Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro

Few novels dare to touch the inner vulnerability of humankind. It is Soseki’s Kokoro that captures the essence of friendship and loneliness, truth and betrayal, and life and death. The novel is, after all, about human nature. Any one reading this powerful work will quickly relate to the characters who go through tremendous strife, personal changes and much reflection. While Kokoro was written in Japan many years ago, it may be valuable to a reader even in contemporary society as its attributes may be embraced today, despite its age and cultural focus. Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro explores a great deal of subject matter. Several themes are woven into the pages of this older novel. It is fair to say, at least based on a personal experience, that one might have a tendency to discount the credibility of the work or deem much of the information irrelevant due to ages age and cultural differentiation. However, it will be shown that Kokoro is a novel that, like so many others, breaks the barriers of time. Soseki successfully creates deep characters that permeate the weak boundaries of the human character. We recognize that this novel shares a sense of timelessness supporting the entire foundation; the themes we see explored here are quite applicable to the lives we live today. Naturally, the Japanese component of the work is what makes the clear distinction between Japanese culture and Western mentality. But all the same, the morals in Kokoro seem to be fundamental enforcing great personal reflection upon the reader. As the reader progresses through the novel, contemplating themes and depicting the characters, specifically the student and Sensei, he begins to develop the notion that indeed the characters possess a sense of timelessness. They could have been born in the twentieth century and experienced the same sort of friendship and turmoil. However, the relationship between the two men is out of the realm of ordinary fiction. It is unique and something that this author explores quite candidly. The fact that the two are in a close friendship and that the young student explores new territory is in some way allowing the older character to live up to his title of â€Å"teacher†, or Sensai. Yet, in exploring the issue of timelessness, and applicability to other situations, the particular point about the friendship between the two is omething that could have taken place anywhere and anytime. While other portions of the work are pertinent to Japanese culture, the exploration of such a friendship is something that is truly universal. The reader might note perhaps the anomaly of their relationship, though, considering the ages of the men. Yet, such friendships do form between old and young; youthful intellectuals mi ght find greater knowledge in those older individuals who experienced history than what is written in a book. Clearly, their relationship differs from that of the bonds between grandparents and grandchildren though. They are peers, respectful and yet colloquial in their manners. In the case of Kokoro, the relationship begins between two strangers but the friendship formed becomes intense very quickly. There are yet more ways to explore relationships between men in the novel. It must be emphasized that these relationships all too often go unnoticed and unexplored by fiction. Soseki looks at not only the student’s relationship with Sensei but also with his dying father. Here we have a young man, his father on his death-bed and his mentor stating to have ended his life. What was the student to do, where was he to go, who would he want to be with during those men’s last minutes of life? Quite a lot of pressure for any individual. He was caught up in the times, the evolution of modernization and the uncertainty as to remain in the traditional realm of Japanese culture and stay by his father’s side or perhaps continue to pursue his education and knowledge, returning to Sensai to demonstrate his gratitude, devotion, and friendship. Ironically, it is Sensei who commits suicide! The emotions that well up in the young man, however, are truly universal. A sense of betrayal and sadness permeate the work and create a void. After all, things were going quite well in the world of friendship and male bonding until the young student’s mentor of sorts would commit this ultimate act. This story is about one man’s journey through self-realization and the revelations he makes after befriending a man. In one way, it is more about a personal journey than about a relationship. What is most troubling, and lends the work a somber tone, is the main character’s loneliness, yet another theme illustrated in this novel. In some way, Sensei helps to break through that barrier. After K’s suicide, he realized the atrocities of his actions and the heinous development of his character from diligent student to human betrayer. After much time of personal torment, K confided in him of his love for Ojasan. Why Sensai seemed surprised as to the context of the confession somewhat confuses the reader as clearly anyone could have seen that K was also in love with her, in fact, surely Sensai knew, but he reclined to a state of denial. He states, â€Å"I felt as if I had been turned into stone by a magician’s wand. I could not even move my lips as K had done† (205). As Sensai came to understand it was he who was responsible for the death of this man, he felt he had no choice but to cease all human actions and remain an outcast in society, secluding himself to his home and his wife. Surely, no one could understand what he had done or what he had been through, not even his wife as he states, â€Å"I was saddened by the thought that she, whom I loved and trusted more than anyone else in this world, could not understand me. And the thought that I had not the courage to explain myself to her mad me sadder still. I was very lonely. Indeed, there were times when I felt that I stood completely alone in this world, cut off from every other living person† (240). He began to realize he was no longer innocent like the student who visited him often, the student he had once been, but he became his betraying uncle who robbed him of the only money his parents left him after they died. And even more than this pitiful character, Sensai then evolved into a character such as K, burying himself in books, avoiding people and friendships, bottling up all of his emotions inside and eventually ending his life as a means of escaping loneliness. Certainly another significant theme explored in this novel is the assumption that by losing one’s identity, one learns to value it. What is meant by identity is that by rejecting ones own particular understanding of themselves, they are likely to find it once again, a theory that that cannot be ignored as the student learned this by befriending the old man. And he did not do this in the easiest way. His challenge was between the two cultures, that of a liberal nature and that of a traditional nature. He imply did not know which one to turn to in times of need and in desperation to seek knowledge. In fact, perhaps what makes the novel so powerful is it’s thought provoking style, allowing the reader to analyze his own life through the main character’s journey. The loss of one’s identity perhaps creates a blank slate to enable one to find it. We see quite a change in the young man as he learns that Sensai will commit suicide. While it is difficult to read abo ut suicide and how it affects others, this is a major theme as the concept of suicide is universal. When it is brought up, the ultimate questions must be asked and answered. Sometimes there are no answers. The young man wrestles with a great deal of conflict throughout the novel but it is the knowledge of the suicide that perhaps becomes the final straw— the young man’s loneliness is accentuated. What does he have left? Many people have experienced such trauma in their lives and may be able to relate to what he felt. There is that sense of betrayal and self-blame, â€Å"what if I had done or said something differently? † Such thoughts are enough to drive any individual to insanity. There are moments when emotions of remorse and guilt are so overwhelming they cloud all better judgment and force the individual into a deep state of depression. The ultimate questions of free will and fate come rushing to consciousness. Sensai even declares that it was his pre-destined fate that his life would conclude this way as he states, â€Å"Her fate had been pre-ordained no less than mine had been† (244). The themes carried through the book are certainly something inherent in more modern fiction, thus proving that the theme has a sense of timelessness. The novel is further a testimony that suicide does indeed affect more than ones self. Of course, even if suicide is not legal or does not conform to a society’s standards, there is nothing one can do to punish the person who commits such an act. Speaking of suicide, Sensai states, â€Å" Some may say that this was a vain sort of thing to do. But who are we to judge the needs of another man’s heart? † (247). He is already dead. It is those who are living who must bear the brunt of the act and that is what, above all, this novel shows. With the use of Sensei, the author is able to tell more about the young student. This technique also creates empathy for the father who additionally served to create conflict within the reader. Loyalty is sometimes split and there is sometimes a sense of tension in the air. The characters reveal something every reader can use, something perhaps the author was conscious of. The author may not have realized that these characters, and their predicaments, would be so moving as to inspire its audience to examine ones own self. Soseki creates a difficult situation and through the main characters, is able to inspire a number of emotions that the reader likely can use and identify with. The reason is because although the author uses a certain predicament, the problem can be easily applied to other situations. Thus, it is quite easy to look at Kokoro and think about ones own personal dilemmas that are somewhat related to the problems that torment these characters. The idea that the book permeates time and is applicable to today’s world, through use of the characters, has been demonstrated. It would be difficult to argue against it as Soseki’s characters certainly live today. Reading Kokoro is like looking in a mirror, sometimes at things no one wants to see. It begs the reader to question his or her own personal relationships and how far they would go for a friend. How far would they go to protect their own honor? What would one do if a friend did kill himself? What would it take for the reader to commit the ultimate act? And yet, time would continue. That it a message that emanates from the pages of this great work and breaks through the boundaries that time tries to inflict. The concepts inherent in the work are certainly applicable in modern society despite the fact that the author lived so long ago in Japan.

