The Retrospect of European Upheaval Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Retrospect of European Upheaval - Essay Example Trade developed around a ‘triangle’; from Britain to West Africa taking goods such as Glassware , cloth and ammunition, from West Africa to the Americas carrying enslaved people, and finally from the Americas back to Britain with raw materials such as sugar, tobacco and cotton. This all resulted due to developments in maritime technology as it enabled European sailors to have longer voyage. Enslaved Africans were sold to work on plantations or in the households of the slave owners upon their arrival in America. They grew cash crops – tobacco, sugar, coffee, cocoa – for the European markets. Entrepreneurs on the islands of the Caribbean and in the US depended on slave labour to grow these crops profitably as the labour was cheap. 1500 Africans during the between Spain and Britain war escaped to mountains, evaded capture for 150 years and undertook guerilla warfare against the plantation owners. The French Revolution in 1789 created a new French republic and perturbed Haiti (which was created as a result of Successful rebellion) when the slaves revolted led by the formidable soldier Toussaint L’Ouverture, who himself was once a slave and self educated. He had an army of 100.000 revolts which took control of Spanish Santo Domingo(Now known as Haiti) and freed other slaves. Later on, he agreed to stop fighting if French would abolish the slavery. Mongol Empire, Ottoman Empire, 1453, Sunni Islam When Baghdad fell to Mongols by Slejuks, they declared an independent Sultanate in east and central Asia. Later on the Slejuks were overthrown by Uthman, an Uzbek of the Ottoman clan and proclaimed the Sultan of Asia Minor in 1301. Constantinople, heart of the Byzantine Empire became the capital of the Ottoman Empire when it was conquered in 1453 by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II. Mehmet slaughtered many of the population and forced the rest into exile. The city was repopulated by importing people scattered in Ottoman Territories. He renamed C onstantinople Istanbul – the 'city of Islam' - and embarked for recuperating physically and politically as he made it his capital. Scramble for Africa, Berlin Conference, King Leopold II, Congo Free State In 1884 a meeting was convened at the Berlin residence of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Foreign Ministers from fourteen European Nations and United States promulgated rules for further exploitation of African continent without making the inhabitant’s part of the process. Otto von Bismarck wanted not only to expand German spheres of influence in Africa but had a hidden agenda to play off Germany's colonial rivals against one another to the Germans' advantage. France, Germany, Great Britain, and Portugal were the major players in the conference, controlling most of colonial Africa at the time among the fourteen nations. The French were prevalent in West Africa, while the British had occupied in East and Southern Africa. The Belgians acquired the vast territory which lat er became The Congo. The Germans ruled in 4 colonies which were all across the region. The Portuguese held a small colony in West Africa and two large ones in Southern Africa. Kind Leopold II had coerced the Africans in Congo to gather rubber, illegal killing of elephants for their ivory and to facilitate export routes, infrastructure was build. Those who failed to meet these tasks were massacred. King Leopold regime is regarded as the most excruciating disasters of Africa as 10 million Congolese had been

My Best Friends Essay Example for Free

My Best Friends Essay What do you think with your best friend’s appearance, personality and the feeling you have they to be your friends? In my opinion, â€Å"Friends† is really important for me. I can live without computer and TV but I can’t live without †friends† the persons who is sharing my mood with me whenever I’m happy or sad and I found â€Å"Them† my really best friends who had a, nice appearance , good but has a different personalities and I’m very happy that I had a best friends like them. My best friends are Jessica, Crizel and Hannah. When I first saw them or my first impression about them is, I thought that Jessica was a pretty lesbian or a boyish one because she act like a man but deep inside she was a pure girl and then Crizel was, also like a boy maybe because in the first place they are friend w Hannah which I thought that she was unkind/ rugged but in other side she’s very kind and clever. In addition, when we are not that so close for me Jessica was very annoying because she’s always shouting just to stop our other classmates for making unpleasant sound, and then before when I saw Hannah she has lot of pimple in her face and it is like overload parking lot ha-ha just kidding, but now it is much OK, her pimple was not that much. And lastly Crizel, we are not that much close and unfortunately we had a misunderstandment between two of us. What is more, for me they are so good friend and all the bad side, was so opposite when I knew there real personality. They are the persons who understand me well (I think). They always beside me when I’m upset listen to me and help me every time when I need help. When i have problem they will give me some advices and help me to solve the problem. Even when I don’t understand in the lesson they explained patiently for me to understand every time. I think I’m really lucky that I have them and I’m very happy we are friends and I think we will be friends forever. To summarizes, I think they are a nice person. They have good appearance, personality and I’m very happy that I can be friends with Jessica, Crizel and Hannah. And we learned so many things from each of us as. And they always help me in everything. Finally, I think friend is really important for me and I hope we can be friends forever.

