Storm on The Island by Seamus Heaney Essays

Storm on The Island by Seamus Heaney Essays Storm on The Island by Seamus Heaney Paper Storm on The Island by Seamus Heaney Paper Essay Topic: Literature Mythologies Seamus Heaney Poems Hurricane Hits England by Grace Nichols and Storm on The Island by Seamus Heaney Hurricane Hits England and Storm on the Island are poems addressing a similar event, that of a violent storm. However due to the contrast in the poets backgrounds, style and perception they present the event in different ways. The poets have been influenced greatly by their respective backgrounds. Seamus Heaney grew up in agricultural surroundings in rural Derry, inheriting a strong allegiance to farm life from his father. Inevitably much of his poetry stems and is primarily based on his experiences and feel for farm life. Many of Heaneys poems address nature, its beauty and its power. The strength of his poetry lies in his ability to create effective imagery to convey what is a common experience whether its picking blackberries or experiencing a violent storm. In contrast, Grace Nichols experienced very different surroundings growing up. She originally lived in the Caribbean but her career as a writer uprooted her to an unsettled and alienated life in England. She finds it very difficult to surrender her own history and culture and the storm acts as a reminder. This is reflected in the poem. Storm on the Island describes the destructive force that engulfs an island which subjects the inhabitants to constant caution and fear. The poem is written from the point of view of the inhabitants of a remote and exposed island, perhaps somewhere off the Irish coast or even Ireland itself. The islanders are prepared. Their houses are strongly built, low hugging the ground. The earth on the island is barren. There are no trees and when the storm blows full blast they have little protection. The earth is described as wizened or infertile and therefore unsuitable for growing crops. Heaney seems initially to address this issue with regret but later acknowledges the practicality of this deficiency, there are no stacks or stooks that can be lost. Heaney quickly dispels any romantic notions the reader may entertain and exposes us to the dangerous reality the island dwellers frequently experience, allowing us to envisage the storm with a degree of empathy. Heaney involves the reader by using common conversational tags, as you see and you know what I mean, and again this allows us to experience similar emotions to the actual victims of the storm. The poem considers the ideas of isolation and living close to nature, but mainly it depicts the destructive powers of nature. It highlights our vulnerability in the face of nature and the fear of a huge nothing. Security contrasts with insecurity. The islanders do all they can to guard against nature. They believe they are safe in their solid stone houses but the storm attacks it brings them fear. They may seem to be part of a comfortable, perhaps beautiful, seascape but when the storm blows up this security is undermined and brings back their fears. Like his other poems Heaney likes to expose how nature can be frightening or ugly like a tame cat/Turned savage. He refers to three of the elements earth, water and air this wizened earth tragic chorus in a gale.. the flung spray. Heaney manages to convey how all of nature can turn against us. The structure of the poem is one stanza of nineteen lines, like the storm it is unbroken. However the iambic pentameter lends itself to reflective, thoughtful tone and provides the poem with a steady rhythm, the natural rhythm of speech, to contrast with the often violent and combative language used to describe the storm. The poem concludes with a couplet with the half rhymes air and fear. The couplet helps to round the poem off, to give it an air of finality. Heaney uses punctuation to enhance and to add effect to the description. Many lines are not end stopped, there is enjambment indicating the relentlessness of the storm. The word Blast is highlighted with the colon, a dash is used to provide the conversational tone you know what I mean leaves and branches. By using punctuation in this way Heaney draws us into the drama of the storm; it is as if we are observers like him. Heaney explores the theme of war and uses various military metaphors in relation to the storm, the wind dives and strafes, while space is a salvo and air is said to bombard. The opening words suggest a readiness for conflict -We are prepared. When nature attacks the salvo is loosed, the island is bombarded, the sea is exploding and the gale pummels the houses. The poem uses the language of war poetry and is reminiscent of the work of First World War poetry. The atmosphere of war achieved serves to intensify the power of the storm while also echoing the sounds present on battlefield. The use of combative and violent words further emphasises the noise of the storm, whether it is the crashing of the waves or the clash of thunder. He identifies the storm as the enemy and suggests that the island inhabitants should endure and remain resolute we just sit tight. Heaney loves to use sound patterns in his poetry and does