Monday, September 30, 2019

Indigenous Knowledge Amd Essay

Pedagogy in First Nations Education A Literature Review with Recommendations. ’’ Marie Battiste, director of the Apamuwek Institute, in partnership with the Canadian Government has made a research conducting a literature review on indigenous knowledge. The author writes about the challenges that such a research implies. For example, the record of educational knowledge for indigenous people is not necessarily done through books as with the European knowledge system. Throughout the years, the rights of indigenous knowledge in the educational system under the constitutional Act of 1982 section 35 and 52 (p. 13) was not always respected. Her goal s to ensure that the right information about indigenous knowledge is integrated into classrooms. To achieve it, Battiste proposes three approaches. The first one would be to clarify insights into the tensions between Indigenous people and European ways of knowing. The second approach is on innovating program to help understand the challenges of Native People. The third part is based on the Author’s research and the Ministry recommendations in improving First Nations education. Marie Battiste suggests to focus on ‘’ Similarities between the two systems of knowledge ather than on their differences’’ as a start to introduce educational reform. (p. 11). Reference: Battiste. M. (2002) Indigenous Knowledge and Pedagogy in First Nations Education

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Black People and Roberta Essay

In Toni Morrison’s â€Å"Recitatif,† the story is about two girls, Twyla and Roberta. They grow up in an orphanage because their mothers could not care for them. Morrison makes it clear the girls come from different ethnic backgrounds but never states which one is black or white. At one point in the story Twyla comments, â€Å"We looked like salt and pepper. † I grew frustrated with the story and had to read it several times. I could never determine who was black and white and the lesson I learned should have been it doesn’t really matter. The story begins with Twyla’s mother dropping her off at the orphanage. She meets Roberta and they become best friends. The bond they share occurs because they were not considered real orphans. They were abandoned kids unlike the other children whose parents had died. One of the last times the girls see each other was the day of a visitation. On that night, Twyla’s mother was wearing â€Å"those tight green slacks that made her butt stick out. † Many people have labeled blacks as having larger butts. She could have been black, she could have been a heavy white woman with a large butt, or a Hispanic woman like me. But I automatically stereotyped and went with Twyla has to be black. During the visitation Roberta’s mother â€Å"had brought chicken legs. † Twyla notices Roberta does not eat the chicken legs. I always thought black people liked chicken more than white people which means Roberta was white since she did not eat the chicken. Or maybe she just wasn’t hungry. Shortly after that visitation Roberta’s mother came to take her home, leaving the girls devastated. They see each other several times throughout the years. At their first meeting, Roberta was rude and distant because she was high. Roberta tells Twyla she is on the way to see Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix was an infamous black guitarist. I thought at this point Roberta has to be black. However Hendrix’s band was interracial with a diverse audience. Roberta could have been white due to the diverse audience. I am a huge Hendrix fan and I am not black so why would I think Roberta is. Twelve years later they meet again at a grocery store. Roberta married a rich man and was extremely friendly to Twyla. Twyla cannot hold back her emotions and asks Roberta about the last time they saw each other. Roberta shrugs it off, â€Å"Oh, Twyla, you know how it was in those days: black—white. You know how everything was. † I can relate to this. In 1980, the Cuban Mariel Boat Lifts came over bring thousands of Cubans. I am Cuban but I was born here. Kids I had known since kindergarten treated me as if I just come over on the boats. It had a lasting effect on me and matured me beyond my years. The third time they meet is at the school where their children attend. Roberta and other mothers were picketing because they did not want their kids to be segregated. This led to a fight severing any last chance of a friendship for them as it would not be resolved until Twyla and Roberta meet for a final time. As the story ends I do not get a sense of closure. The question of which girl is white or black remains unanswered. It opened my eyes and made me question how prejudice I really am. I try to not stereotype as a result of what I went through as a child but I found myself doing just that. I can understand why Morrison wrote the way she. I am not sure what her goal was overall but to me it seemed as if she were teaching me about prejudices. â€Å"Recitatif† challenged me to not judge either girl by their race but accept them for who they are. In the end, what difference did it really make about the girls’ races? The story is about how their friendship develops and then deteriorates. Nothing more; nothing less.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Argumentation English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Argumentation English - Essay Example It uses theoretical justifications, such as Kant’s Fundamentals of Metaphysics, along with historical examples, such as the failings of intellectuals in history to live up to their high-minded ideals, to demonstrate that every person must be responsible for fighting evil, and that intellectuals are not better equipped to lead than others. Doing what is morally right is one of the things humans of any ilk concern themselves with most. People want to do the right thing in raising their children, want to be good citizens of their country and their world; politicians want to create fair political systems, and philosophers want to seek out the idea of an objective right, to make being a good human being as clear and simple as possible. There are many important ways of dealing with the question of what is morally right to do, and many questions that must be asked. ... ind of question than other people, which could lead people to believe that they would be better equipped to perform leadership tasks, which could make the whole process of moral ambiguity simpler. A person should be expected to fight against evil wherever they see it, because the consequences if people do not function this way are dire, and intellectuals should not lead because of their ability to understand good and evil, because they do not necessarily have the propensity to lead better than other people. Some would argue that it is completely unfair to expect people to fight evil even when loved ones could suffer because of their fight. They would argue that it is up to heroes to fight against all odds, and against threats to themselves and others, but that this simply cannot be expected of normal human beings – their love for kith and kin can (or even should) overshadow their desire to fight evil (Zimbardo, 2007). They believe this because it is comforting and simple; figh ting evil is hard, and a lot of us want to believe a loved one would do evil to save us, because of our self-centred outlook on the world. This, however, is a fundamentally flawed way of viewing the world. Part of the problem is that, as Kant’s fundamental’s of metaphysics touches on – any moral code must be universal, it cannot apply to some and not to others (Kant 1845). Furthermore, the imagined effects of a world in which this philosophy is followed shows that the consequences could be dire. Finally, this kind of thinking can create a diffusion of responsibility, the assumption that someone else will fix a problem, which can and does lead to real world tragedies. One of the biggest problems with this kind of thinking is that it cannot be a universally applicable moral code. A moral

Friday, September 27, 2019

Case assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Case assignment - Essay Example He had to make the decision with the following factors to be considered: the current economic condition makes it difficult to find employment; his experience and recently completed associate’s degree in supervisory management could be plus factors; his seniority position could protect him from being considered for retrenchment and make him potentially accountable for claims for legal action from the department of labor. The dominant issue in the case is the right of employees to join labor unions. As part of a health care institution, Marilyn Becker, the nursing supervisor for the second shift cardiac care unit was noted to have overhead a colleague enjoining other nurses to join a union. Due to this, Becker reported the incident to Denise Capp, reportedly the director of nursing services. Capp was revealed to send a memo encouraging personnel to report those identified to encourage others in joining the union and to ultimately stop even considering joining it. As such, the concerns that were evident from the case facts include: could management preclude employees from joining the union? What are the rights of employees in joining labor unions? What are the factors which could justify employees’ decision or preference to join labor unions? Finally, given the memo that was issued by Capp, what courses of action should be taken which are consistent with labor laws regarding rights to join labor unions? The issue in the case focused on concepts of management and leadership. As disclosed, Bryan Scott was an area supervisor for New Vision Fast Food Shoppes (Leonard, LAST ONE OUT -LOCK THE DOORS). The recent acquisition of similar stores (eight Citgo convenience stores) inevitably put tremendous strain and pressure in Scott’s supervisory governance. Due to economic condition and difficulties, it was revealed that there were specifically identified stores to be closed (six to be exact). The current issues that need to be taken into consideration

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Artillery used by the NORTH During the Civil War (Gettysburg) Research Paper

Artillery used by the NORTH During the Civil War (Gettysburg) - Research Paper Example The general classification of Artillery was based on caliber and weight. The other factors considered include mobility, as well as the carriage form or mounting. Notably, "Field" artillery was regarded ordnance light, as well as mobile to help in maneuvering during battle. Numerous larger guns used by the North and South were locked permanently in fortifications. The defense in Washington alone had 98 mortars and 807 guns. Many of such fortification guns were never used in attacking the enemy via the entire war. Regarding the Northern armies, they were uniformly equipped with the 12-pounder Napoleon, 10- pounder, or 3-inch rifle parrots. Although the Northern were armed, their artillery batteries usually had a number of non-standard guns, and all every gun called for different ammunitions. The North had many advantages compared to the South in acquiring small arms. The advantages were the resultant of the fact that the Confederacy entirely relied on the smuggled imports following the advanced naval blockade. The North thus accessed different models from England and France as the Confederate army imported them. According to Allen, in the article Artillery, the organization of Artillery fell into two categories, the union and confederate. Batteries for the union artillery were often constituted of six guns used in three, sections, involving two guns. There were three sections; right, middle, and right sections. Battery for Confederate constituted of four guns. The four guns were of different types, and therefore, supply for the Confederate ammunition to artillery batteries became very difficult to implement. Each Confederate composed of almost sixty-eight men. A Field Artillery battery incorporated six guns at full strength. All guns were linked to a limber being pulled by horses; a caisson was also used to offer more support. There were two chests

