Angels in America – Essay 2

Angels in America is a play written by Tony Kushner that chronicles the disintegrating relationships of two couples. The story is set in America in the 1980s against a background of gluttony, conservatism, politics, and controversial sexuality. It is this backdrop that provides  Angels in America  with its enormity and sets it apart from other love stories. In this play, the plot is largely driven by its themes, which are viewed from different characters' perspectives as the story unfolds. Throughout the play, Kushner introduces to readers, many weighty issues. Some of these issues include: homosexuality, religion, stereotypes, race/ethnicity, denial, betrayal, and identity; each character in the play questions and grapples with at least one of these subjects. As a reader, it was particularly interesting to watch the characters struggle with the issue of stereotypes. Living in New York City during the 21st century, the gay community has had and continues to be a prominent part of society. The gay people that I have crossed paths with do not seem to be shy or ashamed of their sexual orientation. They do not hide who they are attracted to and they do not view their orientation as a sign of weakness. Due to my exposure to this, it was baffling to witness Roy’s reaction upon hearing from his doctor that he has contracted AIDS. Roy states, â€Å"Now to someone who does not understand this, homosexual is what I am because I have sex with men. But really this is wrong. Homosexuals are not men who sleep with other men. Homosexuals are men who in fifteen years of trying cannot get a pissant antidiscrimination bill through City Council. Homosexuals are men who know nobody and who nobody know. Who have zero clout. Does this sound like me, Henry? † (Kushner, 51). Although Roy may desire another man, to him desire is irrelevant. Roy only identifies with other powerful people and in his eyes, gays are powerless. Roy believes his money and status protect him from the oppression gay men face. Roy is even convinced that he can use his money to buy immunity from AIDS. Another issue that is raised by Kushner is sanity. In the play there is a character named Harper who is addicted to Valium. Throughout the play, Harper struggles and questions what sanity is. Her vivid imagination causes her to travel between reality and fantasy quite often. At one point, towards the end of Part One, Harper â€Å"travels† to Antarctica in a dream. She believes that she has found her utopia and now she can finally live in peace. Harper’s imaginary friend, Mr. Lies joins her n her journey and explains, â€Å"This is a retreat, a vacuum, its virtue is that it lacks everything; deep-freeze for feelings. You can be numb and safe here, that’s what you came for. Respect the delicate ecology of your delusions† (Kushner, 108). Harper wants to remain in her created delusion forever; her manifested utopia is a result of her inability to face reality. Because Harper is too scared to leave the confines of her home, she has created a world inside her ow n mind so that she can live there and remain in paradise forever.

Facets of guidance Essay

2.1 Personal and social guidance Personal and social guidance is needed by learners in order to cope with negative feelings; such as feeling inferior, rejected, lonely, hated, indecisive, inadequate or dislike for themselves. As well to transform them into positive feelings; such as having a good self-esteem, feeling loved, accepted, happy and confident. Educators and counsellors will use personal and social guidance to fulfil one of their principal responsibilities – to enable learner to develop a positive self-image. Personal guidance will also enable learners to deal with crisis such as changing schools, physical abuse, violence in the home or community or the death of a parent or sibling. A form of social guidance is the interaction of learners, with parents, educators, learners, siblings and other members of the community. These forms of interaction can provide social and emotional satisfaction but may also lead to behavioural problems, which need social guidance to address them. Educational guidance Educational guidance includes all the facets of learning e.g. memorising  work, how to learn for and write tests, i.e. everything relating to the learners schoolwork. With regards to learners finding difficulty with schoolwork, educators must identify the issue, deal with it and find solutions for it. Study methods, learner’s motivation to learn, academic assistance and reinforcement of academic work, as well as unrealistic expectations of educators and/or parents can all be addressed through educational guidance. Problems with education don’t happen in isolation, therefore educational assistance should take all other aspects e.g. the person himself or herself, the home, peers, school and community into account. Vocational guidance This facet of guidance involves viewing the learner as an individual and guiding them to make a realistic career choice. It is important for the learner to become familiar with the concept of â€Å"the workplace†, therefore career education should begin at primary school with emphasis on exploring work opportunities, instead of on specific selection of work. Learners should be introduced to various careers in pre-primary school, by means of different themes and by visits to a hospital, doctor, dentist, farm, fire station, etc. 2.2 Firstly I would use an exploratory interview to assist Nomsa as she is only in grade 2 and this interview is particularly used for learners who are very young. I, the counsellor, would be able to find out, through deliberation, who Nomsa is, as well as find out the nature and scope of her problem by means of the exploratory interview. Secondly, I would use the historicity interview in order to get a better understanding of Nomsa. This interview would give me an indication of her personal development thus far and would also allow me to see her views about her education and school experience. I would then carry out an informative interview with Nomsa and her parents and by doing so I will capture data on Nomsa’s personality structure and education, which in turn can be processed by her parents and educators in the view to support her. Lastly, I would use the advisory interview to set Nomsa’s parents on their way toward more efficient guidance of their child. By carrying out this interview, I will be able to provide  Nomsa’s parents with moral support, advice and help and will be able to give them informed suggestions on how to improve her educational situation. 2.3.1 Sensing: An understanding of sensing will equip the teacher to offer educational guidance for the young child/learner as the teacher will be aware of the fact that sensing is essentially the moment of all learning. The teacher will also know that learners become aware of things through their five senses and he/she can therefore use this knowledge when planning activities for his/her learners. Furthermore it will be evident to the teacher that learners will not become involved in learning activities unless sensing is adequately actualised and the teacher will then be able to realise that sensing plays a vital role in learning. 2.3.2 Paying attention: An understanding of the learning mode, â€Å"paying attention†, will equip the teacher to offer educational guidance for the young child/learner as the teacher will understand that it is through the senses that learners become involved in the learning process but that it is however imperative for learners to stay involved in the learning content. This involvement is determined by the learners willingness, which in turn sets in motion learning activities such as thinking, perceiving, fantasising , imagining and memorising. 2.3.3 Perception: Perception is a precondition for learning and is dependant upon the senses. The teacher will therefore know that it is through the perception process that the learner will identify the learning content. The teacher will also be aware of the fact that language development and perceiving are closely interwoven; therefore the language used is the medium of stating what is perceived. 2.3.4 Thinking: The understanding of the concept of thinking will equip the teacher to offer educational guidance for the young learner as it will be evident to the teacher that the thinking constitutes to problem solving, the teacher will also be aware of the fact that emphasis must be placed on analysing, planning, reasoning, synthesising and arranging of learning content. The  teacher will also know that there are two types of thought development – reproductive thought, which plays an important role in the recall of existing memory; and productive thought which leads to the forming of new concepts. Bibliography Papalia, DE & Olds, SW. 1978. Human development. Toronto: McGraw-Hill.