this effectively to mirror the storm. Alliteration is used well alongside monosyllabic words to build the tension of the storm, Sink walls in rock and roof them with good slate. Onomatopoeia echoes the sound of the storm in words like blast, flung spray and spits. This adds to the imagery created by metaphor and simile. A most evocative image is of the tragic chorus reminding us of death or of the Greek mythologies that Heaney later translates. The simile of the tame cat is also effective in again taking the commonplace and transforming it into something menacing and savage. The mood of the poem is reflective and begins as confident but becomes less so as the poem progresses. The final line of the poem is ambiguous. Heaney says that it is strange but the thing we fear is a huge nothing . It is as if the air and wind are nothing because we cannot see it just like our own intangible or unspeakable fears. This is what Heaney seems to be contemplating through the metaphor of the storm. Another possibility is that the storm is a metaphor of the troubles. Heaney has written frequently on the topic and it certainly impacted on his life in South Derry. Is the fear a fear of peace and of the unknown. We as islanders have always been good in preparing and protecting ourselves in war but not so good in securing peace. Although the poems were written in the modern era and address similar events, they contrast considerably due to the cultural perspectives of the poets. Nichols wishes to convey culture and tradition whereas Heaney wishes to convey nature in its rarest form. Grace Nichols adapts a personal response to the subject matter and also uses the storm as a metaphor. In a poem where we gain a vivid insight to her feelings in relation to the hurricane the hurricane evokes memories and allows the poet to recall her origins, it addresses the poets relationship with the Caribbean, while also identifying her failure to adapt to the unfamiliar surroundings of an English landscape. As the poem progresses Nichols finds the solace she seeks and seems to grow more attached to her environment through the message that she feels the hurricane conveys. In 1987, England experienced some unusually strong storms which reached hurricane force. Grace Nichols wrote, It seemed as though the voices of the gods were in the wind, within the Sussex wind. And for the first time, I felt close to the English landscape in a way that I hadnt earlier. It was if the Caribbean had come to England. Fundamentally, therefore the poems are very different. Heaney presents the storm as frightening and Nichols as welcoming. The poem is initially written in the third person but changes in the second stanza where Nichols refers to the first person, now speaking for herself. This is similar to Heaney as he uses first person plural to involve the audience, however Heaney seems to observe the storm and is distant of it. Nichols addresses her storm, wants it to talk to her and explain why it is there. In contrast to Heaney the poem does not adhere to a particular structure or conventional pattern but takes the form of free verse where there is no rhyme scheme and stanzas and lines both vary in length. This allows the poet to state the unpredictability of the hurricane. Nichols frequently moves from cultural contexts, developing and explaining her relationships with the two landscapes- Caribbean and England. This is quite different from Storm on an Island where only one place is focused on. Because of this I think Heaneys poem is more effective in portraying the storm. As an audience we are not distracted by the two cultures that Nichols presents to us. The range of vocabulary is different in Hurricane hits England. Nichols uses the putois form Huracan and names of the gods, Oya and Shngo, of the Yoruba tribe, who were taken as slaves to the Carribean. These are the gods of wind and thunder respectively- they are agents of destruction. The destruction was of course seen clearly in Hurricane Hattie which hit the Caribbean in 1961. this is the hurricane Nichols recalls most vividly from childhood. The inovocation of ancient Gods does lend dramatic effect to the storm just as Heaney uses military words to create drama. We also witness a link between Heaneys tragic chorus and Nichols talking Gods. They both lend a mysticism or spirituality to their storms. Just like Heaney, Nichols creates powerful imagery to convey the ferocity of the storm. She uses metaphors in comparing the wind to a ship, a howling ship that has followed her across the ocean. This metaphor relating to the ocean is sustained when she compares the felled trees to whales, what is the meaning of trees falling heavy as whales. So Nichols extends the metaphor just like Heaney sustains his battle imagery. Nichols continues to question the storm and uses contrasts or oxymorons to highlight the image, the blinding illumination into further darkness, its is reminiscent of Heaneys oxymoron exploding comfortably. The plunge into darkness is simply a power cut but could also reflect Nicholss feelings about her new environment. Nichols brings her poem to a climax by reconciling the two cultures. The warm winds break the frozen lake in me and she realises