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

The assingment is answering 10 Questions Research Paper - 2

The assingment is answering 10 Questions - Research Paper Example Further, it respects the rights of people by allowing them to elect leaders of their choice as opposed to the government in the film that was characterized by anarchy. 2. The character of "V" is very complex. Some of his deeds are noble, while others are monstrous. In the film he makes a threat to carry out one specific act on November 5 of the following year. Is that act moral or immoral? Is it useful in a fight against tyranny? Make reference to what Immanuel Kant would think of these acts? These acts were moral because they were aimed to produce the common good for the majority people who had been intimidated and oppressed by the government. For Immanuel Kant, the categorical imperative would have determined these acts as moral duty because it aimed to produce moral good not harm. In addition, according to Kant, moral action should not be based on person’s feelings or pity nor the desire to get a reward but on what you ought to do as a person. ‘V’ is not a terrorist because he is fighting to oust an oppressive government that is murdering and unjustly detaining people. The acts of ‘V ’are not terrorist since they target the corrupt regime not the citizens. He is determined to overthrow the ruling regime in order to establish a just society that respects its people. Therefore, the killing of ‘Norsefire’ party members cannot be justified as terrorist deeds because even these people orchestrate the murder of those who oppose the government. Yes, I agree with this tagline because it is people who are subjected to work in order to run the government. Thus, if the government oppresses them, they should revolt against such oppressive regime in order to get their freedom and liberty. Further, they should not fear the government because the voice of the mass cannot be ignored even with the use of guns or powerful military weapons since they will always triumph. 5. A

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

DB1 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE SERVICES Research Paper

DB1 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE SERVICES - Research Paper Example For instance, job rotation would enable CSPs to assume varied tasks in focusing on a particular aspect of the product being offered (credit cards). At one point in time, a CSP could address issues regarding billing and payments. Then, in the next time frame, the CSP could address challenging complaints. The theory of job rotation would assist in breaking monotony and routine and would make the job more challenging and rewarding. Concurrently, job reengineering is a way to reinvent the tasks to make them more challenging or motivating. As such, CSP’s job could be reengineered to include addressing concerns of the clientele in the field setting (in banks or supermarkets). The CSP’s job could be improved through rewards or incentives by designing standards of performance, as benchmarks; and providing bonuses or opportunities for promotion for consistently performing above average and excelling in the performance of the job. Through the job characteristics model (JCM) which â€Å"identifies the job characteristics of skill variety, autonomy, task significance, task identity and feedback, and the outcomes of high job performance, high job satisfaction, high intrinsic motivation, and low absenteeism or turnover† (Web Finance, Inc., 2014, p. 1). Thus, through the provision of incentives including job rotation and job reengineering, CSPs would perceive the job as challenging and would aim to satisfy the customers more. Through feedback, their performance could be monitored and gauged and exemplary performance is rewarded through bonuses or promotions. The principles of scientific management could be incorporated through customer feedback that provides information on efficiency and effectiveness in undertaking their responsibilities and achieving organizational goals. The improvement of the CSP’s job would impact on customer

Monday, September 23, 2019

Modern Architectural World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 50

Modern Architectural World - Essay Example As the paper highlights since the reporter was a kid, he has been attracted to the concept of space and angles in architecture. Space because it gives you the idea that you are not living in an urban environment. He thinks this is the reason why, most condominiums and residential complexes in the city, aside from saving space are leaning towards vertical expansion - there is a need to as much as possible make it appear that they are away from the hassle and pester of the city life. Space on the other hand, gives the illusion of movement. The reporter becomes conscious of how several buildings at the present time, that tend to mimic the natural environment. In cities, what is meant by â€Å"comfort† is being able to move freely inside your homes and it is often depicted in many advertisements on estates. For example, his dream house should be designed in such a way that light enters every corner naturally, and that furniture are placed in strategic areas of the house that make sure that he can move without restraint. He also has this fascination with glasses, especially huge sliding glass doors and windows that invites natural light into the home. Equally important to me are angles. Angles tend to be more masculine and for me, it symbolizes discipline. However, the perspective it provides is bizarre in a sense that it may appear random but at the same time precise. In their dimension, intricacy, and prolonged existence, the foremost civilizations to build up in South Asia and China contest and in some respects exceed the earliest civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Reading the Text of the Photograph Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reading the Text of the Photograph - Essay Example The mother’s eyes are directed outside the window where she could be looking at something which caught her attention – or could just be lost in her thoughts. They both appear to be pensive as both their lips are curved downwards. Both are wearing white which glow as the sun shines on them. Two throw pillows neatly covered by a weaved pattern appear beside the mother, with one pillow directly providing cushion to her back. To their back, at the upper left portion of the photograph appears a top thin table containing picture frames which are about nine in number. There are bigger frames, numbering three, which are mounted on the wall above the thin table. Most of the background is obscured in contrast to the bright light focused on the mother and child. It is possible that this picture is taken either late morning (almost near noontime) – or immediately after lunch. The photographer could possibly be a member of the family – the father, or brother, or even a sister who wanted to capture the lazy, reposed mood of the members. It is possible that mother and child did not expect their photos to be taken, as they remain sober and melancholy. This photograph is taken inside an auditorium where two prominently seated men are close to the photographer. A total of seven men are clearly seen in this photo – all smiling. These men could be batch mates or members of an all male organization; maybe a fraternity or a professional civic organization. It is eminent that these men are viewing someone, possible a colleague or a person with great humor. There were not viewing a film as their eyes were not focused on a movie screen – but rather on someone directly in front of them. They could possibly be listening to a guest speaker or a batch mate talking about his previous experiences. The man on the right front seat was holding a snack (possible filled with peanuts) and he was seated in a slouching position

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Facebook, Hypermediacy, Performance and Interaction Essay Example for Free