Elderly Patient on Psychotic Depression ward

Elderly Patient on Psychotic Depression ward In this assignment I will be carrying out a Critical Incident Analysis on an incident taken from my portfolio that was encountered whilst in practice placement. This type of analysis was first used to analyse flying missions by pilots, as a way of raising their performance (Flanagan, 1954), in more recent years Norman et al. (1992) and Perry (1997) described this type of analysis as being an important and valid tool for use in nurse training, as it allows the student to choose and use an incident that made an impact on them, from their practice placement that was either positive or negative, so that they can analyse, reflect on and learn from it, showing their development as a practitioner and a person whilst linking theory to practice and helping them move from novice to expert, as outlined by Benner (1984) . Model used for reflection For the purpose of this assignment I have selected the Gibbs (1988) reflective framework model which is an iterative model meaning it is cyclical in nature, the six points covered by this model are: Describe the activity or experience in objective detail. Discuss and explore any feelings you were having at the time of the experience. Evaluate the experience: What really happened? What was good about it? What was bad? What factors contributed to the event? Analyse the experience: What can you learn from it? Conclusion: What could you have done differently? Anything you wish you had done? Wish you hadnt done? Action Plan: What can you plan on doing in the future? (Bethann, 2004, p167) This is also the model I use in my portfolio as along with critical incident analysis, it centres on reflective practice, an essential skill in nursing practice allowing situations to be analysed in detail, identifying areas of potential change, Jasper (2003) and reinforcing the need for certain practices by highlighting their benefits. I also find the logical, straightforward structure of this framework allows the reflection to be written clearly, providing opportunities to look at incidents from different perspectives. The Critical Incident Stages one and two of Gibbs model of reflection are covered here, where the incident is described along with my feelings at the time of the incident. I chose this particular incident as it put me in a very challenging position where I had to think on my feet, it made me test my abilities as a communicator and a nurse under stress, whilst highlighting the importance of some of the more basic nursing techniques like non-verbal communication through touch, educating patients to help themselves, looking out for physical signs that can indicate a patient is in distress and how working closely with a patient can earn their trust whilst building up the therapeutic relationship In order to keep the patient and the practice placement confidential, as indicated in the NMC Code of Professional Conduct (2002) and the N.M.C. guide for students (2002), the practice placement is kept anonymous and the patient will be referred to as Tom. The patients consent was also obtained, as it is the patients right to choose whether or not they wish details to be written about them, highlighted by Johnston and Slowther (2003) also outlined in section 3.7 of the N.M.C Code of conduct (2002) with reference to patients who suffer from mental illness. The patient, Tom a 72 year old man, was admitted to my practice placement suffering from Psychotic depression and anxiety, my placement is at a Psychiatric admissions ward, for patients over sixty five years old. On assisting Tom with his activities of daily living (A.D.Ls), (Roper et al, 1980) after, rising one Monday morning, It became apparent when helping Tom dress that his right arm was causing him pain, in the area of his right shoulder, I relayed this to the nursing staff who explained Tom had fallen unobserved on the Friday night and had been seen by the Doctor who on examination felt no other investigations were needed. On further discussion about his arm and the fall, between myself and Tom, he eventually admitted to having also fallen on the Sunday night and had not told anyone about it, once I had explained this to the nursing staff the Doctor was again consulted and felt that Tom should have an X-ray to rule out any broken bones. I accompanied Tom as an escort to the x-ray department where he became increasingly agitated, anxious and was mumbling to himself with delusional content of speech evident, concerning the N.H.S. which had not been known about, as Tom had only recently been admitted, he felt they (the N.H.S) were going to cause him, bodily injury (a persecutory delusion Gamble Brennan, 2003) due to his doing them out of money when he was younger, I did my best to give constant reassurance that I would not let anyone harm him, but when someone holds a delusional belief it can be very firmly maintained and difficult to dissuade from, in particular when they are in a state of high anxiety like Tom, as indicated in Stuart and Laraia (2001). I was quite worried about how the situation was going and that I might be out of my depth as I did not know Tom very well and felt a little awkward trying to reassure someone who was this distressed, feeling I was doing little or no good for him. After he had his x-ray and I was assisting him to get dressed in the x-ray cubicle the Radiologist came in and told us that Toms shoulder was broken and that we would need to go round to casualty to be seen by a Doctor there. This news made Toms level of panic escalate considerably and he began to have a panic attack in the cubicle, most likely a situationally predisposed panic attack, which occurs on exposure to a situational cue or trigger (DSM-4) Tom had become quite pale and began to perspire profusely, along with his breathing becoming very shallow and rapid to the point that he was panting, I found it quite distressing to see Tom in this condition. I had never encountered someone quite as panicked as this and I felt quite concerned. I thought calling out for someone to help might only panic him more, so I decided to try some deep breathing exercises to relax and calm him down first, then if that did not work I would seek help. I knew from reading Toms notes that he did not have a heart condition or other health problem that would have been causing these symptoms and it had been recorded that Tom suffered from panic attacks, although I was still watchful for any change in his symptoms that might indicate an alternative medical reason for his condition. Initially I sat beside Tom with my arm around him, asking him to take slow deep breaths, but with his level of panic and no eye contact meant he was not concentrating on me, so I knelt down on the floor in front of him took his hands, spoke to him gently but firmly using his name and with direct eye contact got him to focus on what we were doing. I explained his symptoms were due to his panic attack and the breathing exercises we were doing would help relax him, calm him down and make him feel better. Tom started to comply and began with my instruction, breathing in slowly through his nose holding it for a moment then breathing out slowly through his mouth. In a relatively short time his breathing began returning to normal and he started to relax, enabling us to go on to the casualty department to see about his shoulder. In the casualty department Tom still required reassurance not only verbally but also with touch as he asked me to hold his hand, bringing home the importance of this simple yet significant form of non-verbal communication and despite needing another brief set of relaxation breathing in the casualty cubicle Tom was notably calmer. I felt privileged that he had put his trust in me and that we had moved on further in our therapeutic relationship, as while waiting in casualty Tom who had hardly spoken to anyone let alone myself, began discussing how scared he had been and talked about some of his delusional beliefs, which helped me empathise with how terrified he must have been. I was also able to discuss what Tom told me with the qualified nurses on return to the ward giving a deeper insight into his condition. Critical Discussion of the Incident For this section of the Critical Incident Analysis stages three and four of Gibbs reflective framework are covered, allowing me to look at what was good and bad about the incident along with contributing factors (Gibbs 1988), I am going to discuss, analyze and reflect upon three key issues: Panic attacks, the relaxation technique of Deep breathing and Touch therapy, that were encountered during the incident and that I felt were of significant importance. Panic attacks I felt this topic was important to the critical incident as it is a common condition closely linked to anxiety which a great number of mental health patients experience often along with their main diagnosis but most commonly alongside depression as in Toms case, Clayton (1990) and Merikangas et al (1996) stated that comorbidity between panic and depression is the single strongest type of anxiety-mood comorbidity found in both treatment and in the general public. Panic attacks are often talked about and appear in patient notes but this critical incident brought home for me how absolutely terrifying and totally debilitating the panic attack was for Tom and how distressing it can be to witness a patient in this condition. Anxiety is a normal healthy reaction to the stresses of everyday life as suggested by Trevor Powel (2001) and even necessary for us to perform at our best as Yerkes-Dodsons Law (1908) explains, illustrated in the graph below. Here levels of anxiety are referred to as arousal and a direct correlation to performance is demonstrated, it tells us that if we have low levels of arousal then our performance becomes decreased (distress, as introduced by Seyle (1956)), at medium levels our performance levels peak (eustress as described by Seyle (1956)) and when our arousal levels become high our performance levels and subsequent ability to function drop again (resulting in distress) as seen in Toms situation. (Yerkes Dodson 1908) Peplau (1963) defined anxiety in four levels: Mild anxiety- everyday life stress. Moderate anxiety- Immediate concerns focused on, with narrowed perceptual field, although able to function when necessary. Severe anxiety- Greatly reduced perceptual with difficulty focusing on anything except what is causing anxiety. Panic- Person feels terror, dread as is unable to reason with the threat causing anxiety blown out of all proportion, making it almost impossible to communicate or function, with little or no control over themselves causing panic attack. Toms anxiety level was clearly at the panic stage which cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely as being in a panic attack state is not compatible with living, as described by Stuart and Laraia (2001), who believe if prolonged can result in total exhaustion or in extreme cases even death. Panic attacks affect between 3 and 5 percent of the population at some point in their lives (Lynch E, 2005). The findings of an American study carried out this year showed that people suffering from panic attacks account for around 25% of those attending casualty departments or G.Ps. (Ham, P. et al, 2005) often having trouble breathing properly as found with Tom, with most people suffering from panic attacks, stating hyperventilation as being one of their main symptoms (Holt and Andrews, 1989), or with patients believing they are having a heart attack. Toms panic attack was mainly evident by the physical symptoms he displayed, described previously, physiological symptoms often being the only visible signs of a panic attack as described by Stuart and Laraia (2001). In this instance, although Toms Psychotic Depression was the likely reason for his anxiety with the resulting panic attack, I felt trying to deescalate his anxiety levels, by getting the panic attack and hyperventilation under control was my main priority, there would have been no point in me trying to deal with his delusional beliefs at this point as this takes time and experience, of which I had neither, plus Toms panic levels were so high it was difficult for him to concentrate. Therefore it seemed logical to concentrate on something which it was perhaps possible to change. I hoped that using the deep breathing technique would be successful in helping return Toms body systems to normal which would stop the hyperventilating making Tom feel a lot better and knew that breathing techniques could be very effective but did not want to put Tom at any risk by doing so, I had to make a judgment call about how I was going to handle the situation and decided I was going to try and deal with it using the breathing exercise. Relaxation Techniques Deep breathing The next topic I am going to cover is Relaxation Techniques and the technique of Deep Breathing in particular, I feel it is important to cover this topic as it was a key factor in the outcome of the incident as by guiding Tom through the breathing technique, enabled him to control his breathing resulting in his panic attack and hyperventilating coming to an end. Toms physical symptoms indicated that he was hyperventilating or overbreathing, the mental health handbook (Trevor Powell, 2001) tells us this is a normal response to threat by our bodies to bring more oxygen to the muscles, preparing us for Fight or Flight, but if the extra O2 is not needed by the muscles, i.e. the situation is only an imagined threat as in Toms case, the normal level of gases in the blood and lungs becomes out of balance, due to breathing in to much oxygen (O2) and pushing out too much carbon dioxide (CO2), this causes the blood to become alkaline which brings on many of the unpleasant symptoms Tom was suffering from. There are several ways of overcoming hyperventilation, possibly the most commonly referred to, is breathing into a paper bag to facilitate the breathing back in of the carbon dioxide being breathed out, as explained in the Nursing Times article, Facts: Panic Attacks (2003), which also acknowledges the importance of controlling the patients breathing, Stuart and Laraia (2001) also agree that relaxation techniques are an accepted therapeutic intervention in the treatment of anxiety. Since I had no paper bag with me, I decided to use the three stage deep breathing technique to retrain Toms breathing which, Risser and Murphy (2005) agree, improves panic symptoms and associated disability, this type of breathing which is commonly used in yoga helped to slow down and control Toms breathing which also stopped him hyperventilating, it is carried out by: Inhaling slowly and deeply through your nose. When youve taken in a full breath, hold it for a moment and thenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Exhale slowly through the nose or mouth, depending on your preference. This action although different to the paper bag technique brings about the same desired effect, in the case of Deep Breathing carbon dioxide is not being re-breathed but the rate it is expelled by is being slowed down along with holding it a little longer in the lungs which results in the levels of carbon dioxide in the blood rising, correcting the acid/alkaline balance in the blood, which relieved Toms unpleasant symptoms, bringing his breathing rate back to normal and making him feel calmer. At the time of the incident I really hoped that the breathing technique would be successful although I was not entirely sure whether to trust my instincts and try it out. On reflection I was very impressed at how effective such a simple procedure could be and was glad not only for Toms sake but also my own that I had decided to try it out, as it gave me more confidence in my abilities as a nurse even though at the time I was carrying it out, although outwardly calm, I had felt quite anxious. Touch Therapy The final key issue I wish to highlight from the critical incident is the benefit of touch as a therapy, which I felt was vital as a way of communicating with Tom during his panic attack along with giving him reassurance that I was there for him, empathising with his situation and helping him focus on what we were trying to do. There are several terms used to describe the different types of touch used in nursing, some of which are: necessary touch which covers task and instrumental touch that is mostly used when a procedure or task needs to be carried out on a patient as opposed to non-necessary touch which is described as spontaneous and emotional physical contact between the nurse and patient, introduced by Routasalo (1996), expressive touch comes under the non-necessary touch umbrella with the same type of nurse patient contact, described by McCann McKenna (1993) which is similar again to caring and protective touch highlighted by Estabrooks (1989) and finally therapeutic touch, which is an alternative therapy similar to reiki, discussed by Meehan (1998). Nesbitt-Blondis and Jackson (1982) agree that touch is probably the most important of all non-verbal communications that we use in nursing and can be particularly useful in cases like Toms panic attack where his ability to understand and communicate was diminished, when patients are unable to communicate verbally or understand verbal communication for reasons such as dementia, those with learning or cognitive difficulties and in panic attack situations like Toms, touch can be an excellent means of communication. Unfortunately, McCann McKenna (1993) reported that in the U.K. there is little use of expressive, non-necessary or caring touch by nurses. Many nurses see touch as just something that is used when a procedure or task needs to be carried out on a patient, but Tutton (1998) suggests that touch in nursing and the powerful expressions it conveys to patients are sadly underutilised. Routasalo (1996) also suggests that non-essential touch although not absolutely essential, can be extremely important and necessary to the patient. The benefits of this type of touch in nursing are strengthened further by Moore Gilbert (1995) who found patients interpreted the use of touch by nurses as a display of affection and attention which they greatly appreciated, with patients interviewed in Routasalo Isolas (1996) study, describing touch by nurses as extremely comforting. Davidhizar Giger (1997) whilst acknowledging the important role that touch can play in the nurse patient relationship, also points out that the value of touch is not appreciated by all health professionals or considered appropriate or desirable by some patients. Bearing this in mind as long as the correct manner of touching is employed, and there is no way it could be seen as being inappropriate with the patients personal and cultural beliefs being taken into account, it is one of our most valuable communication nursing tools. The extent of physical contact carried out in a society is governed by sets of well-defined behavioural norms for whatever circumstance we find ourselves in (Pratt Mason 1981). Jourard (1966) recognised that the incidence of touching within our Western society declines from childhood onwards but Montagu (1986) discovered that the need for touch did not reduce with age. It is felt that the level of touch common in childhood can return in situations of sickness or incapacity (Barnett 1972). This may mean that, the need for touch in illness might be more important than our ideas of proper behaviour. I felt the touch element in this incident: my taking of Toms hands to help him focus, get his attention and convey my empathy, was extremely important and was in fact the turning point in the whole incident which allowed me to gain Toms trust and initiate the breathing technique which stopped him hyperventilating. I feel that without the touch element it would have been almost impossible for me to reach Tom and the outcome of the incident would have been very different. Implications for Professional and Personal Development In this final section of the Critical Incident Analysis, the two final stages of Gibbs model of reflection (1988), five and six are covered, here we look at what was learned from the incident, what could have been carried out differently or should not have been done, along with what was missed out concluding with a plan for future action. I found in utilising the Gibbs (1998) reflection tool, the impact the incident made on my personal and professional development was made much clearer. Through carrying out this Critical Incident Analysis I have been able to see what I have learned through reflection, as the Department of Health (1999) states, reflective practice is necessary in order to further our continued personal and professional development and leads to a greater understanding of our own needs. Described as a form of self discovery by Freshwater (2004) with a deeper understanding of the needs of the patient and improved patent care highlighted by Davies (1995). From this I feel the analysis made me examine my communication skills on a deeper level for although I feel that I am a natural communicator, and have had many years experience working with people suffering from dementia, I had not fully thought about the use of touch or the great importance it has in communicating with patients . Without the use of reflective practice I would not have researched into the concept of touch so fully or really understood its relevance and consequences in my nursing practice. Or recognised the significance touch played in the successful deescalating of Toms panic attack and hyperventilating in this critical incident. This Critical Incident Analysis has definitely taught me to have more faith in my abilities as a nurse but has also taught me I have more to learn as a communicator. Similarly with the topic of panic attacks which I was obviously familiar with and had some knowledge on, having been through the incident with Tom and then carrying out the reflection on the incident, allowed me to see the field of panic and anxiety disorders with a deeper understanding and much more from the patients viewpoint. Having witnessed the real distress and levels of disability it can inflict will enable me to really empathise with patients like Tom going through this type of disorder when I come across them in my future career. The area of relaxation breathing was something which I had used myself in yoga practice and did know of its benefit in anxiety situations, but I had not expected to have to start teaching it to a patient that day in the X-Ray cubicle. I was quite shocked when Tom had began hyperventilating but on reflection I should have perhaps saw it coming with his rising levels of anxiety after our arrival at the hospital, especially after I had read only that morning that he had a history of panic attacks. Again on reflection I could have asked the nursing staff the best way to deal with it should the situation arise. I have learned from this that I could have been better prepared before escorting Tom by asking questions and having a plan of action to use if necessary. I had been worried about putting Tom at risk by trying the breathing technique with him as I stated earlier, and perhaps it was wrong of me to have tried it in the first place, but I had made a judgment in an emergency situation, and I did not make the decision lightly, being aware that help was nearby should it be needed. I did not want to distress Tom further by calling out, resulting in people rushing into the cubicle and in conclusion felt the breathing exercise was worth a try, but I would have called for help quickly if it did not appear to be working. On discussing the incident and my actions back on the ward, my mentor also felt I had made the right choice. This made me think about the fact that as a nurse there are times when it is up to you to make judgment calls regarding patient care and that it is important to remember that you are accountable for your actions. To carry this level of responsibility demands a sound knowledge of practice and an ability to think calmly and clearly even under stress. I was both relived and delighted that the breathing technique worked so well for Tom and felt honoured that he decided to put his faith in me. As stated earlier, this prompted Tom to confide some of his fears to me, which showed trust on Toms part and fostered a deeper understanding of his condition on mine. This advancement of the therapeutic relationship between Tom and I has continued during my placement where I have worked quite closely with him and where I have taught him how to practice the breathing techniques when he feels calm making it easier for him to utilise in panic situations, which he has been doing with good effect. As a follow on from this incident and after seeing the efficacy of relaxation techniques in action, at my practice placement I asked my mentor if it would be possible to carry out some relaxation groups with carefully screened groups of patients who had anxiety problems. My mentor and other nursing staff thought this would be a good idea both for the benefit of the patients and for my personal and professional development. After researching the subject and finding appropriate music along with compiling a script, the groups were initiated with great success and are now regularly used on the ward, which has given me some sense of achievement and helped build my confidence in my abilities as a nurse. Along with being very beneficial in analysing this particular incident the use of reflective analysis has definitely improved my practice in placement, and although I have used this model of reflection in my portfolio for some time now, it has made me re-examine the importance keeping and using a portfolio to further my professional and personal development. I also feel this helps me to benefit more from my placement as I fully understand the concept behind reflection and use it positively as a tool rather than a task I need to perform. When using reflection now I am able to draw more insight from my experiences on placement, while previously I had only skimmed the surface of the subjects when carrying out reflection. This has increased both my self awareness and my ability to link theory and practice together. Overall, I can see clearly how reflection is a useful tool in helping nurses to focus on their skills and behaviour which consequently enables them to provide the best care possible for patients, as discussed by Somerville (2004). Action Plan Preparing and utilising action plans is an important way of improving both our personal and professional development as nurses, whilst building on improved nursing practice. To be prepared for this kind of scenario in the future I have identified the following plan of action: Make sure I know and understand all relevant information regarding patients. Have good communication with other members of staff about patients. Have a plan of action thought out for any incidents that may arise. Remain calm and consider actions carefully. Empathise with the patient by trying to understand what it would be like to be in that situation. Where possible help the patient to help themselves, i.e. by educating them to use breathing techniques so when a panic situation arises they are in a better position to take control themselves.