that the Caribbean and England are part of the same planet, that the earth, is the earth, is the earth. The storm has acted as a unifier and a channel of release for Nichols emotions. The storm in its entirety could be viewed as a symbol of the struggle she has had in adapting to her new culture. We must presume that Nichols is speaking for all Caribbean immigrants, just as Heaney speaks on behalf of the islanders. Nichols uses a very different format to Heaney. She employs consistent repetition, rhetorical questions and short lines designed to increase the intensive effect of the hurricane. Heaney relies more on the effect of language and imagery. Heaneys poem is more enigmatic and universal, it could interpreted on many levels by the audience. Nichols, however, confines her audience to those who can relate to the specific cultures. I feel that her optimistic ending is somewhat unrealistic, we just have to refer to the problem of racism in England for consolidation of my view. Heaney relates to us all who fear the huge nothing and because of this I feel he has been more successful in presenting the storm most vividly.

Cruise Sub brand collection spring summer 2014 for victoria beckham Essay

Cruise Sub brand collection spring summer 2014 for victoria beckham brand, using rational mega trends - Essay Example The current hot trends in the market are based on the redefinition of the 1950s. The market trend that is so prevalent is the use of bright colors with fancy new designs. This necessitates the brand in following the trend to mainstream its design to light, trendy, and bright colored summer wear. One of the major spring summer trends is the use of an all-white theme. The main reason for white color is that is ever lasting and does not go out of style. Consumers are the backbone of any new product in the market. In this new spring summer collection of 2014, the views of the consumer form a large portion of the whole line. Consumer research shows that consumers need to be fully included in the designing of the products. Their preferences are light and stylish clothes for spring summer. The top three competitors for Victoria Beckham’s spring summer collection are Moschino, Givenchy, and DKNY. According to the SWOT analysis model the above three competitors have one common strength over the Victoria Beckham collection is that the three companies enjoy market advantages due to their existence for a long time. However, all the leading brands including Victoria Beckham’s brand enjoy equal opportunities in accessing the market. The first marketing objective in the smart model that can be used is that marketing should be measurable. The second objective is that the marketing model ought to be realistic. Lastly, the marketing strategy should be time scaled. Objectives in marketing that follow the smart model are more likely to be successful. Market segmentation entails the division of consumers into different groups according to common identifiable characteristic. The major segments possible in the market include gender- related, geographically related, age-related, and lifestyle related segments (Joyce & Woods, 2008). The segment to be targeted is the gender-related

Zain Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Zain - Research Paper Example Scott Gegenheimer holds the title of CEO of the Group (Zain, â€Å"Believing in the Power of Dreams, Annual Report 2012†). 2. The two letters have been written by the Chairman and the CEO of the Group basically addressing the shareholders. The basic message in the letters comprises assisting the shareholders to know about the broad operations of the company throughout the year with the deliverance of certain useful information. These encompass short description of the financial results, business practices, marketing strategies, current position in the operating business markets, future goals and most importantly its rise in profitability from the preceding few years, making a greater appeal to its current and potential shareholders (Zain, â€Å"Believing in the Power of Dreams, Annual Report 2012†). 3. Letter from the Chairman. In this letter, the first paragraph depicts a short description about the challenges faced by the company throughout the financial year 2012. Ad ditionally, this section explains the changes in the external as well as the internal environment and how the company addressed those challenges with the adoption of few developmental based projects and effective business policies. The next part of this letter explains the operational results of the Group including net income, earning per share and consolidated revenue with relevant data. Correspondingly, the next section of the letter depicted a detailed understanding about the launch of various networks by the company and its restructuring business process in different parts of the globe. The last section of this letter portray the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) based activities that the company performed towards the society and the environment with a conclusion seeking for continuous support from the esteemed members of the Group (Zain, â€Å"Believing In The Power Of Dreams, Annual Report 2012†). Letter from the