Facebook, Hypermediacy, Performance and Interaction Essay While always being a concept extremely difficult to coherently and comprehensively define or describe, identity becomes increasingly elusive in our postmodern era, especially since the advent of the Internet and the wide range of possibilities created by this vast informational network. In our â€Å"global village†, a new form of identity must be added to the previous taxonomies (Giddens Anthony). One in which relativity and fluidity have become significantly more essential, in order to understand and describe it then was the case with its predecessors. This is what is usually called online or digital identity. This concept is strongly connected with that of online or virtual communities, â€Å"spaces† of social interaction in which the concept of â€Å"mediation† plays a central role. Even though, as Giddens states, â€Å"Virtually all human experience is mediated – through socialization and in particular the acquisition of language† not until the advent of the informational era did mediation play such an important role in human communication (Giddens, 23). As McLuhan clearly states: â€Å"The medium is the message†, one of the essential features in understanding the concept of online identity (McLuhan Marshall, 7). Various forms such an identity takes in the context of a specific online community, a social network called Facebook, are analyzed in this essay. Though there are detectable negative sociological implications to Facebook concerning privacy and online identity, (DON’T ANNOUNCE LIKE THIS. STATE YOUR THESIS, NOT THAT YOU WILL IDENTIFY SOMETHING BUT EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT TO PROVE the research here will identify ) the online network isIS largely sociologically beneficial by providing a positive forum for social planning, community organization and general communication. OTHERWISE, THE THESIS LOO9KS GOOD, JUST STICK TO THE PLAN IN IT Facebooks initial model revolved primarily around the â€Å"courtship† of those directly affiliated with universities. Facebook was launched on â€Å"February 4, 2004 and until September 11, 2006,† it was comprised entirely of individuals with active university email addresses, with high schools and corporations soon being added to the mix (Wikipedia). Today, Facebook is a network accessible to anybody with a valid email address. However, Facebooks operational premise requires people to display certain details regarding themselves that will allow them to be located by friends. Certainly, an increasingly valid use of Facebook has been its role in reconnecting lapsed friendships or acquaintances. Therefore, DON’T USE ‘WE’ UNLESS YOU ARE A TEAM OF SCIENTISTS. a s our discussion turns into AND YOU ARE ANNOUNCING AGAIN ) IN THE recognition of the identity management issues related to this legal and valid self-presentation will related directly to , user preferences will be a relevant factorpreferences. Therefore, much of the theoretical conceptualization here will revolve on this understanding that in spite of opportunities for elastic identity management, this network remains, at least for the time being, a â€Å"space† in which online and legal identities are connected (Giddens). This feature will bring about very interesting issues concerning the form and nature of the online identity exhibited on Facebook. Particular issues are those concerning the choices which individuals are able to make in the Facebook context which help to formulate identity in ways which may differ in the purpose and functionality from identity strategies in traditional social spheres. This points to some of the main differences between traditional and online identity, with the latter creating certain freedoms from physicality. One can choose or bypass certain visual images, can report or leave out certain biographical facts and can generally craft an identity which is less dependent on day to day interactions. VAGUE. WHAT ARE THESE ISSUES? , AND WHAT EXACTLY IS THE FORM AND NATURE OF THE ONLINE IDENTIY? STATE IT HERE. Another factor of determinant importance in understanding the sociological impact of Facebook is its representation of McLuhansS EXPLAIN WHO HE WAS â€Å"global village. † Marshall McLuhan is one of the preeminent theorists in communication and media studies, and through the 1950s and 1960s, would command a great deal of foresight in identifying the behaviors of future media systems. In his global village theory, McLuhan envisioned, a space in which the magnitude of globalization and especially its protean forms of cultural exchange couldan be experienced on a personalized level. Since Facebook has been traditionally grounded within university-based networks, many of these already possessing defined international profiles, one can now begin to experience on a virtual level the powerful dynamics of globalization as they have been implicated by technological transition. Individuals create personal networks of contacts which reflect and, sometimes, even expand the international environment in which they pursued their studies. (Ellison, 1143)SOURCE? Before going further in the analysis of the concept of identity on Facebook, one should analyze the notion of profile, YOUR OUTLINE REFERS TO ‘OBJECTS’. CLARIFY THAT THERE IS A CONNECTION BETWEEN PROFILE AND OBJECT – OR AM I WRONG IN ASSUMING THERE IS ONE the online representation of the individual. Firstly, one should take into account the distinction within Facebooks grammar lingo, which provides a distinction DO YOU MEAN ‘LEXIS’? between â€Å"objects and actions†(Giddens, 47). WHO IS THIS? Social theoriest Anthony Giddens here provides the concept which is fully executed by Facebook, in which the identity which one formulates produces a virtual object through which various interactive actions may be executed. The basic object is the profile itself, from which a tree-like structure of other objects, ranging from the â€Å"wall† to pictures, videos, the so-called applications, or plain text, emerges. Therefore, Facebook can be seen as a container of various media, organized within a profile which represents the individual, the â€Å"real† person â€Å"hidden† behind the screen. The profile can be considered a â€Å"virtual body representation of the individual† SOURCE? a representation connected with other profiles, images of other individuals, joined together in various associative networks. (Giddens, 48) The focus is mainly on the tree-like organized strata of media which separates individuals connected on Facebook because it is essential to stress on both the distance and closure between individuals which is created in such instances of communication, the much-discussed (within the context of globalization) â€Å"new spatial logic [ ] the spontaneous dispersion and concentration via information technologies. †(Castells Manuel, 419). In other words, at first one has to notice the separation of the concepts of â€Å"space† and â€Å"place. † in (our CUT THIS) contemporary understanding of THE social landscape. People from various locations can interact on Facebook almost simultaneously. This might be considered as bringing them closer regardless of the physical distance existing between them. Yet, one must always remember to take into consideration also the very â€Å"substance† of the profile: a collage of media, an extension into post-modernity of what Giddens calls one of the â€Å"two basic features of mediated experience in conditions of modernity [ ] the collage effect. † (Giddens 26). In other words, the identity presented by individuals to one another can be considered a highly subjective â€Å"work of art†, creating sometimes large discrepancies between self-identity and the online identity perceived by others. Therefore, in contrast with the disclosure effect WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY ‘CLOSURE EFFECT’? , there is also a distancing effect created by Facebook, an effect which is more elusive mainly because the information is so intensely mediated. The second category ACTUALLY IN YOUR OUTLINE, YOU PUT ACTIONS BEFORE OBJECTS. CHANGE EITHER THE OUTLINE OR THE PARAGRAPH ORDER is that of actions the individual can perform in this virtual environment. First, one â€Å"joins† Facebook, edits his/hers profile, then starts joining various networks or groups, adds friends and so on. An important feature here is closely connected with the object called â€Å"wall† addressed in the previous paragraph and with the action of â€Å"writing† messages on other peoples walls. The distinction between writing on someones wall and sending a message is that while the message remains private, visible only to the recipient, the message on the walls is visible to everyone connected to the walls â€Å"owner†. It might be considered one of the â€Å"external† features of the exhibited individual. In this way, a metaphorical image of the kind of identity created by Facebook closely resembles the image of the self from Pink Floyds conceptual album â€Å"The Wall† hidden behind a wall. SOURCE? Furthermore, this notion of concealment is transparent also in another action one can perform on Facebook, that of hiding one’s ONE’S very actions, in other words, translating them into the private sphere. In fact, ones actions are â€Å"published† in a so-called â€Å"News Feed†, a virtual â€Å"newspaper† available to all ones friends. SOURCE? (Facebook. com, 1) This inclines consideration of the words of the legendary conceptual artist, Andy Warhol. â€Å"’in the future,’ Warhol said, ‘everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes. ’ (Murphy, 1) Today, Andy Warhol, anthe American artist and a central figure in the movement known as Pop art might say, one can become famous on Facebook for far more then 15 minutes. SOURCE? However, as stated before, one can also hide one’s ONE’S actions and can decide not to allow them to be â€Å"published† in the friends News Feed. Another important type of actions one can perform on Facebook are the interactive actions. An almost constant and incessant exchange between individuals exists through their profile environment. People are writing on one anothers walls, sending messages, adding comments, sending gifts, comparing themselves with the others through various applications, playing games, virtually being able to perform any action to one another (with the textual Super-Poke, one can â€Å"order someone to write an essay about Facebook† for instance). GOOD EXAMPLE This aspect will be important later on when the essential role the other has in creating someones identity on Facebook After these initial considerations about the structure and organization of Facebook, it is important, before pursuing further, to turn again to Giddens ideas about the nature of identity in the modern era, ideas which can easily be extended to our post-modern context. Giddens considers the self as â€Å"a reflexive project†, which â€Å"is continuous, as well as all-pervasive. † In other words, self-identity becomes a construct, a personal narrative which tries to bring order and meaning from the multiplicity of individual traits and experiences. As he states: A persons identity is not to be found in behavior, nor – important though it is – in the reactions of others, but in the capacity to keep a particular narrative going. The individuals biography, if she is to maintain regular interaction with others in the day-to-day world, cannot be wholly fictive. It must continually integrate events which occur in the external world, and sort them into the on-going story about the self. (Giddens, 75) From the previous observations regarding the construction of Facebook, one could easily understand why the â€Å"profile† can be considered a narrative, a â€Å"text† through which the individual reflexively creates an identity-image which he/she exhibits in this network. One could apply here the terminology of Arjun Appadurai, one of the founding editors, along with Carol A. Breckenridge, of the journal Public Culture and also the founding Director of the Chicago Humanities Institute at the University of Chicago, GOOD DETAILS ABOUT THE AUTHOR and call the Facebook profile a â€Å"mediascape†. Appadurai defines mediascapes as â€Å"image-centered, narrative-based accounts of strips of reality†, and further on he states that â€Å"what they offer to those who experience and transform them is a series of elements (such as character, plots, and textual forms) out of which scripts can be formed of imagined lives, their own as well as those of others living in other places. † COMMENT ON THIS QUOTE This points to the distinction between online and traditional identity formulation, with the online variation shown to be more directly susceptible to this careful and intentional scripting. The relationship of Facebook to its origins as university community networking site is apparent in one of the distinct values of its usage. There is an indicationIn its early stages, VAGUE. WHAT KIND OF INDICATION? DO YOU MEAN A SURVEY? OR RESEARH? that there are many students who hadve naturally adopted Facebook as a meeting, socializing or communicating forum which unofficially affiliates with the campus community. Therefore Facebook serves in its individual network contexts to give students the capacity to establish their own networking capabilities simultaneously connected to the physical and cultural community comprised by the campus or school itself and yet fully independent and unofficial from the university’s standpoint. This can serve to be a very constructive way for students to relate and organize to their own benefit and, absent of the university’s concerted involvement, to the benefit of its culture, community and collective identity. As Hewitt and Forte observe, â€Å"when online communities begin to complement existing channels for social interaction, aspects of everyday practices are often cast into sharp relief as community members integrate new channels of communication into their everyday lives† (Hewitt and Forte, 1). Serving to strengthen the internal processes by which members of a university community are able to relate to one another separate from the parameters created by the university the online community can be extraordinarily beneficial in diversifying, liberating and even emotionally accommodating the university experience. Individuals with common social, academic or even romantic interests can use university forums to engage one another within the theoretical confines of the school but outside of its official interactive boundaries. GIVE A REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE For many students, something such as Facebook allows for the tangible and observable presentation of a community, which, especially for incoming or socially remote students, can be an important arrow signdoorway to groups, activities and support structures within the university.. WHAT IS AN ARROW SIGN? A SIGN OF WHAT? Thus, Facebook can really help one to bridge the gap between a selected identity and a group with which to identify. Moreover, this is also true of Facebook’s alteration to the sociological process of recovery of lost, lapsed or unrealized relationships, whether social, romantic, professional or even convenience. Accordingly, â€Å"previous research suggests that Facebook users engage in searching for people with whom they have an offline connection more than they browse for complete strangers to meet. † (Ellison, 1144) Still, Ththe informality of the â€Å"friend† tag in Facebook, allows people to establish online friendship with one who might not qualify as an entry in one’s cell phone or a possible consideration for immediate recreational plans. The fact that such â€Å"friendship† does not actually require either participant to â€Å"do† anything other than to approve this friendship, allows for the establishment in many cases of a personal network far larger than one’s physical social network. This is to say that old acquaintances, such as members of one’s high-school graduating class with whom only limited friendly interest is shared, may serve a strictly connective role in one’s network. Their presence in one’s social network will allow one to be seen by other acquaintances and potential ‘friends. ’ This can serve as a positive opportunity to either regenerate lost friendships or even stimulate a friendship where previously only an