Interview with a One-Year-Old Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Interview with a One-Year-Old - Assignment Example But the reaction of the child was as customary as it was in the prior and simpler questions. Since the beginning of the interview, when the child was asked about his night-time problems, it seemed that he was feeling little embarrassed and thus completely denied that to be a regular issue. He also overpowered his father referring him as ‘silly’ to ask such questions. Certainly, it was a better option for his father to change the topic and concentrate on the child’s issues with his mother. It also seemed that he had a few complaints regarding his mother’s attitude when the two were left behind at home, especially on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He accused his mother to be torturing on him on one day and getting annoyed on the other. However, he moved forth from the issues between him and his mother stating that on Fridays she is busy hitting the turtles even when there was no turtle in the house. Understanding that his son is ‘making up’, his father redirects the interview towards a more serious topic, focusing on the military actions of Pr esident Obama in relation to the capture of Osama-bin-Laden. With a remarkable gesture, the child agreed with the decision taken by President Obama which was quite an advanced comment but in a slightly impolite manner.

Definition of terrorism in United States Research Paper

Definition of terrorism in United States - Research Paper Example United States Security Agencies define terrorism as the predetermined use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to infiltrate fear. Such acts are intended to intimidate or threaten governments or societies to bend towards the perpetrators goals that are generally ideological, political, and religious. Inside the above definition, three key elements are evident —violence, fear, and intimidation— with each element intended to produce terror in its victims. The United State Intelligence defines "Terrorism as unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any part thereof, in advancing of political or social demands† (Hoffman 37).Terrorism has ever been evolving. Its evolution should be closely monitored so that the means of countering it should be developed and made robust. The administration of the day has come with more effective and novel means of countering the vice th at pose a monumental threat to the citizen of United State both in the country and abroad. The intelligence, policy makers and political advisers come up with a for fold strategy of dealing with the menace. The strategy includes the following that apply to all citizens of the America: adhering to United States of America core Values, building security partnership, Applying CT tools, and capability appropriately and building a culture of resilience.

John Stuart Mills Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

John Stuart Mills Theories - Essay Example The essay concludes that Mill's proposed limitations on legitimate interference with the individual has limited sustainability, and can only be applied in a system which has already liberated its citizens through education and cultural revolution. John Stuart Mill, the nineteenth century philosopher, is an icon for liberal ideals. Noted as "An extraordinarily nice, warm-hearted and intellectually generous man, as well as an extraordinarily gifted one" (Marquand, 2007), whom it is impossible to dislike, Mill set the standard for ideas on the nature of individual Liberty in a functioning society. Unlike many philosophers of his age, Mill put the need for Individual freedom above the need of the state for social order and control. Mill was not alone in theorizing about liberty, and the constraints on government. A century before his writing, two nations had risen up and overthrown what had been legitimate government. The American Revolution argued that there can be no taxation without representation, and the French Revolution succeeded in toppling a monarchy; within Mill's lifetime, the latter revolution had still been battling to come to terms with these events, the monarchy having been recreated and overthrown for a second time. During the first French Revolution, intellectuals had rushed to view the action, and intellectual society was still shaken by what it had seen. Questions and worries about what these events meant for society were therefore not far from the minds of philosophers and creative thinkers in JS Mill's social circle. This paper attempts to examine Mill's proposal on limitations on state interference in light of his intellectual influences and events of the time. By examining some of the ideas which Mill discussed in On Liberty, both about government interference with individual will, and how his own constraints on Liberty serve to protect individuals from harm by others, this paper will attempt to analyze the limitations which Mill proposed be placed upon legitimate government. Interpretations and discussion of Mill's most famous work center on the connection between Mill's theories of freedom, and the school of Utilitarianism in which he was brought up. According to Isaiah Berlin, his intellectual achievement, after a "Terrifying education at the hands of a rigid and dogmatic father" (Marquand, 2007), remains that he managed to develop his own need for freedom and happiness into a set of principles which remain at the centre of debates into the freedom of the individual (Berlin, 1991). Berlin also suggests that Mill hung on to his Utilitarian upbringing, which has been criticized more recently by, amongst others, John Gray. In the introduction to On Liberty in Focus, Gray and his co-editor G Smith consider the idea that Mill had given up Utilitarianism, and instead "It is rather the celebrated 'one very simple principle' of the first chapter of On Liberty" (Gray and Smith, 1991) which was Mill's motivation, and suggest other alternatives to Berlin's interp retation.