C.E.O. In this letter, the first section provides a b rief explanation about the journey of the company and the experience of the person as the CEO. The next section of the letter includes the description of the services or the products that the company offers to its customers and how it is adopting effective strategies to raise the level of customer satisfaction. Correspondingly, the next part of the letter reflects the review of the business conducted in the financial year of 2012. The last section of the letter presented looking forward statement with an aim to show the potentials of the company to compete in future (Zain, â€Å"Believing in the Power of Dreams, Annual Report 2012†). OTHER MATERIAL 4. The 2012 annual report of Zain includes various sections including Chairman and CEO statement, company overview, key milestones, share price evolution, business operations, group technology, financial statements and practice of CSR activities among others. All the information has been provided and explained in a proper sequence. Additionally, it can be viewed that the annual report has been prepared with the focus of keeping it quite simple and easy to understand by the customers along with the shareholders (Zain, â€Å"Zain Group’s 2012 Annual Report Earns Accolades at ARC Awards in New York†). The materials contained in the annual report and the messages that these communicates can be viewed as quite impressive owing to the reason that one can obtain a clear idea about the financial performance of the company and also the effective strategies that the company adopted. FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS 5. Zain provides adequate financial information to the shareholders through presenting those in its annual reports. The shareholders of the company are provided with appropriate financial information concerning the operational performances as well as other related financial

Land Property Rights

Land Property Rights A number of prominent cases concerning land and property rights, which have mainly involved women, have been addressed throughout the previous few decades. The above scenario states fundamental principles within the rule of law that have been raised in past cases. In consequence, this paper will be considering various different outcomes of important court decisions, along with the relevant Acts and law that accompany such proceedings. In the scenario, it appears that John, the trustee want to sell Fairview Cottage, however Mary, the beneficiary objects to this. Following this, considerations will be given to the given scenario, and what advice should be given in such circumstances. Land law recognises two forms of property ownership, which have been defined as legal ownership and beneficial or equitable ownership. Beneficial ownership concerns a persons right to live in and use the property, along with the right to any financial gains when the property is sold. The result of beneficial ownership can, therefore, significantly affect the sale of a property. The issues concerning beneficial interest were highlighted in Turton v. Turton (1988), during which the Court agreed on the notion that beneficial interests were dependent upon the intent of both parties when purchasing the property. In Walker v Hall (1988), LJ Nourse stated, â€Å"It must always be remembered that the basis on which the court proceeds is a common intention, usually to be inferred from the conduct of the parties; that the claimant is to have a beneficial interest in the house. In the common case, where the intention can be inferred only from the respective contributions, either initial or under a mortgage, to the cost of its acquisition, it is held that the house belongs to the parties beneficially in proportions corresponding to those contributions† (As quoted in Family Law Week, 2007). In order to establish a beneficial interest the claimant needs to prove â€Å"a resulting trust by showing that it would be inequitable for the legal owner to claim a sole beneficial ownership† (Privy-council.org.uk, 1999). A resulting trust is where ones share of the property is proportionate to their contribution made. It Arises due to the intention of the parties. In the case of Drake v Whipp (1995) 28 HLR 531, Peter Gibson LJ stated that it is crucial to distinguish between the different types of trusts. He argued that the distinction was of ‘crucial importance in deciding the size of the claiments size in terms of contributions made. The case of Bull v Bull [1955] 1 QB 234 shows the intention of the parties can be determined by the contribution made. In this case Lord Denning in the Court of Appeal stated that the share of the property should be ‘in his or hers respective contribution and also explains that each of the parties is entitled to the ‘possession of the land if they gave a respective contribution. Peter Gibson LJ in Curley v Parks [2004] EWCA Civ 1515 further explains that only contributions made at the time are relevant. Later contributions are not relevant for a resul ting trust. In this scenario, Mary has contributed 50% of the purchase price. The contributions were made with the intention of the property being used as a family home for the couple and their 3 