Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Essay

Title: Balzac and the Little Chinese seamstress author: Dai SijieOriginally published in France by Gallimard, 2000English translation publisher: Alfred A. KnopfCopyright: September 11, 2001Hardcover: 208 pagesA novelBalzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is a cogent novel that depicts the impact of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, proves the magic of storytelling, compares ancient and modern, and tells a romantic love story between a mountain girl and two city youths. Two boys are sent to a mountain at the age of 17 and 18 during the Cultural Revolution in China in the 1970s for re-education. The narrator, a violin player, and his best friend Luo both have parents that are doctors and therefore classed as enemies of the people, which is the worst thing that can happen to an intellectual. The chance of going home from this remote village 500 kilometers away from their hometown, the big city Chengdu, is less than three in a thousand. At the mountain Phoenix of the Sky, which is just a poetic way of suggesting its terrifying altitude, they are put into a house on stilts with a sow underneath in the poorest village perched on a summit. Their re-education consists of working in a coal mine and carrying buckets of excrement up and down a mountain. With them in another village is an old friend called Fore-Eyes, because of his glasses. Soon the two discover his hidden suitcase that contains a large number of Western literature translated into Chinese. And when they meet the Little Seamstress, the beautiful mountain girl in need of culture, they decide to steal the suitcase. This partly historical novel tells the amusing adventures of a teenager during his re-education in a humorous, and sometimes sarcastic way, with a lot of black humor in between. A funny example is the day of their arrival. When the narrator played a sonata by Mozart on his violin to convince the villagers that it was a musical instrument, not a toy, he had to call his piece Mozart is Thinking of Chairman Mao to wipe out the headmans suspicion. Another example is Fore-Eyes collecting authentic folk songs from the peasants to publish them in a journal, in order to get out of the village: he adapted and modified them to communistic songs because the text was a little indelicate. The irony behind this is that songs from peasants, who  are the actual communists, had to be altered in order to be published in a communistic journal. The characters are all extremely realistic, whether it is the vigilant, coarse, and harsh village headman who is an ex-opium grower turned Communist saying that spreading out reactionary stories of western Counts (Count of Monte Cristo) is a crime, regardless of the Counts nationality because our revolution will triumph the world over, or the poor Old Miller eating pebbles dipped in salt water with his liquor, which he calls jade dumplings with miller sauce. My favorite character is the superficial and sycophantic Fore-Eyes with his smiling mask: he is the son of a poetess and a writer and therefore also classed three-in-a-thousand. He lives in constant terror of the peasants opinion, hoping that they might give him a chance to go back home: Ive got to work, thats what Im here for. At least thats what the headman says, he says. The Cultural Revolution has not only changed Fore-Eyes. Towards the end of 1968, Chairman Mao launched a campaign that would leave the country profoundly altered: the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Schools and universities were closed and hundred of thousands of young intellectuals were forced to go to the countryside for re-education, meaning working with poor peasants to change their bourgeois minds, to have western decadent ideas re-educated out of them. This book is one of the few that personally describe the suffering of teenagers at the age of growing up working in villages without any culture or civilization, completely blocked from the outside world. The little coal mine already became a threatening word in the two boys vocabulary. Luo once said: I dont know why, but from the moment we got here Ive had this idea stuck in my head: that Im going to die in this mine. As the narrator said, he’s heard â€Å"nothing but revolutionary blather about patriotism, Communism, ideology and propaganda all his life†. Therefore, a suitcase with Western literature that was discovered by chance totally transformed him and his friend in a way that being in the city could never have done because any art or literature that is Western were banned for years at that time. So even though they were supposed to be re-educated, they did read something else than Maos Little Red Book, the only book that was allowed to be read. Besides manifesting the impact of the Cultural Revolution, the story reveals the importance of storytelling. Early in the book, the narrator says: The only thing Luo was really good at was telling stories. A pleasing talent to be sure, but a marginal one, with little future in it. Modern man has moved beyond the age of the Thousand-and-One-Nights, and modern societies everywhere, whether socialist or capitalist, have done away with the old storytellers—more’s the pity. The fact is this story is based on telling stories – from revolutionary movies to Western forbidden books and at that certain time and place, storytelling brought culture and civilization. The narrator was completely changed when he opened the thin book of Balzac, realizing that subjects like awakening desire, passion, impulsive action had all been hidden from him. Like he said: Brushing them with the tips of my fingers made me feel as if my pale hands were in touch with human lives. Somehow, the way he identifies characters and situations that he has never experienced so strongly can be compared to the way this book presents