Survey online travel agencies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Survey online travel agencies - Essay Example The second type is the 'blind' sites which are similar to open sites but they allow a customer to bid a price, a location or a time to get his/her ticket reservation but a user may not know the airline, departure time or specific hotel until the actual ticket is bought. These websites also have the normal search functionality where a customer can view the travel fares without bidding. The third type of online travel sites are merely search engines popularly known as 'meta search engines' (Rand, 2006). The term means that they search other sites which provide air travel. The search engine goes through all available online travel agencies websites (open sites) and finds the best results for the user. (CR, 2008) As mentioned above, there are three types of online travel agencies. These agencies fight within themselves to get the highest market share (Rand, 2006). For the analysis sake, the business strategy is compared according to these types. Popular open sites include agencies like Orbitz, Expedia, and Travelocity amongst others. Orbitz (www.orbitz.com) strategy is to market itself in the eco-tourism and beats the other two companies in terms of thoroughness and provides car rentals and hotel reservations at guaranteed prices. Expedia (www.expedia.com) is a highly rated site which offers extra benefits to the customers like rewards for frequent flyers, going to less-common foreign routes and awards programs. Travelocity's (www.Travelocity.com) website is easily customizable to find what the user wants. Best fares, time frame and different combinations of airline, hotels, car rentals etc. can be entered as search parameters and found easily. (CR, 2008) Blind Sites Two popular blind sites are there in the category, Priceline and Hotwire. Priceline's (www.priceline.com) strategy is to let travelers bid a price on where and when they want to fly. The website then searches for all available seats on any airline matching the cost, time and the destination. The bid can be rejected if the bid is too low, where a traveler can increase the bid and try again in 24 hours. Due to the inconvenience of not knowing the exact time of departure and airline, Priceline is best option only for people who are flexible and need a low cost travelling solution. On the other hand, Hotwire (www.hotwire.com) is successful on its own strategy. Travelers can select a tourism package complete with hotel and car reservation without knowing the airline or the hotel. However by specifying the location radius, the website can choose the best priced hotel within that radius. The site also offers consultancy with the help of historical trends which makes Hotwire more interesting and better in terms of customer perception. (CR, 2008) Search Engines Travel search engines like Kayak and Yahoo! FareChase are two of the most popular Meta search engines. Kayak (www.kayak.com) plays on its extra features like finding the lowest fares from a traveler's closest airport. Their deals with hotels and airlines return a very good price for the customers. Its most helpful feature includes the fare comparison tool that lets a customer check the lowest fares that other passengers paid for similar routes and to compare search results against those found on other open or blind sites. Yahoo!

Current Event Summary Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Current Event Summary - Article Example The dollar gains are present even when there is a decline in stocks of the United States. There has been a decade of low interest rates and easy money but the dollar has remained strong bringing back memories of the 1990s under President Clinton (Thomas 2). During that time, the United Nations had good health systems and the currency favored travelling amongst the Americans and investors. However, with the current economy currency moves can be fleeting and deceptive. A push by the investors is favorable since it is a highlight of good performance. As long as the U.S is in constant growth and the rest of the world stays stagnant the dollar will remain strong. Having a strong dollar is not always a plus since it can hurt exports and stall economic growth. The success of economies can be puzzling. In the market economy, no one looks out for economic well being of the society as a whole. Market economies try to promote the overall economic well-being not just the currency (Mankiw 7). The economic problems of the United States have not disappeared since unemployment is still very high and the levels of debt have gone high as well. The government has done very little to put an end to the growth of government spending. Governments sometimes can be involved in improving the market outcomes. The invisible hand only works if the government enforces rules that are the key to the market economy (Mankiw 10). Therefore, the United States government can have a role to play in the nation’s economy. Recently, the dollar has gained so much strength over the euro as stated by the European’s central bank president. Most of the European economists say that a weak euro jump-starts exports thus can spur growth in Europe’s economy. Traders have added on their bets that the euro will continue to fall relating to problems such as anemic growth. Data shows that the short positions on the euro are very popular currency trades (Thomas 2). Most traders believe that the