children. Thus she has an equitable/beneficial interest under a resulting trust. It is also obvious that the contribution was made at the time of purchase, so a resulting trust will be applicable for Mary. Once its established somebody has a equitable/beneficial interest i.e a resulting trust, it is also important to note if they are in actual occupation, if so then their interests will be overriding. There is no stautory definition of what is meant by actual occupation. Actual occupation was defined by Lord Wilberforce in Williams Glyns Bank Ltd. v. Boland [1981] as ‘some physical presence with some degree of permanence. This was further confirmed by Lord Oliver in Abbey National Building Society v Cann and Another [1991] 1A.C. 56 where he further stated the emphasis on the degree of permanence. Lord Oliver also discussed when the claimant must be in actual occupation. He said ‘actual occupation required to support such an interest as a subsisting interest must exist at the date of completion of the transaction giving rise to the right to be registered. The House Of Lords also said that purchaser is bound by all overriding interests, thus giving more rights to the current occupier. The case of Ferrishurst Ltd v Wallcite Ltd [1991] further indicates the necessities for an overriding interest. Once an overriding interest is shown then he/she will have greater rights. In this scenario Mary ‘lives at Fairview Cottage which indicates that she lives there with a ‘degree of permanance. She also fulfils Lord Olivers criteria because she still lives at Fairview Cottage along with her children. Once actual occupation and beneficial interest are proven then a overriding interest will be present and Marys rights will be greater than any other persons. The Land Registration Act 1925 (LRA) confirms this, where it states. â€Å"The rights of every person in actual occupation of the land or in receipt of the rents and profits thereof, save where enquiry is made of such person and rights are not disclosed†. Another important topic to discuss is the issue of overreaching. In City of London v. Flegg (1988), the court ruled â€Å"that the Fleggs had no interest in the house once the payment had been paid to the Maxwell-Browns, since their interest had been overreached† (Todd, 1996). In this case, Mr and Mrs Flegg claimed a beneficial interest in the property by virtue of s.70(1)(g) of the LRA 1925. According to Todd (1996), this â€Å" decision would probably be different today, following the enactment of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA), because overreaching would no longer occur.† Now, overreaching would only occur where the money is paid to atleast two trustees. Overreaching doesnt occur where the money is only paid to 1 trustee as seen in Williams Glyns Bank Ltd. v. Boland (1981). This led to Lord Wilberforce making the following statement; ‘a husband or a wife (in each actual case a wife) who has a beneficial interest in the matrimonial home, by virtue of having contributed to its purchase price, but whose spouse is the legal registered owner, has an overriding interest binding on a mortgagee (Wilberforce, 1980. As quoted by Mary Rose Plummer, 2007). In this scenario it is possible a potential purchaser may be able to overreach Marys interest if money is paid to atleast two trustees. However, it is unlikely that Marys interests will be overreached as there is only 1 trustee i.e. John. The rights of an occupant are dependant upon their legal status in relation to both the ownership of the given property and the other party. Individuals that are either married or registered in a civil partnership, according to British law, are automatically entitled to occupancy rights. In consequence, even when a spouse is not mentioned in the title deeds, he or she still has a right to live in the matrimonial home, as stated by the Family Law Act 1996. S.30(1) (FLA) , where the spouse can occupy house if owned by other spouse. However, this right is dependant upon where a divorce or dissoluteness of a civil partnership doesnt occur. In consequence, therefore, a person who is not on the title deeds, does hold certain occupancy rights. S. 31(10)(a) FLA 1996 states that matrimonial home rights are minor interests. For a minor interest to be protected, it must be registered by entry on the register of a notice. A notice is defined by the LRA 2002. An entry of a notice will protect the interest from any subsequent purchasers. If a notice isnt registered then ones right/interest may become void. As the property is legally owned by her spouse, Mary has the right to occupy it. In order to occupy the house however, she must register this right, by submitting a notice on the register. . It can also be argued that her interest as a spouse is only a minor interest, in relation to this a minor interest must also be registered under S. 29 LRA 2002. If this interest is not registered then it will not be binding. In addition, not only is Mary physically present, but she also holds clear occupancy rights, which include the right to exclude all those who do not hold the same rights. Fairview Cottage is clearly a matrimonial home, which was bought with the intention of being inhabited