Place Final Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Place Final Project - Essay Example United States is centrally located to its influential neighbors, West of Europe, East of Russia, North of South America, and South of Canada. Surrounded by powerful nations, its political and foreign policy has been set to address its relationship with its neighbors. The cultural mix of its people has been as a result of its location and its resources. Culture is an important element in any community. However, United States has had a history that has allowed migrants to seek refuge in it. The historic slave trade from the coast of West Africa brought a large number of Africans into America. The World War One and Two provided a safe refuge for Europeans who were escaping their homelands due to fighting. The late 90s and the 21st century has witnessed a migration of the South Americans into America as they search for a better life. Student Exchange programs that have been started between America and Asian countries have seen the number of Asian population increase drastically. The movement of cultures into America has been from every direction. The cultural positioning of communities in the United States has influenced national decisions. United States is recorded to have 77% of its population being whites and 13.2% being Africa America. There are states that are considered to be of a black majority like Mississippi and Alabama while others in the North are considered to be of a white majority. The divisions are due to historical occurrences though there is a continued diffusion of these communities as they interact. Political candidates address each region depending on its cultural composition. For example, the Hispanic community has grown to influence a presidential candidature, Marco Rubio. The Federal Government is making decisions with much consideration of the geographical compositions of each state. The Federal budget is also affected by the composition

Moss and McAdams Accounting Firm Essay Example for Free

Moss and McAdams Accounting Firm Essay 1. At the end of the case if you were Palmer, how would you respond? It was clear from the beginning everyone involved could have handled things more professionally in order to maximize time, and resources while maintaining a healthy and productive work environment for all employees. From the start of the project it was evident that Olds knowledge and skills were definitely in demand. Because his expertise was so in demand, when met with an organizational structure that had an obvious weak matrix structure, it caused great adversity. In this case we learn Ruby Sands had the role of functional manager and therefore ultimately made a decision that affected Palmer’s account. As soon as Palmer recognized the problems he should have addressed the issue then and presented the possible risk, moving forward the best option for Palmer is to find a suitable replacement for Olds. And accept the fact that valuable employees leave projects all the time for one reason or another. Also, Palmer should address his concerns regarding the situation on a whole to include Crosby’s unwillingness to be a team player as a way to avoid similar situations happening in the firm’s future. In conclusion, Palmer is the project manager; it is his responsibility to handle all aspects of the project to include communication. Effective communication would have lead to a better outcome. 2. Discuss what Palmer could do, if anything, to avoid losing Olds: Project managers are ultimately responsible for performance. Therefore it is Palmer’s responsibility to ensure that appropriate protocol is made between the time, cost and performance requirements of the project. In addition, the project manager is also responsible for the aspects of Leadership, such as problem solving, teamwork, negative politics and customer expectations. To avoid losing Olds, Palmer should have realized the struggles Olds was faced with, such as working extra hours to accommodate both projects and accounts, as a result the impact that it had on work-life balance took its toll on Olds and put him in a difficult position.

AIDS And The Budget :: Free AIDS Essays

"I DO NOT WANT TO DIE! I really don’t wanna die†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.about 30 percent of people who have AIDS are diagnosed in their twenties, that means most were infected in their teens." (It Happened to Nancy) More and more people are being infected with the HIV virus everyday, and if we do not raise the budget, to provide and cure those with the disease, and try to prevent it, the whole country is going to be HIV positive. "The cost of treating people with HIV is increasing by about 20% annually." (AIDS research budget threatened). The future plans for the budget will have a major impact on many lives, especially those who rely on federal programs for support. As in the past, the impact of AIDS and related illnesses continue to influence the budget along with the level of research that could lead to a cure. In 1992, Laura Thomas reported, "Funds for AIDS research are in danger of being reduced to levels that would seriously impede progress towards ef fective treatments." (AIDS Research Budget Threatened) When a person is poor, or homeless, they do not have the funds to pay for medical treatment to keep them healthy, and prolong their lives. Funding for AIDS research from the government is essential in the process to find a cure for this horrible disease. The budgets in the past, are a direct reflection of what the funding should be in the future, and without sufficient funding for AIDS research and development, there will be no cure, or vaccine to stop this epidemic. Immigrants are a targeted group of individuals who, are threatened by cuts in the budget to reduce health care, and research. Immigrants are one of the groups in need of special health care, because of things such as poor income. Funding and budget decisions need to include everyone who is at risk, even legal immigrants. The 1997 Budget Reconciliation was a plan that would negatively affect legal immigrants, including those infected with the HIV/AIDS virus. Representative Clay Shaw made a number of provisions which represented a departure from the bipartisan budget agreement. This agreement included a provision which would soften the impact of 1996’s welfare reform law on legal immigrants, or those who are already citizens. This could be done by restoring SSI and Medicaid eligibility to legal immigrants in the country as of August 22, 1996. (Anti- Immigration provision).

