initiation (usually via a teacher question), student response and teacher evaluation. It is more commonly referred to as IRE (Mehan, 64). Accordingly, the teacher poses a closed question that is basically information-seeking, that requires a predetermined short answer, and that is aimed at the recall or lower-order cognitive level. He or she then praises or confirms correct answers and corrects those that are wrong. Sometimes, the three-part exchange structure is also known as IRFinitiation, response and feedback or follow-up as the third move may not necessarily be an explicit evaluative remark (Sinclair and Coulthard, 54). For instance, Wells has discussed various ways in which the teacher can provide feedback by encouraging students to express ideas, generate hypotheses and test them (Wells, 1986: 50). The triadic dialogue, which is typical of traditional classroom teaching, is usually considered to restrict students thinking as students responses remain somewhat short and standardized, thus minimizing their role in the co-construction of meaning. Although such conventional teacher-questioning practices have thus been criticized, some researchers have pointed out that it is consistent with educational goals. For example, Newman, Griffin, and Cole argued that the three-part exchange has a built-in repair structure in the teachers last turn so that incorrect information can be replaced with the right answers (Newman et al, 127). Such an opinion is considered appropriate in that the responsibility of teachers is viewed as ensuring that students acquire the knowledge that is normative within a particular culture (Chin, 1316). In addition, Wells has argued that, when used effectively, it is in this third step in the co-construction of meaning that the next cycle of the learning-and-teac hing spiral has its point of departure (Wells, 1993: 35). Therefore, the triadic dialogue can prove to be beneficial to classroom teaching if the teacher is willing to interact with students further. An instance of this would be when the teacher asks a question that stimulates further productive thought, based on their evaluation of students previous responses. In such a case, the teacher would be guiding the development of students ideas by successively building on their contributions in a reciprocal manner (Chin, 1315). As for patterns of discourse, Mortimer and Scott expanded the IRE or IRF structure by identifying the IRFRF chain where the elaborative feedback from the teacher is followed by a further response from a student (Mortimer and Scott, 41). This form contributes to a dialogic interaction. As part of the feedback, the teacher could encourage a student by repeating his or her comment or asking for explanation. By establishing this pattern of discourse, the teacher is able to further explore students ideas. As Wells suggested that the third step of the IRF sequence might have potential for productive discourse (Wells, 1993: 10), Chin established an analytical framework based on questioning to explore the specific forms of feedback. Four aspects of classroom discourse (namely, content, type of utterance, thinking elicited, and interaction pattern) constitute the elements of the questioning-based discourse analytical framework (Chin, 1322). She studied several science lessons from Year 7 which were observed across a variety of lesson structures. In her study, Chin identified four different types of feedback. The follow-up or feedback given by the teacher in the IRF sequence usually takes the form of a comment or statement followed by either another question, or further statements that expound more subject-related knowledge. Therefore, the feedback of the triadic dialogue could consist of a comment-question (C-Q) or statement-question (S-Q) couplet in which the question in the couplets may be considered as overlapping with the initiation of the next IRF sequence. However, Chin points out that, if there are no more questions asked, it takes the form of a comment-statement (C-S) couplet. Sometimes, feedback comprises only comments or statements. Chins findings suggest that by changing the third move of an IRF questioning sequence from an explicit evaluation to one that includes responsive questioning, teachers can make their classroom discourse more thought-provoking and stimulate more elaborate and productive student responses (Chin, 1340). 2.1.2.2 Teacher Questioning and Student Participation As a prominent part of classroom discourse, teacher questioning plays an important role in classroom teaching and has been the focus of linguistic and pedagogical studies (Nunan, 192). There are several reasons why they are so commonly used in teaching. They stimulate and maintain students interest. They encourage students to think and focus on the content of the lesson. They enable a teacher to clarify what a student has said. They enable a teacher to elicit particular structures or vocabulary items. They enable teachers to check students understanding. They encourage student participation in a lesson. (Richards and Lockhart, 185). Second language researchers have proposed that teacher questions play a crucial role in language acquisition. They can be used to allow the learner to keep participating in the discourse and even modify it so that the language used becomes more comprehensible and personally relevant (Banbrook and Skehan, 142). In addition, many previous classroom-based studies have focused on the taxonomy of teacher questions. Barnes identified the closed-ended and open-ended questions (Barnes, 12). Moreover, a display question is a question to which the questioner already knows the answer while a referential question is a question where the teacher does know the answer and is genuinely interested in hearing the answers from students (Long and Sato, 268). And there are questions that either assist or assess (Tharp and Gallimore, 52). According to Brock, referential questions can increase students language output in class and thus promote language acquisition. An increased use by teachers of referential questions, which create a flow of information from students to teachers, may generate discourse which more nearly resembles the normal conversation learners experience outside of the classroom (Brock, 49). Although at a theoretical level, referential questions are likely to trigger more immediate output than display questions, the distinction is too simplistic to offer an in-depth understanding of teacher questioning as it focuses on the types of questions rather than the abilities elicited. The nature of questioning in constructivist-based teaching environment is different. In such an environment, the teachers intent is to elicit what students think, to encourage them to elaborate on their previous answers and ideas, and to help them construct conceptual knowledge. Therefore, questioning can diagnose and extend students ideas and the teacher can engage students in higher-level thinking including analysis, application, synthesis and evaluation as those questions are open-ended and requiring one-sentence or two-sentence answers (Brookhart, 5). Teaching questioning takes another form of a reflective toss in the feedback move of the IRF sequence (van Zee and Minstrell, 1997a: 216). A reflective question is posed to a student by engaging his or her previous response to a teacher question, thus extending the teacher-student interaction and further exploring students ideas. A reflective toss usually consists of three parts, i.e. a student statement, the reflective question and additional student statements (Chin, 1319). Furthermore, the teachers use of a reflective toss serves a series of subgoals. They include using questions to help students clarify their meanings, consider a variety of views and monitor the discussion and their own thinking (van Zee and Minstrell, 1997b: 266). While most studies centered on the role of teachers in classroom, student participation is directly related with the quality of teacher-student interaction. Student participation has become a hot issue in the field of SLA research. Tsui conducted a survey among 38 teachers on the elements of reticence in middle school classrooms in Hong Kong and discovered five influential factors: students low English proficiency, students fear of making mistakes and getting laughed at by others, lack of wait time for students to think due to teachers intolerance of reticence, uneven allocation of turns to students and teachers incomprehensible input (Tsui, 148-155). Karp and Yoels carried out a one-month observation program in the 10 classes at an American private university and identified the consolidation of responsibility (Karp and Yoels, 429). On one hand, teachers would only call on some specific students to answer their questions. On the other hand, some other students would remain silent in class as they were rarely called upon. Through the observation of fifteen classroom sessions and out-of-class interviews with two female and two male students, Morgenstern discovered that there were many opportunities for student speech, but a core of five to six students seemed to monopolize these opportunities. Student actions and attitudes, recorded by observation and interview, revealed four tacit rules for class participation: (1) do not ask stupid questions; (2) do not waste the teachers time; (3) do not waste class time; and (4) try to find the answer before asking the teacher. Some students function under the assumption that only those with the most knowledge should speak, thus assuming a hierarchy of knowledge (Action and Inaction: Student and Teacher Roles in Classroom Participation).