Nvq Plevel 3 Playwork

PW3. 12 Assignment 4 5. 1 Explain why it is important to have positive relationships with adults in the play environment It could be argued that playworkers are often naturally skilled and adept at making good relationships with the children in the informal setting of a play environment. Whilst adult relationships may take more time and effort, and thus more difficult to achieve it is essential that they maintain positive relationships with other adults within the play environment.As professional’s playworkers are likely to come in to contact with a range of adults be it parents, carers, elder siblings, other playworkers, or the general network of care and as a result need to be proficient in forming positive relations with such adults. There are a number of reasons why this is important. First and foremost, children always benefit when adults around them are able to collaborate, co-operate and work in tandem. In relation to parents and carers, it is important that playworkers and parents are amiable, and can work together to form a strong support foundation for the child.Not only will the play setting benefit from amicable relations but children will feel that they are supported as a result of the good rapport between parents and playworkers. In addition to this, parents are naturally interested in the happiness and well-being of their child. Through strong and positive relations between parents and playworkers, parents will feel that they are informed about their child’s experiences at the club and involved in this aspect of their life.Another aspect of this mutual relationship is that the parent can inform the play setting if things are difficult at home, that the child worries about certain aspects of the play environment or any difficulties that they are having. Not only will this provide an explanation for potential changes in behaviour, but it allows the playworkers to accommodate the child to make them feel more comfortable or at ease, and generally support them within the play setting.It is through this positive relationship that parents are able to support playworkers and their decisions, and in turn provide a strong team foundation to support the child and their general welfare. In terms of positive relationships with those directly associated to the play environment it is essential that a positive, friendly and supportive relationship occurs between co-workers. One must remember that children are sensitive to the way in which one works with colleagues, and indirectly the relations they see modelled by their elders are those which they in turn will portray.In effect, the attitude and relations of the playworkers act as a blue print upon which they form their own relationships. Essentially, through positive relationships with other adults within the setting, it not only creates a pleasant and fruitful atmosphere but it provides a strong foundation of support – both between playworkers themselves and with par ents and carers. Through good communication and positive relations children are able to feel settled and supported in all aspects of their development. . 2 Explain the importance of clear communications with adults in the play environment In order to develop and maintain positive relationships with adults in the play environment, an element of respect is vital. The key to this is a clear communications style. It is through such a style that both playworkers themselves, and parents feel respected, valued and a part of the play setting. Good communication is a central aspect to playwork, as well as everyday life.It is a skill which not only underpins almost every other social skill but it is particularly important when working with children and young people, and in turn the adults associated with the play environment. Through communicating effectively as playworkers, it encourages positive relationships with the adults and thus results in a proactive and efficient team between both pl ayworker and parent. The importance of this cannot be understated, by having a solid team foundation between playworkers and parents, children will not only feel supported and comfortable, but are aided in their development.The key to attain this solid foundation is through communicating effectively and clearly with the adults associated with the play setting. For example, it is important that parents and carers are aware of any issues that may have arisen during the session, any difficulties their child is encountering, or if their child has behaved or responded particularly well to a certain situation. Essentially, this involves being ‘updated’ on their child’s general behaviour and well-being. The importance of clear communication can be evidenced here.Being vague in ones communications can lead to problems such as misunderstanding, the child being reprimanded for something they didn’t do by parents, or by parents not grasping the full extent of the pro blem. Not only would this affect the support the child would receive, but many could argue that such misinterpretations or misunderstandings could result in conflict between play setting and parent. When considering this from another perspective, effective communication with other team members and playworkers is equally essential.Playworkers need to feel that when asked to do something by another member of the team, or someone of higher position that they are doing as required and desired. In addition to this, they need to maintain and portray a team approach in everything conducted. By communicating roles, responsibilities and issues effectively the team is able to work as a unit and thus provide the best care for the children in the play setting. By supporting the team, communicating effectively and efficiently it ensures that problems are dealt with promptly so as not to impact on the running of the team and the setting.From this it can be noted that clear and effective communica tion not only benefits the playwork team as a whole, but in addition it means that an effective team approach between playworkers and parents can be attained. In doing so, this provides children with the best support possible. 5. 3 Summarise different strategies the playworker can use to communicate with adults who have communication difficulties The way in which one communicates with people should not be static. It is important that the style used is adjusted to meet the needs of both the situation and the person with whom one needs to communicate.In many cases communicating with a range of adults can be challenging, however this becomes more difficult when trying to communicate with those who have communication difficulties. Here, a more precise and patient method is required. There are a number of strategies that can be employed when dealing with those who have communication difficulties. Firstly it is essential that one remains patient, speaks clearly and allows the other person a chance not only to understand what is being said, but then to construct a response.The phrase â€Å"connect before you direct† also comes in to play here; by making eye contact and engaging the other person in conversation not only allows you to form a relationship, but it may be essential for those with communication difficulties. For instance, and adult who has hearing difficulties will need to see mouth movements to understand and will rely heaving on visual signs such as facial expressions. In addition to this, it is important, especially with adults, that one respects their difficulties, not pressuring them or treating them like a child.Achieving this takes practice but in doing so it ensures the other person feels respected, valued and understood. In some cases a more active style of communication may be necessary, such as physically demonstrating what is required by drawing or miming. Another strategy is to employ physical cues such as pictures, objects or photos wh ich the adult can point to or respond with. In doing this, verbal speech is simply an aid, and for those who have difficulties in such an area it provides an external method of communication, and perhaps a better means of understanding.Alternatively, a translator may be required to assist the communication of confusing, difficult or complex issues and conversations. Written word is another strategy which can be employed when dealing with adults who have communication difficulties. For some, written word is easier to process and understand than verbal conversations, and so this provides another means of communicating with those who have communication difficulties. One downside of this method is that those who are not native to the language may struggle to comprehend written style. Utilising the telephone is another option and strategy.Those who suffer communication difficulties may be more aware of themselves in busy, noisy and unknown environments which may impede their ability to u nderstand as well as to respond. By speaking on the phone it allows them to take in the information and construct their sentences in peace, in their own time and in the security that no one external is judging them. From this, it is evident that when communicating with adults who have communication difficulties there are a number of strategies that could be employed. Essentially it involves being understanding, precise and clear.Talking slowly but not in an exaggerated manner and simplifying our extended language abilities allowing them to not only understand what is being asked but at the same time feel respected and valued as an individual and not undermined due to their difficulties. 5. 4 Evaluate types of situations that might lead to conflict between playworkers and other adults Sometimes things go wrong. In any work place there are bound to be situations that arise which will result in conflict of some sort. People react differently to such situations depending on circumstance s, but it is mportant to remember that differences of opinion are not necessarily a bad thing. There are numerous situations that may result in conflict between playworkers and other adults, as with anyone in society. It could be argued that one of the largest contributors to conflict is merely the result of miscommunication. Someone may take a comment the wrong way, not understand the context or may not have had the message properly passed on. As a result of this sour feelings such as resent, confusion or misunderstanding can lead to conflict between adults.In the case of the playwork setting, this could be between two playworkers with one person commenting on what is normally done in a helpful manner, with the other taking it as condescending, patronising or dictatorial. Another example of such a situation would be a playworker telling a parent about the way their child has behaved during the session. If this was not explained properly, or details were left out (such as it being à ¢â‚¬Ëœstarted’ by another child) this could result in conflict between parent, child and playworker.Another effect of miscommunication is conflict due to lack of role explanation. If roles and responsibilities are not clearly and effectively outlined (miscommunicated), this could lead to false expectations from supervisors and thus result in conflict. For example if a supervisor expects a certain playworker to be doing the headcount and this is not achieved, conflict could occur as a result. Typical playwork situations which may cause conflict are about the decisions made or the actions taken by playworkers.If parents do not agree with or support such decisions it can often lead to a conflict over what is expected by the parent, versus what is required and expected from the playworker. Situations such as where a child has been hurt (falling from a swing, or injury from another child), damage to the child’s equipment or clothes, or relations with other children are ofte n the causes of conflict between playworkers and parents or carers. Here the playworker will follow policies and procedures, but the parent may not agree with the action or decision subsequently forming the foundations for conflict.As is often the case, conflict can occur because a person is coping with unrelated pressures. Life stressors, home issues etc may cause either parent or playworker to snap without reason. This can initiate feelings of resent, confusion, or misunderstanding, thus producing a conflict scenario. As evidenced, it can be noted that there are a number of types of situations which may result in conflict between adults in the play setting. Miscommunication, stressors, expectations and even own confidence in handling a situation can result in conflict between the adults within the setting. . 5 Explain different strategies the playworker can use to deal with conflict situations involving other adults. There are a number of strategies that can be employed when deali ng with conflict situations. In many situations simply listening to the other person, attaining all the facts and showing an understanding is enough to dilute the problem. However if this is not the case, then there are other strategies which can be utilised. In many respects dealing with conflict situations with adults requires a similar approach to that of children.If emotions are tense the best way to manage conflict is to listen to the other person, acknowledge their feelings and show empathy and understanding of the issue. In acknowledging another person’s feelings or point of view it can take the heat out of the conflict and thus allow a solution to be found, even if this involves stating â€Å"I can see what you mean, but I can’t agree with you there†. By accepting and acknowledging another person’s feelings, one can then ask them how they wish the issue to be resolved.In asking for their opinion it shows respect and highlights that their opinion i s valued. Much like dealing with children in conflict, those adults in conflict can then work together in order to come to a viable solution for them both. In addition to this when dealing with parents or other playworkers it is important to thank them for bringing the matter to one’s attention and check that the problem is understood fully. Furthermore if you believe there to be a misunderstanding, say so as this may be enough to resolve the conflict.It is important to talk in a private area, listen carefully, make eye contact, ensure that one remains polite and calm and that any apologies are made if necessary. Another important aspect to consider is to avoid personalising the issue (through comments made, or actions taken, or gossiping) as this can lead to it becoming more heated, intense and appear like a personal vendetta. It is best to talk to the person directly before any more misunderstanding or misinterpretation can occur. In order to deal with miscommunications wit hin the work place, one strategy that could be used it to write things down, a record of events.This is particularly relevant for when children are hurt in the play setting. By recording what happened, when and how it ensures that relevant people are provided with correct information that is the same across the board. Dealing with conflict due to confidence is hard. Essentially it is important that the supervisors acknowledge their team’s skills, expertise and value within the playwork team. Conflict due to external pressure is also difficult. By observing other people as they talk to you can sometimes provide an indication of whether other factors are at work.If this is the case, simply being sympathetic and a good listener can often take the heat out of a conflict potentially brewing. Essentially, when dealing with conflict in adults it is similar to the approach taken when dealing with children. It is important that one listens, shows understanding, respects the other pers ons differentiating view points, and that they work together to find a solution suiting to them both. In doing this, not only will it aid the conflict itself, but it almost acts as pre conflict management.

St. John Bosco (1815-1888)

A man with a vision, with an awareness of the good that lives in people, with an ability of dreaming dreams of beauty for those he met along his way, this is John Bosco. St. John Bosco (1815-1888) was born to poor parents in Recchi, Italy, the Piedmont area of northern Italy. When John was two, his father died prematurely. As a boy, John lived on a farm with his family doing the only thing they knew how, farming. Poverty and a lack of formal education in the home did not stop the growth of John Bosco as a person. His mother was for real, realizing the importance of God in life. This friendship with God became powerful and slowly John prepared for the priesthood. In 1841 at the age of 26, John was ordained priest at Turin, and immediately gave himself to that work, finding shelter for neglected youth and instructing them in religion. He was now ready to make his contribution toward the poor and homeless. He rented an old barn in a field which he called â€Å"The Oratory.† This was the first of many oratories John Bosco founded for helping poor boys who needed a home. He believed that prayer and Holy Mass and Communion and confession are the best ways for children to attain a sense of personal responsibility. In a short time, other priests joined him in his work and by 1852 they were caring for over 600 boys. John dealt with them by using a minimum of restraint and discipline, lots of love, keeping careful watch over their development and encouraging them personally and through religion. John†s preaching and writing, as well as the charitable support of wealthy and powerful patrons allowed for expansion of his work. The need for dependable assistants led to the founding of the society of St. Francis de Sales in 1859, and it continues to work today. To provide similar care for the poor and neglected girls, John Bosco founded, in 1872, the Daughters of Our Lady, Help of Christians. The life of St. John Bosco was full and his zeal contagious. He never got tired of talking and writing about his work for the young and their care. On this feast day the Church has chosen for the Office of Readings an excerpt from one of his letters. It expresses his concern and is applicable for our time when children suffer from neglect in broken homes and in less than ideal welfare situations. John wrote: â€Å"If we wish to appear concerned about the true happiness of our foster children and if we would move them to fulfill their duties, you must never forget that you are taking the place of the parents of these beloved young people. I have always labored lovingly for them, and carried out my priestly duties with zeal. And the whole Salesian Society has done this with me. Juggler, magician, acrobat, tailor, teacher and writer, John Bosco became all of these in his efforts to lead boys and girls to God. A prayer was the price of admission to his shows; a friendly contest to match skill or strength was his answer to the hoodlums who laughed at him. As a priest he was known as Don Bosco and built churches and schools. John Bosco would be pleased with the concern that the Church has today for education. This concern is expressed in the II Vatican Council†s Decree on Christian Education. John Bosco died on January 31, 1888 and was canonized in 1934 by Pope Pius XI. His work was continued by a group of dedicated people called the Salesians. His feast day is celebrated on January 31. St. John Bosco is honored by us as an outstanding teacher and father to the young, and we ask that we be filled with love like his.