Analysis of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple Essay

â€Å"No one is exempt from the possibility of a conscious connection to All That Is.† Alice Walker explores this quote through the story of Celie. Just like the color purple, the truth, no one is exempt from. No one can run away from the truth. It is inevitably inescapable. Starting off in a rather harsh setting, Celie starts off her story at the time she is raped for the first time by her own father. Rather straight forward, Walker captures her reader’s interest right in the beginning of her novel. Blood is thicker than water. This saying is most exemplified throughout The Color Purple. Love, the tale of two sisters reconnecting, was one of the major themes of the story. In depth, love was not always romantic, but existent. There were different types of love depicted in the novel: love between family, friends, and couples. Love, in turn, helps with creating and development of relationship between characters. Many other themes are depicted in this great work of fiction: Race, racism, African American women and men, abused wives, sexuality, and relationships. These many themes are illustrated throughout the novel through different settings and people. Structuring her writing in short journal entries to God and the family of Celie, the round character, Walker employed them as one of the three symbols throughout the work of fiction. Traumatizing and explicit events occur during the entries which lead to the internal and external conflicts that will take place through the duration of the novel. In addition to these graphic events that were both inconceivable and horrific in every sense for Celie, the events described in the entries led to the novel being banned within some high schools. In The Color Purple, Alice Walker writes in a southern dialect and low level diction. The setting takes place in rural areas of the south where race played a huge part during the time when discrimination was more prevalent in America. Based on the level of diction, Walker writes in an uneducated, southern style. By writing in this type of style Walker is able to fully exemplify Celie’s thoughts creating a better understanding for the reader by revealing her level of education and social class. Sequentially, this adds verisimilitude to the novel. Born on February 9, 1944 in Eatonton, Georgia; Alice Walker was nurtured by two sharecroppers and was the youngest of eight children by Minnie Tallulah Grant and Willie Lee Walker. When she was young she suffered from a traumatizing experience of being shot by a BB Gun in the eye by her little brother. She was bullied at an early age because of the scaring of her eye which was finally removed by her doctor eight years after the incident occurred. Before having the scaring removed, Walker wrote in order to escape her reality, similar to Celie. She attends segregated schools throughout her adolescent years and achieves success by graduating from high school and then attends Spelman College, a college founded for African American women. While attending Spelman, Walker also gets involved in the Civil Rights Movement. By furthering her education, she attended Sarah Lewis College and continues to be apart of the Civil Rights movement. After college, Walker got a job and soon after ironically married a White Civil Rights lawyer named Melvyn Leventhal two years later. The irony of it all is that she marries a Jewish and Caucasian male when all her writing consists of racism, African American struggles, and abuse. Ultimately, the marriage ended in divorce after having conceived their first and only child, Rebecca. Not only recognized for writing novels, Alice Walker is also recognized for her collections of poetry. Her first collection is titled, Once. After publishing her first collection of poetry, she began teaching at Jackson State College where she taught in the Black Studies Program. She continued to teach and eventually started publishing novels while continuing to publish poetry too. The Color Purple was Alice Walker’s third novel. The struggles that Alice Walker had to endure herself as a child are what helped manifest her development of The Color Purple. This proclaimed book and later motion picture, earned two prestigious rewards: the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award. The novel achieved a tremendous amount of success and was made into a film that was produced by Steven Spielberg in 1985. Years after, in 2005, its first Broadway musical was produced. Alice Walker continues to be known for her novels about African American women and her work definitely describes the effect that abuse in the home has on individuals. Which goes to show when it comes to The Color Purple as Celie was emotionally and physically abused by her father. The constant telling that she was too ugly, making her quit school at a young age, and being raped were some of the ways that created the lack of trust within Celie’s family circle. Celie writes letters to God which illustrated a contrast between her spirituality and lack of faith. Evident, since she does not write to God in hopes of being saved, but out of her misery, despair, and lack of hope that life will never work out in her favor. Essentially, Walker chooses to record thoughts of the protagonist with a low level diction and southern dialect allowing Celie’s thoughts to be fully expressed. Based on Celie’s writing technique you know she is uneducated and she admits to it when she says how her father took her out of school and let her sister, Nettie, keep going. Reading The Color Purple can be described as confusing by those who are not used to such low level and amateurish writing style. Many might stumbled upon Celie’s choice of words and order of her thoughts. Alice Walker captures Celie’s true feeling and the way she actually thinks by spelling word wrong like ask. She spells ask like â€Å"ast† which further exemplifies that Celie is far from being smart. Further into the novel, diction becomes more advanced once the point of view is change from Celie alternating to Nettie. Then the letters are from Nettie writing back to Celie. The switch in diction earned some scrutiny by the New York Times, â€Å"If Alice Walker’s celebrated and prize-winning earlier novel, â€Å"The Color Purple,† had a glaring flaw, it was Nettie’s letters from Africa, which tended to a certain monotonous didacticism.