Global Response to Failed States

Global Response to Failed States Introduction According to Max Weber, a modern functioning sate is an institution claiming a â€Å"monopoly of legitimate use of physical force in enforcing its order within a given territory† (Garner, Robert, Peter Ferdinand, and Stephanie Lawson, 2009, 27). Therefore, a state, in broad terms, is an entity that can support itself through the use of legitimacy to enforce its rule and to provide its population with the adequate â€Å"public† goods. Based on the definition of a strong state, a weak or failed state is a political being that, within the scope of international politics, supplies the state with both scare qualities and quantities of political â€Å"public† goods and simultaneously, no longer has abundant control over violence within their given boundaries. Failed states cannot provide basic rights or needs such as education, security, or governance. (Helman and Ratner, 1992) Often this failure to provide the institutions is caused by violence or poverty in certain a reas of the state. These structurally and politically fragile institutions of government can cause internal and external problems. Internally, these governments are so weak or ineffective that they have little or no control over the majority of their territories as well as the lack of provision of â€Å"public† goods, leading to civil wars, rebellions, and full on warfare among separate factions within the state. Internationally, these areas can be both the cause and result of widespread corruption and criminality, refugees and involuntary movement of populations, sharp economic decline, and the potential of national security problems through the threat of terrorists and international criminals. However, the external threats not only come from the state but from outsiders as well. Occasionally, groups like the United Nations or a bordering state step into intervene and stop a disaster in the making (Langford, 1999). Although the intent is not to harm the states, these interna tional powers can also be the cause of the problem. This paper explores the reasons that current responses are ineffective and how global powers could better respond to failed states in that it is far better for them to be created into a non-state society rather than have them become a state that is sustained by international intervention alone. The existing response of international superpowers to the issue of failed states is based on an assumption that the state in question was once actually a state, and can become a functioning entity again. Within the spectrum of the validity of these states comes the question of sovereignty. Even strong states face challenges from outside and inside of their borders, but these failed states have no sovereignty whatsoever because they cannot control their capacity or autonomy. Their authority is questioned and they require support to remain functional and it comes to question whether the states actually had any sovereignty to begin with. Due to this, the attempt of international world powers to transform the failed state back into a successful state through use of international resources and efforts with the assumption that they will be able to function without international support is a meager counter to the problem. Legitimacy The level of a failed state is measured by the extent to which the states are susceptible to any form of challenges to its legitimacy, whether internal or external. Based on shared knowledge of values that define a state, legitimacy is the acknowledgment that a state has, or is assumed to have, a right to rule whether legally or morally. In history, a state existed was considered legitimate if it existed. Because of this definition, most states met the traditional requirements of statehood. As said by Weber, the foremost characteristics of a state was having the capacity to act internationally and to maintain a monopoly of force within their territories, but it was not limited to just that. A state was also to have defined borders, a government, and a permanent population. Although these are the criteria required to have statehood, most states gain their independence without one or more of these principles. These states are still recognized by the global community as state actors eve n though they could not fully meet the requirements that were set before them, including a percentage of their population disregarding both authority and legitimacy of the state itself. The state was presumed to be the only authority, despite whether or not the people believed it to be legitimate. Simply put, the assumption of legitimacy applied to all states by the fact that all states documented by the United Nations were believed to be legitimate. These fragile states have contributed to an incredibly dispersed world. In this world, struggles and violence are key players. Discourse has created chances for states that are more powerful to press the power held within their region. It is possible that the power stretches even further and these hegemonic states begin to exploit the weak states in order to form new types of coalitions, partnerships, and connections between different actors, both state and non-state, as well as a plethora of problematic challenges which they must struggle to fight for their future. Just as discourse creates chances, absent or declining legitimacy also creates causes for problems. Once the legitimacy of a state has been called into question, there is a rush for groups, movements, and other state entities to fight over which group will fill the void. In order to take control of the state and undermine its legitimacy, these state entities exert their power in both violent and nonviolent ways. In the ma jority of fragile states in the modern world, these battles are being lost to other actors because the weakened governments do not have the power to provide the security and core functions that the other actors can readily provide (Krasner, Stephen D., and Carlos Pascual, 2005). Once these states have entered into this conflict, the protections services within the state, such as those serving to keep the peace, have either stopped operating or have ceased to exist altogether. In other cases however, these services are being utilized for actions that they were never intended to be used for (Rotberg, 2002). Global Responses These efforts to remanufacture the failed states are clearly formed on political and economic views of the Western superpowers. The two essential areas of failed states, according to the aforementioned group, are the failure to provide political goods and the incapability to meet the plain economic essentials of the people. These hegemons seek therefore to shape and improve the state’s institutional capacity to respond to failure. The economic factors of rebuilding failed states place an emphasis on this capacity to build certain institutions, but the aims are completely different and come from a separate perspective. While political attempts to rebuild states focuses on strengthening state institutions such as the government, peacekeeping forces, the restore of rule of law, and the provision of security, the economic efforts try to diminish the government power by releasing the economy and freeing the market services. In general, the measures suggested by the groups involved in the attempts to end state fragility or failures vary in range that it compiles a rather large list of things to be done. The tasks center around economic, political, and security based things. However, the problem is that this task list runs off the assumption that these failed states can actually be revived by rebuilding them. The state in an isolated environment, as decided by Western policy makers and scholars, is the root of the problem. However, they also see it as the source to solve the problem. But the error with the opinion of the West is that it overlooks the issues of interdependence as well as any political or economic interactions (Garner, Robert, Peter Ferdinand, and Stephanie Lawson, 2009, 432). Systematic efforts have been lacking to study state fragility and failure in terms of interconnections and linkages between the West and these failed states. What drives the state building process in these areas is the occupying power and their political ideologies, values, economic interests and strategic perceptions. These are based on defective calculations and wrong policy priorities. Alternative Methods Several policy recommendations could come in handy when dealing with these problems. First, instead of focusing on state building along the Western lines, there should be a development of nation building. The idea of national identity is not just feeling making the population feel like citizens. It requires the involvement of all the separate things that make up society such as ethnic background, cultural tradition, and the different types of social or political views. All of these things need to be integrated into the society because they are the factors that make up the people who actually make the nation. In times when there is no unity in a failed state, it is hard to feel like an actual citizen, therefore there is no desire for the state to become normal again. In the throes of the clashes between the groups who feel alienated, state institutions can’t continue developing. These groups, despite the fact that the institutions are meant to improve the political and economic functions and production of goods, will eventually reject the institutions because they do not do anything for the general population because their development has ceased. Any efforts to actually rebuild the nation into any form of functionality is clearly lacking due to the internal absence of unity (King, Gary, and Langche Zeng, 2001). Just as important is the basis for the need of a domestic economic base for the failed states. There should be a change in the way the economy works, instead of laboring for political points, there should be a push for the creation of a stable base for the economy. The current strategy, although supplying enough money to certain areas, such as the social and economic bases, is ineffective. The majority of the money that is donated goes to the already urban areas, instead of the rural places where it is needed most. Some of the funding skips the government completely, leaving it nonfunctional, and goes straight to the elites, giving more room for their power to grow. The goal is to ensure that the state, without the help of any international powers, is able to grow and function on its own, at least economically. Without this, there is no way for the state to function. A move towards understanding the roots of the conflicts and the different situations they are based in as well as an attempt at communication between the opposing groups is also imperative. So far, there have been no movements to actually understand the issues that have formed in the failed states. There should be a large push for any occupying power as well as any entity funding the state to figure out the roots of conflict. Things that need to be addressed are simple: why does this conflict continue in such a manner, why do the parties involved in the conflict have such different goals, and what incentive could be used in order to bring them together to compromise on a way to end the continuous warfare. This has been lacking approach has been lacking and some of the policies placed by the occupying power exclude certain opposing parties and it exacerbates the conflicts instead of resolving them. At one point in time, a state could not be questioned on its authority, even with a temporary loss of power and authority over its territory. It was a theory accompanied by the practice of protection from violence if a state could no longer function correctly. This was international law. However, the people wanted the right to self-governance, as the basis for involvement within the global community, and it was pleaded for. This global community, or similar organization posing under the same name, understands the call for human rights. The right to govern themselves would ultimately allow the states to participate in their own internal affairs. They would be protected against any outside attacks from conquering entities, all for the sake of restoring the authority that was required by the state for a proper functioning of international ruling. Although the state has seen such as such has seen its presence justified, the issue of what methods can be used to revive the states at such l evels remains to be answered. Because the causes of the problem are generally internal in the root of the problem, it would only be proper that the very same internal services would provide assistance in the recovery process. There have been attempts, using their own practices, by the population of these failed states to build their state back over a course of time. In this manner, the voices of the people and the will of the state has the potential to rally behind a movement around various points for different purposes, such as education, local government, transportation, agriculture, or other methods and organizations, both public and private, which gives the people cause to move toward the common motivations which would further the cause of reconstructions. Equally, incomplete arrangements could also serve as a drive for enthusiasm in the creation of an inclusive public segment and institutions which serve to represent the people. In the long term, this would then allow the government, as a lone entity, to regain the legitimacy that is required of it. The things that need to be realized are two things which are essential for the formation of a legitimate state. This state, although based on tolerance, encouraged by principle, and coupled with the ability to peacefully cooperate, has to enable the people to be within a political setting as well as maintain their sense of national identity. The two things, which are the combined efforts and remedies which allow human coexistence and the will to become a state bound by unity, must be achieved. The outside influences, such as global entities with different institutions, can only move to help the formation of self-improvement. Conclusion When considering the problem of failed states, it has become evident that to some powers and viewpoints, they are happenings that are to insignificant in the scheme of things to be considered important. Within the realm of these occurrences of failed states, it is difficult to place them into the category of legal ideology because it forms essential challenges. These challenges are placed to against law, both international and constitutional. Furthermore, the inquiry that needs to be asked is whether these instances of the failing of states, however infrequent they may appear, are actually the mere beginnings of a much more intricate threat posed towards civil society as it is known. Since there is potential for the destruction and dismemberment of law and order within these politically based civilizations, the question of whether such aggression is considered to be basic human nature is called into play. The initial global responses approach the states with an attempt at equalizing the states strength as well as the power held. This is something that is incredibly generalized and is a factor in including states within the classification that is a failed state. It infers a certain dependence on the power of politics as well as a certain weakness that is permanent and cannot be changed. This theory, although efficient, give signs and examples without actually giving them any meaning whatsoever, making it incomparable to the weaker states within the area due to the vagueness of the actual meaning.