Polarizers Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Polarizers - Lab Report Example With reference to the two major classes of polarizers, a number of applications are drawn from their characteristic behavior (Dipak, 143). Linear polarizers as a class of polarizers are made up of two sub-categories including absorptive and beam-splitting. The major difference between beam-splitting and absorptive polarizers is that the former splits an incident beam into two beams of varying polarization while the latter splits unpolarized beam into two oppositely polarized states. An example of a linear polarizer is the wire-grind polarizer which is considered one among the simplest under the linear category of polarizers.  An instance ofthe  absorptive polarizer is the tourmaline crystal. However, this crystal is not used applicably as a polarizer as it appears colored (David, 13). In practical applications, polarizers  function under Malu’s Law which states that  when  a  perfect polarizer is positioned in a beam of polarized light is affected  by the initial intensity of the beam and the angle between the beam’s primary polarization path/direction and polarizer’s axis. Circular polarizers find more industrial use in that they are used in as filters in photography. In addition, circular polarizers are also employed in the 3D-glass lenses where determination of whether an image is supposed to be visible to the right or the left eye (Mark,

Holy Wear Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Holy Wear - Essay Example ated places that the believers in the faith consider as sacred, such as Gaya in Buddhism, Kasi in Hindu religion, Mecca and Medina in Islam and Jerusalem in Christianity. Conventional philosophy believes that sacred or holy things exude â€Å"potent meanings and significances† to believers and the presence of such things offers some â€Å"inherent benefits† (23). On the other hand, the postmodern view on the sacred deviate drastically from the traditional view, which contends that the meanings to the holy are not inherent but attributed by the believers as an outcome of their â€Å"cultural practice† (23). It, therefore, transpires that illogical or irrational notions such as sacred derive from communal and social practices of certain dominant cultures like Greek civilization as well as the customs being followed within various religions. My photographic project called â€Å"Holy Wear† incorporates the philosophy of Roland Barthes, which identifies culture as the â€Å"contract arrived at† between the creators of art and its consumers (Barthes 1981:27). In this context, the photograph of the monk illustrates the Lama culture and imbibes in the viewers a sense of holyness in his attire, which represents sacredness for the believers in Buddhist religion. Thus, irrespective of logic or rationality, the audience of the photo associate holynesss to the clothes worn by the monk because the cultural practices have informed them that the attire of the monk is a â€Å"Holy Wear.† Similarly, the attire and appearance of the Hindu saint will inspire awe and a sense of holiness in people practicing Hindu religion or those who understand various cultural nuances relating to that religion. Therefore, it can be construed that the emotions and sensations that these photographs emulate derive not from any logic o r rational appreciation of the meaning of sacred or holy but due to the association of the images to various cultural practices. The photographs also validate Barthes’

Another Gender Issue that Needs an Immediate Solution. Women groping Essay

Another Gender Issue that Needs an Immediate Solution. Women groping - Essay Example In Sharon Moshavi’s essay titled, â€Å"Groped,† the author recounts her experience when a man who looked decent groped her on the street. Unlike some Japanese women who would stay mum about the issue, Moshavi beat the man as much as she liked. The issue of groping implies gender issues which ultimately challenge authorities to do their share in resolving the problem. Moshavi’s account of the groping experience can be considered an unusual act in Japan. Beating the man who violated her may be heroic to some, and very few women in Japan can do the same thing. Being subject to groping when walking on the streets alone is a gender issue that can be traced in the history and culture of a particular country. Specifically, Moshavi confesses that â€Å"in Japan, I don’t have much opportunity to get angry. People just don’t do it. Yelling and anger are considered immature† (in Rutledge 17). By not expressing anger, women could be misinterpreted by me n. Men do not feel afraid to grope women, thinking that the latter will stay calm about it. On the one hand, the culture of the people can be a significant factor to the problem. Being afraid of the groper is an act that could tolerate the offender because he will not think of the circumstance that would eventually happen. Moreover, as Moshavi mentions, â€Å"I’ve been pawed and pinched from India to Indonesia† (in Rutledge 16) It should be noted that the countries she mentions, including Japan are all located in Asia. This implies a possibility that the incidence of groping could be related to the Asian culture because expressing anger and being furious is not common among Asians, whereas in the US expressing anger is a part of daily life. Addressing the groping problem in Japan, authorities claim that having commuter trains for women is not the solution to the problem. In Paul Jackson’s article which appeared in The Daily Yomiuri Tokyo, an authority claims tha t â€Å"the communication gap between the sexes† (Jackson, â€Å"Women Only: Are train carriages for females an effective solution or effective PR?†) may be part of the frivolous behavior of Japanese men. Japanese men may see their anonymity in commuter trains as an opportunity to get free from the rigid, traditional roles they play in society. Considering this, the problem really points to a cultural issue. Ultimately, the current issue reflects a more serious gender problem for Asian women than for American or other women in the West. Nevertheless, one needs to establish the statistics to prove this point. On the other hand, the problem of groping may not just be a cultural issue. It may imply the current situation of women in media, school, and society in general. Jackson quotes Sanae Tanaka, a lawyer, saying that the increase in the violence against women may be due to the commonality of the issue in social places such as commuter trains. â€Å"It has become far m ore normal to hear people talking about sex and sexual harassment† (Jackson, â€Å"Women Only: Are train carriages for females an effective solution or effective PR?†). People, particularly those in Japan, are getting used to discussing about sex in public places. Likewise, there are men who bring pornographic materials in trains. This observation is not limited to Japan. In fact, many magazines from the West may be considered as pornographic materials easily available worldwide in supermarkets and coffee shops. With this consideration, the problem of groping may be considered a global gender problem. It makes one wonder how come women in magazines are recruited to pose in sexy pictorials if they

Financial strengths and weaknesses of Primax, Alpha and Beta; Essay

Financial strengths and weaknesses of Primax, Alpha and Beta; - Essay Example Some accountants contend that Bank Overdraft should be treated as a long-term liability since that arrangement with the bank is is almost permanent (so long as the enterprise is a going concern). On the other hand, some accountants that contend that Bank Overdraft should be treated as a current liability since this facility may be withdrawn by the bank at any time. As a conservative measure of short-term financial position, Bank Overdraft has been considered as a current liability in the current instance. The current ratios of both the firms are nearly same but when compared to that of Primax both of them are well below the desired level. However, there could be firms that have low current ratios but work efficiently as is the case in fast food industry. This is so because current ratio does not analyze the quality of current assets which might contain obsolete stocks or slow paying and doubtful debtors. In the current instance it is observed that while Alpha has cash worth 43, Beta does not have any cash balances. Hence, though current ratio of Alpha is lesser than Beta, from a broader perspective, between the two; Alpha is in a better position than Beta (C. C. D. Consultants Inc. 2009). Quick Ratio = (Current Assets – Stock)/(Current Liabilities) Quick Ratio of Primax = (3399-1102)/1098 = 2.09 Quick Ratio of Alpha = (525-306)/745 = 0.29 Quick Ratio of Beta = (636-224)/853 = 0.48 If we consider Primax’s quick ratio as a benchmark, both these firms fall woefully short of that, but of the two, Beta seems to be in a better position provided of course its trade receivables are all good without any possibility of bad debts or slow recovery. Solvency Ratios Solvency Ratios evaluate long-term capability of a business... One of the most popular tools of identifying financial strengths and weaknesses of an enterprise is through Accounting Ratio that could be used by a financial analyst to qualitatively evaluate the financial status and level of performance of an organization. This project analyses in detail financial strengths and weaknesses of Primax, Alpha and Beta; three firms engaged in manufacturing furniture. While Primax among them is most financially sound the other two firms are not doing that well financially. Any business consists of a series of interrelated processes that operate in tandem to produce the final output that the consumer wants. Kaplan and Norton have identified certain groups or bundle of activities that should be considered as independent units for the purpose of evaluating the efficiency of the entire business process. These independent units are: operations management, customer management, innovations, regulatory compliance and social responsibility in that order of import ance. Efficiency of a business enterprise in each of these sectors should be independently measured and the overall efficiency of the business enterprise would be calculated as a weighted average of these independent measures. Unless an enterprise can satisfy its customers it cannot exist. The best way to do it is to identify the most profitable group of customers and focus marketing efforts in wooing this group. However, the costs of such an exercise should never exceed the tangible benefits obtained from it.