† Although appraised for this, by writing with better grammar and a higher level diction, Walker reminds the readers that Nettie is educated unlike her sister. You are able to compare Celie’s writing to her sister and it creates more realism for Celie’s character as it defines her lack of education. In contrast, Nettie’s letters speaks to the audience revealing purpose not out of despair, yet quite different than Celie’s letters. She talks about the civilization of Africa, politics, issues on ra cism that Celie was not very familiar with.  Also, Nettie’s letters adds more credibility to Celie’s character. Clearly, the diction and dialect show Celie’s lack of intelligence, but it also help you understand where the setting takes place. The way Celie speaks and the word choice she uses gives you insight on the rural areas where the setting takes place. The setting often paints an image of a farm as Celie writes in her journal entries how she and Harpo would work in the fields. The setting, taking place in the rural areas of Georgia helps to create atmosphere and establishes credibility and verisimilitude. In turn, this creates realism. Walker uses cultural circumstances of African Americans to help shape her setting. The upsetting, stressful, and tragic tones create a rather sympathetic and emotional atmosphere. Race plays a huge role in The Color Purple. All African Americans were viewed as the weaker race, but African American woman were represented as the weaker gender between both sexes. The males take on an overpowering role and abuse their wives to keep them under their control. After the constant abuse Celie looses pride in her own race, self, and gender. It is not until she learns about some of the wealthy societies of Africa and essentially the color purple that she regains some of her pride that was taken away by the males in her life. Racism against Blacks inflicted by Whites, another theme depicted, was just as essential to race as it was to the dehumanization of African Americans. Setting the tone, such blatant, unfair and harsh treatment during early times serves for the foundation of how Blacks treated their own kind. â€Å"They have the nerve to try to make us think slavery fell through because of us, say Sofia. Like us didn’t have sense enough to handle it† (102). Unlike most in the novel, Sofia had pride in her race. She did not let racism change her outlook and reflection of herself and race. Seemingly, a sense of pride that one could only wish that most African Americans exhibited. Another theme expressed in The Color Purple is African American women and abused wives. Walker paints a picture that all Black males are controlling and disrespect their wives. To some Black males the way Walker portrayed  them was offensive. According to the New York Times, critics claimed that Alice Walker â€Å"portrayed black men harshly.† Many Black men felt that Walker expressed prejudice views toward them especially since she married a White man. With that being said, others commended her for her portrayal. In essence, many felt that The Color Purple encouraged lesbianism not only offended African American men. This is confirmed in an article on race and domesticity in The Color Purple. The article states that the novel was â€Å"degrading to Black men and promoting lesbianism among Black women.† The males in the novel were Celie’s antagonists. Some felt that Walker had something against African American males and that she thought they were all bad. Likewise, sensing any hostility toward Walker against African American males is understandable. Furthermore, the author was just trying to tell a story of the love of two sisters and the hardships of African American women and wives down south in the early 1900s. Due to the disturbing events that Celie had to endure through her childhood especially she does not even label men in her journal entries. Celie always referred to them as â€Å"Mr.___.† Perhaps in a way this was her way of taking away power from males. The only good feelings and sexual ones are given to her by females, one in particular Shug Avery. The constant and explicit talk about sexuality is one of the many reasons why there are high schools who banned the work of fiction from school curriculums. According to the School Library Journal, â€Å"The Color Purple ranks 18 on the American Library Association’s list of 100 most frequently challenged books.† With that being said, high schools forbid their school libraries from ordering the book. The incestual scenes between Celie and her father alarmed the parents of Little Axe High School and they force the school to ban the novel (Norman). Although there are some overtly explicit experiences Celie dealt with, it is nothing that should be banned. Some high schools, usually those with a predominantly Black population can relate to this story, but schools like Little Axe High School probably would find a harder time relating to the story since their school is predominantly White. However, that does not mean someone White would not enjoy reading the novel.  A Caucasian student, attending Warren Mott high school as a senior this year, actually enjoyed reading the novel in her English 11 class her junior year. To help enhance the understanding of African American culture and history, The Color Purple has been put in many high school curriculums. A case study written by Rob Baum states that, â€Å"Woods High School added The Color Purple to its curriculum to rectify its balance of gendered and raced texts.