American Graffiti essays

American Graffiti essays Can you recall the very last night that you spent with your high school buddies before packing your bags up and leaving for college? The film American Graffiti can help you revisit this night by recreating both the terrible and great times you once experienced. The film is based around a closely knit group of teenagers who will all be leaving each other the next day while adventuring off in their separate directions. This gang of teenagers, despite their differences, all go out together and share their last memorable evening together before splitting up. Many events take place during the course of this last evening together. Throughout the night, friendships are strengthened, conflicting struggles arise, and romances are created and disrupted. Curt Henderson who is a very intelligent man, faces several troubling conflicts. First, Curt must decide if he will accept a large scholarship he has won and attend an eastern coast college. The scholarship would financially help him out, but he begins to have doubts about succeeding there, and would rather attend a local college. However, if he attends a local college, his best friend Steve who had been planning on attending the eastern coast college together, will become terribly upset. Another struggle arises when Curt sees a long-blonde hair women driving a white thunder bird lip motion the words I Love You to him. Curts heart throbs out for this gorgeous babe, and he is determined to chase her around all night and track her down. Unfortunately he receives a rude awakening when this woman tells him that she cant meet him. Curt learns that beauty isnt everything and realizes that his girlfriend Laurie is great match for him. The Pharaohs initiate Curts final conflict. The gang wishes for Curt to join their group and forces him to pull a couple of pranks. However, after successfully completing the pranks, he doe...

U.S. Elections-Prejudices in Journalism essays

U.S. Elections-Prejudices in Journalism essays The articles used to form our class research project on the U.S. Elections were based on News finding from many different countries. The basis of most of the articles was how President Bush and Senator John Kerry were viewed upon in relations with those countries. A few other things covered were senator elections and voting. I feel that language plays a huge role in Newspaper Articles or any type of journalism for that matter. Several articles never directly take sides on the election but by the writing of certain statements leads the reader to believe in one direction. For example, in the Mexico and NAFTA report it was stated, All the major countries in the region opposed the decision by the US and Britain to attack Iraq without a second UN resolution. Kerry supported this policy, though Democrats are now trying to argue that he did so out of loyalty to servicemen about to go into action rather than because he agreed with President Bush. As the article started to put down carry, they rebutted with a comment to make Kerry appear as if he were making his decisions for the people. This continued throughout the article, continuous support of Kerry and not much recognition of Bush. Most of the articles clearing appeared to be trashing both candidates for our Presidency. The article from the Toronto Star reported in one sentence, Bushs policy, it wont work since he is, indeed, performing like a recruiting sergeant for Al Qaeda. A few paragraphs later they stated, Kerry cannot tell his voters the truth, he tells them only part of the truth, when he says it, he doesnt sound like he really believes it. Which is why Americans-as yet-dont believe in him. Another article from the Middle East reported Dr. Mohammad TabatabaI as saying, As far as Iran is concerned, both candidates in the next United States presidential elections have views which are rath ...

Clinical epidemiology 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Clinical epidemiology 2 - Assignment Example Breast cancer cells may be hormone-dependent while some can lie dormant in tissues for a very long time, as long as thirty years, after removal of the primary tumor (Lipkus et al, 2001). Some illnesses may act as catalysts in the progression of the disease in the body (Gail & Rimer, 1998). Consequently, this implies that even with earlier detection and treatment, there can be a risk of recurrence during the entire life of the patient. However, with early screening, it is possible to detect these cells before they start causing symptoms (Schonberg   et al, 2014; Siegel et al, 2012). Once the disease symptoms start showing, the tumors are mostly larger and will have likely spread to other parts beyond the breast. In contrast, breast cancer cells found earlier through screening are likely smaller and their presence is still limited to the breasts thus their spread is much easier to curtail, for example, through prophylactic surgery (Freedman, 2010; Nelson,  2012). At the point of detection, it is easier to estimate the prognosis of breast cancer. The size of the tumor and how far it has spread are vital indicators of predicting prognosis and are almost entirely dependent on the time of detection of the cancer (Siegel et al, 2012). Screening enables detection of the disease in early stages and hence it is possible to reverse the spread of the disease. Consequently, screening improves survival rates among breast cancer patients. The proportion of the population affected by breast cancer is a pointer to the importance of screening the at-risk population. According to studies, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer and causes the second highest number of deaths in the US (Smith et al, 2013). Health statistics indicate that out of every 8 women, one will develop a severe form of breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. In 2014 alone, close to quarter million cases of new breast cancer cases were expected to