acquaintanceship existed. GIVE SOME IDEA OF THE EXTENT OF THIS NETWORK, SOME REAL EXAMPLES OR STATISTICS. ALSO INDICATE WHETHER YOU CONSIDER THIS IS A POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE ASPECT. –YOUR THESIS SUGESTTS THE FORMER, BUT YOU NEED TO SAY SO. Furthermore, SURELY THIS IS A NEGATIVE ASPECT, SO YOU SHOULD USE ‘HOWEVER’, NOT ? ’URTHERMORE’. However, there is a perceived exposure simply in one’s involvement with Facebook that might instead be seen negatively. One of the biggest drawbacks to the fact that Facebook creates this explicit connection between real and web identities is the danger that it represents to the user’s privacy. Even as various parameters—sallowing individuals to set privacy terms hiding or only selectively displaying profile details— are set in place to protect the individual from observation or contact by an individual not within one’s friend network, WHAT ARE THESE PARAMETERS? GIVE EXAMPLES there is evidence of vulnerability within the system. It is not particularly difficult for one so determined to procure personal information regarding other Facebook users without the proper authorization. This is a bug WHY A BUG? that was most recently revealed by a British tech company which was intended to expose the site’s susceptibility to willful penetration, with the programming being infiltrated by professional hackers. Thus, â€Å"in less than three hours computer programmers working for the BBC programme Click, developed an application for Facebook which they used to discover the details of four users and all their friends. † (Cockcroft, 1) Facebook, for its part, has indicated through an anonymous source that any such vulnerability would be counter-intuitive veSTRANGE WORD! to the intent of the company and network, and therefore it would work to resolve this particular issue. SOURCE? WHO SAID THIS AND WHAT WERE THEY GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? (Cockcroft, 1) On the other hand, such vulnerability may be seen as a programming bug and not a conceptual failure, with Facebook’s model being dedicated inherently to the protection of privacy details at the user’s discretion.. SOURCE? DEFINE THE DIFFERENCE Consequently, this is not an issue which draws much in the way of sociological resolution on the subject. Moreover, speaking in a more sociological sense, another issue concerning Facebook is the inappropriateness of varying user intentions. The concept of online identity is refuted by the fact the Facebook is simultaneously connected to the user’s legal identity and bound to the virtual world. The result is that user’s have the opportunity to redefine themselves even in direct connection to details which are inherently bound to the non-virtual world such as relationship status, physical appearance, profession or interests.. SUCH AS? This gives Facebook an obfuscating subject as it related to our ability to comprehend that which is implied by one’s Facebook identity.. EXPLAIN Facebook is inherently subject to many of the same usage issues which have always been associated with internet usage. That is, â€Å"digital identity, like that presented in the Facebook, thrives because it is temporal. You can change your identity at the drop of a hat you can become a liberal or conservative at the push of a button, change your interests and hobbies on a whim. † (Stutzman, 1). While this is the kind of identity elasticity for which individuals have often placed specific value O onN the opportunities available on the internet, the distinctions (which we have) discussed hered HERE regarding Facebook make this an issue of increasing debate. Particularly, (we are demanded) the question is asked IS ASKED as to whether or not the fact that Facebook’s insistence of seeking to connect online and non-virtual identity in one’s online presentation, can be a negative pattern due to possible obfuscation by deliberate misrepresentation. An example of this might be one’s unauthorized use of another’s account or, far more insidiously, one of the most troubling examples of this might be the infiltration of a school network by a sexual predator. GIVE A CLEAR EXAMPLE While this is an entitlement right reserved to be determined by the individual, it is one that further blurs the lines of the authenticity of digital identity within the specific context of a network designed to attempt the contrary. Therefore, it is conceivable that Facebook is where desired by its user, a forum where individual identity can become quite distorted. Thus, if one has selected Facebook as a means of obtaining information about a particular individual—which is increasingly common in the cases of gathering public information, occupationally-based background checks or journalistic research—the presentation of Facebook as connecting to one’s legal identity allows the provided information to be seen as valid information. Because this assumption is justified by Facebook’s short history —though not necessarily by its users—its service to the strategy of observing identity is somewhat questionable. QUOTE AN EXPERT ON THIS As online media theorists Ellison et al note â€Å"there are clearly some image management problems experienced by students as reported in the press, and the potential does exist for privacy abuses,† (p. 1166) Certainly, the(our) research indicates that there is almost an inherent aspect of Facebook which demands that the user construct himself or herself in such a fashion as to reflect the desired impression received by others. And certainly, this is an activity which we? WHO? social interactants engage in socially on a moment-to-moment basis at school, at work or even at the train station. Impression management is a regular aspect of the way we communicate, interact and otherwise engage social contexts. SOURCE? However, as technology author KelleyWHO IS HE? i Indicates: â€Å"Facebook users attempt to manage the impression others receive of them by guessing what their interpretation of their performance will be. The structure of Facebook limits the ways people can construct identities and so some users have to creatively modify their performance. † (Kelly 13). The primary limitation with Facebook is its static nature in the context, at least in comparison to personal interaction. Undoubtedly, in the traditional context of socializing, we are in a unique position to observe rather than to simply guess how our impression management is received. Thus, we can alter identity perception in a matter of seconds. If one feels that his self-presentation in conversation has produced a misimpression, it is feasible to quickly alter one’s conduct, verbal approach or some other quality by which interpretation is being gathered. SOURCE? (Koch, 319) In Facebook, one is always seeking to establish an identity which is likely to promote the widest appeal to all observers, thus serving a more homogenized interest than personal impression management which occurs on an interaction-to-interaction basis. This gives one the opportunity to attempt to deduce a likely collective response, in which a social network is perceived almost as an audience amongst whom common interests or appeals must be identified. SOURCE? (Kock, 320) In this way, identity becomes a target-directed activity in Facebook, almost placing the user in a position of marketing an identity to those in the network. This causes a distinct conflict concerning the image and identity management which one must generally commit to in order to differentiate professional, personal, social and intimate personas. The concern that Facebook may be observable to one’s parent, employer or instructor enters into the discussion here. QUOTE SOMEONE, OR GIVE AN EXAMPLE Accordingly, looking at the amount of information Facebook participants provide about themselves, the relatively open nature of the information, and the lack of privacy controls enacted by the users, Gross and Acquisti (2005) argue that users may be putting themselves at risk both offline (e. g. , stalking) and online (e. g. , identify theft). Other recent Facebook research examines student perceptions of instructor presence and self-disclosure. † (Ellison, 1146) Indeed, one of the most challenging nuances of the social networking phenomenon is its variation of social networking by way of its changing of forums. (Ellison, 1146) IS THIS AQUOTE? NAME THE SOURCE It may not be accurate to refer to online networking as an extension of traditional social networking insofar as this context has the capacity to undermine or alter many implicit rules therein. Referring once again to the Hewitt and Forte study, one of the most pertinent examples of the difference here impliedIMPLIED is that individuals choosing to enter into the online community may do so without the types of informal cues, approaches and comforts pertaining to traditional social networking such as facial expressions, vocal intonations and even attire. SUCH A. S? Thus, it occurs that, in the case of university networks especially, faculty members can create Facebook identities and establish â€Å"friendships† with students. This inserts educational instructors into a vantage POINTpoint? to relate directly to students—or perhaps more problematically, a vantage pointPOINT? from which to observe students—not previously afforded them. In consequence, there is a prospective sense amongst student social networks that some violation of unspoken social arrangement is facilitated by such networking. To this extent, the issue of one’s selected identity—from the perspective of student and faculty—may well be altered strategically in reflection of the awareness that the other party is in a new position of direct observation. That is, â€Å"because social networking communities are built to support presentation of self, identity management is likely to be a significant issue for participants in communities whose membership crosses perceived social boundaries and organizational power relationships. † (Hewitt and Forte, 12) Indeed, it is not of a small degree of importance that there is a separate dynamic of power in the contract between faculty and student that may be threatened by the merging of more inherently social contexts. Thus, as it is specifically concerns the issue of identity, this situation raises the concern that intentional misrepresentation may be encouraged. SOURCE? EXAMPLE? Moreover, as we have identified the preference of activities for users such as the publicizing of events, the posting of photographs and communication with peers, the concept that an instructor is watching is likely to have an inhibitive impact on the presentation of self. SOURCE? (Ellison, 1140) Similarly, the motives for an instructor to present one’s self in this context may be cause forinto GRAMMAR speculation as well, suggesting that an interest in observing students has been falsely underplayed in relation to the instructor’s interest in social engagement.. (Hewitt Forte, 1)SOURCE? OR EXAMPLE? Though, Facebook does offer many privacy options which allow users to determine who can see what information posting within a profile, with regard to the issue of identity and presentation, such as the protection of age or the prevention of profile views from individuals outside of one’s networkDESCRIBE THESE OPTIONS the deconstruction of some social boundaries concerning such limitied factors as geogrpahyndaries SUCH AS? which have been purposefully—and in some instances usefully—established does have an impact on the validity of presented identities. Still, with the issue of identity thrust to the side, there is a notable value (which we can find) in this deconstruction of social boundaries. According to the Hewitt and Forte study, which in 2006 evaluated student behaviors at the Georgia Institute of Technology, â€Å"two thirds of the students surveyed [in their research GIVE FULL DETAILS ABOUT DATES, PLACES, RANGE ETC] reported that they are comfortable with faculty on the site. Positive comments tended to focus on the alternate communication channels afforded by the site and on the potential for students to get to know professors better. † (Hewitt and Forte, 2) In this way, (quite) in fact, Facebook appears to offer a reconsideration of the dynamic between instructor and student which can actually provoke a positive social change. Without question, this interaction is allowing an educational intimacy (improbable)which would be otherwise improbable, with instructors finding a way to enter into a student realm outside of the classroom without necessarily imposing hierarchical demands upon students. FOR EXAMPLE? HAS THIS HAPPENED? These direct contradictions make it increasingly difficult to make a rigorous argument for certain that Facebook’s current usage â€Å"proclivities† have achieved a cultural consensus in terms of sociological impact. That is, where this discussion has focused so significantly on the matter of identity management, there is good cause to suggest that normative behaviors are now only in their infancy. Only four years old, the remarkable sociological, technological and economic impact of Facebook is still being formulated during a continued phase of massive adoption proliferation. (Ellison, 1140)IS THIS A QUOTE? SOURCE? Therefore, it is uncertain how the near future will shape usage and identity considerations. And in many ways, this is a direct factor in the distortion of identity which is currently available, and perhaps even encouraged by the current Facebook model. To this extent, â€Å"while people construct identities in all parts of their lives, this performance is particularly evident on Facebook since the norms of use and interpretation are still being developed for this community. This manifests itself in debates over Facebook etiquette, risks and user rules. † (Kelley, 2) This is a set of debates which is still very much underway, and which presumes (for us) mesa future in which high adoption rates of Facebook will force continual discussion on the issues of identity here related. promise some resolution. N0T USRE WHAT THIS MEANS. WHY DO HIGH ADOPTION RATES NEED A ‘RESOLUTION’? Indeed, as the research here suggests, this resolution is likely to benefit the improved balance for the user of desired image presentation and the demand for accuracy, as it appears that the true social and interactive benefits of Facebook are realized thusly. Even as individuals attempt to manage impressions that benefit their social or image-based status, there is a definable interest for many in constructing an identity which represents the aspects of one’s life which will place them in useful and relevant social networks. It is therefore that we cconcluded AVOID THE ‘WE’ that there is a positive end in the proliferation of Facebook. Though it is clear that its early stages of development have presented a wide array of new and evolving considerations relating to privacy, social power dynamic and image management, there is nonetheless a direct value to honest representation in the social networking context that suggests this impulse will ultimately direct the further evolution of normative behaviors on Facebook and other online social networking communities. Works Cited Appadurai, Arjun. Modernity at Large. Cultural Dimensions of Globalization. University of Minnesota Press, 1996. Castells, Manuel. The Rise of the Network Society. Blackwell Publishers, Massachusetts, 2000. Cockcroft, Lucy. â€Å"Facebook loophole ‘open to identity thieves†. Telegraph. 5 January 2008. 27 April 2008. http://www. telegraph. co. uk/news/1916483/Facebook-loophole-open-to-identity-thieves. html . Ellison, N. B. ; Steinfeld, C. Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook ‘friends:’ Social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12(4)., p. 1143-1168. Giddens, Anthony. Modernity and Self-Identity. Self and Society in the Late Modern Age. Polity Press, Cambridge, 1991. â€Å"Facebook†. Wikipedia. 28 April 2008. 28 April 2008. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Facebook. Giddens, Anthony. Modernity and Self-Identity. Self and Society in the Late Modern Age. Polity Press, Cambridge, 1991. Hewitt, Anne and Forte, Andrea. â€Å"Crossing boundaries: Identity management and student/faculty relationships on the Facebook†. Georgia Institute of Technology. 24 April 2008. 24 April 2008. http://www-static.

