A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery OConnor Essay Example for Free

A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery OConnor Essay The title A Good Man Is Hard to Find gives you the impression that someone is looking for a partner. When in reality, the title is actually explaining the moral of the story. Every character has their bad points, even the seemingly innocent children. From the Misfits, to the entire family, everyone was disrespectful and just plain rude. In some families it would be considered a mortal sin to be rude to elders. Unfortunately this family seems to get a kick out of being cruel to their poor grandmother. The Misfits are a different story entirely, because they know nothing better than cruelty. The Grandmother wasnt perfect herself, but she did have it a little rough. Starting things off the Grandmother was the most mistreated elder I have ever seen. Even despite the fact most of the stuff that came out of her mouth was false or an elaboration. She was an un-trusted old lady whose family couldnt wait to get rid of her. Someone whose words were constantly falling on deaf ears would get dramatic for attention, which is precisely what Grandmother did. This woman would stretch stories for her own benefit, which led to the familys untimely death. Constantly fighting for her way, she felt it necessary to hide the cat in a basket. This also explains lying about the secret panel, which was enough to amuse the children. If she didnt have clever ways to get her thoughts across, she would be completely ignored. The parents have been setting the wrong example for their children by disrespecting Grandmother. When the car flipped the Grandmother feared her sons hostility. She was immediately guilt ridden and made herself look as vulnerable as possible. Her family had every right to be upset with her and she knew it. The family, used to hearing her ridiculous stories and demands, has grown accustom to ignoring her. They make it obvious that shes not wanted in the family. Even the children are rude and disrespectful, obviously following the example of their parents. Her son glares at her for making pleasant conversation, and his wife doesnt allow her to listen to the music she chooses. Her own granddaughter was filled with contempt when she found out  that Grandmother had indeed survived the car wreck. So fits the title that A Good Man Is Hard to Find, you cant find one in this story. Now with the entire family burning holes on poor Grandmother with their eyes, you dont think it could get any worse for her. Here arrive the Misfits. This appears to be a homely bunch of rejects or rebels, knowing nothing more than raising hell. They ride up carrying their guns, making the family realize their predicament just got a whole lot worse. The Grandmother recognizes them at once and begins to beg for mercy. All the while, theyre killing her unloving family off one by one. The old lady is persistent and continues encouraging the Misfit to pray, and become a good man. They converse for a while, and he begins to explain why hes up to no good. He opens up to her, and she realizes he just doesnt know any better. Grandmother is obviously distraught but she keeps at him. There is finally a glimmer of hope in the mans face, he apparently wishes for a better life. When Grandmother reaches out to comfort him, to pull that good man out of him, BAM! He retaliates to her kindness with a wave of bullets. She would have been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life. This man only knows how to kill kindness. He is simply stating what would have given them pleasure. The very next thing he says Its no real pleasure in life. This statement proves that he learned something from that old woman. He realizes what theyve been killing all along. So her death wasnt meaningless she finally got her point across to someone, someone finally listened to what she had to say, and was actually affected by it. So she died a happy woman, with a nice smile on her face, killed by her own kindness.

The Concept Of Microfinance

The Concept Of Microfinance In the recent years, most of the countries across the globe are in a sweeping mood to promote microfinance not only as a positive rural development intervention but also as a rural development panacea. As a result, the developmental economists in underdeveloped and developing economies have increasingly become enthusiastic in promotion and development of microfinance as one of the rural development initiatives. The purpose of such an initiative is to promote the welfare of the society as a whole by targeting the most talked developmental objectives of poverty alleviation (Shah,2008) and balanced regional development (Barman et al. , 2009). Micro-finance today though has become one of the most debated topics but it is a much confused buzzword among the bankers and the policy makers. Micro-finance is more than just a word as it has much wider meaning and implications. It is an instrument and a tool that has power to collectively address poverty, empower the socially poor, address gender issues and thereby strengthen the society as a whole. Micro-finance has therefore emerged as a powerful mechanism which ensures the social and economic empowerment of poor (Sriram, 2004). Concept of Microfinance Microfinance, according to McGuire and Conroy (2000), is the provision of financial services, primarily savings and credit, to poor households that do not have access to formal financial institutions. The Task Force on Supportive Policy and Regulatory Framework for Microfinance set up by NABARD in November 1998 defined microfinance as the provision of thrift, credit and other financial services and products of very small amounts to the poor in rural, semi urban or urban areas, for enabling them to raise their income levels and improve living standards (Sharma, 2001; Reddy, 2005, Reji, 2009). These financial services, according to Satish (2005) and Dasgupta (2006), generally include deposits, loans, payment services, money transfers, and insurance to poor and low income households and their microenterprises. However, the expression microfinance according to Torre and Vento (2006) denotes offering the financial services to Zero or low income beneficiaries. Wanchoo (2007) defines microfinance as any activity that includes the provision of financial services such as credit, savings, and insurance to low income individuals who either fall below the nationally defined poverty line or fall just above that, with the goal of creating social value. The creation of social value means making efforts in direction of eradication of poverty, improving livelihood opportunities for the poor through the provision of capital for micro-enterprise, promotion of savings for poor so that current problems and future risks can be minimized. However, how much below or above the poverty line has not been defined anywhere in the literature so far. Arabi (2009) and Satish (2005) defines microfinance as small scale financial services primarily credit and deposits that are provided to people who farm, fish or herd and adds that it operates small or microenterprises both in urban and rural areas. According to Dinesha and Jayasheela (2009), these financial services are provided by