itself: through excellent descriptions the reader is led in a world so new, so different, and so impressive. This wonderful story combines ancient and modern, superstition and civilization in a village, demonstrating an entire contrast between the two cultures. An interesting scene in the book is that sorceresses who came to heal Luo from his bout of malaria were fascinated by the story the narrator told. He said: I embarked on the strangest performance of my life. In that remote village tucked into a cleft in the mountain where my friend had fallen into a sort of stupor, I sat in the flickering light of an oil lamp and related the North Korean film for the benefit of a pretty girl and four ancient sorceresses. Although this book essentially suggests that Western culture is welcomed, the plot hints a drawback. If everyone in China or elsewhere would be educated in a Western way, meaning to leave superstition, religion, tradition and maybe even culture and history behind, what would then the world look like?The book is not only a story about cultural differences; it is also a love story. The Little Seamstress is by far the prettiest girl in the whole region. The moment the narrator and Luo saw her, the beauty of this simple, kind, and genuine daughter of the tailor fascinated them. The narrator asked Luo whether he was in love with her or  not, and he replied: Shes not civilized, at least not enough for me! The story deals with teaching a mountain girl (who is now Luos girlfriend) by telling her Western stories about love and passion. At the same time, it deals a lot with friendship, because the narrator is also in love with the Little Seamstress, who isnt aware of that. He calls himself her secret agent when he goes to protect the Little Seamstress from other admirers following Luos wish when he was gone for a month. He teaches the Little Seamstress and helps her at her daily work, but wasnt supposed to show any kind of affection or jealousy. That is true friendship, in other words. In the end, the story takes a surprising turn with the Little Seamstress leaving them with Balzacs words: A womans beauty is a treasure beyond price.After all, it is a very powerful and convincing book that allows readers to think about this dark and ugly period of Chinese history and at the same time see how hope and optimism never vanishes in times of despair, fear and loneliness, or any kind of terrible situations one might get in.

Classical Approach Essay

These clinics provide a range of primary health care services with eye care often being a neglected component. The personnel at this level of the health care system are expected to be multi-skilled with eye care skills being one of their range of skills. The eye care personnel are usually primary health care nurses who have completed a course in eye care. Vision screening and treatment of basic acute eye conditions such as  conjunctivitis, is the main role of eye care personnel at this level. In addition they should be able to engage in health promotion activities by developing eye health education tools and communicating these messages to the community the clinic serves. District health clinic Primarily responsible for primary health care services and serves or receives referral from a number of primary health care clinics. These clinics are generally staffed by primary health care nurses with medical doctors on a permanent or part time basis depending on the number of people in the catchment area or remoteness of the clinics. Furthermore ophthalmic nurses (ON), ophthalmic clinical officers (OCO) and/or ophthalmic medical assistants (OMA) are deployed in some countries to these clinics. THE DISTRICT HEALTH SYSTEM (CONT.) District Hospital Secondary level of care is provided in these hospitals. These hospitals serve a number of health districts, which refer patients to them. Ocular disease diagnosis and management, refraction and low vision are usually provided at this level. The district hospitals can be staffed by ophthalmologists, optometrists, ON, OCO, OMA. REGIONAL HOSPITAL Secondary and tertiary level of eye care is provided at these hospitals, which are often the referral site for a group of district hospitals Eyecare staff may include ON, OCO, OMA, optometrists and ophthalmologists PROVINCIAL HOSPITAL Tertiary and quaternary care is provided at this level. Serves a few regional hospitals which refer cases that cannot be managed at a regional level Eyecare staff may include ophthalmologists, optometrists and ON DEFINING THE ROLE OF DIFFERENT CADRES It is critical that there be a clear definition of roles within the health district. Duplication should be avoided and a clearly defined referral system should be developed as in a climate of limited resources and overworked staff, duplication is illogical and wasteful. There are various participants of the eye care teams. The following are the possible roles that the different personnel play within health districts. These roles can vary across districts and are often not consistent, in the sense that their job descriptions could change periodically depending on resources and challenges at the district level: COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS The key roles for community health workers are usually screening, case finding, health promotion and health education. Key tasks for eye care include case finding and/or screening for ocular disease and refractive errors. While the primary health care nurse is well trained and ideal for ocular health and vision, case finding and/or screening, outreach from clinics is usually very difficult due to the plethora of tasks and patient numbers at this level. The community health workers therefore constitute an ideal cadre for community based eye care activity. They can be particularly useful in health promotion activity. This is necessary in rural areas in particular due