Friday, September 20, 2019

The aging problem of China

The aging problem of China Introduction Today, China is a hot item in the media because of its fast growing economy. Some people are even afraid of this because they think it is a threat to our own economy. This because of the differences in the political and economical system of china compared to our political and economical systems. The Peoples Republic of China, also known as China, was established in 1949. Its land covers a large part of centre Asia. In the 1950s, its population was estimated at around 30 percent of the total global population (Naughton, 2007). Because of this huge amount of people, the Chinese government came up with a plan to put a hold to this growing population. They set a law which prohibited each family to have more than one child, the so-called One-Child Policy. The population of China today is relatively young, with a low dependency rate. This is favorable for economic growth (Naughton, 2007). In the future this will lead to an imbalance of the population. This because each working citizen has two elder (parents), this means a working class which is far too small on the total population. Every year, the number of elderly people in China rises with approximately three percent. A way to describe this is calling this a Four-Two-One problem. Which means one child has to take care of two parents and four grand parents (Vandendriessche, 2008). The research question which I will try to answer is the following: How is china going to handle the aging problem of the population? To answer this question, I divided this question into several sub-question, namely: How has this aging problem risen? What are the difficulties which china is facing because of this problem? How do the Chinese old people deal with their longevity financially? Motivation of the subject: The subject of Chinese economy is interesting to me because I have little faith in the current economic system of the western society. I believe this economic system based on debts, is not what we would like in the future. And China is one of the few economies which is growing at the moment, despite the current Financial Crisis. Chinas economy will expand 7.2 percent in 2009 from a year earlier. (Bloomberg.com, 2009) But because many economists say capitalism is the best economic system at the moment, I am surprised to see that China does not apply this system. The reason the subject of the aging of Chinas population is important to the economy, is that will one of the greatest pitfalls in Chinas economic and societies future. A disproportionate ration of the population will retire in the future, therefore a much smaller group of working people will have to keep the society up and running. Is this possible, or are there many problems which China will have to face in the future? And if there will be problems, is China able to prevent or solve them? This is interesting because of the large number of citizens of China. This cannot be compared with any other country in the world, because it will happen on a much larger scale as for instance in the Netherlands. Methodology: First I will try to adumbrate an image of how the situation has developed to the state in which it is at this moment. With this image, certain problems will arise from this. I will try to give a broader view on these problems. These problems, when not solved, will have an impact on the economic environment of China. This I would like to formulate in the third chapter. Finally I am going to investigate whether these, in the future, elder people still have the means to survive on their own, or how the Chinese government is going to assist them with this. This with some kind of pension fund or will the Chinese government terugvallen on the social responsibility of family. With these sub-answers I would like to give an answer to the main question. How China is going to handle the problem of the aging of the population. The data which I need I will get from articles from the Chinese Economic Review, data from the Chinese Bureau of Statistics, Chinese Data Centre and the Chinese Statistical Yearbook. Furthermore I will search for books on the Chinese economy and the history of the Chinese economy and society. Structure The first chapter is about the introduction of the problem and each factor contributing will be explained. In chapter two I am going to give a literature review on five of the interesting papers I have found. Then I will try to find answers to the sub question of my problem statement. These will each cover a chapter. Chapter three: How has this aging problem risen? Chapter four: What are the difficulties which china is facing because of this problem? Chapter five: How do the Chinese old people deal with their longevity financially? After this I will draw a conclusion based on the previous chapters. With this I will try to give an answer to the main question. Chapter 2 Literature Review Population and economic development Gale Johnson tries to answer the question, what would happen to fertility and population growth if the present population policy were changed to one that emphasized family planning and permitted families to have the number of children that they wished? It seems reasonable to project that there would be an increase in fertility. This would be very small in urban areas and relatively small in higher income rural areas. There would be increased fertility in the lower income rural areas, but it seems unlikely that after two decades or so it could be more than ten percent. There is evidence to support the following changes in social and economic policies: Significantly improve the quality of rural secondary schools and increase the percentage of girls attending. Create an attractive pension program for rural areas. Give farm people the ownership or permanent rights to the use of the land they farm or, failing that, enforce the policy of no reallocation of farm land on the basis of demographic changes. Change policies and institutions so that families could migrate from rural to urban areas. Which would lead to adaption of the fertility patterns of urban areas, leading to decline in fertility. I believe the largest impact on the fertility rate, when present policy towards this is changed, will be in the poorer regions of the rural areas. But I do not think all changes give will work. The improvement of educational quality and increasing the percentage of girls will be the one of the most important measures to be taken. This will give an re-allocation of human capital. With this re-allocation, people will get other jobs and therefore a need for many children to work on the farms will decrease. Pension funds are in my opinion essential in order for elderly citizens of China to get by financially. This because the life expectancy rate is increasing. The right of ownership is a viewpoint which will be very sensitive. This because China still has a communistic government. But when pension funds are not one of the future measures which will be taken, this is one of the other options for Chinese citizens to make enough money in order to cope with their longevity financially. Sources of Chinas economic growth 1952-1999: incorporating human capital accumulation Wang and Yao, find that first, the accumulation of human capital in China, as measured by the average years of schooling in population aged 15-64 years, was quite rapid and it contributed significantly to growth and welfare. However, the rate of growth of human capital declined in the reform period in 1978-1999 and its contribution to GDP growth was smaller compared to the pre-reform period. In the industrial countries, the contributions to growth by the factor input have declined and the growth of TFP has become the driving force. In China, the potential to further increase factor inputs is limited especially after one considers the rapidly aging population, a decling labor force in the future, and the constraints in natural resources. China has to rely more on productivity growth. Futher productivity growth would depend very much on two factors: First whether or not China can improve allocative efficiency by continuing reforms in the state and financial sectors and by increasing regional integration, allowing freer factor mobility across sectoral devides, such as rural-urban and state- nonstate, and second whether or not China is able to transform itself from an imitation based economy to an innovation based knowledge economy and continue its progress in industrial upgrading. I agree with Wang and Yao on the fact that productivity has to grow in China. But in order to do this China has to open up more to other countries. Otherwise this would take too long. China is in need for knowledge, this can be seen in the imitation based economy. When China would have the knowledge, they would invent these products themselves. Chinas economic environment has its limitations to grow, this because of their ownership laws. China does not have to change into a Capitalistic society, but I think it does have to loosen up in order to cope with the problems it faces. Pension reform in China: preparing for the future According to Loraine West, a combination of pension plans, including defined benefit and defined contribution, are replacing the former single defined benefit plan. The specifics of each plan, including indexation for inflation, and the combination of plans available to workers vary across regions. By focusing only on the urban labor force, which presently comprises just 27 percent of Chinas total labor force, the reformed old age security system is unlikely to address the issue of growing rural-urban inequality. The proliferation of regional and industry-based pools diminishes the potential benefits of pooling, such as risk sharing, lower administrative costs, and enhanced labor mobility, and also makes it more difficult to achieve the goal of a national level pool. The key objectives of the new pension system is to move away from a pay-as-you-go system to partial funding in preparation of the aging of the population. However, to have a successful pension system in the future, the financing burden has to be shared by employees, employers and the government rather than being borne exclusively by the individual work unit. In the short run, it is critical that regulations and supervision catch up with the new system. In the long term, expansion of coverage and benefit adjustments need to be considered. I agree it will be hard to implement a new old age security system in China. However, I believe it will be key to implement a system which is the same in every part of China. Otherwise the differences between rural and urban areas will only expand, and thus create an even higher burden on the economy than it is at this moment. This will be difficult to fulfill because which groups have to contribute the most. This might even call for a similar system as in the Netherlands, where the government guarantees a minimal pension wage and where the rest is contributed by the companies and working force. How can China solve its old age security problem? The interaction between pension, soe and financial market reform. According to Estelle James, she suggests a plan which sets up individual accounts for each worker, with funds that are productively invested. This is similar to reforms that have been sweeping Latin America, Eastern Europe and are now being considered in the United States. Besides making the system more fiscally sustainable and avoiding peak contribution rates, prefunding can be used to increase saving that is committed for long term investments and pension funds can be used as engines to financial market development and corporate governance. This can be done with two mandatory pillars; one publically managed and tax or pay-as-you-go financed, the other privately managed, with the object of building and managing retirement savings. This to avoid high payroll taxes as the populations age, thereby making the system more sustainable, and to increase national savings that are committed to the long term. However, the part of the economy that is growing most rapidly, in part because it faces low taxes, liabilities and regulations, would suddenly be hit with a heavy legacy of the past. The challenge for China is to find a way to implement a more funded system, that includes decentralized competitive management of the funds, quickly, before coverage increases become a social necessity and makes the transition more difficult. Here I have the same critique as on the previous literature, namely about the rural and urban separation. When the pension system first only reforms the urban part and later expands its coverage towards the rural area, the cost will only increase more and more. But it will be complicated to implement a new system immediately for the entire country, this because it will give a huge burden on the current working class. Chapter 3: The history of China. The year 1949 can be viewed as the First major divide in Chinese history. Before this year, no rapid growth ever occurred in Chinese economy. This was completely different after 1949, when rapid growth was considerably normal. The government is also drastically different after 1949. In 1950 a new law was introduced which stated that: Parents have the duty to raise their children well and the children in their turn have the duty to support their parents. This was a good way for the Chinese government at that time, to not be directly responsible for the attendance of the elder citizens. This was an indication of the change from a harmonious civilization towards a more individualistic civilization. During the fifties, a five-guarantee program had launched for the rural areas. This program mend support from the government for elder who had no offspring or other people who took care of them in the form of food, clothing, shelter, medical