† Adding on, reading The Color Purple for opposite races and even African Americans themselves can give much insight on some of the oppressed, abused, cultural backgrounds of African Americans. Throughout the novel, Celie struggles with her sexuality. This is an example of the internal conflict within Celie. All her life she was beaten and raped by the men, including her father and husband. Dealing with much abuse causes Celie to have no confidence. Celie has no sense of her own actuality. She has no self worth, inner beauty, or formal intelligence. As Celie works through her internal conflict, the symbols employed throughout the novel are shown. The conflicts worked through the novel to add to the tragic and upsetting atmosphere. Along with internal conflict, there was also some external conflict. There was external conflict between Celie and the men in her life. Her father and husband are just some of the examples of external conflict. Not only did the protagonist have external conflicts between men, other supporting characters such as Sofia and Harpo did as well. The males in the story try to dominate their women, while some succeed in doing so and others do not. Celie is an example of the women who accepted the oppression and just tried to survive. Day by day, she never fought back until given the courage in the end. Sofia, on the other hand, was an example of how women fought back against the sexist ideas that men could do whatever they wanted to overpower their wives, including beat them. Relationships were significant in the development of the novel. The relationships between women and women, men and women, and people and God were illustrated. Just like there was love among the women, there was also jealously. The bond between Shug and Celie started  off with jealously as Shug was prettier and was able to get the attention of Celie’s husband and stand up to him. The women stayed within competition of one another until they were finally able to ban to together and rise against the men in their lives that were keeping them down. The relationship between Celie and Shug was one the most prominent relationship in the story. After their bond was formed Celie learns many life lessons that ultimately help to liberate her from the captivity of male dominance in the story. Next, the relationships between men and women often lacked love and passion in their marriages. The men were too busy following after their fathers that they never learned how to truly love their wives. Depicted in the novel, Black men felt they had to â€Å"wear the pants†; this idea transcends through The Color Purple as the men fail to break away from the tradition of trying to tame and train their wives. In doing so, some lost their wives respect and love in some circumstances. Instances such as when Harpo observed his father’s relationship between him and his wife. Harpo formed the conclusion that by beating his wife like his father did to Celie, he might create a more controlling and accepting relationship between him and his wife. Trying to earn her respect by watching his father’s relationship with Celie, he beats his wife, Sofia. In response, Sofia lashes out and fights back. She was the perfect example of women who were true to themselves in mind and physique. Additionally, the males in the novel let their violent fathers dictate how they handled their own relationships. Furthermore, the relationships that Celie encounters with men in her life cause her to feel no type of attraction or passion from men. â€Å"Naw, I say. Mr.______ can tell you, I don’t like it at all. What is it like? He git up on you, heist your nightgown round your waist, plunge in. Most times I pretend I ain’t there. He never know the difference. Never ast me how I feel, nothing. Just do his business, get off, go to sleep†(77). In this excerpt, Celie describes how she felt about having intercourse with her husband. Unfortunate enough, no love or passion is felt, just abuse. Last, but not least, the relationship among people and God was exemplified through Celie and how she views God. After being raped Celie loses her sense of love with God. To Celie, God was a male therefore, she lost faith in him like all the other males she had to encounter in her life. Writing to him out of loss of hope, she loses sight of the color purple and the liberation of life. By the end of the novel, Celie realizes the color purple is nature and the two combined is God as well. Viewing the two as one, she grasps the feeling of joy and being free. Symbolism takes place throughout the novel. Like God, the color purple, represented nature. It stands for all the beauty that nature beholds and one of the unrecognized truths Celie had yet to understand. Celie had no idea of what the color purple was in the beginning. She lived life only to get to the next day. It was not until Shug came into her life that she gets a sense of the color purple. Then she is able to liberate herself from the control of her husband and move forward in life. â€Å"Until you do right by me, I say, everything you even dream about will fail. I give it to him straight, just like it come to me. And it seem to come to me from the trees† (206). This quote is evident of Celie’s transformation. Once wounded, she is now a warrior. Unrecognized, the color purple was the main idea of the story carried forward, hence its name. Later on in the novel once Celie is living her life freely without the strong hand of men, she begins to make pants. Gaining a sense of actuality, beauty, and confidence in herself, Celie wears the pants as well as making them. The pants symbolized how Celie overcame the sexism she always was subjugated to. Since pants, culturally was a male article of clothing in the early 1990s, wearing and producing them gave Celie a sense of power she never felt before. The idea that men wore the pants was no longer a belief of Celie and it proves true in the novel. She no longer felt oppressed and afraid emotionally or economically. Her clothing business consisting of only pants was one of the starting blocks in her life that she was not afraid of men and she did not need them to support her emotionally or financially either. Therefore, pants being symbolic of manhood in many ways, making them was liberating for Celie. God was also a symbol, not just the color purple and pants. Writing to God is what kept Celie life moving. Her letters to God were an indication that she was still alive and sane. Furthermore, the letters added to the verisimilitude of the novel. The employed symbol was used to give insight to the setting through Celie’s eyes which helped to create realism. The Color Purple expresses the theme that everyone has a story to tell. Celie’s story was told in the novel. Going more in depth, the plot of the story helps enlighten readers on all the themes discussed in the previous paragraphs. The plot shaped the Walker’s story into a tragic love story that of two sisters trying to reunite once again. The violence, abuse, and sexuality of the plot are told from Celie’s perspective and through her writing of letters the other themes in the novel are revealed: symbols, marriage, and race. As stated in the Masterplots Revised Second Edition, â€Å"Alice Walker’s novel is unique in its preoccupation with spiritual survival and with exploring the oppressions, insanities, loyalties, and triumphs of Black women.