HOVENSA: Economic Boost and Environmental Disaster Essay -- Environmen

By far the largest private employer in the Virgin Islands, HOVENSA has decided to cease operations, despite the ongoing economic crisis plaguing the territory which desperately relies on the refinery’s vital tax revenues. Nevertheless, the company cites its present fiscal woes as the primary reason behind such a brash decision. In so far as, fluctuating oil prices brought on by various world events, in concert with other minor details including the manner in which the plant is run and the amount of expenditures incurred, have caused the oil giant to generate about $1.3 billion dollars in losses. What seems odd are the events is the surrounding environmental issues which have plagued the plant during 2010 and 2011, which caused the Environmental Protection Agency to sanction the company with a $700 million dollar mandate. Such legal action taken was the result of a series of mis-steps with the refinery’s engineering/environmental protection practices, resulting in one of the worst environmental disasters to hit the territory. HOVENSA came about as a new joint venture in the region between parent company, Hess Oil, and state owned oil company, Venezuela National Oil Company. Beginning in 1966 however, we notice that the precursor to HOVENSA, Hess Oil Virgin Islands Corporation, was seen as more of an economic miracle rather than a disaster in the making. Years subsequent to 1966 witnessed a continued expansion of the oil refinery petroleum producing capacity, essentially elevating it from what was known as humble operation to what would be considered to be a monolithic organization. Whether that included the refineries increased capacity from 45,000 barrels a day to well over 500,000 barrels a day, or the company’s innovative te... ...vironment is once again held paramount. Works Cited 1) Blackburn, Joy. 2011. "EPA launches HOVENSA air quality study." Virgin Islands Daily News, The (St. Thomas), February 16. 2) "Nation's Second Largest Refinery to Pay More Than $5.3 Million Penalty for Clean Air Act Violations." Allvoices. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. . 3) "Government De Jongh Seeks Federal Assistance in Aftermath of HOVENSAClosure." Governor John P. DeJongh. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. . 4) "HOVENSASt. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. .

Unpacking the ‘Education’ in Civic Education :: Education Learning essays

Unpacking the ‘Education’ in Civic Education Abstract Unpacking the ‘Education’ in Civic Education In this paper, we explore civic education through an examination of two approaches to the introductory course in American government. Our goal is to identify how differences in pedagogical method affect student learning and attitude formation. We do this through a comparison of two equivalent groups of students; one group experiencing a standard text-lecture-test approach and the other having the additional experience of a three-week character-playing simulation of the congressional policy process. While we find that both groups of students make short-term gains on factual knowledge and both experience attitude shifts in our hoped for directions, the effects are greater in the standard lecture course. Our overall findings help clarify directions for further revision in both formats of the course. The importance of civic education has been well-established. From the earliest political theorists, we see discussion of the importance of a well-informed citizenry for the health of a polity. While skeptical of the power of the people to self-govern, the framers of American democracy still argued that the ultimate power rested in the people, who would even have the right to overthrow government should it violate the â€Å"social contract† with those over whom it governed (as in the Declaration of Independence, where we see Jefferson’s thoughts so clearly influenced by Locke). Closer to modern times, much public opinion literature has engaged in discussions about Americans’ levels of political knowledge, and the consequences that flow from this (see, for just a very few prominent examples, Campbell, Converse, Miller and Stokes 1960; Converse 1964; Delli Carpini and Keeter 1991, 1996; Graber 1994; Jennings 1996; Nie, Verba and Petrocik 1979). To our minds, civic education is about preparing our students to be citizens in the American democracy. This involves teaching them the rudiments of knowledge required for reading a newspaper (or political web site), watching the news on television, and understanding what is going on in the world. Civic education also concerns itself with attitudes; for example, teaching students to have a healthy skepticism for what goes on in government, but grounding this skepticism in a reality that does not hold unrealistic expectations for government or its officials (see Hibbing and Theiss-Morse 1995, 2002 for a useful discussion of unrealistic expectations). Finally, civic education also concerns behaviors, as we encourage students to make intelligent, informed decisions about the extent to which they will participate in the political system. Unpacking the ‘Education’ in Civic Education :: Education Learning essays Unpacking the ‘Education’ in Civic Education Abstract Unpacking the ‘Education’ in Civic Education In this paper, we explore civic education through an examination of two approaches to the introductory course in American government. Our goal is to identify how differences in pedagogical method affect student learning and attitude formation. We do this through a comparison of two equivalent groups of students; one group experiencing a standard text-lecture-test approach and the other having the additional experience of a three-week character-playing simulation of the congressional policy process. While we find that both groups of students make short-term gains on factual knowledge and both experience attitude shifts in our hoped for directions, the effects are greater in the standard lecture course. Our overall findings help clarify directions for further revision in both formats of the course. The importance of civic education has been well-established. From the earliest political theorists, we see discussion of the importance of a well-informed citizenry for the health of a polity. While skeptical of the power of the people to self-govern, the framers of American democracy still argued that the ultimate power rested in the people, who would even have the right to overthrow government should it violate the â€Å"social contract† with those over whom it governed (as in the Declaration of Independence, where we see Jefferson’s thoughts so clearly influenced by Locke). Closer to modern times, much public opinion literature has engaged in discussions about Americans’ levels of political knowledge, and the consequences that flow from this (see, for just a very few prominent examples, Campbell, Converse, Miller and Stokes 1960; Converse 1964; Delli Carpini and Keeter 1991, 1996; Graber 1994; Jennings 1996; Nie, Verba and Petrocik 1979). To our minds, civic education is about preparing our students to be citizens in the American democracy. This involves teaching them the rudiments of knowledge required for reading a newspaper (or political web site), watching the news on television, and understanding what is going on in the world. Civic education also concerns itself with attitudes; for example, teaching students to have a healthy skepticism for what goes on in government, but grounding this skepticism in a reality that does not hold unrealistic expectations for government or its officials (see Hibbing and Theiss-Morse 1995, 2002 for a useful discussion of unrealistic expectations). Finally, civic education also concerns behaviors, as we encourage students to make intelligent, informed decisions about the extent to which they will participate in the political system.

Peter I (The Great) Essay -- essays research papers fc

Peter I, was born to Alexis Romanov and his second wife Natalia Naryshkina. Peter grew up in a turbulent period of Russian history. His father’s early death at the age of thirty-one left a bitter struggle for power between the family of Alexis’s first wife’s family, the Miloslavskaias, and Peter’s family. A brief period of reign by Peter’s half brother Fedor (1676-1682) was followed by his half sister Sofia assuming control of Russia as regent from 1682-1689. During this time Peter and his half brother, Ivan V, waited as co-Czars until they came of age. Meanwhile Peter spent many of his formative years in the country estate of Preobrazhenskoe, just outside of Moscow. It was here that Peter fostered his love of warfare, and had his first contact with Westerners. Rather than being educated in the traditional manner, Peter was allowed to play war games. From an assortment of commoners, courtiers, and foreigners Peter formed two regiments, the Preobrazhenskii and Semenovskii, which he outfitted with real weaponry and drilled into what would later become his imperial guard. Also during this time, Peter developed two other passions. The first was sailing, which he first came in contact with by discovering an old English sailboat. The second was the love of all things Western, which came from his frequent visits to the nearby foreign quarter of Moscow. By 1689 Peter had grown to the towering height of six feet seven inches, and was armed with a quick mind and boundless ambition. At...