Gun Control in Canada :: Second Amendment The Right To Bear Arms

Part I:Introduction The issue of gun control and violence, both in Canada and the United States, is one that simply will not go away. If history is to be any guide, no matter what the resolution to the gun control debate is, it is probable that the arguments pro and con will be much the same as they always have been. In 1977, legislation was passed by the Canadian Parliament regulating long guns for the first time, restructuring the availability of firearms, and increasing a variety of penalties . Canadian firearms law is primarily federal, and "therfore national in scope, while the bulk of the firearms regulation in the United States is at the state level; attempts to introduce stricter leglislation at the federal level are often defeated". The importance of this issue is that not all North Americans are necessarily supportive of strict gun control as being a feasible alternative to controlling urban violence. There are concerns with the opponents of gun control, that the professional criminal who wants a gun can obtain one, and leaves the average law-abiding citizen helpless in defending themselves against the perils of urban life . Is it our right to bear arms as North Americans ? Or is it privilege? And what are the benefits of having strict gun control laws? Through the analysis of the writings and reports of academics and experts of gun control and urban violence, it will be possible to examine the issues and theories of the social impact of this issue. Part II: Review of the Literature A) Summary In a paper which looked at gun control and firearms violence in North America, Robert J. Mundt, of the University of North Carolina, points out that "Crime in America is popularly perceived [in Canada] as something to be expected in a society which has less respect for the rule of law than does Canadian society..." In 1977, the Canadian government took the initiative to legislate stricter gun control. Among the provisions legislated by the Canadian government was a "Firearms Acquisition Certificate" for the purchase of any firearm, and strengthened the "registration requirements for handguns and other restricted weapons..." . The purpose of the 1977 leglislation was to reduce the availability of firearms, on the assumption that there is a "positive relationship between availability and use". In Robert J. Mundt's study, when compared with the United States, trends in Canada over the past ten years in various types of violent crime, suicide, and accidental death show no dramatic results, "and few suggestions of perceptible effects of the 1977 Canadian gun control legislation". The only positive effect, Mundt, found in the study was the decrease in the use

Workplace Ethical Dilema

Ethical dilemmas can occur at any workplace. For this reason, codes of ethics are developed to help guide and set the standards for moral conduct for that profession. Code of ethics also helps establish procedures on how to deal with misconduct. While serving in the United States Navy, I came across several ethical dilemmas in my workplace. One dilemma that I remember clearly is one in which an officer (higher rank) and enlisted (lower rank) were involved in fraternization. Fraternization in the Navy is not acceptable and is referred to as a relationship between an enlisted and officer who are dating, who engage in intimate behavior, share a home, borrow money or gamble. Fraternization in the military can be punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. On board the Navy ship there were approximately a total of 350 service members who were both men and women. Interaction between both sexes was inevitable; however two service members on board took it too far. There was a service member (enlisted male) who began to have a relationship with his boss (female officer). Both agreed to keep their relationship a secret while onboard the ship. One after noon I was out in town at a local store when I spotted both members holding hands together. I was not friends with either one, and did not say anything to them. I realized that their behavior was non ethical, but I did not want to be involved. Looking back at the situation my thoughts about it followed the principles of nonmaleficence. Nonmaleficence refers as doing no harm or mischief. I thought to myself that they were not causing harm to anyone therefore I did not want to report them. Through an ethical relativism view I realized that the dilemma was not morally wrong however, the situation in which they were engages did not follow the ethical standards of the workplace. However my view about the whole situation changed when I talked about it with another co-worker and she informed me that the female officer was married. The fact that she was married completely changed my perspective about the situation. Now, not only was it ethically wrong but it was morally wrong too. At this point the dilemma then interfered with my personal values. My personal values are may not be the same to the ones of others; however the choices they made went against my beliefs and values. Growing up I was always taught that fidelity and commitment to your partner is very important. I put myself in the spouse’s shoes and realized I would never want to go through that. The behaviors the engaged were bothersome and I felt very uncomfortable around them. I can relate this dilemma to the thoughts of Socrates, that no one voluntarily does evil when they know good. If evil is done is because there is some type of benefit within for that person committing evil. The officer in this case is aware of the evil she is committing, however she is gaining comfort, perhaps love, or pleasure from her behavior with the enlisted male. Both personnel practiced ethical egoism, due to fact that they only care about their happiness and did not care about those who got hurt. This is when I realized that I needed to speak up about this dilemma. In order to resolve this dilemma I needed to speak up and report what I knew and saw to my higher chain of command. I would have to say that I applied the theory of Kant. Good will and motivation was the base of my decision to report the dilemma. I knew that making this decision was going to bring bad consequences for both members, however I did what I thought was best. In my decision making process with the Kantian approach, ethical decisions were based on my sense of duty. The word duty is derived from the Greek word deon (deontological). Duty refers to the acts of a person based on the principles of morality. In this decision making approach I had to make decisions based on what is right rather than the good or bad consequences that will follow. A person must make the morally right decision regardless of the good or bad outcome. Categorical imperative is what determines whether an act is morally right or wrong. The requirements of categorical imperatives are that moral principles are applied by respecting humanity. In this deontological point of view a person should act rational person and make self-imposed decisions. After reporting the situation to the chain of command, I was asked to speak up and testify along with others who had observed the same behaviors. Both services members were punished by the UCMJ and forced out of the military. The consequences to their behavior are what constitute it to be wrong. The ethical dilemma went against my personal values and belief. This is why I decided to speak up and report what I knew regardless of the consequences. Both members were aware of the good and evil and instead decided to go for the evil not that they could hurt others. This ethical dilemma not only affected them in a personal level but affected the work place as well. After all the consequences, sailors onboard are very careful about fraternization. Workplace ethical dilemmas can happen at any work place, therefore it is important to maintain an updated code of ethics. This will help and guide employees on procedures , employee conduct and misconduct consequences.

