The Host Chapter 31: Needed

I froze and then looked quickly over my shoulder to see if someone was behind me. â€Å"Gladys was his wife,† Jamie whispered almost silently. â€Å"She didn't escape.† â€Å"Gladys,† Walter said to me, oblivious to my reaction. â€Å"Would you believe I went and got cancer? What are the odds, eh? Never took a sick day in my life†¦Ã¢â‚¬  His voice faded out until I couldn't hear it, but his lips continued to move. He was too weak to lift his hand; his fingers dragged themselves toward the edge of the cot, toward me. Ian nudged me forward. â€Å"What should I do?† I breathed. The sweat beading on my forehead had nothing to do with the humid heat. â€Å"†¦ grandfather lived to be a hundred and one,† Walter wheezed, audible again. â€Å"Nobody ever had cancer in my family, not even the cousins. Didn't your aunt Regan have skin cancer, though?† He looked at me trustingly, waiting for an answer. Ian poked me in the back. â€Å"Um†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I mumbled. â€Å"Maybe that was Bill's aunt,† Walter allowed. I shot a panicked glance at Ian, who shrugged. â€Å"Help,† I mouthed at him. He motioned for me to take Walter's searching fingers. Walter's skin was chalk white and translucent. I could see the faint pulse of blood in the blue veins on the back of his hand. I lifted his hand gingerly, worried about the slender bones that Jamie had said were so brittle. It felt too light, as if it were hollow. â€Å"Ah, Gladdie, it's been hard without you. It's a nice place here; you'll like it, even when I'm gone. Plenty of people to talk to-I know how you need to have your conversation†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The volume of his voice sank until I couldn't make out the words anymore, but his lips still shaped the words he wanted to share with his wife. His mouth kept moving, even when his eyes closed and his head lolled to the side. Ian found a wet cloth and began wiping Walter's shining face. â€Å"I'm not good at†¦ at deception,† I whispered, watching Walter's mumbling lips to make sure he wasn't listening to me. â€Å"I don't want to upset him.† â€Å"You don't have to say anything,† Ian reassured me. â€Å"He's not lucid enough to care.† â€Å"Do I look like her?† â€Å"Not a bit-I've seen her picture. Stocky redhead.† â€Å"Here, let me do that.† Ian gave me the rag, and I cleaned the sweat off Walter's neck. Busy hands always made me feel more comfortable. Walter continued to mumble. I thought I heard him say, â€Å"Thanks, Gladdie, that's nice.† I didn't notice that Doc's snores had stopped. His familiar voice was suddenly there behind me, too gentle to startle. â€Å"How is he?† â€Å"Delusional,† Ian whispered. â€Å"Is that the brandy or the pain?† â€Å"More the pain, I would think. I'd trade my right arm for some morphine.† â€Å"Maybe Jared will produce another miracle,† Ian suggested. â€Å"Maybe,† Doc sighed. I wiped absently at Walter's pallid face, listening more intently now, but they didn't speak of Jared again. Not here, Melanie whispered. Looking for help for Walter, I agreed. Alone, she added. I thought about the last time I'd seen him-the kiss, the belief†¦ He probably wanted some time to himself. I hope he isn't out there convincing himself that you're a very talented actress-slash-Seeker again†¦ That's possible, of course. Melanie groaned silently. Ian and Doc murmured in quiet voices about inconsequential things, mostly Ian catching Doc up on what was going on in the caves. â€Å"What happened to Wanda's face?† Doc whispered, but I could still hear him easily. â€Å"More of the same,† Ian said in a tight voice. Doc made an unhappy noise under his breath and then clicked his tongue. Ian told him a bit about tonight's awkward class, about Geoffrey's questions. â€Å"It would have been convenient if Melanie had been possessed by a Healer,† Doc mused. I flinched, but they were behind me and probably didn't notice. â€Å"We're lucky it was Wanda,† Ian murmured in my defense. â€Å"No one else -â€Å" â€Å"I know,† Doc interrupted, good-natured as always. â€Å"I guess I should say, it's too bad Wanda didn't have more of an interest in medicine.† â€Å"I'm sorry,† I murmured. I was careless to reap the benefits of perfect health without ever being curious about the cause. A hand touched my shoulder. â€Å"You have nothing to apologize for,† Ian said. Jamie was being very quiet. I looked around and saw that he was curled up on the cot where Doc had been napping. â€Å"It's late,† Doc noted. â€Å"Walter's not going anywhere tonight. You should get some sleep.† â€Å"We'll be back,† Ian promised. â€Å"Let us know what we can bring, for either of you.† I laid Walter's hand down, patting it cautiously. His eyes snapped open, focusing with more awareness than before. â€Å"Are you leaving?† he wheezed. â€Å"Do you have to go so soon?† I took his hand again quickly. â€Å"No, I don't have to leave.† He smiled and closed his eyes again. His fingers locked around mine with brittle strength. Ian sighed. â€Å"You can go,† I told him. â€Å"I don't mind. Take Jamie back to his bed.† Ian glanced around the room. â€Å"Hold on a sec,† he said, and then he grabbed the cot closest to him. It wasn't heavy-he lifted it easily and slid it into place next to Walter's. I stretched my arm to the limit, trying not to jostle Walter, so that Ian could arrange the cot under it. Then he grabbed me up just as easily and set me on the cot beside Walter. Walter's eyes never fluttered. I gasped quietly, caught off guard by the casual way Ian was able to put his hands on me-as though I were human. Ian jerked his chin toward Walter's hand clasped around mine. â€Å"Do you think you can sleep like that?† â€Å"Yes, I'm sure I can.† â€Å"Sleep well, then.† He smiled at me, then turned and lifted Jamie from the other cot. â€Å"Let's go, kid,† he muttered, carrying the boy with no more effort than if he were an infant. Ian's quiet footsteps faded into the distance until I couldn't hear them anymore. Doc yawned and went to sit behind the desk he'd constructed out of wooden crates and an aluminum door, taking the dim lamp with him. Walter's face was too dark to see, and that made me nervous. It was like he was already gone. I took comfort in his fingers, still curled stiffly around mine. Doc began to shuffle through some papers, humming almost inaudibly to himself. I drifted off to the sound of the gentle rustling. Walter recognized me in the morning. He didn't wake until Ian showed up to escort me back; the cornfield was due to be cleared of the old stalks. I promised Doc I would bring him breakfast before I got to work. The very last thing I did was to carefully loosen my numb fingers, freeing them from Walter's grasp. His eyes opened. â€Å"Wanda,† he whispered. â€Å"Walter?† I wasn't sure how long he would know me, or if he would remember last night. His hand clutched at the empty air, so I gave him my left, the one that wasn't dead. â€Å"You came to see me. That was nice. I know†¦ with the others back†¦ must be hard†¦ for you†¦ Your face†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He seemed to be having a difficult time making his lips form the words, and his eyes went in and out of focus. How like him, that his first words to me would be full of concern. â€Å"Everything's fine, Walter. How are you feeling?† â€Å"Ah -† He groaned quietly. â€Å"Not so†¦ Doc?† â€Å"Right here,† Doc murmured, close behind me. â€Å"Got any more liquor?† he gasped. â€Å"Of course.† Doc was already prepared. He held the mouth of a thick glass bottle to Walter's slack lips and carefully poured the dark brown liquid in slow drips into his mouth. Walter winced as each sip burned down his throat. Some of it trickled out the side of his mouth and onto his pillow. The smell stung my nose. â€Å"Better?† Doc asked after a long moment of slow pouring. Walter grunted. It didn't sound like assent. His eyes closed. â€Å"More?† Doc asked. Walter grimaced and then moaned. Doc cursed under his breath. â€Å"Where's Jared?† he muttered. I stiffened at the name. Melanie stirred and then drifted again. Walter's face sagged. His head rolled back on his neck. â€Å"Walter?† I whispered. â€Å"The pain's too much for him to stay conscious. Let him be,† Doc said. My throat felt swollen. â€Å"What can I do?† Doc's voice was desolate. â€Å"About as much as I can. Which is nothing. I'm useless.† â€Å"Don't be like that, Doc,† I heard Ian murmur. â€Å"This isn't your fault. The world doesn't work the way it used to. No one expects more of you.† My shoulders hunched inward. No, their world didn't work the same way anymore. A finger tapped my arm. â€Å"Let's go,† Ian whispered. I nodded and started to pull my hand free again. Walter's eyes rolled open, unseeing. â€Å"Gladdie? Are you here?† he implored. â€Å"Um†¦ I'm here,† I said uncertainly, letting his fingers lock around mine. Ian shrugged. â€Å"I'll get you both some food,† he whispered, and then he left. I waited anxiously for him to return, unnerved by Walter's misconception. Walter murmured Gladys's name over and over, but he didn't seem to need anything from me, for which I was grateful. After a while, half an hour maybe, I began listening for Ian's footsteps in the tunnel, wondering what could be taking him so long. Doc stood by his desk the whole time, staring into nothing with his shoulders slumped. It was easy to see how useless he felt. And then I did hear something, but it wasn't footsteps. â€Å"What is that?† I asked Doc in a whisper; Walter was quiet again, maybe unconscious. I didn't want to disturb him. Doc turned to look at me, cocking his head to the side at the same time to listen. The noise was a funny thrumming, a fast, soft beat. I thought I heard it get just a little louder, but then it seemed quieter again. â€Å"That's weird,† Doc said. â€Å"It almost sounds like†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He paused, his forehead furrowing in concentration as the unfamiliar sound faded. We were listening intently, so we heard the footsteps when they were still far away. They did not match the expected, even pace of Ian's return. He was running-no, sprinting. Doc reacted immediately to the sound of trouble. He jogged quickly out to meet Ian. I wished I could see what was wrong, too, but I didn't want to upset Walter by trying to free my hand again. I listened hard instead. â€Å"Brandt?† I heard Doc say in surprise. â€Å"Where is it? Where is it?† the other man demanded breathlessly. The running footsteps only paused for a second, then started up again, not quite as fast. â€Å"What are you talking about?† Doc asked, calling back this way. â€Å"The parasite!† Brandt hissed impatiently, anxiously, as he burst through the arched entry. Brandt was not a big man like Kyle or Ian; he was probably only a few inches taller than me, but he was thick and solid as a rhinoceros. His eyes swept the room; his piercing gaze focused on my face for half a second, then took in Walter's oblivious form, and then raced around the room only to end up on me again. Doc caught up with Brandt then, his long fingers gripping Brandt's shoulder just as the broader man took the first step in my direction. â€Å"What are you doing?† Doc asked, his voice the closest to a growl I'd ever heard it. Before Brandt answered, the odd sound returned, going from soft to screaming loud to soft again with a suddenness that had us all frozen. The beats thudded right on top of one another, shaking the air when they were at their loudest. â€Å"Is that-is that a helicopter?† Doc asked, whispering. â€Å"Yes,† Brandt whispered back. â€Å"It's the Seeker-the one from before, the one who was looking for it.† He jerked his chin at me. My throat was suddenly too small-the breaths moving through it were thin and shallow, not enough. I felt dizzy. No. Not now. Please. What is her problem? Mel snarled in my head. Why can't she leave us alone? We can't let her hurt them! But how do we stop her? I don't know. This is all my fault! Mine, too, Wanda. Ours. â€Å"Are you sure?† Doc asked. â€Å"Kyle got a clear view through the binoculars while it was hovering. Same one he saw before.† â€Å"Is it looking here?† Doc's voice was suddenly horrified. He half spun, eyes flashing toward the exit. â€Å"Where's Sharon?† Brandt shook his head. â€Å"It's just running sweeps. Starts at Picacho, then fans out in spokes. Doesn't look like it's focusing on anything close. Circled around a few times where we dumped the car.† â€Å"Sharon?† Doc asked again. â€Å"She's with the kids and Lucina. They're fine. The boys are getting things packed in case we have to roll tonight, but Jeb says it's not likely.† Doc exhaled, then paced over to his desk. He slouched against it, looking as if he'd just run a long race. â€Å"So it's nothing new, really,† he murmured. â€Å"Naw. Just have to lay low for a few days,† Brandt reassured him. His eyes were flickering around the room again, settling on me every other second. â€Å"Do you have any rope handy?† he asked. He pulled up the edge of the sheet on an empty cot, examining it. â€Å"Rope?† Doc echoed blankly. â€Å"For the parasite. Kyle sent me out here to secure it.† My muscles contracted involuntarily; my hand gripped Walter's fingers too tightly, and he whimpered. I tried to force it to relax while I kept my eyes on Brandt's hard face. He was waiting for Doc, expectant. â€Å"You're here to secure Wanda?† Doc said, his voice hard again. â€Å"And what makes you think that's necessary?† â€Å"Come on, Doc. Don't be stupid. You've got some big vents in here, and a lot of reflective metal.† Brandt gestured to a file cabinet against the far wall. â€Å"You let your attention wander for half a minute, and it'll be flashing signals to that Seeker.