to the high usage of alternative approaches to managing eye diseases e.g. urine being used as a treatment for conjunctivitis resulting in patients presenting at clinics with gonococcal conjunctivitis (Naidoo K  2006, pers. comm). PRIMARY HEALTH CARE NURSE (PHCN) The Primary Health Care Nurse is based at the primary health care clinic. The primary health care nurse is primarily responsible for case finding and for the basic therapeutic management of a broad range of diseases. Eye care is but one of the many tasks that they engage in. In terms of eye care they usually screen for eye diseases and visual loss and refer to the nearest clinic. However, they could also be responsible for the prescribing of presbyopic glasses after having ruled out the presence of any potentially blinding disease.Given the lack of knowledge about eye care their tasks can also include liaising with local community structures to promote eye care activities and uptake of the clinical services. The PHCN should address community groups and schools regarding the promotive and preventive approaches to eye care. An example is the alarming number of diabetic and hypertensive patients who are never informed about the impact of these systemic diseases on their eyes, usually du e to the hectic schedule of clinicians who diagnose these patients. This leads to diabetic and hypertensive patients only seeking eye care services when visual loss has occurred. Such patients can benefit tremendously from preventive and promotive efforts. DEFINING THE ROLE OF DIFFERENT CADRES(CONT.) OPHTHALMIC NURSE (ON) / OPHTHALMIC MEDICAL ASSISTANT (OMA) / OPHTHALMIC CLINICAL OFFICER (OCO) ONs / OMAs / OCOs are mainly allocated to the district hospital but can also be deployed at the district clinic. In many health districts the ophthalmic nurses are the foundation of the eye care system as optometrists and ophthalmologists are unavailable. The ophthalmic nurses manage all ocular disease as well as conduct refractions in instances where they have been  provided with the additional training. OPTOMETRISTS Optometrists at the district hospital level are a very valuable resource in providing ocular disease management and refractive services. However the current limited number of posts as well as the unavailability of optometrists for the public sector often prevents these appointments from occurring. Given the current remuneration scales for optometry and the lack of posts in many countries insufficient number of optometrists are mobilised to take on positions at district hospitals. The role of the optometrist at a district hospital level in such circumstances should therefore be one of a visiting clinician to provide support for the ophthalmic nurse in the form of training and mentoring and managing complex cases. The optometrist’s primary location in such circumstances will be at the regional hospital level handling referrals from different district hospitals. At this level the optometrist should provide refraction services, low vision services and ocular disease diagnosis and co-management/management. OPHTHALMOLOGIST Ophthalmologists provide treatment and management of ocular disease, and surgical care. The lack of ophthalmologists as well as the attractiveness of the private sector makes it difficult to deploy ophthalmologists to district hospitals. They are therefore usually located at regional hospitals or large district hospitals. In order to significantly impact on the cataract surgical rates in the developing world it is necessary to increase the role of the ophthalmic nurses and optometrists in disease management and co-management of post surgical patients. DISTRICT HEALTH MANAGER The district manager is an integral component of the human resource team of the district. A supportive manager can enable enormous developments in terms of eye care, as the allocation of resources in the public sector is usually centrally controlled. The decentralisation of tasks to the district managers from the provincial government level creates an opportunity for greater  success with district level planning. THE TEAM APPROACH The public health system is often under-utilized due to the lack of a team effort in the delivery of health care services. The different personnel work independently and are often engaging in a duplication of tasks. Territorial approaches by professionals are quite common with a â€Å"my role† mentality predominating rather than an â€Å"us† mentality (Croasdale A 2006, pers. comm).In order to effectively generate cooperation team training in the form of clinical and planning workshops are important. Further there is also a lack of integration between the eye care personnel and other departments. This hinders the effective management of patients e.g. diabetic patients should be co-managed between the physician and the eye care personnel. DEFINING THE ROLE OF DIFFERENT CADRES (CONT.) CIVIL SOCIETY INTERVENTIONS The LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) in India has developed an innovative model for the delivery of eye care in the developing world (Fig. 2-1), which has been implemented very successfully (Rao, 2005). In this pyramid model, basic eye care screening is done by â€Å"Vision Guardians† at the village level, at a ratio of 1:5,000.â€Å"Vision Technicians† in Vision Centres at the community level provide primary eye care (1:50,000), while advanced tertiary care takes place at the Centre of Excellence level (1:50 million).Tasks are thus divided amongst the available workforce, so that the relatively few individuals capable of high-end tasks are freed to deliver those. Local communities should always be involved in the establishment of eye care services, and educated about eye care – since available facilities are not always accessed spontaneously.The WHO recommends that the minimum target for mid-level eye care personnel be 1:50,000 populations.