financial institutions to the poor to meet their normal financial needs life cycle, economic opportunity and emergency. In the words of Dhandapani (2009) microfinance means extension of small loans to the poor, especially women to start business, invest in self employment works with the aim to increase their income and standard of living. As per the definition of Nagayya and Rao (2009), microfinance refers to entire range of financial and non-financial services including skill upgradation and entrepreneurial development of poor. Sehrawat etal. (2011) however, defines microfinance as a financial service provided by financial institutions to the poor which may include savings, credit, insurance, leasing, money transfer, equity transaction, etc. to meet their normal financial needs like life cycle, economic opportunity and emergency. In short, it can be said that the concept of microfinance involves Banking for the poor and Banking with the poor. Such banking initiatives open doors of finance for destitute and underprivileged people who otherwise do not have access to finance from formal financial sources due to lack of collateral security (Nagayya and Rao, 2009; Barman et al. 2009). Microfinance targets the poorest segment of clients. They are self-employed and household-based entrepreneurs. Their diverse micro-enterprise includes small retail shops, street vending, artisanal manufacture, etc. Components of Microfinance (Microfinance vs Microcredit) The term `microfinance and `microcredit are often used interchangeably but in reality there is the difference between the two. Microcredit is the extension of small loans to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. Microfinance is a broader concept encompassing not only the extension of credit to the poor, but also the provision of other financial services like savings, cash withdrawals and insurance (Dasgupta, 2006; Nagayya and Rao, 2009). Microcredit is the component of microfinance. There are four components of microfinance: Microcredit: It is a small amount of money lent to a client by a bank or other institution. Microcredit can be offered, often without collateral, to an individual or through group lending. The purpose of such a loan is to provide credit to those who require it. Microsavings: These are small sums of money that allow poor people to save small amounts of money for future use. These saving accounts are often without minimum balance requirements. It helps low households to save in order to meet unexpected expenses and plan for future investments. These are the means of collateral to microcredit (Sinha, 2005). Microinsurance: It is an economic instrument characterised by low premium designed to service low income people not served by typical social or commercial insurance schemes and helps in mitigating risks affecting property and health (Khandelwal A.K., 2007). Remittances: These are transfers of funds from people in one place to people in another, usually across borders to family and friends (Khandelwal A.K., 2007). The Rise of Microfinance Movement / the Beginnings of Microfinance The concept of Microfinance is not new as it has had its prevalence in the long past. The imprints of microfinance can be traced back to Indonesia which points towards the formation of Indonesian Peoples Credit Banks which were set up in 1895 and which had close to 9000 units. Later, efforts were made to bring about revolution in Pakistan (now Bangladesh) by Akhtar Hameed Khan in 1959 in form of formation of Academy for Rural Development (Khandelwal, 2007). In the late 1970s, the economists round the world recognised that poor lack access to financial services (McGuire and Conroy, 2000; Tiwari and Fahad,1997 ; Barman et al., 2009). From this developed a new emphasis on establishing better financial systems which could direct credit to poor clients on a more sustainable basis than had been possible under previous discredited schemes of directed credit (McGuire and Conroy, 2000). At that time, Professor Muhammad Yunus popularised the concept of microloans as he believed that peace prevails only when hunger is quelled (Shetty and Veershekharappa, 2009). He started Grammeen Bank in 1976 in the outskirts of Chittagong University campus in the village of Jobra, Bangladesh with only a meagre amount of $27 as loan and made it a target to grant loans to the poorest of the poor. He felt concerned for the miserable landless women who were labouring for other people. He reasoned that if these women could work for themselves instead of working for others, they could retain much of the surplus generated by their labours, currently enjoyed by others. He started giving loans to even beggars. He was also of the view that if beggars can go to houses for getting money, they can go to houses to sell a product also. The Grameen Bank lending procedures are simple and effective. The first and foremost step in receipt of credit is the formation of the group of five members that gather once a week for loan repayment (Dasgupta, 2001). Loans are initially made to two individuals in the group, who are then under pressure from the rest of the members to repay in good time. The borrower has to repay the loan in weekly instalments spread over a year. The functioning of Grameen Bank also involves enchanting of 16 Decisions at the start of their weekly session. These decisions include production of fruits and vegetables in kitchen gardens, investment for improvement of housing and education for children, use of latrines and safe drinking water for better health, rejection of dowry in marriages etc. Although observance of these decisions is not mandatory, in actual practice it has become a requirement for receiving a loan (Tiwari and Fahad, 1997). In order to promote thrift habit, it is compulsory for every member to save one Taka per week which is accumulated in the Group Fund. This account is managed by the group. The amount in the Fund is deposited with Grameen Bank and earns interest. A member can borrow from this fund for consumption, sickness, social ceremony or even for investment (if allowed by all group members). In case of default in repayment or failure to attend meetings, the defaulters may be charged with a fine or may be expelled. The members are free to leave the group before the loan is fully repaid; however, the responsibility to pay the balance falls on the remaining group members. Some of the key strategies adopted by the Grameen Bank are listed below: I) There is an exclusive focus on the poorest of the poor. This is exclusivity ensured by: establishing clearly the eligibility criteria for selection of targeted clientele and adopting practical measures to screen out those who do not meet them. in delivering credit, priority has been increasingly assigned to women. the delivery system is geared to meet the diverse socio-economic development needs of the poor. 2) Borrowers are organized into small homogeneous groups. Such characteristics facilitate group solidarity as well as participatory interaction. Organizing the primary groups of five members and federating them into centers. The Centers are functionally linked to the Grameen Bank, whose field workers have to attend Centre meetings every week. 3) Special loan conditions which are particularly suitable