Branched Chain Amino Acids and their Effect on Sports Performance Article

Branched Chain Amino Acids and their Effect on Sports Performance - Article Example Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) are amino acids whose molecular structure is made up of branched aliphatic side chains. Three amino acids occurring in humans, viz. valine, leucine, and isoleucine, are essential BCAAs. They are essential because they are not synthesized by the body and have to be supplied through diet. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, which in turn, are the building blocks of the body. A high proportion of muscle tissue is built of BCAAs. Therefore, these are of high utility in increasing muscle mass, especially for those who undertake strength training. Since BCAAs are essential amino acids, they have to be supplied either through diet or through dietary supplements. All food sources that are rich in proteins have sufficient amounts of BCAAs. Commonly available food sources that are rich in BCAAs include dairy products, eggs, whey, chicken, and meat, especially red meat. During strength training and strenuous exercise, a high amount of BCAAs are broken down and used up. Oxidation of these amino acids occurs in skeletal muscles. Though BCAAs are not used as a source of energy in the body under normal conditions, they do contribute to energy generation during heavy and strenuous exercise. The subsequent breakdown of these amino acids for energy generation during heavy exercise leads to muscle damage and tear. Therefore, restoring them with the help of protein supplements is extremely necessary to make up for the loss of proteins. Innumerable studies have investigated the effects of BCAAs on the performance of athletes.

What do you consider are the essential attributes of an interviewer Essay

What do you consider are the essential attributes of an interviewer and why - Essay Example Hence, the organizations are now trying to authenticate the research by applying the new techniques. There are studies related to mental health, socio-economic and personnel factors. Organizations conducting the researches, involved in planning of interviews and designing of the questionnaires. With an effective discussion, limitations of interviews are confined to avoid any unfairness; as the interview is a vital instrument behind any research or investigation. Therefore an interviewer requires endowing himself with all the attributes necessary to get the proper information. An interviewer needs a proper study of the subject of research, its background and proper understanding of the objective of interview, in a proper way. There are several techniques applied to conduct an authentic interview. The case may vary from a crime to patient in a mental hospital. The body language, way of communication and approach applied matters a lot in the quality of the interview. (Ritchie, Lewis 200 3). An interviewer should always keep in mind, the importance of qualitative value of the research which can be achieved only through primary data collection method; which is totally based on the interview of the native. More exact information you derive from the interviewee, more the research will be authentic. The subject of the study requires a particular kind of approach to make the research fruitful, avoiding any bias. The design of questions planned may have socio-economical, natural, physical and psychological approaches, depending on the objective of the research. Selection of the field for the research, making a team, and a good fieldwork with historical, social and psychological analysis is necessary, before designing the questions for the interview. The interview should be able to reach in depth of an individual, acquiring all the required information from him. Selection of the place of interview and the kind of questions, affects the psychology of the individual which ma y influence in the spontaneity of the information he is giving. Therefore, to get the same in a proper way, the individual should be provided with a contented environment, which encourages him to narrate his story or the incident he has witnessed. As soon as the process of data collection through an authentic interview is completed; a qualitative analysis of collected information is required, to give a proper shape to final research report. Among several approaches of interviewing and researching, the most successful one is a psychological approach. As the information is acquired from a human beings, who are psychological in nature; treating them psychologically, would certainly help gain more factual information than any other approaches. Here we will discuss about the methods of psychological approach of interview. This technique of interview consists of a non-accusatory interview combining both investigative and behavior-provoking questions. This technique of interview has three elements: Factual analysis, interviewing, and investigation. Besides being distinct in their process these elements have a common objective to help the innocent and identify the offender. Interrogating that individual becomes an important task to find out the reality. This technique is useful in extracting information from reluctant suspects. Interviews and investigation both are supported by investigative findings; therefore, a proper analysis of facts can help the interviewer in following ways: Recognize appropriate questioning planning. Increase the possibility to recognize the offender through the interview. unlikely suspects Develop probable