How to Create Effective Blog Posts That Convert Like Crazy - CoSchedule

How to Create Effective Blog Posts That Convert Like Crazy When you’re creating content for your blog, what are you hoping to achieve? More than likely, you’re working to attract qualified leads for your business. Unfortunately, though, this can be easier said than done. Business blogging comes with its challenges. Maybe you’re dealing with a bounce rate thats higher than ideal. Perhaps people aren’t clicking on your calls-to-action or converting through your forms. Its possible you’re attracting an audience, but they aren’t interested in your products or services. You may even be spending resources on creating valuable offerings, but they aren’t attracting qualified leads. There has to be something you can do about this, right? You shouldn’t give up on your blog, but rather optimize your content for lead generation. After reading through this guide, you’ll be able to do just that. How to Create Effective Blog Posts That Convert Like CrazyDownload Your Free Blogging Resource Bundle This post is jam-packed with advice. Put it all into practice with these free bonus templates, guides, and reports. Heres what weve included: A Blog Post Outline Template to write thorough content every time. A 28-page Blog Writing Process Bonus Guide to dig even deeper into how to create comprehensive content. A How to Write a Call to Action Bonus Template to craft CTAs that convert crazy amounts of traffic. A Content Calendar Excel Template to plan and schedule all your blog posts. 5 free Google Analytics Custom Reports to measure the effectiveness of your content promotion in just a few clicks. Have One Main Goal When Planning Your Content Hint: that one overall goal should revolve around lead generation. To start, you need to clearly define this goal. It’s not enough to just say you want to generate leads. You need to follow a process for making that goal work. You have two ways of doing this: SMART  or CLEAR  goal setting. SMART stands for: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. With SMART goals, your focus is on making a goal that provides enough information to make reporting on results easier. A SMART lead generation goal could be: "We want to increase qualified, sales-ready blog leads by 50% this quarter compared to last quarter." CLEAR stands for: Collaborative, Limited, Emotional, Appreciable, and Refinable. The CLEAR goal-setting process is the more recent alternative to SMART goals. Adam Kreek, an entrepreneur and motivational speaker, developed this alternative to fit a more up-to-speed, agile environment. A CLEAR lead generation goal could be: We want to work as a marketing team to bring 5 new qualified leads from marketing blog objectives for sales readiness through quality content offerings. With your blog content, you want to decide on one of these goal-setting options, or create your own way, so that you can clearly understand your path. Your goal, regardless of methodology, should be set up in a way that allows you to see a beginning-to-end process for your work. CLEAR vs SMART Goals: which do you use for your #content #marketing?Yes, your blog should be designed around your readership’s needs and pain points, so you should have subgoals for that. However, your overall, most important goal should always be what lead results you want to see from your efforts. In addition to setting up your goal, you have a choice for how you’ll follow your content’s results. You can use calendar software, such as what you’d find with , or choose a do-it-yourself (DIY) calendar system  in Excel or Google Sheets. By following a calendar, you’re better able to see how your content is leading to or falling away from your established goal. Recommended Reading: How To Get Crazy Organized With A Comprehensive Content Calendar (Free Template) The Complete 14-Step Content Strategy That Will Boost Your Results by 434% Use The Right Tool(s) For Contact Information Collection And Follow-Up The best way to turn your blog into a lead generation tool is to have a system in place for quick and easy contact collection. You want to acquire at least an email address. Ideally, you’ll want more information to help you create a personalized lead nurturing experience. You’ll want to find the tool or tools that’ll help you with this process. The tool(s) need to help you develop a seamless system for both marketing and sales to work together. Whichever system you put in place should help you take a blog subscriber and follow their path to a sale. Some of the best lead acquisition and nurturing tools, depending on your needs and budget, are: MailChimp: Best for contact collection and email marketing HubSpot’s CRM: Best for lead nurturing and monitoring When using MailChimp, you can add sign-up widgets for your blog sidebar so that it is always visible to your readers. You also have the option of creating a pop-up form to appear when readers visit your blog. Add the MailMunch  integration to create these widgets and pop-ups. Watch this video to see how: You’re given options for copy, design, form fields, and other elements. This integration is free, but it means the MailMunch name will appear with your form. Using these forms allows for contact information to go straight into your chosen MailChimp list. It’s an easy, automatic way to bring leads to your email marketing platform for further contact. MailChimp is primarily an email marketing platform, so it doesn’t give you a full picture of where each contact stands in your sales funnel. That’s when you need to find a tool that can take your contacts further along. HubSpot has a CRM that offers what you need to collaborate and monitor your contacts as they proceed through the sales funnel. You can use this tool to track the emails you send to your leads, if you use Gmail. Or, you can use MailChimp for email and HubSpot’s CRM for taking your marketing activity and passing it along to sales. HubSpot’s CRM gives you thorough information collected from each of your contacts. This information is found automatically, when possible. You can learn where the contact works, their phone number, and even their social media accounts. All of this information is available in one place along with your contact’s timeline. If you want to take your lead generation one step further, try using a full-service, all-in-one platform. HubSpot has a marketing platform  that’ll help you track leads from source to sale and beyond. It offers ways to engage with leads from when they’re just visiting after they’ve made a purchase. You’ll know which blog elements resonated with them to help you create a truly personalized lead nurturing experience. Whichever tool(s) you select, make sure it works well enough to remove any barriers between contact collection and sales follow-up. You’ll want tools that work seamlessly together or just one tool that does it all. This system of having a lead nurturing tool(s) will help you truly see a successful return on investment (ROI) with your blog activity. Recommended Reading: How to Be More Successful With the Right Content Marketing Tools Make Your Content Relevant To Your Buyer Personas Your blog is an opportunity for dual benefits. You want to bring in leads on your end, but to do this, you also need to give your readers worthwhile content. To see the right audience convert on your content, you need to create highly-relevant blog resources that benefit your buyer personas. This pinpointed readership  will help you create articles that bring in the right audience for conversion. To create these personas, you can follow your own process, use a template, or follow these steps: Clean up and finalize your data. You likely now have an overwhelming amount of data for your personas. It’s time to filter and clean this up to a more manageable document. Focus on the critical data, such as what is working instead of what should be put aside. Keep your focus on creating reader personas that have data about what they like and what they want to see. Everything else can be removed. Ask your current readers for their input. When you’re looking for what is working versus what is missing, one of your best opportunities is to ask your current readership directly. Use a tool, such as Google Forms, to reach out to them via email, or add a survey to your social media accounts. Twitter polls, for example, are great for multiple choice questions. Your readers are eager to be heard, and asking them for their input is largely effective for that very reason. Evaluate how your readers behave. Use Google Analytics  for this because the tool gives you so much information about how your website visitors are behaving on your site. You can track which blog posts have the most visitors versus which ones have the longer time on-page data. Take advantage of this information to see what’s working for you so far versus what needs improvement. Compare your real data with your ideal data. Take what you know about your current readership and compare it to who your ideal reader would be. This is a hypothetical reader that you’d want to see visit your blog. They are contacts that fit with your conversion goal. Collect initial demographic data. Where do they work? What is their age and gender? Where are they located? These are all examples of the demographic data you should collect. This data should describe your current readership to help you understand your status now for better decisions in the future. An example of a tool you can use to collect this information is Google Display Planner. It provides detailed information about your audience via search results and website activity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiGfgo4RJDA Find your target audience’s pain points. Do some research on social media and review sites to see what your target readers are complaining about. Tracking mentions, hashtags, and keywords can help with that. This will give you important information about problems you can solve via blog content. The more relevant and timely your content is, the more conversions you’ll see. Ask your sales team for their findings. Your sales team acquires a great amount of data on your customers and prospects when they’re taking each one through the sales process. They can offer valuable information for your use as you build your personas. Take the information you acquire to develop personas based on what you know is effective so far. Audit your current content. Look at your current content to see if it’s getting any engagement. Blog comments and social shares are two ways to determine your content’s value. Check your bounce rate in Google Analytics. Analyze social media metrics to see how people are reacting to your content on each platform. Are they retweeting? Do they add a comment? Are you getting a lot of link clicks? These are all ways to determine whether your readers are enjoying or skipping your content. Apply the data into a persona document. You can use a tool, such as Xtensio, to create a manageable document for your personas. Or use your own Excel, Google Sheets, Word, or Google Docs template. To make your content relevant to the right audience, you need to know who they are and what they want to see from you. Your personas can help you with that. Personas aren’t permanent or final, however. They’re fluid as your target readership changes. As trends change, reader interests change. Your blog content and personas need to adapt with these changes. Recommended Reading: How To Find Your Target Audience And Create The Best Content That Connects Spark Your User Persona To Life With These 9 Important Tools Take The Time To Fully Prepare Your Content To truly make effective blog content, it’s not enough to just dive right in. You need a plan for what you’re going to write and how you’re going to present your ideas. Otherwise, you risk creating scattered content. It will confuse your readers and likely make them leave without converting. That’s why it’s so critical for you to do the necessary research and planning before you start to write your draft. If you're looking for conversions, planning and researching your #blog #content is critical.First, Identify Your Topic. Finding a topic that will resonate with your target readers can be a challenge. You not only need to know what you’re going to write about but also how you’re going to present the idea in your article headline. You have tools available  to you that can help you with this process: Impact’s Blog Title Generator With BlogAbout by Impact Branding Design, you choose a keyword, such as â€Å"marketing† to help you fill out the headline prompts. The keyword is more for your reference as you receive the prompts, but the headline ideas can apply to any keyword you choose. When you receive a headline idea that you like, you can click on the heart to save it in a list for future reference. When you have enough options, you can request the list be sent to you automatically by email. To add to this tool’s value, you also have the option of free writing using their â€Å"writer’s block† section. It’s a blank canvas you can draw in to get your thoughts onto â€Å"paper.† This tool has one noticeable glitch though. Exporting your list does not always work. It might be best to type out your favorites into a separate document. This will also make it easier for you to work with the content instead of having to copy/paste from the email. Portent’s Content Idea Generator Unlike BlogAbout, Portent’s Content Idea Generator does not have an export feature. However, it does have several helpful features to make up for it. This tool gives you especially creative (sometimes controversial) headline prompts using the keyword you chose. It adds your selected keyword into the headline along with the rest of the text. With your prompt, Portent adds commentary to the words to help inspire you or simply to make you laugh. The comments can give you more ideas for the visible headline or help you create an entirely new one. HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator HubSpot’s tool for discovering topic ideas is different from the other two tools. With their Blog Topic Generator, you insert 3 noun-based keywords. The tool will then give you 5 headline ideas based on those words. You can mix and match the headlines on your own, but HubSpot doesn’t let you do it in the tool. Instead, export the list via email or copy/paste them into an editable document. When you’re considering a topic generated from these tools, keep your reader personas in mind at all times. Even if you think the headline sounds funny or appealing, you need to stick with the ones that will attract your target readers. Pick the topics that mention or at least will cover a specific pain point in your readers. When they read content that truly speaks to their needs, they are more likely to follow-through on your call-to-action to convert into leads. Have you tried these content idea generators from @Portent, @HubSpot, and @impactbnd?Then, Create An Outline You now have a topic picked out. It’s time to start writing your draft, right? No. You always need to take the necessary step of creating an outline. Why? You’ll create structure out of your various points. You’ll make it easier on yourself when writing your draft. The outline will ensure your article’s readability factor. To create the best outline, make sure you’re creating one that has plenty of detail and all your points listed. Have your headings and subheadings ready to go. Include any research you’re going to cite, placed where they belong in your article. Add your main points, even if in fragments, to each heading and subheading. This all will make creating your first draft a lot faster, easier, and more efficient. Writing #blog post outlines will make creating your first draft a lot faster, easier, and more...Focus Your Content  On Reader Benefits Now that you know the importance of reader personas, your next step is to create content that benefits them. You want to create content that gets found in search results, but your priority should always be on helping your readers. There’s nothing worse than putting in all the effort in creating your article just to see your bounce rate increase. The important thing to remember is that your content can either put off your readers  or get them wanting more. When they choose the latter, that’s your chance at converting them via your call-to-action. When you’re writing your article, your focus should be on the following: Readability.  Is your article easy to scan and read quickly? Are your points easily understood? Use Hemingway  or the Yoast SEO plugin  to help you with this. Benefits. Does your article provide value to your readers? Are they given instructions they can take with them and apply with their own work? Readability  is key when you’re trying to keep your readers from beginning to end. To keep your blog post focused on this, it needs to follow these best practices: According to Yoast, it’s important that you write in simple English so that younger audiences would be able to understand what you’re saying. This is known as the Flesch reading ease score. Using transition words helps your readers by dividing one point from another. This makes your content easier to digest. You can use words such as â€Å"and,† â€Å"but,† â€Å"or,† â€Å"because,† etc to separate your points. For example: â€Å"The article was 5,000 words long, so the writer divided it into a series of posts.† Use enough subheadings  to make scanning your article easier. For example, if your article is 1000 words, divide it into 3-5 subheadings. Too much text per subheading, such as 500 words in block text, will make it harder for your readers to scan through. Keep your paragraphs short to keep reader focus. Shorter paragraphs help readers understand your point quicker than longer paragraphs. Make sure your sentences are short.  Longer sentences are inevitable, but you don’t want too many of them in your article. The ideal sentence length should not exceed 20 words. Avoid using passive voice  when possible. Otherwise, you make your sentences harder to read: An example of passive voice: â€Å"The article was written by Annaliese.† Switching it to active voice: â€Å"Annaliese wrote the article.† Use plenty of bulleted lists, white space, imagery, and other breaks from your block text. This will help your readers understand your points without losing focus. Benefits  are what make your content worth readers’ time. If you’re too focused on what you want from your post, you’ll neglect providing value to your readers. Blogging is about helping your readers first, so self-promotion should always be secondary. Along with giving people a reason to read, you also want to give them actionable takeaways. This is the end benefit you should offer your readers. They are looking for assistance with their own needs and efforts, so they expect to have ways to apply what they’ve learned from you. articles focus on reader benefits by ensuring that every article includes thorough explanations, step-by-step instructions, and applicable takeaways. Each of their articles includes content readers can download to further enhance the experience. Another blog that does a good job is from Buffer. Their articles are also thorough, and they regularly update them to ensure readers learn the latest trends and techniques for their efforts. No matter what: focus on your readers first, and give them what they came for in the first place. Recommended Reading: How To Communicate Effectively With Your Blog Readers To Keep Them Reading Be Strategic With Your CTA Wording, Design, And Placement Your call-to-action or CTA has to be convincing enough to get your readers to click on it. You may be wondering: how can I accomplish this? The answer: you create a CTA that follows these best practices. This is how you’ll get people to give you their contact information and convert. This is how you’ll get people to give you their contact information and convert.Nail Your CTA Copy Your call-to-action copy needs to be short but still give readers a reason to click on it. It should be focused on real benefits and not serve as clickbait. Use power words  to convince visitors that this action they’ll take will be worthwhile. Make it clear why and how they should act on your CTA. As you can see from the example below, uses strong wording in their CTAs, such as â€Å"get,† â€Å"now,† and â€Å"free.† They’re expressing a sense of urgency and making their CTA a command to help visitors take action. Also, makes the value clear in what they’ll provide in exchange for the visitor’s information. They tell visitors that they offer the â€Å"#1 Marketing Calendar,† which clearly shows that their product is worth considering. When you’re working on your CTAs, make sure you’re using strong words, such as commands or value-based terms, to give your visitors a reason to click through. When you're working on CTAs, use emotional words to give your visitors a reason to click through.Pay Attention to CTA Design Use different text colors or use images to help your CTA stand out, but be careful that your design doesn’t confuse or annoy your readers.  Check to see that your CTA design stands out without interrupting the flow of your article. You want your CTA to be noticeable without being intrusive. That’s why experimenting with your CTA design is key. You’ll want to find the right method for best lead generation results. Let’s look at this example from a recent HubSpot article. Their call-to-action displays a preview image and bold colors. The text is large enough to be easily noticeable. Their CTA stands out from the page’s white background. As it is located at the end of the article, it doesn’t interrupt the reader. Experiment With CTA Placement Many times, you’ll see a CTA that’s in-line with the article copy. Other times, it may be a clickable image with text overlay. Regardless, you want to use a placement that stands out from the rest of your article and page as a whole. You want your CTA to fit naturally with your article without getting lost in the flow. Whether it’s at the beginning, middle, or end of your article page, you want to choose wisely. It’s important that you experiment thoroughly with which placement converts the most visitors. There’s not one best placement for everyone, so test it until you know what works for you and your visitors. Also, don’t be afraid to add it more than once per article. You just want to make sure it doesn’t take away from your article’s readability. If your readers can’t stay focused on your article, they may leave before considering your CTA. In the above example from the Convince Convert blog, this CTA is placed at the end of their articles. It takes a wide space to really stand out to readers who made it to the end. It doesn’t interrupt the article content but rather gives readers a reason to seek more. This is a prime example of a strategically-placed CTA. How To Test Your CTAs for Copy, Design, and Placement Optimization Only make one change at a time. Continue this process until you start seeing a decline in leads generated. If you don’t see improvement with a change, revert back to the last setting and make a different change. Use your available analytics to see if the change produced more leads, the same, or less. Testing is never over. Your readership changes over time, so your CTAs should adapt as a result. The best way to stay in tune with what works for your readers is to experiment regularly with your CTA copy, design, and placement. Although you have these three elements to work with, always remember to only make one change at a time. Otherwise, you won’t know which change was the winner. Recommended Reading: How To Write A Call To Action In A Template With 6 Examples How To Create Opt-In Forms: 5 Ways To Convert Traffic Like Crazy 11 WordPress Plugins To Inspire Visitors To Take Action Provide A Gated Content Upgrade Relating To Your Post In the last section, you learned about CTAs and saw examples from a blog article. If you look at the in-line and pop-up CTA examples again, you’ll see that they lead to what’s called a â€Å"content upgrade.† It’s an additional resource related to the article’s topic. It often serves as a way for readers to apply what they’ve learned from your article. uses content upgrades in almost all of their articles. It’s a quick and effective way to get more conversions than a simple CTA would provide. With a content upgrade, you want to ask for an email address at a  minimum. However, to fully optimize your further contact with readers, ask for a name and other personalized information. This will help your email outreach and also any sales-based contact. Recommended Reading: How To Create Amazing Content Upgrades For Your Blog Have A Content Promotion Plan In Place Before you finalize your blog draft, and before you publish it, you should have a plan for how you’re going to promote it. Your first focus should be on optimizing your content for social sharing. Then, you can plan how, where, and when to share your new content online. First: Optimizing Your Content For Sharing To see your content reach a larger audience than your own, you need your readers to share it with their networks. They won’t share if you don’t make it easy for them, so you want to pay attention to this when finalizing your draft. There are several tools you can use to make social sharing a breeze: ’s   in-line tweet prompt Sumo’s image sharer AddThis’s social sharing buttons uses social sharing buttons and Click-To-Tweet to give people more than one way to share. Make sure your content is optimized for social sharing by including options in the form of in-line engagement and sharing buttons to give your audience a quick, simplified process. Next: Plan Your Own Promotion Schedule Your own content promotion is important for notifying your existing fans and followers of new content. It’s important that you know what you’re doing, when you’ll do it, and how you’ll do it effectively. What you’re doing.  What platforms are you using for your content promotion? When you’ll do it.  What days and times are you going to publish your content promotion? How you’ll do it.  What format will you use on each platform, and how will you make it engaging? Use your content calendar to organize your content promotion strategy to make it more manageable. Otherwise, you’ll lose track of where and when you’ve already promoted your content, risking future repeats and mistakes. Recommended Reading: How To Promote Your Blog With 105 Content Promotion Tactics How To Develop An Effective Content Marketing Promotion Strategy How To Promote Your Content Marketing Like A Public Relations Genius What Next? You’re now better prepared to use your blog to generate leads. You have seven pieces of the puzzle that you need to use together to get the full picture. Apply each of these lead generation tactics in your blog activity to achieve the ROI you’re seeking. What tactics have worked best for you from this list? What tactic or tactics would you add? Let us know in the comments!