for the poor. These include: a) very small amounts of loans given without any collateral b) loans repayable in weekly instalments spread over a year c) eligibility for a subsequent loan depends upon repayment of first loan d) individual, self-chosen, quick income-generating activities which employ the skills that harrowers already posses. e) close supervision of credit by the group f) stress on collective borrower responsibility or peer pressure g) special safeguards through compulsory and voluntary savings to minimize the risks that the poor confront. h) Undertaking of social development agenda addressing basic needs of the clientele. This is reflected in the sixteen decisions adopted by Grameen borrowers. Thus, the lending operations of Grameeen Bank include the use of group guarantees, inculcating compulsory savings habit and transparency of credit transactions (Mcguire and Conroy, 2000). A still more interesting feature is the ingenious manner of grant of credit without any collateral security. The availability of lending outlets near the clients, simple application procedures, and quick disbursement of loans are the special techniques to ensure good repayment rates (Tiwari and Fahad,1997 ). The Grameen Bank is now lending loan size of $ 800 million a year with an average loan size of almost $130, the bank has 7 million borrowers, 97 percent of them are women and an unmatched repayment rate of 98 percent(Tiwari and Fahad,1997 ; Singh and Kumar,2008). The microloans not only helped the poor in getting finance in Bangladesh and facilitated the lives of millions of poor but also earned Muhammad Yunus a Nobel Prize in the year 2006. Evolution of microfinance in India The Grameen Bank model of microfinance based on joint liability of members has received wide international appeal and popularity in numerous emerging economies like India. In fact the developing economies have even tried to replicate these models for developing small scale business and reducing poverty levels (Jha, 2002; Idolor and Imhanlahimi, 2011). The evolution of Indian MF can be broadly divided into four distinct phases: Phase 1: The Cooperative Movement (1900-1960) During this phase, there was dominance of two sources of credit viz. institutional sources and non-institutional sources. The non institutional sources catered to 93 percent of credit requirement in the year 1951-52 and institutional sources accounted to 7 percent of total credit requirements pertaining to that year. The preponderance of informal sources of credit was due to provision of loans for both productive and non productive purposes as well as for short term and long term purposes and simple procedures of lending adopted. But they involved several malpractices like charging high rates of interest, denial of repayment, misappropriation of collaterals, etc. At that time, government considered cooperatives as an instrument of economic development of disadvantaged masses. The credit cooperatives were vehicles to extend subsidized credit to poor under government sponsorship. They were characterized as non exploitative, voluntary membership and decentralized decision making. The Primary Agricultural societies (PACS) provide mainly short term and medium term loans and Land Development Banks provide long term loans as a part of cooperative movement. Phase 2: Subsidized Social Banking (1960s 1990) It was observed that cooperatives could not do much as was expected of them. With failure of cooperatives, All India Rural Credit Survey Committee in 1969 emphasized the adoption of Multiagency Approach to Institutional Credit which assigned an important role to the commercial banks in addition to cooperatives. Even Indian planners in fifth five year plan (1974-79), emphasised Garibi Hatao (Removal of poverty) and the growth with social justice. It was due to this approach that in 1969, 14 leading banks were nationalized and later on five regional rural banks were set up for the purpose on October 2, 1975 at Moradabad and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, Bhiwani in Haryana ,Jaipur in Rajasthan and Malda in West Bengal. Hence, as a result of Multiagency approach and other planning initiatives, Government focused on measures such as nationalization of Banks (Shetty and Veerashekharappa, 2009; Sriram, 2005), expansion of rural branch networks, establishment of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and the setting up of apex institutions such as the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the Small Scale Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as the central bank of the country played a crucial role by giving overall direction for providing credit and financial support to national bank for its operations. Therefore, after the multiagency approach, the commercial banks and regional rural banks assumed a major role in providing both short term and long term funds for serving the poorest of poor. Despite, the multiagency approach adopted, a very large number of the poorest of the poor continued to remain outside the fold of the formal banking system(Reddy and Manak, 2005; Singh and Kumar, 2008; Nagayya and Rao, 2009; Shetty and Veershekharappa, 2009). While these steps led to reaching a large population, the period was characterized by large-scale misuse of credit, creating a negative perception about the credibility of micro borrowers among bankers, thus further hindering access to banking services for the low-income people. However the gap between demand and supply of financial services still prevailed due to shortcomings of institutional credit system as it provides funds only for productive purposes, requirement of collateral, massive paper work leading to inordinate delays. As a response to failure of formal financial system in reaching the poor and destitute masses, the micro finance through Self-help groups was innovated and institutionalized in the Indian scenario. While no definitive date has been determined for the actual conception and propagation of SHGs, the practice of small groups of rural and urban people banding together to form a savings and credit organization is well established in India. In the early stages, NGOs played a pivotal role in innovating the SHG model and in implementing the model to develop the process fully (Reddy and Manak2005). The first step towards Micro-finance intervention was establishment of Self Employed Womens Association (SEWA), non formal organization owned by women of petty trade groups. It was established on the cooperative principle in 1974 in Gujarat. This initiative was undertaken for providing banking services to the poor women employed in unorganized sector of Ahmadabad. Shree Mahila Sahkari Bank was set up as urban cooperative bank. At national level, SHG movement involves NGOs helping in the formation of the groups. During this time, the planners and policy makers were desperately searching for the viable ways of poverty alleviation. Around that time, the Government of India launched the Integrated Rural Development Program (IRDP), a large poverty alleviation credit program, with the purpose of providing credit to poor and under-privileged which involved provision of government subsidized credit through banks to the poor. But the IRDP was a supply led programme and the