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Analysis

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Analysis I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an autobiography written by Maya Angelou. She describes about her hard life caged growing up as a black girl from the South. Maya Angelou starts the novel about her life in the age of three with her four-year-old brother Bailey. They are turned over the care of their paternal grandmother in Stamps. She describes how the two children were sent away after they parents divorce, traveling by train across the Southwestern and cling to their tag To whom It May Concern, c/o Mrs Henderson. Both kids are looking this like rejection and loss of self-worth. Im being sent away because Im no lovable. Angelou generalizes the children situations as follows: Years later I discovered that the United States had been crossed thousands of times by frightened Black children traveling alone to their newly affluent parents in Northern cities, or black to grandmothers in Southern towns when the urban North reneged on its economic promises. (Caged Bird, 4). Smith states tha t Maya opens with a primal childhood scene that brings into focus the nature of the imprisoning environment from which the self will seek escape. The black girl child is trapped within the cage of her own diminished self-image around which interlock the bars of natural and social forces. (Interpretation, 6) Her grandmothers store is the center of life in the Negro community of the town, being the pick-up and drop-off point for cotton pickers in picking season. Her grandmother Henderson is presented not only as the main role in center of her family, but as the leader of the black community in Stamps, strong and religious. McMurry argues that from Mayas eyes the customers in her grandmothers store were trapped in cotton fields, no amount of hope and work to get them out. Her uncle Willie is caged must have been tired of being crippled, as prisoners tire of penitentiary bars and the guilty tire of blame. Her grandmother rises each morning with consciousness of a caged animal (Interpretation, 27). Maya and her brother Baily were very close during their childhood and most of their adolescence. Maya in her story writes, During these years in Stamps, I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare. He was my first white love (Caged Bird, 11). Maya writes that But it was Shakespeare who said, `When in disgrace with fortune and mens eyes. It was a state with which I felt myself most familiar. I pacified myself about his whiteness by saying that after all he had been dead so long that it couldnt matter to anyone any more. She also enjoys the works of many prominent black authors, which her Momma, or grandmother, approves more of. Although young Maya likes Shakespeare, and is fine with the fact that he is white, her Momma wouldnt want to know that Maya enjoys a white mans work. Maya feels that she again is caged and cant express her thoughts and feeling about Shakespeare with grandmother. Angelou recalls how Momma used to make them bathe and wash constantly, even in cold water in wintertime. She used to insist on them being respectful and clean, which most people were, except for the powhitetrash children that came into the town. Those that came to the store were often very rude, but young Maya and her family are not allowed to say anything, because they are black. Angelou describes her Momma; she is tall, big, and strong, and leads in the hymns at church every Sunday. She is old-fashioned, though, as she teaches the children to behave as she was to behave as a child, and teaches them to act according to outdated racial codes of behavior. Carol Neubauer comments in Angelous relationship with her grandmother states that Momma becomes a sort of superwoman of enormous proportions with ten feet tall with eight-foot arms and comes to the helpless childs rescue. In this alternate vision, Angelou switches to fantasy to suggest the depth of the childs humiliation and the resi due of pain even after her two bad teeth have been pulled. Fantasy, finally, is used to demonstrate the undiminÂÂÂ ­ished strength of the character of Momma. The recession hit the community and the big difference between the white and black communities of Stamps is noted; white people have plenty of clothes and can afford to be charitable and spend too much, and still they have enough for themselves. In the black community, people can hardly afford to give anything away, so when they do, it is much appreciated. Even though Momma has land and money, even she doesnt spend money like the white people do, budgeting carefully and never wasting anything. Even Momma makes all of the clothes for herself and the children, and only buys Uncle Willie expensive, ready-made clothes and shoes. The depression hits Stamps, and leads to wages being cut and difficulty making ends meet. That also means that they cant afford to shop at the store, and Momma has