History 320 essays

History 320 essays What a question. Why would a Duke of Normandy wish to invade England, a country that was already unified under a king who was crowned upon the death of the previous king. William states that he had a promise from Edward that he would name him as his successor. He also states that Harold sworn that the title of king would be passed to him. When he heard that that King Edward had passed away and in the same breath heard that Harold was crowned as king he was devastated. During this time we can only assume that William was devastated and began to get very angry for the trickery done to him in England. He began to plot and plan a way to get his rightful place as the king of England. He began looking for ways to get to England, he knew that he would need plenty of ships to carry the equipment he needed to wage war on the Britons. The people of Normandy were trained for war but the war they needed to fight was across the water. The ships he would need for this journey would be large because he planned to bring horses and all the equipment they required. The largest problem was the coastline of England was very dangerous. There were no safe harbor for the large ships to land in and disembark. The weather was another factor in the strategy. The winds have normally flowed a certain way and in order for the ships to get to England there had to be a certain wind to push the ships to there intended landing. This wind they needed was not a everyday breeze but something that they PRAYED for. William felt he had to go thru with the invasion of England or lose face with people of Normandy. He felt that he needed to deal with this to solidify his place. Howarth and the witan are an interesting connection. My personal opinion is Howarth wished he had lived during that time. I think that the witan was likened to todays house of Lords in Engla ...