clients had no choice over the purpose and the amount. At this stage, it was realised that the poor really needed better access to these services and products, rather than cheap subsidized credit. That is when the experts started talking about microfinance, rather than microcredit. Keeping in view the economic scenario of those days, a strong need was felt for alternative policies, procedures, savings and loan products, other complementary services, and new delivery mechanisms, which would fulfil the requirements of the poorest, especially of the women members of such households ( Barman et al. 2009; Shetty and Veerashekharappa, 2009). It was during this time, NABARD conducted a series of research studies independently and in association with MYRADA, a leading NGO from Southern India, which showed that a very large number of poor continued to remain outside the fold of the formal banking system (Reddy and Manak, 2005). Later on PRADAN in its Madurai projects started forming women SHG groups (Satish, 2005). During 1988-89, NABARD in association with Asia Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA) undertook a survey of 43 NGOs in 11 states in India, to study the functioning of microfinance SHGs and their collaboration possibilities with formal banking system (Satish P, 2005; Shetty and Veerashekharappa, 2009). Both these research projects laid the foundation stone for the initiation of a pilot project called the SHG linkage project (Satish P, 2005). Phase 3: SHG-Bank Linkage Program (1990 2000) The failure of subsidized social banking lead to delivery of credit with NABARD initiating the Self Help Group (SHG) Bank Linkage Programme in 1992 (SBLP), aiming to link informal womens groups to formal banks. This was the first official attempt in linking informal groups with formal lending structures. To initiate this project NABARD held extensive consultations with the RBI. This resulted the RBI issuing a policy circular in 1991 to all Commercial Banks to participate and extend finance to SHGs (RBI, 1991). This was the first instance of mature SHGs that were directly financed by a commercial bank. The informal thrift and credit groups of poor were recognized as bankable clients. Soon after, the RBI advised Commercial Banks to consider lending to SHGs as part of their rural credit operations thus creating SHG Bank Linkage ( Reddy and Manak,2005). The program has been extremely useful in increasing banking system outreach to unreached people. The programme has been extremely advantageous due to reduction of transaction cost due to less paper work and record keeping as group lending rather than individual lending is involved (Barman et al. 2009). The SHG bank linkage is a strong method of financial inclusion, providing unbanked rural clientele with access to formal financial services from the existing banking infrastructure. The major benefit by linking SHGs with the banks is that it helps in overcoming the problem of high transaction cost of banks as the responsibility of loan appraisal, follow up, recovery of loans are left to poor themselves. On the other side, SHGs gain by enjoying larger and cheaper sources (Varman, 2005). Later, the planners in Ninth Five year plan (1997-2002) laid emphasis on Growth with Social Justice and Equality. The objective of Ninth plan as approved by the National Development Council explicitly states as follows: Promoting and developing participatory institutions like Panchayati Raj Institutions, cooperatives and Self -Help Groups. Hence, it was ninth five year plan that expressly laid down the objective of establishment of Self Help Groups in order to achieve the objective of Growth with Social Justice and Equality as a part of microfinance initiative. Meanwhile, in 1999, the Government of India merged various credit programs together, refined them and launched a new programme called Swaranjayanti Gram Swarazagar Yojana (SGSY). The aim of SGSY was to continue to provide subsidized credit to the poor through the banking sector to generate self-employment through a Self-Help Group approach (Sriram, 2005). Phase 4: Commercialization of Microfinance: The first decade of the new millennium This stage involves greater participation of new microfinance institutions that started taking interest in the sector not only as part of their corporate social responsibility but also as a new business line. A number of institutions have been set up overtime which were required to meet the credit requirements of the new society and downtrodden. At present Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012) aims at Towards More and Inclusive Growth. The word inclusive growth means including and considering those who are somehow excluded from the benefits which they (poor) should avail. Microfinance is a step towards inclusive growth via inclusive finance which moves around serving the financial needs and non financial needs of poor in order to improve level of living of rural masses. Demand and Supply forces of microfinance 1.5.1 The Demand for Microfinance Traditionally the targets of microfinance meant the poorest of the poor and the poor. More, recently, microfinance focus is changing as it has now started serving people who, although, not living in poverty, have general difficulty in obtaining the credit (Torre and Vento, 2006). This is on account of socio-economic changes that have put forward potential new microfinance clients. In this way, modern microfinance is expanding its horizon from poorest of poor to the victims of financial inclusion. The phenomenon of financial inclusion has been defined in literature as inability to access finance in an appropriate way ( ). These victims of financial inclusion involve disadvantaged individuals who are unable to bear the cost and conditions of financial products offered. Another category of microfinance targets included the marginalised people who mainly comprise of small scale entrepreneurs who are running small businesses, self-employed workers and individuals who unable to obtain cred it (Torre and Vento, 2006). In this category, women assume major significance. This is due to the more responsible nature of women who are more responsible in repayment of loan then men. The continuing involvement of poorest of the poor, poor, disadvantaged and marginalised people determines the greater complexity of the supply forces of Indian microfinance structure and thus, a more decisive move away from traditional pattern of credit. 