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg by Mark Twain Research Paper - 1

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg by Mark Twain - Research Paper Example Following this, the stranger decides to teach the entire region of Hadleyburg a lesson by turning them into corrupt citizens. He wants to make them aware of the ‘actual realities’ of life by making them turn to look at the kind of temptations and corruption that life actually contains. The stranger happens to have an entire plan of action in order to go about this process as well. This story has been written by the author as a pun on today’s world and different kind of people living in society. Living in an ideal world or a Utopian land is a concept not really known to mankind. Twain has tried to depict a very ‘clean’ society with citizens free from any bribery and wrongdoing. However, he also put in the character that tries to destroy this kind of perfect imagery and create havoc within the town. Through the eyes of this main protagonist Twain tries to tell his readers how it is impossible to live in a picture perfect world. According to the author, society is made up of all kinds of people, the bad and the good. This story however, gives an image of the good people that a society should ideally contain. Through this, Mark has tried his level best to make people understand that one cannot really live in such a place; and that such a society is not really something that would exist in today’s world. â€Å"It is an honest town once more, and the man will have to rise early that catches it napping again.† (Twain, Mark) The word ‘Utopian’ comes exactly from the meaning of this book on a different level. It is used to describe a situation, preferably a place or a region, where everything is perfect; where the people are living together in harmony, not fighting and are happy with everything that they have to offer to the people around them. However, this is not the case in real life because in reality, different kinds of people exist in the world. They each have their own views about living and surviving in the

Twining and Company Limited Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Twining and Company Limited - Essay Example Although, Twinings have a broad customer segment, it can focus on the four prospective segment of female population particularly professional women, college or university students, catering services and health conscious customers in and around Hull. With its existing products providing good results, Twinings can launch its marketing campaigns incorporating certain effective aspects of marketing mix to increase its market share and profits even further. Twining and Company Limited 1. Introduction Twinings is owned by Associated British Foods, a FTSE top 50 company with an annual turnover exceeding ?4 billion, since 1964. (twinings.com). Twinings does not own any tea gardens or any tea factories, and instead they source form a well developed network of tea estates and suppliers. These network of growers and suppliers of Twinings were from India, Sri Lanka, China, Kenya, Indonesia and Brazil. (twinings.com). Twinings markets these sourced tea under various brand names and varieties, cur rently selling more than 100 varieties of regional and flavored teas. Twining has a strong team of tea tasters or quality controllers, marketing team and other departments to reach the finished tea to the target customers in UK, France, USA, Australia Scandinavia, Russia, Italy and some Asian countries. (twinings.com). Twinings is selling these varieties of tea backed by a strong marketing campaign, which can be further optimized to make it competitive during the period of Christmas 2011 in Hull in UK SWOT Strengths Twinings have a longstanding presence in tea market, having been established 300 years ago. (twinings.com). Have a strong long-standing relationship with growers and suppliers from around the world. As they do not own any tea gardens and tea factories (so they do not grow or manufacture), they does not need to use their own produce, instead they are sourcing quality tea from various growers, manufacturers and suppliers. (twinings.com). Follow advanced and quality process ing standards and technique (twinings.com). Founding member of Ethical Tea partnership Weaknesses Strong dislike for its The New Earl Grey variety or brand among majority of its customers. (Brown). Customers disliked the taste of The Early Grey, with many customers complaining the new variety makes it hard for them to sleep at night. (Brown). Although, Twinings is the founding member of Ethical Tea Partnership, it is being accused of indulging in unethical practices Twinings does not offer price advantage, as its products’ price is equal to or more than other brands’ high price. Opportunities Twinings can offer a range of â€Å"specialty Teas, infusions and Green Teas to maximize profit potential from high margin products.† (twiningsfs.co.uk) Twinings has good opportunities in the health tea segment and can offer more varieties of health enriching teas to health conscious customers It can offer Premium tea experience as the customers are prepared to pay more. (t winingsfs.co.uk) Can tie-up with food outlets and other restaurants Can also associate with or sell to catering companies which does service in the hospitality, airlines and other corporate sectors. Threat Dislike among customers for new varieties Twinings’ decision to shift its production processes from UK to Poland and China, could lead to job losses among the local population, thereby creating negative image among the UK target customer base. (telegraph.co.uk 2011) Entry of low priced equivalents from local manufacturers as well as foreign manufacturers,

Work-based report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Work-based report - Essay Example This is a project on which I worked as part of a team during my placement at the company. The report outlines the working environment of Criminal Records Company, the event, its background and aims, its outcomes, and concludes with lessons learnt. 1.1 Criminal Records Company Criminal Records is an alternative music record label which was formed in 2004. Since then the label has signed a number of bands and artists in a proactive attempt to support a new music scene that has emerged in the UK in within the last five years called underground music. Since its formation, the company has been heavily involved in the promotion of bands. Criminal Records' ethos has always revolved around cultivation of talent, real talent that is organic unlike technology-induced productions. Today, the company is proud of the successes of its roster of musicians and has enjoyed the growth and widespread promotion of the music the artistes make. Some of the successes that the company has attain include col laborations in America, Japan and across Europe, selling out most of its UK tours, major TV coverage for its music videos and countless radio playlists, great reviews and inclusion of its music in TV, film and gaming sites (Criminal Records, 2013). 1.2 Work Description The work allocated to me while on placement at Criminal Records includes the following tasks; 1) Finding venues for events and managing the venue database 2) Researching and keeping up-to-date analyses of competitors 3) Analyzing and monitoring the targeted market for Company events 4) Planning for marketing activities for Company events Apart from the above tasks allocated to me and a number of other workers, I am also expected to carry out other tasks as may be allocated to me by the marketing manager in the Publicity Department, where I am designated. The tasks above are also to be carried out by a team in the department in which I am part and thus I am not working alone in accomplishing them. 1.3 The Work-based pr oject Bringing Club Nights from Criminal Records Company to the West Midlands in the UK is a project that was conceived by the company several weeks to its realization and in which I was included from the planning phase to its implementation. The project mainly involves introduction of ‘Club Nights’ to the West Midlands area of the UK. Club Nights is a musical product from Criminal Records which is mainly based on the popular culture of ‘Clubbing’ but introduces a new aspect of different modern music mainly from unknown underground musicians with extraordinary talent. During the entire project a project team of members from different departments of the company plans, organizes and implements the project. I am a member of the event marketing team, a smaller team forming part of the whole organizing framework. This includes research and organization for publicity, advertisement and invitation of people to the event. The event itself involves a night of club m usic and dance in the West Midlands area in which our company’s artistes will present to the participants their new style of musical art in a number of performances running for three hours of a night. The project organization scales the whole range of arrangements for a music event from venue arrangement, music preparation, invitations to security and logistics. 1.4 Background of the Event Club Nights is one of the events organized by Criminal Records for music lovers in the larger cities in the UK, predominantly in the South East. The culture of Club Nights has been popular in London for a long time being a large city with countless traditional and contemporary forms of music being performed. However, in the past few years Criminal Records has introduced a new musical performance product targeting the new generation of

Virtual Childhood reflection Essay Example for Free

Virtual Childhood reflection Essay Debbie has grown so much in the last few months. She has achieved some milestones that are predominantly seen amongst infants within this age brackets. Breast milk is still her main source of food up on till the time she clocked six months of age when solids were introduced. She sucks at everything that touches her lips; this is due to the sucking reflex that is inborn. My virtual child ate fairly well; she would once in a while vomit the food if she didn’t burp. Her motor development is consistently being tweaked as she’s able to coordinate her pass objects from one hand to another. She occasionally paddles and kicks in sort of a swimming motion. Sleep is somewhat troubling because she wakes up at night to feed and she fusses occasionally for no reasons. Debbie is currently at six months and she’s able to fully identify key persons in her life. This is because of the interactive activities she has been exposed to, such as reading. Her cognitive abilities have developed with exposure to her surroundings especially during evening strolls. Debbie warms up to people after a period of time. This is because she knows the key people in her life while she takes a couple of minutes to warm up to strangers. Eventually she warms up to them. At 3months she was starting to recognize key persons in her life. By the 8month mark, she was able to fully recognize her parents. An emotional attachment had developed. She would cry passionately and we respond to her needs. According to Ainsworth the continuity of this attachment would only build a child a child who would tend to be insecure in the future.

Ethnic Notions Essay Example for Free

Ethnic Notions Essay Ethnic Notions is a documentary directed by Marlon Riggs. The title itself explains what the movie is about-impressions of race. Throughout the documentary, Riggs presents the history of stereotypes and shows how they still exist. In today’s society we have become so accustomed with stereotypes that they are considered normal. The movie Ethnic Notations introduces the problem of stereotypes by explaining their origin and history, giving examples, and showing how they still exist today, so that we are no longer fooled and unaware of stereotyping and racism. During the early and mid 1900’s black people were depicted on television and media as ignorant, ugly, violent and inferior to white people. These negative, degrading and horrible images of black people over time shaped people’s views and thoughts about black people and this was how stereotypes were created. Media used caricatures which are exaggerated representations of people to get racist views across to white and black American people. One example of a caricature is The Sambo. The Sambo was a caricature created to depict the black male as being lazy, child like ignorant and care-free making the black male seem more like a child than a male. Another example of a racist caricature is pickaninnies which are black children. Pickaninnies were depicted as ugly kids with rough wooly hair, big eyes, dark black skin, big mouths and bright red lips. Pickaninnies often resembled animals in children cartoons and were viewed as savage by white people. One of the most popular caricatures of the 1900’s is the mammie caricature. The Mammie was an older black woman who took care of the white man’s family. Mammies were shoed as loving mother figures who were fat black and unattractive. Mammies were created to show that some blacks were happy as slaves and loved black people. These stereotypes were disturbing, degrading and in most cases poor representations of black people. It saddens me how whites could think so low of black people or any other human being at all. Sadly stereotypes still exist today in television, media and society. One stereotype I feel definitely still exist today ids the Sambo stereotype although there are great black actors that play dramatic roles most black men in the media are still shown as being careless and immature. However not all stereotypes today are exactly the same as the caricatures from the 20th century but a new modern version. For example instead of black women being depicted as unattractive mammies on television, they are now ghetto loud and un-lady like. Sometimes I even find myself acting out a stereotype, like being loud or cursing in public. After watching Ethnic Notions I feel like stereotypes are too deeply rooted in Americas culture to ever be completely gone. Although this conclusion is unfortunate I do believe that we could make people believe in stereotypes less and less through media, by depicting blacks in a more positive light.