care and a funeral. (Naughton, 2007) in 1951, the Chinese government came up with the act Labour Insurance Regulations of the Peoples Republic of China. These first pension regulations where only for citizens working at state enterprises. This mend that all employees of such enterprise have to give three percent of their salary to a mutual fund within this company, and when they reached the age of sixty and they had worked for more than twenty years they would receive a pension. (Frazier, 2004) This reality, this resulted in a relatively low percentage of people who received a pension, because until 1971 nobody could reach this twenty years of work experience. At the end of the seventies, two major new regulations were introduced. First in 1978 where China opened their borders a tiny bit for foreign companies to do business with Chinese companies, but still under heavy oversight by the Chinese government. This also led towards a higher independency of the state enterprises. These where allowed to keep their profit. But also the responsibility of pensions was now entirely for these companies. It was now also allowed for Chinese citizens to start up their own company. (KNAG, 2007) However, these new private owned companies were not able to give the same pension security as these former state enterprises. Therefore the Chinese government came up with a new experiment of pension funding in 1982. They tried to create pension funds not just per company, but pension funds for an entire city to create a higher safety net. These funds were filled by employees working in this city on a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) basis. This means the pensions which are cu rrently paid, are funded by the taxes and contributions from the working people at the same moment. That means there are no assets being set aside. The rural area did not benefit from all these regulations. Because of this new kind of economy, the rural areas decentralized. This took a lot of security away for the elder in these areas, because they were still dependant on the help of family. The second regulation introduced in the late seventies was the One-Child Policy. This because the government of China began to see the great threat of the exponentially growing population. This phenomena I will explain in the next chapter. In the years 1991 and 1995 the government tried to reform the current PAYG system by creating a multi pillar system. (Vandendriessche, 2008) This system contained three pillars which all contributed to one overall pension fund. The first pillar was the basic pension for every employee of a company funded by the state. The second pillar was a individual fund which was filled during the years of work of each person. Frazier calls this Defined Contribution. The third pillar is optional, and is an additional payment made to the pension fund to increase the pension received later in the employees lives. But even with this new reformed pension funding, it is far from ideal. Chapter 4: How has this aging problem risen? Aging of population (also known as demographic aging, and population aging) is a summary term for shifts in the age distribution of a population toward older ages. Which is a direct consequence of the ongoing global fertility transition (decline) and of mortality decline at older ages. (Gavrilov and Heuveline,2003) These two factors can both be seen in the statistical yearbook of China. (Appendix 1) One of the factors, the mortality rate decline at older ages (See Appendix 1F), can be explained mainly by a better health care; more knowledge of the human body and better medicine (especially anti biotic). The New Rural Co-operative Medical Care System (NRCMCS) is an new project set up in the year two-thousand-five to improve the health care sector in China, especially to make it affordable for the rural area. (China daily, 2005) This NRCMCS covers around eighty percent of the total cost of the hospitals. Under the new policy, the central government, local governments, and individual farmers each invest 10 yuan (US$1.23) per year to establish a medical insurance account. The money accumulated is then used to fund hospital treatment. (China daily, 2005) Thought this initiative, many Chinese citizens are now covered for their medical insurance. Around eighty percent of all Chinese citizens living in the rural areas have signed up, which are approximately 685 million people. The second factor, the fertility rate is harder to explain. Deliberately decreasing the fertility rate has been an issue of the Chinese government since 1971. In 1970, the total fertility rate was 5.8. At the time of 1978, the fertility rate has decreased with fifty percent to 2.7. This due to the policy known as wan-xi-shao, meaning later marriages, longer spacing between children, and fewer children in total. Through 1979 the probability of a couple having a second child, given that they had already given birth to a first child, was 95 percent (Feeney and Yu, 1987). Chinas leaders where still worried because chinas baby-boomers where now reaching marriage age. These baby boomers where born in the years before this wan-xi-shao policy because of the Great Leap Forward. Chinas leaders thought these group of people would have to many children and this would outgrow the population carrying capacity. The One-Child policy was established as a law in 1980 by the former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. He implemented this law to limit the birth rate of China. This policy was instantly controversial because of it was strictly enhanced in the first years. There was for example a policy for mandatory insertion of intrauterine devices for women with one child and sterilization for couples with two or more children. At 1984, resistance (both nationally and internationally) has risen to a crucial level. The Chinese government relinquished these strict policies and the overall law loosened up. This mend for example that regional governments, especially in rural areas, a policy which allowed couples to have a second child when their first child was a girl. In more urban areas the One-Child Policy was maintained more strictly. But not only due to the one-child policy fertility rates has gone down. There are significant similarities between China and other surrounding Asian countries in their fertility rates. (See Appendix 1E) However, this has not the same reason is these countries. In some countries, notably Japan and Korea, the low birth rate may be partly attributable to rising job opportunities and earning power for women. But that is not the case in Taiwan, Singapore or Hong Kong, where women have excellent work opportunities and access to low-paid domestic help from Southeast Asia. There is a reluctance to marry, particularly among the better educated women, as well as a preference for few, if any, children. (Bowring, 2007) But because the Great Leap Forward in China, their fertility rate has risen in the years between 1955 and 1970. This in contrast with the other Asian countries shown in this graph (See Appendix 1E). Chapter 5: What are the difficulties which china is facing because of this problem? The most obvious problem China will face is the increasing group of elder people. According to Estelle James, In 1990 only nine percent of Chinas population was over the age of 65, bu by 2030 this proportion will more than double, to twenty-two percent. This means that more than a quarter of the elder people of the entire world will live in China by 2030. As you can see in Appendix the dependency ratio of elderly people in rural areas will be approximately 0.34 in 2030, and 0.18 in urban areas. Zeng et al. (2008) suggest that, if urbanization reaches 75%, the dependency ratio is likely to continue to rise rapidly in rural areas and may exceed 0.6 by 2050, versus just over 0.3 in urban areas. With such a high dependency ratio, a high contribution rate is required from working people to cover the current bill. The second problem is the gender imbalance in China. There is a huge surplus of men. At this moment there is are thirty-two million more Chinese boys than girls under the age of twenty. (NYTimes, 2009) These surplus of boys are known in China as guang guan. Together with the fact that not everyone will marry or have a child when the sex-ratio is normal, there will be a lot of elderly in the future who do not have children to support them and must rely on some sort of pension. Lin Jiang believes there will be almost four million elderly citizens in the rural area by 2030 who do not have a single child. The third problem is that the growth of the working age population will drop off quickly and reach zero growth after 2015. (see appendix) He calculated this because of The persistence of fertility and mortality rates combines with the existing structure of the population to produce predictable patterns of change of the labor force. Also According to Naughton, The labor market is just now absorbing the last huge birth cohort (the baby boom echo born in the late 1980s) The GDP rate per capita (appendix 2) is still increasing. However the rate of increasing is declining in the last two years. This in accordance with the future growth/ decline of the working age population a conclusion can be drawn that the growth of GDP rate per capita will also decline, not taken into account the growth of the economy. Therefore it is important to stimulate this growth of economy. This has to be reacted on in order to stop the rising burden on the currently employed after 2015, because of the change in population structure. Chapter 6: How do the Chinese old people deal with their longevity financially? It is difficult to ascertain exactly how other countries have financed the transition because of the fungibility of money and the ambiguity of the counterfactual. Most reforming countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe have utilized parametric changes that downsized bloated benefit obligations, to reduce the IPD and the financing gap. Beyond that, the following revenue sources appear to be common: Keeping part of the system PAYG, so contributions continue flowing into the PAYG pillaras in Poland, Hungary, Uruguay and Sweden; Raising revenues from contributions by increasing the payroll tax or the compliance rate-an add-on was used in OECD countries and most other countries are trying to decrease evasion; Using other special revenue sources such as a lottery or a value added tax (Argentina); Using general revenues or social security surpluses that are available at the municipal, provincial or state level (Chile); Applying proceeds from the sale of SOE assets to cover pension liabilities (assetdebt swaps)-SOE and pension reform were linked in Peru, Bolivia and Poland; Borrowing in the short run and repaying with the surplus that the system would run in the longer run, as the individual accounts take on a greater portion of the total pension responsibility (most countries have used this method to smooth the burden of transition costs over many cohorts). Most of these methods would be appropriate for China. China is now using proceeds from a national lottery, a tax on interest income and, as already discussed, direct allocations from the MOF. We concentrate here on a source that has just been tapped proceeds from the sale of state assets-and another source that is essential but has yet to be seriously addressedbenefit reduction. These two sources, between them, could cover much of the transition costs. References: Homan, T. R. (2009, June 18). World Bank Raises China 2009 Growth Forecast to 7.2%. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087sid=aoNG311GdSSk Naughton, B. (2007). The Chinese Economy: Transitions and growth. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England Vandendriessche, A. (2008) Hoe worden ouderen verzorgd in China? The Netherlands Frazier, M.W., After Pension Reform: Navigating the Third Rail in China, Studies in Comparative International Development 39:2 (2004), p. 48. Feeney, G., and Jingyuan Yu (1987) Period Parity Progression Measures of Fertility in China. Population Studies, 41(1): 77-102 Statistical yearbook of china Bureau of statistics Zeng, Y., Z. Wang, J. Leiwen and D. Gu (2008), Projection of Family Households and Elderly Living Arrangement in the Context of Rapid Population Aging in China, GENUS. Wang Feng (2005). Can China Afford to Continue Its One-Child Policy? AsiaPacific Issues, No. 77, March. Honolulu: East-West Center. Bowring, P. (2007) How Asians can have more babies. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/18/opinion/18iht-edbowring.1.5768104.html?_r=1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_health_in_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/02/content_489869.htm Knag, 2007 : http://www.geografie.nl/index.php?id=640tx_ttnews[swords]=giscHash=2f4cd4ee67tx_ttnews[tt_news]=611tx_ttnews[backPid]=502 King, Frank H. (1911). Farmers of Forty Centuries. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press. Maddison, Angus (1998). Chinese Economic Performance in the Long Run. Paris: Development Centre of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Perkins, Dwight (1967). Government as an Obstacle to Industrialization: The Case of Nineteenth-Century China. Journal of Economic History, 27(4):478-92. Riskin, Carl (1975). Surplus and Stagnation in Modern China. In Dwight Perkins, ed., Chinas Modern Economy in Historical Perspective, 49-84. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Wang, Gabe T. (1999). Chinas Population: Problems, Thoughts and Policies, 6, 28-29, 38-39. Aldershot: Ashgate. http://www.chinability.com/GDP.htm ONeill, B. and S. Scherbov (2006), Interpreting UN Urbanization Projections Using a Multi-state Model, Interim Report IR-06-012. (NYTIMES, 2009) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/11/world/asia/11china.html