1.5.2 The Supply of Microfinance In any economy, most of the day-to-day activities require finance. Finance is required both for productive and non productive purposes. The productive purposes include requirement of fixed capital for commencement of business, funds for working capital requirement to meet day today activities, trade related emergencies, exploring investment opportunities etc. On the other hand, finance may be needed for non productive purposes, such as for celebration of marriages, births and deaths, for litigation. In order to satisfy in above needs there are two available sources of credit available to the poor: institutional sources or formal sources, non-institutional sources or informal sources. Formal institutions are the registered entities subject to all relevant laws. These include commercial banks (including public and private sector banks), regional rural banks and cooperative banks. Recognizing the potential of micro finance to positively influence the development of the poor, the Reserve Bank, NABARD and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) have taken several initiatives over the years to give elevation to the micro finance movement in India. The Commercial Banks and Regional Rural Banks provide both short term and long term funds for serving the poorest of poor. The Primary Agricultural societies (PACS) provide mainly short term and medium term loans and Land Development Banks provide long term loans. The National Bank of Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) is the apex institution at national level for agricultural credit and refinance assistance to the agencies mentioned above .The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as the central bank of the country plays a crucial role by giving overall direction for providing credit and financial support to national bank for its operations. On the other hand, government owned societies like Rashtriya Mahila Kosh(RMK), Mutually Aided Cooperative Societies, private sector companies like specialized NBFCs are also involved in providing credit to the poor. Informal institutions include self help groups, money lenders, traders, relatives, commission agents. They are providers of microfinance services on a voluntary basis and are not subject to any kind of regulation. 1.6 Self Help Groups Defined A Self Help Group is a basic unit of micro-finance which comprises of 15 to 20 people having homogeneous social and economic background (Singh and Kumar, 2008) that voluntarily come together to save small amounts regularly and mutually agree to contribute a common fund. The aim of such formation is to meet present and emergency needs of the members on mutual help, solidarity and joint responsibility basis. Self Help Groups (SHGs) are necessary to overcome exploitation, create confidence and creation of feeling of self worth for the economic and social self-reliance of rural poor, particularly among women who are mostly invisible in the social structure. The Self Help Groups are the basis for further action and change which help members become self reliant economically and socially. It also helps building of stable relationship for mutual trust between the promoting organization and the rural poor (Singh and Kumar, 2008). Though loan repayment is a joint liability of the group but, in reality, individual liability is stressed upon (Singh and Kumar, 2008). Maintaining group reputation leads to the application of tremendous peer pressure. The group members use collective wisdom and peer pressure to ensure proper utilization of credit and its timely repayment thereof. In fact, peer pressure has been recognized as an effective substitute for collaterals (Barman et al. , 2009).

Joan of arc Essay -- Biography

Joan of Arc Through all the hardships and blood, Joan of Arc was a fierce warrior and led the French to complete victory. Starting out in a maiden village, and more of a shock for being a woman, Joan completely transform herself and France. Advancing in a year and a month, crowned a reluctant king, rallied broken people, reversed the course of a great war, and shoved history into a new path (Richey 1); Joan made a name for herself. No one can ever suppress what she achieved at such a young age. Joan of Arc (Jehanne Darc) was born January 6th, 1412 in a little village of Domremy, France. She grew up as a faithful Catholic and a sweet, respectful maiden girl. According to a prediction, a young maiden girl would save France and sure enough Joan would be that girl. Starting at age twelve, she began having visions of different Angels and hearing voices from the Saints and God himself. And with these orders, she made a sacred promise to always stay a virgin and disobeyed her father even though he warn her not to be influence by this craziness. By the time she was nineteen, she was up on trial for claims of witchcraft even though she saved France. Throughout her adventures, she inspired others and showed she was no different even though she was a girl. Throughout each situation, the voices and visions helped Joan on what she had to do. Whenever she wept and felt hopeless, they helped bring her to her feet. This encouragement build up much self confidence in Joan as a fearless leader. With this gift, Joan used it to help convince the church and the captain of Vaucouleurs, Robert de Baudricourt, she was chosen to help save France and have Dauphin Charles VII crowned King. Once given the permission, she was given armor b... ...his during WWI, her name was invoked by Allies on battlefields to pay tribute for the inspirational leader Joan became to be. Joan impacted France and the world by creating a national consciousness that never existed before and became a personality cult that embraced all who looked up to her. She made a absolute stunning moral impact to everyone, no matter if they were against the fact she has a special gift, by all her military victories and the patriotism and devotion she gave, which also helped all her soldiers believe in themselves. Joan hauled all the wrecked mess from these people in France and brought back a hopeful future and renewal embrace. Not only the battles Joan won for France and bringing alive a great King, but she will be remembered for her excellent leadership, even when she was shot down, and fighting and dying for what she stood for.

Dance brazil :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dance Brazil Dance Brazil performs with flexibility and power, which is evident throughout its entirety. Whether the company is lying on the floor or leaping through the air, they command their space. However, throughout the production they also incorporate one important factor, their culture. In the introduction of the show, the dancers demonstrate their religious ways by presenting the sign of the cross to the people. Throughout the scene, the costumes that were being worn were all directly related to the colors of various gods. Throughout one scene, the dancers become possessed, one man loses control of his emotions, and lands into another man’s arms. One could possible interpret that this man is landing into the arms of god. The following scene featured a woman dressed in blue. I appreciated the way their movements resembled water that recedes after the tide; movements that matched the full and vibrant sound of the band. I also valued the bleak positioning, woman facing forward, man facing away, with their backs against each other. The man repeatedly placed his hand on the woman, only to have her definitively push him away. This control at the beginning contrasted with a kind of compliance at the end, as the woman was carried off on the back of the man. The music pulled their bodies. They were elegant yet powerful at the same time. They had a superior blend of a partnership ,they danced like a partnership without it being a partnership dance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Overall, I took pleasure in the production â€Å"Dance Brazil†. My first thoughts were negative, I did not expect this dance to be as exciting and interesting as it truly was.