to figure out how to keep the store running and still make money. She allows the townspeople to trade the relief food that they get for credit at the store, and is able to keep things going there. The entire black community of Stamps Smith argues, itself caged in the social reality of racial subordination and impotence (Modern Critics, 133) Christmas comes, and Maya and Bailey get presents from their parents, who they hadnt heard of since they were shipped off to Stamps. Maya and Baileys father comes to Stamps the next year, to see his children; neither of them were warned that he was coming, and it is hard for them to face their father in the flesh and give up the fantasies they had about their absent father. He is tall and handsome, and more proper and wealthy than the people in Stamps. Maya is happy that he is there, but then thinks that if people see her and her father together, their dissimilarity in looks will make people think she is not his daughter. When they finally do meet their mother, she is very beautiful and charming, and Maya and Bailey are no longer nervous or sad at being taken away from Stamps. Saint Louis is the important turning point in Mayas life. She received the mothers love and care that she missed all the years in Stamps. Maya doesnt have friends and only Bailey is the only one she can share h er secret. Maya writes Saint Louis was a foreign country. In my mind I only stayed in St. Louis a few weeks and I carried the same shield that I used in Stamps: I didnt come to stay. (Caged Bird, 58). In Saint Louis, mothers boyfriend, Mr. Friedman raped Maya at age of eight and she hospitalized. Maya describes that she looked at Mr. Freeman as a father figure. He was the only real man that was a part of her life. Being at a young age she thought that Mr. Freeman just loved and cared for her, just like any little girl would. But it went farther Mr. Freeman eventually forces her to have sex, and threatens her not to tell anybody. Ultimately, Maya was convinced that by her telling everyone about Mr. Freeman raping her, however condemning him and lying about the other times he molested her, she caused his death. Thinking that now every time she lies, someone will die, Maya decides to shield others by not speaking to anyone except Bailey. I had discovered that to achieve perfect personal silence al l I had to do was to attach myself leechlike to sound. I began to listen to everything. I probably hoped that after I heard all the sounds the world would be quiet around me (Caged Bird , 87). The lack of sound in Mayas life due to the rape and lies she said under oath had become the most important thing to her. Her life now became the sound of everyone else, burying the sound she believes can kill; her own voice. Mayas writing is simple and she is very honest. Bertolino states that Angelous description of her molestation and rape is probably the most valuable part of her remarkable book. Angelou tells the story honestly, without sensationalism, yet with enough palpable detail and enough insight so we, the readers, might to understand. (Blooms Note, 56) After these difficulties, Maya and her brother went at Stamps. Smith argues that Mayas psychological and emotional devastation find a mirror in Stamps social devastation. Stamps gives her back the familiarity and security of well-known cage. She climbs back in happily, losing herself in her silent world, surrendering herself to her own worthlessness. (Modern Critical Views, 9). Mrs Bertha Flowers played an important role in her life. Mrs. Flowers allowed Maya to come out of her depression and learned about many different things. Mrs. Flower helped Maya to come out of depression, she says to her Now no one is going to make you talk-possibly no one can. But bear in mind, language is a mans way of communicating with his fellow man and it is language alone which separates him from the lower animal (Caged Bird, #). Mrs. Flowers, also introduces Maya to reading books, she learns that she must be biased of ignorance, but understanding of the illiteracy, and also Mrs. Flowers offered her to cookies and tea. Smith argues Mrs Flower opens the door to the caged birds silence with the key of acceptance. For the first time Maya is accepted as an individual rather than as a relation to someone else: I was liked, and what a difference it made. I was respected not as Mrs. Andersons grandchild or Baileys sister but just being Marguerite Johnson (Caged bird, 98). Such unqualified acceptance allows her to experience the incipient power of her own self-worth. (Modern Critical Views, 9). Angelou describes again the inequality between whites and blacks and looked them in cage. Equal education opportunities are also lacking, and the intellectual capacities of blacks are assumed severely limited; the schools provide an academic curriculum for whites and an athletic one for blacks. The white kids were going to have a chance to become Galileo and Edisonand the (black) boys (the girls werent even in