† Speaking to many unrecognized truths and possibilities of life, The Color Purple employs symbols in order to let those truths become understood. Setting, structure, diction, and dialect serve the purpose of verisimilitude for Walker. She uses them to create realism and credibility for her readers. Although criticized for her portrayal of African American men, the novel is still to this day a classic. The critical analysis of sex and lesbianism caused much uproar in some high school including Little Axe High School resulting in the banning of the novel in the school’s curriculum. Yet, it remains a best seller.

Sustainable Fashion

One of the most heavily discussed topics, in this last decade, is the environmental decay of our planet. Diverse concepts have materialized in order to find solutions for the problem. Ecology and sustainable growth have been confirmed to be the main solutions currently. Innovations for sustainable growth include: creation of hybrid cars, recycling and minor discharge of carbon dioxide in factories among others (Christ 23). Environmental awareness was also introduced to the world of fashion, unfortunately, it wasn’t very successful; lately there has been a change of situation and that is what we are going to attempt to understand. For almost twenty years now, people have been relying on fast fashion, a fairly new notion, which entails rapid garment production in a cost efficient manner. This efficiency is attained through the retailers understanding of the customer’s wants, which consist in having high fashion looking garments at reasonable prices. Lots of stores have mission statements that endorse this concept of affordable high fashion such as Zara, Mango and H&M and so forth, they are very successful worldwide, has completely taken over; this position for fashion is at its most of unsustainability, as Sandy Black says: â€Å"The production and consumption of fashion represent the two extremes of a very long, fragmented and complex supply chain that transforms fiber into yarn and fabrics, which is mediated by designers, manufacturers and buyers into the clothing on offer at retail. †. Fast and cheap fashion implies more disposability, which incites more consumption. Therefore, when eco friendly fashion made its appearance, people weren’t convinced because it looked too cheap and unfashionable––when envisioning eco fashion, people automatically associated it with a variation of earthy colors (brown, khaki, grey, etc. ), highly flammable fabrics, to cut a long story short, people thought of them as ugly. It is an eco friendly clothing cliche. Hence, a global pejorative connotation built up over time and these clothes were perceived as cheap which also meant that they were unfashionable in some way. Sustainable fashion isn’t an entirely new phenomenon, we know that past generations recycled clothing without knowing it; when there were special occasions, they would take their casual clothes and add ornaments and all kinds of things to make their garment look dressier––they knew how to transform they’re clothes–– Also in families with siblings, most of the time, the younger ones wore â€Å"hand me downs† from their older siblings, some people still do it now. The point is, back then they knew how to remodel something they already had as well as create something new; and we kind of lost that for a few years with the rise of fast fashion. However, nowadays with this eco movement, it is all becoming about knowledge once again; Today on numerous fashion blogs and sites (HonestlyWTF. com; ecouterre. com; woolandthegang. com and many more) people can find the DIY (Do it Yourself) category, it gives us all the steps on how to create fashion items that are trendy and/or featured on the site/blog. In general, the materials needed to create DIY pieces are ones that we are most likely to have already, so we can recycle. Currently, people still shop of course but they also spare time for things they can put together themselves. Eco fashion reflects a natural change of values. Another solution for being â€Å"green† in fashion is to reduce the impact of washing and aftercare. As Black explains: â€Å"With most clothes we wear close to the body, the environmental impact of washing, drying and ironing is far greater than the manufacture of the items themselves, so any reduction in washing needs can be very significant in terms of carbon footprint. With nano-coatings and treatments, clothes can be made stain and dirt repellent and reduce their need for frequent washing. This potential longer life using less energy needs to be balanced with the fact they will not be able to be recycled after use. Basically, Black tells us there is another answer to maintaining our clothes; it is eco-friendly on one point of view and not from another point of view. The fact that it is possible to treat the clothes for them to simply not be able to receive dirt is eco friendly on long term because that means we wouldn’t need to wash the clothes as much but then th ose same clothes cannot be recycled and that is not eco friendly––Is it better to keep clothes as they are and waste more energy or to treat them but not recycle them after use? It is a dilemma. Finding an exact definition for the terms â€Å"sustainable fashion†. â€Å"Green†, â€Å"Eco fashion† to a name a few, is close to impossible. We all have the impression everyone understands it the same way but it is false, it has different meanings for all of us. The word sustainability itself implies some sort