A Study of the Impact of Health Care Management and Health Care Delivery

This research paper is aimed to show the impact of the health care management and health care delivery on the health status of the Gabonese.The study, impact assessment of health care management and health care delivery profile will builds up from previous work and is expected to serve as a future building block that advances the conceptualization and practical understanding of how to evaluate the competence of health care management and delivery in Gabon.Throughout Gabon, there is a growing consensus about the nature and importance of health care management and delivery competence a necessary component to accessible, responsive and high quality health care (Gerardi, 2004).   Nevertheless, the pursuit of competence in health care management and delivery institutions is somehow constrained partly by the health industries’ deficiency of a systematic procedures and instruments for assessing competence in relation to health care status.The health care management and delivery wil l be gauged on its presence, quality level as well as its contribution to good health and health care of the entire population of Gabon.The particular aims of the research are to develop an analytic framework for accessing the impact of health care management and health care delivery in the health care delivery organizations, point out specific indicators that can be used in connection to the framework as well as assessing the importance, feasibility and practical implication of the framework and its indicators.The health status indicators in Gabon will mainly be focused on quality of provision of primary health care, general mortality rates for both adults and children and the effects of health care management and delivery on average life expectancy of the people of Gabon (MSH, 1991).Problem of the StatementTo study the impact of health care management and health care delivery in Gabon, the research team will apply various methods to reach these objectives.   The research team wi ll solicit inputs from individuals with wide expertise on issues related to health care management and delivery.These individuals will share information, insights as well as opinions throughout the research period on ongoing basis through meetings and written commentaries.   The research team will also receive inputs from a wide range of key informants in private and public sector who have knowledge on health care management and health care delivery in Gabon.Further, the research will also include inputs from workshops with the public in different zones.   Finally, the research team will make visits to best practice settings in the health care delivery institutions that have been recognized by the public for their creative and innovation in the health care delivery.   Visits will be made to both public and private health care facilities.The sites to be visited should be varied in size, population served, auspices as well as history and scope of health care management and deliv ery competence activities.   These visits will offer opportunities to get experience-based practical views about the impact of health care management and health care delivery in Gabon.The research intends to use an interactive process in developing the research findings.   Initially, there will be preliminary assessment of guidelines and initial set of indicators’ needs to be developed in literature review.This will be followed closely by refining the preliminary framework, set of indicators and related assumptions.   This will be done by considering the feedback from the key informants, input from the professionals in the health care industry as well as findings from site visits.   Finally, the framework and indicators resulting from this refinement will further be revised based on the wide range of inputs from the experts as well as various persons contacted during the site visits.   The final report of the findings of the research will be compiled and presented f or analysis and evaluation.For this research purposes, the health care management and delivery will be referred to as behaviors, policies and attitudes that combine in a system among professionals and/or agency in agency in facilitating the above to work effectively in improving the health status of the Gabonese. To develop tools to access the impact in the context of health care, the research team is to concentrate on organizational level only.The organizational structure in health management and delivery is an integral part of systematic patient-centred and has the momentum to improve the access to care, quality of care as well as health outcomes (MSH, 1991).The organization normally serves as the driving force in the development and maintenance of individual health care provider competence by providing the managers, policies and systems that support the experiences they encounter.   Moreover organizational culture affects the service delivery and also serves as a mechanism for maintaining quality health care delivery.Historical Perspective of Health Care Management and DeliveryResearch and other studies have indicated that late neo-natal deaths are attributed to perinatally related experiences.   The survival of infants at 24-27 weeks gestation depends on the effectiveness of maternal and/or prenatal care (Weir, et al, 1993).   Although Gabon’s expenditure on health care provision is higher, infant survival rates are low relative to other developing countries.Lower child maternal rates in Gabon can be avoided by improving the policy of health care delivery mainly by focusing on process issues. Recent studies show that prenatal maternal rates in Gabon are approximately 82 per every 1,000 total births and there is gradual increase in rate over time (Weir, et al, 1993).Prenatal deaths are mostly caused by asphyxia, immaturity and macerated stillbirth.   The prevalence of low birth weight babies, multiple pregnancies and admitted patients are som e of the major reasons for high mortality rates, particularly in Gabon.To reduce the current high prenatal maternal rates in Gabon, public education on danger signs of prolonged labour and regular training of health professionals as well as improving neo-dental facilities are very important.   Recent studies on global prenatal mortality figures show that between 6 and 7 million prenatal deaths occur for every 132 million births per year (MSH, 1991).It also shows that the dominant causes of those prenatal deaths were mainly caused by poor maternal health, early child bearing and most importantly, lack of appropriate and quality health delivery.   Although technology has provided medical service providers with life-saving practices, almost â…“ of mothers have no access to services during pregnancy and also do not have access to service for childbirth.Infectious diseases such as pneumonia, influenza, malaria as well as tuberculosis are the main causes of mortality in the 20th century in Gabon (Gerardi, 2004).   In the same vein recently measles, cholera as well as intestinal infections are continually and regularly causing mortality in Gabon and many other parts of the world.There has been substantial reduction of prevalence and impact of the above-mentioned diseases due to current improved control of environment, personal hygiene, medical facilities, proper management of human waste as well as dispensation including proper vaccination.

A Reflection On Modern Medicine Essay

The Hippocratic Oath is a promise in essence â€Å"to do no harm† made by a new doctor before becoming a practicing physician. The oath has been a standard of the medical community for several centuries. It remains just as meaningful and valid today as when Hippocrates wrote it in 400 BC. Medical ethics in today’s modern society has become very blurry and hard to understand (Price 1). It is not the oath that has acquired a more complicated meaning. It is the practice of medicine that has become more complex. Presently, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for doctors to discern good medicine from bad medicine. In our current society political correctness, policy, and politics have come to define good medicine as opposed to what is best for the patient. Over a century ago, H. G. Wells was criticized for his novel The Island of Doctor Moreau written in 1896. Literary critics and the general public were appalled by the atrocities depicted in the text. Contemporary authors, physicians, and scientists could not fathom the cruel behavior of Doctor Moreau. And it was easy to see that Dr. Moreau was practicing bad medicine and had broken his vow ‘to do now harm. ’ The Island of Doctor Moreau was a novel written late in 1896 by H. G. Wells. The plot seems relatively simple and typical of a science fiction novel. A young civil servant is the sole survivor of shipwreck. He is found floating along side the island of Doctor Moreau who rescues him. The young man has no knowledge that Doctor Moreau has fled from his home nation fearing charges of animal cruelty. Upon first impressions, the young man falls in love with the island. Slowly he remembers stories about Dr. Moreau and the horrors he created. The lush fauna and sandy beaches are exciting and new to him. To paraphrase John S. Partington, in The Death of the Static: H. G. Wells and the Kinetic Utopia, Dr. Moreau’s island was like Eden, Dr. Moreau was God, and Prendick was like Adam. When curiosity gets the best of him he wanders deep into the overgrowth and what he finds there is deeply shocking. Doctor Moreau is using a process called vivisection to create a hybrid of animal and human. His research goal is to make man be absent of evil. In the end Moreau is killed and the young man, Prendick, escapes and lives to tell the tale. To gain a better understanding of the novel and the beliefs of H. G. Wells it is important to look at the prevailing scientific knowledge of the time in which the novel was written. The late 19th century was when Darwin first made known his theories of evolution and survival of the fittest. Darwin believed that all species including humans, change with time. In time when God was the creator of all, the idea of evolution and our link to other species was very disturbing to the general public. H. G. Wells was a contemporary writer of this time. In two of his most famous novels, The Time Machine and The Island of Doctor Moreau, he investigates the conflict between nature and God. In summary, H. G. Wells was not just an author but also a trained biologist. What could be more frightening than an island of beasts butchered by a mad scientist. Dr. Moreau does not just alter the bodies but using plastic surgery to make them appear human but also their minds (Mclean). He has them recite the laws he created. The gather together and chant â€Å"Not to go on all-fours; that is the Law. Are we not Men? † But that is not the worst of it. After the chanting of the Law comes the hymn of praise to their Creator: His is the House of Pain. His is the Hand that makes. His is the Hand that wounds. His is the Hand that heals. His is the lightning-flash. His is the deep salt sea. His are the stars in the sky†¦. To summarize Freeman Dyson point in his book titled Disturbing the Universe, a biologist like Wells has had to confront the idea, can the scientific community play god and if so, can they stay sane (Dyson 111). Can the scientific community remain objected and no let the power of life, death, and creation which is left in their hands go to their heads. If the answer is no, than the lesson is learned, and Dr. Moreau is what will be produced. A man who knows no ethical boundaries, who believes he is more powerful than God. Much of H. G. Wells writing explores the idea of what are the implications of modern biology gone wrong. By allowing people and animals to be altered, even if it is treatment for their â€Å"own good† the human race will loose two important anchors- our sense of identity, and the brotherhood of mankind. These two things keep us sane and of course any visitor to The Island of Dr. Moreau looses these completely. Certainly, Prendick does, he must fight for his life and kill, an activity he would never do had he not wandered upon the Doctor’s Island. The scientific community has come a long way since 1896. The knowledge of DNA, we know in detail how life is produced and reproduced. Whoever can read the DNA language can also learn to write it. Whoever learns to write the language will in time learn to design living creatures according to his whim. Presently, the public should fear not the crude Dr. Moreau’s with knives but the young, bright zoologist sitting at his computer cloning an extinct animal, or splicing genes in and out the human genome to create a superior human. Though it was science-fiction in 1896, Wells’ novel is frighteningly close to science today. The issues he pressed in this novel are still current. Even more so because the lines of what constitutes harm are very blurry. What Doctor Moreau did was wrong but aren’t plastic surgeons modern versions of Doctor Moreau? Except clients actually pay them to slice them up and make them more perfect humans. In 2003 there were 8. 7 million cosmetic plastic surgeries. This number is up 32% from 2002 (Hill). What Doctor Moreau did was wrong but aren’t therapists taking advantage of a nation’s worth of people who are â€Å"emotionally underdeveloped, psychically frail, and requiring the ministrations of mental health professionals to cope with life’s vicissitudes. Being â€Å"in touch with one’s feelings† and freely expressing them have become paramount personal virtues. Today-with a book for every ailment, a counselor for every crisis, a lawsuit for every grievance, and a TV show for every conceivable problem-we are at risk of degrading our native ability to cope with life’s challenges. † (Sommers). Is that any worse then Doctor Moreau solution of having his pseudo humans chant the rules of being human? Sally Satel who wrote Victimizing the ‘Victims’, which is the commentary exploring how political correctness in the medical profession is hindering the quality of patient care people receive. In summary Satel says, the goals of the public health sector have changed from using science to improve people’s lives to a â€Å"global ideology to manipulate the way people think about disease and its remedies. † The change is not for the better. Today, she argues, victimology is one of the biggest trends in medicine. There is a trend in the medical world to look at connection as the cause and make diagnoses accordingly. For example, it’s true that wealthier people tend to be healthier. But can you assume that poverty is responsible for higher levels of disease among the poor? Are the poor incapable of helping themselves? Well, yes, argue leading â€Å"indoctrinologists,† as Satel calls the backers of poltically correct medicine. Which is why two health experts could write in the American Journal for Public Health, â€Å"we must address the social inequalities that so reliably produce† these inequalities in health (Satel). HMO’s offer a similar problem. To paraphrase Sarah Cay Bradley viewpoint with the increase of HMO’s there has been a drastic decrease in how much Americans spend on healthcare, also decreasing is the quality of healthcare people are receiving. Doctors are forced to follow the rules of their demanding HMO partners. Even if what is in the best interest of the patient does not follow those rules. There are several cost effective policies that physicians are required to follow today. One concept is time is money, the quicker a doctor gets a patient out the more money that is saved. Doctors always seem to be in a hurry spending very little time actually speaking to their patients. Which can lead to misdiagnosis or overlooked health problems. Political correctness, policy, and politics drive the current scientific and medical communities. Instead of producing healthcare professionals who are compassionate and reflective, they produce professionals can simply follow instructions. Just because doctors today are following the rules set forth for them by insurance companies, and the government does not mean they are practicing good medicine. Perhaps they too, like Doctor Moreau, have forgotten their oath ‘to do no harm’ and replaced it with the creed ‘make more money. ’ In 1896 H. G. Wells, pondered in text, the â€Å"what ifs† of what could go wrong with modern medicine and science. The public rebuked his rather blunt commentary as foolishness and vulgarity. A hundred years later, Dr. Moreau has become the norm. Works Cited Dyson, Freeman. Disturbing the Universe. New York: Basic Books, 1979. Questia. 10 Dec. 2005 . Hill, Theresa. â€Å"More Than 8. 7M Cosmetic Plastic Surgeries in 2003, Up 32 Pct. Over 2002; For 12th Year, American Society of Plastic Surgeons Reports Statistics. † US New Wire Service. 8 March 2004. 09 Dec. 2005 . Mclean, Steven. â€Å"W. Warren Mclean. H. G. Wells: Traversing Time. † Utopian Studies 16. 2 (2005): 320+. Questia. 10 Dec. 2005 .