† I sucked in a shocked breath; it was loud in the still room. â€Å"See?† Brandt said. â€Å"Guessed its plan in one.† I wanted to bury myself under a boulder to hide from the bulging, relentless eyes of my Seeker, yet he imagined I wanted to guide her in. Bring her here to kill Jamie, Jared, Jeb, Ian†¦ I felt like gagging. â€Å"You can go, Brandt,† Doc said in an icy tone. â€Å"I will keep an eye on Wanda.† Brandt raised one eyebrow. â€Å"What happened to you guys? To you and Ian and Trudy and the rest? It's like you're all hypnotized. If your eyes weren't right, I'd have to wonder†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Go ahead and wonder all you want, Brandt. But get out while you're doing it.† Brandt shook his head. â€Å"I've got a job to do.† Doc walked toward Brandt, stopping when he was between Brandt and me. He folded his arms across his chest. â€Å"You're not going to touch her.† The throbbing helicopter blades sounded in the distance. We were all very still, not breathing, until they faded. Brandt shook his head when it was quiet again. He didn't speak; he just went to the desk and picked up Doc's chair. He carried it to the wall by the file cabinet, slammed it to the ground, and then sat down hard, making the metal legs squeal against the stone. He leaned forward, his hands on his knees, and stared at me. A vulture waiting for a dying hare to stop moving. Doc's jaw tightened, making a little popping noise. â€Å"Gladys,† Walter muttered, surfacing from his dazed sleep. â€Å"You're here.† Too nervous to speak with Brandt watching, I just patted his hand. His clouded eyes searched my face, seeing features that weren't there. â€Å"It hurts, Gladdie. It hurts a lot.† â€Å"I know,† I whispered. â€Å"Doc?† He was already there, the brandy in hand. â€Å"Open up, Walter.† The sound of the helicopter thumped quietly, far away but still much too close. Doc flinched, and a few drops of brandy splattered on my arm. It was a horrible day. The worst of my life on this planet, even including my first day in the caves and the last hot, dry day in the desert, hours from death. The helicopter circled and circled. Sometimes more than an hour would pass, and I would think it was finally over. Then the sound would come back, and I would see the Seeker's obstinate face in my head, her protruding eyes scouring the blank desert for some sign of humans. I tried to will her away, concentrating hard on my memories of the desert's featureless, colorless plain, as if I could somehow make sure she saw nothing else, as if I could bore her into leaving. Brandt never took his suspicious stare off of me. I could always feel it, though I rarely looked at him. It got a little better when Ian came back with both breakfast and lunch. He was all dirty from packing in case of an evacuation-whatever that meant. Did they have anywhere to go? Ian scowled so hard he looked like Kyle when Brandt explained in clipped phrases why he was there. Then Ian dragged another empty cot beside mine, so that he could sit in Brandt's line of sight and block his view. The helicopter, Brandt's distrustful watch, these were not really so bad. On an ordinary day-if there was really such a thing anymore-either one of these might have seemed agonizing. Today, they were nothing. By noon, Doc had given Walter the last of the brandy. It seemed like only minutes later that Walter was writhing, moaning, and gasping for breath. His fingers bruised and chafed mine, but if I ever pulled away, his moans turned to shrill screams. I ducked out once to use the latrine; Brandt followed me, which made Ian feel like he had to come, too. By the time we got back-after nearly running the whole way-Walter's screams no longer sounded human. Doc's face was hollow with echoed agony. Walter quieted after I spoke to him for a moment, letting him think his wife was near. It was an easy lie, a kind one. Brandt made little noises of irritation, but I knew that he was wrong to be upset. Nothing mattered beside Walter's pain. The whimpers and the writhing continued, though, and Brandt paced back and forth at the other end of the room, trying to be as far from the sound as possible. Jamie came looking for me, bringing food enough for four, when the light was growing orangey overhead. I wouldn't let him stay; I made Ian take him back to the kitchen to eat, made Ian promise to watch him all night so he wouldn't sneak back here. Walter couldn't help shrieking when his twisting moved his broken leg, and the sound of it was nearly unbearable. Jamie shouldn't have this night burned into his memory the way it would surely be burned into Doc's and mine. Perhaps Brandt's as well, though he did what he could to ignore Walter, plugging his ears and humming a dissonant tune. Doc did not try to distance himself from Walter's hideous suffering; instead, he suffered with him. Walter's cries carved deep lines in Doc's face, like claws raking his skin. It was strange to see such depths of compassion in a human, particularly Doc. I couldn't look at him the same way after watching him live Walter's pain. So great was his compassion, he seemed to bleed internally with it. As I watched, it became impossible to believe that Doc was a cruel person; the man simply could not be a torturer. I tried to remember what had been said to found my conjectures-had anyone made the accusation outright? I didn't think so. I must have jumped to false conclusions in my terror. I doubted I could ever mistrust Doc again after this nightmarish day. However, I would always find his hospital a horrible place. When the last of the daylight disappeared, so did the helicopter. We sat in the darkness, not daring to turn on even the dim blue light. It took a few hours before any of us would believe the hunt was over. Brandt was the first to accept it; he'd had enough of the hospital, too. â€Å"Makes sense for it to give up,† he muttered, edging out the exit. â€Å"Nothing to see at night. I'll just take your light with me, Doc, so that Jeb's pet parasite can't get up to anything, and be on my way.† Doc didn't respond, didn't even look at the sullen man as he left. â€Å"Make it stop, Gladdie, make it stop!† Walter begged me. I wiped the sweat from his face while he crushed my hand. Time seemed to slow down and stop; the black night felt unending. Walter's screams got more and more frequent, more and more excruciating. Melanie was far away, knowing she could do nothing useful. I would have hidden, too, if Walter hadn't needed me. I was all alone in my head-exactly what I had once wanted. It made me feel lost. Eventually, a dim gray light started to creep in through the high vents overhead. I was hovering on the edge of sleep, Walter's moans and screams keeping me from sinking under. I could hear Doc snoring behind me. I was glad that he'd been able to escape for a little while. I didn't hear Jared come in. I was mumbling weak assurances, barely coherent, trying to calm Walter. â€Å"I'm here, I'm here,† I murmured as he cried out his wife's name. â€Å"Shh, it's okay.† The words were meaningless. It was something to say, though, and it did seem that my voice calmed the worst of his cries. I don't know how long Jared watched me with Walter before I realized he was there. It must have been a while. I was sure his first reaction would be anger, but when I heard him speak, his voice was cool. â€Å"Doc,† he said, and I heard the cot behind me shake. â€Å"Doc, wake up.† I jerked my hand free, whirling, disoriented, to see the face that went with the unmistakable voice. His eyes were on me as he shook the sleeping man's shoulder. They were impossible to read in the dim light. His face had no expression at all. Melanie jolted into awareness. She pored over his features, trying to read the thoughts behind the mask. â€Å"Gladdie! Don't leave! Don't!† Walter's screech had Doc bolting upright, nearly capsizing his cot. I spun back to Walter, shoving my sore hand into his searching fingers. â€Å"Shhh, shhh! Walter, I'm here. I won't leave. I won't, I promise.† He quieted down, whimpering like a small child. I wiped the damp cloth over his forehead; his sob hitched and turned into a sigh. â€Å"What's that about?† Jared murmured behind me. â€Å"She's the best painkiller I've been able to find,† Doc said wearily. â€Å"Well, I've found you something better than a tame Seeker.† My stomach knotted, and Melanie hissed in my head. So stupidly, blindly stubborn! she growled. He wouldn't believe you if you told him the sun sets in the west. But Doc was beyond caring about the slight to me. â€Å"You found something!† â€Å"Morphine-there's not much. I would have gotten here sooner if the Seeker hadn't pinned me down out there.† Doc was instantly in action. I heard him rustling through something papery, and he crowed in delight. â€Å"Jared, you're the miracle man!† â€Å"Doc, just a sec†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But Doc was at my side already, his haggard face alight with anticipation. His hands were busy with a small syringe. He stuck the tiny needle into the crease at Walter's elbow, on the arm that was attached to me. I turned my face away. It seemed so horribly invasive to stab something through his skin. I couldn't argue with the results, though. Within half a minute, Walter's entire body relaxed, melting into a pile of loose flesh against the thin mattress. His breathing went from harsh and urgent to whispery and even. His hand relaxed, freeing mine. I massaged my left hand with my right, trying to bring the blood back to my fingertips. Little prickles followed the flow of blood under my skin. â€Å"Uh, Doc, there really isn't enough for that,† Jared murmured. I looked up from Walter's face, peaceful at last. Jared had his back to me, but I could see the surprise in Doc's expression. â€Å"Enough for what? I'm not going to save this for a rainy day, Jared. I'm sure we'll wish we had it again, and too soon, but I'm not going to let Walter scream in agony while I have a way to help him!† â€Å"That's not what I meant,† Jared said. He spoke the way he did when he'd already thought about something long and hard. Slow and even, like Walter's breath. Doc frowned, confused. â€Å"There's enough to stop the pain for maybe three or four days, that's all,† Jared said. â€Å"If you give it to him in doses.† I didn't understand what Jared was saying, but Doc did. â€Å"Ah,† he sighed. He turned to look at Walter again, and I saw a rim of fresh tears start to pool above his lower lids. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I wanted to know what they were talking about, but Jared's presence made me silent, brought back the reserve I rarely felt the need for anymore. â€Å"You can't save him. You can only save him pain, Doc.† â€Å"I know,† Doc said. His voice broke, like he was holding back a sob. â€Å"You're right.† What's going on? I asked. As long as Melanie was going to be around, I might as well make use of her. They're going to kill Walter, she told me matter-of-factly. There's enough morphine to give him an overdose. My gasp sounded loud in the quiet room, but it was really just a breath. I didn't look up to see how the two healthy men would react. My own tears pooled as I leaned over Walter's pillow. No, I thought, no. Not yet. No. You'd rather he died screaming? I just†¦ I can't stand the†¦ finality. It's so absolute. I'll never see my friend again. How many of your other friends have you gone back to visit, Wanderer? I've never had friends like this before. My friends on other planets were all blurred together in my head; the souls were so similar, almost interchangeable in some ways. Walter was distinctly himself. When he was gone, there would be no one who could fill his place. I cradled Walter's head in my arms and let my tears fall onto his skin. I tried to stifle my crying, but it made its way out regardless, a keening rather than sobs. I know. Another first, Melanie whispered, and there was compassion in her tone. Compassion for me-that was a first, too. â€Å"Wanda?† Doc asked. I just shook my head, not able to answer. â€Å"I think you've been here too long,† he said. I felt his hand, light and warm, on my shoulder. â€Å"You should take a break.† I shook my head again, still keening softly. â€Å"You're worn out,† he said. â€Å"Go clean up, stretch your legs. Eat something.† I glared up at him. â€Å"Will Walter be here when I get back?† I mumbled through my tears. His eyes tightened anxiously. â€Å"Do you want that?† â€Å"I'd like a chance to say goodbye. He's my friend.† He patted my arm. â€Å"I know, Wanda, I know. Me, too. I'm in no hurry. You get some air and then come back. Walter will be sleeping for a while.† I read his worn face, and I believed the sincerity there. I nodded and carefully put Walter's head back on the pillow. Maybe if I got away from this place for a little bit, I'd find a way to handle this. I wasn't sure how-I had no experience with real goodbyes. Because I was in love with him, no matter that it was unwilling, I had to look at Jared before I left. Mel wanted this, too, but wished that she could somehow exclude me from the process. He was staring at me. I had a feeling his eyes had been on me for a long time. His face was carefully composed, but there was surprise and suspicion in there again. It made me tired. What would be the point of acting out a charade now, even if I were that talented a liar? Walter would never stand up for me again. I couldn't sucker him anymore. I met Jared's gaze for one long second, then turned to hurry down the pitch-black corridor that was brighter than his expression.