of length, in the sense that something can last long, it also. Here are some of the definitions people have of sustainable fashion: â€Å"Quality items that stand the test of time – it is this concept of sustainability, symbolized by a timeless handbag that ou wear again and again, and can pass on, that I am always thinking of when I design. † Says Frida Gianni Accessories are a very important part of fashion and should be considered so a good example for this definition of sustainable would be the Hermes’ Birkin bag. The Birkin bag is a highly exclusive handmade bag from France; it is very expensive because of its exclusivity but al so because of how it is constructed and the materials used to put it together. These bags are made of calf leather, ostrich, crocodile, and lizard and are a symbol of wealth due to their high prices and elusiveness to the public As Black says â€Å"Fashion is full of contradictions––it is ephemeral and cyclic, referencing the past but constantly embracing the new; it represents an expression of personal identity and difference, while also demonstrating belonging to a group [†¦]†. â€Å"Sustainable fashion implies a commitment to the traditional techniques, and not just the art, of making clothes. I work today in the same way that I first learnt in the ateliers of Balenciaga and Lanvin 50 years ago. We need to ensure that the next generation of seamstresses and tailors have the skills necessary to develop clothes that are not only beautiful but extremely well made. † Says Oscar de la Renta, Oscar de la Renta and Frida Gianna’s definitions are quite similar, although de la Renta is specific about clothing. According to him, what truly makes a garment sustainable is the way it was crafted. As mentioned previously, a few years back, the fashion may have been slower but the garments were carefully created with â€Å"traditional techniques†, therefore they lasted much longer than fast fashion pieces. This type of clothing is still available but only to a certain crowd; pieces that are meticulously sewn are most likely to be found in the expensive range of clothing (Couture or designer wear). â€Å"I would define the ideal as locally sourced materials that don’t pollute in their creation or demise (preferably recycled) and with limited transportation to achieve the completed product. Says Anya Hindmarch, initiator of the â€Å"I am not a plastic bag† initiative. With her campaign (I am not a plastic bag), Hindmarch designed a tote bag and used her influence in a positive way to make it fashionable not to use plastic bags. â€Å"Most of what we may currently refer to as sustainable fashion is a contradiction in terms. It refers to how the fabric used for a new garment has been produced †¦ Yet, I believe, we need to consider this issue from a more macro and profound perspective. Though cotton may be unbleached, we need to examine how it arrives to the manufacturer or to us the wearer. What was the ‘carbon imprint’ of its delivery, for example? † Says Dries van Noten. Dries van Noten doesn’t think that changing the method of production for a garment’s fabric is enough to claim its sustainability; the fabric’s â€Å"journey† should also be considered otherwise there is no major difference between fast fashion and eco fashion. It is well know that fast fashion products are most likely to be manufactured in foreign countries for more production and lower cost and that is exactly the opposite of what the eco movement is about. When the eco movement first appeared in the food industry, people had to be educated on how it better to consume products that are locally produced to reduce carbon imprint among other reasons––the same thing has to be done, when it comes to fashion because people are unaware if they don’t inform themselves. With all these definitions above we cannot say that one is true or false they are all relevant in a way. All that can be observed is that most of the time when people approach the subject of sustainability, ethical, green and whatnot, their definitions are closer to the ones that Anna Hindmarch and Dries van Noten provided. The Eco movement in general, has now gone from being just a trend to a lifestyle. We can be â€Å"green† in every aspect of our lives now; people are trying to combat the fastness of our lives with it; to be more specific, they are privileging the Eco movement to go against, the fastness of our economic development and the associated mass production. Eco friendly fashion in not only about tangible aspect, which is the material that is used when and how it is also about the human aspect, the ethical characteristic it has which respects social standards such as limited working hours or minimum wages; Ethically correct production also means child labor is forbidden. Back to the material side of things, sustainable fashion supports cotton farming, and the changeover to more environmentally friendly materials and dyes. As mentioned anteriorly, sustainable fashion also includes recycled materials used to create new ones. People are craving lifestyles based on health and sustainability. Today, when looking for new products, customers not only look for quality and design but also ecological awareness. Green designed products are a path into the green lifestyle which now combines once opposing fields eco and fashion. Environmental awareness has taken over every aspect of our everyday life: fashion is the latest target. Therefore the rise of Eco chic makes perfect sense, it was bound to happen. People want to promote the fact that they are green and show that they are in style. However, it not only about the physical aspect now, people also want to show off their good conscience or sometimes they simply care when it comes to ethical fashion –– Ethical fashion is healthy, sustainable, and fair. Eco chic clothes tend to be more expensive than regular clothing so people also like to show ¬Ã‚ ¬ –– especially in these hard financial times–– that they can still afford expensive clothes. Having noted designers join the movement by the creations has really increased people’s desire to be green. It looks like sustainable fashion is attracting more people; the future of this movement is very promising.