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Book Review of Primo Levis Survival in Auschwitz Essay -- European Hi

Book Review of Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz World War II was a war that took many lives from civilians that deserved to have a life of their own. They were ordinary people who were victims from a horrible and lengthy war that brought out the worst in some people. In Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz, Levi gives a detailed account of his life in a concentration camp. Primo Levi was a young Italian chemist who was only twenty-four years old when he was captured by the Nazis in 1943. He spent two long and torturous years at Auschwitz before the Russian army freed the remaining prisoners of the camp. He tells about life inside the camp and how tough it was to be held like an animal for so long. He says they were treated as inhumanly as possible while many others in the camp would end up dying from either starvation or being killed. They had to do work that was very strenuous while they had no energy and had to sleep in quarters that resembled packed rat cages. With all of this, Levi describes the complex social system tha t develops and what it takes to survive. The soc...

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Tragedy of Alcibiades in Platos Symposium Essay -- Philosophy Religio

The Tragedy of Alcibiades in Plato's Symposium In Symposium, a selection from The Dialogues of Plato, Plato uses historical allusions to demonstrate Alcibiades’ frustration with both social expectations for the phallus and his inability to meet these expectations. Alcibiades’ inability to have a productive sexual relationship effectively castrates him and demonstrates the impotence caused by an overemphasis on eroticism. The tragedy of Alcibiades is that he realizes he is unable to gain virtue through sexual relationships and will therefore be forced to remain mortal, yet he is unable to alter his condition. Symposium is set during a festival for Dionysus, the goddess of fertility; this setting emphasizes the sexual expectations of society that Alcibiades must confront. During fertility festivals, "the Athenians would carry phalluses around the city in ribald celebration" (Rudall 5);1 the phallus in Athens was a symbol of both fertility and eroticism. The Athenians, concerned with the potential extinction of the human race, performed rituals during these festivals that celebrated the phallus as the means of the reproduction of human life. Thus, heterosexual relationships were justified by the creation of children, and the focus of the celebration of the phallus was its productive nature. This focus on productivity created a social expectation that sexual relationships should be productive. Thus, the partygoers in Symposium have gathered during a festival celebrating the fertility and productivity of heterosexual relationship to attempt to justify their homosexual relationships by eulogizing Eros. Since heterosexual relationships were justified by the production of children, a justification of homosexual relationships woul... ...s was married to Hipparete, daughter of Hipponicus, and had at least one son by her; however, the couple lived separately for most of their wedded life and Hipparete even attempted to divorce Alcibiades. Alcibiades also unsuccessfully attempted to have a productive sexual relationship by impregnating Timaea, the wife of Agis, so that his descendants would become kings of the Lacedaemonians, but Agis realized that the son was not his and subsequently refused the royal succession. (Gregory R. Crane (ed.), The Perseus Project: Plutarch, http://www.perseus.tufts. edu/cgi-bin/text?lookup=plut.+alc.+8.1&vers=english;loeb&browse=1, December 1999). 5. While the exact relation of the dates of these two events is unknown, it is also unimportant. What is relevant is the relationship that Plato perceived them as having, and he likely believed them to have occurred within days.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

The Necklace :: Guy De Maupassant The Necklace Essays

The Necklace   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In any literay work, it is absolutely essential to have characters, whether major or minor. It is also necessary to develop these characters through out the story. Character development gives the reader insight to the more important meanings or lessons of the story. These lessons are usually brought out by the events that take place within the story. Looking at Guy De Maupassant's piece â€Å"The Necklace†, we see a very clear development of the main character Mathidle. In the story, we see a change in her attitude about life. This change come about when she has to learn one of life's little lessons the hard way. She and her husband are forced to live a life of hard work and struggle because of her own selfish desires. Mathilde changes from a woman who spends her time dreaming of all the riches and glory she doesn't have, to realizing that she over looked all the riches she did have.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story opens with the description of how miserable Mathilde is. Maupassant describes her as â€Å"suffering constantly, feeling herself destined for all delicacies and luxeries.† (Pg 4) She sits dreaming of silent rooms nicely decorated and her own private room, scented with perfume to have intimate â€Å"tete- a-tetes† with her closest friends. Then she is awakened, only to realize that she is in her own grim apartment. In her eyes, she lives a tortured and unfair life. Mathidle has a husband named Losiel. He is much the opposite of his wife. He is completely content with his lifestyle. He seems to be a very passive person, who doesn't let status or riches effect him. Of course, if he had the chance to be rich he would, but he doesn't dwell on the fact that he is part of the middle class. He seems ot be a hard worker and does his best to provide for his wife. He demonstrates is simplicity the one night at dinner Losiel and Mathilde sit down to eat. Mathidle is dreaming of fancy four course meals, while he is ecstatic because they are eating boiled beef.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Losiel is aware that his wife has not yet adjusted to her status. One night, he had come home from work very excited. He had worked extra hard to get he and his wife invited to one of the biggest parties ever. Losiel thought this would be please his wife, when in fact it only made her upset. Here was Losiel trying to please his wife and she just started to cry. This just goes to show how ungreatful she really is.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Baby Bargains