Accelerated Pathways for Authorisation of Drugs

Accelerated Pathways for Authorisation of Drugs Mary Treasa Lohan Abstract and Summary Every year, thousands of chemical and biological entities are developed in the hope of making it to the shelf. The drug development process is the progression by which drugs will either be approved or not approved for use, and spans from discovery and preclinical testing to Phase IV of Clinical Trials (post marketing surveillance). The underpinning aim is to ensure the safety and efficacy of a drug before it can be approved for use. Given that only one in every 5,000 to 10,000 compounds that enter preclinical testing are approved for marketing, and that an average of 15 years is required to take a drug through the complete process, the drug development process is a long and costly one. The two main regulatory bodies in the world are the FDA (USA) and the EMA (EU) and while the drug approval process varies from the EU to the USA, the basic regulation process remains the same. Figure 1 Basic drug development regulation       (Kashyap et al., 2013) 1.1. Drug approval process in the US In brief, the process of drug approval in the US first involves the submission of an Investigational New Drug application by the Sponsor. This allows the Clinical Trials to commence once the data from the Preclinical trials shows that the drug is safe. Once the drug is shown to be safe and effective (Clinical Trials data), a New Drug Application is filed which is essentially an application to manufacture and sell the drug (Rick, 2009). 1.1. Drug approval process in the EU The application process for the EU, similar to the US, requires two steps. The first step is a clinical trial application to an individual member state, and then a marketing approval. The marketing approval in the EU can take one of three approaches The centralised procedure The mutual recognition procedure The decentralised procedure As mentioned before, the purpose of the drug development process is to ensure safe and effective drugs are available to the patient. However, both the US and EU processes are very lengthy procedures and often do not provide rapid patient access to drugs. There is of course a balance to be struck between providing patients with rapid access to medicines and ensuring adequate information is available regarding the risk-benefit factors of the drug, sometimes termed the evidence versus access challenge (Eichler et al., 2015). 1.2. Improvements In recent times however, much has been done to try and improve the situation (Baird et al., 2014). In the EU, there are two means to fast track approval of a drug; Accelerated assessment and Conditional marketing authorisation. The Conditional marketing authorisation process allows the approval of a medicine that address unmet medical needs of patients on the basis of less comprehensive data than normally required. The available data must indicate that the medicines benefits outweigh its risks and the applicant should be in a position to provide the comprehensive clinical data in the future (EMA, 2015). In 2014, the EMA initiated a pilot project for a new model of drug testing and marketing called Adaptive Pathways (also known as Adaptive Licensing, or more recently the terms Medicines Adaptive Pathways (MAPs) or Medicines Adaptive Pathways to Patients (MAPPs) have been used). This concept allows new drugs that would treat unmet medical needs to be launched on the market faster, based on an incomplete data set (Davis et al., 2016). This project aims to discuss Adaptive Pathways in general, the different types of Adaptive Pathways, as well as the types of drugs that are suitable for these pathways. Finally, the Adaptive Pathway approval strategies in the EU and the US will be discussed. 2.1. Adaptive Pathways 2014 saw the introduction of a pilot program by which drugs could potential to make it to the market faster in order to fulfil unmet medical needs, the Adaptive Pathway. The idea was to ensure timely patient access to new drugs, while ensuring adequate risk benefit information was available. The Adaptive Pathways model presented by the EMA is not a new route of marketing authorisation but rather makes use of existing regulatory approaches such as the conditional marketing authorisation or the standard marketing authorisation. Using this pilot program, drugs could be authorized conditionally or in a staggered fashion using data gathered throughout the life of the product. The three key principles of Adaptive Pathways are; Iterative development Gathering real-life evidence Early involvement of stakeholders Bearing in mind that drugs are approved through adaptive pathways based on incomplete data and are given market approval earlier in the development process, iterative development refers to the gathering of data to increase knowledge after authorisation. It is a staggered approach to widen the target population or expand the indication. The data collected can also be used to reduce any uncertainties that were present at the early approval stage. A key component of Adaptive Pathways is a well-defined prospective plan for collecting real-life data that can be used in conjunction with the Clinical Trials data to enhance the risk benefit ratio (Eichler et al., 2012). Communication between stakeholders is critical and helps to decide what medicines are suitable, and are also responsible for creating an agreed prospective plan required for data gathering throughout the lifecycle of the product. Stakeholders are involved from a very early stage and can include health technology assessment (HTA) bodies, patients, as well as regulators and healthcare professionals. 2.2. Benefits and challenges of Adaptive Pathways The obvious advantage of the Adaptive Pathway is that the patient can potentially have access to a drug in a much shorter time period than if the drug had to go through the standard application process. If the drug shows a good risk benefit outcome, the drug can be approved at an earlier stage, while real-life data is gathered at predefined intervals from patients to confirm effectiveness. There is also the opportunity for drugs to be fully approved within a shorter timeframe than normal.   Eichler also suggests that this process may reduce the overall cost of development by allowing better-informed decisions on product viability to be made earlier in the development process (Eichler et al., 2012). Eichler has published an article detailing the enablers of this new concept (Eichler et al., 2015). However, since the publication of the EMAs final report in July following the completion of the pilot program, a number of articles have been published which criticise the new concept (Eichler et al., 2012) (Woodcock, 2012). Unlike the standard authorisation, the Adaptive Pathway uses preliminary data and omits a number of steps that were designed to protect patients from unsafe and ineffective drugs and, this raises concerns as to whether this can potentially lead to increased risk to the patient. For adaptive Pathways to work, it is critical that evidence obtained after initial approval be taken into consideration. However, it has been found that healthcare professionals are often slow to abandon unsafe methods (Tatsioni et al., 2007). This is worrying as the basis of Adaptive Pathways is that reliable data is generated after authorisation that will shed more light on the risk benefit to the patient. Another serious concern relates to the life cycle management of the new drug (Davis et al., 2016). As mentioned earlier, a key principle of the Adaptive Pathway is gathering real-life evidence in post-marketing studies that would be used to update the risk benefit information. However, it would seem that in the case of conditionally approved drugs, the regulatory bodies have failed to ensure post-marketing study commitments are followed through (Banzi et al., 2015). It has also been suggested that where undesirable findings are encountered, companies may dispute these as unreliable results (McCabe et al., 2010) or may discount them because there are large financial gains or reputations at risk (Prasad et al., 2012). Moreover, the willingness of stakeholders to participate in a program that involves more uncertainty, and correspondingly perhaps more risk, than before will be one of the greatest challenges to the Adaptive Pathway. 2.3. Suitable drugs for Adaptive Pathways The report issued by the EMA suggests that drugs that treat infectious diseases, Alzheimers disease, degenerative diseases and rare cancers are potential candidates for this process with the objective of furthering their development and that suitable for the Adaptive Pathways would be those that treat rare diseases, where clinical data is not that common. The EMA have provided a flowchart to help companies determine if a product is an appropriate candidate or not, (Figure 2). Based on this, the key features of a drug that could be deemed suitable for this Adaptive Pathways approach are; iterative development, collaboration with HTA, and the use of real time data for regulatory purposes. Figure 2 Adaptive Pathway product eligibility flowchart While there is no strict restriction on what type of drugs are eligible for the Adaptive Pathways, the EMA states that this route is not to be applicable to all medicines, but only to medicines that are likely to address an unmet medical need(EMA, 2016). During the pilot, 62 applications were received from a variety of therapeutic areas with cancer therapies accounting for a large proportion (33%). It is worth noting that Orphan designated drugs are suitable candidates, with 5 making it through to Stage 1 Meetings (15 drugs had been given Orphan drug designation by the European Commission at the time of submission) (EMA, 2016). (EMA, 2016) 2.5. Adaptive Pathway approval strategy in the USA Within the USA, there are four approaches to getting drugs on the market as rapidly as possible, and in each case the drug must be intended to treat a serious condition. A serious condition is defined as a disease or condition associated with morbidity that has a substantial impact on day-to-day functioning Fast Track Breakthrough Therapy Accelerated Approval Priority Review Fast Track refers to the process, approved in 1992 under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, by which drugs needed to treat serious conditions or to fulfil unmet medical needs are rapidly approved. According to the FDA, filling an unmet medical need is defined as providing a therapy where none exists or providing a therapy which may be potentially better than available therapy (FDA, 2014). This strategy means more communication with the FDA regarding the drug development plan, data collection and clinical trials design. In addition, a Fast Track designated drug is potentially eligible for Accelerated Approval and Priority Review if it meets the applicable criteria. Breakthrough Therapy designation accelerates the development of drugs needed to treat serious conditions that have shown substantial advantages over existing treatments in early clinical studies (Poirier and Murphy, 2016). This strategy utilises a surrogate endpoint. A surrogate endpoint is a marker used to determine effectiveness of a drug, such as the shrinking of a tumour and is often used rather than actual clinical endpoints, such as survival rates. Another example would be a significantly improved safety profile compared to available therapy (FDA). In addition to the Fast Track designation benefits, Breakthrough Therapy drugs receive a vast amount of guidance with the drug development program. References   BAIRD, L. G., BANKEN, R., EICHLER, H. G., KRISTENSEN, F. B., LEE, D. K., LIM, J. C. W., LIM, R., LONGSON, C., PEZALLA, E. SALMONSON, T. 2014. Accelerated access to innovative medicines for patients in need. Clinical Pharmacology Therapeutics, 96, 559-571. BANZI, R., GERARDI, C. GARATTINI, S. 2015. Approvals of drugs with uncertain benefit-risk profiles in Europe. European journal of internal medicine, 26, 572-584. DAVIS, C., LEXCHIN, J., JEFFERSON, T., GØTZSCHE, P. MCKEE, M. 2016. Adaptive pathways to drug authorisation: adapting to industry? BMJ: British Medical Journal, 354. EICHLER, H. G., BAIRD, L. G., BARKER, R., BLOECHLà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ DAUM, B., BØRLUMà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ KRISTENSEN, F., BROWN, J., CHUA, R., DEL SIGNORE, S., DUGAN, U. FERGUSON, J. 2015. From adaptive licensing to adaptive pathways: Delivering a flexible lifeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ span approach to bring new drugs to patients. Clinical Pharmacology Therapeutics, 97, 234-246. EICHLER, H. G., OYE, K., BAIRD, L. G., ABADIE, E., BROWN, J., L DRUM, C., FERGUSON, J., GARNER, S., HONIG, P. HUKKELHOVEN, M. 2012. Adaptive licensing: taking the next step in the evolution of drug approval. Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics, 91, 426. EMA. 2015. Fast track routes for medicines that address unmet medical needs [Online].   [Accessed]. EMA 2016. Final report on the adaptive pathways pilot. FDA. Breakthrough Therapy [Online]. Available: http://www.fda.gov/ForPatients/Approvals/Fast/ucm405399.htm [Accessed]. FDA. 2014. Fast Track [Online]. Available: http://www.fda.gov/ForPatients/Approvals/Fast/ucm405399.htm [Accessed]. KASHYAP, U. N., GUPTA, V. RAGHUNANDAN, H. V. 2013. Comparison of Drug Approval Process in United States & Europe. J Pharm Sci Res, 5, 131-6. MCCABE, C., CHILCOTT, J., CLAXTON, K., TAPPENDEN, P., COOPER, C., ROBERTS, J., COOPER, N. ABRAMS, K. 2010. Continuing the multiple sclerosis risk sharing scheme is unjustified. Bmj, 340, c1786. POIRIER, A. F. MURPHY, W. R. 2016. The Impact of Breakthrough Therapy Designation on Development Strategies and Timelines for Nononcology Drugs and Vaccines. Clinical Pharmacology Therapeutics, 100, 603-605. PRASAD, V., CIFU, A. IOANNIDIS, J. P. A. 2012. Reversals of established medical practices: evidence to abandon ship. Jama, 307, 37-38. RICK, N. 2009. Drugs from discovery to approval., John Wiley & Sons, Inc. TATSIONI, A., BONITSIS, N. G. IOANNIDIS, J. P. A. 2007. Persistence of contradicted claims in the literature. Jama, 298, 2517-2526. WOODCOCK, J. 2012. Evidence vs. Access: Can Twentyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Firstà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Century Drug Regulation Refine the Tradeoffs? Clinical Pharmacology Therapeutics, 91, 378-380. staggered or conditional marketing authorization AL is expected to involve a trade-off between earlier access for some patients vs. an increased level of acceptable uncertainty about benefits and risks, although the degree of uncertainty is expected to diminish with additional evidence generation. One of the main purposes of the AL scheme is to get more robust and more relevant data earlier and throughout product development. Any attempt to move toward a more adaptive approach would have to be complemented by appropriate communications to key stakeholders and assurance that the appropriate post-initial authorization capabilities exist for ongoing monitoring of medical products for which AL has been applied