by both spouses, along with any existing or future children, of whom all would have a beneficial interest within the property. The fact that Mary is married to John, that they have three children, and has an equitable interest in the property as that she contributed financially towards the purchase of the property is clearly in Marys favour as stated in Family Law Week 2007 where it said â€Å"If you are married or in a civil partnership, your spouse or civil partner cannot sell the family home without your permission, even if your name is not on the title deeds† In addition, when considering the circumstances outlined within the given scenario, it is evident that Mary and John bought the house as a matrimonial home in which they intended to raise their family. As the couple are still legally married the house is still the family home, so the intention is still ongoing. S.14 of TOLATA 1996 lets anybody who has any type of interest in trust property to make an application for sale. In practicality, Mary can apply to the court to prevent John selling the house, or John can apply for the court to grant permission for sale. Even a potential purchaser wishing to buy the house can apply. As outlined in TOLATA 1996, matters referring to determining an application in accordance with section 14 are dependent on are stated in S.15; S.15 (1)(a) The intention of the individuals in attaining the property. S.15 (1)(b) The purposes or reasons for purchasing the property. S.15 (1)(c) The welfare of legal occupants, including children. The intentions of John and Mary when purchasing Fairview Cottage, as this paper has clearly demonstrated, was to provide a matrimonial home, which indicates that both had a common intention. The issue of matrimonial home is further discussed in S30 Family Law Act 1996, whereby a spouse has the right to occupy a property is he/she has a beneficial interest. Mary successfully fulfils this criteria. As S.15 (1)(a) and S.15 (1)(b) are still in existence, the court are likely to find in favour of Mary. They should prevent John from forcing a sale upon her. In addition to this, and in reference to the third factor S.15 (1)(c), the interest of the children is also and seen as an important consideration when considering beneficial applications. In the case of Re Evers trust [1980], LJ Omerod stated that it is important to underlay the importance of intention of the trust. In this scenario it was to prvide a family home. He further states that if the children are not mature it would be wrong to order a sale. This is further reiterated in the case if Williams JW v Williams MA [1976]. Therefore in this scenario, if the children are young, then the court is likely to find in favour of Mary, though if the children are mature then that fact should aid John. The ages of the children are unknown. Also, it is not sure what age is considered as ‘mature (it could be 18 or 21). If any of the kids are under 18, then a ruling in favour of Mary is likely. However, Judge Wroath in the case of TSB Bank plc v Marshall Others [1988] stated that even if the children are considered as adults, the courts may not take this issue into consideration when deciding on the sale of a property. Article 8 of the Human Rights Act (1998) states, â€Å"Everyone has the right for his private life and family life, his home and his correspondence,† which infers that children, who are profoundly affected by change brought about by parental disputes such as that portrayed within the given scenario, are protected by law. However the courts are not as likely to consider this in practicality. The courts are more likely to consider S.15 TOLATA 1996. However, as John is the legal owner/trustee of Fairview cottage, it is possible for him to sell under S14 TOLATA 1996 whereby the courts can grant him an application for sale. The courts in doing so would consider the factors listed in S.15 TOLATA 1996, to determine what action to take. In conclusion, it is evident that Mary has equitable interest of the property. An equitable interest together with actual occupation gives her an overriding interest. If she has this overriding interest then her position as a beneficiary would be even stronger, as her interests would override the interests of any other persons. However it is possible a potential purchaser may be able to overreach her interest. This is only applicable to where money is paid to two trustees, in this scenario John is the only trustee so it is unlikely that this will occur. If John wishes to evict Mary then he must apply under S. 14 TOLATA 1996. The courts will then consider the factors in S. 15 and any other factor it wishes to make a decision in regarding the sale. However, as outlined above it is unlikely that John will be successful. Although John is legally the sole proprietor of Fairview Cottage, the circumstances surrounding the purchase of the property strongly indicate that Mary is in a stronger legal position. The matrimonial status of the couple, for example, the fact that Mary significantly contributed towards financing the project, the original intentions of setting up a matrimonial home, and the presence of children, all indicate Marys right to beneficial ownership.