The Campbell Company

The Campbell Company is evaluating a proposal to buy a new milling machine. The base price is $108,000, and shipping and installation costs would add another $12,500. The machine falls into the MACRS 3-year class, and it would be sold after 3 years for $65,000. The machine would require a $5,500 increase in working capital (increased inventory less increased accounts payable). There would be no effect on revenues, but pre-tax labor costs would decline by $44,000 per year. The marginal tax rate is 35 percent. 1. What is the net cost of the machine for capital budgeting purposes, that is, the Year 0 project cash flow? Net Cost of the machine = $108,000 + $12,500 + $5,500 = $126,000 2. What are the net operating cash flows during Years 1, 2 and 3? Â   | Year | |Â   |0 |1 |2 |3 | |After-Tax Savings |Â   |$28,600 |$28,600 |$28,600 | |Depreciation Tax Savings |Â   |$13,918 |$18,979 |$6,326 | |Net Cash Flow |Â   |$42,518 |$47,579 |$34,926 | . What is the terminal year cash flow? |Salvage Value |$65,000 | |Tax on Salvage Value |$19,798 | |NWC Recovery |$5,500 | |Terminal Cash Flow |$50,702 | 4. If the project’s cost of capital (WACC) is 12 percent, should the machine be purchased? Yes, the machine should be purchased as the investment has a positive NPV of $10,840 as per the following table. |NPV Analysis | |Year |Cash Flow |PV Factor @ 12% |PV | |0 |($126,000) |1 |($126,000) | |1 |$42,518 |0. 929 |$37,962 | |2 |$47,579 |0. 7972 |$37,929 | |3 |$85,629 |0. 7118 |$60,949 | |NPV |Â   |Â   |$10,840 |

Negro Art

The year 1919 witnessed the start of a very important movement in the creativity in arts by the black Americans. This movement is known as the Harlem Renaissance – the flourishing of African American cultural and intellectual life. It featured the creativity of the â€Å"Negroes† in the field of arts, catering to their every need, like literature, drama, music, visual art, and dance. It encouraged the artist in every black American to stand up and be recognized. New York City’s Harlem would be the center stage for painters, sculptors, musicians, and writers to produce works of art. During this time art was given a huge responsibility; it would become the main medium through which the African American race would strive for equality.Black Writers and the â€Å"Negro† ArtMany black writers, such as Alain Locke, W.E.B. DuBois, and Langston Hughes wrote specifically about the importance of art and its ability to promote equality. Although many black writers agr eed with this idea, other more conservative writers did not; such is the case with George S. Schuyler. In his work â€Å"The Negro-Art Hokum† Schuyler states that race and art are separate, and there is no â€Å"Negro Art† but only American art. While his integrated and collective view of art may have a positive outlook in our time, it was less than encouraging for those living during the Harlem Renaissance. Looking at both sides would mean exploring the depths of how these writers understood â€Å"Negro Art† and â€Å"American Art†.Alain Locke and â€Å"The New Negro†The importance of art was first exposed by Alain Locke in his famous essay â€Å"The New Negro†. This essay is often seen as the catalyst for the emergence of a new movement within the African American society. Written in 1925, Locke aims to tell the nation that African Americans are changing and adapting under the social prejudices that have previously been forced upon them. T he mind of the ‘New Negro’ is moving away from social discourse, and it is â€Å"shaking off the psychology of imitation and implied inferiority† (Locke pg).  A new group of people are being formed; he calls them the ‘New Negro’. Locke calls for artistic contributions by the black race. He believes that with art, the race will gain cultural recognition; he looks at the role of art as â€Å"a bridge between individuals and cultures† (Gates 984). This is a transformation of some sort; something which doesn’t rely on how things are usually done: something that embraces a new psychology and possesses a new spirit.Alain Locke’s â€Å"The New Negro† aims to define the new black American; lifting him from the images of slave trades and plantation workers. He explains how the old concept of â€Å"Negro† is more of a mythical figure, something which the society has dictated it to be. This is usually a view of the oppressed poor, being stepped on while some people are holding them back. These characteristics however, were more of a â€Å"conceived† trait rather than a â€Å"perceived† trait.The society thinks that up until that time, the Negroes were low lives who are incapable of artistic appreciation and production. They have their eyes closed about the Negro’s achievements, including literature, music and visual arts. Alain Locke’s â€Å"The New Negro† is not necessarily introducing a new breed of black Americans. It is more of an eye-opener of what these people have created and what they’re capable of doing in the context of art.W. E. B. Du Bois and his â€Å"Criteria of Negro Art†The following year W. E. B. Du Bois contributed similar views of art and race with his speech â€Å"Criteria of Negro Art†, in which he specifically defines art as the key to equality among the races. He states that art is propaganda and that it should always be pro paganda. DuBois feels that art is a way of proving ones humanity. â€Å"Just as soon as the black artist appears, someone touches the race on the shoulder and says. ‘He did that because he was an American, not because he was a Negro; he was born here; he was trained here; he is not a Negro—what is a Negro anyhow?He is just human; it is the kind of thing you ought to expect† (Du Bois pg). This portrait of racial equality through art is an inspiring call for the emergence of black artists. According to Du Bois, black American art should utilize truth as a tool. Since art is propaganda, it should aim to seek the truth and show the truth. Artists will fully understand art if they are truthful with what they create, with what they write; artists should be truthful with the way they handle their art.