Free Essays - The First Man :: first

Albert Camus’ novel, The First Man, shows how one man, Jacques Comery, who’s father died while he was an infant, and is forced to grow up in a poverty stricken part of Algiers with his mother, grandmother, brother and uncle in a small two bedroom apartment.   Has come to an understanding of love, death, poverty, and life.   The following passages are some of Camus’ best examples of how Jacques has come to this understanding, as well as some of Camus’ own opinions on these and other matters. This first passage is a conversation between Jacques and his friend Malan it tells us about Jacques opinion on life and death. â€Å"†At sixty-five, every year is a stay of execution,† Malan said.   â€Å"I would like to die in peace, and dying frightens me. I have accomplished nothing.† â€Å"There are people who vindicate the world, who help others live just by their presence.† â€Å"Yes, and they die,† Malan said. They were silent, and the wind blew a little harder around the house.†(Camus 35-36). In this passage Jacques has come to the understanding that all me die, whether they accomplish great things or not.   As long as you live a good life there is no use in regretting the life you live, because even if you do not change the lives of thousands, you will at least touch one other person.   In this next passage Jacques has comes to a realization about his mother.   â€Å"†Yes,† said Jacques.   He was going to say: â€Å"You’re very beautiful,† and he stopped himself.   He had always thought that of his mother and had never dared to tell her so.   It was not that he feared being rebuffed nor that he doubted such a compliment would please her.   But it would have meant breaching the invisible barrier behind which for all his life he had seen her take shelter-â€Å"(Camus 58).   In this passage Jacques has come to realize what it is that he loves most about his mother.   It is the fact that he does not need to tell her that he loves her, because he knows that she does not doubt his love for her, and her love for him.   In this passage Camus gives us insight into his opinion of war, â€Å"and each day hundreds of new orphans, Arab and French, awakened in every corner of Algeria, sons and daughters without fathers who would now have to learn to live without guidance and without heritage.

Queen Victoria Essay -- Alexandrina Victoria Royalty Essays

Queen Victoria   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Is it Georgiana Charlotte Augusta Alexandrina Victoria or just Alexandrina Victoria? Queen Victoria was born at Kensington Palace, London on May 24, 1819. She was the only child of Edward, the fourth son of King George III, and Victoria Mary Louise, the daughter of a German Duke. It was planed that the duke and duchess were to name their daughter Georgiana Charlotte Augusta Alexandrina Victoria but Prince Regent refused to have his name (George) nor his daughters name (Charlotte Augusta) to be his god daughter’s name. She was known as Alexandrina Victoria but was nicknamed Drina, her mother always called her Victoria. All this happiness ended when her dad, the Duke of Kent, died only eight months after she was born. The reason was because he let a small fever turn into pneumonia. Only a week after the death, King George III died and Prince Regent became King George IV.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Princess Victoria was brought up in the Kensington Palace, London by he governess. Her mom was so afraid of Victoria getting murdered by her uncle, who wanted to next in line for the throne. Victoria was never left alone there were always people who kept an eye out for her. She was too overprotected; she couldn’t even walk up the stairs with out holding some ones hand. John Conroy, who was her mother’s comptroller, kept a close eye on Victoria and was responsible for her. German was her main language until she the age of three. She then learned English and could speak it with out an accent. She also learned Italian because she loved listening to opera. Her favorite subject in school was his but she never knew she was soon going to play a major part in it. At age eleven she saw a family tree and said, â€Å"I’m nearer to the throne then I thought.† In her teens she became ill from complications of tonsillitis. With this weakness Conroy t ried to take advantage of her and asked her to sign a document saying he would be her secretary when she became Queen. Victoria refused. Victoria was close to her older sister, Feodora. She would send Victoria letters to cheer her up. In the summer of 1836, her cousins, Ernest and Albert, came to visit. Her mother thought one of the boys would be a good match for Victoria. Their father the Duke of Saxe-Coberg-Gotha, didn’t like the idea. May 24, 1837, she celebrated her 18th birthday. Now the only person standing in the way of her and ... ... her daughters call him â€Å"Mama’s Lover†. People got used to seeing them together and there was not much talk about them anymore. He remained on her confident for twenty years. When John Brown Died in 1883, the queen wrote, â€Å"The shock-the blow, the blank, the constant missing at every turn of one strong, powerful reliable arm and head almost stunned me and I am, truly over whelmed.† His room, like Albert’s, became a shrine. A flower was placed on his pillow everyday until she died. Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901, at the age of 81. This was forty years of widowhood. She left major instructions for her funeral. She wanted her sons to lift her in to her coffin; she would wear a white dress and her wedding veil. London was to be festooned in purple and white. She was buried next to Prince Albert in the Frogmore Royal Mausoleum at Windsor Castle. Victoria had reigned for nearly 64 years-the longest reign in British History. A statue of the Queen made in 1862 was brought out of storage and placed next to her husband in the mausoleum. Victoria’s statue looks at Albert, her love, devotion, and sorrow at his early death and her long widowhood always will be captured in that stone.

Debating Immigration Essay -- Illegal Immigration, Illegal Immigrants

Debating Immigration Immigration is the movement of people into another nation with the intention of living there permanently. After a four centuries of immigration have passed and people have moved from region to region, the breeding of different races has caused there to be over two thousand different races. The social construction of stereotypes has a far greater impact on race. This is what leads to discrimination and finally unequal treatment and even hatred among immigrants of all shades of skin pigment. Like the history of past colonists who migrated to the USA started in the early 1600's, most modern day immigrants are motivated to relocate far from their original homes for the desire to improve their economic situation. These people are known as economic immigrants, who resettle in other countries such as USA in search of jobs, farmland, or business opportunities. Americans often view immigration as a problem, even though the USA has been shaped by immigrants. Born Americans often look down on new immigrants. Facts from the Encarta Encyclopedia states, "Immigrants are frequently targets of criticism, especially when the new arrivals come from a different country, rather then to be already among the established community. The vast majority of immigrants coming to the USA have come in search of jobs and the chance to create a better life for themselves and their families. In all of American history, less than ten percent of immigrants have come for political or religious reasons" (Encarta Encyclopedia). American's do expect immigrants to absorb the benefits and standards of American society, but most of them do maintain some of there cultur... ...about the value of immigration and the labors they provide to the USA" (U.S. Commissions Immigration Reform). Bibliography: Work Cited Completing Blue Prints for an Ideal Legal Immigration Policy. Center for Immigration Studies. Mar. 2000. Washington. 17 Sept. 2001 Congressional Authorization. U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform. 7 Mar. 1998. 18 Sept. 2001 "Microsoft Corporation." Encarta Encyclopedia Online. 1993 - 2000. Encarta Encyclopedia. 18 Sept. 2001 Reason for Immigration. Immigration Issues. 1999. American Immigration Lawyers Association. 20 Sept. 2001 Tibbs, Brad. Personal Interview. 20 Sept. 2001. Timothy James McVeig. One Life for 168. Tribune-Star 2001. Indiana. 19 Sept. 2001 U.S. Immigration Citizenship Information. DV Information. 2000 - 2001. Commercial Services website. 19 Sept. 2001