Crater Lake Essay -- essays research papers

Crater Lake   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Crater Lake is located at southwestern off Highway 62 in Oregon. It is Oregon?s only national park. It is the deepest lake in the United States and is the seventh deepest in the world. Crater Lake has an average diameter of 5.3 miles in length and is approximately 1,932 feet deep.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Crater Lake is a result of a volcanic explosion that happened about 7,000 years ago. A long time ago, the pacific oceanic plate was gradually moving under the pacific continental plate in the process of plate tectonics. The pressure shaped the land to move upward and create a line of mountains that are currently located on the Cascade Range. These lavas piled and cooled on top of each other resulting in mountains like Mazama and Hood. Mount Mazama was built by successive flows of both andesite and dacite lavas. Mount Mazama was a stratovolcano, which was about 12,000 feet high after series of ash, cinders, and pumice explosions built it upward. During it?s final eruption the magma chamber was emptying and the underlying support for the mountain was lost and the walls of the volcano began to collapse. In just a matter of days the top of the mountain was destroyed and left a caldera. A caldera is a word used by geologists to describe large basin-shaped volcanic depr essions. The destruction Mount Mazama was what marked the beginning of the formation of Crater Lake. The caldera was about 3,000 feet deep and over time, snow and rai...

Race and the Sociological Imagination Essay

For generations African Americans have been disadvantaged in America and effects of these injustices have made a lasting impression. Education is one of the leading problems in the black community. Though there have many reforms in education over the years, racial injustices still exist because no attention in placed on how legislature affects people of color. I was raised in a middle-class family of educators. My entire life I’ve been told to â€Å"stay in school, get an education, and work hard so that you can beat the system. † Recognizing the structural forces in my life has helped me understand my place in society. Being able to â€Å"understand everyday life, not through personal circumstances but through the broader historical forces that structure and direct it† (Desmond and Emirbayer 43) has really had an impact on me. My father was born in 1968, the year we consider then end of the civil rights movement. He went to Luscher Elementary during the 70s and at that time the school was integrated. He had mostly White teachers and schoolmates. He received a quality education because of the resources given to whites were now available to blacks. He chose to attend St. Augustine High school. The Archdiocese of New Orleans constructed St. Augustine High School with funds solicited from Catholics of the Archdiocese through the Youth Progress Program. The Archdiocese of New Orleans placed the school under the patronage of St. Augustine of Hippo, a preeminent Christian and scholar of Africa, and a Father of the Church. This was appropriate since from its inception the school was designated for the education of young men from Black Catholic families of New Orleans. St. Augustine High School led the way in battling segregation in New Orleans. The successful legal challenges mounted by the school resulted in the de-segregation of the high school athletics in the state of Louisiana. The famed Marching 100 was the first African-American high school band to march in the Rex parade on Mardi Gras Day. My grandfather and father attended St. Augustine High School and through the education they received along with athletic scholarships and financial aide they both went on to attend Loyola University. My position in society was shaped by my economic position, which was an effect of my grandfather and father’s educations. My grandfather was able to attend college but this was not true for his parents. Depending upon a persons situation social welfare programs can either enforce progression or plateau disadvantages. I was able to attend Isidore Newman School and I lived in an integrated neighborhood where resources such as schools, hospitals, parks and grocery stores were better than those in other parts of New Orleans. My integrated neighborhood provided me with a good education. Blacks in poor neighborhoods are inhibited from achieving the same education as whites because of zoning legislation, transportation and lack of funds. My family was able to establish themselves financially because of social welfare programs such as war bonds, Pell grants, and the integration of schools. My grandfather was able to own their own home and provide for our family. He had a career as a school administrator they paid well. He provided opportunities for his children to attend college and for his wife. Desmond and Emirbayer argue that , â€Å"If we hope to drive racial domination from the gates of our schools we must continue the work of confronting whiteness in the curriculum† (346). I understand that as finding ways to end institutional racism and raising awareness of ideologies that will end prejudices. Until I attended Loyola I had a naive impression of racial awareness. Personally, I believe education is the key to combating racism. We must education our peers on our cultures. We must explain that â€Å"colorblindness† in society is not what’s best. Only by embracing and recognizing each other differences we will be able to break the social bubbles we live in. I’ve gained a stronger sense of racial awareness through this course. I have the ability to challenge and change other people’s ideologies and understand my own. I know because of my social position have scholarships, financial aide and the values of hard work and education instilled in me by my parents and grandparents. I’m also aware that many people are not able to gain that same access. Because of my racial awareness there is so much more I want to find out about the contributing factors that led to my family’s social position in New Orleans. It is through my racial awareness I plan to beat the system.