â€Å"The Negro-Art Hokum† vs. â€Å"The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain†In 1926, the June issue of The Nation featured â€Å"The Negro-Art Hokum† by George S. Schuyler as well as Hughes’s response piece â€Å"The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain†. The magazine had angered Schuyler by appointing Hughes as a critic before the article had even appeared (Kuenz 174). Ultimately, the pairing of these two essays lends many to play favorites among the two rather than assess each piece as its own subject. As one would expect, Schuyler often receives negative opinions.George S. Schuyler viewed art as something that should not be divided by any race; instead, it should just be recognized through a certain nationality, and in the case of the â€Å"Negro† art, it should just be classified as an American art. Schuyler may have a point, but he was not able to properly explain and defend it. It could mean that he was more concerned in further marginalizing the situation of the black Americans, that’s why he opted for a more general classification which is considering Negro art as American art.â€Å"Aside fro m his color, which ranges from very dark brown to pink, your American Negro is just plain American†¦ Negroes and whites from the same localities in this country talk, think, and act about the same† (Schuyler). He made a mistake however, when he somewhat talked down on the black Americans because it seems that he has no regard for the black culture, saying that it is just a matter of color. He may have generalized on the artistic aspect of black Americans, but they also posses a culture which has essentially contributed in the formation of the country.Schuyler didn’t recognize the existence of the black American culture: â€Å"This, of course, is easily understood if one stops to realize that the Aframerican is merely a lampblacked Anglo-Saxon† (Schuyler). This statement made by Schuyler somewhat looks down on the African American culture, assuming that they have just black counterparts of the white residents of the country.Black Americans have a rich culture , including a wide influence in art. This doesn’t give any person the right to assume that they are just colored counterparts of the majority.One argument that Schuyler raised was that black Americans are living the same lives as white Americans, that’s why there shouldn’t be any difference even in their perception and appreciation of art.â€Å"When the jangling of his Connecticut alarm clock gets him out of hisGrand Rapids bed to a breakfast similar to that eaten by his white brother across the street; when he toils at the same or similar work in mills, mines, factories, and commerce alongside the descendants of Spartacus, Robin Hood, and Eric the Red; when he wears similar clothing and speaks the same language with the same degree of perfection; when he reads the same Bible and belongs to the Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, or Catholic church.When his fraternal affiliations also include the Elks, Masons, and Knights of Pythias; when he gets the same or similar schooling, lives in the same kind of houses, owns the same makes of cars (or rides in them), and nightly sees the same Hollywood version of life on the screen; when he smokes the same brands of tobacco, and avidly peruses the same puerile periodicals; in short, when he responds to the same political, social, moral, and economic stimuli in precisely the same manner as his white neighbor, it is sheer nonsense to talk about â€Å"racial differences† as between the American black man and the American white man† (Schuyler). This lengthy but meaningful passage by Schuyler could be considered as his basis for the argument that whites and blacks are just superficial concepts.However, he didn’t consider one thing: culture goes beyond what you eat, what you do for a living; it is deeply rooted in the people’s emotions, a basis for their character formation. Once it is imprinted in their personality, these black Americans would surely recognize what is black and wha t is white when it comes to art.â€Å"The Negro-Art Hokum† can be seen in a number of different ways and can easily be misconstrued. It has caused some to view Schuyler as a traitor to his race (Gates 1220).Hughes attacks this presumption in â€Å"The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain†. He argues that African Americans should be proud of their heritage and culture.Langston Hughes’ â€Å"The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,† he points out that despite living in a country filled with white people, African Americans should never look away from where they truly came from. They should stand up for their heritage and culture, which could be manifested in different forms of art. According to Hughes, the Negro artist is full of potential, because he has a very rich culture backing him up. â€Å"Without going outside his race, and even among the better classes with their â€Å"white† culture and conscious American manners, but still Negro enough to be different, there is sufficient material to furnish a black artist with a lifetime of creative work† (Hughes).This statement means that the Negro could truly afford to be different because they are characterized with a rich culture, as well as great talents that would supply a lifetime of creative works in the