Memory Reconstruction and False Memories Research Paper Example

Memory Reconstruction and False Memories Research Paper Example Memory Reconstruction and False Memories Paper Memory Reconstruction and False Memories Paper There are a number of serious social problems in the society today which include childhood sexual abuse among other crimes. When these occur, sometimes it is possible for the memories to be hidden in the unconscious as the mind tends to block scary episodes of abuse or the whole of childhood and resurface later in adulthood. The quality of these memories differ from one individual to the other, where they can be detailed and vivid or very faint sometimes and mostly tell of events occurring in early childhood or adolescence. At times, these memories are thought not to be true but just a recollection of the things said by others. Recovered Memory Therapy (RMT), which was initially used, has been found to lack proper validity and is therefore termed as toxic therapy (Robinson, 2008). The following paper will discuss false memory in relation to recent research performed concerning it. False Memory One of the most haunting psychological experiences is repression which occurs when the mind pushes shocking experience to an inaccessible unconscious position. At times, however this may later reoccur into consciousness as a condition referred to as false memory syndrome which is defined as the memory of an imagined event normally traumatic and previously occurring (Stedmans medical dictionary, 2006). False memories occur as a byproduct of the cognitive system functioning in the effort to escape from self awareness. A good example is the occurrence of some memories of childhood sexual abuse after repression for about 20 to 40 years which led to suing of alleged perpetrators who were mainly family members and household workers (Loftus, 1993). Although the authenticity of regressed memory is questioned, the details and confidence often associated with it form the basis of psychoanalysis and is used in an increasing number of civil law suits. This is because childhood is an important concept of psychoanalysis as it is the stage of attachment and forms an example that sets an emotional stage of later relationships (Braun, Ellis, Loftus, 2002). In addition, the symptoms associated such as inflicted injury also add up as evidence. Through counseling and therapeutic intervention, normally the memories resurface when the victims enter psychotherapy due to various related factors. In these circumstances the therapists use RMT to recover memories that involve various recollections of real events which happened during childhood. It is based on the belief traumatic memories like sexual abuse in childhood are forgotten or repressed and recovered during therapy (Robinson, 2008). From these clinical points it was noted that repression constituted overwhelming and obvious proof hence accurate. However, some psychiatrics dispute these theories terming them as empirical and lack experimental scientific confirmation. Some controversies also arise when accused deny the charges by the adults resulting in the questioning about who is telling the truth and who is lying (Loftus, 1993). Generation of False Memory The accuracy of these memories might be deter red by internally derived defense mechanism such as fantasy, illusions, and screen memories that are mediated by hallucinations, borrowed ideas, characters and myths or externally derived from a therapist’s or special relation’s unintentional suggestion implantation. Moreover, popular writings which influence the creation of memories through the steps they provide and suggestions of a therapist, who at times do not take no for an answer and use dreams, often lead to the creation of theses memories. Additionally, they inclusion of age regression, guided visualization, writing in trance, body work and hypnosis and the fact that therapy takes place in private makes it difficult to follow what takes place (Loftus E. , 1995). This is depicted in a study conducted by Loftus and Pickrell, (Macrae et. al. , 2002 ) where most participants were persuaded by their suggestions and encouraged on having done a particular thing in their childhood such as getting lost in a shopping center and being rescued by an aged person. Most of the people then elaborated and produced evidence on these false experiences uniquely, thus creating alternatives to reality. Such instances include memory of non existent objects or totally different situations. Marketers, through advertising can also cause the creation of such memories by taking advantage of the memory’s reconstructive nature (Robinson, 2008). In this way, a consumer may think that he has participated in an event whereas they only viewed an advert of the event (Macrae et. al. , 2002 ). Due to the impact of false memories especially when used in courts, a number of investigations have been done concerning creation of false memory through exposure to misinformation which causes distortion to the memory. These evidences have been provided by private investigators that go undercover into offices of therapists pretending to be patients. Although all recovered memories may not be authentic, it is not true to say that they are all false. According to new research, recovered memory is a very extraordinary condition which should only be believed if clear evidence is presented. Researchers argue that most of them are not related to real events. Generally, it is believed that memories of occurrences before the age of 2 years cannot be recovered as they cannot be remembered into adulthood while those below the age of three years are uncommon and unreliable. Therefore, claims of some adults about occurrences related to abuse below the age of six months are absolutely unfounded hence false memory. It has also been discovered that people who experience abuse after the ages of four or five rarely forget them. In addition, studies performed on people who have suffered terrible childhood abuse such as kidnapping and watching their parents’ killing reflect their desire to forget them without success as opposed regression (Braun, Ellis, Loftus, 2002). Conclusion The performance of unproven and experimental RMT on clients led to numerous destroyed families which were never recovered hence a lot of human suffering and preventable suicide which could have been avoided through proper and careful design of publicized studies. It has since been abandoned by counselors and therapists. In addition more evidence should be provided in cases of memory repression to prevent false claims. List of References Braun, K. A. , Ellis, R. , Loftus, E. F. (2002). Make My Memory. Psychology Marketing . 19(1), 1–23. New York, USA: John Wiley Sons. Loftus, E. F. (1993). The Reality of Repressed Memories. American Psychologist . 48, 518-537. Loftus, E. , 1995. Remembering Dangerously. March / April 19(2). Retrieved from The Committee for Sceptical Inquiry: csicop. org/si/show/remembering_dangerously/ on 26th July, 2010. Macrae, C. N. , Schloerscheidt, A. M. , Bodenhausen, G. V. , Milne, A. B. , 2002). Creating Memory Illusions: Expectancy-Based Processing and the Generation of False Memories. Memory . 10(1), 63–80. Robinson, B. (2008, September 3). Repression of Childhood Memories. Retrieved from Religious tolerance: religioustolerance. org/rmt_ofte. htm on 26th July , 2010. Stedmans medical dictionary, 2006. Definition. False Memory Syndrome . Pennsylvania, USA: Lippincott Williams Wilkins.

Legalization Of Marijuana In America Assignment

Legalization Of Marijuana In America - Assignment Example Lately, discussion and push for legalization of the drug by pro-marijuana activists have intensified to an extent of triggering serious political interests. This has manifested through the recent comment by President Barrack Obama that marijuana is just like cigarette and alcohol with a promise that Federal government will not interfere with marijuana laws established by individual states. Moreover, governors and state legislatures have publicly commented alongside declaring their positions as far the discussion about the legalization of the drug is concerned. Apart from the initial introduction of marijuana in America in 1545 by Spanish, marijuana laws began to exist as early as the 1920s. Michael and Renee (2003) attribute the widespread popularity of marijuana in the 1920s to the prohibitive laws established during the Prohibition Era. The era saw the outlaw of alcoholic drinks and people had to resort to marijuana that came from the widespread hemp plant. The laws restricted the use of recreational marijuana to the jazz musicians who only took the drug when in dance clubs entertaining people. According to Pfeifer (2011), between 1850 and 1942, the government of USA listed marijuana in Pharmacopeia and prescribed for conditions like nausea, labor pains and rheumatism. During the 1850s through to 1930s, marijuana gained popular use as an intoxicant. Another marijuana law called Marijuana Tax Act came into force in 1937. The purpose of the law was to levy the tax of one dollar on all growers, importers, buyers, sellers, veterans, physicians and any person prescribing it, using commercially or possess it. Failure to adhere to the Act and handling o marijuana without tax stamp of the Treasury Department would attract a fine of up to $2000, five-year imprisonment or both (Michael & Renee, 2003).

Integrity of high chromium steel dissimilar metal weld Literature review

Integrity of high chromium steel dissimilar metal weld - Literature review Example The austenitic stainless steels are definitely the commonly utilised material of all stainless steel categories. The commonly available austenitic family that is the 300 series comprises of the chrome- iron-nickel system. The austenitic stainless steels are comparably more resistant to corrosions since they have high weight percentage of the nickel and chromium content typically; that is 8-12% and 18-20% respectively. Additionally, they are non-hardenable via heat treatment and non-magnetic processes (Avazkonandeh-Gharavol, Haddad-Sabzevar and Haerian, 2008). However, the austenitic material can be hardened to some extent via cold working. The austenitic stainless steels are utilised extensively in the petrochemical, nuclear, and in the general corrosive chemical surroundings. The austenitic stainless steels are additionally classified by their carbon content as; the â€Å"L† grades or straight grades or the â€Å"H† grades. The straight grades consist of 0.03-0.08 % wt. Carbon; the L grades have less than 0.03% of Carbon; while the H grades consist of anywhere from about 0.04-0.10% weight of Carbon. The increased carbon content evident in the H grades leads to a more wear resistant and harder material. An increased carbon levels also assists the material in holding its strength at an elevated or high temperatures, thus frequently utilised in the high-temperature applications or projects. However, the increased carbon levels lead to problems that are directed to the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) in the welds. The lower or reduced carbon compositions of the â€Å"L† grades were specifically meant for the improved weldability the material (Gandy, Shingledecker and Viswanathan, 2011). The high carbon grades are frequently utilised where wear resistant, harder, or the high-temperature applications are present. The low carbon stainless steels, for example, the 304L and 316L, are regularly utilised in applications that the intergranular

Personal skills and self-management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Personal skills and self-management - Assignment Example The new initiative is the work of the ANZ Mortgages that entails implementing a policy requesting the non-issuance of Certificate of Titles for all the mortgages which are registered by the ANZ Bank in Western Australia. The purpose of this project is to eliminate the issuance of duplicate Titles to the bank by the Titles office. This initiative is supposed to be implemented and running in the next three months. The initiative stakeholders will involve several groups among them, customers, solicitors and a government department. This initiative will be facilitated by technology as it will reduce costs and improve service efficiency. Planning of a new project or initiative is usually difficult as many people are usually against the idea because of the perceived change of status quo. To make sure a move successful it is important to talk to all the parties involved of the benefits of such a project and the likely effects that such a project would have on them or their day to day operat ions. The management may also be sceptical of the idea because of the costs involved in setting up such projects. During planning the project goals need to be identified, the project deliverables need to be set, the time frame and the supporting plans need to be established in order to make the project successful. This project is relevant as it will reduce unnecessary paper work and procedures involved in keeping of duplicate titles at the titles office (Haugan, 2002, 2-39). Once the project is identified by the management or proposed by the staff as was the case for this initiative, a major decision process often begins. Several decisions have to be made whether the project should be implemented or not. In the decision making process a variety of things are involved. In this project a decision needs to be made whether this initiative is actually beneficial to the organization or not. It will be of no benefit if a project was begun which does not add value to the organization. The o bjective of this project as explained above is to eliminate the issuing of Duplicate Titles to the bank by the titles office. The current procedure at the Bank is that when taking security over landed assets in the form of a first registered mortgage, the client is supposed to deliver a duplicate certificate of Titles to the Department of Land Administration in Western Australia. The duplicate titles plus a copy of the mortgages are then filled in the security packet at ANZ. The problem here arises as a result of the duplication of the documents in order to have copies left in both offices. Another issue is to do with the entire system and how it operates. There are so many disadvantages of the current system namely: the risk of the certificates being lost, high cost of replacing lost certificates, expensive storage equipment are required for storing the certificates and the rental cost of the storage space. As much as it is a good thing it is a tedious process that needs to be elim inated as it wastes effort, time and space (Project Smart, 2011). According to this plan few options exist. The first option will be to continue having the current system which involves a lot of work and duplication of efforts. The second option that exists is to eliminate the process in totality so as to have a more efficient system that will utilize the available resources at an affordable cost to the organization. This is what the project proposes as it will have a lot of benefits. The benefits include the elimination of misfiled certificate and all the costs and penalties that are associated with them, reduction of the physical space required for the storage of these documents, reduction in paper handling/recording and transfer for both offices, security of the documents as they will be handled once and filed by the Bank staff and efficient customer service. Therefore the implementation of this initiative will go a long way in helping the Bank achieve its objectives and also hel p the

Research & Professional Skills - Reflective Journal Essay

Research & Professional Skills - Reflective Journal - Essay Example Further, there is a problem in final decision making because of various views and opinions. Enterprise Development subject is the discipline I have placed much keenness and interest because it is interesting and I enjoy listening to the lecturer speak about the subject. Further, what makes this enterprise development an interesting subject is that the lecturer always encourage student to present themseves which gives us the ability to learn and develop critical thinking and problem solving skill. In addition, this subject will enable me to develop business plan which in turn will improve myself relevant industry information and world business issues. In my research and development I encounter several challenges such as fear to public speaking. This is due to the fact that I have less self-confident, I m not comfortable speaking to a crowd of people since I feel embarrassed to look in the eyes of other people. In addition, I am always anxious in the sense that I have the tendency of struggling against speech anxiety since I usually focus on my feeling rather than what I present. For instance, at the beginning, I try to avoid public speaking. Fortunately, I realise that in order to develop good research and professional skills, avoidance is not a better solution. Therefore, I try to be brave and self motivate before doing presentation in front of classmates. In the end, I realise that self confidence can make me relax, do a full preparation , get usual with public speaking and make it as a part in my life. I should develop personal practice pragmatically over their career by reflecting on, and adoption of several sources. This in turn will assist me in developing courage when addressing the public thus enhancing my public speaking skill. Further, courage will have made me self confident and focused on my feelings rather than what people expect of me. It is important in a person’s life since it is the basis for the delivery of good practice and

Critical Thinking and Persuasion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critical Thinking and Persuasion - Essay Example The potential market is 2.5 million thus with the proper mechanism the TAMY would be able to ripe big from the proceeds contributed by the market. The market potential means that the firm needs to hire a firm that is aware of the current market events and is experienced in the systems used by TAMY. The firm has experience on major fronts. The firm has the capacity to handle logistically as a section of a firm is mandated to the function. The firm has had experience working with the private sector. This means the firm has the capacity to handle pressure and work based on quality output. The firm’s public relation traits are essential, as they would play an important role in attracting the public back to the Transit Authority of Metropolitan Yorkville (TAMY) services. The firm could be able to handle request from customers hence increase capacity. Their experience in demanding fields such as the campaign could be essential while developing a brand to be recognized by the market. The firm, however, had its shortfalls. The firm lacks experience in the transportation industry. This implies that the firm may fail to deliver according to expectation. The firm’s lack of knowledge in the transportation field would mean DeWitt could fail to identify the potential market while at the same time fail to identify the market adjustments that should be made to ensure the firms revive its previous reputation. DeWitt could worsen the current situation as it may fail to identify the industry’s high season and low seasons. The focus should be how to adjust operations to cater for the high seasons and low season. The firm should not be considered based on their lack of experience in the public transportation industry. The firm has experience in the transportation industry. This is evident in their involvement with other Transit system firms. This is the experienced need to improve the overall performance of TAMY.