Spirit Of The Game Essay -- essays research papers

The Spirit of the Game This was one of the most inspiring books I have ever read. It spoke about periods of time throughout the evolving of one of Americas most intense and loved games. The book was split up into two large sections and then divided into chapters inside the sections. The first section was called The Spirit. The first chapter of this section deals with the early stages of development in the game. From the beginning hockey was known as a sport of integrity, grit, hard work all mixed in with a little class. Some of the most influential hockey players of all time such as Dan Bain, Goaltender for the 1899-1900 Winnipeg Victorias represented all these things that represent what hockey is all about. The next chapter in the section is called Team Game. This chapter in my opinion talks about the most important part of the game, which is teamwork. In the beginning hockey did not have all the individually talented players of today, it was all about the team. The 1932 Detroit Falcons, which would soon be, renamed the Red Wings were a prime example of a 1920-1950s-hockey team. Not one player on the team tried to put their own individual statistics before the team, no matter how good they were. With this intense team playing style they won the Stanley cup the following season. The next and final chapter in section 1 was Behind the Bench. The most substantial role is not being played on the ice, but behind the bench by the coaches. The coaches in any sport set the tone a...

Overfishing: When Humans Exhaust the Oceans Essay

The ocean is one of the major sources of food for human beings. This is not surprising, considering that oceans cover 75% of the Earth’s surface. The Pacific Ocean, for one, is home to well-known edible fish species such as salmon, herring, snapper, sardines and tuna. Furthermore, about 250 new species of fish are described every year (Heemstra, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity and South Africa Marine & Coastal Management, 1). However, overfishing is currently regarded as the biggest threat to the ocean’s ecosystem. Fishing at a much faster pace than nature’s ability to replenish fish has resulted in long-term economic and ecological consequences. Major fishing industries in various parts of the world have collapsed, resulting in massive unemployment (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 11). In addition, the extinction of a certain fish species would certainly spell the loss of other marine life that feed on it. Indeed, if left unchecked, overfishing could turn fish into a rare and expensive delicacy. Before World War II, fishing was associated with cotton nets, hand lines and coastal vessels with short ranges. Fishing capacity was often determined by factors such as the individual fisherman’s eyesight, experience and fish-finding capability. Despite the rudimentary technology, most fish populations survived. The balance between the number of fish populations and people’s ability to catch fish was maintained (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 11). But after the war, military innovations were applied to fishing equipment. Fiberglass was used to create lighter and cheaper hulls, larger and lighter nets were woven out of synthetic line and diesel engines and other electronic gear were appended to fishing boats to increase their speed and efficiency in locating productive fishing grounds. These were soon followed with advances in processing, transport and marketing of fish. As a result, the availability of fish increased in some countries (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 11). Rising human populations and affluence, especially in the United States, Japan and Western Europe, was another factor behind the boom of the fishing industry after World War II. During this period, fish was viewed as a cheap and inexhaustible source of protein. Thus, governments and entrepreneurs invested heavily in fishing vessels and infrastructure. Warnings of environmentalists regarding the dangers of overfishing went unheeded – the ocean was supposedly too vast and too deep for its resources to be limited (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 12). At present, it appears that nature is already exacting its revenge. Many fisheries around the world now require larger fleets to be able to come up with their usual catch (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 12). In addition, some species of fish and other marine life have already become extinct, resulting in the loss of livelihood for many fishermen. Overfishing, once largely-ignored, is now recognized as a grave threat. Fishing is no longer the local affair that it used to be. It is currently a global enterprise that not only generates billions of dollars in private income, but also serves as the economic lifeblood of several countries. According to the 1997 statistics of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), fish and shellfish landings worldwide increased from 16. 3 million metric tons in 1950 to 91. million metric tons in 1995. Meanwhile, the United States and several other countries extended the jurisdiction of their respective fishing industries by about 200 nautical miles offshore between 1950 and 1976 (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 12). This resulted in landings having an annual average growth rate of 5%, peaking at 86. 4 million metric tons in 1989 (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 13). World landings since 1950 were composed mostly of pelagic (open ocean) species such as tuna, mackerel and sardines. In 1994, they accounted for at least 60% of the world’s total catch. Pelagic species constitute about 59% of the catch in the Pacific Ocean. In the Indian Ocean, on the other hand, they make up at least 50% (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 13). Demersal fishes (species that live in the ocean bottom) are also an important part of the world’s fishing industry. In 1993, it accounted for about 50% of the world’s total landings – pelagic species made up only 40%. Given the enormous amount of catch from the world’s oceans between the 1950s and the 1990s, it is inevitable that the percentage of fish landings that are traded internationally rose from 20% to 33% from 1980 to 1993. Much of this cut is from Third World countries, which earned $15 billion in 1990 from fish exports alone (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 14). Humans consume about 60% of the world’s total fish landings in the form of processed fish meal and fish oil. This is because the percentage of catch distributed fresh decreased from almost 50% to 20% from 1950 to 1982. Freezing innovations, however, increased fourfold the percentage of fish marketed frozen – from 5% to 22% (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 14). Environmental experts argued that the unsustainable nature of fishing since the end of World War II proved to be conducive to the emergence of overfishing. The oceans are said to be â€Å"among the world’s greatest commons – (owned) by everyone and by no one† (Hollander, 56). Ships and sailors, for instance, are traditionally regarded as the bearers of the privilege to enjoy the â€Å"freedom of the seas† (Hollander, 56). Meanwhile, fish – a natural and mobile ocean resource – was always considered as common property that can be taken freely (Hollander, 56). Thus, those who are engaged in commercial fishing will not think twice about overexploiting the ocean’s fish stocks, as long as their own catch is maximized. As long as the catch was plentiful, people always assumed that the fishes in the ocean were unlimited. Furthermore, fishing was an industry that has been thriving for centuries – there was therefore no apparent need to think about its sustainability. The inhabitants of the New England coast, for example, were traditionally