form of literature, visual arts, and more. People possessing these skills and talents should not be ashamed of his roots. Instead of succumbing to the white â€Å"Americanization† of these artistic skills, African Americans should focus on how they would be able to make their culture stand out. They should love their own, especially their artists who posses the talent that could match and even surpass any artist from other races.The African American people should learn to appreciate their own creations, and address these as the output of a black American, and not of a commoner. Many blacks wanted to be assimilated by the whites and their culture, but to Hughes, he suggested that it is better to accept what you really are: â€Å"Why should I want to be white? I am a Negro–and beautiful! (Hughes)†The racial mountain is the obstacle which the black Americans should be able to conquer. They may be living in a country full of white people telling them what to do, what to think, and what to follow. The black Americans have to overcome this push-shove treatment being given to them, and that could be realized by strengthening their own culture. They have a lot of potential, added the fact that they posses talented young minds. All they have to do is to stand up to the challenge and prove that they can truly be considered a unique, independent culture.Look at: Race in art†¦ Locke says it’s important, Dubois says it’s important, Hughes says it’s important. Schuyler says there is no race in art- only art. He has a good point- but it seems that he was overlooking the importance it can have for a culture. He see ms to overlook the fact that equality had not yet been achieved and that his fellow artists wanted to gain that equality through art. Its interesting that Schuyler was denying that very vehicle that would hopefully gain the equality he presumed to be already in effect.Schuyler seems ahead of his times. He writes â€Å"The Negro-Art Hokum† in 1926 and argues that there is no Negro-Art; there is simply American Art, and no distinction between the two. Although he makes an understandable argument it seems that he denies the main problem. We can see how one may agree with Schuyler in that both African Americans and white Americans have had an affect on one another. But when we look at what Hughes says about racial pride, it’s hard to agree with Schuyler.Works Cited:DuBois, W.E.B. â€Å"Criteria of Negro Art†.   1926.   The Crisis. November 7 2007. .Gates, Henry Louis, and Gene Andrew Jarrett. â€Å"Introduction to the New Negro.†Ã‚   The New Negro: Readin gs on Race, Representation, and African American Culture, 1892-1938. Ed. Alain Locke. New York: Atheneum, 1968. 3-16.Hughes, Langston. â€Å"The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain†.   1926.   The Nation. November 7 2007. .Locke, Alain. â€Å"Introduction to the New Negro.† New York: Atheneum, 1968. 3-16.Schuyler, George S. â€Å"The Negro-Art Hokum.† Nation 122 (1926).

A Description of the Attributes a Presidential Candidate Should Have Essay Example for Free

A Description of the Attributes a Presidential Candidate Should Have Essay ? The American President represents much more than an institution. To people around the world he is representative of their hopes and fears for the future and is the focus of intense feelings and emotions. The voting process represents an extremely significant period in American politics where US citizens vote for their President. Their votes are reflective not only of the candidate they like and respect the most, but are also an indication of the person that they predict will be the most effective once in office. Despite this, their decisions are based on the candidate’s performance prior to, and during, the election process. This performance that may not necessarily be a good indication of their actual ability to run the country; the qualities needed to become a President are very different from those required to be a successful President once in office. This paper will address the attributes that are commonly cited as being necessary for someone to become a President and will dispute a number of these, offering the opinion that they are not necessarily the correct basis on which judgments should be made. The skills and methods by which an elective may become a President are explored and will be compared to those that are actually required and valued once in office. In the United States the absence of a monarchy entails that the President often becomes the object for nationalistic or monarchical type sentiments that people in countries like England would direct at their Queen. The President is undoubtedly the most important figure in the US and holds several roles including Chief Executive, Commander in Chief, Head of the National Party and Chief Legislator. However, like the Queen in England, his supreme court have opposing powers to him and thus limit his ability to carry out some of his roles. Many people recognize one of the most important attributes for a Presidential candidate to be is a good, strong decision maker with a clear vision and direction. Candidates often use the election process to discuss problems that are evident in the way in which the country is currently being run and make willful claims as to how they would do things differently. They swear that they will have the backbone to take decisions that Presidents before them have failed to take. These type of statements appeal to the American public as they provide hope for a better future and an expectation that things will change for the better. The truth, however, is very different. Congressmen have their own electorate, interest groups and opinions on how the country should be run. The President