Using Glob with Directories in Ruby

Globbing files (with Dir.glob) in Ruby allows you to select just the files you want, such as all the XML files, in a given directory. Even though Dir.blog  is like  regular  expressions, it is not. Its very limited compared to Rubys regular expressions and is more closely related to shell expansion wildcards. The opposite of globbing, iterating over all the files in a directory, can be done with the Dir.foreach  method. Example The following glob will match all files ending in .rb in the current directory. It uses a single wildcard, the asterisk. The asterisk will match zero or more characters, so any file ending in .rb will match this glob, including a file called simply .rb, with nothing before the file extension and its preceding period. The glob method will return all files that match the globbing rules as an array, which can be saved for later use or iterated over. #!/usr/bin/env ruby Dir.glob(*.rb).each do|f| puts f end Wildcards and More There are only a few wildcards to learn: * – Match zero or more characters. A glob consisting of only the asterisk and no other characters or wildcards will match all files in the current directory. The asterisk is usually combined with a file extension if not more characters to narrow down the search.** – Match all directories recursively. This is used to descend into the directory tree and find all files in sub-directories of the current directory, rather than just files in the current directory. This wildcard is explored in the example code below.? – Match any one character. This is useful for finding files whose name are in a particular format. For example, 5 characters and a .xml extension could be expressed as .xml.[a-z] – Match any character in the character set. The set can be either a list of characters or a range separated with the hyphen character. Character sets follow the same syntax as and behave in the same manner as character sets in regular expressions.{a,b} – Match patter n a or b. Though this looks like a regular expression quantifier, it isnt. For example, in regular expression, the pattern a{1,2} will match 1 or 2 a characters. In globbing, it will match the string a1 or a2. Other patterns can be nested inside of this construct. One thing to consider is case sensitivity. Its up to the operating system to determine whether TEST.txt and TeSt.TxT refer to the same file. On Linux and other systems, these are different files. On Windows, these will refer to the same file. The operating system is also responsible for the order in which the results are displayed. It may differ if youre on Windows versus Linux, for example. One final thing to note is the Dir[globstring] convenience method. This is functionally the same as Dir.glob(globstring) and is also semantically correct (you are indexing a directory, much like an array). For this reason, you may see Dir[] more often than Dir.glob, but they are the same thing. Examples Using Wildcards The following example program will demonstrate as many patterns as it can in many different combinations. #!/usr/bin/env ruby # Get all .xml files Dir[*.xml] # Get all files with 5 characters and a .jpg extension Dir[.jpg] # Get all jpg, png and gif images Dir[*.{jpg,png,gif}] # Descend into the directory tree and get all jpg images # Note: this will also file jpg images in the current directory Dir[**/*.jpg] # Descend into all directories starting with Uni and find all # jpg images. # Note: this only descends down one directory Dir[Uni**/*.jpg] # Descend into all directories starting with Uni and all # subdirectories of directories starting with Uni and find # all .jpg images Dir[Uni**/**/*.jpg]