Hopi Indians Essay

This ethnography will examine the way of life and the cultures and traditions of the Hopi Indians, with the primary intention of providing the reader with the information and facts that would be needed to develop a greater understanding this ethnic community, an understanding and comprehension of how another person lives, considered vital today. The Hopi Indians are an ethnic people, perhaps the descendants of the Aztecs of Mexico, and directly related to the Anasazi. This ethnic group of people lives in Northeast Arizona near the Black Mesa. These are peaceable and wise people, whose very name indicates ‘the peaceable people’. This research will examine these prejudices as well, and reach a conclusion. The misconceptions and prejudices that the author harbored before starting this research: This author was indeed a little apprehensive about choosing this group for this ethnography research, because the author had formed an opinion that these people would be completely uncivilized and perhaps unclean as well, even if he or she is well aware that these are plain prejudices and labeling exercises, brought on by years of ethnic ignorance and a lack of awareness of other peoples and their cultures. The research questions that were brought to the study at the outset: These are the questions that the author of this research brought to mind at the beginning of the ethnographic research: Who are the Hopis? What do they do? What is their culture and what are their traditions? Do they still follow these traditions, and how have they managed to survive as an ethnic group through these years, and does modern man understand them, or has modern man ever made a serious and concerted effort at understanding these people who have lived amongst the people of the rest of the world, earning their own living and managing to hold on to their age old customs and methods, including the way in which they make their jewelry, their pottery, and their agricultural methods? The Questions that enquire into the simplistic lifestyle of the Hopi Indians, and delve into a comparison of this traditional lifestyle with the newer more materialistic one of today: This author wished to ask these questions and seek answers to them through this ethnographic research on the Hopi Indians: How did the Hopis manage to survive a simplistic lifestyle such as theirs, despite the changes and diversification that took place around them? How can such a simplistic lifestyle be compared to the materialistic lifestyle of the people of today? Purpose of the Ethnography: In general, people have always been interested in this group of people, perhaps because of the numerous stories one may have heard over the years about the Aztecs and their heroic exploits. This research will perhaps provide one with answers to questions about the simple Hopi people who inhabit a part of Arizona and who follow their own culture and tradition, and who live life on their own terms, in spite of the fact that the world in which they live has been overtaken with several kinds of changes and is today truly global in every sense of the word. Why were the Hopi Indians chosen as the subject of the research: One can hope that through this research, one would be able to successfully overcome these misconceptions; pre conceived notions and prejudices and move on to become a productive and unbiased member of the increasingly globalized world of today. The uniqueness of the Hopi Indians, and its members: It was when the research on the Hopis was started that one could arrive at the realization that today there are twelve Hopi villages, each with its own village chief, who is an individual responsible for the welfare and well being of the people under him. The Hopi Indians within their villages have managed to maintain very well the balance required of them to keep up with the prevalent Euro-American culture, while at the same time never letting go of the cultures and traditions that form a part and parcel of their ethnic identity. (â€Å"Hopi Civilization† n. d) The Hopi Indians are known for their unique agricultural methods, making them some of the most well known ‘dry farmers’ of the world, even today. (â€Å"Hopi†) Discussion: At this point it is worth mentioning the interesting Hopi traditions that have fascinated man in general from the time he first started to know about them. For example, the Hopi Indians believe that man was not created, but was rather generated from the Earth, and that he emerged from the ‘sipapu’, or what is better known to us as the Grand Canyon. Although there may be certain prominent clan leaders, the number of supernatural subordinates is virtually unlimited, and these are known as ‘kachinas’. They possess supernatural powers, and in the Hopis believe in ensuring their luck by wearing amulets and charms. Although it is possible to understand their need for rituals to bring good luck, it is a unanimous opinion that it may indeed be difficult for the modern cultures of today to understand the need for superstitions and mystic religious ceremonies that the Hopis indulge in to ensure good health and luck in their daily activities. (â€Å"Hopi Indian Tribal History† 2009) For the Hopi Indians, the priest is often considered to be the ‘ideal manifestation of the balanced mentality†¦fairly typical of the Pueblo Indians (Hultkrantz, Ake) Religion plays a very important role in these so called ‘primitive’ peoples’ lives; perhaps they fear the deceased more than death in itself, and these people believed strongly in life after death. The Hopis also believe that when the body lies asleep, the soul wanders about to far away places, and perhaps even to the land of the dead, and death arrives when the wandering soul happens to be caught in the world of the dead. (Hultkrantz, Ake 1981) The Socio-Economic status of the Hopi Indians: It is indeed fascinating that the Hopi people earned their own money, prompting one to wonder what their value system for money was. This was the reason why a decision was made to ask them these questions: what, according to the Hopis, constituted ‘earning’, and how did they earn their money? It was possible to find out that the Hopis today are more modern than one could fairly expect them to be, and while some of them were Doctors, some were architects, some teachers, and some others were potters and jewelry makers. Traditionally, though, the Hopi Indians have developed a culture that is based on hunting and gathering, and later, horticulture. All the various aspects of their culture, including their religion, their social customs and tradition, and their occupations are interwoven with each other, and this in essence would describe the value these people have for money in general. In my opinion, since money is an integral part of their culture, the Hopis do not have any special attachment to money nor do they value it as the rest of the world may do, unless they have managed to transcend their boundaries and attain a different socio economic status, like for instance earning a degree in a university and going on to become a Doctor. (Dutton, Bertha, Pauline 1983) Most of Hopi life revolves around agriculture, and one could read this statement several times during this research: â€Å"The Hopi way of life is the corn: humility, cooperation, respect, and universal earth stewardship. † (â€Å"Hopi Traditional Knowledge†) Nevertheless, when one mentions the word ‘Hopi Indian’ one automatically visualizes the exquisite pottery and jewelry that these people are able to produce, and when one understands that these crafts have been carried down from on generation to the next, one cannot help but be amazed and astonished at the tenacity of the culture and tradition of these ethnic Indian people. (â€Å"Contemporary Hopi Arts and Crafts†) Research Methods: Primary Sources: In this section the author of this research will detail the interview questions that were used in gathering the data that were required for this project. This author was able to interview Mr. ABC (a member of the Hopi Indian community who is now a teacher and who is married to an American and who lives with his family in the center of town, but still keeps in touch with his family members of the Hopi community) 1. Could you describe the ancestry of the Hopi Indian community for me, please? 2. How did your people settle down in Northeast Arizona near the Black Mesa? Was there a reason, or did it simply happen? 3. Do you and your people still follow any of the old traditions in your community? How do you manage to uphold the traditions that form a part and parcel of your identity as an ethnic group? 4. Do you believe in the integration of the old and the new? How have the Hopi Indians managed to integrate the modern day customs with their older ones? Has this integration been successful at all? 5. Do you feel that other people do not and have never made any attempt to understand your traditions and your culture? Do you feel that it is important, especially in today’s environment for other people to gain an understanding into your traditions and your way of life? 6. What do the Hopi Indians feel about their socio economic status today? 7. What, in the opinion of Hopis, is the value of money? How do the Hopis earn money, and do they place any importance or value on earning more than the neighbor as the others do, or are they content with what they are able to earn doing their chosen jobs? In addition, these sites were referred to for extensive information and reference on the Hopi Indians: Hultkrantz, Ake â€Å"The Religions of the American Indians (1981) Google Book Search Retrieved April 18, 2009 from: This book was examined for firsthand information on the Hopi Indians and their lifestyles Dutton, Bertha, Pauline â€Å"American Indians of the Southwest† (1983) Google Book Search Retrieved April 18, 2009 from: < http://books. google. co. in/books? id=ju-zrFKL4SIC&pg=PA14&dq=hopi+pueblo+indians > This research was examined for firsthand information on the Hopi Indians and their lifestyles â€Å"Contemporary Hopi Arts and Crafts† The Hopi Cultural Preservation Office (1997) Retrieved April 18, 2009 from: < http://www. nau. edu/~hcpo-p/arts/index. html > This research was examined for information on the Hopi Indians and their crafts Hopi Traditional Knowledge† The Hopi Cultural Preservation Office (1997) Retrieved April 18, 2009 from:

A Poem from Aeon Entelechy Evangelion by Earthscorpion

Many a star must have been there for you so you might feel it. A wave lifted towards you out of the past, or, as you walked past an open window, a violin gave of itself. All this was their mission. But could you handle it? Were you not always, still, distracted by expectation, as if all you experienced, like a Beloved, came near to you? (Where could you contain her, with all the vast strange thoughts in you going in and out, and often staying the night. ) But if you are yearning, then sing the lovers: for long heir notorious feelings have not been immortal enough. Those, you almost envied them, the forsaken, that you found as loving as those who were satisfied. Begin, always as new, the unattainable praising: think: the hero prolongs himself, even his falling was only a pretext for being, his latest rebirth. But lovers are taken back by exhausted Nature into herself, as if there were not the power to make them again. Have you remembered Gastara Stampa sufficiently yet, that any girl, whose lover has gone, might feel from that intenser example of love: Could I only become like her? Should not these ancient sufferings be finally fruitful for us? Isnt it time that, loving, we freed ourselves from the beloved, and, trembling, endured as the arrow endures the bow, so as to be, in its flight, something more than itself? For staying is nowhere. Voices, voices. Hear then, my heart, as only saints have heard: so that the mighty call raised them from the earth: they, though, knelt on impossibly and paid no attention: such was their listening. Not that you could withstand Gods voice: far from it. But listen to the breath, the unbroken message that creates itself from the silence. It rushes towards you now, from those youthfully dead. Whenever you entered, didnt their fate speak to you, quietly, in churches in Naples or Rome? Or else an inscription exaltedly impressed itself on you, as lately the tablet in Santa Maria Formosa. What do they will of me? That I should gently remove the semblance of injustice, that slightly, at times, hinders their spirits from a pure moving-on. It is truly strange to no longer inhabit the earth, to no longer practice customs barely acquired, not to give a meaning of human futurity to roses, and other expressly promising things: o longer to be what one was in endlessly anxious hands, and to set aside even ones own proper name like a broken plaything. Strange: not to go on wishing ones wishes. Strange to see all that was once in place, floating so loosely in space. And its hard being dead, and full of retrieval, before one gradually feels a little eternity. Though the living all make the error of drawing too sharp a distinction. Angels (they say) would often not know whether they moved among living or dead. The eternal current sweeps all the ages, within it, through both the spheres, forever, and resounds above them in both.Finally they have no more need of us, the early-departed, weaned gently from earthly things, as one outgrows the mothers mild breast. But we, needing such great secrets, for whom sadness is often the source of a blessed progress, could we exist without them? Is it a meaningless story how once, in the grieving for Linos, first music ventured to penetrate arid rigidity, so that, in startled space, which an almost godlike youth suddenly left forever, the emptiness first felt the quivering that now enraptures us, and comforts, and helps.

Issues in Educational Research Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Issues in Educational Research - Article Example The coded information included the source, respondent, episode any other information that was emerging. Sorting out, which was the second stage involved using the unitized data in identification of learning areas and relating them to the components of learning. The third stage of analysis sorted out the components of learning into the learning categories that had been predetermined. During the analysis enabled establishment of the key identified areas used for learning in the science and mathematics sector. The in-depth analysis procedures were adequate in that they gave an avenue through which knowledge construction of the pre-service teachers could now be understood in a better way (Johnson&Christensen, 2011). The adequacy of study results The study results were adequately equipped. This is because; the results indicated the numerous elements that were interacting in the environment that this study was conducted. The results gave the required insights on how the system functions an d how it affects learning of science and mathematics in elementary schools for the pre-service teachers. The results provided the most active and influential elements in the learners system cohort. The methods of improving learning methods were also established in the study results which were the most important factor for the study. Learning venues like incorporating models in learning process, the use of reflection before, during and even after teaching and incorporating collaborative learning are a good strategy for learning mathematics and sciences in elementary schools. More so, predetermined methods for both teaching and learning experiences were defined like learning from children, teachers, instructors and course methods, self and peers. Therefore, the... This paper makes a conclusion that going through this study, we have acquired the basic knowledge that is required for elementary school pre-service teachers for better teaching and learning of science and mathematics in elementary schools.The issues that are unexpected during the process of research may came up and proper measures should be put in place in case of such an event. The report approves that the study has also given me an insight on the proper ways of carry out data collection procedures. Through this study, I have established that primary sources are very reliable methods of collecting data. This is because, from the study, the institution contributed to the insights that have been projected out from the study. The results are reliable due to the active involvement of the correct participants. According to the paper the study has also enabled my understanding of the appropriate data analysis procedures in the process of carrying out any educational research. Data analysis methods contribute to effective results hence proper recommendations for any educational research. Teaching elementary school teachers who are specializing in mathematics and science for elementary schools has been enhanced through this study. This is because, while preparing students for elementary schools, it will be possible to apply the recommended strategies to these future elementary teachers. This means that better pre-service teachers in the area of mathematics and science for elementary schools will be produced.