Gun legislation in the United States

Gun legislation in the United States Children in the United States are considered to be endangered as more than 18,000 students under the age of 19 years are shot and killed by use of firearms each year (Lawrence Robert, 2006). These gunshot incidents are caused by family members, strangers, and even peers. It was also noted that thousands of youths and children use guns to commit suicide.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Gun legislation in the United States specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This has even proved to be the most successful way to commit suicide compared to other means. For most families, shooting in schools has left them living with fear that their children are no longer safe in the hands of school administration. Late last year, a student by the name Adam Lanza forced his way into an elementary school by the name Sandy Hook. Within five minutes, he had shot 154 bullets leaving 26 people dead by use of a Bushmaster 223- calibre rifle. This left the country so devastated with so many questions being asked by the parents. This led to various demonstrations being held across the United States protesting the burn of firearm use completely. Use of guns for perpetuating violence is not the major problem, violence among the youth is. Guns raise special attention because they are lethal and widely available to the youth thereby worsening youth violence. The major cause of injury and death is gun violence. It has caused serious communal and mental issues on youth, youngsters and even families in the society (Lawrence Robert, 2006). There are various factors that have contributed to gun violence in the United States especially among the youth and children. One such issue is the engagement in drug related issues among the youth. It is not only drug and substance abuse that causes gun violence among the youth in schools and societies at large. The youth are also seen to engage in drug dealings and street drug markets. Most of t hese drug dealings lead to the youths forming cartels that often end up in rivalry among the groups. The youth in these groups end up buying guns from illegal gun markets to be able to control the illegal drug market.Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The second factor that contributes to gun violence in the United States is the fact that guns are made available to the youth. Through the illegal gun markets, the youth are able to buy guns and used them anytime they feel threatened by the society around them (Alexander, 2003). Even where adults own guns, they fail to put adequate measures to ensure that the youth under their care are not able to access such lethal weapons. It therefore makes it hard for schools to control such youth as the youth themselves feel like they have overpowered the community around them. Illegal gangs in the United States are not an unfamiliar case. Each year more and more gangs are formed by the youth (Lawrence Robert, 2006). These gangs often cause insecurity in the society as most of them, if not all, possess guns illegally. These gangs often get involved in gun fights amongst themselves leading to serious injuries and even death among the youth. There has always been a public debate about how guns should be used appropriately in the society. The argument has concentrated on situations under which adults ought to own guns overseeing the youth (Stephens Nelson, 2007). The supporters of gun rights insist on the appropriate usage of guns for self-protection and athletic (Holly, 2008). They fail to propose that children and the youth should not access guns whatever the circumstance without the supervision of adults. Youth and children should be treated as a special case when it comes to law and public opinion regarding gun policy (Alexander, 2003). That way there will be a control measure put in place to ensure that there is r eduction in the number of youth able to access guns that cause danger to school children and staff. In order to address the gun violence issues in the United States, there should be strong relationship between levels of government and its branches. This is important for the delivery and administration of education services in the United States. Ministry of education must reduce its levels of bureaucracy by delegating operational aspects that are significant to lower governmental levels such as schools. In order for government’s policies to be effective, both by design and implementation, there should be a strong relationship between levels of government and their branches. Such relation is referred to as intergovernmental relation.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Gun legislation in the United States specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In terms of intergovernmental relation aspect, there are various aspects that should be considered in order to address gun violence in schools and communities. One such aspect is the government structure. Most countries hold a unitary form of government whereby the central government makes most decisions relating to its country’s issues (Holly, 2008). This is not a good system of administration as the government at the top does not understand the day to day situations that affect departments under it directly. There should be a decentralised system of government to allow for decision making at schools. This encourages efficiency among schools as it inspires liberal and democratic decisions among schools. Schools will hence be able to stream line their students whenever they are found to be going astray by administering punishment and counselling whenever necessary. In addition, the aspect of capacity that should be considered is building and accountability standards. These standards, especially