on it) would try to be Jesse Owenses and Joe Louises, writes Angelou (Caged Bird, 151). Using both irony and straightforward description, Angelou confronts racism and gender bias, and tries to sensitize readers to these issues. Her voice come stronger and emotional It was awful to be Negro and have no control over my life. It was brutal to be young and already trained to sit quietly and listen to charges brought against my color with no chance of defense. We should all be dead. (Caged Bird, 153) At the graduation ceremony, during which the exciting expectation of the young graduates and their families and friends are exploded casually by the words of an oblivious and insensitive white speaker, the young girl comes to know already the desperation of impotence (Modern Critical, 10): It was awful to be Negro and have no control over my life. It was brutal to be young and already trained to it quietly and listens to charges brought against my color with no chance of defense. We should all be dead. I thought I should like to see us all dead, one on top of the other. (Caged bird, 153) Angelou using her memories to show how hard was the life of black society she was caged in black community. During a Gradation Party Maya gets a toothache and goes to see a white doctor. The doctor refuses to put his hands in a black girls mouth saying: My policy is Id rather stick my hand in a dogs mouth than in a niggers (Caged Bird, 160). .. Maya continues her story in 1941 where her mother, Vivian marries Clidell and they move to San Francisco. Maya and Baily again went to live with Vivian Baxter. Maya attended to George Washington High School and the age fourteen received scholarship to attend to California Labor School, where she took evening classes in a drama and dance. In 1943 when Maya was 15 years old she spent a summer with her father at a trailer park in Los Angeles. Maya accompanies her father to a small Mexican town where he proceeds to get obviously drunk, leaving her with responsibility of getting them back to Los Angeles. For the first time, Maya finds herself totally in control for her fate. She never had driven a car but her courage she did. And although the drive culminates in accidents, she triumphs. Unable to get along with her father and his live-in girlfriend she ran away and lived for 6 weeks in junkyard that was the residence of a community of homeless children. Angelou was impressed by this nonjudgmental and self-sufficient group of young transients and she felt that her experience with them served as a kind of initiation into the human race. Recalling this group in Caged Bird Angelou wrote: After hunting down unbroken bottles and selling them with a white girl from Missouri, a Mexican girl from Los Angeles, and a Black girl from Oklahoma, I was never again to sense myself so solidly outside the pale of the human race. The lack of criticism evidenced by our ad hoc community influenced me, and set a tone of tolerance for my life (215). This moment succeeded by a month spend wrecked car provide her with knowledge of self-determination and a confirmation of her self-worth. With this affirmative knowledge and power, while is she was in high school she decide to work and applied for a position as a conductor in streetcars. Stamps acquiescence and cage is left far behind in Arkansas Maya assumes control over her own social destiny and engaged in the struggle with lifes forces. Braxton argues that another positive identity experience occurs in the world of work Marguerite is determine to become a conductor on the San Francisco streetcars, even though no black have been hired previously. She visits the Market Street Railway Office with the frequency of a person on salary until she is hired, breaking the color barrier previously imposed against blacks and achieving a degree of independence (Modern Critical, 228. ) In her story, Maya concludes, The black female is assaulted in her tender year by those common forces of nature at the same time that she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice, white illogical hate and Black lack of power. (Caged Bird, 231) She has broken out the rusted bars of her social cage. (page 11) Maya become increasingly concerned about her body, which to her seemed unfeminine and underdeveloped. Though her mother tried to informed her otherwise, Angelou feared that she was physically abnormal and began to wonder if she could be lesbian. Wanting to assure herself of her sexual identity, Angelou invited a male classmate to have sex with her one time. The incident resulted in a pregnancy and have a baby boy. It is the born of the baby the main turn point in Mayas life and her triumph. Smith states Maya Angelous autobiography comes to a sense of an ending: the black American girl child has succeed in freeing herself from the natural and social bars imprisoning her in the cage of her diminished self-image by assuming control of her life and fully acceptation her black womanhood. (Modern critic, 12)