Administrative Ethics Paper Grading Criteria Essay

Resource: Administrative Ethics Paper Grading Criteria on your student website Find a current administrative issue in a newspaper, magazine, or journal article relating to topics such as patient privacy, confidentiality, or HIPAA. Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper that includes the following: †¢ Describe the issue and its impact on the population it affects most. †¢ What arguments or facts are used in the article to support the proposed solution? †¢ What are the ethical and legal issues reported for your administrative issue? †¢ Explain the managerial responsibilities related to administrative ethical issues. If none were stated, what should have been done? †¢ Identify any proposed solutions. See more: Strategic Management Process Essay Include at least three sources in your paper. Resource: Administrative Ethics Paper Grading Criteria on your student website Find a current administrative issue in a newspaper, magazine, or journal article relating to topics such as patient privacy, confidentiality, or HIPAA. Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper that includes the following: †¢ Describe the issue and its impact on the population it affects most. †¢ What arguments or facts are used in the article to support the proposed solution? †¢ What are the ethical and legal issues reported for your administrative issue? †¢ Explain the managerial responsibilities related to administrative ethical issues. If none were stated, what should have been done? †¢ Identify any proposed solutions.

Contradiction Between Innocence and Individuality in the Age of Innocence

CONTENTS |ABSTRACT†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ |2 | | †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ |3 | |1 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ |4 | |2 Individuality and Innocence in The Age of Innocence†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ |6 | |2. Ellen’s Individualistic Qualities†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ |7 | |2. 2 May’s Artificial Innocence†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ |10 | |2. 3 Contradiction between Individuality and Innocence†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ |12 | |3 Old New York Society in The Age of Innocence†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ |14 | |3. The Social Values of Old New York Society†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ |15 | |3. 2 Attitude toward Ellen’s Individuality†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ |16 | |3. 3 Attitude toward May’s Innocence†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ |17 | |4 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ |18 | |BIBLIOGRAPHY†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ |20 | ABSTRACT Edith Wharton is acknowledged as one of the most important American female writers in the early 20th century, who produced many works of different types such as novels, poems, critic essays, travelling diaries and autobiographies. The Age of innocence, the most successful work, made her the first woman win Pulitzer Prize in 1921. Ellen Olenska and May Welland, are two female protagonists in The Age of Innocence. Through analysis on the omparison between different personalities of these two protagonists and society’s different attitudes towards them, the author of this paper attempts to argue that the conventionality of society is much weightier than the pursuit of individuality in that given era, yet the individuals, especially women should step out their circumscribed roles to realize their unique identity. Key Words: The Age of Innocence, individuality, innocence, convention Contradiction between Innocence and Individuality in The Age of Innocence 1 Introduction Edith Wharton, novelist and writer of short fiction, was born into a carefully guarded upper class of New York society in 1862 and died in 1937. Her parents, George Jones and Lucretia Rhinelander, were from two aristocratic families that dominated New York society. Both her father’s and mother’s family protected her in the New York Four Hundred[1]. Though born in New York, Wharton was transformed by European culture and tradition because she once lived in France, Italy, Germany and Spain between the age of four and ten. She herself insisted that after she returned to New York at the age of ten, she â€Å"never felt otherwise than as in exile in America. † So deeply influenced by both European and American culture, Wharton produced a great number of fictions with the background of New York society and European experience. During her lifetime, Wharton published numerous works as a writer, including 86 short stories, 11 collections of short fiction, 22 works of large fiction, 3 collections of poetry, books on architecture and gardens, a travel book, a critical study called The Writing of Fiction, and an autobiography A Backward Glance. Wharton achieved great accomplishment as a female writer in American literary history. Her most productive period as a novelist began with the publication of The House of Mirth in 1905 and ended with the publication of The Age of Innocence in1920, which enabled her to become the first female writer who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Elizabeth Ammon once argued that women â€Å"like Wharton, Cather and Stein† were â€Å"the real giants against whom† writers such as Fitzgerald and Hemingway â€Å"needed to define themselves. The Age of Innocence was the most sophisticated novel written by Edith Wharton in the year of 1920, when American women first had the right to vote. Wharton reviewed the 1870s New York upper-class society in the sight of 1920s. Like most of her works, The Age of Innocence tells a story about love and marriage among three characters: Newland Archer, Ellen Olenska and May Welland. Young lawyer Newland and beautiful girl May announce their engagement a t the party for welcoming the return of Ellen Olenska, May’s cousin who was born in New York but later has grown up in Europe and married a wealthy Polish Count. Ellen comes back to New York for her family’s support and comfort because of her husband’s unfaithfulness. However, as she claims to divorce, the whole family as well as the whole Old New York society strongly opposes to it for they regard divorce as scandal and humiliation. So they send Newland to persuade Ellen from her decision. However, Newland is gradually fascinated by Ellen’s confidence, sophistication and individuality, which he never feels from his innocent fiancee and inevitably falls in love with her. He hesitates between the two totally different women and vacillates whether he run off with Ellen to live a life with moral freedom and personal fulfillment or marry May to live a decent life accepted by the whole upper class though he still loves Ellen. Later, he actually marries May but after their marriage, Newland dates with Ellen frequently and has planned to elope with her to Europe. However, to everyone’s surprise, May’s announcement of pregnancy smashes Newland’s wish thoroughly. It traps Newland in the excruciating marriage and expels Ellen from New York society. Thus, at the end of the story, the three characters all surrender to their destiny. Many major literary critics and authors have reviewed The Age of Innocence. The list of writers and scholars who have reviewed it includes such important figures as Carl Van Doren, Henry Seidel Canby, William Lyon Phelps and Vernon L. Parrington. The criticism of The Age of Innocence is roughly divided into two categories: Naturalism and Feminism. The former one thinks that this novel is influenced by Wharton’s growing background and the vast change of society. The latter one holds the opinion that the novel expresses the female constrain and rebellion. Both of the two views make sense. The Age of Innocence gives us a portrait of Old New York society in 1870s, a particular moment in history when individuality is shunned and a set of social rituals and conventions are enforced. During that period, it is common that the intellectuals, artists and writers are not welcomed by Old New York society members for they would probably bring about ideas and opinions that are disconcerting. On the contrary, most members believe that they have the duty to follow the rules and conventions upheld by Old New York society, and few of them are able to get rid of them and take their lives into their own hands. However, Ellen Olenska, the leading female protagonist in The Age of Innocence, as an alien and invader of Old New York society, is against those rigid conventions to a large extent. Brought up in Europe, Ellen has become a kind of female maintaining her own individuality which does not exist in those New York women at all. It is exactly this kind of individuality that conflicts against the national celebration of female innocence. 2 Individuality and Innocence in The Age of Innocence Literary works always have their female protagonists as â€Å"heroines†. It is generally accepted that men are born to develop their individual identities while women are doomed to serve men. They should be â€Å"relative to men. To please them, to make themselves loved and honored by them, to make life sweet and agreeable to them——these are the duties of women at all times, and what should be taught them from their infancy. (Rousseau 1966, p. 263) So in many men’s novels, women usually serve as the mere subordinate characters. However, in Wharton’s novels, the female figures weigh as important as male figures. Just as Mary Kelly once pointed out, the female figure in Wharton’s novels is â€Å"a strong, commanding, central figure in the home, a supportive and guiding redeemer for husband; a model and teacher of rectitude for children; and a reformer of and servant to an American society judged to be in dire need of regeneration. Yet on the other hand, â€Å"an undercurrent of despair runs throughout the novels which question the possibility of women’s autonomy and individuality. † (Dudovitz 1900, p. 88) The idea is well presented in Wharton’s The Age of Innocence. There are two sharply contrasted female characters: Ellen Olenska and May Welland. May Welland is a charming young girl with the careful bringingup in Old New York society who represents innocence. On the contrary, Ellen Olenska, the disturbing element of that society, is a dark, passionate beauty touched with the xperience and idea of Europe who represents individuality. 