Language Learning Autobiography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Language Learning Autobiography - Essay Example On reflection, I realize that my first strategy was to imitate. Although I did not completely understand the teacher’s instructions, I was able to follow by imitating and taking the lead from peers. The English teacher would usually teach a new language point and then start with class choral work before moving on to a small group, pair work and then individual responses. This allowed me the opportunity to imitate the other students and thus not only improve my language knowledge but to improve my pronunciation. My experience, therefore, provides evidence to Skinner, who states that imitation through repetition is important in the early stages of acquiring a first language and learning a second language. I learnt and acquired English not only by study but by social interaction with teachers and peers (both local and ESL students) which necessitated me to pull on or extract the language I already knew and manipulate it for the situation at hand; in other words it provided me the opportunity of having to use English for communicative purposes rather than for classroom intent. Different cultures and curriculum proved difficult for me at first but I was able to catch up with other studies because my ESL teachers and other proficient English speaking peers helped me to adapt to the new curriculum. The school also provided similar conditions for me to work with more proficient peers in the classroom and I know that this interaction helped me in first learning and then acquiring my second language. Vygotsky (1978) (cited in Coelho, 2004) states that when a child is acquiring their first language they learn best by interacting with peers that are at a higher level in language development than themselves they will learn better. He calls this the child’s proximal development zone, which is defined as the level just beyond where the child is at. I now know that a similar process is evident in acquiring a second

Research & Professional Skills - Reflective Journal Essay

Research & Professional Skills - Reflective Journal - Essay Example Further, there is a problem in final decision making because of various views and opinions. Enterprise Development subject is the discipline I have placed much keenness and interest because it is interesting and I enjoy listening to the lecturer speak about the subject. Further, what makes this enterprise development an interesting subject is that the lecturer always encourage student to present themseves which gives us the ability to learn and develop critical thinking and problem solving skill. In addition, this subject will enable me to develop business plan which in turn will improve myself relevant industry information and world business issues. In my research and development I encounter several challenges such as fear to public speaking. This is due to the fact that I have less self-confident, I m not comfortable speaking to a crowd of people since I feel embarrassed to look in the eyes of other people. In addition, I am always anxious in the sense that I have the tendency of struggling against speech anxiety since I usually focus on my feeling rather than what I present. For instance, at the beginning, I try to avoid public speaking. Fortunately, I realise that in order to develop good research and professional skills, avoidance is not a better solution. Therefore, I try to be brave and self motivate before doing presentation in front of classmates. In the end, I realise that self confidence can make me relax, do a full preparation , get usual with public speaking and make it as a part in my life. I should develop personal practice pragmatically over their career by reflecting on, and adoption of several sources. This in turn will assist me in developing courage when addressing the public thus enhancing my public speaking skill. Further, courage will have made me self confident and focused on my feelings rather than what people expect of me. It is important in a person’s life since it is the basis for the delivery of good practice and

Language Learning Autobiography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Language Learning Autobiography - Essay Example On reflection, I realize that my first strategy was to imitate. Although I did not completely understand the teacher’s instructions, I was able to follow by imitating and taking the lead from peers. The English teacher would usually teach a new language point and then start with class choral work before moving on to a small group, pair work and then individual responses. This allowed me the opportunity to imitate the other students and thus not only improve my language knowledge but to improve my pronunciation. My experience, therefore, provides evidence to Skinner, who states that imitation through repetition is important in the early stages of acquiring a first language and learning a second language. I learnt and acquired English not only by study but by social interaction with teachers and peers (both local and ESL students) which necessitated me to pull on or extract the language I already knew and manipulate it for the situation at hand; in other words it provided me the opportunity of having to use English for communicative purposes rather than for classroom intent. Different cultures and curriculum proved difficult for me at first but I was able to catch up with other studies because my ESL teachers and other proficient English speaking peers helped me to adapt to the new curriculum. The school also provided similar conditions for me to work with more proficient peers in the classroom and I know that this interaction helped me in first learning and then acquiring my second language. Vygotsky (1978) (cited in Coelho, 2004) states that when a child is acquiring their first language they learn best by interacting with peers that are at a higher level in language development than themselves they will learn better. He calls this the child’s proximal development zone, which is defined as the level just beyond where the child is at. I now know that a similar process is evident in acquiring a second

Essay About Biology Essay Example for Free

Essay About Biology Essay Most people have to choose subjects that are necessary for there future jobs and concentrate on them. But there is always some secret desire to know more about some particular things. If I could study a subject that I have never had the opportunity to study I would choose â€Å"Anatomy† which is a branch of Biology . First , Studying Biology is important for a number of reasons, but in particular because it is used in every field. If we did not have a good understanding of Biology then nobody would be able to understand how bodies work, and how life on earth functions . Biology has many branches including : Anatomy – Astrobiology – Cryobiology -Entomology- Oceanography etc .. But I would like to choose Anatomy due to some reasons . Anatomy is the identification and description of the structures of living things. It is a branch of biology and medicine which can be divided into three branches : human anatomy, zootomy (animal anatomy), and phytotomy (plant anatomy). Studying â€Å"Anatomy â€Å" not only lets you see how the world around you and your body works, but why it works that way. It gives you the knowledge to look after your body and others around you , lets you understand things you might never have done before, and helps you to learn and understand the structures and functions of the major body systems. Also It allows us to build and improve technology that allows people to be cured from illnesses or diseases and allows a society to obtain better overall well-being and health. Finally , Without biology there would be no doct ors. There would be no hospitals and there would be no real way to help people with the problems that they experience with their body. It is because of the progression of biological studies that the worlds population is healthier than ever before. For this reason I think Its incredibly important for biology to continue being studied with its various branches in schools, universities , colleges and all over the world .