in examinations, are left in the responsibility of state to determine the average expected standards of passing an examination. These high- stake exams do not consider underinvestment in various schools by the state as it could be a major cause of underperformance by some school. The underperformed schools could be lacking the right amounts of finances to be able to take up disciplinary measures for correcting school children. This is indeed an aspect that should be considered to be able to control the number of school dropouts and even be able to ensure that the school children and the youth are nurtured to produce well behaved persons in the society. Moreover, the aspect of intergovernmental relations and the financing of schools should also be considered. The state should ensure that equal amount of tax money is disbursed to finance the education of children regardless of where he or lives (Stephens Nelson, 2007). This step coupled with decentralization will ensure that schools not only use their funds to improve students’ perf ormance but also come up with programmes that improve the moral state of children and youth going through the education process. Schools will be able to budget effectively and be able to set aside funds for counselling students with special needs.Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The finally aspect to be considered is school- linked social- services coordination. Not only children in the United States but also children all over the world are faced by a multitude of contemporary problems. Such problems include; racism, family violence, substance abuse, unaffordable and inadequate housing, sexual promiscuity and child abuse. The services needed to react to these evils are normally fragmented across a number of uncoordinated government ministries and agencies (Stephens Nelson, 2007). It is therefore important for states to adopt policies that ensure external agencies and schools work together to address non-academic issues experienced by children and the youth in schools. Schools should also ensure a coordinated service linked to schools to develop new expectations by introducing new actors in the education system. One thing that generates barriers is the fact that there are professional and organizational variances among numerous government agencies and schoo ls. Such barriers include confidentiality issues, lack of a common outlook and even communication problem. In conclusion, gun legislation and policies must be amended in order to reduce the incidents of gun violence among the youth and children in schools. Very few gun violence prevention programs and policies involving the youth have been taken into consideration up to date (Holly, 2008). Policy makers should be encouraged to think widely as regards to gun policy to ensure that parents and children are no longer prone to dangers associated with gun violence and therefore live without fear. Coming up with the policies is not the only issue. The aspect of intergovernmental relation should also be taken into consideration if such policies are to remain effective in terms of implementation in the future. Without intergovernmental relation, there would be poor coordination and hence poor response in addressing the issues that affect schools and the community at large regarding gun viole nce among the youth and children in the society. References Alexander, D. (2003). Gun violence in America. New Hampshire, NH: University Press of England. Holly, C. (2008). Gun violence: Violence and society. New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group. Lawrence, O.J., Robert, C. (2006). American intergovernmental relations: Foundations, perspectives, and issues. Washington, DC: CQ press. Stephens, G.R., Nelson, W. (2007). American intergovernmental relations: A fragmented federal polity. New York, NY: Oxford University press.

Gone Country

We have read many essays pertaining to identity over the course of this semester. The essay that I believe truly focuses on this subject is "Gone Country". Our personalities are often associated with what music we listen to. The essay "Gone Country", discuss what makes up the personality of someone who listens to country music. People express identity in many different ways; music is just one-way to show someone's characteristics, as well as individuality. In Gone Country, the author takes country music and shows how it often has an effect on the people who listen to it. I do not agree with the credibility of the points that are expressed in the article, such as "country fans are more educated than both adult contemporary or rock audiences"(p. 423). Saying that someone who listens to country music is more educated than someone who listens to a different type of music is absurd. What they don't take into consideration is the age of the people who listen to country music. They say it themselves in the article, "These musicians-smarter, hipper; their fans-older, wiser" (p. 424). Of course the country fans are going to be wiser if the majority of their fans are between the ages of 30-50. Saying that country artists are smarter than rock artists is a falsehood. There is no way you can say someone is smarter, due to the fact they perform a certain type of music. I enjoy listening to many different types of music, particularly rock music. I think music plays a part in everyone's life, and also reflects a person's identity. When I listen to music I like to read the lyrics to figure out what message the artist is trying to relay to their listener. My favorite band is tool. Their music would be put into the hard rock category. One song they sing that I can really relate to is slip away. Maynard, the lead singer starts this powerful song by talking about how a break up leaves him cracked and drags h