2. 1 Ellen’s Individualistic Qualities Ellen Olenska, one of the female protagonists in The Age of Innocence, is born in an aristocratic family of formidable social background in New York. However, her parents were dead when she was a little girl. So she grows up in Paris full of music and art with her aunt, Mrs. Medora Manson, a lady being independent. This distinguishes Ellen from the characters of those typical New Yorkers in The Age of Innocence. Unlike the innocent May, Ellen is mysterious and attracts all people’s eyes. In the opening scene of the novel, when those aristocrats are watching the opera â€Å"Faust† in the new Opera House, Ellen’s first appearance makes all people shocked because she is â€Å"a slim young woman, a little less tall than May Welland, with brown hair growing in close curls about her temples and held in place by a narrow band of diamonds†¦which gave her what was then called ‘Josephine look’, †¦carried out in the cut of the dark blue velvet gown rather theatrically caught up under her bosom by a girdle with a laree old-fashioned clasp. † (Wharton 1996, p. 7) When she was a little child, Ellen â€Å"scandalized† (ibid. p. 52) her family because she â€Å"was in crimson merino and amber beads, like a gipsy foundling† (ibid. , p. 53), and was â€Å"a fearless and familiar little thing, who asked disconcerting questions, made precocious comments, and possessed outlandish arts, such as dancing a Spanish shawl dance and si nging Neapolitan love-songs to a guitar† (ibid. , p. 53). Unlike her other cousins growing up in the respectively restricted atmosphere, Ellen receives â€Å"expensive but incoherent education† which makes her incompatible with the society, and thus she is doomed to isolation and separation from the old New York society. Ellen leaves her unfaithful husband in Europe for the comforts from her family members in New York. However, when she returns, she notices that everything has changed from her memory. And through a series of events, it can be concluded that Ellen is a sincere, strong-minded, independent and sophisticated person with strong individuality. Beauvoir says, â€Å"It is required of woman that in order to realize her femininity, she must make herself object and prey which is to say that she must renounce her claims as sovereign subject. It is this conflict that especially marks the situation of the emancipated woman. † (Beauvoir 1953, p. 643) Ellen is such kind of emancipated woman with courage and independence. When she comes back to New York for comfort, her past brings her not sympathy but endless rumors and mocks among those so-called aristocrats. In order to seek freedom, Ellen leaves her unfaithful husband and returns to New York. However, her word and behaviors are striking and intolerable to most of the New Yorkers who are always devoted to keeping their circle decent and conventional. Ellen’s individuality is reflected in her confrontment with different men. Soon after she arrives in New York, she breaks the conventional rules of the old society and seeks the company of gentlemen at the party. What she has done makes people uncomfortable because the old pattern requires that a lady â€Å"should wait, immovable as an idol, while the man who wished to converse with her succeeded each other at her side. † (Wharton 1996, p. 56) Her individuality can also be found in her style of dressing and her house decoration. She appears first in a decollete, showing her neck and shoulder. She chooses unadorned dark velvet for the opera, a fur-trimmed lounging robe at home-clothes. And her house is kind of foreign style full of old romantic scenes and sentiment, as â€Å"the scent of some far-off bazaar, a smell made up of Turkish coffee and ambergris and dried roses. † (ibid. , p. 45) What’s more, Ellen is brave enough to renounce her rights. In the Old New York society at that time, the richer the husband is, the less freedom his wife will own. As Ellen realizes that her marriage can no longer continue, she is courageous enough to leave her husband, a noble count with vast fortune and return to her hometown. Unfortunately, her clan as well as the whole New York society is not her backup but the obstacle. They only welcome her on condition that she doesn't bring them unpleasant decisions which will probably destroy the decency of the upper class. Here, Ellen is trapped in a dilemma that her true self is in contradiction with her role in Old New York society. For one, she may win the support of society once she decides to return to her husband. For another, she will lose all the support of society if she insists on divorce. At that time, the legislation was for the divorce while the social convention was against it. At last, driven by her strong desire for seeking individuality, Ellen makes up her mind to give up that marriage and insists in a legal opinion on her divorce. Ellen’s individuality is also reflected in her attitude to Newland. Though deeply affected by each other, Ellen refuses to be the mistress of him because she s clearly aware that if she sinks into this helpless love, she and Newland will be torn into pieces by the harsh reality. Look what Ellen responses when Newland asks her to elope with him: â€Å"For us? But there is no us in that sense! We are near each other only if we stay far from each other. Then we can be ourselves. Otherwise we are only Newland Archer, the husband of Ellen Olenska’s cousin, and Ellen Olenska, the cousin of Newland Archer’s wife, trying to be happy behind the backs of the people who trust them. † (Wharton 1996, p. 243) So, she rejects Newland’s fantasy and persuades him to face the reality by her rationality and individuality. She cannot aimlessly yield to the social conventions by giving up her mind and soul. The road for individuality is full of obstacles and people keep telling her that she will lead a better life if she gives up her idea of freedom and individuality. However, she sticks to her own perseverance and bravely put herself against the social customs. 2. 2 May’s Artificial Qualities May Welland is Newland’s fiancee and succeeds in being his wife later. She is an innocent and dull girl accepted by the whole New York society. It is generally acknowledged that the most salable woman is this virginal girl who is the commodity needed by this materialistic world —— a girl without soul, without self, distorted and twisted from her true nature into a marketable product. (Cerrito 1999, p. 372) In Newland’s as well as Old New York society’s eye, May represents all the merit of aristocratic class. She is â€Å"innocent† because she is a loving and sweet New York upper-class girl who simply doesn't conceive that â€Å"what they do† and â€Å"what they say†. Born into the upper-class family, she receives good training that suits the conventions of her class. She has been taught to remain graceful and noble, ignoring all the unpleasant things and avoiding all the difficulties. During their engagement, Newland sends her lilies of the valley every day, which represents virginal purity. And during a long period, Newland supposes that his wife is an innocent and ignorant girl knowing nothing about evil and disturbing things. Only at the end of the story does he realize that May is actually complicated and calculating. However, the â€Å"innocent† here can e interpreted that she is conventional, unimaginative and does not think for herself, only to ingratiate the society’s expectations. As Newland points out, May is a â€Å"product of social system† (Wharton 1996, p. 7), a â€Å"creation of factitious purity† (ibid. , p. 41) that is blind to reality like â€Å"the Kentucky cave-fish, which had ceased to develop eye s because they had no use for them. † (ibid. , p. 73) May is interested in books, but she cannot appreciate the beauty of contents in Ulysses even with the help of Archer’s explanation. She has little sense of humor which is obvious from her reaction to Newland’s jokes. She is frank, because she has nothing to conceal, assured because she knows nothing to be on her guard against. † (Wharton 1996, p. 41) As a girl of dependence, May actually follows what adults want her to do and say and she is inclined to her mother’ opinion of a long engagement, just for the reason of â€Å"having time to prepare a hand-embroidered trousseau containing the proper number of dozens. † (Wharton 1996, p. 70) Therefore, in spite of her attracting appearance, she lacks all the charming qualities which Ellen obtains to catch the eyesight of Newland. It is mainly due to the background and surroundings where she has grown up. Under such kind of atmosphere, May as well as the other women in the Old New York society gets in touch with little advanced ideas and thus, what they consider right is merely to follow the social conventions. However, May is not as â€Å"innocent† as she looks like. She distinguishes Newland’s feeling towards Ellen at the rather early time, but she pretends to know nothing about it. She keeps silent and remains loyal to Newland even though she suspects the relationship between Newland and Ellen. There is much evidence which can support the statement that May is not so innocent. It can be first identified from Beaufort’s ball when Newland asks about Ellen’s absence. She answers that it is because of the dressing problem that Ellen decides not to appear at the ball. Actually, she knows about the truth that Ellen doesn't come for fear that her scandals may influence her clan’s reputation. Even facing the one she loves, May still doesn't tell the truth. She says and does everything in correspondence with the social conventions rather than her true feelings. In the early time of their engagement, when Newland persuades May to advance their wedding, she responds: â€Å"Is it because you are not certain of continuing to care for me? Is there someone else? I’ve wanted to say this for a long time†¦ I’ve wanted to tell you that, when two people really love each other, I understand there may be situations which make it right that they should- should go against public opinions. And if you feel yourself in anyway pledged†¦and if there is any way, even by her getting divorce, Newland, don't give her up because of me! † (ibid. , p. 127) How beautiful and attracting of what she has said! However, when she really feels that Newland cannot help yielding to the relationship with sophisticated Ellen, she advances the date of their wedding just the moment he thinks of breaking the engagement. After they get married, when feeling their intention to elope to the other country, May persuades Ellen to leave New York by confiding the news of her pregnancy, though she herself doesn't confirm whether it is true or not. Thus, Ellen gives up her decision to continue having an affair with Newland and later returns to Europe. Besides, May’s announcement also pulls back Newland for the responsibility of being a husband and father. 