Difference between diegetic and non-diegetic sound Essay

What is the difference between diegetic and non-diegetic sound? Can they ever be confused? Discuss with reference to at least three recent films. For this essay I shall be highlighting the differences between the two terms; diegetic and non-diegetic sound. I shall also discuss whether or not the terms and their meanings could ever be confused. To help highlight my arguments within this essay I shall reference to films such as â€Å"The Italian Job†, â€Å"Romeo and Juliet† and â€Å"Entrapment†. The final section will hopefully round off the essay with a critical conclusion of the given question and the evidence presented within the essay. Yet sound is perhaps the hardest of all techniques to study†¦ Our primary information about the layout of our surroundings comes from sight, and so in ordinary life sound is often simply a background for our visual attention. (Bordwell.D. & Thompson.K., 1947, Film art : An introduction, Fifth Edition, New York; London : McGraw-Hill.) Sound which can be implied or linked by a character or an action taking place within the context of a scene is often referred to as a diegetic sound. This can include music that is being performed within the ‘film’s world’, such an example could be taken from the film Titanic. The particular scene I am referring to, is when the ship has just started to sink and the band decide to continue playing. ON WALLACE HARTLEY raising his violin to play. HARTLEY Number 26. Ready and — The band has reassembled just outside the First Class Entrance, port side, near where Lightoller is calling for the boats to be loaded. They strike up  a waltz, lively and elegant. The music wafts all over the ship. (Anon, Titanic Script, http://sites.inka.de/humpty/titanic/script.html) Another prime example of music being used within a scene of a film as a diegetic source, would be in â€Å"The Crow†. Here we see a mysterious figure playing an electric guitar in a way that has quite a phallic relation to his character. She pauses as she hears a lilting, faraway GUITAR STRAIN. Across the street she can make out the figure of Eric on his roof playing the guitar. (Anon, The Crow Script, http://abahb.crowfans.com/TheCrow/crowmov.txt) Another form of audio use in films which falls under the diegetic category, would be when a character within the scene is talking, singing, shouting etc. My first example to highlight this is taken from Baz Luhrman’s adaptation of â€Å"Romeo and Juliet†. The scene in question is when the Montague’s and Capulet’s meet for the first time. ABRA Do you bite your thumb at us, sir! Sampson’s shaking hand hovers – ready to draw. SAMPSON I do bite my thumb, sir. (Baz Lurhmann’s â€Å"Romeo and Juliet†) Another example, can be taken from the film â€Å"To Die For†. However, with this example the character is talking directly to the audience. SUZANNE STONE MARETTO You aren’t really anybody in America if you’re not on TV. (iMDB, Memorable quotes from To Die For, http://imdb.com/title/tt0114681/quotes) A final criterion that helps define diegetic sound is the use of natural sounds. For example a car’s engine revving. When sounds like this are used they tend to be highlighted and amplified, so as to draw the audiences’ attention to the relevant action. My first example is taken from the recent re-make of â€Å"The Italian Job†. Here the echo, â€Å"ominous thud†, resonates the seriousness of the situation, i.e. the fact that they are at the worst of their troubles. UNDERWATER – SAME TIME The Humvee strikes the surface bottom with an ominous thud. (AllMovieScripts.com, The Italian Job Script, http://www.allmoviescripts.com/scripts/italianjob.PDF) Another example can be taken from the film â€Å"Entrapment†. Here the sound we are focusing on is not amplified a great deal, in fact it seems the director wants the sound to be as quiet as possible. No doubt to tie-in with the secrecy and precision required within the context. †¦Nearby, an ALARM BOX softly BEEPS its 60-second warning to the pulsing of a green light, and the Thief attaches a small computerized DEVICE†¦ However, the interesting point that can be brought about with this example is that even though the sound stops, it receives almost the same if not more attention as when the box was beeping. †¦the right one STOPS. Illuminated in red. The beeping, the green light, go OFF. The device is removed. (AllMovieScripts.com, Entrapment Script, http://www.allmoviescripts.com/scripts/14984220623f39e70a15fbb.html) The other side to looking at audio within the film environment is non-diegetic sounds. Non-diegetic sound is just as important within films as natural or diegetic sounds. However, it appears that you can spot a lot more use of non-diegetic sounds within science fiction or fantastical films, such as â€Å"Star Wars† and â€Å"Lord of the Rings†. Again this can be broken up into three main criteria. Sound effects are often used to create a ‘real’ sound from an unnatural object, such as a futuristic spacecraft, or as in my next example a light-sabre. Through Lucas’ perserverance and continuity of the light-sabre sound, the constant whirring, the audience is quite accustomed to believing that the light-sabre is an organic object. Just as the ice creature looms over Luke, the lightsaber  jumps into Luke’s hand. The young warrior instantly ignites his sword, swinging up,  and cuts himself loose from the ice. (Smith.K.B, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Script, http://www.wheelon.com/swscripts/scripts.htm) However, sound effects don’t just help out futuristic objects gain a realistc ‘life’ they can also be used to exaggerate the movement of a ‘real world’ object. This principle is explained in the following example that briefly talks of â€Å"Mr.Hulot’s Holiday†. Although the door doesn’t make a realistic noise, the sound that replaces it is organic, i.e. natural. much humor arises from the opening and closing of a dining-room door. Instead of simply recording a real door, Tati inserts a twanging sound like a plucked cello string each time the door swings. (FilmSound.org, Dimensions of film sound, http://www.filmsound.org/filmart/bordwell2.htm) Narration within a film is also considered a non-diegetic sound, for although it could quite easily link to what is taking place within the scene, it is not an ‘actual’ part of the scene. Such as the characters are not normally aware of this external voice or sound. It is used to best effect when thinking of an adaptation of a classic book or story. An example of a story that used narration throughout the film is â€Å"The Englishman who went up a Hill but came down a Mountain†. Narrator: For some odd reason, lost in the mists of time, there’s an extraordinary shortage of last names in Wales†¦To avoid widespread confusion, Welsh people often add an occupation to a name†¦ But one man’s name was a puzzle, and it wasn’t until I was 10 years old that I asked my grandfather about the man with the longest and most enigmatic name of all. (iMDB, Memorable quotes from The Englishman who went up a hill but came down a mountain, http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0112966/quotes) Another take on narration within film, is when the narrator is actually part of the story, but is say, recounting previous events. This normally takes  the audience through the story to the present moment that the narrator/character has found themselves in. For example in the film â€Å"Carlito’s Way†, the main character, Carlito Brigante, is recounting his story of failure from free man, through to his imminent death, Sorry boys, all the stitches in the world can’t sew me together again. Lay down†¦lay down. Gonna stretch me out in Fernandez funeral home on hun and ninth street†¦Getting the shakes now, Last call for drinks, Bars closing down Sun’s out Where are we going for breakfast, Don’t wanna go far Rough night Tired baby†¦ Tired†¦ (iMDB, Memorable quotes from Carlito’s way, http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0106519/quotes) You also tend to find that with this kind of narration, i.e. story recounting up to present day, the opening lines or quotes are echoed in the final closing lines. One of the final main criteria of non-diegetic sounds within a film is background or mood music. This is also known as the soundtrack or score. Any attentive filmgoer is aware of the enormous power music holds in shaping the film experience, manipulating emotions and point of view, and guiding perceptions of characters, moods, and narrative events. (Hill.J. & Church.P., 2000, Film studies : critical approaches, Oxford : Oxford University Press) This part of non-diegetic sound is probably the most under-estimated, through the use of mood music the audience can be taken on a rollercoaster of emotions. This use of audio is an essential ingredient to any film. It is very hard stretched, certainly with Hollywood blockbusters, to come across a film that doesn’t employ the technique of atmosphere music or score to shape the feeling of a scene. This next part to this essay should hopefully try and cover similarities between the different criteria of diegetic, and its counter-part, non-diegetic sound. Through this section I shall attempt to answer the question as to whether these two distinctive forms of audio can ever be confused. The way in which I shall do this will be through using the obvious links that are the defining criteria of the different audio types. The comparison shall follow the form of; defining which diegetic criterion and how it relates to the example scene, then the comparison shall follow with the non-diegetic link using the same scene and instance. The first of the three links to be compared shall be the natural voice or sound of the character within the scene. The opening scene of Baz Lurhmann’s adaptation of Romeo and Juliet uses a news reporter, being portrayed as a news programme through the use of the medium close-up of the T.V. set. Here we see a news report that at first glance would seem as a typical bulletin. However, this is when the two different types of sound categorization can become blurred or confused. The reason for this is because the news reporter is actually taking on the role of the narrator as depicted by Shakespeare’s original work. This is also evident through the type of language being used and how it is brought to life with the tone and emphasis. The second example that can be used to highlight when the two conventions become blurred is when a natural or organic sound is reproduced and accentuated through the use of sound effects. We can take a closer look at this argument with a typical western film that has a Hollywood budget attached to it, such as â€Å"Young Guns 2†. When watching a spaghetti western, it’s an unconscious convention that we expect the gun to make quite a prominent sound, from either the initial bang through to the ricochet twang. My feeling is that, the natural sound produced by a gun, particularly props, would not be enough to convince the audience, especially with modern expectations. I feel its at this point when you could call the sound effect that replaces the original sound non-diegetic in respect to it being created artificially. My final example links back to a film I have referenced frequently throughout  this essay, â€Å"Romeo and Juliet†. Music that is rooted within the scene, a band for example, is classed as being diegetic, however mood music is known as non-diegetic. The scene in which Romeo and Juliet first meet is that of a house party. In this house party there’s a typical mini-orchestra and singer performing (Desree – Kissing You), so for arguments sake we could class this as being diegetic for the moment. Yet, when Romeo and Juliet are first engaging each other in secret conversation, the music becomes the mood setting for the background. This is emphasized more when a natural break in the song, serves as an intensifying moment between the two characters. This could then be classed as non-diegetic as it serves to put across the mood between the two lovers of excitement and intrigue. To round of this essay I’m going to finish with a short conclusion about how I feel regarding the essay question. It seems to be that it’s easy enough for us, as the audience, to pigeon hole a sound at first glance. However as with my last cases these sounds might not always fit into the categories you first think they would. It could be a fair point to say then, that rather than being confined to one standardisation, these sounds might actually fluctuate and vary, depending on the scene’s mood and context. Bibliography Books Bordwell.D. & Thompson.K., 1947, Film art : An introduction, Fifth Edition, New York; London : McGraw-Hill. Hill.J. & Church.P., 2000, Film studies : critical approaches, Oxford : Oxford University Press Online Sources AllMovieScripts.com, Entrapment Script, http://www.allmoviescripts.com/scripts/14984220623f39e70a15fbb.html AllMovieScripts.com, The Italian Job Script, http://www.allmoviescripts.com/scripts/italianjob.PDF Anon, Titanic Script, http://sites.inka.de/humpty/titanic/script.html Anon, The Crow Script, http://abahb.crowfans.com/TheCrow/crowmov.txt FilmSound.org, Dimensions of film sound, http://www.filmsound.org/filmart/bordwell2.htm iMDB, Memorable quotes from Carlito’s way, http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0106519/quotes iMDB, Memorable quotes from The Englishman who went up a hill but came down a mountain, http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0112966/quotes iMDB, Memorable quotes from To Die For, http://imdb.com/title/tt0114681/quotes Smith.K.B, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Script, http://www.wheelon.com/swscripts/scripts.htm Filmography Amiel.J., 1999, Entrapment Gray.F., 2003, The Italian Job Lucas.G., 1980, Star Wars : The Empire Strikes Back Lurhmann.B., 1996, Romeo and Juliet Monger.C., 1995, The Englishman who went up a hill but came down a mountain Palma.D.B, 1993, Carlito’s Way Proyas.A., 1994, The Crow Sant.V.G., 1994, To Die For