known for living off fisheries that caught cod, flounder and haddock. As of 2004, about 200 million people around the world are directly employed in fisheries (Hollander, 56). Poor government planning exacerbates the problem of overfishing. In First World countries, fishing is a state-subsidized industry. Tens of billions of dollars worth of state assistance has prompted those in the fishing industry to further expand their fleet rather than devise sustainable means of catching fish. In addition, economic and cultural differences among competitors in large international fisheries almost always result in the race as to who ends up with the biggest catch (Hollander, 57). Fishers in the world’s poorest countries are also responsible for the worsening of overfishing. Coastal dwellers in the poorest developing countries often have to compete with each other for the small stocks of fish available in their locality. In order to increase their catch, some fishers use cyanide or blow up coral reefs with dynamite. As coral reefs are the habitats of fishes, dynamite fishing diminishes and eventually destroys fish stocks (Hollander, 61). Being on the edge of starvation, fishers in the poorest nations cannot be blamed if they happened to disregard long-term management. The immediate need to catch fish for food and livelihood often traps them in the vicious cycle of resource overexploitation. But once the sea is already depleted, so is their source of food and livelihood. Thus, something must be done to about overfishing (Hollander, 62). Overfishing is not without serious economic and ecological costs. It has resulted in the near-extinction of the world’s most important fish species, including the Atlantic halibut, Atlantic bluefin tuna, Atlantic swordfish, North Sea herring, Grand Banks cod, Argentinean hake and the Australian Murray River cod. Overfishing has likewise severely depleted the number of other forms of marine life, such as seals, dolphins, whales, sharks and sea turtles. Furthermore, catches in the overfished areas of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans have declined since attaining their peak in 1989 (Diamond, 480). In the northwest Mediterranean, a study revealed that the removal of fish increases the population of sea urchins. A rise in the sea urchin population, in turn, reduces edible fleshy algae and produces crusts of inedible, coral-like algae. This may result in death to other marine life due to starvation. This experiment just goes to show that overfishing has indirect but very detrimental ecosystem effects (Hollander, 59). Another very negative effect of overfishing is the destruction of livelihoods that are based on fishing. It must be noted that the fishing industry is also composed of other supporting and distributing services like fish handlers and boat builders. Thus, overfishing will push countless fishing families into poverty (Environmental Cares Organization, 250). The collapse of the cod industry in Newfoundland, Canada in 1992 led to the loss of about 40,000 jobs (Greenpeace International, n. pag. ). Because the ocean is one of the major sources of food for human beings, common sense dictates that it must be taken cared of. While there is nothing wrong with fishing, it must allow nature to fully replenish the fish that has been caught. It must not be forgotten that the loss of fish is also the loss of survival for humankind. Thus, steps must be done in order to immediately address the problem of overfishing.

Are Some Ways of Knowing More Likely Than Others to Lead to Truth? Essay

Most people believe that money makes the world go round. But scholars believe otherwise. It is the knowledge of how to acquire wealth and of how to make the most of it is really the decisive factor. Humans couldn’t have mastered this world with all its richness in resources and mysteries without ample knowledge of how to do so. It is the gift of knowledge that has set humans apart from any other living species. So it is just proper that scholars delve into studying the concept of knowledge for us to understand it better.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To be more specific, this school of thought is called the â€Å"Theory of Knowledge.† Theory of knowledge is also known as Epistemology. What is so special about Theory OF Knowledge is that it is widely considered as the most important sub-field of philosophy. The Theory of knowledge had made significant advancements since it was first formally studied.   But even though it has already presented many different ways to obtain the â€Å"truth†, many still ask: Are some ways of knowing more likely to be successful to lead to the â€Å"truth† than other methods (Ways of Knowing).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Scholars have dedicated their studies for the further advancement of the Theory of Knowledge. They have gone through countless debates and research for the advancement of the field. This is because of the demand for better understanding is ever-increasing as humanity progresses. The truth is what everyone wants.   What makes things difficult for scholars studying the Theory of Knowledge is that many philosophers also argue that the â€Å"truth† cannot be contained, it cannot be resolved, it is unattainable. However, the Theory of Knowledge counters the argument by presenting to us five ways of knowing that could assist us in obtaining the truth. The five ways of knowing are logic, revelation, language, sense, and emotion. Let us give further details about the five ways of knowing and see if one can be the best way of getting to the truth (Butchvarov 1970). Sense   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For psychologists, sense or perception pertains to the processes that involve the acquisition, organization, interpretation, and selection of information acquired through the bodily senses.   These conventional senses that we are familiar with are namely sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing. Sensory information is basically acquired through sensory organs that can be found in the human anatomy. We can be easily familiarized with this particular way of knowing because we put it into use on a daily basis. We use our eyes to view colors, we can tell the difference in taste between an ice cream and fish, we use our hands to feel rough and smooth surfaces, we use our ears to listen to music. These are practical things we do everyday that we put into use to â€Å"know†, to obtain truth (Gibson 1966).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Beyond the five senses that we are familiar with, there are also addition to the classical senses like temperature, balance, pain, and other recently studied sense that would be too technical to discuss in this paper.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Maurice Merleau-Ponty, a French phenomological philosopher, argues that sense is the foundation of all knowledge and sciences. Even though sense itself cannot give meaning to the objects it â€Å"senses† in this world, the person is able to give meaning from his or her own consciousness. The use of the senses requires constant use for it to give meaning to the objects in this world. As we put into practice our senses, we develop what is called â€Å"mental models.† As the word suggests, as sensory information is sent to our brain, we develop models that we can use as reference if ever the senses encounter the object again. It is like making imprints in our brain about the things around us.