is actually very limited in his ability to command congress to do anything and thus, the implementation of his decisions is actually a very difficult thing to achieve. What is, perhaps, more important than an ability to make decisions is an ability to persuade and influence others. If you ask people if they would vote for someone who uses strong powers of persuasion to sway their vote they would probably say no, they would prefer to vote for some who have a strong direction and vision. They wouldn’t like to feel that clever vocabulary or some type of sales approach has influenced them. No, they prefer to consider themselves people who have made a good decision based on the facts. The truth, however, that they probably were persuaded and swayed during part of the election process. This is not such a bad thing. The ability to persuade others is crucial to a successful President as he needs to be capable, through whatever means necessary, to convince others to carry out the decisions he makes. It is therefore clear that, whilst a clear vision and direction is important, what is more important both in gaining the role and completing it successfully is an ability to persuade and influence. The person who manages to influence others will do the better job, once in power it will help him get things done and in becoming President it will help him win. A further attribute that the American public will look for when selecting a Presidential candidate is a consistency of purpose. People want a President who will have courage to commit to their course of action and achieve the plans they lay out during the electoral process. However, again this may not be an attribute that delivers success once a candidate is in power and we often see very different expectations of the President. President George Bush can be cited as a prime example of this. George Bush was clear and strong in his plan to rid Iraq of Saddam Hussain, so much so that he took the United States to war. However, he later faced a great deal of criticism for his actions and many camps argue that he should have admitted he was wrong and should withdraw US troops from the US. His commitment to action was no longer valued. This paper is not intended to debate this point and pass judgment on George Bush’s actions but is using this example to show that the attributes that people may look for when selecting a President; consistency and relentless purpose may not always be what they expect once they are in power. An attribute that features heavily in people’s decision when selecting a President is realism, they like a family man whose values and emotions may seem to reflect their own. They want to feel that their President, as much as possible, has the same feelings and fears that they do and will thus act in a way that is in their interests. Whether appropriate or not, the past and present personal life of a Presidential candidate features heavily during the election process and people look for someone who has lived their life in a good and true manner. Whilst such attributes provide an indication of a person’s character and may be seen to represent the way in which they will behave once they are in power, they are not necessarily what people look for once their President are in power. They are more concerned with a person’s ability to cut themselves off emotionally from any decisions they make, distancing themselves from a situation in order to look at a bigger picture. The phrase â€Å"don’t mix business with pleasure† could not be more appropriate for a President in power. Once in the Whitehouse people consider the figurehead to be an American institution; he works for them. Personal life is no longer to be considered to be of relevance and, in many respects; they do not wish a President to show feelings as these can be construed as a weakness. Other commonly cited attributes that people discuss when they are asked what they look for in a President include honesty, integrity, leadership and intelligence. These types of attributes entail that the opinions people form of candidates prior to their election, and thus the benchmark against which they are judged once they are elected, can never be met; they are all extremely subjective values. A candidate who is elected as a new President, a replacement for the incumbent, will always be heralded as the next big thing. The nation will feel strong hope for the future of America and will truly believe that things will change for the better. However, the likelihood is that these expectations can never really be met. Time will change the position that the President occupies in people’s minds; what people perceive as good leadership now will almost certainly change over the course of the four years between elections. As such, these attributes cannot accurately be used as representations of how well a candidate will perform once in office. This paper has addressed a number of the common attributes that people cite as important within a Presidential candidate. Through exploring the difference between winning an election and actually running a country, the flawed nature of the factors upon which many votes are cast is revealed. Whilst people recognize they are voting for someone who will run their country, they rarely seem to consider the attributes that will be valued in this role, instead focusing on those required to get there. Fighting a Presidential campaign is very different from being a President. Along these lines more emphasis should be placed on attributes such as attention to military threats and needs, the economy and American interests, both at home and abroad. A Description of the Attributes a Presidential Candidate Should Have. (2016, Nov 01).