Rabindranath Tagore Selected short stories Essay

Profit and Loss This narrative briefly describes the short, sorrowful life of Nirupama. The name signifies ‘peerless one’ and was given to her by her parents, who were gratified with a daughter after having had five sons. Being treasured, her father searched long and hard to find a groom he deemed suitable enough for her. He engaged Nirupama to the son of a â€Å"grand† Raybahadur who asked for a dowry of 10,000 rupees. Even though he had no way of paying the large sum he found such a chance hard to refuse and he procured a way to borrow the money. However once this fell through the prospective husband, despite the wishes of his parents, still insisted on marrying. Once married, the bride’s father, Ramsundar Mitra had to beg to visit his daughter. She was treated spitefully and Ramsundar heard of the contempt and shame that his daughter was suffering and so attempted to sell the house, without the knowledge of his other children. Unluckily these found out and protested, ha lting his plans. Later she asked to come home for a few days, so he gathered a portion of the owed amount, yet the in-laws denied his request. At last he made up his mind to not return until he was in possession of the full sum. Finally he managed this, foregoing the wishes and needs of the rest of his household, however his daughter discovered this and forbade him to pay another single paisa, otherwise she warned that he would never see her again. Her sacrifice infuriated her new family even more, and she became more like a servant of the household, than a member of the family. She no longer cared, neglected her well-being and became seriously ill. Her in-laws refused to believe her illness was legitimate and only pitied her enough to call the doctor the night she died. Unlike their treatment of her while she was alive, her funeral pyre was said to be magnificent. Soon after, the family found a new wife for their son, the dowry this time was 20,000 â€Å"cash down†. Little Master’s Return Little Master’s Return tells of the life of a servant, Raicharan whose life is formed through his duties. He brings up his rich employer’s son, Anukul and in turn his son. During the monsoon season the little boy is insistent to go out for a walk one day, tempted by the gurgling water, he drowns. The dedicated servant is devastated and when the mistress, the mother to the boy suggests that it is perhaps he who stole him for the sake of the gold he was wearing, he leaves out of shame. Returning home, his old wife gave birth to a son. His wife died, and due to his contempt towards the boy, his sister looked after him and called him Phelna. Over time Raicharan convinced himself that this was in fact the little boy returning, ‘little master cannot do without my love: he has been born again in my house’. This conclusion came from several proofs: firstly the interval between the death and birth was short, his wife was thought to be beyond a child-bearing age and the child seemed to crawl, toddle and call his aunt ‘Pishi’ just as his little master had done. With this belief he no longer hated the child, but reared the child like that of a high born, not allowing him to play with the village children and even selling all his possessions in order to enable the child to go to a school for the high class in Calcutta. His fatherly affection to his son was un-doubtable but his devotion was more that of a servant. His son never even told his friends that this was his father and made fun of him behind his back. Due to his age Raicharan resigned his job in the city he had taken to pay for the school and went back to the village, to his old employers. He admitted that it was him who stole their child, but that he was to return in two days. The day came and the family was convinced that the boy, brought up in a manner similar to their own, was theirs. After all, how could have Raicharan have acquired such a boy? Why would the old servant mislead them now? Raicharan described the birth of the boy as ‘fate’, Anukul became angry at Raicharan blaming God yet Phelna asked for his pardon. Raicharan was now to receive a monthly allowance, but when sent to his village the money returned, no one had heard of Raicharan. Wealth Surrendered The story tells of Yajnanath, who although wealthy, lived like the old sages; on impossibly little. His son, Brindaban Kunda, bore with his father’s choice of living until he married. The frequent rows became worse when his wife, who had been seriously ill, died. Brindaban blamed his father for her death as he had refused to pay for expensive medicines as he believed that like before, one should not try to ‘cheat’ death. With this Brindaban left taking with him his four-year-old son. Yajnanath greatly missed his troublesome grandson and when one day a particularly plucky boy was pestering him, he decided to adopt him. Yajnanath spoiled the young Nitai Pal and when a passerby mentioned that a Damodar Pal was looking for his son, he resolved to hide him. During the dead of night the old man took Nitai to the outskirts of the village to an abandoned temple. Lifting up a stone slab he leads him down to a secret cellar in which Yajnanath had hidden all his wealth. He worshipped Nitai in order to leave him his inheritance and left the boy safely hidden. Around dawn he found his own son, Brindaban who, in his shame for his father had changed his name to Damodar. Alarmed the old man collapsed asking, â€Å"If you strain your ears, can’t you hear someone crying â€Å"Father†?† Damodar could not. From then on when Yajnanath asked â€Å"Can you hear the crying?† everyone laughed at his madman’s words. Four years later he died. Skeleton What could have been a tragic love story starts with the account of three young boys studying anatomy from a skeleton. Years later one of the children, now older, is forced to sleep in the room that previously housed the carcass due to guests in the house. In his sleepless desperation he imagines to be able to feel a presence. Knowing that the footsteps he thinks he can hear are simply a fabrication, he calls out. Unexpectedly he receives a reply. The voice belongs to the owner of the skeleton, and is now looking for it. The ‘presence’ lonely and missing human company requests to tell him the story of her life. She starts by briefly describing her short unhappy marriage in which her husband died after two months. Brought back to her father’s house she embarks upon a long tale of her rare beauty and how she was aware of its influence. She even appeared to influence her brothers only friend, a young doctor, who when she was sick would feel her pulse and she would imagine his to equally race. Growing obsessed she fantasized only about him. Not only did she love this young doctor, whose name was Shashishekhar, but she worshipped him and became enraptured. However she soon found he was to be married and benefit a sum of 12,000 rupees. Feeling hurt and betrayed she confronted him and insisted on throwing a grand ceremony. On the night of the wedding she poisoned his drink and dressing her finest in a Benares sari, all the ornaments from her jewellery chest and vermillion in her hair (in order to symbolize that she was married) lay down to die under her favourite bakul tree (the one she used to daydream under) and died. She woke up to find the three young boys playing with her skeleton. And when finally he spoke in the rising dawn, there was no answer. Housewife Housewife is a account of how one’s experiences when young can deeply impact you for a long times. Shibanath, who was clean-shaven, with closely cropped hair except for a short pigtail is a teacher. He terrifies his pupils and is described as a ‘man-god’. Shibanath would give each of his student’s new names. The author’s theory is that ‘people generally love their names more than their own selves’. This is the story of how Ashu, a studious, good-natured boy in his class, acquired his name. Precisely at one each day a servant-girl would bring him a few sweets wrapped up in a leaf, and a little bell-metal pot of water, a daily occurrence which he found extremely embarassing. On a holiday the kind Ashu was playing with his sister who had no other play companions. On this particular day it was the wedding of her doll, however she found no one to be the priest. She asked a passerby, through unfortunate luck this was Shibanath, who was sheltering from the rain under the porch. Alarmed Ashu raced inside, utterly embarrassed. The next day this incident was described to the entire class, so when at exactly one the servant-girl came Ashu usual gentle smile gave way to a deep blush. The veins in his forehead began to throb and he broke down into a flood of tears. He was mocked mercilessly, ‘Housewife, housewife!’ From this he gathered that playing with one’s sister on a holiday was the most shameful thing in the world and no one would ever forget it. The Divide The Divide is a narrative of how a friendship ends between two distantly related cousins. Despite their distant blood connection and difference of ages Banamali and Himangshumali lived next door to each other. Banamali being older, he doted on Himangshumali, pouring all his love and affection on the younger boy. As Himangshumali grew he became interested in reading anything which came his way, through this he acquired his knowledge. Everyday Banamali would sit smoking his hookah on the little garden patio, waiting for Himangshumali to come home from school. As soon and the younger boy had washed and changed they would stroll in the garden together talking. They both loved gardening, Banamali with his heart, Himangshumali with his intelligence. When it became dark Himangshumali talked about the things he read, he thought and what came into his imagination; some correct, some not. Banamali would listen solemnly adding his own thoughts and listening to Himangshumali’s objections, pondering what was said the previous night quietly while he smoked. As it happened the gardens of these two neighbours were simply separated by a ditch, within which grew a lime tree. When the fruit grew and was ripe for harvesting the servants of the two households had a quarrel over whose tree it was. Eventually the fathers of each of friends got involved; this grew into a fully fledged argument between the two. Lawyers and barristers were hired to legally dispute the case. Overall more money was spent than the floods that ran through the ditch and in the end it was Banamali’s father that won. Throughout the court-case the two neighbours sons had managed to remain friends, however once this battle was over Himangshumali no longer came. When Banamali asked at his house, his father responded that no one was home. For a week Banamali waited, and no one came. Taraprasanna’s Fame A highly intelligent and intellectual writer, Taraprasanna spent his time at home writing with weakening eye’s and a bent back. Although thought to be talented, he was shy and socially awkward. He did not understand usual social interactions and would instead stare and wonder. Unlike his wife, the writer was never eager to publish his work, however when the oldest of his four daughters was old enough to soon be seeking a groom, he grew worried and fretful. How was he to raise enough money to marry off four daughters? As a fervent admirer of his work although she did not understand a word, his wife urged him to go to Calcutta in order to publish his work. As she could not go herself, he was accompanied by a ‘worldly-wise man’ from the village in order to assist him due to his peculiar behaviour and remind him of his chores. While there, Taraprasanna published his book, The Radiance of Vedanta and sent it to every editor for review. He also personally sent one to his wife by registered mail, in the fear of it getting lost. She was so overjoyed that Dakshayani invited all the women she knew in the village round for a meal. Taraprasanna even sent one to all the libraries requesting one, as many wrote ‘your thoughtful book has met a great need in our country’, from his own expenses. He even received a joyful letter from his wife, telling him she was once again with child. However he found that as many copies he had sent out, he had sold not a single copy, so finally at a loss he returned home. He brought back with him all the reviews of his book, however his wife as pleased as she was, was eager to see how successful he had been in terms of money. He only returned with five rupees. Dakshayani was heart-broken; all her faith in the honesty of the world had been destroyed. It was around this time that Dakshayani’s health worsened as her confinement approached, the village worried recognised her need for a midwife. So Taraprasanna, desperate approached his friend Bishvambhar, who at his own expense travelled to Calcutta in search of one. As the birth was drawing nearer his wife impelled him to promise and vow on several matters , she also requested that her daughter be called, Vendantaprabha, â€Å"The Radiance of Vedanta†. She thought, ‘ I came into his house to give him nothing but daughters. Perhaps his misfortunes will end now.’ As the midwife exclaimed at the newborn girl, Dakshayani whispered her daughter’s name one last time before dying.