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With the use of sense as an approach to obtaining truth, humans can obtain the truth, or at least have an idea, by using the brain’s capabilities. In simpler terms, with the use of senses, humans make the full use of what they intrinsically have, our very own bodies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The only drawback I can offer about using senses to obtain truth is that we can’t always gain access to the objects involved in our queries. For example, if we hear a radio advertisement about ice cream stating that it is sweet, we can’t validate the claim since we are only using hearing, we don’t actually taste the real thing. Logic   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If we go into the etymology of the word â€Å"logic†, we could unearth meanings like reasoning, argument, idea, principle, and thought. It is primarily concerned with the validity of inferences. It is considered a branch of philosophy. Immanuel Kant argued that logic should be a science devoted to studying judgments (Russel 1917).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Logic, like senses, also makes use of the capabilities of the human brain. If we use this as an approach to obtain truth, logic assesses all possible arguments, eliminates all improbable answers to come up with the most convincing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Logic can be a very efficient way to obtain truth. Actually, it is as used as senses, also in a daily basis.   But oftentimes we come across things that our minds can’t comprehend. This is because logic, like sense, makes use of what we already know. So if we use logic in questions about the existence of ghosts, we hastily jump to conclusion that they don’t exist because it defies logic. The problem here is that there are people who believe in the existence of ghosts. So the existence of two different â€Å"truths† makes either feeble. Language   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Language is basically our means of communication. It particularly refers to the use of various forms of communication and the set conventional rules that governs its usage (Crystal 2001).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Personally I wouldn’t use language to derive truth. Humans have developed the use of language far more than any specie could have. Humans have become so adept in using language that we can easily manipulate it. If language is used in combination with logic and reasoning, humans can make â€Å"truths† come out of nowhere. Moreover, there is the concept of â€Å"lying† that can lead us farther from the truth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For example, if there is a trial in court. The lawyers from the two opposing parties have different interest. They defend their arguments with adept use language. The problem may arise if the innocent party, shall I say was outspoken by the opposing party. Then the judge was impressed by the adept use of language even though the opposing party was just presenting lies all the time, just speaking them in a very eloquent manner. Thus the verdict will just be decided by how words were used. The verdict will be considered the truth however it is far from the real thing. Emotion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are so many definitions for the word emotion. Actually, there is no universally agreed term for the word emotion. According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, it is a complex reaction pattern that a person uses to approach a significant and personal matter.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Perhaps feelings would make the subject of emotions much simpler. Feelings are the experiences that come with emotions. Feelings are very useful tools for obtaining truth. Humans have this unexplainable ability to know things just be using their feelings. There are such ambiguous concepts such as gut-feel and motherly instincts (Cornelius 1996). But the problem with using feelings to obtain truth is that emotions and feelings are very prone to be biased. Also since emotions are complex in nature, it will also provide us complex results. I believe that the truth should be unbiased before it is presented or accepted.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For example, I will use the courtroom scenario again, the truth is that the defendant really did the violation he is accused of. He then delivered a very empathic speech that convinced the jury. The decision of the jury had a great impact on the final verdict. Once again, it failed to obtain truth as the jury felt that the defendant was innocent. After all, a feeling is only a feeling and certainly not necessarily the truth. Revelation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And last but definitely not the least, we have revelation as a way of knowing. Revelation, as the word suggests, is about a disclosure that has been provided by a divine being. What has been disclosed is something initially unknown and implausible for humans to uncover. We can also call this divine intervention. The realizations and messages disclosed during revelations transcend the known boundaries of human comprehension. We are familiar with revelations as it happened to the most famous prophets that later on became the proponents of the world’s most popular religions. Most of the instance that the revelations happen to the prophets is when they are in a meditating or in a trance state. Some accounts of revelations happen in dreams. But revelations are not exclusive to great prophets. Actually there are much many accounts of revelation to normal people (Franz 1975).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Probably the best example of the use of revelations is on the holy books of the world’s most popular religions. These holy books are distributed around the globe in countless copies. The religions devout followers live their lives according to the words of these scriptures. It is because these people believe these words to be the truth. That these words are the very words of God himself. Many may challenge the level of truthfulness of these holy scriptures. But if they take in consideration what we’ve learned in theory of knowledge, we will discover we shouldn’t challenge the validity of these scriptures. We are talking about faith here, faith is something that can’t be easily shattered within a person. When we say that a certain belief is someone’s faith, that automatically counts as that someone’s truth. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sense and logic could have been the best ways to knowing the truth. However they both fell short as both of them have certain limitations. Both of these ways of knowing is relying much to the capabilities of the brain, which we know as of now is very limited.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Language and emotions are too complex to put into use of obtaining the truth. And the problem was both of them often leads to a biased truth, which we can’t categorize as a genuine truth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As the best ay of knowing the truth, I preferred it through revelation. The other ways of knowing the truth made me realize how hard it is to obtain truth. Also, the word faith comes with the rod revelation. I believe we should be faithful to what is true. I’m aware that it is still difficult to prove revelations through physical evidence. But we don’t need any of that evidence if we get our goal, the truth. Maybe the truth is really far from the reaches of our comprehension. Maybe if we explore more the possibilities of revelations may it be through religious meditations or simple dreaming. Works Cited Butchvarov. The Concept of Knowledge. Evanston, Northwestern University Press. 1970 Cornelius, R. The science of emotion. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 1996 Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 2001 Gibson, James J. The Senses Considered as Perceptual Systems. Boston. 1966 Raymond Franz. The Appropriate Time for God to Act. Crisis of Conscience,.1975. pp. 237–253 Russell, Bertrand. Mysticism and Logic. London. Allen and Unwin. 1917 Ways of Knowing. Problems of Knowing and Linking Questions. 7 January 2008