Divorce in Todays Society Essay -- Marriage Family History Essays Pape

Divorce in Todays Society The Impact of Non-Traditional Families in the Twenty-First Century The image of the American family looks and functions very differently than families of the past few decades. Men and women raised in the 1950’s and 1960’s when programs such as â€Å"Ozzie and Harriet† and â€Å"Father Knows Best† epitomized the average family, are likely to find themselves in situations that have changed dramatically. Research claims that many family structures are common: single-parent families, remarried couples, unmarried couples, step families, foster families, multi-generational families, extended families, and the doubling up of two families within the same home. Marriage, divorce, and patterns of childbirth are some of the factors that have contributed to these significant changes in families. With these changes comes the possibility of remarriage and the creation of new families which bring together parents and children without blood ties. These are called â€Å"blended families† and are more prevalent today than thirty yea rs ago because divorce rates are rising and remarriages are much more common (Mahoney 40). These issues are the major factors that have had an impact on the structure of the American family. Significant changes are occurring in marriage patterns in the United States. Individuals are postponing marriage until later in life and more people are choosing not to get married. Current statistics indicate that the marriage rate between 1970 and 1990 fell almost thirty percent (Ahlburg and DeVita 24). Compared with the 1960’s marriages have a shorter average duration. A smaller portion of a person’s life is actually spent in marriage, despite gains in life expectancy. In their research, Dennis Ahlburg and Carol DeVita describe an explanation for these facts: While these facts often lead to speculation that the institution of marriage is crumbling, the number of marriages that occurred throughout the 1980’s was at an all time high. Roughly 2.4 million marriages were perfo rmed each year during the past decade. A careful look at marriage trends reveals how marriage patterns are creating new lifestyles and expectations. (21) Another issue which reflects a change of the American family is the trend of divorce. While 2.4 million marriages occurred in 1990, 1.2 million divorces occurred during that same year (Andrew 51). The trend of divorce i... ...aunched a new line of cards devoted entirely to non-traditional families. The cards never use the word â€Å"step† but most of the â€Å"Ties That Bind† cards are clearly aimed at people that have come together by remarriage. All are aimed at the vast and growing group of people who don’t identify with the old definitions of family, and who are finding ways to make their new families work. Bibliography Ahlburg, Dennis and Carol J. DeVita. â€Å"New Realities of the American Family.† Population Bulletin. Aug. 1992: 20-28. SIRS. Family, 4, 96. Andrews, Jan. Divorce and the American Family. New York: Library of Congress Catalog, 1978. Boyd, Monica and Doug Norris. â€Å"Leaving the Nest? The Impact of Family Structure.† Canadian Social Trends. 15 Oct. 1995: 14-17. SIRS. Family, 5, 58. Feifer, George. Divorce: An Oral Portrait. New York: The New Press, 1995. Herbert, Wray. â€Å"When Strangers Become Family.† U.S. News and World Report 29 Nov. 1999: 59-67. Mahoney, Rhona. â€Å"Divorce, Non-traditional Families and Its Consequences For Children.† Leland Stanford. mahoney@leland.stanford.edu. 20 Nov. 1997: 40-42. Stewart, Gail B. Teens and Divorce. San Diego: Lucent Books Inc., 2000.