International management for china Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8250 words

International management for china - Essay Example The intention of this study is marketing as â€Å"the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas and goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organisational objectives† while according to Ambler & Xiucun marketing makes a fundamental contribution to long-term business success because a firm’s survival depends on its capacity to create value, and value is defined by customers. Marketing is thus an activity that involves negotiations and considers how to influence and carry out negotiations in order to facilitate exchange. According to Hofstede too it is essential to understand the differences and similarities between cultures which would enable the decision maker to do business with a given culture. In recent times, however, the global market concept has emerged which is characterized by general business practices and standardized consumer preferences. This would imply that the key to success rests in the firm’s ability to standardize the product offerings. It also implies that cross-cultural or cross-national markets cease to exist. However, the experience of the international retailers differs from this. Retailers have a long history of opening branch outlets across national boundaries. Substantial operation in international sector by retailers is only a recent phenomenon. Structural changes took place in retail sales which led to increases in the sales of the large firms and decline of the small firms. The growth of the large firms was also due to expansion in international markets.

An Absence of Expectations About Dr. Johnson's Normal Life Case Study

An Absence of Expectations About Dr. Johnson's Normal Life - Case Study Example There are only a few scenes involving session. Therapy sessions involved the therapist played by Liv Tyler and Fineman played by Sandler. However, a trained observer will have a host of clinical observations about Fineman throughout the movie, and consequently, there are multiple clinical observations. Dr Fineman used to live in a large settlement with his wife and three daughters. He left it and his established dental practice and embraced a lonely world of his own, drifting away from the regular and boring life of similar dentists such as his roommate Dr Johnson. He now wanders alone in his scooter on the roads of the city and has been noticed by his close friend, a dentist, and old college roommate Dr Johnson. This all occurred to him following the 9/11 catastrophe to his family. Initially, he fails to recognize his friend but after a few encounters, the old memories re-emerge, and he was able to recognize his friend. He has regressed to a state of denial, where he keeps himself b usy with many other things other than dentistry, which are old Mel Brooks movies late night, video games, music, and musical instruments. He gets so excited about the memories of his family that he avoids social contacts which haunt him to remember his past days get back there like all others, and this was perhaps one of the reasons that he allowed Dr Johnson, his former roommate to come closer. He was seeing Dr Johnson about 15 years after their college days, and Dr Johnson never knew his wife and children since they lost touch early on.

Business research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Business research - Essay Example The paper will be inclusive of various presentation slides that will summarize the findings and the methods employed in coming up with those findings. Finally, the paper will discuss the ethical considerations in the research and limitations and recommendations for further studies to be done to verify data for the next years. Research Questions The study will first outline the background of arriving at the research question formulated. The study will attempt to answer the following questions: What is the music taste of the University of East London? What factors determine those tastes? Hypothesis Different musical tastes are observed in a university environment as a result of different mix of culture and gender (Bryman 2007). Methodology For there to be accuracy in this study, there was a need to hear out the views of various individuals regarding their taste in music genres. The assumption, as stipulated in the hypothesis was that all the students had different types of music genre they listen. The researcher conducted a small scale investigation due to the limitations and constraints created by time (Collis and Hussey 2009). A British study conducted by Bourdieu retrieved both qualitative and quantitative information hence provided a base for future research, this one included. In order to add to these findings, this study will include interviews from groups of students from the universities, ranging from different points of views (Munn and Drever 2004). Focus was put into three groups. These include undergraduates and the post graduates and staffs of the university. There three groups would be represented by about five individuals. The five individual comprised of two females and three males. The groups comprised of at least three different races. The aim here is also to analyze if the factors relating to race, social class and gender influenced the tastes of music. The age group interviewed ranged from 18-35. Questionnaires were distributed to various group s formed as a result of sampling (Srivastava 2011). This method of collecting data was approved since it gave the respondents the confidentiality they asked for in answering the questions. Three groups were targeted. The questionnaire was formulated in such a way that the respondents described the type of music genres they were interested. The questionnaire also contained a description part where they would describe what drives them to love certain types of music appendices (Knight 2002). Sampling The researcher adopted the snowball sampling in order to be able to convince unknown people to participate in the study. According to Bryman (2008), snowball sampling entails the researcher making contacts with a given group of people he or she describes or finds to be relevant to the subject study. The researcher then uses these groups to establish or reach other individuals. I used some of the students I was sharing classes with to reach other. I also approached some of the lecturer I de alt with to establish contacts with others. Some of the students introduced me to the staff where I gathered a number of them who said their views or opinions (Collis and Hussey 2009). Results The music type that was highly rated included techno, rock and pop. Most of the females in the university advocated for rock and pop and blues while most males went for techno, rock and hip hop. Most of the males also favored Christian

Per3 Gene and Diurnal Preference Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Per3 Gene and Diurnal Preference - Lab Report Example The forward and reverse primers were chosen for PER3 gene and they were added to the PCR tubes along with crude DNA, polymerase buffer, Taq polymerase and DNTPs.   Forward and reverse primers are chosen based on the sequence of the PER3 gene. The primers must have the unique sequence region of each gene that is not present in any other gene.   The chance for primer – dimer formation is high because of many reasons. The annealing temperature may not be correct or the template may not be proper or the DNA may have contaminants. To prevent the primer – dimer formation, the above points must be taken care off. DNA polymerase buffer helps to increase the dNTPs binding with the DNA template. Taq polymerase enzyme polymerizes double stranded DNA formation. It acts as the catalyst for the amplification reaction.The master mix was prepared according to the instructions. The tubes were then placed in the PCR and the amplification was performed. To check the success of PCR amp lification, the amplified PCR product was run in the agarose gel electrophoresis. 1.2% agarose gel was preared and casted in the casting tray. The electrophoresis box was filled with the electrophoresis running buffer and the DNA products were loaded in the gel with the loading dye. DNA ladder was loaded in the first lane and the samples in the other lanes. The positive control was a readily avalilable one and the negative control was distilled water. The postive control enables us to make sure that the separation of the DNA bands.

House of Tata Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

House of Tata - Case Study Example The license raj along with the dominating factor of the red tapes brought into effect significant amount of impact in regards to the irreparable financial bleeding of the business houses and entities. A lot many barriers also emerged in the business scene because of the tremendous opposition from various political parties. With the opening of the Indian economy, foreign direct investment was allowed to flow into the country. With the removal of various government based restrictions, varying amount of investments by the private and family held organizations was allowed in multiple sectors all over the country. It is of high relevance to highlight that the opening up of the economy in regards to foreign and private investments in various sectors promoted a significant amount of business opportunities. It is of high importance to mention that the diverse range of companies that were held together under the highly efficient leadership of JRD Tata has always moved forward and operated in a decentralized structure in regards to tackling the daily business operations. Because of the power of decentralization promoted by the leader JRD Tata himself, the independent set of companies which are centrally owned by the Tatas focused on capitalizing on the various growth opportunities provided by the opening up of the Indian economy. ... A presence of a single brand would have helped the India’s most popular corporate house to significantly communicate a unified set of value offerings for the company to the markets of India as well as around the world. Talking in regards to the value additions that might have happened in regards to the development of a single corporate brand, it needs to be mentioned that because of the ownership of multiple companies, the Tatas needed a strong and single line of communication that will communicate the brand’s superiority to the others. While in the past, the presence of JRD Tata helped in communicating the values of the group in a central manner, in the recently changing times, a single corporate brand will solve the purpose. Talking in regards to the positives, associated with the formation of a brand, it needs to be highlighted that the single corporate brand based identity will act as a pillar of strength and communication for all the associated companies of the Tat as. Also, it will help in communicating the brand values of the Tatas in the open markets in comparison to other rival brands. Talking in the lines of negativity, it needs to be maintained that the companies will have to stick the code of ethics and values promoted by the entire group. Non failure to address the values promoted will lead to tampering of the entire brand image for the corporate house. 1b. Building of equity interlocks among the Tata companies It is of utmost importance to mention that the Tata group of companies has ownership for multiple companies. Because of the leadership style practiced by JRD Tata, who was credited as the senior most commander of the group before Ratan

Marketing Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Assignment - Essay Example Successful differentiation gives the firm a competitive advantage as customers will look at the products as superior and unique and can be achieved in various ways. This paper will first detail eight ways to differentiate product offerings, and then concentrate on packaging the product in a more creative manner and incorporating new functional features into the product or product innovation. Strategies for Product Differentiation One way to differentiate products is via product innovation by adding functions or features into a product and commanding a higher price (Trout & Rivkin, 2012: p 34). These features can be added through acquiring or licensing complementary feature sets or by using the firm’s in-house team for product development. Another way to differentiating products is through packaging. At times, all it takes to differentiate or re-energize a product is via changing the packaging. This was very effective when it was used in collaboration with another product and d elivered in an innovative manner. While this method does not have enough value to change a consumer’s life, the manner of packaging offers more convenience allowing them to charge more (Trout & Rivkin, 2012: p 45). A firm could also pursue other market niches in areas that are unsophisticated (Trout & Rivkin, 2012: p 67). ... Yet another product differentiation strategy is via the generation of referrals. A firm, in this case, helps to cultivate referrals and create sales models around the type of selling that are consultative while being less confrontational (Trout & Rivkin, 2012: p 76). In a competitive market, prospects referred by happy customers will be inclined to buy products. This can be achieved by offering incentives to current customers in the hope they will send referrals. Other firms will offer increased service as a means of product differentiation. They combine superior service with a commodity product that helps to differentiate this commodity. Through re-defining their service, the firm, redefines the playing field and offers a home-court advantage since other competitors do not use this combination while they charge a premium for the product. Another strategy is via figuring out what they can guarantee. Since the firm has to deliver on expectations from the client or refund them, they wi ll offer an upfront guarantee (Trout & Rivkin, 2012: p 87). A firm could guarantee their clients that their prices are the best, and offer to refund their money if they find cheaper items of the same quality elsewhere. Since the customer has not time to compare prices, they will buy this product because the price is guaranteed to be the lowest. Firms could also collaborate with complementary service or product providers when their product does not stand by itself as a unique offering. Both entities benefit from this arrangement, for instance, the HBO’s partnerships with motels to show their movies allows HBO to have exclusive viewership in these motels while the motels benefit from showing exclusive movies. Finally, a firm could also employ their hidden assets as a