According to Buckland’s journal Information as Thing, information is situational. As such, it must be useful to a user in a particular situation to be considered relevant. The book Baby Bargains is both useful and relevant to all first-time parents in preparation for the upcoming addition to their household by providing guidance on how and where to buy quality baby necessities at a reasonable cost. Baby Bargains was first published and made available to the public in 1994 and has experienced an extended shelf life due to its updated editions.This now well-known work entered the information lifecycle some 13 years earlier destined to be updated and adapted for years to come. Baby Bargains has metamorphasized and gone through multiple adaptations with a companion television talk show and the addition of a website and blog. The Baby Bargains concept is a prime example of the dissemination, retrieval and use of relevant information. To understand its progression through the inform ation lifecycle it is helpful to examine how it fills an end user’s need, the birth of the first edition and subsquent publishing history as well as its eventual transformation into a website.Need My initial encounter with Baby Bargains occurred during my pregnancy in July of 2005, when I was given the book by a friend. Since it was the first child for my husband and myself, we were excited but at the same time apprehensive over our lack of knowledge. There are literally millions of couples with the same need for knowledge, as evidenced by the extreme popularity of nonfiction books regarding pregnancy, childbirth and preparation for a new baby. Creation Denise and Alan Fields, who co-wrote Baby Bargains, were first time parents at one time, too.Inspired by the birth of their own sons Ben and Jack, the Fields launched a consumer crusade to find the best deals for new parents and ultimately published Baby Bargains. Baby Bargains is a well-researched, comprehensive resource for parents-to-be. The authors combined their own experience with extensive investigation and interviews with more than a thousand first-time parents across the country to compile the information presented in the book. It provides insights into which baby products are top rated and which are not recommended due to price and/or dearth of function.Baby Bargains is organized into chapters categorized by type of product. Each chapter contains a list of items necessary for the expectant parent with easy-to-read charts that allows users to compare these products in terms of price, quality, brand name, and durability. The charts include a summary and brief explanation of the content of an item in an compact, uncomplicated format that is clear and provides an easy way for users to visualize the comparisons. According to Robert Taylor’s â€Å"Value Added Model†, this book adds ACCESS 3 (subject summary) value by using charts.The chapters and their corresponding charts are quite com prehensive yet ergonomic for the average consumer. Publishing and dissemination Since the first edition of Baby Bargains was published in 1994, the popularity of the book garnered nearly instant notoriety for the Fields. The list of commercial marketing appearances the authors have enjoyed include features on Oprah, NBC’s Dateline, ABC’s 20/20, The Today Show as well as newspaper and magazine articles written about the couple and their book. Print editions of Baby Bargains now exceed 700,000 copies.In order to keep the information current, seven editions have been created with the addition of new products and updates on existing items. Revisions include current product values as well as reliability and validity results of the products tested. The authors strive to keep Baby Bargains as up-to-date as possible; about 30 – 40% of the content changes with each edition. These updates ensure the book remains current and a valuable resource to the end user. Retrieval a nd use According to Trent Hill’s lecture on Knowledge Organization, metadata refers to document attributes, document structure, and relations between documents.Several pieces of metadata are attached to the book and website of Baby Bargains. The metadata used to describe the book’s attributes include the title, authors (the Fields are well-known consumer writers), date, edition, description of illustrations, and call number. The website’s metadata is the web domain name (www. babybargains. com) and the fact that it is based on the Baby Bargains print edition. Modification and transformation In 1996, www. babybargains. com was formed to be a companion to, and include information from, the book.When viewed within the FRBR model, Baby Bargains encompasses a complex maze of works, expressions, manifestations, and items. Baby Bargains the book is a work and the companion website is an additional work; each has a unique theme and data. There is one example of an expre ssion of the book in its publication. The book has not been translated into other languages but each edition is published by Windsor Peak Press. There are seven manifestations of the book in the form of its prior updated editions, which are published roughly every two years.The Baby Bargains website consists of two overt expressions. One of these is the information that paralells the book and the other expression is the blog which provides current news on baby products including safety recalls and price changes. Bonus material and a message board for users’ interaction complete the comprehensive nature of the website. When each new edition of Baby Bargains is released, registered website users are encouraged to read the updated version of the book in order to obtain the latest information due to changes of content.This has worked well for the Fields as being an inexpensive yet effective method for informing users about updates and and changes to the print version. A blog link was also added to the website, giving the authors yet another forum for advertising new editions and updates in a timely manner. A message board on the site links users and provides a forum for asking questions and receiving answers, opening the lines of communication between parties with a shared interest. Collection Baby Bargains is a piece from the collections of both public and personal libraries.It is also available through the University of Washington library catalog system. The print book is not owned by the University library nor the summit libraries although it can be obtained through interlibrary loan. According to Matt Saxton’s lecture on â€Å"What is a Collection? †, a collection has certain information for certain audiences. Baby Bargains is not an ordinary part of an academic library’s collection since these institutions do not collect what is considered to be a consumer book. Searching for this workI obtained the work Baby Bargains very easily à ¢â‚¬â€œ through a friend of mine during my pregnancy. It is available in a large variety of bookstores and can be located without any searching effort or retrieval process. Editions of Baby Bargains starting with the 4th and continuing through the current edition are easily accessed through the public library catalog system where they can be directly compared side by side. The Baby Bargains website and blog comes up quickly and easily within the first two listings by using the online search engine Google. ClosingThis assignment caused me to think in fresh ways about how information is disseminated and updated. I feel I was challenged to examine the meaning and purpose of metadata in information systems, as well as the process by which information becomes a work, an expression, and a manifestation. The information lifecycle provides a valuable framework for understanding information such as that which is contained in Baby Bargains throughout its development and as a whole. It is part iculalry useful as a foundation upon which to build my study of library and information science.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

The Importance of Setting

The path to becoming an adult is lined with a variety of childhood and adolescent experiences, some more painful than others. In T. Coraghessen Boyle’s short story, â€Å"Greasy Lake,† Boyle masterfully uses the setting and the protagonist’s experience to teach us an old but vital lesson: those who choose not to learn and grow from their past mistakes are destined to repeat them, and thus will never mature and realize their true potential.At the beginning of the story, the main character (who also happens to be the narrator) depicts his adolescence as â€Å"a time when courtesy†¦went out of style, when it was good to be bad, when you cultivated decadence like a taste† (621). The three thought of themselves as dangerous characters, riding around town wreaking havoc. However, it seems unclear to the main character and his two friends that in reality, they are not actually bad characters. Really bad characters don’t drive their â€Å"parents†™ whining station wagons† (621) or read intellectual French novels by Andre Gide.Boyle gives us a general thought that these three boys are just your ordinary, everyday, misguided juvenile delinquents with an unclear view of what it really means to be a man. Later in the story, the narrator depicts a scene at the main setting of â€Å"Greasy Lake. † There, the three boys provoke who is described as the â€Å"very bad character† (623). The events that took place led the three to realize the ugly truth: they are nothing more than just three kids on an adventure for the night; little did they know what was in store for them.After a lengthy description of the fight that took place between the four characters, the three boys find themselves attempting to rape the girl that was accompanying the â€Å"very bad character. † Luckily, before they can go any farther, another vehicle pulls into the scene, scaring the boys as the flee away. They all run in different directions, leaving them all separated from each other. The main character, with no place else to hide, plunges into the greasy lake.The water is completely contaminated; â€Å"it was fetid and murky, the mud banks glittering with broken glass and strewn with beer cans and the charred remains of bonfires† (622). The setting of â€Å"Greasy Lake† contributes to the plot in a sense of the troubles of the three teenage boys. Much of the story takes place at Greasy Lake, which is not an ordinary, everyday, swimming with the family type of lake. There are crowded trees, which draws a picture of a dark forest with very little light seeping through. The island in the middle of the lake has little or no vegetation, giving the reader a feeling of death.It is also littered with things such as beer cans, broken glass, and bonfire remains. These are items that make you think of loss of control, violence, or even destruction. These ideas could surely lead to something bad happening . The water itself is described as â€Å"fetid and murky† (622). There are two different aspects of time to consider when looking at â€Å"Greasy Lake. † First of all, there is the fact that it is 2 a. m. The middle of the night is commonly a time of day when bad things occur. It is probably considered that the good, peaceful people are at home in bed.Therefore, if someone is up and about they are most likely wreaking havoc. Secondly, there is the year that the story takes place. It was written in the eighties, and it takes place in a time when â€Å"it was good to be bad† (621). Therefore, it is likely that something bad is sure to occur. The setting also serves a very important purpose to most stories by evoking a certain atmosphere. Work Cited Boyle, T. Coraghessan. â€Å"Greasy Lake. † 621 Kirszner, Laurie G. , and Stephen R. Mandell, eds. Literature: Reading, Writing. 8th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013 Print.