Methods Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Methods - Research Paper Example The design also involves administration of pre and post examination test to measure the fluid levels among the participants (Nationaltechcenter.org, 2013). For this study, a non-equivalent control-group design will be used to allow the researcher to compare the measurements of treatment group with the measurements recorded by the control group. This is intended to determine if there is a variance in in the level of dehydration that can be associated with the administration of diuretics. The control group in this study will be a group of 40 patients suffering from hypertension, who will not be allowed to use diuretics for a controlled period of time within the acceptable medical standards. A pretest will be done on them to measure the level of hydration before the experiment is done and a posttest carried out later. Treatment group in this case will involve another group of 40 hypertension patients who will undergo pretest to measure their level of hydration, then issued with diuretic tablets. A posttest examination will then be carried out on the treatment group to determine level of dehydration. ... Sample and Setting This study will involve a sample size of 80 patients suffering from high blood pressure and are between age 40 and 55. The sample size will be divided into two groups, one being a control group and the other being treatment group. This group of people was chosen because of their health condition and the fact that people with hypertension conditions are medically allowed to use diuretics under prescription of the doctors to help them lose fluids that are retained as a result of their conditions. The study will be carried out at Agha Khan Hospital during clinics schedules in collaboration with the hospital’s administration and the doctors’ guidance. The choice of this setting is influenced by the high turnover number of the blood pressure patients who visit the hospital on a daily basis and the availability of doctors to monitor the control group in case of any effect as a result of the planned temporary deprivation of diuretics. Description of the Powe r Analysis This study used G Power software for the power analysis. This helps to avoid trial-and-error method of finding a sufficient sample size, G Power allowed imputing the desired power of 0.8 as directed together with the given alpha value, which is 0.5 and expected effect size of 0.3 to generate the minimum sample size needed. The power analyzed here gives the probability of whether to accept or reject the null hypothesis. It should be noted that effect size is of 0.3 indicates that there was a small effect. The alpha of 0.5 shows the error or 95% confidence level in the data used or that the researcher is willing to accept a possibility of a 5% chance in the results. Quasi experiments control the intervening variables, since there is a controlled administration of the diuretics to

Choose the topic from given list Research Paper

Choose the topic from given list - Research Paper Example There seems to be a growing clamor for school uniforms in the public schools for some matter. One of the reasons presented by those supporting the unforms in public schools has to do with the cost of school clothing. One of the largest expenses that parents face in terms of the day to day needs of their high school aged children has to do with the clothes that they wear to school everyday. The increasing cost of ready to wear clothes and the desire of children to wear unique get-ups to school cost the parents a tidy sum of money every school year. By imposing a mandatory school uniform policy in our schools, the cost of education can be brought down for parents. This paper aims to present three reasons as to why we should support the clamor for uniforms in public schools , including the savings on cost of clothing that can be passed on to the parents, while also presentingsome of the reasons that some parents and students oppose the school uniform policy. One of the reasons that high school students give when asked why the support the school uniform policy is that they find it easier to simply wear the same clothes to school everyday. Although teenagers love to dress up and match their outfits for a day out, having to do that on a daily basis for school clothing becomes a nuisance for them. Thus school uniforms can actually help the kids get to school on time and the parents also get a few extra minutes everyday with which they can do other things in the process. Contrary to public belief, high school students do not enjoy being late for class. They also prefer to not have to think about what they will be wearing the next day to school. The reasoning is simple: It saves them from having to go out and buy clothes because a uniform can be sent to you. Decisions don’t have to be made because you wear the same outfit every day. All kids have to do is grab their uniform and you don’t have to worry if it matches or if it doesn’t match. (Whelan, B rittany â€Å"School Uniforms Save Money, Avoid Problems†) As anybody who ever attended high school knows, these students are judged by their peers at this level primary through first impressions. Those first impressions are first created by the clothes that a student wears to school. This need to dress in what a student believes to be an acceptable manner to his peers then ends up causing the student undue stress. Not everyone can afford to buy the latest trend in clothing and designer duds so in the case of such students, a school uniform will work best. School uniforms are also viewed as the great equalizer in many cases. Since students dress alike on campus, this can actually help to reduce the cases of bullying, intimidation, clothes thefts, and the like. The reason that uniforms work very well in lessening the violence students experience on campus is that when it becomes hard to look unique, the students tend to treat each other fairly. It is said that uniforms are the great equalizer because; â€Å"Schools are for students to learn and not for students to be threatened because of what they wear or are not wearing. Uniforms will help protect each student from crime and violence when at school.† (â€Å"Yes for School Uniforms†). Civilian school clothes that high school students wear to school can cost parents as much as over a thousand dollars in a year due to the constant need to change the clothes with