2. Contradiction between Individuality and Innocence In The Age of Innocence, there are two female protagonists with totally different personalities though they have blood relation. Ellen represents the kind of â€Å"New Women† seeking for freedom and individuality, while May stands for the traditional women in Old New York society, graceful a nd innocent. It can be easily identified that May and Ellen are two different kinds of women by comparison of their dressing style and the way they express their ideas and many other aspects. When creating the image of May Welland, Wharton alludes to using Roman myths and the image of Roman goddesses. Brought up in Old New York society, May has received perfect traditional education like other women in her circle. So she owns all the virtues which the society is fond of — beauty, reservation, obedience and innocence. When May appears at the opera at the beginning of the novel, with her pink face and fair hair, she is dressed in white tulle caught modestly at her breasts with a gardenia and is holding a bouquet of lilies of the valley. In western culture, lily of the valley represents not only purity but also the Roman Goddess Diana[2](Artemis). And in this novel, Wharton makes several explicit analogies of May and Diana. For example, when May makes her second formal entry to the Van Der Leyden’s dinner party, it is depicted as follows, â€Å"in her dress of white and silver, with a wreath of silver blossoms in her hair, the tall girl looked like a Diana just alight from the chase. † (Wharton 1996, p. 62) In the contest of archery, she comes out of the tent â€Å"in her white dress, with a pale green ribbon about the waist and a wreath of ivy on her hat, she had the same Diana-like aloofness†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Wharton 1996, p. 11) All of these quotations indicate that May is pure and vigorous like Diana. However, just as puzzled as Newland Archer, â€Å"what if ‘niceness’ arrived to that supreme degree was ‘only a negation, the curtain dropped before an emptiness? ’† (Wharton 1996, p. 212) Through Newland’s puzzlement, Wharton indicates that May’s gracefulness is only a kind of superficial presentation, behind of which is an empty and bland mind. It also indicates that May’s so-called innocence is a kind of cover because Goddess Diana, who represents purity and innocence, usually becomes ruthless when she tries to protect her own family. So May Welland, who knows very much about Old New York society, protects her own interests by the powerful traditional force from her aristocratic class and finally expels her cousin Ellen from New York. To some extent, May is the symbol of Old New York society. On one hand, she represents the moral value orientation of Old New York society, such a superficially harmonious, stable and responsible family relation. On the other hand, she represents the nature of Old New York society that kills people without spilling blood with the graceful appearance. In contrast with May’s innocent image, Ellen is more authentic. rought up in Europe and influenced by European culture, Ellen is full of the quality of freedom and independence. In order to get rid of the miserable marriage, she comes back to New York, hoping she would gain comfort and support from her relatives. However, what she has thought about is not acceptable for the upper class of Old New York society. Ellen’s uniqu e personality and exotic style are displayed from her way of dressing and decorating her house. Unlike her sister May’s white dress and silver blossom, Ellen is dressed in dark blue velvet gown. And while May is linked to white lilies of the valley, Ellen is linked to red and yellow roses. These all indicate that Ellen is full of vitality, passion and sophistication. Unlike those New Yorkers’ indifference, Ellen expresses her own feelings and views frankly towards different people and objects. Ellen’s individuality is also shown from her sympathy and her attitude towards the servants. Ignoring the conventions and rituals held by the upper class of Old New York society, Ellen just does what she thinks is right. When her servant goes out, she lends her own cloak to her, ignoring others’ strange glances. To some degree, Ellen stands for the new trend in Old New York society. Her image symbolizes a group of â€Å"New Women† seeking for freedom and individuality who are influenced by different kinds of trends of thought in literature and art. However, Old New York society still has the predominant status and it is still hard to pass through its value orientation and moral standard. That's why it is impossible for Old New York society to accept Ellen’s unique individuality. Old New York Society in The Age of Innocence In The Age of Innocence, the story is based upon the background of New York society in the 1870s. After the Civil War, America underwent considerable social changes. It was just in the age of transformation to a new world from the old one. With the economic boost, the society changed to some extent. There were two rising groups despite the traditional aristocra ts. One was the newly arrived immigrants from Europe and African Americans from the South. The other one was the newly moneyed classes with large possession but low social status. To Old New York society, these two groups were the invaders and intruders. Heedless of tradition, the newborn riches and immigrants shocked Old New York society with there unfettered manners and their brash displays of wealth. However, it did not mean that the conventions and the rituals would also change. At that time, the social conventions and the popularity of keeping silence still dominated the society. People living in that circle were required to obey the rules and were forbidden to fight against the setting rules. That is to say, it was the particular time and place that individuality was shunned and a set of rituals and conventions were enforced. During that period, people with free ideas and creative thinking were not welcomed by Old New York society. On the contrary, most members believed that they had the duty to follow the rules and conventions upheld by Old New York society, and few of them were able to get rid of them and take their lives into their own hands. 3. 1 The Social Values of Old New York Society In The Age of Innocence, Old New York society refers to the time of 1870s in New York. Though new ideas and improvement flourish throughout the outside world of America, they have never penetrated the conventions of Old New York or changed its long-lasting ritual in any way. This aristocratic class tries its best to fight against creation and innovation. Isolated from the outside world, the society copies itself from generation to generation in its own way. In the novel, we often see children growing up in imitation of their parents. Henry and Louisa van de Luyden dominate this Old New York society through their aristocratic European ancestry. May Archer dies with fulfillment, leaving a daughter resembling her very much. Besides these characters, the public scenes also repeat themselves year after year. The opera circulates itself season after season and the diamond arrow won from the archery match is passed on to the children. Old New York society consists of prominent families. They are classified by hierarchy according to their blood lineage and financial capacity. Usually, the former one is much more important than the latter one. As a matter of fact, the mention of money is disturbing. They talk about it and try to think about it as little as possible. Those new-rich without noble blood relation are usually looked down upon by those self-contained aristocrats. One of the most obvious characteristic of Old New York society is the â€Å"gender specification†. In the novel, many places are gender specific: men go to their libraries talking about politics, finance and other issues after dinner while women use the dining room and the drawing room. In such a male-dominated Old New York society, woman always plays a role as decoration and property of husband and â€Å"the perfect wife and mother†. And the society is in favor of the girls who possess those feminine virtues such as modesty, purity, obedience, gracefulness and innocence. On the other hand, the society doesn't like those girls who pursue freedom and individuality. Another significant figure of Old New York society is the â€Å"dread of innovation†. People are reluctant to change and experience those newly-born things as they may offend their existing conventions and rituals. They are used to those traditions which represent truth in their view. For them, new ideas are as dreadful and fierce as floods and savage beasts. 3. 