Independence of the judiciary in Australia Essay Example for Free

Independence of the judiciary in Australia Essay To understand the expression the independence of the judiciary you first must understand what is meant my judiciary. The judicature is: The judicial power of the commonwealth shall be vested in a Federal Supreme Court, to be called the High Court of Australia, and in such other federal courts as the Parliament creates, and in such other courts as it invests with federal jurisdiction. The High Court shall consist of a chief justice and so many other justices, not less than two, as the Parliament describes. Using this definition contained in the Australian Constitution, the expression the independence of the judiciary to my understanding refers only to independence in making decisions in court cases. It means that in making such decisions a judge must be individually independent and free from pressures which could influence a judge in reaching a decision in a case other then by intellect and conscience based on a genuine assessment of the evidence and an honest application of the law . The independence of the judiciary also incorporates that the judiciary is totally isolated from the other branches of the government these branches being the executive and legislative arms which make up the separation of powers as outlined in the Australian Constitution. Judicial independence is of the utmost importance to our judicial system, and to our system of government, because without judicial independence they become useless institutions. The importance of an independent judiciary is to maintain the rule of law, the rule of law being the principle that no member of society is above the law, every member of society is bound by the law, and everyone is equal before the law. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) states the fundamental rights that every human being is entitled to and includes rights referred to in the section, Procedural Guarantees in Civil and Criminal Trials . Article 14 (1) states:All persons shall be equal before the courts and tribunals. In the determination of any criminal charge against him, or of his rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial  tribunal established by lawThe appointment of a judicial branch of government, as outlined in the Australian Constitution and the guarantee that it is completely separate and independent of the other branches, represents the main way by which most states seek to adhere with the principles contained in the previously stated provision of the ICCPR. As Sir Anthony Mason said:The separation of judicial power is not only protection against the exercise of arbitrary power, but it also assists in maintaining the independence of the judiciary and contributes to public confidence in the administration of justice. This statement highlights the importance in ensuring that the judicial power remains separate to ensure that the public can have confidence in the application of the judicial process. Public perception of judicial impartiality is the essence of judicial independence. The independence of the judiciary can be threatened in Australia because total separation of the judicial power is near impossible in the real world. In many countries, including Australia, the Executive Government appoints judges and. this may be seen to threaten the independence of the judiciary. The executive can affect the judicial through the manner in which it seeks to exercise its power of judicial appointments. By exercising this power the executive can shape the future directions in judicial interpretation, especially by a court which has the task of constitutional interpretation, such as the High Court of Australia. This was seen in the request of Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer for appointment of Capital C conservative judges in the wake of the Wik decision. The Constitution says that the separation of power is divided between the three arms of government so there can be a system of checks and balances in place to ensure the power of the other two is being exercised in accordance with their outlined role. But can we really have a complete separation of power, when the Prime Minister works within the Executive and Judicial arms of government. However the independence of the judiciary is put to the test when it comes to judges being guided by their understanding of the law, the facts of the case and the pull of conscience to a judgement which is opposed to what the other branches of the government may want. As Kirby CJ highlighted the High Court of Australia has on a number of occasions, over the past 100 years upheld the Constitution and has made judgements which have gone against the principles of the elected Governments and Parliaments. In 1948 it struck down the nationalisation of the private banks . In 1951, it declared unconstitutional an attempt to dissolve the communist party and to deprive communists of basic rights . In 1992 it overturned much earlier law to uphold the rights of Australias indigenous people in their land . In 1996 it held that such rights were not necessarily extinguished by the grant of pastoral leases which cover about half of the land of the Australian continent . These court decisions show that judicial independence has not been threatened in Australia over the last 100 years. The above decisions would be highly unlikely in a country where judicial independence was not guaranteed by the letter of the Constitution. A Privy Council case which dealt with separation of arbitrary and judicial powers was the Boilmakers Case (1956) . The High Court held that it was unconstitutional for the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration to be vested with both arbitral and judicial powers because of the acceptance in the Constitution of the separation of legislative and judicial powers . As a result, the Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 was amended to establish two separate bodies. From 15 August 1955 to 2 March 1956 a Full Court of the High Court of Australia, heard an application by the Boilermakers Society for a writ of prohibition on the grounds that the exercise of the earlier orders was . . . contrary and repugnant to the provisions of the Constitution of the Commonwealth and, in particular, Chap. III thereof.The application was  upheld by a majority of the Court. The decision was also affirmed in an appeal to the Privy Council. This case set a precedent that the Parliament cannot invest Ch III courts and/or judges with non-judicial power, which further instates that independence of the judiciary within Australia. A further Case which also highlights that the independence of the judiciary is not threatened in Australia is the case Brandy v Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) [1995] . This case reinforced that the HREOC was not originally given the power or authority to enforce its judgements, as it was not a court in accordance with Ch III of the Australian Constitution. If the judgement was to be legally enforced upon the respondent then the matter would have to be heard in the Federal Court. The court held that it was an invalid exercise of judicial powers by the HREOC, which highlights that the independence of the judiciary is being upheld within Australia. Sir Ninian Stephen observed that an independent judiciary, although formidable protector of individual liberty is at the same time a very venerable institution, a fragile bastion indeed . In 1989 he was of the view that judicial independence was still flourishing in Australia. A year later, Sir Daryl Dawson was confident that it was alive and well. Judicial independence does not mean that judges are not accountable for their decisions and judgements. Judges are just as accountable as the executive and legislative arms of government just in a different way. This was highlighted in a paper prepared in 1998 for the New South Wales Parliament on Judicial Accountability, the author noted that Australia has important procedures operating to make the judiciary accountable to the community, these procedures are informal measures; judges are obliged to hear argument from both parties; judges are obliged to conduct hearings in public, which makes them more accountable; judges must give reasons fortheir decisions; and their judgements are subject to appeal. There are a number of ways in which the independence of the judiciary is maintained within Australia. These include, most significantly, the provisions in the Australian Constitution guaranteeing security of tenure and fixed remuneration for federal judges and magistrates. Chapter III of the Constitution outlines in s72 that:(i)shall be appointed by the Governor- General in Council;(ii)Shall not be removed except by the Governor- General in Council on an address from both Houses of the Parliament in the same session, praying for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. (iii)Shall receive such remuneration as the parliament may fix; but the remuneration shall not be dismissed during their continuance in office. These protections are intended to ensure members of the judiciary may carry out their functions without fear or favour, in accordance with their oath of office. To further cement its independence in relation to the Government and in relation to Parliament S 71 of the Constitution which states shall be vested means that the High Court cannot be eliminated by Parliament. Section 72(ii) means that the Government cannot remove a judge except by persuading Parliament that there is proved misbehaviour or incapacity. Section 72(iii) is to make sure that the Government or Parliament cannot punish a judge financially for decisions it does not like. The independence of the judiciary is necessary to the rule of law, to ensure that the Government itself acts in accordance with the law. For the Independence of the judiciary to remain strong within Australia public confidence is essential. It is important that the judiciary be, and be seen to be independent. From the cases above and decisions made by the High Court it can be seen that judicial independence is still flourishing  within Australia and will continue to flourish if the judiciary can secure and preserve the confidence of the public. Bibiliography 1. Journal Articles/Books/ReportsBooks-Elizabeth Ellis, Principles and Practice of Australian Law (2nd Edition 2009)-Enid Campbell and H.P Lee, The Australian Judiciary-Christopher Enright, Federal Administrative Law2. Cases:- R v Kirby; Ex parte Boilermakers Society of Australia (1955-56) 94 CLR 254- Wik Peoples v Queensland (1996) 187 CLR 1- Bank of New South Wales v The Commonwealth (1948) 76 CLR 1- Australian Communist Party v The Commonwealth (1951) 83 CLR 1- Mabo v Queensland [No 2] (1992) 175 CLR 1- Brandy v HREOC [1995] 183 CLR 245; 127 ALR 13. Legislation:- International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Art 14- The Australian Constitution4. Other- John Kilcillen, The Australian constitution: First Reading Macquarie University 2004- Kirby, Michael Justice, International Bar Association Human Rights Institute, Independence of the Judiciary 12-14th June 1998- A Lamer, The Rule of Law and Judicial Independence: Protecting Core Values in Times of Change (1996) 25 Monash University Law Review 209- General Jeffer Michael, The Opening of the Judicial Conference of Australia Colloquium, 6th October 2006

Culture debasing Essay Example for Free

Culture debasing Essay The mass media is constantly around us, through newspapers and magazines, the internet, television and film etc. these are used by us everyday in our spare time and academic work. So are we influenced by this form of secondary socialisation in our lives to create a mass culture? And does this mass culture debase ordinary culture? In this essay I will use secondary research and my own opinion to answer this question. The media itself plays a big part in creating images through the way they report and advertise consumer products and moral panics. I feel that the type of media presentation demonstrated influences different subcultures into believing that what they are seeing is true, hence the change in their attitudes to different topics, music and fashion. Especially young people today can be nai ve and believe everything they see or hear on television or the internet, which could cause primary socialisation to change for the children, because of these views. This mass culture, I believe could destroy and make an ordinary culture into extinction through too much influence of babble and consumer products on television. Although you could ask what is ordinary and normal? Normal does not have a clear definition; as no one is completely normal, but ordinary seems to be defined as routine or customary, so an ordinary culture is considered the norm way of living. So what is mass culture? An extra- ordinary way people live, or is it a negative perception of some peoples choice of life? By using the textbook seventh edition Sociology Themes and Perspectives. I found that the development of the media was debasing the culture of ordinary people, which could cause problems for western societies. This comment could back up my opinion of a negative effect of media through a mass culture which could destroy the traditional thoughts and practices of western life. Dwight Macdonald had a theory about mass culture. He claimed that mass culture was very different from high culture and folk art. He states that mass culture is standardized and a commercial kitsch (popular culture which could be considered worthless) used by business to create a profit. This shows that Macdonald as well as I believe that mass culture is kitsch- worthless babble used to sell products, which also influences or brainwashes people into believing that anything merchandised is right or sick as teenagers of today say. Dwight also stated that mass culture takes less mental effort and that it tended to undermine high culture. So basically he is saying that mass culture is maybe for a different class of person.