Kiran Desais Inheritance of Loss

Kiran Desais Inheritance of Loss An Analysis of Kiran Desais Inheritance of Loss This second novel by Kiran Desai drips with the theme of colonial mentality of ignoring ones cultural roots and looking over the fence to seemingly greener pastures of other cultures. This is a story of exiles at home and abroad, of families broken and fixed, of love both bitter and bittersweet. Desais characters effectively depict varying kinds and levels of discontent at their own personhoods. It is a mix of pathetic illusions of being part of a culture that does not acknowledge them, hypocritical snubbing of ones own culture and journeying into knowing ones real self and true roots. Jemubhai Patel is an embittered judge, wounded by his past, which holds both hurtful and glorious memories. It is ironic how much love he can shower on an animal, his pet dog, while he regards other people with distrust. He has shut himself off from all human contact. Sai is the youthful granddaughter who somehow tames Patels otherwise dark persona with her feistiness and curiosity. She reminds him of himself when he was a youth. Sai is one person who gives hope that her grandfather will ultimately come out of the tough shell he has built around himself. Biju is the pathetic illegal worker disillusioned in America. He came there with great hopes and dreams but came home with a lot of frustrations and a renewed passion for his homeland. Gyan, Sais idealistic suitor is torn between his loyalty to his ethnic origins and his infatuation for his beautiful and intelligent tutee, Sai. The cook, Bijus father is the traditional, superstitious and chatty helper awed by the allures of modernization and is bent on his son to realize the American dream. It is through this cooks voice that the reader learns a parallel story about love and loss. Patels neighbors, Lola and Noni are Anglophiles who might be savvy readers of V.S. Naipaul but who are, perhaps, less aware of how fragile their own social standing isat least until a surge of unrest disturbs the region. The title of the book is so intriguing. When one hears of an inheritance, it is usually something so precious, so cherished that the next generation anticipates it to be bequeathed with pride and honor. Desais Inheritance of Loss truly reflects her adeptness for irony. True, the pathetic state of loss can be inherited and may be passed on to future generations, but how can anyone anticipate such a dreadful fate?   The story is delivered in such a compelling way that the reader understands the process of loss of cultural identity being passed on from the elders to the young. The book tells of different stories but anchors its base on Kalimpong in the at the foothills of Mount Kanchenjunga in the northern Himalayas, specifically in the decaying cottage named Cho Oyu, the household of Jemubhai Patel, who lives with his granddaughter, Sai and his beloved dog, Mutt. The once-magnificent home has vestiges of its splendor with its lacelike gates that hang from two stone pillars, high, gorgeous ceilings, windows that show a picturesque view of the mountains, Owing to neglect and apathy, its once beautiful wooden floors are rotted, mice run about freely, and extreme cold permeates everything. Termites are steadily chewing at the cottages wooden frame, furniture, and floors. Patel is not blind to its pathetic disintegration, and somehow embraces it. It may be reflective of how he feels inside. Patel is a retired judge from the prestigious Indian Civil Service, the British Empires old steel frame: a few hundred white civil servants who had administered the subcontinent with the help of a handful of Indians, recruited starting in 1879. Patel relishes his glory days and is embittered by a painful past and of being an Indian himself. The narrative shifts from this native setting to the grubby kitchens of New York restaurants where illegal foreigners hide from the authorities out to deport them to their countries of origin. Desai expertly presents ironies in vivid detail that at times, it seems hilarious. The strange and creative interplay of the image projected and the message delivered makes the readers ponder on the depth of the authors points. One example is the supposedly elitist upbringing of Sai, but in reality, she lives in poverty. She has never mastered her native tongue, as it is assumed by her grandfather, Patel to devalue her person. She projects the image of being a part of a rather genteel class, but at the end of the day, she literally sleeps under a table cloth!   Such a pity for a young lady to be surrounded by such manly mess! Another is the status of having a hired cook, but in truth, makes this employee live on meager wages and in a battered hut in the periphery of his masters house. Patel has lived a wretched family life filled with broken relationships inflicting cruelty to his wife, indirectly causing her death, and abandoning his daughter in a convent boarding school and then cutting her off when she marries a Parsi. He has likewise estranged himself from his parents, extended family and all the Patels when they gladly sent him off to Cambridge University, pinning their hopes on him for a better future. In England, he realized how inferior he and his compatriots were to the whites, and wanted desperately to be identified as one. He would put powder on his too brown skin to somehow attain a fairer complexion. As his Indian classmates celebrated their cultural roots, and fought for independence, Patel remained in awe of the English and abandoned his inferior race. Patel has chosen to live in Kalimpong not only because of its temperate climate but also to distance himself from the more tropical, mainstream India. He emulates the British who built cottages at the hill stations and give vent to their gardening skills. They also needed to be near bakeries that produced the cakes, breads and biscuits they need at tea time. Two elderly Indian ladies, very much like Patel in terms of their obsession with the English culture, take Sai under their wings to groom her to be a proper English lady. Lola, a widow, and her sister, Noni, live in a cottage they call Mon Ami, set apart by its own unique broccoli patch. They live like Englishwomen, listening to BBC on the radio at night, drinking cherry brandy. They read British novels from the nineteenth century, and not those of a younger breed, because they would like to keep their perception of England static. They avoid books written by Indian writers. Lola hoards English products every time she visits England every two years. She stocks up on Knorr packet soups, Oxo stock cubes and underwear from Marks and Spencer. She was ecstatic when her daughter, Pixie, officially became the wife of an Englishman. The sisters are conscious of their class perceive themselves as superior to their Anglophile neighbor Mrs. Sen, and affiliated with Father Booty of the Swiss dairy, which makes real cheese and not the processed ones eaten by most Indians. Young Sai, who is orphaned when her parents were killed in an accident in the Soviet Union, came to live with her grandfather when she was nine. His grandfather never knew she existed, as he banished his mother from his home when she married a man he did not approve of. Sai is very westernized and her grandfather tolerates it. She speaks broken Hindi, as she has been exposed to a fabricated English culture, brainwashed by the people around her that it is a far better one than the Indian roots she has sprung forth from. Sai is an avid reader. She immerses herself in literature that brings her to many worlds she has only journeyed in her rich imagination. She reads To Kill a Mockingbird, Cider with Rosie, Life with Father, and National Geographic. Desai says of her, She was inside the narrative and the narrative inside her, the pages going by so fast, her heart in her chest, she couldnt stop. Sai falls in love with her Nepalese Math and Science tutor, Gyan, a college student who was mutually attracted to her. Globalization, fundamentalism and sectarian and terrorist violence unravel Sais passion for Gyan. Her adolescent passion is intertwined with a sense of danger and tinged with both wonder and darkness. Unknown to both, their romance will greatly be affected by their differences in worldviews concerning their heritage. Another important character in the book is Biju, Sais friend and their cooks son. Biju, on the persistent machinations of his father, illegally entered the United States and does menial jobs in New York restaurants. Biju lives like a fugitive, fearing the INS to discover and deport him back to India. The book illustrates the sorry state of foreign immigrants who had flocked to the land of milk and honey seeking better lives than what they had in their own homelands. They accept the sufferings and abuse of their white superiors than facing the shame of going back home. All they need is to secure the elusive green card to ensure their prolonged stay in America. One can just imagine the stressed lives of these foreigners, exiled from their own countries and treated as low-lives. They desperately hold on to their idealistic perception of America, however stripped of their dignity and pride. Back home, they would have been treated more humanely, despite their poverty and sense of hopelessness. Instead of conquering another world outside the sphere of the familiar, they are enslaved by the whims and discriminatory treatment of the natives. This book eventually gives an unflattering view of the First World in the eyes of the inhabitants of the Third World. Biju encounters other Indians and gets surprised at how they totally adapt to the American culture. He is shocked to see Hindu Indians eating beef. He took on a sneering look. But they could afford not to notice.    It is this numbing hypocrisy that disillusions the underdogs like Biju those who completely turn away from their roots and fully embrace the culture of another, to the point of forsaking the long-held sanctity of their value systems. Bijus unfortunate life in America brings him to work for co-Indians who take advantage the illegal aliens desperation. These Indian restaurant owners cut the pay to a quarter of the minimum wage, reclaim the tips, keep an eye on the workers and drive them to work fifteen-,sixteen-, seventeen-hour donkey days.    It is pitiful to realize that illegals are treated like dirt, devoid of rights, and made to suffer for their sin of being in a place they should not be for want of a better life. This irony resounds through and through in Desais book. Desais vivid narratives bring to readers crisp images the effective contrast between rustic, lush Kalimpong in its natural glory and the ultra-sophistication of fast-paced New York -along with it, the description of the lives of the inhabitants of both settings. When Biju calls home from New York City, the reader can smell the humid air over the telephone line, and can picture the green-black lushness, the plumage of banana, the stark spear of the cactus, the delicate gestures of ferns; he could hear the croak trrrr whonk, wee wee butt ock butt ock of frogs in the spinach, the rising note welding imperceptibly with the evening. One can feel the emotions running through the characters, and it is palpable how one pines for anothers life. It also shows stark contrasts between two worlds that the readers have the luxury of shuttling to. Back in Kalimpong, the budding romance of Sai and Gyan is disrupted by Nepalese insurgency of which Gyan was a part of. The Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) agitates for rights and justice for the majority Nepalese. Pushed by his loyalty to his culture, Gyan tips off GNLF guerillas about Sais grandfather, and they raid Patels estate, robbing him of his guns, properties and food supply. The rebels shake up the otherwise peaceful existence of the main characters. They feel as if they were living out action movies, being unleashed Bruce Lee fans. The intimidating strike lasted for days, with electricity and water cut off and roads blocked by the government to prevent food from coming into the area. Lola and Noni were left with no choice but to shelter the followers of the GNLF who in turn, take advantage of their kindness, as they ravage their carefully accumulated stock of cold meat and sausages, and squatting on their large, beautiful, bountiful garden. Pradhan, their leader, pirate-looking in his outfit, insults Lola when she complains to him about his people. His degratory remarks of implying Lola to be one of his many wives, as he distastefully run his malicious eyes on her adds insult to injury, as Lola is further spiraled downwards in her humiliation. Such an attack on their person and status brings them down to reality that indeed, they are Indians, no matter how estranged and foreign they wish to be. The envy of the Nepalese rebels drastically shatter their illusions of grandeur and the pathetic circumstance evens them all out as mere people instead of demi-gods. The story gets grimmer as Patels beloved dog, Mutt gets stolen, pushing his owner into depths of despair. A bloody encounter in the insurgency situation kills some people. Sai and Gyans love affair becomes reduced to recriminations, highlighted by Gyans spiel, Whats fair? Do you have any idea of the world? Do you bother to look? Do you have any understanding of how justice operates or, rather, does NOT operate?   Such verbalization from the youth wakes one up to realize that the world is not to be seen with rose-colored lenses. Sai learns that class envy and jealousy always overpower love. It is a totally human reaction. Upon hearing the unrest in his homeland, Biju comes home in the knowledge that his father needs him. Biju undergoes an illuminating transformation. His emotional connection to his father and the significant people in his life inspire him to appreciate his roots and enliven his loyalty to India. Enough is enough!   He has suffered enough in a foreign land, enslaved by whites, and worse, compatriots, who treat him so very badly. His spirit and pride beaten up, he ironically comes home as a whole person. He had shed the unbearable arrogance and shame of the immigrant. . . For the first time in God knows how long, his vision unblurred and he found he could see clearly.    He realizes that he can choose the kind of inheritance he can get in terms of keeping close to his roots, literally and figuratively. The same realizations were stumbled upon by the other characters in the story, knowingly or not. The wealth and gentility prided by sisters Lola and Noni and retired judge, Patel were the very things that exposed them, making them targets of rebels. Having been humble, low-key, and basically, being just themselves instead of desperately putting on the identity of a foreigner could have spared them form the unfortunate circumstance they got themselves into. All of a sudden, all that they had claimed innocent, fun, funny, not really to matter was proven wrong. It did matter, buying tinned ham roll in a rice and dal country; it did matter to live in a big house and sit beside a heater in the evening, even one that sparked and shocked; it did matter to fly to London and to return with chocolates filled with kirsch; it did matter that others could not. . . The wealth that seemed to protect them like a blanket was the very thing that left them exposed. They, amid extreme poverty, were bald ly richer, and the statistics of difference were being broadcast . . .they would pay the debt that should be shared with others over many generations. The book is effective in evoking painfully shelved emotions to come to surface. Everyone, at one time or another feels the pain of loss. As mentioned earlier, title itself makes one ponder if it can be inherited and passed down from one generation to the next as what was attempted by Patel to his granddaughter, Sai. The feeling of losing out on something merely by being born inferior was expertly shown in the book to be all-consuming to the characters. The inheritance of loss may have well been an inheritance of the mentality that colonizers of ages past were mightily superior. They, from the first world, are the first exposed to the boon of modernization, leaving the colonized to covet such sophistication. Attention is too focused on their adventures with the evolution of their culture, while native culture, with all its richness and beauty is ignored and concealed with shame. If only they can revisit it with fresh perspective, they would know that they possess wealth and class, not necessarily translated to monetary and material possessions, but more profoundly, a great contribution of culture, ideology and tradition. The Indian concept of Karma could have caught up with the hypocrites as a more passionate ethnic class shakes them up from their illusions. They are pulled down to the reality that ones wealth and pride is anothers poverty. It is a reality that living decently is difficult amidst all the injustices that exist around us. However, the fulfillment of being empowered to be ones own true self gives a liberating feeling and confidence to exist authentically. The reader is tempted to coach the characters into doing so, just so they can foresee a happy ending to their pathetic existence. It is no secret that one needs to hide behind some untruths to survive some delicate situations. However, being enmeshed with lies may have a debilitating effect on ones psyche. The illegal foreigners living like scurrying mice at the threat of being caught proves to be an example of such. How dreadful it is to continue living that way!   It is as if it is difficult to exhale, as one might fall into the trap of revealing his truths. Again, Desai plays with the readers mind when this happens the paradox of the truth not setting you free! and in fact, imprisoning you in the safety of lies!   However, this is a painful reality that needs to be accepted. Acknowledging ones origins helps an individual gain full understanding of oneself. It gives him a choice of either opening his arms to receive his inheritance of loss/ fulfillment or of politely declining and moving on with his chosen path. Kiran Desai may well be instrumental in poking at the consciences of inauthentic, hypocritical show-offs to shed their cloak of fabricated class and reveal their true selves. Painful though it may be, there is no substitute to honest living and upholding ones cultural values, which, in the first place, were customized in accordance with ones true roots.