2 Attitude toward Ellen’s Individuality According to the existing conventions and family purity, Old New York society regards Ellen as doubtful as mushrooms. Although she is born from the Mingott family, her orphanage and long-time living abroad makes her different from those typical New York girls such as May Welland. So Old New York society regards Ellen as an outsider and intruder to their circle. It is widely believed that those fossil New Yorkers like innocent young women more than sophisticated women. Ellen’s orphanage, her experience of living in Europe and her scandal with her Polish husband all challenge the acknowledgement of Old New York society. When Ellen first appears in front of everyone’s eyes, the whole society is shocked because they have never met such kind of woman with strong individuality. They are shocked by both her dressing and her behavior. The way of Ellen’s dressing arouses great disturbance to the upper-class of Old New York society. It is indicated from Leffert’s reaction, the foremost authority of the upper-class of Old New York society. When he sees Ellen at the first sight, he cries out â€Å"my god† and concludes that she could not be one of the Mingott because the Mingott would not dress in that way. If Ellen’s dressing and behavior are shocking to Old New York society, then her decision to divorce might be the blockbuster to them. In Old New York society, it has double standard on the issue of marriage. To be more specific, it demands woman of her completely loyalty to her husband and marriage while man is not required to obey so in the same level. When betrayal happens, it is always woman who is to blame. Although Ellen’s unsuccessful marriage is due to her husband’s unfaithfulness, Leffert still finds it unacceptable of Ellen’s choice to divorce. So when Ellen’s Grandma Mrs. Mingott holds a welcome party for her, he refuses to take part in. As Leffert enjoys high prestige and commands universal respect, other members of the society all follow him and reject the invitation. As a result, no one appears at that party. The refusal to accept Ellen by the whole Old New York society reveals that all people are firmly in favor of conventions and against the nonconformity. In that case, social conformity is much weightier than the pursuit of personal happiness and freedom. In 1870s, it is the time when Old New York society tries their best to exclude the outsiders because they are afraid of destroying their long-lasting rituals. The flourish of bourgeoisie class forces the upper-class to fasten their pace to assert the endangering conventions. For instance, the Van der Luydens are repeatedly required to support the existing rituals. For those New Yorkers, Ellen is too foreign and fashionable, and thus her appearance is the potential threat to the conformity of their circle. She has stayed abroad for so long that they can hardly regard her as their comrade. Her unimaginable idea of divorce with her unfaithful husband is undoubtedly unacceptable to the upper-class. What’s more, Ellen’s spiritual â€Å"date† with Newland is another important reason that banishes her from Old New York society. It is her misfortune that Old New York society at that time is hypocritical and marble-hearted. 3. 3 Attitude toward May’s Innocence Unlike Old New York society’s attitude toward Ellen, May is always welcomed by this circle. In the upper-class of New York, people are more afraid of scandals and rumors than diseases because they think decency is much more important than individuality. In their opinion, keeping stable, unchanged and being innocent, obedient is much weightier than pursuing personal fulfillment. Living in Old New York society since she was born, May is undoubtedly sincere, innocent and sensitive which is in accordance to the society: â€Å"In Old New York society the most salable woman, is the virginal child bride, May Welland, who is commodity demanded by a materialistic world——a woman without soul, without self, distorted and twisted from her true nature into a marketable product. (Cerrito 1999, p. 372) As is mentioned above, May is the most salable woman in Old New York society, which means she is widely welcomed and accepted in that circle. The New York society needs this kind of conventional woman who is without any thought and imagination for change. Brought up by the society, May always obeys all the conventions held by this society and always satisfies the New York society’s and her family’s expectation. In other words, May is the ideal woman in patriarchal system in Old New York society. In this society, it is regarded that women are the subordination of men and is required that women should be fully dependent on men. It is hard to imagine that women have the same rights as men. To this extent, May perfectly matches Old New York society, for â€Å"she is virtuous because she is incapable of temptation, competent because she is incapable of any deep perturbation, and willing to suit herself to the least decorum of their world because she is incapable of understanding that there is anywhere anything larger or freer. †(Carl 1920, p. 86) 4 Conclusion Not as a â€Å"writer of manner† as some critics comment on Edith Wharton, she is an outstanding female writer who seeks for the true meaning of life. During her lifetime, she has devoted to keeping the balance between personal desire and social responsibilities. Although born in an aristocratic family in New York, Wharton discloses the limitations and demerits of her class in a rather cruel way when she writes different novels. Among them, The Age of Innocence is one typical representative which has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Wharton wrote The Age of Innocence not just about the lost love, but also about the profound distress caused by the destruction of World War I and by the deaths of her close friends such as Henry James and Howard Sturgis, all of which indicated that the former era had ended. This novel was written in 1920 when World War I had just finished. After that disaster, the world, especially the New York society, was out of order both materially and spiritually. Under the circumstances, Wharton was puzzled so that she decided to write a story with the settings in 1870s in Old New York society. Compared to the reality, Old New York society was much more stable. However, she was also aware that stable as it was, it would strangle all the personal fulfillment and freedom because of its social conventions and rituals. In the 1870s, though Old New York society has experienced great changes, it is not to say that the new social order is free of norms. It is a society which is frightened by change that it absolutely stands for obedience and innocence against creativity and individuality. At that time, women are never given the chance to enjoy economic independence like men. Besides, there are many conventions existing in Old New York society. Women are encouraged to play the role as â€Å"perfect wife and mother† and to tolerate the betrayal of their husbands. All in all, it is concluded that the core of the conventions and rituals in Old New York society is that woman should play passive roles in social affairs and should live for the whole family other than for her own happiness. It is represented in The Age of Innocence by the two protagonists May Welland and Ellen Olenska. It is illustrated how Ellen’s individuality challenges the long-time accepted â€Å"innocence†, and how Old New York society sustains its rules and conventions by oppressing Ellen’s individuality and encouraging May’s obedience to â€Å"innocence†. As a representative of traditional woman in Old New York society, May obeys all the rules regulated by the patriarchal society. On the other hand, as a representative of â€Å"New Woman† in Old New York society, Ellen challenges the traditional woman’s role and tries to be the kind of women of rationality, independence and individuality. As a result, it is concluded that through the contradiction between Ellen’s individuality and May’s â€Å"innocence†, the conventionality of society is much weightier than the pursuit of individuality in that given era, yet the individuals, especially women should step out their circumscribed roles to realize their unique identity. BIBLIOGRAPHY [1] Aaron, D 1995, ‘Three Old Women’, Queens Quarterly, pp. 633-639. [2] Benstock, S 1994, No Gifts from Chance: A Biography of Edith Wharton, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. [3] Carl, VD 1920, ‘An Elder America’, the Nation, November 3. [4] Cerrito & Joann & Laurie 1999, Modern American Literature, St. James Press. [5] Cordasco, R 2008, ‘Listening to the Narrative Voice in the Pit and The Age of Innocence’, Studies in American Naturalism, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 60-78. [6] Dudovitz, RL 1900, The Myth of Superwoman: Woman’s Bestsellers in France and the United States, Routledge, London. [7] Gargono, WJ 1987, ‘Tableaux of Renunciation: Wharton’s Use of The Shaughran in The Age of Innocence’, Studies in American Fiction, vol. 15, pp. 1-11. [8] Holbrook, D 1991, Edith Wharton and the Unsatisfactory Man, St. Martin’s Press, New York. [9] Judith, F 1984, ‘Purity and Power in The Age of Innocence’, American Literary Realism, vol. 7, pp. 153–68. [10] Klimasmith, B 2008, ‘Salvaging History: Modern Philosophies of Memory and Time in The Age of Innocence’, American Literature, vol. 80, no. 3. [11] McWilliams, J 1990, ‘Wharton’s The Age of Innocence’, Explicator, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 268-70. [12] Pres ton, C 1999, Edith Wharton’s Social Register, Martin’s Press, New York. [13] Rousseau, J 1966, A Treatise on Education, Ginn Health, Boston. [14] Singley, CJ 1995, Edith Wharton: Matters of Mind and Spirit, Cambridge University Press, New York. [15] Singley, CJ 2003, ‘Bourdieu, Wharton and Changing Culture in The Age of Innocence’, Cultural Studies, May, vol. 7, no. 3/4, pp. 495-520. [16] Wharton, E 1996, The Age of Innocence, Bantam Dell, New York. ———————– [1] A phrase coined by Ward McAllister. It represents the number of people in New York who really mattered. [2] Roman Goddess Diana and Greek Goddess was the same person. She was the goddess of[3]Z^bh?  ¤Ã‚ ¦?  ¬Ã‚ °Eou? [4]nâ‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã¢â‚¬  ? S? Z? ’? z ¤AAOoaU? U U ®U U â‚ ¬wâ‚ ¬i`? `  ®?  ®?  ®hybPCJ? o([pic]hu^ehybPCJOJ? o([pic]hY9lCJ? o([pic]hhYhybPCJ? o([pic]hybPhybPCJ? o([pic]hhYhybPCJ wild animals, wil derness and virginity.