Ebola Virus Symptoms and Diagnosis Methods

Ebola Virus Symptoms and Diagnosis Methods 1.1 Introduction to Ebola Virus Ebola virus is a combative pathogen that causes a fatal hemorrhagic fever syndrome in humans and animals, which was first identified near the Ebola River Valley in Zaire, Africa, in 1976 (Sullivan, Yang and Nabel, 2003). The Marburg virus and the Ebola virus formed the family Filoviridae (Peters, 2005). The outbreak of Ebola fever in 2014 is in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone which has affected the entire country; also in Kayes- Mali; Madrid-Spain; Dallas, Texas, New York City- United States without wide spread transmission and countries with no current transmission are Nigeria and Senegal (Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, 2014c). The general mortality rate of Ebola hemorrhagic fever is 57% 90% (McElory et al., 2014). Mortality rate in pregnant women is 95.5%, which is not outstanding the overall death toll (Mupapa et al., 1999). The number of cases reported in multiple countries are as follows 1976- 603, 1995-315 and in 2014(March)-5481 (Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, 2014c). The virus is transmitted through direct physical contact (WHO, 2014). Ebola fever remains an epidemic for the people of equatorial Africa, with an increase in the cases of outbreak since 2000 (Feldman and Geisbert, 2010). History of Ebola Virus The illness caused by a negative stranded RNA virus is known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Pourrut et al., 2005). It is an acute and serious illness and can be fatal if untreated (WHO, 2014). The Ebola virus is aboriginal to East Africa and belongs to the Filoviridae family (Chippaux, 2014) .Ebola virus disease first appeared in Nzara, Sudan and in Yumbuku, Democratic Republic of Congo, simultaneously (WHO, 2014). It was in the year 1976 and the disease got its name because it occurred in a village near the Ebola River (WHO, 2014). Since the time of outbreak of the disease, the mortality rates ranges from 50% to 90% in Africa (Sullivan, Yang, Nabel, 2003). The first outbreak in Sudan caused infection to over 284 people, with a mortality rate of 53% (Waterman, 1999). Figure 1: illustrates the historical view of the outbreak (Pourrut et al., 2005). Figure 1: Human EBOV outbreaks in Africa (Pourrut et al., 2005). Throughout 1994 to 1996, not less than five individualistic active sites of Ebola virus transmission were recognised: Cote d’lovire in 1994, Democratic Republic of Congo in 1995 and Gabbon in 1994, 1995, 1996 and furthermore the sites were found in or near tropical forests (Peters and Peters, 1999). The 2014 Ebola outbreak is the first outbreak in West Africa and the largest outbreak in the history of the disease, with a total case count rate of 6263 and a total death of 2917 ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014d). The first human case to be diagnosed in Africa was a female Swiss entomologist who became ill few days later, autopsying a chimpanzee dead in Tai National Park, situated in the ivory coast and this took place during the period of 1994 (Pourrut et al., 2005). Characteristics of Ebola Virus The Ebola virus is a thread like, single stranded RNA virus with an uncommon, inconstant length and a branched histology (Paustain, 2013). When Ebola virus nucleoprotein (NP) enters mammalian cells it congregates into helical structures (Noda et al., 2010). The nucleoprotein which is a recombinant is correlated with non-viral RNA (Noda et al., 2010). The complete set of genes or genetic material present in the Ebola is 19 kb long and has seven reading frames (Sullivan, Yang and Nabel, 2003).The frames conceal structural proteins including the virioa envelope glycoprotein (GP), nucleoprotein (NP) and matrix proteins VP24 and VP40 and also non structural proteins, including VP30 and VP35 and the viral polymerase (Sullivan, Yang and Nabel, 2003). A soluble 60 to 70-K Da protein (s GP) and a full- length 150 to 70 K Da protein (GP) are two genes produced by the open reading frame of the Ebola virus and these proteins insert into the viral membrane through transcriptional editing (Sulliva n, Yang and Nabel, 2003). Figure 2: demonstrates the crystal structure of the Ebola virus. Figure 2: The crystal structure of an Ebola virus GP which reveals a three lobed chalice like structure. The three GP1 subunits mediate attachment to new host cells and are tethered together by the three GP2 subunits (Lee et al., 2008). Immunohistochemistry and Electron microscopic analysis revealed that endothelial cells, mononuclear phagocytes and hepatocytes are major targets of infection (Zaki et al., 1999) .The virus is carried by animals and is transmitted to humans, this spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission (WHO, 2014). Handling of ill or dead chimpanzees can also be a cause for the transmission of the virus, among humans Ebola can be transmitted by contact with infected bodily fluids, blood secretions or tissues (Jaax et al., 1995). Symptoms of Ebola Virus Disease When the Ebola virus enters the mammalian cells and infects a person, symptoms start to show between 2 to 21 days, or usually appear after 5 to 7 days after infection (NHS Choices, 2014). It begins with a fever accompanied by severe headache, joint pains, muscle pain, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chills, low back pain and fatigue (National Library of Medicine, 2013). These symptoms are shown between the incubation period of the virus (National Library of Medicine, 2013). Unfortunately, primary symptoms of Ebola virus disease are nonspecific (Willey, 2014). Patients may develop other serious symptoms, as the disease progress and signs such as eye redness, rash, hiccups, cough, chest pain, internal and external body bleeding (for example: mucosal surfaces) and difficulty in breathing and swallowing (Willey, 2014). There can also be signs and symptoms of coma, disseminated intravascular coagulation and shock (National Library of Medicine, 2013). Diagnosis Methods for Ebola Virus Disease The infection, caused by Ebola in the out breaks are confirmed by diverse laboratory diagnostic methods (Saijo, et al., 2006). The Ebola fever is difficult to be diagnosed, as the early symptoms and signs are similar to other diseases such as typhoid and malaria, but if the doctor suspects they use blood samples to identify the virus, including Enzyme- linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) and Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (Mayo clinic, 2014). Currently only the geographic origin of the specimen may give some identification as to recognize the virus involved (Pattyn, 2014). Laboratory tests used in diagnosis include virus isolation which is done within few days after the symptoms begin, later in the disease course or after recovery the test of antibodies IgM and IgG is done and retrospectively in decreased patient’s immunohistochemistry, PCR and virus isolation are performed (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014a). Ebola virus is classified as Risk Group 4 which needs safety methods of diagnosis (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2014). Blood specimens are generally used to distinguish specific antigens or genes of the virus (Pozos, 2014). One of the methods used to detect Ebola is through Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and in this method some doubted Ebola virus undergoes replication and the results are analyzed using electrophoresis (Pozos, 2014).Test done to diagnose the fever also include liver function test, test of how well the blood clots and C.B.C (The New York Times, 2014). Treatment Methods for Ebola Virus Disease Ebola virus fever has no known cure and antiviral medicines do not work well against the disease (The New York Times, 2014). Brincidofovir, the modified version of the drug Cidofovir inhabits replication of DNA viruses and this drug is used to treat Ebola patients (Rancaniello, 2014). In most cases the patient is hospitalized and will ostensibly need intensive care (The New York Times, 2014). The treatment given for a patient deteriorating from shock includes medication and fluids given intravenously (Pozo, 2014). The chance of survival can be significantly improved if the following basic involvements are used at the start: providing intravenous fluids and balancing body salts, maintaining the oxygen levels and treating other infections if they occur (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014b). An experimental treatment, known as ZMapp which is a combination of three antibodies can be tried, even though it has not yet been experimented on humans for effectiveness (NHS Choices, 2014). If they have bleeding problems he or she might require transfusion of platelets or blood (National Library of Medicine, 2013). Oxygen therapies and pain medications can be given to ease the pain (Kivi, 2012). Supportive treatment methods for Ebola Virus Disease also include medications to control fever, help the blood clot, to control blood pressure and antibiotics to prevent secondary infections from bacteria (Clinaero, 2014). Conclusion The deadly Ebola virus is killing thousands of naive people worldwide. No known successful treatment is found for cure. Filoviruses, Arenaviruses, Flaviruses and Bunyaviruses are the viruses responsible for causing viral hemorrhagic fever including Ebola which starts from mild symptoms to death. The Ebola virus spreads through the blood and replicates in organs including the liver, lymphatic organs kidneys ovaries and testes .Prevention is only option for the moment. First step of prevention is the spread of knowledge worldwide about the Ebola virus and its efficiency. In order to eradicate the disease the chain of infection can be identified and comprehended as well as further research can be conducted and a particular medicine can be found to cure the disease. Isolating the patient, practice of cautious hygiene and avoiding coming in contact with body fluids can reduce the spread of the disease. In conclusion, one has seen the facts of Ebola hemorrhagic fever as dreadful and grueso me as they are, but instead a more comprehensive approach is required which must include a global perspective and improved healthcare acquired from socioeconomic betterment is vital, which would protect the individual as well as those around the world. Reference List Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014a). Diagnosis of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever CDC. [Online] Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/diagnosis/index.html (Accessed: 10 October 2014). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014b). Treatment of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever CDC. [Online] Cdc.gov. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/treatment/index.html (Accessed: 10 October 2014). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014c). Outbreaks Chronology: Ebola Virus Disease CDC. [Online] Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/history/chronology.html (Accessed: 1 November 2014). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014d). Ebola Outbreak in West Africa,CDC [Online] Cdc.gov. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/index.htmL (Accessed: 1 November 2014). Clinaero, I. (2014). Ebola Treatment. [Online] ‘Health Information Brought To Life’. Available at: http://ebola.emedtv.com/ebola/ebola-treatment.html (Accessed: 10 October 2014). Chippaux, J. (2014). ‘Outbreaks of Ebola virus disease in Africa: the beginnings of a tragic saga’. Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Disease, 20(1), p.44. [Online] DOI: 10.1186/1678-9199-20-44 (Accessed: 11 October 2014). Feldmann, H. and Geisbert, T. (2011). ‘Ebola hemorrhagic fever’. The Lancet, 377(9768), pp.849-862. [Online] DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60667-8 (Accessed: 1 November 2014) Fernando, M. (2014). ‘No Sri Lankan infected by Ebola in West Africa Ambassador Ratnapala’. [Online] Sundayobserver.lk. Available at: http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2014/08/17/fea05.asp (Accessed: 1 November 2014). 2014). Jaax, N., Jahrling, P., Geisbert, T., Geisbert, J., Steele, K., McKee, K., Nagley, D., Johnson, E., Jaax, G. and Peters, C. (1995). ‘Transmission of Ebola virus (Zaire strain) to uninfected control monkeys in a biocontainment laboratory’. The Lancet, 346(8991-8992), pp.1669-1671. [Online] DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(95)92841-3 (Accessed: 11 October 2014). Kivi, R. (2014). ‘Ebola virus and disease’ [Online] Available at: http://www.healthline.com/health/ebola-hemorrhagic-fever#Overview (Accessed: 10 October 2014). Mayo Clinic. (2014). ‘Ebola virus and Marburg virus Tests and diagnosis Diseases and Conditions’. [Online] Available at: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ebola-virus/basics/tests-diagnosis/con-20031241 (Accessed: 10 October 2014). McElroy, A., Erickson, B., Flietstra, T., Rollin, P., Nichol, S., Towner, J. and Spiropoulou, C. (2014). ‘Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever: Novel Biomarker Correlates of Clinical Outcome’. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 210(4), pp.558-566. [Online] DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiu088 (Accessed: 1 November 2014). Mupapa, K., Mukundu, W., Bwaka, M., Kipasa, M., De Roo, A., Kuvula, K., Kibadi, K., Massamba, M., Ndaberey, D., Colebunders, R. and Muyembeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Tamfum, J. (1999). ‘Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever and Pregnancy’. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 179(1), pp.S11-S12. [Online] DOI: 10.1086/514289 (Accessed: 1 November 2014). National Health Service. (2014). ‘Ebola virus disease NHS Choices’. [Online] Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ebola-virus/pages/ebola-virus.aspx(Accessed: 10 October 2014). National Library of Medicine. (2014). ‘Ebola hemorrhagic fever’. [Online] Available at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001339.htm (Accessed: 10 October 2014). Noda, T., Hagiwara, K., Sagara, H. and Kawaoka,Y. (2010. ‘Characterization of the ebola virus nucleoprotein-RNA complex’. Journal of General Virology, 91(6), pp.1478-1483. [Online] DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.019794-0 (Accessed: 11 October 2014). Pattyn, S. R. (2014). ‘Ebola Virus Hemorrhagic Fever’. [Online] Available at: http://www.itg.be/internet/ebola/ebola-20.htm (Accessed: 10 October 2014). Paustian, (2014). ‘Ebola is a filamentous virus with a single-stranded RNA genome’. The Microbial World: A look at all things small. [Online] Microbiologytext.com. Available at: http://www.microbiologytext.com/index.php?module=Bookfunc=displayarticleart_id=494 (Access: 11 October 2014). Peters, C. (2005). ‘Marburg and Ebola — Arming Ourselves against the Deadly Filoviruses’. New England Journal of Medicine, 352(25), pp.2571-257. [Online] DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp058109 (Accessed: 1 November.2014). Peters, C. J. and Peters, J.W. (1999) ‘An introduction to ebola: the virus and the disease’, Journal of Ebola, (1999)179, pp. ix-xvi. [Online] DOI: 10.1086/514322 (Accessed: 13 September 2014). Pozos, J. (2014). ‘Ebola’. [Online] Austincc.edu. Available at: http://www.austincc.edu/microbio/2704w/ev.htm (Accessed: 10 October 2014). Public Health Agency of Canada, (2014). Ebola virus Pathogen Safety Data Sheets. [Online] Available at: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/lab-bio/res/psds-ftss/ebola-eng.php#footnote1 (Accessed: 10 October 2014). Pourrut, X., Kumulungui, B., Wittmann, T., Moussavou, G., Dà ©licat, A., Yaba, P., Nkoghe, D., Gonzalez, J. and Leroy, E. (2005). ‘The natural history of ebola virus in Africa; Microbes and Infection, 7(7-8), pp.1005-1014. [Online] DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2005.04.006 (Accessed: 11 October 2014). Rancaniello, V. (2014). ‘About Viruses and Viral Diseases’. Virology. Available at: http://www.virology.ws/ (Accessed: 11 October 2014). Saijo, M., Niikura, M., Ikegami, T., Kurane, I., Kurata, T. and Morikawa, S. (2006). ‘Laboratory Diagnostic Systems for Ebola and Marburg Hemorrhagic Fevers Developed with Recombinant Proteins’. Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, [Online] 13(4), pp.444-451. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/cvi.13.4.444-451.2006 (Accessed: 10 October 2014). Sullivan, N., Yang, Z. and Nabel, G.J. (2003). ‘Ebola virus pathogenesis: implications for vaccines and therapies’. Journal of Virology, (2003) [Online] 77(18), pp.9733-9737. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/jvi.77.18.9733-9737.2003 (Accessed: 2 November 2014). The New York Times, (2014). ‘Ebola hemorrhagic fever’. [Online] Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/health/ guides/disease/ebola-hemorrhagic-fever/overview.htmL (Accessed: 10 October 2014). Waterman, T. (1999). ‘Brief general history of ebola’. [Online] Web.stanford.edu. Available at: https://web.stanford.edu/group/virus/filo/history.html (Accessed: 11 October 2014). Willey, J. (2014). Ebola Virus: Facts on Symptoms and the Latest Outbreak. [Online] Medicinenet.com. Available at: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/mobileart.asp?articlekey=160898page=6 (Accessed: 10 October 2014). World Health Organization (2014). ‘Ebola virus disease’. [Online] WHO Fact Sheet. Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/ (Accessed: 11 October 2014). Zaki, S., Shieh, W., Greer, P., Goldsmith, C., Ferebee, T., Katshitshi, J., Tshioko, F., Bwaka, M., Swanepoel, R., Calain, P., Khan, A., Lloyd, E., Rollin, P., Ksiazek, T. and Peters, C. (1999). ‘A Novel Immunohistochemical Assay for the Detection of Ebola Virus in Skin: Implications for Diagnosis, Spread, and Surveillance of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever’. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 179(s1), pp.S36-S47. [Online] DOI: 10.1086/514319. (Accessed: 11 October 2014). 1

Man and Nature in The Grapes of Wrath Essay -- Grapes Wrath essays

Man and Nature in The Grapes of Wrath   Ã‚   In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck uses both obvious references and subtle contrasts to emphasize the main theme of the novel: the sanctity of man's relationship to the natural world and to each other.    Machines have no place in this relationship. They act as a barrier between men and the land. They are dangerous because they perform the function of men with greater efficiency, but they lack the spiritual element that makes the land so valuable. Chapter five uses imagery to detail the evil inherent in the plowing of land by a machine:    "Behind the tractor rolled the shining disks, cutting the earth with blades-not plowing but surgery, pushing the cut earth to the right where the second row of disks cut it and pushed it to the left; slicing blades shining, polished by the cut earth. And pulled behind the disks, the harrows combing with iron teeth so that the little clods broke up and the earth lay smooth. Behind the harrows, the long seeders- twelve curved iron penes erected in the foundry, orgasms set...

Physics of the Compound Bow :: physics weapon bow archery

A Brief History of the Bow * Arrowheads have been found in Africa that date back as far as 25,000 to 50,000 B.C. * Throughout the next few tens of thousands of years, humans had PLENTY of time to refine their techniques. Fire-hardening arrow heads, fletching arrow shafts to improve their flight characteristics, "tillering" bows so that the upper and lower limbs had the same bend radius, etc. All of these improvements helped increase the efficiency and accuracy of the bow and arrow, and helped humans to survive and advance throughout the ages. * One major advance was the creation of composite bows. Around 2,800 B.C. people began blending different materials together to create better bows. The Egyptians of these times had long composite bows capable of shooting an arrow up to 400 yards! * As you can see, the bow has been around a long while. It wasn't until recently, however, that the actual design of the bow itself was changed. In fact, this ingenious modification happened about forty years ago... The Compound Bow * On December 30th, 1969, Holless Wilbur Allen was granted the patent that would change archery forever. * The invention of the compound bow was just the beginning. As with the invention of the original bow and arrow, time and ingenuity would take the basic concept to new heights. However, the modern understanding of physics, coupled with advanced materials and construction techniques, has greatly increased the pace at which advances are made. * Using cams on one or both limbs of a bow allowed for an increased draw weight in the middle of the draw and a reduced weight at full draw. Archers firing traditional recurve bows encounter the highest resistance and draw weight at full draw. This means less time sighting in on a target before fatigue sets in, due to the strain of holding the bow at full draw. Compound bows, on the other hand, use a cam system which places the most resistance about 2/3 of the way through the drawstroke. At full draw, the compound bow reduces the tension in the bowstring by as much as 75-80%, allowing an archer to remain in position and more carefully sight in on a target.

Essay --

Pets are important members of the family. In more than 60% of households in the United States today according to Jill Weisenberger Rachel Bajema owns a pet. A veterinarian is a person qualified to treat diseased or injured animals. Pets of home owners are not their only patients. Vets can also look after zoo animals, livestock, and animals in sport. Vets can also help with animals’ diseases that can infect humans. A veterinarian job is very important. Animals are important to human life, both to share affection, and financial purposes, and a vets job is to make sure they are healthy and stay that way. What we call "veterinary medicine† has been around as long as people and animals have worked and lived together, according to â€Å"Care of pets, and a history of Veterinary medicine.† The veterinarian dates back from 4,000B.C up to 2,500. The earliest veterinarian work was found in China, Rome, Egypt, and Europe. People that study history have found Chinese writings about the diseases of horses, oxen, and buffalos that dates all the way back to about 2,500 B.C. In about A.D. 500 a Roman wrote a book on what veterinarians do to help animals. Nothing else was written after that until a thousand years later when another book was written. Yet, there were those like Romans that had to learn their skills by working directly with the animals. The first school that taught people about scientific veterinary medicine was in Europe in the mid-eighteenth century-less than three hundred years ago. It has become more famous as time went by. In the end of the nineteenth century, veterinary schools had been established in the United States and also in many other countries. In veterinarian medicine, there are two positions. One of the positions is... ...colonies and the use of high-density housing systems are also increasing the risk of infection and complicating the ability of veterinarians to detect infectious agents. That’s why veterinarians are very important, to animals and humans according to Bennett, Justin C, animal scientist. With put veterinarian’s many diseases that rodents transmit would be infecting humans. Becoming a veterinarian would be a lot of work. It would take a good few years, and training. However, becoming a veterinarian assistant, and studying to become a veterinarian, can help a lot. I can get work experience, and understand many things faster and easier. Being accepted into veterinarian school seems hard but not impossible. From this paper I learned that I have lots of math and science classes to take. How long it will take to become a veterinarian and what it takes to become one.

Post Colonial Perception on the Grass Is Singing Essay

The Grass Is Singing, first published in 1950, was an international success. The story focuses on Mary Turner, the wife of a farmer, who is found murdered on the porch of her home. After her body is found, we are taken back to her younger days and slowly discover what happened to her. The background, location of this story is set in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in South Africa which has been drawn from Doris Lessing’s own childhood spent there. Her first hand knowledge of living on a farm in South Africa shines through in this book. The land, the characters, the farming are all vividly described. Both of her parents were British: her father, who had been crippled in World War I, was a clerk in the Imperial Bank of Persia; her mother had been a nurse. In 1925, lured by the promise of getting rich through maize farming, the family moved to the British colony in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Doris’s mother adapted to the rough life in the settlement, energetically trying to reproduce what was, in her view, a civilized, Edwardian life among savages; but her father did not, and the thousand-odd acres of bush he had bought failed to yield the promised wealth. Similar sequences are presented in the book. Doris Lessing was born Doris May Tayler in Persia (now Iran) on October 22, 1919. She is a great female British writer and in October 2007, became the eleventh woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in its 106-year history, and its oldest recipient ever. Lessing has written many novels, short stories and tales, drama, poetry and comics of which novels like The Grass Is Singing, The Golden Notebook are the most popular and her works continue to be reprinted. Lessing realized that she had quite an amazing life but didn’t know how to attack it when she started writing a book. She read a newspaper cutting about a white mistress murdered by her black cook, none knows why and he is waiting to be hanged. However, Doris knew perfectly well why he had committed this crime because of her upbringing. For example, there was a lady gossiped about in her neighborhood that she allowed her cook-boy to button up the back of her dress and brush her hair. It is appalling and awful, she says. It was a violation of the white behavior. But she didn’t behave like a white mistress. She had treated him like a friend and then started treating him like a servant. They were treated abominably. It was said that the white mistresses didn’t know how to treat their servants and obviously it was a sex thing. In African culture, for women to tell a man what to do was impossible. Yet, all these houses had men-servants and the white mistresses spoke to them in high, harassed, angry voice. They couldn’t talk to them like people. The author chooses to start this novel by the end. It begins with a brief newspaper clipping, suggesting the murder of Mary Turner under the headline ‘Murder Mystery’. However, it certainly is not a murder mystery as we are told the suspect has confessed the crime and there is no serious effort to unravel the crime. It is not who but why behind the murder. Lessing’s purpose is quite different. She wants to establish an end point in order to examine the extremely fl awed society in which it occurs. The author has given the reader a place, an event and a social problem all before her narrative begins. Lessing wrote two books, one of them at long-hand after returning home to the farm. The other one, in which she made fun of the white culture, was mannered. This helped her to write about the white culture in Southern Rhodesia in ‘The Grass Is Singing’. According to Ruth Whittaker, one of the readers of Lessing’s works, this novel is â€Å"an extraordinary first novel in its assured treatment of its unusual subject matter†¦ Doris Lessing questions the entire values of the Rhodesian white colonial society.† The novel reflects its author’s disapproval of sexual and political prejudices and colonialism in the Southern African setting through the life of Mary Turner and a fatal relationship with their black servant. On the surface, it seems a psychological and personal portrayal of a female protagonist from childhood to death but seen as a whole, it is the political exposure of the futility and fragility of the patriarchal and colonial society upon which the masculinity of imperialism has sustained itself. The whole novel can be seen as Mary’s struggle towards individuation to preserve her authenticity and sense of self but it fails because of the psychological and the political forces which furnish her little insight and threaten to crush her. I attempt to show how Lessing portrays Mary’s subjectivity as shaped and entangles within the ideological triangle of class, gender and race; and how the same sexual and ideological factors, rooted in family and culture, causes failure in Mary’s achieving her own sense of self and dooms her to death. Mary is fragmented between two contradictory statuses: on one hand she longs to be a subject of her life, to live in a way she desires, and on the other hand she unconsciously performs a role as an object of the white oppressive structure of a colonial society which extracts meaning of her personal self and imposes its values forcing, the individual to yield to the good of the collective. Mary’s subjectivity and behavioral pattern are shaped by the cross-hatched intersection of class, gender and race through the operation of sexual and political colonialism in the context of imperialism. Gender and Class: The early sketch of Mary’s characterization entails a subjectivity negotiating between gender and class positions. Mary’s early childhood is shaped under the influence of an oppressive father who wastes his money on drinks while his family lives in misery and poverty. Her mother, â€Å"a tall scrawny woman† who â€Å"made a confidante of Mary early†¦and used to cry over her sewing and Mary comforted her miserably†, is her first model of gender role: a passive and helpless woman, dominated by the overwhelming masculine patterns, nonetheless the complying of victim of poverty. Besides sharing the pains of poverty and living in â€Å"a little house that was like a small wooden box on slits† and the twelve month quarrel of her parents over money, Mary has been the witness of their sexuality and her mother’s body in the hands of a man who was simply not present for her. All her life, Mary tries to forget these memories but in fact she has just suppressed them with the fear of sexuality which comes up later nightmarishingly in her dreams. By seeing her mother as a feminine victim of a miserable marriage, she internalizes a negative image of feminity in the form of sexual repression, inheriting her mother’s arid feminism. Race and Gender: The narrator exposes that the Turners’ failure at farming and their poverty and reclusiveness have made them disliked in the district. The Turners’ primitive condition of life is irritating for other white settlers because they do not like the natives to see themselves live in the same manner as the whites, which would destroy that spirit de corps â€Å"which is the first rule of South African society†. This anxiety is more political than economic based on the opposition of white/black. ln this way, another complex clash of value system, besides gender and class, is added to the narrative structure of the novel and that is the matter of race. Colonialism is based on the white men’s spirit of venture for missionary and farm life through their settlement in the third world countries and harvesting their resources by establishing the imperial authority over the native people. The white men, by enslaving the native men on the lands they have in fact stolen fro m them and feminizing some others in their house chores, preserve their own position as masters in the center and the natives as â€Å"Others† in the margin. They use race and gender, two inseparable qualifiers, to access their privilege of power in the imperial hierarchy and legitimize their actions. Gender and race are components of this hierarchy by which the white settlers attempt to establish their own rules and security in the alien land. The binary of white/black reminds us of race difference which itself is linked and dependent on other differences, more importantly gender. White women are objectified as unattainable property of white men through stereotyping the native men as violent, savage and sexually threatening. These double strategies both take the individuality from white women and colonize them as sexual objects always in danger and in need of the heroic protection of their white men and help the white men overcome their fear and jealousy for the superior sexual potency of the black men. The dominant White culture projects â€Å"all of those qualities and characteristics which it most fears and hates within itself† on the natives which creates for the subordinate group â€Å"a wholly negative cultural identity†. Similarly Jan Mohamed notes that: â€Å"the native is cast as no more than a recipient of the negative elements of the self that the European projects onto him†. The patriarchal myth of white woman as white man‘s property and symbol of his power and the â€Å"forbidden fruit† for black man expels women from subjective roles by imposing on them the view that they are unable to handle the black laborers. Therefore the white women are convinced that they cannot share power with the white men especially in the farm life which is the current context of masculinity, tough work, action: challenge beyond domesticity. So they are confined in the domestic sphere and considered shiftless. Charlie Slatter, the most successful and powerful farmer of the district in this novel, makes a joke of it: â€Å"Needs a man to deal with niggers. Niggers don‘t understand women giving them orders. They keep their own women in their right places†. In such colonial discourse, the black natives, employed whether as domestic servants in feminine sphere or as impoverished agricultural workers, are represented as wild, violent, potential rapists, and threatening the white women who need the white men‘s protection against the natives. In this way, white patriarchy makes a heroic scenario for itself. During the first scene in which Moses touches Mary, she is alarmed at the sensation and feels certain that it is a prelude to rape. Instead, he pushes her gently on the bed, and covers her feet with her nightgown. Even in the later scene in which Moses is caught by the Englishman in a moment of scandalousl y inappropriate contact with Mary, he is caught pulling a dress over her head with â€Å"indulgent uxoriousness†. The insinuations of tenderness, indeed romance between Moses and Mary appear in this moment to offer a radical alternative to the prototypical script of rape applied to all relationships between white women and black men during the apartheid era. Any doubt as to Moses’s fundamentally violent nature is also eradicated in the final scenes in which he returns to batter Mary to death. In the sexual politics of the colonial myth, white women are victims as the native subjects are in the racial politics. A woman who is privileged racially can simultaneously experience gender limitations and class difference within her own category, like in the case of Mary Turner. Mary fails to preserve her individuality because she is not able to resist the strong master narratives of the false colonial and patriarchal myth of superiority of her culture through the discourse of gender and race which place her firmly in a predetermined position. Marginalization: Lessing has described the feelings of the characters, especially of Mary profoundly. The description of Mary, her wishes and her behavior, is done in a rather psychological way proving Mary Turner’s life tragic. She is effectively forced into marriage by the weight of social expectations and traditions. She never loves her husband, but she is, at least initially, glad to have one, as it makes her â€Å"normal†. From the moment she marries, she is engaged in a losing battle to hold on to her own identity and survive this marriage. We can distinguish Mary as a victim of marginalization. This is mainly because her needs for development are not considered by her husband and she plays no role in influencing decisions for their house. Since she is bewildered by Dick’s house which consists of a corrugated iron roof, zinc bath, skins of animals on red brick floor – all old and badly maintained, with her own saved money Mary brings flowered materials and cushions t o make curtains, a little linen, crockery and some dress lengths (61). Further she asks Dick for ceilings over corrugated iron roof but he refuses saying that it would cost too much and they may have it done next year if they do well (63). Dick is now instead investing in other things like setting up a grocery store, growing maize, harvesting beehives, pigs, turkeys, etc. that he thinks would help them grow rich less realizing his wife felt sick with the heat when she stayed in the house under the iron roof. Unfortunately, Dick keeps failing at every attempt of his to improve their condition. Mary is, all the time, counting money wasted on Dick’s various attempts at different jobs which could have improved the condition of their house. Here, Dick has never taken into account Mary’s guidance and excluded her from making or influencing his decisions before going on with these jobs. We can, hence, distinguish Mary as a victim of marginalization, the marginalized. Perhaps Mary’s tragedy is all the deeper on account of the fact that she never realizes that the native Africans who must work the farms of the white settlers are just as much tragic victims as she is. The natives are deprived of their own land and looked down with contempt. The black native men are made to serve the white colonies. Much of the discourse around the British colonies in postmodernism is centered on the exploitation of the resources and the people from the colonies, leading to a feeling of racial superiority on the part of the colonizer. This deep-seated racism is clearly evident in Doris Lessing’s The Grass is Singing as none of the white colonials are sympathetic or even see the Zimbabweans as fully human. Mary too treats all her house boys dreadfully; she despises their carelessness, their laziness, and their failure to pander adequately to her. At one moment, when she replaces her sick husband in the fields, she is thoroughly brutal with the black farm hands. However, I feel that Lessing’s novel is less concerned about showing the misery felt by the Zimbabweans for the hand they were dealt by the colonial Empire and more about showing the toll colonialism has on those who do not belong there. What Lessing is really showing is how damaging the colonial psyche can be when one is not equipped for it. One is left with a sense that when prejudice and false ideas generated by self-interest become institutionalized, they cloud the perception of people so thoroughly that even the victims are capable of victimizing others. In spite of its formulaic narrative, The Grass Is Singing has nonetheless been read as a progressive critique of â€Å"injustice, racism, and sexual hypocrisy,† in part because of its open investigation of gender and sexuality. It is through Mary’s predicaments as a woman and in particular as a member of the working class that The Grass Is Singing opens up potentially radical grounds for sympathy. At first glance, Mary’s stereotypical obsession with domesticity combined with scorn for all her black servants recalls Ronald Hyam’s caricature of white women in the colonies as â€Å"[m]oping and sickly, narrowly intolerant, vindictive to the locals, despotic and abusive to their servants†. For some, however, Mary’s plight is a more realistic and â€Å"tragic example of how hardship and isolation can destroy even the most independent of women† (Fishburn 2). Indeed, her intolerance for her black servants becomes more complex when read as a displaced resistance against the patriarchal norms of her society. Mary’s belligerence is a clear projection of her anger against an unsatisfactory marriage and the oppressive, gendered social norms that led to its existence. Dick’s attitude towards her is never hostile or abusive, but she persistently resents him for things that she knows he is not able to help, such as his string of financial failures, the unbearable poverty, and the virtual absence of any company or entertainment at the farm. Even among other white people, such as the nearby Slatter family, Mary feels too much pride and humiliation to express the full depths of her loneliness and despair. It is only in the presence of her black servants that she feels able to release the full-blown rage and intolerance that have clearly erupted from elsewhere. What really killed Mary Turner? Various critics have expressed confusion over why the dialectic must necessarily be resolved by Moses’s murder of Mary. A reviewer in The Doris Lessing Newsletter asked, â€Å"Why does Moses murder Mary?† The TLS queried, â€Å"Why does he feel he has to kill her?† and The Listener demanded, â€Å"Is this the only possible outcome?† (11) Lessing leaves Moses’s inner states shrouded in mystery: after his act of murder, â€Å"what thoughts of regret, or pity, or perhaps even wounded human affection were compounded with the satisfaction of his completed revenge, it is impossible to say† (206). Equally cryptic is the fact that Mary herself becomes complicit in her own murder, to the extent that she runs toward Moses, sure of the fact that he should kill her. This desire to die is prefaced by an unbearable, tragicomic sense of her South African history. Shortly before her death, Mary peruses volumes of books celebrating the legacy of Cecil Rhodes, and she laughs long and bitterly, thinking absent-mindedly to herself, â€Å"But the young man [Moses] would save her† (199). As she lies down to sleep on the night of the murder, she â€Å"turned her face into the darkness of the pillows, but her eyes were alive with light, and against the light she saw a dark, waiting shape. †¦ Propelled by fear, but also by knowledge, she rose out of bed, not making a sound† (203). As Mary makes her way onto the veranda, â€Å"the trees stood still and waited† until finally Moses appears, and â€Å"at the sight of him, her emotions unexpectedly shifted, to create in her an extraordinary feeling of guilt, but towards him, to whom she had been disloyal, and at the bidding of the Englishman† (204). As she opens her mouth to apologize, Moses clasps one hand over her mouth to silence her and with the other hacks her head with a blunt instrument. â€Å"And then the bush avenged itself: that was her last thought†. Mary’s cognizance of the murder as one compounded by her own guilt and by vengeance, rather than unwarranted aggression, shows a strange ability to forgive her own murderer even as he performs the act that she knows he is compelled to do. Charles Sarvan argues that Mary’s death has religious and apocalyptic overtones in that she decides â€Å"to offer herself as a sacrifice which will both atone for past crimes and hasten the coming of the new order†. Well if it came down to forensics it would be clear that the killer was Moses. But Mary Turner was long gone before Moses took a machete to her. This begs the question then of what really killed Mary Turner? In my opinion, I would argue that the real killer was the African outback. Lessing’s protagonist Mary spent her whole life in the African colony, and yet she never seems to fully belong. She spends the first half of her life in the town where she is blissfully and naively happy. Yet, even in the town Mary remains an outsider. Mary belongs to an English community and therefore must conform to English standards for women. She loves England (despite never having been there) so she performs her civic duty and jumps into a marriage with a poor farmer living deep in the African outback. A marriage in town is nothing like a marriage in the country and Mary quickly realizes it. She is uprooted from the life she immensely enjoyed in town and is planted into a decrepit farm house that is falling apart around her. The misery she feels about her living conditions is no match for the true conditions of Africa she sees for the first time. In the outback, Mary is confronted with the reality of colonialism- the natives- and she can not mentally or physically stand it. When the natives are far away working for Dick, Mary can at least barely tolerate living on the farm. However, when confronted with the natives in her home she unravels. In the African outback this idea of British civilization falls to pieces because as Sarah De Mal says in her article â€Å"Doris Lessing, Feminism, and the Representation of Zimbabwe, â€Å"the omniscient narrator describes how the main protagonist feels displaced within colonial culture since her desires and dreams are at odds with the prevailing values and rules of this culture† (De Mal 36). What Mary dreams of is a life in town, away from the natives working as a typist in an ordinary office living with other white colonists. Her reality is far removed from this as she is living with the true colonials whom she resents and despises as being the â€Å"other†. And when this â€Å"other† characterized by Moses confronts her and invades her space, her mind and her body deteriorates rapidly until she resembles merely a shell of a human being. Moses is a direct confrontation of the fantasy Mary has. She envisions herself as an English rose whose purity must not be tainted by the black man. Yet when Moses physically touches her and confronts her about her attitude towards him, Mary falls apart. By these two acts, Moses has killed her fantasy by forcing her to see him as a human being. Mary can no longer pretend she has superiority over him as a white woman. It is this realization that kills her for after she submits the Moses’ humanity she loses all sanity. Moses only finished the process by ending her physical life. I believe all in all Moses was the end of Mary. However, it was not his machete that killed her. What killed her was his which is the reality of the colony and the people who lived there. Her fantasy of being a true and righteous English woman could not hold up against the vastness of Africa and this reality broke her spirit and left her as empty as she had envisioned the African outback to be. Conclusion Mary Turner is not able to grasp her own identity because her identity is compounded by the overpowering colonial and gender narratives in which she is knit. The colonial ruling power dictates that she as an individual has to behave according to the terms imposed by her imperial identity. Even her disintegration must be silenced because it threatens the whole authority of the dominant category. Mary fails in her journey of self-quest but she is the heroine of this novel because she reverses the social, racial and cultural orders of her society though unconsciously. As in Katherine Fishburn‘s words, she is as an â€Å"accidental rebel† who at least dissolves the dichotomous orders and consequently reveals for the reader the fear and falsity of the white civilization whose indictment is the division between privileged white and the dispossessed black. (Fishburn 4) Sima Aghazadeh quotes, â€Å"by her death, Mary paves the way for the native (Africa/Moses) to take a subject ive action†. She cannot guarantee her own identity since she does not have any antidote to loneliness, poverty and gender limitations, but she foreshadows a change in Imperial attitudes. The Grass is Singing, through its circular narration from a collective perspective of Mary’s murder to an individual account of her personal life, completes an indictment of its central character’s life in the center of a closed white colonial society in southern Africa in which the linked discourses of class, race, and gender bring her into exclusion, isolation, break down, and finally to death. Mary’s failure of individuation is the failure of patriarchy and colonial culture to satisfy its female member to find fulfillment within this status quo. References: * Fishburn, Katherine. â€Å"The Manichcan Allegories of Doris Lessing’s The Grass is Singing†, Research in Literature, Vol.25, No.4 Winter I994. * Wang, Joy. â€Å"White postcolonial guilt in Doris Lessing’s The Grass is Singing.† Research in African Literatures 40.3 (2009): 37+. Academic OneFile.Web. 15 Sep. 2012. * Fishburn, Katherine. â€Å"The Manichean Allegories of Doris Lessing’s The Grass Is Singing.† Research in African Literatures 25.4 (1994): 1-15. * Postcolonial African Writers- A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook – Pushpa Naidu Parekh, Siga Fatima Jagne – Google Books * http://www.dorislessing.org/biography.html * Doris Lessing – Writer – -The Grass Is Singing- – Web of Stories – http://www.webofstories.com/play/53470?o=MS * The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing – http://www.dorislessing.org/the.html * The Grass is Singing – Doris Lessing – Review – Life and death in South Africa – http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/printed-books/the-grass-is-singing-doris-